The Wardrobe Fic
by Gummybear178
Phil Lester sat in his room in his apartment in London, staring at the wall. It was raining. Again. He sat on his bed, comparing the shade of his pale gray wall to the hues of the clouds outside. A flash of lightning illuminated his bored face and he jumped as thunder rumbled loudly outside his window. With a groan, he flopped back onto his bed and pondered what he should do, because sitting on his bed and staring at the wall was obviously not keeping him entertained. Phil pulled out his laptop and checked Twitter, where he found hundreds of fans complaining about the recent lack of videos to his YouTube channel, AmazingPhil. Excitement lit his ice blue eyes. Of course! He would make a rainy day video. If he could talk Dan into it, maybe they could even make a Phil is Not On Fire 7!
While pondering the content of the video, Phil raced to grab his tripod and his favorite camera. 5 minutes later, his tripod was set up at the perfect angle facing his checkered bedsheets while he practiced his smile in the mirror. After practicing his "Hey Guys!" a few times, Phil hurried over to turn his camera on. He pressed the 'on' button and waited. Nothing happened. He tried again. The screen remained dark, filling Phil with disappointment and anger. Dead battery.
"Dan?" Phil called, hoping his voice would reach through the wall that separated their rooms. He knew Dan was probably on tumblr or watching Pokemon.
"Phil? Are you alright?" Phil's heart jumped and stuttered at the sound of his favorite voice in the world. Dan had probably heard the frustration in Phil's voice and gotten worried.
"No- I mean yes- I mean-" Phil was still trying to get over the fact that Dan had been concerned over him, that Dan cared- he shook his head. He must be going crazy. "Do we have any batteries?" Dan's laugh echoed through the wall. Phil heard footsteps coming down the hall and felt emotions leaping through his body. Dan was coming. Before he could reign in his feelings, a perfect, beautiful face poked around the corner.
"Batteries?" Dan asked, his British accent thick on the word. The sight of Phil, sitting flustered and red- faced on the bed (with the most adorable frustrated face he could possibly imagine) made him melt inside, but he kept it cool on the outside.
"My camera is dead." Phil held out the camera like it was something the cat dragged in.
"No, I don't think we have any batteries."
"Can I use your camera?" Phil's voice was full of hope. Dan felt ashamed to let him down.
"It broke on the plane back from America." It had been crushed in his luggage. Shattered screen, broken buttons, the whole shebang. Phil's lip pouted out.
"We can go to the store..."
"No, that's okay. I'll just... stare at the wall some more." Phil flopped back on the bed and a grin spread across Dan's face.
"If you're sure. I'll be in my room if you change your mind ." With that, Dan was gone. Phil sat up, smoothing the bedsheets sadly. His feelings for Dan had always been there, but lately they were off the charts. He knew there was no way Dan could feel the same, the only way his affection would be returned was through friendship. He sighed and his gazed flickered over his small dresser, pushed against the back wall. It was always there in his home videos, covered in tinsel or toy dinosaurs or whatever strange object he felt like covering it with. Phil decided he would plan out a few outfits for the next few days- it wouldn't hurt to be prepared.
He padded over to the squat dresser and opened a drawer. It was overflowing, just like all of the other drawers. Filled with cat shirts, space pants, rainbow socks, and any other odd article of clothing he had stumbled upon while shopping in various places. Of course, tomorrow he would wear his Jake from Adventure Time hoodie. It was his favorite, which may or may not have to do with the fact that Dan gave it to him. Once he tried to pull it out of the dresser, however, he realized the drawer was too full to get anything out of. The hoodie, smashed sadly between his pizza shirt and the rough wood framing the drawer, would not budge. Phil was only put off for a moment before an idea came to mind, lighting up his electric eyes again.
A wardrobe! He and Dan could go furniture shopping for a big wardrobe for Phil's hundreds of garments. Or- even better- they could build one like all that time ago! Phil hurried to go tell Dan, and, of course, in his excitement proceeded to trip and fall face first onto the floor, causing a large bang.
"Phil?" Dan's voice rang out, filled with concern once again. In response, he heard Phil's musical laugh. Phil's laugh made everyone smile, especially Dan. "Are you okay?" he said, even though he knew the response. He just wanted to hear Phil's voice again.
"I'm alright. I want to ask you something!" Dan could hear Phil's shuffling footsteps down the short path to his room. Dark midnight hair followed by beautiful ice blue eyes poked into Dan's room. He was momentarily speechless, as always, at the perfection of Phil's ivory skin and subtle cheekbones. Dan cleared his throat.
"Yes?"
"Remember when we built that wardrobe?" Phil said, his eyes seeming to look back in time. Dan smiled as the memories of Phil hiding in a wardrobe floated through his head.
"Of course. You scared the shit out of me, you know."
"I know. You have to admit, it was funny."
"You could have given me a heart attack."
"But I didn't!"
"You came here to ask me something…?"
"Oh, right!" Conversation was too easy with Dan. "My dresser is too small to hold all of my clothes. Can we build another wardrobe? A big one?"
