A/N: i'm so SORRY OMG HUWOFH i haven't updated this in 10 years oh man

ok but i am here now so that's good (i guess idk)

enjoY

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Dan sighs as he stuffs his hands into his jacket pockets.

Although winter could be long, cold, and bitter, he likes it. It's peaceful, and it's great weather for wearing the jumpers and jackets you've been wanting to wear ever since summertime hit wherever you lived. It's also perfect for warm drinks, and resting besides a fireplace each night. And of course, the holidays. Christmas and New Year's. Even though Christmas was a month ago, and New Year's a few days ago, Dan didn't mind. He still had fun with the holidays, he'd gotten gifts from family and counted down to the New Year.

He'd also been in contact with Phil, fortunately, now that he's gotten his number. Just the thought of him made Dan smile and feel super nostalgic. He hasn't seen him in person as much as he'd like to, however. The two of them do constantly text each other, and Dan is overjoyed that he could actually talk to him now. He doesn't want the next time for them to meet five years from now, because that would be horrible.

PJ and Chris have been badgering him of 'asking Phil out', but Dan hopes they're joking. He's only probably seen Phil in person twice in his lifetime, once five years ago and twice two weeks back. And that's ridiculous. He doesn't like Phil like that. Yeah, they must be joking. The two of them have been in touch with Dan as well, Dan's been added to a group chat with just the three of them, but he had to turn his notifications off because of Chris, who texts about every 0.5 seconds about stuff the brown haired man does not give a shit about. Sorry, Chris. Eventually he turned his notifs back on because the things Chris was texting about were quite silly at times, and he liked talking to them.

He is out at the moment, though, just walking around and looking for things that he could get. He had entered a store and was looking at a box of chocolates ("buy two boxes & get one free!") when he felt his phone buzz five times. Quickly, Dan shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled it out, reading the text messages that had popped up on the lockscreen. Three of them were from Chris, and two from PJ, which was a surprise.

Dan slid his finger across the screen, entering his password and unlocking his phone. Soon, the messages popped up on the screen.

Chris: DAN DAN DAAN DANIEL DANIEL JAMES HOWELL

Chris: DAN WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING

PJ: maybe he turned his notifs off again

Chris: YOU BETTER NOT BE SEXTING YOUR BOYFRIEND

PJ: omg

Dan inwardly groaned, and typed in a reply, ignoring the lady that was staring at him, probably wondering why the hell his phone kept on going off. He looks up briefly before returning to his phone screen, trying to hide the smile that was growing gradually on his face.

Dan: no you idiots i'm in town i was looking at chocolates until my phone repeatedly vibrated against my leg also i don't have a boyfriend

Chris: o ok having fun i see & ha yeah right

PJ: chocolates r gr8

Dan: ik that's why i was looking at them

He looked up from his screen, glancing momentarily outside the window, and raised his eyebrows. Somebody had just walked in the store, someone who looked very familiar — wait. Dan watched as the person walked closer to him — wait, no, he was heading straight for him. And that's when Dan realized that the person was Phil. His eyes widened as he returned to his phone, text messages were still continuing to pop up on his screen.

Chris: dan you can't be staring at chocolates for that long wyd

PJ: maybe he has a chocolate fetish

Chris: that explains a lot

Dan: guys i gotta go like now toodles

"Dan!" Phil said, smiling. Dan drew in a sharp breath and exhaled, grinning back at him. He ignored the continuous vibration that his phone was making, and looked at Phil in awe. "I didn't realize I'd see you here. I thought you looked familiar through the windows outside." The black haired male said. Phil was wearing a galaxy-like sweater, along with black jeans and sneakers. His black hair was slightly tousled from the wind outside, and his eyes were as blue as Dan remembered them.

"I didn't expect to see you today either." Dan said truthfully, unable to stop smiling. "Don't you live in Manchester? What are you doing here in London?"

Phil stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Ah, just looking around. There's nothing much to do in Manchester, so I figured London would be more interesting." He smiled at Dan before saying anything more. "So, what about you Dan? Something you need to do out in town?" He asked, curiosity in his tone.

"Actually, no, not really." The brown haired male replied. He drummed his fingers against his jeans. "I just felt like going out. I was, ah, looking at chocolates earlier though." He said awkwardly, placing a hand on the back of his neck. He was surprised to see Phil's eyes light up, and at once he felt his face get warmer.

Phil's eyes were literally sparkling. "You mean, those right there?" He asked, pointing to the same exact boxes of chocolate that Dan himself was looking at in the past. Once Dan had nodded, Phil's mouth grew into a large smile. "Ooh, wow. Hey, do you want a box? It says 'buy one, get one free.'" He said, raising his eyebrows. Dan blinked, and managed a small laugh. "Sure."

