#phan reality

"I don't understand." He said slowly. "Why—why do you think we should get matching tattoos?"

Dan rolled his eyes and laughed. "Come on Phil, where's your sense of adventure?"

"Sense of adventure? Come on Dan, it's a tattoo. Do you understand what that means? It's permanent. On your boy. Etched into your skin with pain."

Dan rolled his eyes again. "Yeah, I know how tattoos work."

Phil stared at him blankly. "Then why do you want one?"

"I don't want one. I want a matching one with you."

Phil's left eye twitched. "Are you serious?"

Dan nodded. Phil sighed.

"Dan you know how I feel about things like that. Remember the punk edits video? The pastel video? Those tattoos drove me insane, and they were only temporary!"

Dan nodded again. "Yeah I know. But that was because they were all along your arms and neck."

Phil eyed Dan. "Well, then where were you thinking of getting them?"

Dan's smirk got even wider. "Here." He pulled his shirt collar back to show his left collarbone. "Something small, not big and all over like the sleeves from the punk edits video. You could handle that, right?"

Phil still felt apprehensive about it. "Something small, without a lot of colour. I could do that."

Dan's smirk turned into a full on smile. "So, it's a yes then? You're agreeing on the tattoo?"

Phil sighed and closed his eyes. "How bad does it hurt? Do you have a idea in mind?"

Dan shook his head. "I wanted to come up with one with you, if you agreed, of course. I was thinking maybe a quote or just something that represents us. Maybe around the collarbone? Don’t worry, I looked up the pain for that location, and it hurts a bit, since it's a more bony area, but it could be worse. Probably nothing I've never felt before." Dan winked. Phil snorted and rubbed his hands across his face. He still felt a little weary about the idea.

"Why do you even want to get matching tattoos?"

Dan's smile never dropped. "I thought you'd never ask." Dan stretched his arms across the table they were seated at. They had decided that they would go out for a nice meal tonight. They need a little break from pizza and takeaway.

Dan moved Phil's hands from his face and gripped them together as he rested his arms on the table. His smile turned soft.

"Phil, we've stuck with each other for eight years, almost nine. We've accomplished so much together. A radio show, wrote two books, went on tour and performed a stage show… God. Phil, I love you so much. I'm not leaving you and I'm pretty sure you're not going anywhere either. I know we don't need something physical to show our love like a tattoo, and it's completely out of character for us, but I think it would be fun! And it doesn't have to be something that shows that we're, you know, in love, so our subscribers can see it, cause I'm pretty sure I'd wanna show of my tat if I got one. But we don't have to if you don't want one, we don't have to get one. It's up to you." Dan kept eye contact with Phil the whole time he performed his speech. Phil felt his eyes widen and he swallowed to keep tears from forming in his eyes at Dan's powerful words.

"So?" Dan questioned in a quiet voice. Phil looked at his plate, and sighed out a small chuckle.

"I can't believe it, but you, Dan Howell, just talked me into getting a matching tattoo with you."

Dan's smile was infectious as he squeezed Phil's hands.

"Alright then. It's settled. We are getting matching tattoos."

___

Phil clenched his fists, squeezing the plush arm of the chair he was sitting in. He opened his eyes to see Dan's beautiful face hovering over his shoulder, smiling encouragingly down at him.

"Are you sure it doesn't hurt that bad?" Phil asked, looking up at his boyfriend.

"I'm sure. You'll be fine, Phil trust me."

"But you have a high pain tolerance, remember your DNA test?"

Dan laughed. "That's true, but don't worry, you'll be alright."

Phil sighed and closed his eyes again. "God, I hope so."

Dan rubbed Phil's right shoulder comfortingly. The man who had done Dan's tattoo came over to where they were seated and sat in the chair in front of Phil.

"Okay, so they same thing as your friend?" He asked in a soothing voice. Phil nodded, not trusting his voice.

"Same colour? Same font, size, place?"

"Same everything." Dan said as he squeezed Phil's shoulder.

"Alright, easy enough for me."

