Dan and Phil rest their towels down next to each other's in the sand. "I know you may not like the beach a whole lot but it's nice to be out with my family. It'll get really stuffy and crowded back at the house."

Dan huffs as he lowers himself into a sitting position on his towel. "It's fine, Phil."

Phil sits next to him. "Do you want to do anything here?"

Dan looks at him with a sly smile. He strips out of his shirt atop his swim trunks. "I know how much you like seeing this." He teases.

Phil gulps. "Stop playing with me, Howell." He scolds as he takes his shirt off too.

Dan grabs Phil by the hand and drags him to the water ahead of them. "Let's go for a dip, I love to swim." They run and skip in the shallow water before descending below the surface and popping up next each other in the deeper end.

"Hello there." Phil smiles just as some water splashes in his face, followed by Dan's laughter. "Hey…!" Phil splashes back at Dan. Dan screeches as the cold water hits his face. "That's what you get!" Phil sticks his tongue out at Dan. It turns into a splashing fight, throwing water back and forth at each other until they couldn't breath from all the laughing.

"Okay… Okay…" Dan chokes out as he holds his hand in front of him to shield his face from Phil's splashes. "I surrender… stop!"

Phil giggles as he lays on his back and floats in the water. Dan joins him with a sigh. "Are you still sure about all this?" Phil asks him. He can see out of the corner of his eye his friend's eyes closed, looking as if he's in a completely peaceful state.

"I told you, I'm completely fine with it." Dan says as he gets back up. Phil follows him and they look each other in the eyes. Dan takes Phil's hands in his and leans in for a quick kiss.

Phil pulls away first and turns his face into his shoulder to hide the huge red flush on his cheeks. "I… don't think anyone was watching us." He tells Dan.

Dan lets go of Phil's hands, plugs his nose, then submerges himself. Phil arches an eyebrow with confusion and decides to swim back to shore.


Dan meets Phil back at their towels as Phil talks to Martyn. "I don't know Martyn. If he-" Phil sees Dan and stops himself mid-sentence.

"Hey." Dan sits down cross-legged on the towel. "What are you two talking about?"

Phil and Martyn exchange a glance at each other. Martyn smirks at his little brother. "Nothing…" He trails off and then stands. "I'm going to find Tiffany. You two lovebirds have fun." He winks at them and walks away.

Dan and Phil look at each other, Dan's eyes asking Phil the question from earlier. "It was nothing, Dan. It was just some personal brother stuff." He replies.

"I see that it's something you or Martyn don't want to talk to me about." Dan says.

"Maybe someday." Phil mumbles, bringing his knees up to his chest and hugging them. He and Martyn were talking about his relationship with Dan.

"How do you know Dan doesn't like you back?" Martyn asks Phil as he walks up to him.

"Hmm…" Phil looks up at his older brother. "What are you talking about?"

"I've known you had a crush on Dan for a while now." Martyn replies, taking a seat next to him. "That's why you've never corrected mum or dad. It's why you went along with the fake relationship deal. You are hoping it may become real."

"I… uh…" Phil sputters.

"How are you too sure that Dan doesn't have a crush on you back?"

That's when Dan came in.

"Do you maybe want to get some ice-cream?" Phil asks Dan suddenly. "I know I'm lactose intolerant but I'll cheat a little bit."

Dan frowns. "Phil…"

"One cone won't harm me, Dan." Phil smiles and stands. "I promise." Phil reaches down for Dan's hand. Dan takes Phil's and Phil hoists Dan to his feet.

"Just one." Dan reprimands.

Phil groans. "Yes, dad." They giggle, hand-in-hand as they walk up to the boardwalk to find the ice-cream parlor.


"Oh look, there they are." Dan and Phil see Phil's parents standing by a gift shop on the walk.

Dan crunches into his cone as he speaks. "Do you wanna greet them?" As if on cue Catherine looks up and sees the two boys. She smiles at them and waves. "I guess we're walking over."

They walk at a slightly faster pace, joined hands swinging in between them, as they approach Phil's parents.

"Hey boys." Catherine greets upon their arrival. She picks up a pair of sun lenses and props them on her face. "How do these look?"

"They look amazing on you, Catherine." Dan tells her.

"Aw, thank you, Daniel. I was thinking of getting them." She tells Dan.

"You should." Phil chimes in. Catherine smiles at her son. Phil smiles back then looks at Dan. "Maybe we should pick out a little souvenir or something to remember this day?"

Dan simply nods once and leads Phil into the deep parts of the shop. "Meet us at the car after you're finished and have picked up your towels!" Catherine calls back to them.

They take a look around at all the little knick-knacks, t-shirts, and plushies laid out on display for tourists and visitors to waste too much money on.

That's when Phil spots it, a beautiful turbinella shell the size of his hand, gently painted in a pretty blue pattern. Phil picked it up and called for Dan. Dan turned from the selection of plush dolphins on display and his eyes landed on the item in Phil's hand. Dan approaches the other man and takes the shell from him.

"It is beautiful, but knowing us we would break it by accident." Dan tells Phil.

"Who's to say we can't try?" Phil asks with a shrug. "I'm gonna by it. My treat to you."

"Awe…" Dan gives Phil a small kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, honey."

Phil could feel his cheeks burn red after Dan kissed him and called him "honey." He didn't know whether Dan was joking about their fake relationship or…

Phil smiles and lightly punches his shoulder, playing it as a joke. "Shut up, babe!" They both laugh.

Phil purchases the shell and gives it Dan for the taller boy is also the least clumsy between the two. They quickly go back to the beach to pick up their beach towels and meet up with the rest of their pack at the SUV. Phil's blush never faltered as he continued to think about what had happened in the shop, a huge smile to go with it.

Catherine had not missed her son's appearance. "You two have fun today?" She asks them, her eyes looking pointedly at Phil.

Phil nods. "So much fun!"

Dan presents Catherine with the seashell. "Phil bought us this." He looks at Phil with a smile. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Ooh…" Catherine's eyes sparkled. "Very" She gives her youngest a knowing smile and just as she does Martyn interrupts the moment.

"Hurry up! We're all ready for dinner and don't want to be late for our reservations!"

"Well, hop on in." Catherine gestures to the vehicle and Dan and Phil step into the SUV. "We don't want to be late."