#lonelynights

part one

90s heartthrob (ao3) - dipnpip

Summary: Phil is infatuated with Dan's new haircut. They're gross and in love and flirt about it. <3

a day in the life of Dan and Phil's builders (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Dan and Phil's relationship and home through the outside perspective of one of their builders.

Algorithms and Other Acts of Affection (ao3) - httphowell

Summary: On a rainy Sunday night in their forever home, Phil refuses to get dressed, too absorbed in TikTok chaos to move. Dan pretends to be annoyed—but really, he's just quietly falling in love all over again.

Blue (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Dan and Phil have been to dozens of aquariums in different cities around the world, but the ocean is a strange place that keeps drawing them back to learn more.

Come Clean (ao3) - castrotophic

Summary: Dan thinks Phil might be in love with him, but he's not quite sure how to figure it out.

duneussy (ao3) - possumdnp

Summary: Dan and Phil enjoy the evening after Dan’s 33rd birthday livestream ends.

Do You Hear the Bells? (ao3) - Goddex_of_disaster

Summary: It's the phwedding!!...but they're bugs

fortress (ao3) - dipnpip

Summary: phil had a rough day and got caught in the rain. dan makes everything better <3

Getaway Cart (ao3) - skygremlin

Summary: Going on holiday means they’re supposed to be relaxing, not trekking from beach to beach with all their stuff - that’s what they have golf cart rentals for. They're available to anyone, even a certain blond YouTuber who can't tell his left from right and hasn't been behind the wheel in over a decade...

heart skipped a beat (ao3) - dontcrydraft

Summary: Dan and Phil have a day to spare in Stockholm - cue the seals and the meese, it's time to go to the zoo!

houdini (ao3) - alooalex

Summary: dan is drunk off his ass, he's still going to do that skincare

Knick-Knacks (ao3) - blissedoutphil

Summary: Dan wants to get rid of most of their knick-knacks, their forever home has to be minimalistic. Phil isn't helping Dan pack, he's too busy buying more knick-knacks.

late night talking (ao3) - theloveofbees

Summary: it surely wasn’t the weirdest thing phil had caught dan doing in their thirteen years of knowing each other, but it was up there.

or it's the summer before dan's tour and they talk on the floor of their office.

Not So Lonely On Christmas (ao3) - pasteldanhowells

Summary: A stranger walks into Dan's coffee shop, messy and muddy. Dan's trying to focus on helping the stranger, but all he can really think about is how cute he is.

this morning, with him, having coffee (ao3) - jonsaremembers

Summary: Inspired by the anecdote that Johnny Cash was once asked by an interviewer for his definition of paradise, to which he replied, "This morning, with her, having coffee."

Scare(d) Actors (ao3) - ThePetetoherPatrick

Summary: “If you ever ask me to do something like that again, I will haunt you myself after I die of a heart attack, Phillip.”

something selfish (but fair) (ao3) - starlight_kth

Summary: dan loves the live shows, but sometimes he doesn’t like to share

Taste Like Strawberries in the Rain (ao3) - httphowell

Summary: Dan and Phil’s Thursday night dates have become a cherished tradition. On a rainy evening in Soho, they share a cozy dinner, filled with playful banter and growing affection. Their connection deepens, leading to a quiet confession of love under the rain.

The whipped cream on your sweet face (ao3) - dead_little_lamb19

Summary: set during the overcooked charity livestream for make a wish. they eat cream off each others faces.

tiny hands and lots of love (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: Phil puts baby Evelyn to bed, so him and Dan can get some alone time. But just like her Da, she has to grab things no matter what - even if it means prying something as important as Phil's glasses from his face.

Lucky she's cute, and that her dads are both too distracted (and in love, with each other and her antics) to properly reprimand her.

Welcome Home, Loser (ao3) - a_quaint_little_pineapple

Summary: A fluffy, flirty little fic I wrote imagining that in a new big house, there's lots more pranking opportunities.

Would you still love me if I was a worm? (ao3) - omgitshelena

Summary: Phil asks an unexpected question.

"You look at my face a lot" (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Phil has a pretty new eyebrow slit but Dan decides that he could use a little make-up to highlight it. They end up in bed with Dan hovering close to Phil's face trying to do a good job while he's also trying not to ravish him or get (too) sappy.

you rocked my world and never left it (ao3) - jonsaremembers

Summary: some sights, smells and sounds in Turkey, and the feelings that follow

You've got a squeak-ret admirer (ao3) - skygremlin

Links Last Checked: August 10th, 2025

Behind a Mask (ao3) - mollieblack

Summary: Daniel Howell has a secret. Since he was young, he's always been able to turn into any animal he wants to.

Dan also has an enemy. Phil Lester, the bully who's seemed to make it his mission to make Dan's life miserable.

Phil has his own secret. He's not the hardened, emotionless person he lets everyone believe. In fact... he has a very childlike love of animals, and when suddenly he starts befriending tons of wild animals he begins to think he must have some sort of secret touch.

Blue Eyes & Paper Doves (ao3) - zinther

Summary: Dan Howell doesn't have a lot of friends. None, to be precise. This doesn't bother him, but it does seem to bother a certain blue eyed Hufflepuff who's made it his life's mission to get to know him.