The man rolled his chair over to Phil's left side. "Okay, you're gonna need to take your shirt off, if you're comfortable with that." Phil nodded, Dan took his off so Phil decided to as well.

Dan took Phil's shirt and laid it across his shoulder. Phil wanted to fold his arms across his chest self consciously but he refrained from doing so. They would just get in the way of where the tattoo would be going.

The man started to prepare Phil's skin for the tattoo, cleaning his left side with rubbing alcohol. He then shave a bit of chest hair that was invading the area of where he was being inked. The stencil had already been made so the man (“you can call me Jim,” he had said before he brought Dan and Phil back to where they would be tattooed), used a soapy water solution to dampen Phil’s skin, and transferred the stencil of the design onto his left collarbone.

While preparing Phil for the tattoo, Jim explained what he was doing and what purpose it had in the tattooing process. Phil had already heard this from earlier when Dan was tattooed, but he still listened intently.

“Alright, it’s time for the first line.”

Phil sucked in a breath. He could do this, he could do this, he could do this. Dan squeezed Phil’s shoulder again, and then slipped his free hand into Phil’s. “You got this, Phil. I love you.” Dan whispered and Phil felt himself relax. As long as Dan was there, everything would be fine.

“You ready?” Jim asked after getting his machinery ready to apply the tattoo.

“Yep,” Phil said confidently. He was ready.

“Okay, just relax and breath. I have a stress ball here if you’d like to squeeze that,” Jim nodded over to his table that had all his supplies on it, including the red stress ball he was talking about.

Phil shook his head. “It’s alright.” And it was. He had Dan’s hand to crush once the actual process began.

“Okay, I’m going to start in 3… 2… 1…”

Phil felt the needle pierce his skin and tried his hardest not to flinch. He squeezed Dan’s hand, and Dan winced, not expecting Phil’s grip to be that strong.

“Ow, okay, Phil just relax, you gotta relax. You’re too tense.” Dan said, his empty hand rubbing Phil’s shoulder. Phil did his best to listen to his boyfriend.

Soon, the initial shock of pain subsided to a dull one, and Phil felt himself relax a bit. “There you go,” Dan whispered. “You doing so well, good job.”

Finally, after the linework, shading, and colouring, the tattoo was finished. Jim cleaned up the tattoo and applied a hot towel around the area. “Alright, you boys are good to go. Just remember to clean it and take care of it properly and nothing bad will happen. You can pay at the front desk.”

Dan and Phil said their thank you’s, paid their tips, and went to the front desk to pay. Once they paid, they called a taxi and made their way home.

___

Dan and Phil stared at each other’s tattoos in awe. Phil couldn’t believe that he had a tattoo. And Dan has the exact same one.

“You don’t regret it, do you?” Dan asked softly, his eyes moving from Phil’s tattoo to his eyes.

Phil smiled softly. “No, I don’t. Do you?”

Dan laughed quietly. “Of course not.”

Phil brought his hand up to ghost over the letters permanently imbedded in his skin, then up onto Dan’s, tracing the same pattern of Dan’s tattoo. He traced over the slightly curled font, black and bold.

“‘I’ll do it all again/I think you’re my best friend.’” Phil read, a little smile on his face. “God, it’s so cheesy, but perfect.” Dan nodded.

“It was a good choice.”

“Perfect for us.”

“Yes,” Dan whispered. He leaned forward and kissed Phil’s nose. Phil giggled.

“Because we’ll always be best friends, no matter what.” Phil said with his eyes closed.

“Definitely. God bless Fall Out Boy.”

Phil laughed as he pulled Dan close and they both fell back onto the pillows of their bed.

“Oh yes. Now we gotta see how our followers react…”

Dan lifted his head and kissed Phil’s lips lightly. “They’ll love it, probably more than we do.”

Phil nodded and yawned, pulling Dan closer to him as he buried his head in Dan’s hair. “Thank you.”

“What for?” Dan mumbled, his voice heavy with upcoming sleep.

“For convincing me to do this. I’m glad you’re irresistible.”