"Nice. I'll pay, don't worry about it." Phil reassured him, as Dan reached for his wallet. As Phil took the two boxes of chocolate out of the stand and walked to the cashier where a short line was forming, Dan returned to his cellphone. 39 unread messages. Holy crap. Dan was almost afraid to open them up. As he got to the messages app, Chris and PJ were still entering text messages one after the other. Dan read the first few that popped up, slightly amused.

Chris: FUCK PJ I THINK DAN DIED

PJ: SHIT SHOULD WE CALL AN AMBULANCE OR

Chris: I MEAN HE COULD'VE GOTTEN ARRESTED

PJ: FOR WHAT

Chris: FOR LOOKING AT THE CHOCOLATES TOO LONG

Chris: IT'S POSSIBLE

PJ: WTF

Dan grinned at the screen, and looked up. Phil was holding the boxes of chocolates in his arms, and was looking around in the store. He smiled at Phil's back before looking back at his phone. It was not until a minute later where he decided to type in a reply, mainly to stop the flow of messages that had kept coming in. He sighed as he thought about what to say, and smiled once he did.

Dan: hello friends

Chris: dAN WHAT THE HELL

PJ: WE THOUGHT YOU DIED

Dan: i'm not dead yet but phil's here buying chocolates for us

He stared at his phone for a while, wondering if his phone was broken because Chris and PJ didn't exactly say anything after that. Wow. He didn't know that just saying that sentence would shut them up. But it was quite funny. Then he had an idea. He pressed the button to send a picture, and took a picture of Phil in line. Dan sent it through the group chat, captioned it, and waited for the shitstorm to occur.

Dan: picture message

Dan: see

Chris: DNA WHAT THE HFUCK WHAT

Dan: i am not biological information but alright

PJ: oh my

PJ: add phil to the group chat

Chris: YOU LIL SHIT THIS WHOLE TIME HE WAS WITH YOU also oh yeah brb

Dan: he literally just got here five mins ago i was here like twenty mins ago

Chris: he's such a sweetheart, buying you chocolates DAN KEEP HIM

"Here you go." Phil's voice then said, causing Dan to raise his head from his phone. He handed one box of chocolates to Dan, and tilted his head to the side. "I've noticed that your phone keeps vibrating. Whoever it is you're texting, they're replying very fast. I'm amazed." Dan snorted as he took the box of chocolates from Phil, and tucked it beneath his arm.

"It's Chris and PJ, actually. And yeah, they type very fast. PJ says hello by the way. I think they've added you —" He was cut off when he heard Phil's phone start buzzing as well as his. Dan looked down at his phone before raising his head to look up at Phil, who was grinning along with him. "Well, I guess they have." He said, amusement clear in his voice.

Their chat was interrupted when Phil's phone started ringing, and he said, "Oh, sorry, I need to take this call. Give me five minutes?" He asked, and Dan nodded, smiling at him as the black-haired male beamed back. He raised the phone to his ear and spoke into it, saying "Hello?" in a greeting. In the meantime, Dan whipped out his phone and read through the recent messages, scoffing at some of them.

Chris: dan where's phil

Dan: he's on the phone he can't talk to you

PJ: how saddening

Chris: aw shucks but lol dan i made a new group chat for the four of us so this one is still the three of us alone ;)

Dan: uh alright

PJ: phil's a sweetheart

Chris: i agree... pls... keep him

Dan smirked to himself, typing in i'm not planning on letting go of him anytime soon, and paused. Should he? Or would that prove to Chris and PJ that he actually likes him? The brown haired male's finger hovered over the send button, until thinking fuck it and pressing it. The message popped up on the screen, and Chris and PJ didn't really say anything for a while. Then the messages started flooding in, but Dan figured that he could leave them hanging for a while. Right after that, Phil's voice alerted him.

"Hey, sorry about that." He apologized, stuffing his phone inside his jeans pocket. "It was just my mum. She usually calls and asks what I'm doing from time to time." Phil said, sounding slightly embarrassed. His pale cheeks were tinted with a lightish pink color, and Dan found that incredibly adorable. He smiled. "Don't worry about it," he reassured the other. "I've got nothing to do, anyway."

"Neither have I." Phil shrugged.

Dan thought for a bit; he didn't necessarily want this chat to be over soon, or for Phil to leave just yet. He blurted out, "Do you want to come over? To my place?" before he could regret it, and to avoid hesitating. Once he had finished saying it though, he regretted it instantly. He felt his face burning, and looked down to avoid eye contact while cursing at himself repeatedly. Idiot.

