#pleasantlydaniel

It’s New Year’s Eve and Dan and Phil are snuggled into each other. Phil’s got an arm around Dan’s waist as he talks to Louise. Dan’s head lolls against Phil’s shoulder. He’s much less sober than Phil is, but he doesn’t care. He’s content to feel the rumble of Phil’s voice in his chest, feel Phil’s fingers trace over his hipbones.

Louise smiles warmly at the two of them. She’s been absolutely glowing since the news about her second child, and Dan supposes that’s probably what brings the question up. “So,” she says. “When are the beautiful husbands-” she motions to the matching rings on their hands, there since Japan when they had taken each other for life in a sudden, unplanned ceremony, “-going to grace us with a child of their own?”

“Oh-” Phil starts.

He’s probably about to come up with some excuse to talk her out of it. Phil’s really good at doing that. When Dan didn’t want labels as a scared, closeted kid in 2012, he’d come up with excuses like “we’re not rushing into anything” and “we don’t believe in labels.” Again, when Dan was afraid of getting married, “we have too much on our plate,” “we don’t need a piece of paper to prove we love each other.”

The baby thing is the new thing Phil needs to make excuses for. But Dan’s really drunk so he cuts Phil off with a “-tomorrow.”

Louise knows that drunk promise means nothing, but Phil’s eye catches Dan’s for just a moment too long and both of them can suddenly feel the energy that look has.

When midnight strikes, everyone shouts their blessings for a beautiful 2017. Phil pulls Dan into a kiss that’s as beautiful and mind numbing as their kisses usually are. Dan secretly vows to bring the baby thing up when they’re both more sober.

If he remembers, that is.

MAY 15th, 2018

Dan’s leg is shaking as he sits next to Phil in an ER at three in the morning.

It had taken over a year - a crazy, hectic, amazing year - to work everything out, but they had. They found a surrogate and signed the papers and were there for every one of her milestones. And then Phil got a call at three in the morning that their surrogate had gone into labor and neither he nor Dan was even angry at the fact that they were woken up.

They’re having a baby.

They barely get any sleep, and at nine, half asleep, a nurse comes to get them.

Their surrogate looks like she’s just been through hell and back, but she’s holding a baby in her arms and that’s all that Dan can focus on. That’s their daughter. She’s holding their daughter.

She catches Dan’s eye and smiles at him. “Do you want to hold her?” she asks.

Dan wants so badly to hold his daughter, but he’s frozen in fear. Phil steps forward and says, “Can I hold her?” and then takes her when the surrogate nods.

“Dan,” he says, his voice quiet and reverent and on the verge of tears. “Dan, she’s gorgeous.” He bounces their daughter, hums softly under his breath. Dan feels his heart swell with affection for his family - his family.

“Oh, let me,” he says suddenly. Phil just smiles and carefully gives Dan their daughter.

Dan looks down at her, her beautiful little face, her tiny hands, she’s perfect. She’s all theirs. Dan almost can’t believe it.

Phil wraps an arm around Dan’s waist and smiles at his husband.

CHRISTMAS EVE, 2018

It’s around midnight when Phil wanders into their lounge with a baby monitor in his hands. He stands in the doorway and watches Dan, standing on a ladder, decorating a tree that’s somehow taller than the both of them.

Phil clears his throat and Dan jumps. He laughs a little as he climbs off the ladder awkwardly. Phil wraps his arms around his husband’s waist, his head against Dan’s shoulder, looking up at the tree.

“You’re such a try-hard,” Phil says softly.

Dan laughs. He turns so he’s facing Phil. “I just want Emily to have a perfect Christmas.”

For the millionth time since they’ve been a couple, his heart bursts with affection for his husband. Dan’s so fucking perfect in every way, Phil’s can’t help but be hopelessly in love with him.

“C’mere,” Phil says, and he pulls Dan into a gentle kiss. Dan’s arms come to wrap around Phil’s neck, Phil’s trailing under Dan’s shirt as he drops the baby monitor to the floor. They haven’t had a lot of alone time since Emily was born and the contact feels amazing. Phil’s half-convinced he could kiss Dan forever.

Of course, that’s when the baby monitor lights up and Emily starts crying again.

Dan and Phil break apart with a breathless laugh. Phil picks the baby monitor up off the floor and gives Dan a sheepish smile. “I should probably go see if she’s okay.”

“Probably,” Dan answers. He pecks Phil’s lips before he smacks his ass. “Go!” he says. “I have to keep being a try-hard, anyway.”

FEBRUARY 14th, 2019

“It’s fine, Dan,” Louise insists. She’s got Emily in her arms as she smiles at Dan. “I love your daughter.”

