Author's Note: "Creeper" was originally intended to be a one-shot, but that first chapter just didn't seem complete on its own, so I decided to continue it. I think there's going to be just one more part/chapter after this.

The First Night

They sit side by side on the floor in Phil's bedroom. The only light is from the street lamp down the road, shining distantly in through the window. Dan said he was afraid of the dark, but that he wasn't afraid as long as Phil was with him, and Phil's dimly lit bedroom feels cozy and intimate. The bed would be too intimate right now, but sitting on the floor together, talking in hushed tones despite the emptiness of the house, is perfect.

Like the day, which had been perfect as well.

To be honest, the Sky Bar was a little out of Phil's extremely limited price range, but he knew Dan would love it, and he did, so it was worth it. It was the grand finale for their first day together, and it had definitely been grand. Phil had never been there before, himself, and he'd been impressed and a little intimidated by the poshness, but Dan had been transfixed. He'd stared round at the incredible city view like a little kid, but only about half the time. The other half of the time, he stared at Phil instead, looking just as fascinated. And Phil couldn't look away.

Manchester is a pretty big city, but it isn't London, and gay couples don't tend to openly express affection in public. Gay bashings are not unheard of. Not to mention, Phil didn't want to make Dan uncomfortable by drawing disapproving stares in such a fancy place, so as they gazed out over the lights of the city he restrained himself from reaching out to take Dan's hand, no matter how much he wanted to.

But no one is watching them now, no one can disapprove, and so he reaches beside him and tentatively rests his hand on Dan's on the bedroom carpet. Dan immediately turns his hand over and interlaces his fingers with Phil's. The speed of his response is gratifying. Phil's starting to accept that maybe Dan is as smitten as he is.

The first rush of mutual infatuation is dizzying.

"I've never held hands with a guy before," Dan confides in hushed tones.

In fact, Phil has been dying to hold Dan's hand or kiss him all day, but Dan seemed a bit skittish whenever Phil got too close, so he gave the boy some space and just basked in the brilliance of his smiles. Now Dan's hesitancy makes more sense.

"How do you like it so far?" Phil asks, giving his fingers a little squeeze.

He sees Dan duck his head in what Phil has learned to interpret as mild embarrassment, and Dan mumbles, "It's … good."

Phil watches his face in the diffuse light from the distant streetlamp and feels like maybe what he feels isn't just a crush anymore, now that he's had a whole day to get to know how perfect and sweet Dan is in real life. But he tries to hold himself back, because that kind of hasty thinking could be dangerous to his heart. He lets a silence stretch between them.

"You're different than I expected," Dan says, making Phil wonder for a second whether he's a mind reader.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. You're … quieter. Calmer. I mean, I already knew you were different on Skype than in your videos, but … you're even more different in real life." Dan sounds pensive.

"Bad different?" Phil waits anxiously for Dan's reply.

"Just different different. I like you on Skype, and I like you in person. And I like your videos, of course. But when you're just on my computer screen, I can't do this," and he squeezes Phil's hand a little. Then he says quietly, "And I like how you look at me." He gazes down at his knees, a very slight curve to his lips.

"How do I look at you?" Phil is liking this conversation, because it's the first time since he arrived that Dan has opened up about what's going on between them. Phil wants to keep him talking.

Dan hesitates, then whispers, "Like I'm special."

Phil's heart breaks a little bit, because Dan sounds so surprised and maybe a little sad. Dan had a girlfriend for three years! Didn't she look at him like he was special?

"You are special, Dan. You're the specialest person I've ever met." Phil dares to raise their linked hands and kiss Dan's knuckles.

Dan is quiet a long time. "Even though I haven't followed through on … you know … all that stuff I said on Skype?" He sounds actually scared.

Phil lets go of his hand to put his arm around Dan's narrow shoulders reassuringly. "I like you on Skype, and I like you in person. But on Skype I can't do this," and he squeezes gently.

Dan laughs a little, then says nervously, "It's just easier in front of a camera. Acting confident, I mean. Flirting like that. I'm not really that confident in real life. I'm actually really awkward." He chuckles, his shoulders tense under Phil's arm. "You probably noticed."

Phil's heart breaks a little more. It's true that after all the blatant innuendos and racy hints on Skype he'd expected Dan to be different, but this conversation is only making him fall faster. He'd thought maybe they'd have a hot weekend of at least making out, maybe more if Dan was up for it, but now he just wants to hold this gentle, vulnerable boy and show him how unique and extraordinary he is. "You're perfect," he insists, and dares to kiss Dan's cheek, just the slightest brush of his lips against that adorable baby face.

