A/N: What's this? I actually,,,write a successful chapter in two days?

May 17th

Dan let out a loud laugh, nearly choking on his drink. "You—you—" He was cut off by his own laughter.

"I spilled wine all over her, it was a nightmare!" Phil laughed. "I could have sworn she was going to strangle me right there."

Dan wiped the water dribbling down his chin, still laughing. "Oh, gosh…you're a mess."

Phil laughed, taking the checkbook from their waitress as she stopped by the table.

"Do you want to split the costs?" Dan asked.

Phil glanced up skeptically, putting his credit card in the book. "Do I have to answer that?" He handed it to the blonde girl and she quickly scurried off.

Dan shrugged, looking down. "Thought I'd at least offer…"

The artist smiled, taking his lover's hand over the table. "How's the story coming?" Phil asked, running his fingers over Dan's knuckles.

"I've almost finished. Still needs lots of editing."

"I'm sure it will be brilliant," Phil said.

Dan beamed, pulling his hands back as the waitress returned.

She smiled knowingly, returning Phil's card. "You two have a nice evening."

"You too," the men responded in unison, gathering their things.

"Do you wanna crash at my place tonight?" Dan intertwined their fingers as they left Olive Garden. (#notspon)

"Sure. I just need a spare toothbrush…" Phil trailed off, stopping in his tracks.

Dan followed his gaze to a sleek black car. The windows were tinted but he could see the silhouette of someone in the back seat watching them.

Phil closed his eyes, letting out a deep breath. "Actually, I don't think I can."

"What, why? Who is that?"

Phil held a finger up to the car, signaling the person to wait, then turned back to Dan. "I just remembered my dad wants me to come home tonight. My great aunt isn't doing well, and we were going to spend the evening with her."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Dan frowned. "I hope she gets better."

Phil smiled, trying to suppress the guilt rising in his stomach. "Thank you, me too. I'll see you soon?"

"Drop by whenever."

Phil smiled, cupping Dan's face and pressing a slow kiss to his lips. "Have a nice night."

Dan chewed on the side of his cheek as Phil turned and walked to the car, sliding into the backseat next to his father. With dozens of questions swirling in his mind, Dan began to walk home.

…

"How the hell did you know I was here? I thought I got that stupid tracker taken off my phone." Phil muttered, buckling his seatbelt as the chauffeur drove off.

"I was on the way to your house when I saw your car out front." Phil's father, a greying man with cold, blue eyes, gave his son a tight-lipped smile. "So that's Dan?"

"Yes, and we were having a nice evening before you had to drag me off to your stupid meeting," Phil spoke coolly, looking out the window.

"Don't be immature, Phil. It's embarrassing to the both of us." Phil remained silent, and his father continued, "Besides, this meeting is important. If we do well, we can get Mr. Winthrow as our client. Do you have any idea how much money he spends on goods from HomeSmart per year? If we can convince him we have better deals, we'll make almost twenty-five percent more than we made last year!"

Phil turned to face him. "Twenty-five percent?"

"Twenty-five percent." Mr. Lester spoke with satisfaction. "You're one of our best salesmen, Phil. We really need you tonight."

"I don't even work for you."

"Not yet, at least."

Phil sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'll help you tonight. But I can't keep doing this. It's your company, not mine. I'm trying to start my own life doing what I love, spending time with someone I—" Phil paused, "with someone I like. I can't do this if you keep pulling me back into your work."

"Still set on marriage?" Mr. Lester smiled grimly. "I'm surprised you'd want to go that route again after last time."

"I'm not going to let one bad experience ruin my future!" Phil snapped, glaring out the window. "Besides, you cheated on Mum and she still married you…"

Mr. Lester pursed his lips. "That is an entirely different situation and none of your concern."

"Whatever…"

"And I still think you should look at working with me full time. I know you might not like it now, but it's a great career and I could get you in a very high position right away."

"I don't want to be a businessman, I want to be an artist."

Mr. Lester sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "And I support you on that, but don't you think you'd be better off working in a more…stable career?"

"Better off? Sure. Happier? No."

Mr. Lester stared at his son for a moment, letting out a soft laugh. "You'll come to your senses one day."

Phil let out a huff of amusement. "Doubt it…"

"I was just like you, you know? I used to hate business." Mr. Lester gazed out the window. "Then one of my father's friends let me help him with a project for an internship. I became addicted to it. It's like a game, doing everything you can to get client after client, constantly having to protect your business from dangers, working to rise to the top."

"It sounds stressful."

"Not if you're good at it."