Phil giggled, causing Dan to look up again. He had a wide smile on his face, and his eyes were lit up. "Sure thing."

Dan blinked twice, before smiling possibly even wider than Phil was.

"Alright. Let's go then." He said, as he felt his heart pounding violently in his chest.

They'd arrived back in Dan's flat a good fifteen minutes later.

It being his first arrival here, Phil looked awkwardly and curiously around the room once he had walked in after Dan. His blue eyes darted to almost every corner, before looking back at Dan, who was grinning at him in amusement. "You don't have to feel so awkward," he reassured him, a smile tugging at his lips. "Make yourself at home."

"Thanks," Phil smiled, as he slipped off his shoes and placed his box of chocolates on a coffee table. Dan hummed a tune to himself as he placed his own box of chocolates next to Phil's, and sighed as he sat down on the couch. "Sit down, Phil. You look like a lost puppy." He joked, as Phil scrunched up his nose. Shit. That was cute. Dan found himself thinking, as the black haired man took a seat next to him.

Dan took the remote and pressed the power button, turning the TV on. He glanced at Phil, who was nervously fiddling with his jacket sleeves, and smiled. It did feel a bit awkward, but it was a good awkward. They haven't really been alone like this ever since, well, five years ago. And now they were sitting together in Dan's house, on Dan's couch.

Dan still couldn't believe how much Phil changed. It didn't seem like a lot, but his hair had gotten considerably shorter. He wore glasses now, and was shorter than him, which was a first. His eyes were still blue as ever, it was like an endless sea. He was also less flirty, now that Dan was thinking about it. Wow. A lot could happen in five years. But Dan could still sense the familiar bond that the two of them had, on that day.

"You have a nice place," Phil said politely, his blue eyes darting over to Dan's brown ones.

Dan made a face, and next to him, Phil raised his eyebrows. "Not really. You should see it when it's messy. It's a disaster."

"Really?" He asked, curious. "But it looks nice. It's a nice place to live in, I can tell. Is your room upstairs?"

Dan nodded in response. "Yeah. I live here by myself, it can be a bit lonely sometimes but I find it comforting. Chris and PJ pay visits every so often, so I'm glad for their company. Sometimes they even leave their crap here, and have to come back and get it. They're good people, you know." He sighed, remembering the endless flow of text messages he'd receive from them every day.

Phil was smiling when he looked back at him. "That's nice. I can see why they come here so often, it really is a nice place. You should see mine," the black haired male chuckled. "it's always a mess. When my mum visits, she ends up cleaning the entire thing. I used to live with, ah, my ex." He said, a bit cautiously. "But they left about a month back. I never really liked them anyway, they always got into my personal business."

That's right. Phil has been in a relationship quite recently, he remembered him telling that last time. The first time that they've met, after five years. Dan bit his lip. "I'm sorry that they were such a dick to you. I would've never done that to you." Dan said, looking at his hands. It was silent for a bit, and that was when he realized what he said. Immediately, his cheeks started burning violently, as he stuttered to cover that up.

"U-Uh, I m-mean —" Dan coughed, his face turning redder by the second. "I'd never do that. To anyone in particular. Er..." he turned his head to see Phil blushing lightly as well, but it seemed like he was hiding his smile. He ended up laughing lightly, shaking his head. "That's okay, Dan. I know what you mean." He said softly, as Dan continued to feel his face heating up. "Thank you."

It was silent for a few moments, and then Dan's phone started going off, signaling someone was calling him. Once he flipped his phone back up, he glanced at the caller ID. Chris Kendall. Uh-oh. He looked at it sheepishly, and then back at Phil, who was politely looking at the other direction. "Um, I have to take this call. It's Chris. I'll be right back, okay?" He said, and Phil nodded.

Dan stood up and ran upstairs to his room, where he flung off his coat and crashed onto his bed. He was breathing heavily when he answered Chris, and braced himself for the loud yelling that had came through once he answered. "Dan!" Chris's voice shouted into his ear. Dan scrunched his nose before answering. "Hola, Chris. How are you?"

"I'm great." Chris answered. "Actually, no. What do you mean when you said —" there was a slight pause, "— and I quote, I'm not letting go of him anytime soon? You left PJ and I hanging, dammit! I thought you actually died, but PJ suggested that maybe you and Phil were having some quality time together, if you get what I mean. Where are you two anyway? Are you at home?"