He hears Dan's intake of breath, but his shoulders have relaxed a bit, so that must have been okay.

"Your first kiss from a boy?" Phil asks gently.

He can see Dan's head nod. Then his shoulders hunch and he wraps his arms around his skinny knees. "It's not that I don't want to … you know, I was really looking forward to getting here and just … jumping on you … because I really like you and you're really hot and everything … but I just … I don't know. I'm scared I'll do something wrong. And you won't like me anymore." He sounds so lost and frightened, and all Phil wants is to make him feel better. It's like when Dan was so afraid to upload his videos, and Phil had to convince him that they were good enough. Now he wants to convince Dan that he is good enough. Just the way he is.

"If we don't do anything more than this all weekend, I'll still like you, Dan. I promise. No jumping of any kind required." He tries to lighten the mood a bit.

Dan snorts quietly, then says, "I was really looking forward to the jumping, actually." His voice is lighter now, too. Phil hears a bit of that Skype flirtiness in it. "I'm kind of disappointed."

They don't say anything more for a while, and Phil's so happy that Dan was comfortable enough to flirt that he doesn't want to push things too far and make him nervous again.

Eventually, Phil thinks maybe something less intense might be in order, so he breaks the silence to ask, "Want to watch a movie? Or play Donkey Kong or something?"

"I think I just want to go to bed," Dan replies, and suddenly Phil feels like a creepy Internet predator again. When they were teasing each other on Skype yesterday, he'd thought Dan was coming here for a weekend of at least mild messing around. He'd assumed they'd both be sleeping in his bed, together. Now, though, that seems like way too much.

"Okay," he replies, trying to inject cheer into his voice. He'd been hoping to get to spend more time with Dan tonight, but he reminds himself that they have all day tomorrow. "You can have my bed. My brother won't mind if I sleep in his room."

Dan abruptly turns to face him, causing Phil's arm to slide off his shoulders. "You don't want to … I mean … I sort of thought we would both be in your bed, that you'd stay here with me."

"We can leave the light on in the hall if you want, and keep the door open so it isn't completely dark in here," Phil offers.

Dan shakes his head impatiently. "It isn't about the dark. It's about … I just want you to stay with me. I want to be close to you." He hesitates a moment. "If that's okay."

Phil smiles and wraps his arms around Dan, which is a bit awkward with the way they're sitting. He kisses Dan's hair and says happily, "Of course it's okay. I'd like that a lot. I just didn't want you to feel like I was … I don't know … going to molest you or something." He laughs awkwardly.

Dan doesn't reply, and Phil guesses that's he's embarrassed. By what, Phil isn't exactly sure, and he doesn't want to pursue the topic any further and maybe make things even more uncomfortable for the boy, so he tries to make his voice as casual and reassuring as possible when he says, "Want to get changed into our pyjamas?"

Dan ducks his head so that his forehead nearly touches Phil's shoulder. He mumbles something Phil doesn't catch. "What was that?" Phil asks.

Dan raises his head and sounds humiliated as he stammers, "I was so … I was going to jump on you, like I said … I was really looking forward to it … and I didn't think … I mean…" and Phil suddenly understands.

"You didn't bring any pyjamas." The idea actually makes him feel a little better, less like a creeper. Dan wanted the sexy weekend as much as he did—he just wasn't as confident in reality as he'd been in his imagination. Phil liked the fact that Dan had been imagining it, though … that he'd been filled with anticipation when he packed his bag and opted not to include anything to wear to bed. It turns him on a little, and he quickly reins in his own imagination and sternly tells his body to calm the fuck down.

Dan shakes his head, and even in the dim light Phil can see that his cheeks are pink.

"I have some you can borrow," Phil offers, but Dan shakes his head again.

"I could just sleep in my boxers. If that's okay, I mean."

Phil imagines sleeping platonically all night in the same bed with Dan wearing nothing but boxers and wants to groan out loud but contains himself. "Whatever you want," he replies carefully.

Dan stands up, his eyes on Phil's, and slowly pulls off his t-shirt. The light from the window shines on his bare chest. Phil gulps. He stands and turns to his bureau, grabbing the first pair of pyjama pants he sees and a random t-shirt. "I'll change in the bathroom," he says quickly and flees, closing the bedroom door behind him.

In the bathroom, he gives himself a stern talking to. He acknowledges that he's going to get turned on, admits that he already is, but determines that he is absolutely not going to make any moves on Dan. He desperately hopes he doesn't do any sleep-groping. He changes into his pyjamas quickly and takes out his contacts. He brushes his teeth and then stares at himself in the mirror. "You can do this," he says to his reflection. "You can sleep next to a gorgeous boy who's been working you up for weeks, and you can leave him alone. You can. You will." He lets out a little groan of frustration and scrubs his hands over his face.

