AN: Continuing the Phan Explosion! …. I am such Phan trash. How did this happen?! I don't even know! Phan one-shot AU that I thought of while listening to "Tokyo" by Imagine Dragons. Please don't kill me if my descriptions of Japan/Japanese stuff and the little bits of Japanese are very wrong haha. I've never been so I'm going off Google images and translate xD Sorry!
Tokyo, Japhan
'On the flight to Tokyo, Japan! See you when I land :)' Phil typed out the tweet to his many followers and submitted it to Twitter as he laid back against the cushiony seat of the airplane. It was gonna be a long flight.
He turned his head to look out the window as the plane took off, rattling a bit as it lifted off the ground. Phil got that light sensation his stomach that you get when you're flying and he smiled, butterflies of excitement swirling up inside him. He was going to JAPAN! He'd always wanted to go, and now he was getting to live his dream.
He was excited to see all the sights. He was excited to meet the tour guide he hired. He was excited to taste all the new food. He was excited to be able to relax.
Phil closed his eyes, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to sleep a wink on that flight.
Dan woke up to the sound of his alarm very early in the morning. He grumbled to himself as he slammed his palm down on the device, silencing it. For a while, he was rather irritated at himself for setting an alarm when it was still dark out in the streets of Tokyo, but then he remembered why he set the alarm and he jumped out of bed, a smile plastered on his face.
Today was the day!
Dan made a quick breakfast and wolfed it down, sprinting across his apartment room to the bathroom, straightening his hair and putting in some black earrings. He whizzed back to his room, tossing on some black skinny jeans and a dark gray shirt with Japanese characters scrawled across it.
After hurriedly grabbing his keys, his phone and a sign, he tossed himself out the door, sprinting towards the bus stop. He wasn't late- in fact, quite the opposite. It was just that he was so excited!
Earlier that month, Dan had been hired by a tourist from Britain to be his tour guide. It was Dan's first ever job as a tour guide, and even though his English wasn't the best, he was ecstatic. He would be the best tour guide ever and show this tourist by the name of Phil Lester all the hidden gems of Tokyo.
As he boarded the bus that would take him to the airport, Dan thought about the videos he had seen of Phil. He was a British YouTuber who mainly vlogged, and although Dan couldn't understand some of the things Phil said, Dan still found Phil's videos to be really really funny. He hoped he was as kind in person as he was in his vlogs.
After some time, Dan arrived at the airport and made his way to the baggage claim area, taking out his sign with the name "Phil Lester" in big letters on the front, holding it in front of him. Now he'd have to wait.
-later-
After Phil's plane landed, he looked around excitedly at the insides of the Haneda International Airport. It was HUGE! There were so many signs in Japanese that Phil couldn't read, but quite a lot of them had English translations next to them, so it wasn't too confusing to make his way to the baggage claim area.
After claiming his luggage, he started looking around for his tour guide. They had agreed to meet there and then the guide, named Dan Howell (not very Japanese sounding?), would show him to the hotel Phil had booked.
Suddenly, he spotted someone with a sign that had his name, "Phil Lester" spelled out carefully in English. The boy waiting for him looked rather young, had nice brown fringe cut a lot like Phil's own hair, and was wearing mostly dark colors. He didn't look very Japanese, though.
As Phil approached him, he noticed that the boy also had rather nice chocolatey brown eyes, "Hello! Are you Dan Howell?'
The boy holding the sign smiled and nodded at Phil, "Yeah."
"Well, it's nice to meet you." Phil said, holding out his hand.
Dan took it in his own, shaking it as he replied in Japanese, "Hajimemashite!"
Phil smiled, not understanding what Dan said but enjoying the fluent sound of Japanese that Dan made. He withdrew his hand and Dan tucked the sign under his arm.
"So, Phil Lester," Dan said with an accent, helping Phil with his heavy rolling duffel bag, as Phil was already carrying a bag and a pillow as well, "I like your videos."
"Oh, you watched those, did you?" Phil replied, rather surprised. He didn't think Dan would watch his AmazingPhil videos...
Dan nodded, pulling the duffel bag onto the bus outside and waiting as Phil joined him on the bus too. All the seats were taken so they just stood, holding onto the hand bars.
"Are you excited for Japan?" Dan asked, smiling as the doors closed and the bus started moving.
"I've been excited for the past forever!" Phil answered, smiling back. Dan didn't look Japanese, but Phil could tell that he definitely had been living in Japan for a very long time. He sounded really Japanese, and his awkwardness at speaking in English further added to the effect.
"Forever excited?" Dan laughed.
"Yeah! Who wouldn't be?"