"I'm telling you, you buy too many clothes. Can't we just go to a furniture shop and buy one?"
"Well, I was thinking about that, but I just thought it would be more special if we built it. And time consuming, because I'm super bored." Dan pondered for a moment. Phil had a point. Though he tried to pretend otherwise, Dan was completely bored out of his mind. He didn't feel like Pokemon, or anime, or social media.
"All right. Let's do it." Phil's immediate response of happiness to Dan's words were almost childlike. He bounced out into the hallway, calling-
"I call driving!"
"Oh no you don't! You drove last time!" Dan rocketed out of his chair, not bothering to prepare himself to go out in public. He heard the door slam and raced down the stairs to open it again. When he finally made it to the car, tripping and stumbling over the pavement, sure enough, Phil was sitting in the front seat of the car, bouncing up and down excitedly.
Phil saw Dan tripping over his hurriedly shoved on shoes and couldn't help but laugh. Dan looked up at the sound and soon was laughing with him. Dan swung into the passenger seat, still laughing, and shut the door.
"You saw nothing," he warned Phil half-heartedly. Phil only smiled and added the memory of Dan stumbling around like a buffoon to his funniest memories of Dan, then turned the key to the engine.
One hour later, Phil stood in the cover of the apartment entryway watching Dan struggle with the monstrous box.
"Dan, could you please hurry up? It's cold out here!" Phil called, shivering as an icy wind blew rain into his face.
"Oh, well excuse me," grunted Dan, moving the box another inch. "I wasn't aware I was inconveniencing you while I drag this flipping heavy box across the parking lot in the pouring rain while you stand there AND DO NOTHING." Dan moved the box another inch. Phil pouted, moving some soggy fringe out of his face. Dan had a point.
With a sigh, Phil meandered over to the point where Dan was standing and tentatively lifted a corner of the box. Dan hadn't been lying about the box's weight, that was for sure. Pasty spaghetti arms wobbled under the weight of the new wardrobe.
"Definitely Thor," Phil muttered to himself. Dan laughed. Phil couldn't help but notice Dan's muscles rippling as they moved the box towards the stairs. Droplets of cold water splashed and rolled down them, captivating Phil's attention… Dan, however, was pulled towards the sight of Phil's hair plastered messily across his pale face, creating a stark contrast. Dan longed to set down the box, reach out, and brush the hair, letting his fingers linger on the pallid skin a little…
Dan was shaken from his fantasy when his heel rammed into something concrete. The box slipped from his grip, flying into the air and coming back down at an alarming speed.
"Phil, the box!" He cried, laying helpless on the ground as the hundred pound box came flying back to the ground, right over him. Phil leapt into action. He launched himself in the air, covering the few feet between himself and Dan. His arms went up instinctively, catching the box inches before it smashed into his head. A few moments passed before they could both breathe again.
"Are you alright?" Phil asked, setting down heavy death-in-a-box. His muscles would definitely be sore tomorrow. Dan's head was still careening over the fact Phil had just saved his life.
"I think so," Dan gasped, stretching out his limbs. "Nothing too bad."
"You should really watch where you're going. The stairs were right behind you!" Phil extended a hand, and Dan grabbed it without even thinking. Two hearts jumped and fluttered in unison at the contact. Dan quickly got off the ground and pulled his hand away.
"Thanks," he whispered. He knew his face was bright red. Phil stared at his own hand, longing to feel Dan's in it again.
13 flights of stairs later, Dan and Phil set down the box and wiped sweat off their faces. They sat down for a break.
"Only- four- more- flights," panted Dan, looking at the wardrobe box miserably.
"You do- realize- we could have- taken- the elevator?" Gasped Phil, equally dismal.
"You wait until NOW to remind me?" Dan groaned, putting his face in his hands.
"I didn't remember until just now!" Phil said defensively. "Now come on. We still have a wardrobe to build." Reluctantly, Dan heaved himself up, his sore muscles protesting with every movement. The obtuse package returned to his hands and they started up the stairs again, both resisting the temptation to look at each other again.
The apartment door burst open and Phil groaned at the sight of more stairs.
"Why did we get this apartment again?" Dan panted, sweat and rain dripping off his face.
"So that in winter, we can sled down the stairs!" Phil replied enthusiastically. Dan glared. "It seemed like a good idea at the time…" Phil trailed off. With a synchronized sigh, they dragged the box up the final set of stairs.
Once in Phil's room, they set the monstrous box down with a loud thump and flopped on the floor. Sounds of heavy breathing filled the room.
"Never. Ever. Again. Will I listen to your 'rainy day ideas.'" gasped Dan.
"We didn't have batteries!"
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"
Phil army- crawled over to his old dresser. "I suppose I'll have to say my goodbyes to my handy ol' dresser," he sighed, stroking the smooth surface. Dan rolled his eyes and opened the box, pulling out a packet of instructions.
"Step one- build a wardrobe," Dan whispered, memories flickering behind his eyes. Phil laughed from across the room.