Dan chuckled and shook his head in Phil’s chest. “I am irresistible, aren’t I? But, I’m glad you agreed. This was fun.” Phil opened his mouth to agree, but a yawn overtook him. “How’s about we go to sleep?” Dan suggested when he felt the yawn. Phil just nodded, sleep finally taking over. “Goodnight Dan.”

Dan smiled and traced the fresh ink in Phil’s chest. “Goodnight Phil.”

One of the features of their new apartment was a balcony where, when it wasn’t too hot outside, Dan liked to spend a good portion of his afternoon as he scrolled through tumblr. Today was one of those days, where it wasn’t boiling hot but rather the perfect summer temperature to hang outside in.

Dan was reclining in their porch chair, indulging in his guilty pleasure of reading phanfictions. It wasn’t his fault that they were so well written and appeared so much on his dashboard and tag. He only stuck to the fluff section, as angst made him cry and smut was awkward to say the least (Dan did not want to know how his audience perceived him having sex, especially with his best friend). Even though it should have crept him out that he enjoyed reading fiction about himself, he wasn’t too bothered by it. Dan didn’t see it as himself in the story, but rather a Dan that the author came up with. After all, it was impossible for his audience to know all of his personality and reactions.

Dan yawned, halfway through another phanfiction. The warm summer sun was making him drowsy and he knew that he would fall asleep soon if he wasn’t careful. He was contemplating getting up when suddenly a hand began tickling his neck from behind. Dan immediately screeched, almost throwing his phone off the balcony as his hands rushed to defend his neck. 

“Phil, you twat!” Dan yelled, the offender giggling mischievously. 

“I can’t believe you’re outside for once,” Phil teased, “And yet you’re still on your phone.”

Dan rolled his eyes, picking back up his phone and opening it again. “I’ll have you know that I was doing very important business.”

Phil squinted at the screen over Dan’s shoulder, reading what was on it. “I don’t think reading phanfiction counts as important business, Dan.”

Dan blushed, muttering something unintelligent. Phil knew that Dan liked to read phanfiction, but it never stopped him from being embarrassed every time Phil found out. “Shut up,” Dan managed.

Phil walked over and abruptly sat on Dan’s lap, making the younger boy squeak. “If it’s so important, why don’t you let me read it as well? Start from the beginning, though.”

Dan pulled up his phone so Phil could see it as well, scrolling back up to the top. He felt Phil relax into him, settling in to read. Phil read it intently while Dan was still flustered over being found out.

“I really like the author’s style,” Phil commented quietly.

Dan looked up at him, startled. “I mean- yeah, they’re really good at setting the scene. The dialogue doesn’t flow as nice as some, but it’s still easy to understand.”

Phil nodded in agreement, his focus returning to the story. He grabbed Dan’s phone and took over scrolling whenever he was finished with the page, catching up to where Dan was at. They read at a similar pace, however if Phil ever scrolled too early Dan would poke him and whine about him going too fast.

“It was a cute story,” Phil admitted, handing the phone back. “I liked it.”

Dan pocketed his phone, humming in agreement. He wrapped his arms around Phil, squeezing him closer. “So basically it’s everything you dreamed of,” Dan teased.

Phil tried to elbow him, but Dan’s grip was too strong. “You wish.”

Dan snickered. “You know what we should read next?”

“What?” “Daddy kink with slight bdsm smut.”

Phil face palmed. “When will you die.”

Dan tickled Phil lightly, making him squirm. “Then after we read it, we should reenact it.”

“Yes, of course,” Phil said sarcastically. He leaned towards Dan’s face, making ridiculous kissing noises.

Dan moaned sexually, earning an eye roll from Phil. 

“You’re disgusting, you know that?”

The two burst into laughter at their antics, Phil leaning affectionately into Dan. He nuzzled into his hair as he tried to stifle his laughter. When their laughter finally died down, Phil sighed contently.

“You’re a nerd,” Phil mumbled into Dan’s hair.

“So are you.” Dan gently adjusted his grip on Phil so that the two were comfortably cuddling.