Dan pulled out his phone and looked over at his slightly shorter companion, "Picture?"
"Sure!" Phil smiled, leaning over so that his face was close enough to Dan's to be in the frame of the picture. Dan held the phone up, turning the camera to face-cam mode and snapped a photo of the both of them smiling together.
"Do you mind sending that to me so that I can post it on my Twitter account? I'm sure my fans would love it." Phil said as Dan lowered his phone again and they moved apart.
"Yeah, I can send. I will be on your Twitter?" Dan said as he looked up Phil's phone number in his contacts.
"Yup! You don't mind do you?" Phil asked.
"It is fine. It makes me happy!" Dan smiled at Phil, sending the photo to him.
Phil didn't know why, but he felt his stomach flutter when Dan flashed him his pretty smile. He brushed it off as his excitement for being in Tokyo freaking Japan. He stared out the window, dying to get out into the city and explore.
-later-
"This is your hotel!" Dan pointed out as the two of them left the cramped confines of the bus.
Phil looked up to be met with the sight of a towering building, surrounded by a bunch of other huge buildings,
"I'm already excited and I'm not even inside yet!" Phil exclaimed, shouldering his carry-on bag again, taking his pillow in both hands.
Suddenly, Dan took Phil's hand, grinning, "Come on then!"
Despite the rolling duffel bag that Dan had insisted on lugging around for Phil, he was incredibly fast as he dragged Phil to the door of the building, surprisingly energetic. Phil took in as much as he could before they went inside.
There were signs everywhere, all in characters he couldn't read. The buildings towered over him, almost intimidating yet also rather inviting somehow. There were SO many people about! And there were so many shops to spend all his money in! He liked Tokyo already.
After Phil checked in at the hotel (spending a much longer time than needed on inspecting the ENTIRE room) ((The toilet had buttons!)), Dan waited for him in the lobby. A multicolored chandelier hung from the ceiling just above where he was standing, a giant glass wall opposite him that flaunted the cherry blossom garden in the back of the hotel. He just stood there, rather jittery as he was so excited to show Phil Lester all that Japan had to offer. But it seemed there was another reason for his jitters. A strange feeling in his stomach that made him grab hold of Phil's hand earlier...
"Hey! So where are we going for dinner?" Phil asked as he approached Dan from the elevators.
Dan grinned, "Do you like sushi?"
-later-
Phil was rather enjoying the choice of restaurant. Not only was the food fantastic, but there was a feel about the place that made it seem authentically traditional Japanese. Perhaps it was the wooden tables with cushions instead of seats that they knelt on, or the warm lighting from the paper lanterns. Either way, Phil was clearly enjoying himself, much to Dan's delight.
"So Dan," Phil started, looking up at his tour guide who was taking a bite out of some sort of sushi with a fish Phil didn't recognize on it, "I don't mean to pry or anything but you don't particularly look Japanese."
Dan finished swallowing before answering politely, "My parents are British. We moved here when I was a baby."
"Oh, really? That's really cool. I wish I was raised here." Phil laughed.
Dan just grinned, "Really? Sometimes I like to think about Britain. What would it have been like to live there?"
"Definitely not as awesome, but don't tell the Queen that I said that." Phil continued to laugh a bit as he took a sip of his drink.
Dan joined in the laughter.
Phil put down his drink and looked up at Dan again, "Also, again I don't mean to pry, but you look rather young. Shouldn't you be in university or something?"
"I am. I study law, but I do tours as a side. This is my first time though." Dan said, rushing his words a bit. He felt embarrassed telling Phil that this was his first ever time giving someone a tour, especially since he was a bit nervous about it as well, but Phil gave him a friendly smile.
"Law, huh? I could never do that. And hey," Phil reached across the table and put a hand on Dan's shoulder, "Don't worry about trying to impress me or anything. I'm positive that whatever you have planned will be perfect."
"Perfect?"
"Yeah! I mean, you already have me madly in love, with Japan."
Dan couldn't be sure, but he thought he heard a pause between "love" and "with Japan", and for some reason he felt heat rise in his cheeks. This was... strange, to say the least.
"Well, I guess we should be off then." Phil said, noting the empty plates.
Dan nodded, but said nothing. They paid the waitress and left.
When they got outside, the sky had gone dark already, the signs Phil had taken note of earlier suddenly flashing with bright colors, lighting the streets as if it was still daytime.
"Wow..." Phil breathed.
Dan smiled, "Not too tired? We could go to the Skytree."
"I don't know what that is, but it sounds awesome. Let's go!" Phil agreed, returning the smile.
