A whole year had passed since Phil has taken Dan in and let him live with him; things had changed, but they'd definitely changed for the better… for both Dan and Phil. Phil had been taking great care of Dan, getting him back in shape and making sure that he was recuperating healthily, and he never made Dan do anything that he didn't want to do. By now, he knew what Dan liked and didn't like, which was a good thing because there were a lot of things Dan didn't like. Phil made a whole list of things Dan didn't like and made sure to remember them all.

Phil had fallen completely in love with Dan, and Dan with Phil. They acted like a couple around each other, though both were too shy to admit any potential feelings. They were okay with that though. They knew how they felt about each other, and that was okay.

However, things were starting to get slightly difficult because Phil was planning on throwing a Christmas party, as he did every year. Everybody who lived in the neighborhood always showed up and it was guaranteed to be a good time. The main issue? Chris was coming, like he did every year. This year was obviously going to be different though.

Phil was becoming increasingly worried about how Dan was going to feel, as he knew Dan was still recovering from what he went through was Chris. It wasn't as if he would get over something so brutal overnight, his mind needed to heal just as much as his body did.

"You don't have to talk to anyone you don't want to," Phil reminded him as he talked with Dan in the kitchen. "You don't even have to be downstairs…do whatever you want to do."

The party was tonight, the last week before Christmas. Honestly, Dan was excited, because he was finally going to be able to celebrate Christmas the right way, and he genuinely was feeling quite festive so far. Phil had covered the house, even the outside, with lights and decorations, and the tree was up, looking grand and beautiful with it's rainbow coloured baubles and garlands of sparkling tinsel. The wait for actual Christmas Day was awful for Dan, and Phil found it adorable how excited he was for Christmas.

"Phil, I'm going to be fine. As long as I don't have to see or speak to Chris, I'll be fine." Dan said.

Phil sighed as he looked over at Dan, still uncertain. "Are you sure?" He asked.

Dan nodded. "I'm absolutely positive. Don't worry about me. You already have enough to worry about with this party tonight. Do you need me to do anything to help?" He asked.

"I think everything is good so far. We've got all the food and drinks set up. We just have to wait for people to arrive. There's going to be a lot of people here, just warning you,"

"Phil, stop it. I'm going to be fine," Dan insisted.

Phil smiled. He walked over to Dan and kissed his cheek. "I love you, you know that. I just don't want you to get hurt tonight. Not everyone in this town is like me when it comes to neko's,"

"You love me?" Dan asked, looking up at Phil in surprise.

"Yes, of course I do. Can't you tell?" Phil asked, chuckling.

"Phil," he whispered as he cheeks turned red from blushing so much.

Phil chuckled and then kissed Dan's cheek again. "You're too adorable, you know that? I'm going to go get washed up. Can you answer the door if anyone arrives?" He asked.

Dan took a deep breath and slowly nodded. "Of course," he mumbled.

"Don't worry. I've warned people ahead of time that I do own a neko and if anybody abuses you, then they will be kicked out of my house immediately. I won't let anyone harm you tonight, okay?"

"Thank you…for caring so much about me, unlike other humans," Dan said.

Phil grinned. "My absolutely pleasure," he said. He kissed Dan's cheek one more time before he turned around and walked out of the kitchen, leaving Dan alone.

It was less than ten minutes later when Dan heard the doorbell go off.

Dan took a deep breath of apprehension and then stood up. He walked out of the kitchen and to the front door. He waited a second before he reached over and opened the door. He looked up and froze as soon as he saw none other than Chris standing in front of him.

Chris looked up and raised his eyebrows when he saw Dan, who he almost didn't recognize because of how clean he looked compared to the last time that he'd seen him.

"Wow. I see Phil's been taking care of you, hasn't he?" Chris said, looking up and down at Dan incredulously.

"Yes, unlike you… who never took care of me," Dan spat. He didn't know where this sudden burst of confidence had come from, but he was adamant he'd pay for it later. Chris never liked it when he back-talked him before, Dan was always punished whenever he did it.