Phil melted even more into Dan’s grip. He lifted his head for a moment to kiss Dan’s dimple. 

Dan blushed, smiling even more. “Bro, your masculinity,” he said in a deep, manly voice.

“I don’t need masculinity when I have you, bro,” Phil replied in the same voice. “Bro.” Dan giggled, giddy with affection for his best friend. 

Phil poked Dan’s cheek. “Make me some dinner, bro?”

“Really Phil?” Dan groaned. He would have protested more, but Phil was giving him the sad puppy eyes that Dan couldn’t say no to. Dan sighed in defeat. 

“Fine.”

“I think you meant to say, ‘anything for you bro’.” 

Dan considered shoving Phil off his lap. “I hate you.”

Phil giggled, his tongue poking out. “You know you love me. Now, food.”

Dan rolled his eyes, smiling. “Whatever, nerd.”

The two headed inside, Phil teasing Dan the whole way. Though Dan pretended to be offended, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“Be a good bro and get me some chocolate.” “If you say bro one more time, Phil, I swear to god-”

--

It’d been an eventful night.

Phil’s parents had prepared a three course meal ahead of his birthday, the family kept up their tradition of opening one early birthday present before they went to bed (a vintage board game from his parents) and a couple of his closest friends had taken him out for drinks before the big group of them met the following day.

They’d been pressed into each other the entire night, whether it be holding hands under the table or Phil’s arm around Dan’s shoulders, it was liberating to just be free to do and say whatever they please, regardless of who saw. Dan hadn’t heard Phil laugh so much in months, and he’d be lying if he said it didn’t send a warm feeling through his chest. He’d always loved Phil’s laugh.

Now, Dan is staring at his phone whilst Phil is snoring softly beside him, his arm loosely around Dan’s waist. He always falls asleep first. The room is enveloped in silence, to say they were in a house full of people, Dan would be able to hear a pin drop.

January 30th is on the near horizon, a mere three minutes away, so he decides to make his move. He gently unwraps Phil’s arm from around him and slips out of bed, tiptoes over to their suitcase (he was sure to pack it, not Phil). The small present he kept away from the others is still hidden in his jumper at the bottom, and he smiles to himself at how childish it probably all seems.

The alarm he set for midnight rings. A soft acoustic melody at a low enough volume it won’t wake anyone else up. His plan backfires slightly when he’s stood at the foot of the bed holding the present, but Phil doesn’t even stir. He leaves the alarm for a little longer, but nothing changes.

So he takes matters into his own hands. He crawls onto the bed and makes his way over to Phil’s sleeping form, and pokes him in the cheek. And again. And once more. Eventually, Phil lifts his hand to bat Dan’s finger away.

“What are you doing” Phil is evidently more asleep than he is awake.

“Look what time it is!” Dan switches on the bedside lamp and grabs his phone, turns it up to full brightness and shoves it in front of Phil’s face. “It’s midnight!”

“Great so I’m old now. Fabulous” Phil mumbles as he rolls over and presses his face in the pillow.

Dan laughs, he’s never heard Phil use the word fabulous for as long as he can remember.

“You’re always going to be old compared to me, sunshine. But thankfully for you I happen to like an older man.”

Phil sits up and rubs his eyes.

“Your cheering up methods leave a lot to be desired.”

Dan grins. “We can’t all be born with social grace and etiquette like the era you were born in, grandpa.”

“Dan!” Phil lunges forward to push him backwards, only causing Dan to laugh again.

“Though I have to say, just between you and me, you don’t look a day over twenty nine.”

Phil rolls his eyes and smiles. “Shut up, dork. Come here” he reaches out and makes grabbing motions with his hands.

Dan gently places the present on the bed and crawls into Phil’s arms, and Phil immediately presses a soft kiss to his lips.

“My first kiss as a thirty year old and your lips are still gross” he pouts, and Dan flips him off.

“It’s a life milestone for you, not for me. I can afford to have chapped lips for I am still a youngster in comparison to you.”