Dan grabbed hold of Phil's hand again, running down the streets of Japan, pushing past the crowds of people. Phil was surprised at first, but decided it was better to just go with it. He'd probably be horribly out of breath by the end, but Dan seemed to be really excited, and he was too. Besides, he kind of liked holding Dan's hand.
-later-
"Wow! We're so high up!" Phil remarked, taking in the view from the Skytree.
As it turned out, the Skytree was the tallest building in Tokyo, Japan, and one of the tallest in the world. It kind of freaked Phil out a little bit to be so high up, but at the same time it was so cool. It was beautiful!
Dan joined Phil by the window at the observation deck, staring out at the thousands, perhaps millions or billions of lights blinking back at them. Even though he had lived here all his life, Dan never got tired of the view from the Skytree.
"Yeah. It is really beautiful, right?" Dan commented, leaning against the railing just in front of the glass and looked over at Phil.
"It really really is!" Phil exclaimed, turning to face Dan, not realizing how close their faces were at first.
When he did, however, he started blushing furiously as he stared into Dan's brown eyes as they sparkled with his dimpled smile. Why? Why did he feel this way? Perhaps more importantly, why wasn't Phil moving away from Dan? Or Dan away from Phil?
They stood there, in a rather awkward but also enjoyable from both sides silence, until Phil looked away, back to the beautiful bustling city of Tokyo.
"Thanks for taking me here." Phil said quietly, a hint of a smile in his voice.
Dan kept on grinning, not taking his eyes off Phil for a moment longer, returning his gaze to Tokyo, "You're welcome."
-the next day-
There was a knock on Phil's hotel room door, and he knew exactly who it was. He hurriedly answered the door, revealing a smiling Dan in a dark gray hoodie and black skinny jeans.
"Ready to go?" He asked Phil.
Phil smiled back, "Am I ever!"
As soon as they got to the ground floor, Dan took Phil's hand like he had the day before and they were off, racing through he streets of Tokyo at an alarming speed, but it seems as though Dan wasn't going to let go of his habit anytime soon. Phil laughed to himself at Dan's seemingly endless energy. He was really starting to like his tour guide, and friend.
-later-
Phil wanted to do a million more things after the extraordinary day he had with Dan in Tokyo, but the sun was already setting. Soon he'd have to turn in for the night and say goodbye to his companion for the night. Another day gone. After this one, he'd only have three left. He wished he could spend all his time in the land of Pokemon and cherry blossoms.
The day had consisted of Dan taking Phil to a bunch of awesome shops, including a Pokemon store (where Phil spent wayyyy too much money). He had also taken Dan to the Studio Ghibli Museum where Phil had not so secretly fan girled quite hard. Dan had also taken him to two themed cafes, which Phil found both absolutely fantastic and a little strange at the same time.
Throughout their daytime adventures, Phil had learned a great deal about Dan, and Dan had learned a great deal about Phil. They both loved music and gaming and anime and all sorts of other things. Phil was rather comfortable calling Dan his friend, even though they had just met yesterday.
Now, they were walking (yeah, actually walking! Not running!) along a bit more of a traditional Japanese road with a bridge overlooking a river. Though they weren't running this time, Dan was still holding onto Phil's hand. For some reason, Phil found himself enjoying the contact. An occasional odd glance was cast their way, but that could've just been that they didn't look remotely Japanese (although Dan DID grow up in Tokyo), but it could have been them holding hands. It was all right though. Phil didn't really want to let go, especially just cause of the glances.
The sun caused the river to turn ablaze with a beautiful red-orange light, Mt. Fuji visible a ways off, appearing to rest further up the river. A soft breeze rustled the nearby trees, blowing leaves from their places on the branches. They would occasionally catch the red light from the sunlight, turning into glowing embers briefly before returning to their normal green color.
It was beautiful.
"You need to stop showing me all of these beautiful places. At this rate, I'm going to have a heart attack from how beautiful it is here." Phil said as he took in the scene around him, stopping in the middle of the bridge and leading Dan over to the railing.
Dan let go of his hand and folded his arms, leaning against the railing like he had the night before at the Skytree. He grinned impishly.
"Maybe that is my plan."
Phil laughed, "Wow, what a strange way to murder someone. Death by beauty. You could've picked something easier like poisoning my food or something."
"This is more fun."
"Can't argue with that." Phil agreed, smiling as he leaned over the railing too.
A comfortable silence descended upon them as the trees continued to shake and the sun continued to set. It was peaceful, albeit still a little noisy due to the sheer number of people walking around.