"Don't speak to me like that," Chris snapped as he stepped closer to Dan. "You filthy little-"

"Chris!" Both Chris and Dan jumped as soon as they heard Phil's booming voice.

"Don't you dare lay a hand on him," Phil warned as he walked over to Dan. He gently grabbed a hold of Dan and pulled him away. "We talked about this. Are you really going to do this?"

"I'm not doing anything," Chris said coolly, shrugging his shoulders.

"Just stay away from Dan and we won't have any problems tonight, alright?" Phil reprimanded.

"Chris, are you causing problems already? We've barely been here five minutes,"

Phil looked up and smiled as soon as he saw PJ, his best friend and Chris's current boyfriend.

"Peej! It's so good to see you again!" Phil exclaimed as he pulled PJ into a hug.

Chris glanced over at Dan again while Phil and PJ were hugging, and shot a glare of contempt at him.

Dan's gaze dropped to the floor. This was just like old times when Chris was his master. Vivid memories of being smacked and hit and pulled were resurfacing. Dan shook his head vehemently, willing them away.

"I've been looking forward to this party all year," PJ said as he pulled away from Phil.

"Me too. I've been going crazy all week planning for it, just ask Dan,"

Dan quickly looked back up again, and gave a small smile.

"Oh, nice to see you again Dan. It's been awhile," PJ said politely. "Chris and I will go wait in the lounge for others to arrive." He reached over and grabbed Chris's hand.

Chris sighed as he followed PJ to the lounge, and they sat down on the couch.

"Will you leave that neko alone?" PJ hissed.

"I didn't do anything to him," Chris said.

"You're scaring him and you know how much Phil loves him. If you do anything to him then he'll never forgive you. Phil's been your best friend since we were teenagers," PJ said.

Chris rolled his eyes as he leaned against the couch, looking up at PJ.

"Please promise you'll not cause any problems with Dan or Phil? This night is supposed to fun and festive," PJ said. "It's Christmas and I want everyone to be happy."

"Alright, alright. I promise not to cause any problems," he promised reluctantly.

"Thank you," PJ said, pressing his lips to Chris' cheek.

"How are you?" Phil asked as he walked into Dan's bedroom.

It'd been an hour since the Christmas party had started and the house was packed with people, so Dan decided that he was going to be spend some time in his room as being around people made him nervous as he knew not everybody accepted neko's like Phil did.

Dan looked over and smiled as soon as he saw Phil. "I'm okay," he said.

"I was worried when I didn't see you anywhere," Phil admitted as he walked over to Dan's bed.

"I just needed to take a break," Dan said. "I'm totally fine. Chris is actually leaving me alone."

"PJ must have knocked some sense into his head finally," Phil chuckled.

Dan smiled halfheartedly, "So are you enjoying the party then?" He asked.

"Yeah, actually. Everybody's happy and being nice to each other which is all that I could ask for, another successful Christmas party," Phil said.

"Phil?" Dan asked.

"Yes DAn?" Phil asked, sitting down on the bed in front of Dan. "What is it?"

"Just…thank you. Thank you for everything you've done this past year," Dan whispered.

Phil couldn't help but smile. "You are absolutely welcome. I'm glad I could help you," he said.

"You did more than help, you practically saved me…" Dan said.

"You're safe here. Nobody can hurt you anymore, just remember that," Phil told him.

"I will, trust me. I will always remember that," Dan said.

Phil reached over and kissed Dan's forehead. "Come back down when you're ready,"

"Okay. I'll be down in a few minutes," Dan said with a coy smile.

Phil stood up from the bed again. He walked over to the door, and looked at Dan one last time before he walked out of the bedroom with a content smile on his face. Sure, it hadn't been the easiest of times for both of them, but he didn't regret his actions at all. Dan was such a kind, loving soul who deserved an equally love-filled life, not a life of pain and torture he'd so cruelly been subjected to before.

Phil had always wanted a neko of his own his whole life that he could love and take care of and protect, and he would be infinitely glad he'd saved at least one.