Dan groans. “I know, but it’s Valentine’s Day,” he says. He packs another shirt into his bag and sighs. “You should be having fun, not watching Emily.”

“You need a day off,” Louise insists. “I know how hard it is being a first time parent. You and Phil deserve some time to get sexy with each other.”

Dan laughs at that. “God, okay, mum,” he says. He kisses Emily’s forehead. “Me and papa will see you tomorrow, baby girl.”

-

Phil’s the first one into the hotel room, trailed by Dan. “This is nice,” he says.

Dan nods in agreement, “yeah,” he answers. He puts his bags down and goes, “a little dingy, you reckon?”

Phil shrugs. “It’s not like we’re actually staying here.”

Dan presses Phil into a wall and kisses him, Phil’s bag dropping to the floor. Dan gets his hands in Phil’s hair and pulls. Phil whines somewhere high in his throat, presses until he’s flush against Dan.

Dan pulls back enough from the kiss so that he can gets his and Phil’s shirts off and onto the floor. He connects their lips again, gets his hands to Phil’s belt and is in the process of undoing it when his phone rings.

Dan pulls back and Phil latches onto his neck. “No, no, no,” he breathes out, all hot against Dan’s skin. “Don’t answer it.”

Dan whines at the feeling. “I-I have to,” he says. “It could be Louise.”

Phil follows him to his back, kissing down his neck, peppering hot kisses on his skin. Dan picks up his phone and answers. “Lou, hi,” he says, his voice all breathless.

“Dan,” Louise says. Dan can tell she’s been crying and his heart drops.

“Oh my god, Lou, what’s wrong?” he asks. Phil backs up, looks up at Dan through wide eyes. Dan grabs his hand and squeezes as he awaits Louise’ response.

“No,” Louise says through tears. “No, it’s tears of happiness, swear.” She sniffles and then laughs. “I-I was walking with Emily and-and she passed a photo of you lot and she said dada.”

“Oh my God,” Dan says. He sniffles himself.

“What?” Phil asks. He looks terrified.

“Emily said her first word,” Dan tells him. Phil slaps a hand over his own mouth. “She said dada.”

They hang up, but it’s impossible to continue. Dan looks at Phil and he says, “there’s nothing more I want than to be home with my daughter. Is that bad?”

“No,” Phil says. “Because I feel the same way.”

They check out of the hotel room with red eyes and stuffy noses. They know they must look weird, but when they get home to Emily it’s all worth it.

Best Valentine’s Day ever.

APRIL 28th 2019

“Come on, Emily. Come on.”

Dan and Phil are curled into each other on the couch. They watch in amusement as Chris tries to get her to walk. She hasn’t walked yet, and they’re positive she won’t walk towards Chris during a movie.

“Chris, come on,” Dan says. “It’s a worthless cause.”

Chris rolls his eyes. “Go back to your movie,” he says. “I’m going to get her to walk. I know I am.”

They watch the movie for a little while, until they hear Chris go “oh, oh! Look!”

They turn in tandem and watch as Emily takes a few steps towards Chris. She falls into his arms giggling.

Phil gets off the couch immediately and pulls his daughter into a hug. “Good job, Emily!” he says. He presses kisses to the side of her head.

Chris smirks up at Dan. “I’ve got the magic touch, Dan,” he says.

Dan smacks him upside the head with a pillow.

MAY 15th 2018

Their flat is a mess.

There’s confetti, wrappers, streamers, cups, plates everywhere. Dan’s been tasked with cleaning it up while Phil puts Emily to sleep. Once she’s down, he goes back to join Dan.

“I’m never throwing another birthday party for Emily ever again,” Dan says. He’s holding a discarded cupcake in one hand and looks disgusted. “I swear to god.”

Later, Phil finds him cuddling Emily on the couch, a book in between them as Dan reads to their daughter.

He knows Dan’s a liar.

Fin.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

madi is the second place winner of the fanfic giveaway that i literally had in june. i have no excuse other than my mental breakdown - please forgive me and take this fic instead.

madi is super sweet and nice; her blog is gorgeous and everything she reblogs is a+, i would totally recommend hitting her up with a little follow. 

i asked madi what songs she wanted and she gave me some which i made this playlist based off of! this playlist got me through writing this fic so i would recommend listening and immersing yourself. except it’s been so long that it has her old url oops

if you enjoyed this, please please consider liking or reblogging it. the notes really do help spread the word about my blog and it’s because of you guys that i was able to get out of my weird mental funk and write again.

thank you.

- hunter <3