“Any time you want to stop with the old man digs is fine by me” Phil flicks Dan on the forehead and settles back down under the covers, a yawn escapes his lips in the process.

“Can I at least carry on until lunchtime?” Dan asks, and Phil taps a finger to his chin.

“Tough decision, truly, but no. Sorry kid” he ruffles Dan’s hair and they share a grin at how they haven’t changed over the years, Dan has a feeling they never will. Eight years is a long time, if anything was going to change, it was only going to be for the better.

Dan shrugs. “If you don’t play along, you don’t get an early present.”

“I’ve already had an early present” Phil raises an eyebrow.

“Not from me, you haven’t. But if you want to be boring then I guess I’ll just wait until morning…”

“I want the present though!” Phil whines, and Dan throws his head back in laughter.

“Some things never change” he smiles and reaches for the present and places it in Phil’s readily held out hands.

“You didn’t spend a lot on whatever this is, did you? I think spending eighty eight pounds on a dessert platter we didn’t even eat all of is more than enough…”

Dan waves off his concern. “You’ll have to open it and see. But even if I did, you deserve it.”

Phil’s cheeks tinge pink as he begins peeling back the golden paper.

“Get it? I bought it especially for today because you’re the golden guy in my life!”

Phil pauses and makes eye contact with him, clearly biting back a laugh.

“So you didn’t just use the leftover wrapping paper we had from Christmas that I know you stored in the drawer in the office and hoped that I wouldn’t notice?”

“So are you opening this present or what?” Dan quickly changes the subject, feeling the heat that had soon risen to his cheeks.

Phil laughs and reaches to stroke Dan’s cheek. “You’re cute when you’re caught out.”

“Shut up! Bigger picture!” Dan feels himself getting flustered and nods towards the momentarily abandoned present in Phil’s lap.

“If you insist” Phil says, a wide smile still taking pride of place on his face. It takes a sizeable amount of Dan’s willpower to stop himself from pulling Phil in for another kiss.

When enough paper is pulled away to reveal the velvet exterior of the box, Phil pauses and looks up at Dan through his eyelashes.

“Dan-“

“Open it” Dan interrupts, and Phil simply nods and finishes unwrapping, until the box lays on his open palm.

“What are you waiting for?”

Phil swallows back whatever he was going to say and opens the box with trembling fingers.

Dan watches as Phil’s face falls slightly at seeing the box empty with the exception of a tightly folded strip of paper.

He’s expecting to have to explain himself, but Phil picks up the paper and unfolds it, his lips pressed in a tight line. Dan finds himself holding his breath as he watches.

“Check the wardrobe?” Phil questions as he reads what Dan wrote on the paper in his best handwriting. “We’re not at home…”

“I know that, nerd” Dan replies, and Phil wastes no time in throwing the duvet off of his body and pads over to the wardrobe. He looks through the few items of clothing they bothered to hang up and turns to face Dan with a silent plea for help when it turns out to be a fruitless endeavour.

“You know Phil, I’ve really upped myself from your birthday last year. I’m really on the top of my game this year.”

He flicks his gaze to the top of the wardrobe when Phil continues to stare blankly at him.

Phil then nods in understanding and brushes his hand across the top of the wardrobe, until he hits the present.

It’s huge in comparison to the small box, and Dan can see the childlike curiosity in Phil’s eyes as he walks over and places it on the bed.

“Isn’t this technically two presents?” he asks, and Dan shakes his head.

“It’s a present that’s in two parts, it’s allowed.”

Phil’s eyes widen as his gaze falls on what is in the frame.

“I got a lot of your favourite artists that do commissions to make something special for you and put them into a collage type thing… I had it sent to your parents’ house so you wouldn’t have a clue” Dan shrugs casually, and Phil tackles him onto the mattress, and begins peppering kisses to every inch of skin he can reach.

“You like it then?” Dan chuckled breathlessly as Phil moved to kissing his neck.

“I love it,” Phil assures him, and kisses Dan deeply. “And I love you.”

Dan pulls him in for another kiss, and tangles his fingers in Phil’s hair.