Phil felt a random pressure on his shoulder and what felt like hair tickling his neck. He carefully looked over to see Dan resting his head on the older boy's shoulder, still staring at Mt. Fuji and the surrounding scenery. Phil felt his heart start pounding, and breathing started to become a very difficult task.
Wait a moment... the blushing, the heart pounding, the want for contact...
It was all starting to add up.
He loved Dan Howell, his tour guide and new found friend.
Dan felt an arm wrap around his side and draw him in closer to the warm body next to his. His face heated up as he realized that arm belonged to Phil.
Yup. He definitely loved his tourist.
Dammit.
-later-
After the sun had set (they had remained silent as they enjoyed the scenery), Dan took Phil's hand again and began the surprisingly slow journey to Phil's hotel room.
They both joked and talked about their day. Phil would ask Dan questions about Japan and Dan would ask questions about Britain. Phil showed off his merchandise to Dan and Dan would present Phil with something else to add to his souvenir collection. All in all, it was a wonderful walk through the glowing streets of Tokyo, one that neither wanted to forget. Although they had traversed the streets all day, this walk was special. Perhaps it was just the feel of the walk, the feeling that something brilliant was happening between them. Or perhaps it was that they weren't barreling down the pavement at break neck speeds.
Either way, it was a good walk.
-the next day-
Dan jumped out of bed, throwing off his covers and tossing on clothes, scarfing his breakfast and grabbing all the necessary items for the day.
It was so strange what liking someone could do to a person. Dan was usually not this spritely in the morning, but ever since that first morning he went to pick up Phil from the airport, he couldn't stop wanting to get out of his apartment and into Phil's presence.
He was wonderful. He was so friendly and kind and polite. And absolutely hilarious as well.
God, was this weird? Dan barely knew the guy... But he couldn't deny his feelings, so he chose not to even acknowledge the fact that he hadn't known Phil for very long. And he was absolutely not going to tackle the subject of his sexuality. Nope. Doesn't even matter.
Sort of unbeknownst to Dan, Phil felt the same. He immediately started getting ready for the day the second that he woke up, ordering room service for breakfast. He didn't know what it was, but he was absolutely falling for Dan.
Actually, that would be a lie. He did know what it was. His beautiful brown hair and matching eyes. His adorably endearing smile. His cute Japanese accent. His sweetness, sense of humor, general cuteness.
Dang it.
He couldn't stop listing things all the way until Dan showed up at his door in a black shirt with a white ring on it and dark red skinny jeans. Phil was wearing a red and green plaid button up with black skinny jeans.
Dan took notice of this and said, "That's the first time I have seen you in an outfit from one of your videos."
"Really? Could've sworn I've worn stuff I've worn in my videos already..." Phil remarked as they walked to the elevator together.
"Nope!" Dan said, popping the "p" and smiling.
"What're you smiling for?" Phil asked as the elevator doors closed. He lightly shoved Dan with his shoulder.
Dan laughed and shoved him back, a little harder, "Nothing. You look nice."
You look nice.
The doors to the elevator opened into the lobby, and Dan grabbed a blushing Phil's hand and he tossed them out of the hotel and once again they ran down the streets of Japan, hand in hand.
-later-
"I don't think I could ever eat again!" Phil laughed as he and Dan stepped out of the Japanese cuisine they had eaten a late lunch at.
"At the very least, I can't eat dinner now!" Dan joined in Phil's laughing.
He abruptly took Phil's hand, but Phil protested, "Let's not run! I might just throw up."
Dan laughed some more before clarifying, "No, I would too. Let's just walk. There is some other beautiful place for me to show you."
Phil grinned, "Oh no, I'm going to die before I return to Britain at this rate."
"Good!" Dan said, returning the grin as they set off in the direction of some beautiful place that Phil couldn't wait to see.
-later-
"Wow... I was wondering when I'd get to see cherry blossom trees..." Phil looked around at the pink petals gently floating through the air in the slight breeze.
There were so many cherry blossom trees! They were all planted on either side of the path Dan and Phil were both walking down, a beautiful swirl of pink against the stark green of the park they were in.
"Beautiful, right?"
"Beautiful."
Suddenly, Phil started to not feel so well.
"Hey Dan?"
"Yeah?"
"Can we sit down somewhere? I think I ate a bit too much."
"Of course! We can sit under a tree if you want." Dan said, slightly concerned but still smiling at his friend as he led Phil to one of the cherry blossom trees.
"That sounds good to me."
Dan sat down, crossing his legs with a bit of difficulty due to his skinny jeans, but when Phil tried to sit, Dan held up a hand, "You can lay down. It would be better for you. Here..."