He opens the bathroom door and finds Dan standing in the hallway in nothing but a pair of Sonic boxer briefs. There's a lot of smooth, tanned skin visible. Holy mother of… Clearly the universe is punishing Phil for something. Dan's face is bright pink, and he's holding a toiletry bag. "I just need to … brush my teeth and stuff."

Phil jumps as if scalded and steps out of the bathroom doorway. "Of course. Bathroom's all yours," he babbles, and then practically runs to the bedroom. Once there, he turns on the light so Dan will be able to see when he comes in, then pulls back the duvet and climbs into bed, scooting to the far edge. The bed isn't very big, and he doesn't want to crowd Dan. He lies on his side, facing the door, waiting for Dan to appear, but it takes a while. He decides Dan must be giving himself a little talk in the bathroom, too. It's a weird situation for both of them.

Finally, Dan appears and hesitates in the doorway. He looks down at his feet, then meets Phil's eyes. "Should I…" he gestures awkwardly at the light switch.

Phil nodded. "I just didn't want you to walk into a dark room after your eyes adjusted to the light in the bathroom."

Dan smiles. "That was nice of you." He flips the light off and the room is plunged into near darkness again. Phil sees Dan's dark shape move toward the bed and then feels the mattress give under his weight. The bedcovers move and he feels Dan's body settle into the bed beside him, not touching but oh so near.

They're both quiet for a long time, but neither of them falls asleep. They listen to each other breathe. Then Dan's voice sounds nervous when he says quietly, "Would it be okay if I just … would it be okay if I kissed you? Because I'd really like to kiss you."

Phil's heart squeezes in his chest at the sweet innocence of that request. He blindly reaches out a hand and is lucky to meet one of Dan's lying between them. He intertwines their fingers and says softly, "I'd really like that, too."

Dan shuffles closer and hesitates. There's a bit of laughter in his voice when he says, "Help me out a bit here? It's dark as fuck and I can't really tell where you are."

Phil chuckles and scoots closer to Dan so that they're now just barely touching along their bodies, and then he raises his hands to frame Dan's face and leans forward. He doesn't press their lips together, but hesitates there, letting Dan feel his breath so close, waiting for Dan to make that last little movement.

Dan leans in to close the distance, and his lips are slightly chapped as they press a butterfly touch to Phil's then withdraw, but not too far. And then before Phil can catch his breath, Dan's lips are back, his head tilting slightly to get a better angle, and this kiss is firmer, his lips parting slightly. Phil responds in kind, following Dan's lead, and he feels a soft tongue swipe hesitantly against his bottom lip. This time he can't hold back the groan, and he can feel Dan's body quiver in response, moving closer so that they're pressed tight together. Dan deepens the kiss, and Phil tries to stay passively responsive, not wanting to take control and push things too far. He knows Dan can probably feel his body's obvious excited response, but there's nothing he can do about that, so he tries not to worry about it. Dan's had erections before, surely he understands. He just hopes it doesn't scare Dan off, because these gentle but passionate kisses are absolute heaven. And then Dan shifts position a bit and Phil notices that he isn't the only one experiencing that particular physiological problem. When they're pressed together like this, it's difficult to hide.

Dan's lips are hot and eager as he kisses Phil over and over again, letting their lips part for brief moments only to start again as if he can't bear to stay away. But eventually he does pull away, panting, and says in a slightly husky voice, "I think we should probably stop."

Phil wants to cry out, "No!" but instead he just smiles, even though Dan probably can't see it, and says, "Whatever you want, Dan. It's all fine." He feels like his entire body is buzzing with the thrill of Dan's sweetly hungry kisses and he wants more more more, but he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly.

Dan hasn't moved away, so he's still aware of the warmth and nearness of the boy's bare skin. It isn't helping with his efforts to calm down. He rolls away to lie on his back and pants out, "You're a really good kisser."

Dan sounds shy when he says, "Thanks. So are you." A silence stretches between them, disturbed only by the sounds of their heavy breathing as it begins to slow.

"Just so you know," Dan whispers, "I do still want to jump you. A lot. And … all the stuff I said on Skype. I do want that. I'm just…" He hesitates, as if uncertain how to explain.

"Don't worry, Dan," Phil replies gently. "You're worth waiting for."

They lie together in the dark for a long time, and after a while Phil hears Dan's breath even out and decides that he's fallen asleep. It takes Phil longer, but eventually he too drifts off.

He dreams of chapped lips and shy eyes and golden skin. They're good dreams.