Heartlines (ao3) - obliviongrace

Summary: Phil’s not sure where his creativity has gone. He went to the U.S. for university because he wanted the space to figure out who he was, but halfway through senior year he realizes that didn’t happen. He’s unhappy, his friendships are crumbling, and his art thesis remains untouched. But then he meets Dan, another exchange student from the U.K., and can’t help wondering if he might get a second chance at discovering what’s in his heart.

hearts like ours (ao3) - kay_okay

Summary: “Sorry… what?” Phil replies, dumbfounded, shocked, void of all intellect.

“I said I’m in love with you. Actually, I said I think I’m in love with you, which isn’t true. I mean, I am. I know I am, I don’t know why I said I think.”

If You Must Mourn, Don't Do It Alone (ao3) - INeverHadMyInternetPhase

Summary: Phil is a Masters' student just starting at a new uni, and while he should be concerned with getting to grips with his new course, he finds himself more and more caught up with getting to know his quiet, brown-haired housemate who has a habit of disappearing.

Or, Phil goes to uni, Dan goes to uni, Dan is sad, and Phil is there for him.

Jackets (ao3) - FoxyAtlas

Summary: Phil Lester, bad boy who wears the same leather jacket to school every day and makes a hobby out of scaring people. Dan Howell, future valedictorian who prefers a varsity jacket, and refuses to be shaken by anyone, bad boy or otherwise. And how they come together through a high school track, an English class, and a failing videography program.

Keep It Down (ao3) - INeverHadMyInternetPhase

Summary: Phil wants a quiet life. That's all he's asked for. He doesn't want the new neighbour to blast music at him at 2 in the morning, so if he would kindly stop then that's all Phil needs

L'Histoire Française (ao3) - danfanciesphil (thejigsawtimess)

Summary: Since he can remember, Dan has had a bad experience with teachers. When desperate times call for him to take a job as a TA at his local secondary school, he is dreading the experience. Cue Phil Lester: eclectic, vivacious History teacher whom the students and teachers adore for his fantastical, unique methods and sincere passion for his job. Dan was expecting all sorts of drama in his new job, but falling for a member of the faculty was not part of it.

one second (ao3) - kae_karo

Summary: When you spend your life getting glimpses of a myriad of possible futures every time you get a little emotional, you tend to lose sight of reality, of the present; a bad day turns into a bad week because all you see are the worst-case futures. You get a little excited about something, things start to go your way, but then all you can see are the realities where things are even better. Life tends not to measure up.

Or the one where Dan meets Phil on a plane, and maybe reality starts to become better than even Dan could predict.

said it was love and did it for life (did it for you) (ao3) - deletable_bird

Summary: Dan is down on his knees the first time Phil mentions weddings with any seriousness.

Sea Glass (ao3) - kae_karo

Summary: Phil arrives on the Isle of Man to house-sit at his family's cabin while it's repaired and sold. Except the cabin's in far worse shape than expected, and Phil's got to find somewhere else to stay (Phil POV)

Ships that pass in the night (ao3) - jestbee

Summary: Dan and Phil are YouTubers. The catch? They’ve never met, and Phil doesn’t want them to.

strangers (ao3) - waveydnp

Summary: dan is new to london and living in a mostly empty flat, desperate to forget the mistakes of his past. he's all alone -- until one day he gets a piece of mail addressed to someone in the neighbouring flat, one mr. philip lester. he can't exactly not return it, can he?

swallowing the stars again (ao3) - bliiinding

Summary: “Because this is what we do.” Phil told him, floorboards creaking underfoot as he treaded closer. “As people.” He placed a hand back against the wall of the house, as if to steady himself, if not, to still the forces of whatever lay not quite so dormant within the walls. “We want to show the people that matter the most, the things that matter the most.”

Dan tried to hide his blush, but everything with Phil Lester was a weighted die, a rigged game, a losing war, but still he refused to set his cards down to the table - he was stubborn, stupid, perhaps, or instead just irrefutably sixteen years old. Phil smiled at him. Another battle lost.

Sweet Pea (ao3) - worriedpeach (skeletonflowers)

Summary: A nickname that goes bitter in your mouth. Cries for help that no one listens to. Gentle hands that make you quake on the ground you’re standing on. When Phil first met Nico, he thought he was a gift from the heavens. But behind the mask lies something daunting, something unnerving, that Phil never foresaw. Through his journey, he finds solace in Dan, the regular at his workplace, who seems to be the only one who sees through Nico’s mask to the darkness underneath.

Take Me By The Hand (ao3) - amczingphil

Summary: Dan suffers from a severe genetic disorder that has forced him to spend his entire life indoors, going outside is too dangerous for him as he has no immune system and catching any illness can result in his death.

He was as content as he could be given his situation, he would fill his time watching his neighbours and creating elaborate stories about their lives in his head, until Phil Lester moved in across the street.

Now Dan can't stop thinking about the man with the plants and suddenly his 'normal' life isn't as satisfying as it had once been.

the taste of your cherry chapstick (ao3) - huphilpuffs

Summary: Punk!Phil has a crush, so when Pastel!Dan is manning a kissing booth for a school event, he finds himself showing up with a pound in his pocket.

Watchful (ao3) - cafephan