Dan tugged at the bottom of Phil's plaid shirt, Phil lowering himself, back to Dan. Dan gently pulled Phil's head back onto his lap, resting one hand on Phil's upper chest, his other softly stroking Phil's hair.
Phil closed his eyes. He was really really enjoying this, and his illness from earlier seemed to be all but forgotten.
Dan gazed down at Phil's tired face, enjoying the feel of running his fingers through the black hair of his British friend. He looked so peaceful...
Slowly, Phil, opened his eyes again. He had to do something. He was leaving for Britain again in a few days. He couldn't just leave things the way they are. And after all Dan has been doing... there was a good chance he felt the same anyway.
He reached a hand up towards Dan's face, resting it against his cheek. Dan leaned into his touch. Slowly, ever so carefully, Dan leaned down and kissed Phil's forehead. Both boys felt their faces flush.
Okay, now Phil really had to do something.
Turning over on his hands and knees, Phil placed his hands on the ground on either side of Dan's waist and leaned in close, closing his eyes and placing his lips on Dan's. Dan kissed back, and Phil found his hands traveling up Dan's torso to wrap around his back. Dan got up on his knees and slid his arms around Phil's neck, pulling himself closer to Phil. He loosely linked his hands, deepening the kiss. When they finally pulled apart, they lost their balance and Phil fell backwards, Dan flopping onto Phil's chest.
They both started laughing.
"We're a MESS." Phil grinned, still laughing.
"Yup!"
-two days later-
Today was a sad day. Not only was Phil leaving Tokyo, but also his boyfriend, Dan, who had once been merely his tour guide.
As Dan escorted Phil to the airport, he didn't rush their traveling this time. He wanted to savor every last moment he had with Phil.
As their bus pulled up to the massive building, Dan took Phil's rolling duffel like he had the first day they had met in person, trailing it behind them as they made their way to Phil's gate.
The last two days had been the fastest and the most wonderful of both their lives. They had spent them exploring more of Tokyo, buying useless things, bantering endlessly with each other, and giving each other kisses in between. Dan had even spent the night the night before Phil had to leave. They hadn't done anything sexual. It was just that both boys wanted to hold each other before they had to be separated.
Now here they were. In front of check-in, where Phil would have to leave Dan.
"You have my number, yeah?"
Dan nodded, biting his lip.
"And you're already planning your trip to Britain, right?"
At this, Dan smiled, "Of course!"
His face fell again though as Phil shouldered his carry on, now extra full of souvenirs.
Suddenly, Dan threw his arms around Phil, holding him as close as he could.
"I'm going to miss you Phil..." His voice cracked a bit, and Phil knew he was crying.
"Hey, don't worry," Phil said, hugging back despite the pain he was feeling at the prospect of leaving Dan, "You'll come visit me, right? If not, I'll come back to where you are. I love Japan. And I love you."
Dan looked slightly down at Phil, smiling softly as small tears streamed down his face.
He kissed Phil lightly, letting their foreheads touch still as he said, "I love you too."
-later-
'On my way back home. Miss Tokyo and my tour guide already /3' Phil tweeted as he was sat in the plane that would take him back to Britain.
He looked out the window at the pretty blue sky of Japan, thinking of the fantastic week he had sight seeing and falling in love.
"Sayounara..."
Dan gazed out the window of his apartment at the surrounding buildings, but also at the blue sky above. Phil would be flying up there now, on his way back to Britain.
He sighed quietly, clutching his phone and his pillow tightly to his chest.
"Goodbye..."
-several months later-
Phil tossed himself out of bed, the duvet flying across his bed room.
Today was the day!
He wolfed down a sloppily made bowl of cereal, quickly straightened his hair (which turned out to be a bad idea as he just ended up giving himself a bunch of little burns on his fingers), got dressed in a bundle of dark blue and gray jackets and black skinny jeans and practically flew out into the cold London air.
He grinned to himself, because today was the day!
-not too much later-
Phil scanned the board of incoming flights, finally finding one from Tokyo, Japan that matched the flight number he had written down on a piece of paper earlier that week. He ran to the baggage claim that coordinated with the flight number and eagerly waited there for...
"Dan Howell!" Phil shouted as Dan was descending some steps to get to the baggage claim.
Dan's face lit up when he saw Phil and he nearly jumped down the rest of the stairs and into Phil's arms, but instead descended the rest of the steps as quickly as humanly possible, flinging himself at Phil as soon as he got the chance.
Phil planted a kiss on Dan's lips (which felt frickin amazing) and grinned widely at him.
"I told you we'd see each other again."
Dan smiled, his dimples showing as he replied, "I know."