"Yes, I am home at the moment. In fact, he is here with me. And before you ask, no, we are not doing whatever you're thinking." Dan said slowly, running a hand through his hair. He turned over on his bed, frowning. "Also, I'm not sure what I even meant when I said that. I'm being honest here."

Dan heard Chris make a very weird noise on the other side of the line before replying. "Why would you say something if you didn't know what you said? My hope for you is decreasing by the minute. Anyway, remember what I got you for your birthday last year? I think you should use it tonight. You know. For protection. You never know what's gonna —"

"— Chris." Dan grumbled. "Shut up. I'm not going to use that."

"So you're going in dry then?"

"NO! I meant that I'm not planning to do whatever it is that you're thinking!" Dan whisper-shouted. He groaned, and shook his head. "I don't like him in that way, Chris. Just cause he bought me chocolates and now we're chilling at my house, it doesn't mean that we share an actual romantic relationship. Please understand that."

It was silent for a bit. Then Chris said, "Dan. Be honest here. Do you find Phil beautiful?"

"Uh." Dan said. He thought about it for a while. The way that Phil's eyes sparkled when Dan said something kind of hilarious always had struck him as cute. Whenever Phil blushed or his cheeks turned a light shade of pink, Dan found himself thinking that wow, that was adorable. His voice was incredibly soothing as well, and the way he walked or found something interesting made Dan's head spin. Shit. He was beautiful. Scratch that, he still is. From what he remembered five years ago, Phil was probably even more beautiful now.

"Dan? It's a yes or no question."

"I — uh." The brown haired male muttered. He lay on his side, before smiling and whispering, "Yeah. I do."

Chris didn't say anything for a while. Then he chuckled. "Alright. I'll hang up now. Go back to your man."

"Shut up. He's not my man."

"Later!" Chris laughed, as he then hung up a few seconds after.

Dan sighed, and slipped his phone back into his jeans pocket. He ran a hand through his hair before walking down the steps, and realizing that it smelled like something was cooking. Slightly confused, he looked down where Phil used to be sitting — he wasn't there, and the TV was still on. Phil's box of chocolates was open though, and two were missing from it. Dan carefully crept down the steps before poking his head into the kitchen. "Phil?"

"Oh, Dan!" Phil said, turning around. He was smiling nervously. "Sorry, I was hungry so I decided to make something with what you had. I tried eating two chocolates, but they only made me hungrier." He giggled, as Dan shook his head, grinning. Dan walked up to him and peeked over his shoulder to see what he was making, which was orange chicken. "It's almost finished now, though."

"Phil, did you seriously just cook something of mine's without permission?" Dan laughed, as he walked over to the dinner table, sitting on one of the chairs. As Phil laughed (sticking out his tongue as he did so), Dan rolled his eyes. "Wow, what a rebel. But thanks, really. I didn't even know that I had orange chicken in my refrigerator."

"Don't worry about it. Cooking's fun!" Phil smiled, as he continued to look over the orange chicken. Dan found himself smiling at his friend's back. This was nice. Having a little company over was nice, after all. He enjoyed having Phil cook for him. If this was a daily thing, his life would be perfect. He found himself liking Phil's company, the two of them teased and joked with each other a lot as Phil finished up the orange chicken.

Dan was chatting with Chris and PJ via text message when Phil came over, holding a bowl filled with orange chicken in his hands. He took another bowl and filled it with rice, before providing two plates and a pair of chopsticks for the both of them. Dan looked at him in awe, as Phil pulled up a chair and sat down opposite him, a huge smile on his face.

"How did you even find half of these things?" Dan said, pleasantly surprised. "You're serving me in my own home."

Phil did the thing where he smiled, and his tongue poked out in between a gap in his teeth. "It was easy to find the things I needed. Your utensils and stuff for cooking are so organized, I found them in seconds." He smiled, as he took a bite of the orange chicken. "Mm. I'm not one to judge my own cooking, but this is pretty good. Try it."

He smirked as he too took a bite out of an orange chicken. Phil was right — it was really good. It tasted amazing. Dan chewed it thoughtfully before placing rice in his mouth and gulping that down too. "Oh man, Phil. You should cook for me more often. This is really great." He said, as he took another bite of orange chicken. Opposite him, Phil smiled bashfully.

"Aw, thanks Dan." He said, a smile forming across his face. "Visiting you is fun, you know. You have a nice place, and I like it. Cooking for you is also an experience, I enjoy it. Thanks for having me over." Phil said softly, gazing into Dan's eyes. Dan found himself blushing once more, as he avoided eye contact and fixed his hair absentmindedly.

