On a Friday afternoon during the following winter season, Phil pulled up next to the community college building, and leaned over to the look out the frost-edged window.

He grinned when he saw Dan exiting the building, pulling his heavy coat tighter around him. Dan returned the smile and Phil leaned over to open the passenger car door.

"C'mon!"

"Walking as fast as I can," Dan complained, but was still grinning as he slid into the seat, and pulled the door shut behind him.

Phil began to slowly drive away from the building as Dan took his heavy coat off.

"Are you excited?"

"Yes," he grinned widely, pulling his seatbelt across himself as Phil was leaving the parking lot.

"How was your club meeting?"

"It was fun. PJ and I have a project idea that we want your help with."

"I'd love to help."

"Okay, awesome. Because…"

As Dan talked, Phil navigated the snow covered streets out of the busier end of the city. The buildings thinned out bit by bit as they turned down a few roads that led to the outskirts of the city and to a nearby orphanage and adoption agency.

Phil drove up to a tall, brick building that was fenced off by a tall, wrought iron gate that opened up to where they could pull into the parking lot.

They were both a bit quiet. Dan stared anxiously up at the building as Phil found a parking space.

After the car was parked, Dan and Phil both climbed out, pulling their coats back on.

The met around the back of the car to clasp their hands, share a small smile, and walk across the lot and up the steps to building.

They stepped inside the building, their bodies engulfed with warmth and they let their hands fall to their sides.

The foyer was immaculate, and they wiped their feet on the large rug just inside the door. The floor was of dark, smooth wood and the wood paneling ran half-way up the walls.

They had an appointment scheduled with a lawyer and an adoption agent.

They had to show that they could take appropriate care for and afford a child, so Phil had brought in a few documents to show proof of residency and income.

Dan and Phil no longer lived in the old neighborhood near his work, but in an even more affordable two bedroom apartment downtown. They had chosen to move, when they had made the decision that they wanted to adopt a kid.

Because they had never married, Phil would have legal custody, but they had an understanding that it didn't matter and they were in it together.

A group of kids flew passed them, a blur of hair and shortness and shoes squeaking on the smooth wooden floor.

Dan grinned, and then a woman dressed in a pants suit approached them.

"Hi, don't mind them. They've not been able to go outside because of the weather." She had a friendly smile and brown, highlighted hair that framed her face and fell around her shoulders.

"They're fine," Phil grinned.

"Are you here for an appointment?" The woman asked the two of them.

"We are." Phil told the woman the name of the lady they were told they would be meeting with.

"That's me, actually. Phil Lester?"

"Yeah," he smiled.

"And is this?"

"This is Dan." Phil said, and the woman looked between the two of them for a moment, and it seemed as if she was considering something for a moment, but then smiled understandingly.

"Well, why don't you guys hang up your coats and we'll go to my office, then. It's just down this way."

After they had hung up their jackets at the coat hooks she had gestured to, the woman led Dan and Phil passed a large staircase to a corridor off to the right, and into an office.

Her door had her surname across the top, above an opaque, textured window.

The meeting was surprisingly short, and Dan was a bit anxious. This woman had deemed Phil fit to take care of a child, despite that Dan thought this meeting unnecessary.

"Alright, so are you ready to meet the kids?"

"Yes, definitely." Phil agreed and the woman led them back out of the office and the way they came. However, they passed the grand, wooden staircase and the room opened up to a wide hall set up like a living space.

There was a large television set up on the opposite wall that was currently shut off, and several different couches and chairs. A bookcase lined the west wall and there were a few kids, playing with toys in an open space on the floor.

But what really caught both Dan and Phil's attention was the girl sitting against the wall, by the window farther away from the fireplace where a few other kids sat, with her knees bent and a book in her lap.

She had long, brown hair, and smooth, pale skin. Her jeans were old, and her baggy sweater was older. The socks she wore were fleece and endearingly mismatched and she nervously shifted them against one another.

She was young, but still a teenager. Phil would guess that maybe she was ten years old. But there was something about her that was much different from the others that he couldn't quite put his finger on. She had this sort of vibe of maturity beyond her youth. And when her eyes flicked up from her book, she looked between Dan and Phil and he realized.

He looked over at Dan, who had noticed the same girl.

"Her, Phil. Look at her. We've got to take her home."

"I know."

The woman approached them a moment later after she had knelt beside a couple of four-year olds who had been coloring.

"Ms, what's her name? Over there, by the window."

"That is Sophie. She is awfully quiet, but it just takes a little while for her to get used to new people. C'mon, I'll introduce you guys."

"Erm, okay then."

The woman led Dan and Phil towards the girl who was sat in the chair against the wall.

"Sophie, this is Dan and Phil. Phil's looking to adopt someone today."

She eyed Phil skeptically, but he lowered himself to the chair beside and angled towards her own.

"Hi, Sophie," he said gently and tried to smile warmly. "It's good to meet you."

"Hi," she returned the greeting.

"How are you?"

"Erm, fine?" She said, with a mixture of uncertainty and doubt. She glanced over at Dan, and then at their lawyer who had stepped away to talk to a couple of young children.

"You like to read?" Dan asked her, and he caught the hint of a smile, which he was glad for.

"Yeah. A lot."