“Happy birthday.”

Phil grins and kisses the tip of his nose. “Thank you.”

“We should get some sleep, you have a big day ahead of you, birthday boy.”

“You didn’t call me old, for once” he observes.

Dan shrugs, and wraps a lock of Phil’s hair around his finger. “Guess you found a method of shutting me up.”

Phil kisses him again. “Can’t we stay like this for longer?”

“No for many reasons. One, as lovely and accepting as your parents are, I don’t think they’d appreciate walking into your room at eight in the morning and you being on top of me. Two, your arms would hurt. Three-“

“Okay I get it” Phil laughs and rolls off of Dan, causing a feigned huff of discomfort from the brunet as he does so.

He places the frame on the floor beside the bed, and picks up the box. “You very almost got me with this, you know” he says as he looks at it from different angles. He laughs, and Dan smiles.

As they settle down into bed and Phil’s arm wraps around his waist again, Dan takes his hand and begins to play with his fingers. Phil presses a soft kiss to the back of his neck and whispers an ‘I love you’ into the skin. Dan squeezes his hand, he knows he doesn’t need to say it back.

Phil is soon fast asleep again, but Dan lays awake. His mind flickers between a million and one thoughts, all of which ensure his smile never leaves him. He’s certain it’s going to look as if he’s slept with a coat hanger in his mouth.

But one thing in particular comes back to him again and again: the second small box that lays unassumingly atop Phil’s other presents that he’s to open in a few hours’ time, wrapped in a silver iridescent wrapping paper (that Dan genuinely did buy especially for the occasion, it was his favourite). Containing a promise of forever, should Phil choose to accept it.

Turning thirty years old was a big milestone for Phil, and Dan wanted it to be the first of many.

-- E n d --

Decided to write a little something to commemorate Phil smashing his thirties, hopefully you enjoyed and stuff. Here’s to hoping he has a lovely and prosperous year and is the happiest he’s ever been!

Phil threw his hands in the air before clenching them in his hair. “Okay, I give up. This is the third store we've gone to. You're worse than your father, I swear.”

Rose giggled behind her hand. “Oh, come on, it's not that bad,” she coaxed. “We can even stop and get ice cream and I won't tell Dad.”

Phil playfully narrowed his eyes at her. “I thought the parent was supposed to bribe the kid with ice cream.”

“Not when the kid knows her other dad will fuss at him if he gets extra sweets without inviting him,” she sassed.

“You wound me. Really, you do.”

She shoved him gently and dove back into the rack. Phil took this as his cue to get back to work when suddenly Rose gasped and stood straight, her prize behind her back and a wide grin. “I found it!” she announced gleefully.

Phil just blinked after her as she darted to the changing rooms.

_________

“Okay, you ready, Papa?” Rose called from the other side of the closed door.

“Hit me!”

“No one says that anymore,” she groaned.

Phil laughed, but immediately sobered up when he saw what his daughter was wearing. “No. Absolutely not.”

Rose gaped at him and looked down. “What? Why not? What's wrong with it?”

Phil sputtered, waving his hands and flushing with each failed complaint. “I- You! It says ‘I’m a ho ho ho’ on it!”

Rose scoffed. “It's ironic. I just think it's funny.”

“Still!”

Rose scowled. “I’m fifteen. I think I can figure out if a jumper is inappropriate or not.”

“Yeah, you're fifteen,” Phil argued. “I hate to break it to you but you're not done learning yet, and sometimes your parents know better.”

Rose glared at him, blue eyes hard and cold, but he kept firm eye contact with her until she looked away and stomped back into her changing room. “Fine. Whatever. I'll get your stupid deer jumper. I guess my opinion on my clothes doesn't matter to you.”

Phil's face fell. “Wait, Rose-” he cut himself off when the door slammed in his face.  

_________

“So, are you going to tell me why Rose is hiding in her room, royally pissed off at you?” Dan asked cheerfully, plopping down on the sofa with his husband.

Phil groaned and buried his face in his hands. “Parenting is hard.”