He smiled at the ground. "No problem. Do you want to stay over? I mean, you don't have to, but... Manchester is still a while away, and it's getting late. It's also cold out, and I have clothes for you if you need some." He looked back at Phil, who smiled and laughed lightly once more. Dan liked his laugh. It was soothing, and it was really cute on how the corner of Phil's eyes crinkled each time he grinned.

"I'd love to stay." Phil smiled. "Seriously, Dan, you're too welcoming."

Dan made a 'pfft' noise. "I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take that as a compliment, but thanks."

They continued eating and chatting with each other, after that.

Pretty soon, both of them were getting quite tired.

After finishing their dinner, they went on a TV marathon, watching their favorite shows. They each had a few snacks, and ate some of their chocolates. Once Dan had shut off the TV, it was almost twelve midnight. He looked over to Phil, who looked equally as tired as him. Phil looked back at him, and the two of them started chuckling lightly. It was like a lazy afternoon, even though it was much later in the day.

"Well, that was fun." Phil said, as Dan straightened up, putting his head in between his hands.

The two of them then went upstairs after a while, and walked into Dan's room together. Phil's eyes lit up once he saw that Dan had merchandise from the things that both of them liked, and he looked around the room as Dan rummaged through his closet, trying to find pajamas for Phil to wear, since he was staying the night.

He finally settled upon giving Phil a black t-shirt and a pair of gray sweatpants, and frowned as Phil laughed. "Seriously, do you own any color besides black?" Phil snorted, as Dan rolled his eyes and tossed the clothes at his friend's face. As Phil went into the restroom to change, Dan pulled off his sweater and threw his jeans back into the drawer before pulling on a pair of gray and black pajama pants and a plain white shirt with a pocket on it.

Dan was scrolling through tumblr on his phone when a text message popped up, from Chris. Once he opened the notification, it lead to the group chat, where Chris and PJ were still in fact very wide awake, extremely chatty, and questioning. He couldn't help but smile as he read through their text messages, though. They were genuinely funny people.

Chris: are you two going to sleep in the same bed

PJ: mm something saucy might happen

Chris: control yourself dan, both of you

Chris: use protection if needed

Dan: i advise you to shut up

Dan: also yeah probably, the other room has stuff filled with your guys' stuff in it

PJ: ooh yes i've been waiting for this moment

Dan: alright you noobs goodnight i'll let you know what happens tomorrow

With that, he turned his notifs off and placed his phone facedown on the bedside table, the same moment when Phil walked in. Dan felt a wave of satisfaction wash over him as he looked at Phil, who was dressed in Dan's clothing. He looked so tiny in Dan's black t-shirt, and his pair of sweatpants. But somehow, it made Dan feel happy that Phil was wearing his stuff.

"It's big on me, but it's warm so I'm not complaining." Phil said simply, as he sat down on the other side of Dan's bed. The brown haired male smiled as he lifted his bedspread over, the two of them crawling into it and the same time. He heard Phil whisper, "I didn't know that you owned a white t-shirt. That's quite surprising to me." and scoffed.

Silence passed over them, as they both tried to fall asleep.

But he couldn't fall asleep. The thought of he and Phil sleeping in the same bed was something big to him, like something of an accomplishment. Dan liked this. He liked sleeping with him, even though this was completely in an unsexual way. It was comforting to Dan, and he wanted more of this. Phil made him feel safe, and comfortable. He liked this a lot.

Dan turned on his side, facing Phil — and was surprised to see that Phil was looking at him already. He smiled at him in the dark, he was still able to see the outline of Phil's face. His blue eyes still were quite bright in the dark, and they looked at Dan very fondly. "Hey, Dan?" Phil said, his voice a soft whisper.

"Yeah?" Dan replied, smiling back at him.

"Thank you for this." Phil mumbled softly. "This feels really great, you know."

He was lucky that it was dark, so that Phil couldn't see that he was blushing violently. "No problem. I agree with you."

Phil smiled even wider, and sighed lightly. "I missed you, you know."

"What?"

"When we didn't see each other for five years." Phil said. "I missed you a lot. I couldn't forget about you."

"Same here," Dan responded, his voice quiet. "I missed you a lot, too."

"I'm glad to hear that." Phil chuckled and closed his eyes. "Goodnight, Dan."

"Goodnight, Phil." Dan whispered, as he witnessed his friend fall asleep peacefully.

He really is beautiful.

A/N: wOW A NEW CHAPTER CHOCO !? yeah i didn't forget abt this story OKAY it's one of my faves to right B)

ok i hope you enjoyed, i'm so sorry if this took so long (it did though) but i uploaded! yay!

stay tuned! love u guys

-choco xx