"What book do you have there?"

"It's erm, well, okay so…" She launched into a long-winded synopsis of the book, a grin growing as each word passed her lips and Phil smiled.

"It sounds really good," he said.

"Yeah, I think it's my new favorite."

They chatted with her about the books she read for a little while longer.

Phil's lawyer watched, a smile on her face and he looked up. She waved him over and he said, "Excuse me," to Dan and Sophie.

He approached her and she said, "So?"

"I think I want to take her home," he grinned.

"Would you be prepared to take her home this afternoon?"

Phil glanced over at Dan and Sophie, who were both watching Phil, undoubtedly able to hear the entire conversation.

He noticed them exchange a comment and Phil said to the adoption agent, remembering the bed, desk and dresser set he and Dan had put into the second bedroom, "Yes. Definitely."

"So, this is where you'll stay, Sophie. I hope you like it. It's not much. Now. But we'll get you a few mo-," Phil was cut short, when the little brunette suddenly turned back around and wrapped her arms tightly around Phil's waist.

He wasn't sure how to respond at first, but then wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"I love it. Thank you."

"You're welcome, deer."

She looked up and grinned, dropping her arms. Calling her 'deer' was probably going to stick really well.

It'd become apparent to Sophie, while they took the drive home what Dan and Phil were to each other. She shared with them what she could remember from when she was younger, but it was only of the orphanage and how she came to realize she wasn't like other people and how she hid it. Somehow, she had said, no one realized it when she was infant.

"That's good," Dan said, and shared with her, sparing her the worst details for the time being, about his own experiences and how he met Phil.

"You'll meet someone like Phil one day, you know. The person you're made for."

"Really?" She had asked quietly in disbelief.

Dan hummed in confirmation. "Really."

It was Friday, Dan didn't have class, and Phil didn't have work. But Sophie had school and Phil drove her there in the mornings.

He'd just returned and crept back into the bedroom where Dan seemed to be asleep still. He intended to crawl back into bed, but when he did he quickly became surrounded by Dan in a kiss full of heavy breathes and slow passion.

"I wanted you really badly last night."

"I did too."

Dan ran his hands along Phil's body, loving what it did to him.

"Dan," Phil said. "Do you know what you do to me?"

"No," Dan said daringly. "Why don't you show me?"

Phil didn't need to be told twice. He stripped Dan of his clothing and Dan let him tease and touch his body. Dan could feel how aroused Phil was when he reached down to touch him and he said huskily, "I want your cock in my mouth. I want to taste you, Phil."

He cursed harshly in response and he rose to his knees, and Dan worked on getting his jeans undone hastily. And Phil couldn't help but fuck his mouth, gripping a fistful of his hair while Dan moaned around him.

"Lay down," Phil said, pulling away and Dan did as Phil said, but then he also said, "on your stomach."

Phil got a bottle of lube out, spread some of the liquid over his dick and over Dan's entrance. He pressed a finger into Dan, carefully prepping him.

"I'm not being to rough am I?"

"No, Phil, please. Fuck me," Dan was practically begging and it was so hot.

But Phil still took the time to make sure he was ready and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. Dan hummed softly, and then let out louder noises when Phil guided to Dan's ass, letting it slide along his ass crack and then pressing into him slowly.

"Fuck," Dan cursed harshly. "Yes, Phil."

His noises were a bit muffled, but it was so erotic the way Dan fisted the blankets in his hands.

And Phil was getting closer, and then he pulled away earning a moan of complaint from Dan. He turned Dan over, and pushed back into him while Dan wrapped his legs and arms around him, clutching onto him.

"Fuck, Phil. I'm going to come. Don't stop."

Phil's thrusts became more erratic, and he felt the lurch in his groan just before he pushed all the way inside Dan, his body quaking as he came inside Dan. Dan's body rock, his hips jerking and Phil stroked him as he came to his own finish.

They were both panting and moaning, but Phil kissed him and as their bodies began to share that safe warmth he said, "I love you."

"I love you, too."

And they continued to kiss, until the buzz of soothing electricity passed and left a feeling of bliss.

"Talk about doggy style," Dan said suddenly, breaking the silence, while he was still clutching onto Phil as he lied between his legs.

"Jesus Christ, Dan. Really?" Phil pushed up onto his arms in order to look at Dan.

"Couldn't help it," he replied shamelessly.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"Love me forever?"

"That sounds like a fine idea, actually."

Sophie had settled in well with Dan and Phil, and her room was becoming much more lived in and she was very happy. And they were both very proud.

Every time Dan finished a book, and deemed it appropriate for Sophie, he passed it on to her and she would thank him and he'd reply with, "You're welcome, deer."

It had become an inside joke when they went out, and the best term of endearment when staying in.

She got along well with Adrian, Chris, and PJ. But Adrian would sometimes call her Bambi if he thought she was being a wimp, which was often.

Phil had gone up to shift leader at work, and Dan was doing really well at school, and they were never more happy or proud.

And it was so freaking cheesy, but Phil thought that maybe they'd found happily ever after.

so that was the end of this story i hope it was good like i said i first wrote it like three years ago and decided to reupload it so yeah i lost all of the reviews when i took it down tho so if you wanna review it would be greatly appreciated