Love Me Further (Phan)

Chapter Eleven

Phil furrowed his eyebrows and jogged back up to Dan who had paced ahead, leaving the boy with unanswered questions, "Dan, wait-!" he called, laughing into the brisk air around them that turned their breaths into clouds in front of their noses. He took his boyfriend's warm palm again as they left the gates, taking a turn so that they'd be met along the street where there were often taxis lined up outside a nearby hotel, "Where are you taking me?" he squealed, nudging his shoulder against him as he did when they were teenagers, fooling around playfully.

"Okay, fine, in your defence it's still part of the restaurant building..." Dan teased, biting his bottom lip and refusing to make eye contact.

"Dannn!" Phil whined, pouting like a child being refused an ice-cream. Suddenly their return to the trailer this evening wasn't the most intriguing part of their night in his opinion. He let go of his boyfriend's hand, knowing how uncomfortable he was about the possibility of their relationship going beyond their private lives, and followed him into a taxi where the driver smiled at their approach.

"Where are we off to, then?" the driver asked, putting his foot on the pedal and turning the car away from the pavement.

"The Cassandra." Dan giggled, flicking his pupils to Phil to see whether or not he recognised the name.

"Dan," Phil let the warning fall from his lips, "I said-"

"You say a lot of things." he giggled.

"Night out, then?" the driver asked, watching the two of them, "Should I ask if you're meeting anyone else there?"

"Just us two," Dan confidently replied, exchanging an impatient grin with his partner.

The driver seemed to understand with this, nodding his head and asking, "So, what's the occasion?"

"It's my birthday, actually," Phil hummed. He found it awkward when taxi drivers tried to communicate with him, but he was easily able to talk to them when they seemed to want to chat.

"Well, the streets aren't too busy tonight, it should only be around twenty minutes or so."

"Thank you." Dan snickered, still feeling himself burn under the glare of his boyfriend, "Stop looking at me like that," he whispered.

"I'll stop looking at you like that when you promise I can pay, or at least go halves-"

"No," Dan refused, crossing his legs and looking out of the passenger's window.

"Fine. I'll one-up you on your birthday."

"I'd like to see you try."

***

The building was incomparable to the restaurant they shared a table at on their first reunited night because, this time, it was more than clear that it was only for the finest of guests. Phil burnt up as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, believing as though he should have felt out-of-place, but with Dan by his side, he felt like he'd always belonged here. He realised that probably sounded like the most self-absorbed thing he could think of, but he also knew something had to make up for the eight years they'd lost and if he didn't enjoy tonight, what would be the point in either of them trying to make their time special for each other?

He wanted to snatch his boyfriend's palm into his own and march into the building together, smiling at the people around them as the fine napkins were placed on their laps and the chandeliers brightly grinned down from above each delicately placed table, but he knew Dan's greatest fear was the media catching sight of them. He wasn't particularly sure why or if it was even rational, but he wasn't going to push him; it wasn't fair on a night like tonight when the younger man had obviously planned every fine detail of the evening. A perfect boy deserved the perfect meal he wanted to give his partner.