Phil rolled his eyes. "I'm not like you."

Mr. Lester chuckled. "You say that, but I can see the spark that lights up in your eyes when you're about to score a new client. I know you love this just as much as I do."

Phil didn't respond, staring blankly out at the passing cars.

…

May 18th

A light breeze tousled Phil's hair as he knocked on Dan's door, waiting patiently. His phone buzzed a second later and he pulled it out to read the message.

Dan: I'm lazy, let yourself in

The artist chuckled to himself, opening the door. He was hit with the aroma of old books, a smell he had come to love, as he stepped inside the shop and hurried upstairs.

"Hey," Dan said, looking up from his typewriter.

"Hi." Phil smiled, pressing a quick kiss to Dan's lips. "How's the writing going?"

"Fine." Dan sighed, turning back to the papers. "How's your aunt?"

"Oh, um, she's okay, considering her health."

"What's wrong with her?"

Phil swallowed. "Um, cancer. Brain cancer."

Dan stared at him for a moment, his expression unreadable, then turned back to his work. "I hope she recovers."

Phil nodded slowly, taking a seat on the couch. "So…are you done writing?"

"Pretty much. I'm at the editing stage now."

"That's good," Phil grinned, "when can I read it?"

"Probably in a day or so. I'm gonna be turning it in pretty last minute. I'll have to type it up on a library computer to email it in."

"Why don't you just use mine?" Phil suggested. "The ones at the library are ancient, it'd be much faster."

"Oh. Yeah, thanks." Dan smiled, glancing up from his typewriter. His gaze lingered on Phil and he shifted in his seat. "Hey, Phil?"

Phil looked up from the book he was thumbing through. "Yeah?"

"Are you lying to me?"

Phil froze. "Am, am I what?"

Dan bit his lip, looking at him timidly. "It's just…sometimes you say things that contradict with other things you've told me, or you'll be telling me something, but you get nervous and stop making eye-contact."

"I don't know what you mean," Phil spoke stiffly.

Dan sighed, looking sadly at Phil. "Your dad doesn't just work for Reskd, he's the chairman. He has a net worth of four billion pounds."

Phil sighed, closing his eyes. "How did you find out?"

"I knew something was off, so I googled your name and ended up stumbling across him."

"You googled me?"

Dan blushed, "I-I know it's a creepy thing to do but I was worried you were pretending to be someone else or something like that. What if I googled 'Phil Lester' only to find out he was a doctor who died three years ago, and you were actually a crazy man impersonating him?"

Phil laughed dryly. "I can assure you that I'm not."

Dan averted his gaze, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's obvious from the way you dress that you have a lot of money, and don't even get me started on all the dinner dates you pay for; I just can't understand why you'd lie about that." Dan looked back up at him.

Phil sighed, opening his arms. "Come here."

The writer stood up, taking a seat next to Phil and leaning into his embrace.

"While the assumption that all rich people are brats is a nuisance, what's even worse is the number of gold diggers I've met," Phil began. "I'm not just talking about boyfriends and girlfriends, platonic relationships, too. Most of my school friends only liked me for my money, and as much as I enjoyed being popular, I hated knowing that none of them really cared about me. "

Dan reached over to grab his lover's hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Phil gave the younger man an appreciative glance as he continued his story. "What hurt even more was dating someone for months only to find out they only cared about my money. When I found out my most recent ex was using me, I was destroyed. I promised myself I would try and hide my family's wealth from friends and lovers until I was sure they liked me for who I am. Evidently, I did a pretty bad job." Phil laughed softly. "But that's why I lied to you. I was afraid you'd only date me for my money then break my heart."

Dan looked up, his gaze drifting down to Phil's lips. He slid a hand around his jaw, pulling him forward and kissing him slowly. "That'd never happen," He whispered as he pulled away.

Phil rested their foreheads together. "I shouldn't have lied to you."

"I don't blame you. I can't even imagine what that must be like." Dan pulled Phil back onto the couch and buried his face into his chest. His cologne smelt very good, Dan noticed. Or maybe it was just him. Phil seemed like one of those people that somehow always looked and smelt good.

"It's lonely," Phil exhaled, hooking a leg over Dan's. "Which is funny, considering I'm always surrounded by so many people."

"Well, you don't have to be lonely anymore," Dan said. "You've got me."

Phil smiled warmly, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Thank you."

Dan brought a hand to his boyfriend's chest, tracing circles over the fabric. "I know I'm acting pretty calm right now, but I actually shat myself last night when I read your dad's net worth."

A/N: I'm so bad at endings rip