Dan hummed in sympathy. “Yeah, we figured that out about twelve years ago when Zach was born. Want to give me anything specific?”

Phil sighed and looked up. “Well, you know we were going shopping for that ugly Christmas jumper party she’s going to Friday night, right?”

“Considering she’s been talking about nothing else since she got invited I had a vague idea, yeah.”

“Well, everything was going fine until she picked out this one, and I told her she couldn’t have it because it was really inappropriate.”

Dan looked at him, quite startled. “An inappropriate jumper? How does that even work? Did it have conveniently cut out holes or something?”

Phil rolled his eyes. “No, it just said something bad.”

“Like?”

Phil flushed and muttered, “It had Santa on it with a speech bubble that said ‘I’m a ho ho ho.’”

Dan immediately burst out laughing. “It said what now?”

Phil blushed darker. “I’m a ho ho ho.” Dan continued to laugh at him until he whine, “Cut it out! It’s a big deal!”

Dan shook his head. “No, it’s really not, Phil. Honestly, if I had seen you pitch a fit over it, I’d be pretty upset with you, too.”

“She wanted to wear a jumper that said she was a ho!”

“It was a joke,” Dan said, shrugging. “I mean, yeah, if she wanted to wear it to a proper function then it probably wouldn’t fly, but since she’s just going to be hanging out with her friends I don’t think there’s a problem.”

“She’s fifteen!”

“Yeah, she’s fifteen,” Dan explained. “She’s getting to that age where that kind of humor is appreciated and accepted.”

“But-”

“She’s not a little kid anymore, Phil,” Dan said gently. “I know you still want to protect her from a lot of what’s out there, but you really need to let her experience some things for herself. If you don’t she’s going to find herself an adult with no idea what to do.”

Phil frowned and thumped his head down on Dan’s shoulder. “I need to apologize, don’t I?”

Dan turned to press a kiss to the top of his head. “I think you know the answer to that.”

__________

Rose frowned at her reflection in the mirror, critically eyeing the dopey looking reindeer splashed across her chest. To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t that bad and would get at least a laugh or two  out of her classmates, but it wouldn’t be the kind of laughter she wanted. This would be much more akin to them laughing at her rather than at her joke. However, maybe with the right attitude she could pull it off; she just had to muster enough confidence to make it seem deliberate.

There was a sudden knock at her door followed by her father quietly calling out, “Rose? May I come in?”

She frowned, still slightly mad at him, but sighed out, “Yeah, come in.”

He almost nervously slipped into her room, hands hidden behind his back, and cleared his throat. “Okay, first things first: I’m sorry,” he sighed. “You’re older than I seem to think you are and I shouldn’t have tried to control you the way I did.”

Rose gave him a little half smile for trying. “It’s okay, Papa.”

He shook his head. “No, it’s not. Ever since you were little your father and I said we were going to let you and Zach grow up into your own people and make your own decisions. We’re not going to let you do something that could hurt you, but I’m pretty sure a slightly rude jumper isn’t going to kill you.”

She giggled a little, and her smile was a little more genuine. “No, I understand, really, I do. You don’t want me and Zach doing stuff that’s too old for us.”

He nodded. “You’re right, but, like I said, I may have been a bit too quick to judge your jumper selection, which is why I got you this.”

Rose squealed and ran over to grab the article of clothing in question and flung her arms around her father’s neck. “Thank you! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

He laughed and hugged her back. “Alright, now you need to hurry up and get dressed or we’ll never make it on time.” Rose beamed at him and he stepped back out into the hall where Dan was standing at the end, smirking proudly.

“You got her the jumper,” Dan said, almost incredulously.

Phil shrugged, grinning sheepishly. “I mean, you two were right. She may not be completely grown but she is grown enough for some things.”

Dan stepped forward to wrap his arms around Phil’s neck. “You’re a good dad, Phil.”

Phil just pressed a kiss to Dan’s lips, both of them smiling too much to do it properly.

Yesterday’s fic!  (Very unfortunate office party!)