"I'm not going to sleep with you!"

"Wha…what?"

"I don't care if we're married. I won't sleep with you!"

"Dan, no. that's not what I meant" Dan looked away, a slight blush covering his cheeks as he heard Phil sigh softly "I'm not gonna force you to do anything. I mean…it would be nice if someday…but I won't force you"

"Really?" Dan asked in a small voice, looking up just enough to catch Phil's eye before averting his eyes to the ground again.

"Of course. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, emotionally or physically…but" he paused, biting his lip before continuing in a quieter voice "I believe you should only have sex when you're ready. Yes sex is meant for marriage and I know I sound like some weird old gentleman saying that, but that's what I believe. Sure one day I would like to because you are my husband. But I would never force you"

"So…you don't expect me to sleep with you just because we're married now?"

"Of course not. I don't want to hurt you Dan. We're no where near ready anyway. I mean, we barely know each other" Phil said in his softest voice as he gently ran his fingertips over Dan's hand. Dan shuddered slightly, still incredibly uncomfortable with the whole physical contact thing. He'd thought in that moment that maybe he should tell Phil he didn't like to be hugged. As much as Dan liked to be rebellious he didn't want to come across as just plain rude for rejecting all of Phil's acts of affection.

Phil coughed sort of awkwardly to gain Dan's attention again as he continued to talk. Dan had forgotten about the fact Phil was giving him a tour of their new house due to their little argument there. Dan looked up again, his eyes wandering around the room as Phil talked. "As I said, this is my room. There's a room set out for you which I hope will be okay with you. Yet again, you can stay in your own room for as long as you want. I don't want to force you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. You're always welcome in my room, but if you don't want to be in here, I understand that"

It was only while Phil was staring at him that Dan realised he was probably expected to reply. "I, um…I'd like to have my own room just now…thank you" Phil gave Dan a small smile before moving towards the doorway and looking over his shoulder obviously expecting Dan to follow.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Sure Dan didn't like being married to a complete stranger, but Phil in question wasn't his biggest problem. He wanted to fall in love and get married to his prince. As much as Dan tried to imagine it, Phil just wasn't his prince. I mean Phil was right, they barely knew each other. They'd only met for the first time on their wedding day. But still, maybe this wouldn't be quite as bad as Dan had originally thought.

"So, um. This is your room. It's pretty minimal just now but you can decorate it anyway you want. This is your house as well so don't be afraid to do whatever you want"

"Thanks…"

"…Dan?" Phil asked gently as his baby blue eyes looked into Dan's. As much as Dan didn't want to admit it Phil did have really pretty eyes. He'd describe them as breath taking if this was a romance novel. But as he was discovering, romance novels don't happen in real life.

"Yeah…Phil?"

A small smile tugged at Phil's lips as Dan said his name. It sounded strange but also kind of comforting. It was the first time they'd actually had a conversation where Dan wasn't trying his hardest to avoid eye contact or not talk. "Do you want some brunch? I mean it's a little late for breakfast but you haven't eaten yet, have you?"

Dan was about to open his mouth to reply but as if on cue his stomach rumbled loudly. He blushed slightly, looking away in embarrassment. Phil just laughed, showing Dan the first actual smile Dan had seen since they'd met.

"I'll go make something up just now. I'll let you unpack and have a little time to yourself just now. Call me if you need anything" and with that left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Dan didn't move until he heard Phil's footsteps fade. He fell onto the bed with a quiet thump as a small sob erupted from his lips. He didn't know why he was crying but that didn't stop the tears slowly making their way down his cheeks. Maybe it was because he'd majorly misjudged Phil and felt terrible about it. Or maybe it was because he just didn't want to be here no matter how nice Phil was too him. Dan didn't even know how he felt. He just knew this sinking feeling in his chest was growing stronger by the minute.

*********************************************************************

Dan was awoken by a soft knocking at his door. He sat up, looking around panicked for a minute before remembering where he was. He quickly wiped his now agitated skin from his dried tears as the door slowly opened. Phil smiled lazily as he gazed at the younger boy sitting there with messy hair which was definitely starting to curl.

"Hey"

"Hey…" Dan replied quietly, rubbing his face again as he hoped he didn't look too bad.

"Did you fall asleep?" Phil asked with an amused smile gracing his lips. He laughed softly as he saw Dan look away and grumble something which resembled a no. "Anyway, foods ready"

"Okay…" Dan mumbled as he sat up, carefully making his way off the bed and across the room to Phil. A weird sort of tension filled the air as they stood together in the doorway. Phil must of sensed it too because he quickly cleared his throat and moved into the hall, looking back at Dan with an expression Dan couldn't read.

"I, um. I made some pancakes. I'm not the greatest cook but I think they're okay" he laughed to himself "I promise I won't be offended if you don't like them"

"Okay…"

"Okay"

And so there they were sat at this big new table, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact as they ate. It wasn't exactly Dan's idea of a happy situation but what did he expect. When you force a seventeen year old to marry a man he's never met things aren't exactly going to be normal.

"How are your pancakes?"

"Fine"

Dan really didn't find this comfortable at all. It was almost as if he was a guest in a hotel. A hotel which just happened to be his new permanent home.

There was this look that Dan just didn't understand on Phil's face as their eyes met and they couldn't look away. For a moment Dan thought that maybe Phil was actually having second thoughts. That he finally realised this was no way going to work. They didn't even know each other, never mind love each other. Did he want to back out? Could they even back out now?

"I…I've gotta get going"

He was leaving, To go where?

"I've got a meeting today. I was gonna miss it if you needed me but…" he sighed "I get it Dan, you don't want to be here. That much is obvious but, we're married. If you like it or not we've got to at least act like we get on"

"So I'm supposed to just act like everything is fine then?" Dan pretty much growled, his decent mood from before completely gone.

"I don't want to fight with you Dan"

"I don't want to even be here for you to fight with. Why did you want to marry me in the first place?"

"Dan…"

"Come on!" Dan shouted, standing up abruptly and making his chair fall behind him. He glared at Phil, clenching his fists. "You wanted this so what have you got to be regretful for? It's my dreams that have been ripped away from me, not yours!"

Phil just stared at Dan, not sure how to respond or what to even do. It then hit him, Dan didn't know.

"Dan do you…do you really not know why this happened?"

"Of course I do. My dad wanted me to marry you because you're rich and famous and everyone loves you. You're a nice guy who everyone adores, so who better to be married to" he sneered angrily.

"Oh god…that's not" Phil covered his mouth as he just stared at Dan. Dan really didn't know. Phil couldn't believe his father hadn't told him.

"You really need to talk to your dad Dan"