"I caught that!" he said, pulling out a Chewbacca tee shirt. "I wish we could film this. It would make a nice video."
"While you gut your dresser, I'll go get some tools. Then we'll start building." Dan's muscles ached at the thought.
"Tool box is in the closet," Phil called as Dan left the room. Once out of Phil's sight, Dan slouched to his knees in the hallway. His emotions were stronger than ever. He had never felt like this before. What was going on? He knew the answer all too well. Dan was in love with Phil. All the time they spent together, all the memories they shared, rolled through Dan's mind. Phil's smile. Phil's laugh. Phil's cheesy jokes and puns, his piercing blue eyes, the joy Dan felt when they lit up with laughter. All the pieces came together, all at once. He saw it, now. How they were meant for each other. Made for each other.
But did Phil feel the same? What if Phil didn't share Dan's feelings at all? His realization crashed as he thought of this. Of course Phil only wanted to be friends. Nothing more. His feelings could only be returned by friendship. He would have to live on tortured by his feelings forever.
"Dan? Everything all right?" Phil was standing at the doorway, his face tormented with worry. Dan felt a pang shudder down his spine. He could live with friendship.
"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just got a little dizzy there. All those stairs," he sighed.
"We don't have to do this. You can rest up, if you'd like," Phil offered. An image of Phil cuddled up next to him, warm and soft, flashed through his mind. This might be harder than he thought.
"No, I'm fine, really. Let's build your wardrobe." He turned away from Phil's still- worried face and headed to get the tool box.
Phil stared down the hallway after him, longing and desire lingering in his head before he turned back to continue emptying his dresser. As he shoved lion shirts, mustache socks, and skinny jeans into cardboard boxes, he allowed his mind to wander…
He imagined Dan leaning towards him, the smell of musk and denim wafting over him. Tangling his fingers in Dan's hair, feeling Dan's hand on the back of his neck, pulling him closer… The door to Phil's room banged open, causing his daydream to shatter and him to jump three feet in the air.
"I'm back," Dan announced, pausing at the sight of a wide eyed Phil splayed on the floor. "Find any ghosts while I was gone?" Dan asked, looking at Phil's paler- than- usual face. Phil quickly rearranged himself into a more casual position on the floor, tossing the last sock into the box. It missed, of course. Dan laughed and set down the toolbox. "Hammer, check. Screwdriver, check. Nails, check. Very majestic, Phil," he added, watching Phil scramble for his sock. Phil turned cherry red and immediately ended his chase.
"Well, let's get started then," he said, clearing his throat. Dan laughed Phil's favorite laugh, a grin with lopsided hair and smiles in his brown eyes. Phil blushed harder.
Dan turned to investigate the box, not seeing Phil's fiery face. He pulled out large, heavy pieces of wood and a book of instructions. Thirty pages! He swung around, swinging the novel in Phil's face.
"Planning on spending a few DAYS building a wardrobe?" Dan groaned, tossing the book to Phil. Phil laughed Dan's favorite laugh, the short, high one that made his lips pull up and his body shake a bit, with smiles in his blue eyes. Dan quickly turned around before his emotions got the better of him. The box that they had labored over for an hour was empty, and more labor waited ahead in piles of wood. Dan flopped on the ground, and Phil quickly crawled over to sit next to him.
"The instructions say to take this piece," Phil stated, raising one piece in the air, "and connect it to… this one," he added, pulling another slab out of the pile. "Let me just get the screwdriver…" Phil leaned to the toolbox, snatching up a screwdriver and a few screws, and turned back to see Dan's face almost touching his. "Oh.. um… sorry… I just…" Phil stuttered, turning pink this time as he moved to scoot back.
"Fuck this," Dan muttered, kicking pieces aside and grabbing Phil by the collar. "I can't stand this," he said, closing the small space between his face and Phil's. He expected Phil to pull away instantly and never talk to him again. But to his surprise, Phil was kissing back. Dan reacted instantly, putting his hands on Phil's neck to pull him closer as Phil's fingers tangled in his hair.
Phil's heart soared. Many times, he had pictured this moment. Daydreams and wishes, he thought. But now it was real. Dan loved him, and he loved Dan. He couldn't waste any time. The kiss was still going, and he hoped it never ended.
Two hearts beat like humming birds.
Two dreams came true, and two souls felt like they were in heaven.
When they finally pulled away, Dan kept his hand on Phil's shoulder. He looked into the ice blue eyes that stared into his brown ones, feeling pride in knowing that they were finally his. Phil was his.
"I just remembered something," he whispered. Phil, still dazed, struggled to answer.
"What's that?" he asked, his voice husky.
"We have an extra camera put away for emergencies," Dan replied. Phil grinned.
"Ready to go make dreams come true?"
"I've never been more ready in my life." They got up and walked down the hall to Dan's room, hands entwined. Quietly, they set up the tripod and put the 'emergency camera' carefully onto it. The auto- record started, and a red light flashed, giving them their que.
"Hey guys!"
"Hello, internet."
FIN