JaPHAN

CHAPTER 1

"PHIL!" Dan whined through laughter as his best friend jumped up and down on the sofa next to him. "You're gonna break it!"
"Howell, I don't care about the bloody sofa!" Phil replied, grinning. He hopped down into the spot besides Dan. "We're going to Japan! Aren't you excited?!"
"Of course I am!" Dan said, smiling from ear to ear. "We've been dreaming about this ever since 2009!" Phil thought back to those first few Skype calls where they admitted to each other that their ultimate holiday would in fact be Japan. He grabbed a pillow, and hugged it, burying his face in it and squealing happily in the manliest way possible, of course.
"Ah yes, the land of anime and Pokémon..." Dan said dreamily.
"And sushi!" Phil said, popping his head back up. "And Nintendo! And pandas!"
"Phil pandas are from China."
"Oh."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Dan what are you packing?" Phil asked, poking his head into the room adjacent to his.
"Just the usual for a weeklong holiday."
"Yeah, but what's the weather like in Japan?" Phil asked, confused. Dan looked up suddenly, just as miffed.
"You know...I really have no clue."
"To the Internet!" Phil declared suddenly, ducking back into his room to grab his MacBook. He opened up Safari and typed into the address bar: "weather forecast in Tokyo Japan".
"Dan!" He called, seeing the 7-day forecast appear on the screen. "Turns out Tokyo's looking much the same as London...rain and all."
"Brilliant," Dan said from his room. "It'll be easy to pack then." Phil nodded silently in agreement before placing his MacBook aside and continuing to search through his pile of tee-shirts, plaid button ups, skinny jeans, and mismatched socks, settling only for his favorites to make their way into his suitcase.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"You know there's a ton of Furbies in Japan," Phil said casually on the night before they would catch the plane.
"I was trying not to think about it, thanks," Dan said, shuddering at the fact. He hated Furbies with a passion.
"I'm gonna buy so many," Phil taunted, smiling slightly.
"Philip Michael Lester, I swear, if you do I'm moving out."
Phil gulped.
"I'm kidding, Dan."
"I know," he answered, grinning. Silently, Phil breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't imagine having Dan, his best mate, move out. "But seriously," Dan started, logging out of Tumblr, putting his laptop down, and turning to face Phil. "This is gonna be amazing."
"Agreed," Phil stated before placing an arm around Dan. "Just two best friends, of on a whirlwind, big city adventure!"
"Phil we live in London."
"Yeah?"
"Which is a big city."
"Oh."
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Dan, Dan...hey...hey Dan...Dan look at the camera...Dan..."
Phil was attempting to vlog even though they had just gotten seated on the plane.
"Phil we've been on this plane for 2 minutes."
"Yeah and I'm bored."
"This is going to be an 11 hour flight."
"I booked the tickets you pleb."
"You're the pleb!"
Dan whacked Phil on the head lightly with his complimentary Sky Store catalogue.
"Hey!" Phil objected, stretching his legs. "Look at all this leg room!" He trained the camera on the seat. Dan shook his head silently, still smiling. His best friend could be such a dork sometimes, but he didn't know what he would do without him.

Night had fallen, and the plane flew peacefully on. Dan had always loved flying at night. There was something incredibly calming about it, even if they were 30,000 feet in the air. Phil slept idly beside him, as they had booked the bed seats for their long flight. Dan watched Phil absently while he slept, but not in a creepy way. More in an observant manner. He noticed familiar things, like how he always slept on his left side, and that meant he was facing Dan. He also had a way of sleeping that messed up his hair, and his eyes remained closed in a relaxed way. His mouth was open slightly. His chest rose and fell rhythmically. And Dan loved it. Dan loved Phil. But all they were and would ever be was best friends, and Dan had learned to accept that a long time ago. Silently, Dan reclined his own chair into a bed and went to sleep.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"We will be landing in Japan in 10 minutes." The pilot's voice rang over the plane. Phil turned to Dan excitedly, putting the camera away in time for their descent.
"This is it, Dan...the moment we've been waiting for!" He reached over and gave Dan's hand a friendly squeeze, causing Dan's heart to flutter. He grinned, more excited than ever to spend this holiday with his best friend.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Phil opened the door to their hotel room and tossed his suit case aside, making a beeline to the bathroom. He had been complaining about how he had to go ever since they left the airport. Chuckling, Dan grabbed Phil's suitcase in his free hand and entered the room. He surveyed it, only faltering when he saw...there was only one bed.
"Hey, Phil?" He called, setting the suitcases down. He heard the toilet flush, then water run, before Phil entered the room as well.
"Yeah?"
"You booked a room with two beds right?"
"Yeah, I thought so-" he stopped when he saw the single bed. "Or maybe I forgot..." He scratched his head.
"Should we ask for another room or..?" Dan asked. Phil shrugged.
"I think it's fine. We're best mates after all. And it's a big bed." Dan nodded in agreement before flopping down onto the bed.
"I'm so tired," he yawned. Phil checked the clock.
"Me too. And a bit jet lagged. It's only 8 am anyways. We can have a nap."
But Dan was already fast asleep. Phil smiled to himself before kicking off his shoes and climbing into bed beside his best friend. He looked at Dan as he slept, noticed the familiar furrowed brow, tightly closed mouth. Messy fringe. It's something he had noticed, and been in love with for a long time. But him and Dan were best friends, and he didn't want to mess that up, because Dan didn't feel the same way. Sighing, Phil turned over and went to sleep.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
Phil woke up to the sound of a microwave beeping. Then, Dan entered the room, carrying a bag of instant popcorn.
"Want some?" He asked, holding out the steaming bag. Phil sat up in bed and reached a hand in.
"Thanks," he said, munching away. Dan nodded.
"So what should we do today?" Phil checked the clock. 12 pm.
"Explore?"
"Let's go," Dan said, disregarding the popcorn and reaching for his shoes.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
"Look at those Japanese trees!" Phil exclaimed, running over to snap a Polaroid of the urban landscaping.
"Phil those are just regular trees."
"No," Phil responded, taking one of its leaves between his fingers. "It's special."
Dan rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but smile. Phil was such a lovable dork sometimes.
"Phil we have to go if you want to make it to the Pokémon store in time for dinner." At this, Phil gave the tree one last pat on the trunk before joining Dan back on the pavement.
"This is like Tokyo Toys only giant," he said, looking around.
"I don't see any anime girls wearing Sailor Moon outfits," Dan laughed.
"Well except for that," Phil clarified. "There are lots of Asian people though...they're so tiny!"
"Phil?"
"Uh huh?"
"Well first of all, we're in Asia. Second of all, we're 6 feet tall."
"Oh yeah."
And with that, they continued on their way to their first real event on their dream holiday.