A/N: Hello. First one-shot. Be gentle in the comments. Thank you.
Mr. Michael John Lester was not sure if he was okay with his son's relationship with a certain Daniel James Howell.
It wasn't like he had anything against the boy-oh, no! Daniel himself was a kind, polite boy with good enough grades and no alarming hobbies (unlike Phil's old friend, Kevin, who was into whittling ducks out of soap). He was perfectly normal, even if his hair was a bit more luxurious and cared for than a normal seventeen-year-old boy's hair.
And it definitely wasn't as if he wasn't supporting Phil's sexuality-his announcement that he was gay wasn't nearly as alarming or sad as his confession that he was depressed and self-harming. Besides, Daniel and Phillip's relationship wasn't romantic at the slightest, although Mr. Michael John Lester had his doubts in the beginning.
Mr. Lester remembers vividly the first day Phil brought home a friend. The dorky, awkward boy that laughed at his jokes was definitely not the friend he'd been expecting. The boys were all shy smiles and occasional jokes until they disappeared upstairs together.
He had immediately looked towards his wife, who laughed and rolled her eyes. "They're boys," she told him. "They're probably playing Sonic or Mario." When it was time for Dan to go, they were clearly much more comfortable with each other, even hugging it out before Dan got into his mum's car. Mr. Lester was in no position to judge-this was his first child. Even if this would've been downright unacceptable and gay back in his times, maybe this generation did things differently?
The relationship between Dan and Phil progressed quickly, and Mr. Lester found that Dan was having more than just a positive effect on Phil's life. Phil's face lit up whenever Dan arrived (which was nearly everyday from four p.m. until after dinner) and occasionally Mr. Michael John Lester could hear his son laugh from another room. He'd smile to himself. His son, after so many years of depression and isolation, was laughing.
The boys spent hours outside, exploring in the wilderness, but even more time cuddled under a duvet; playing video games, watching strange T.V. shows about vampires and Pokémon and anime, and watching YouTube videos.
This was around the time where Mr. Lester was beginning to get worried. Did ordinary friends really sit or stand so close their shoulders were touching, even at dinnertime? Did ordinary friends really hang on to each other tightly before one of them left, as if they'd never see each other again even though they had school the next day? Did ordinary friends really spend hours locked away in a bedroom, doing God-knows-what?
"They're going through a tough time," Mrs. Lester had reminded me when he confided in her. "Dan has even more disorders than Phil."
Everything had an explanation-the constant physical contact helped calm down Dan in his bouts of anxiety, the hours outside were so they could escape the constant hum of the city and it eased their social anxiety, the cuddling was the a reminder to the insecure boys that they were there for each other, no matter what, the intense hugging before Dan left was because Dan had a difficult home life and never wanted to go. The list went on, and Mr. Lester's worries soon melted away. How could he possibly be angry with the boy who single-handedly convinced his son to flush away his blades?
But now, Mr. Lester noticed things were different. Whenever they accidently brushed hands or when their knees knocked, they didn't ignore it, as they did before. They jerked away shyly and grinned like idiots even though there was nothing funny about the situation. Phil became less detailed about his endeavors with Dan, and they spent more hours locked up in his bedrooms than before. Hair that was perfectly in place when Dan arrived would be mussed by dinnertime. A tinge of pink constantly stained Phil's cheeks. At times, he'd drift away and daydream for hours before crashing down into reality when Mr. Lester clapped his hands in front of Phil's face.
Oh, yes, something was definitely up.
And Mr. Michael John Lester saw it clearer than before when he was making a sandwich in the kitchen, and casually glanced out the door to see Dan and Phil speaking quietly at the dinner table. They were smiling, but there was a more solemn atmosphere than usually. Mr. Lester watched intently, accidently spreading a huge amount of mayonnaise onto the bread.
Phil suddenly leaned over and kissed Dan on the lips softly. It was rushed, awkward and very short-not even a full second-but it was enough to turn both boys beet red have them mumble and giggle like schoolgirls. Mr. Lester did not realize he was running out of cheese to put in the sandwich.
They glanced at each other, and glanced away and Dan suddenly cracked a joke that made Phil laugh harder than usual. He suggested something, and they got up and took off, running towards the outside like little kids-holding hands.
Mr. Lester looked down at the glob of mayonnaise and cheese that was his sandwich, but didn't really care (which was surprising considering how seriously Mr. Lester took his sandwiches). His son, his little Phillip, had fallen in love.
Mr. Lester shook his head as he smiled slightly. Just as shame it had to be Dan, the good, old Dan. What if Dan suddenly broke Phil's heart?
It certainly would be hard to punch the kid that saved his son.
A/N: Just to clarify, this was not originally intended for Fanfiction or to be released on the Internet at all, but I was hit by a major inspiration and my friend convinced me to post it. Please review if you enjoyed it and want more one-shots. Was it fluffy enough? It was weird for me to write because of the different perspective, but I think it turned out all right.