Broad Love

Chapter Twelve

~PJ~

My socked feet padded softly across the hard floor in the middle of the night. I glanced over to Dan's bedroom door and hoped that Phil would stay asleep; it was about two o'clock in the morning. Feeling my way down the hall into the lounge, I tripped over the coffee table and landed on the sofa straight onto Dan's legs. So much for a smooth entrance. He jerked awake (probably expecting an intruder, the paranoid bastard) but he relaxed when he saw it was only me.

"Peej?" He grumbled. "What are you doing? It's the middle of the night."

I arranged myself so I wasn't sitting on him instead beside him. "I wanted to talk. No, actually, you wanted to talk."

"Huh?" Dan rubbed his eyes sleepily, obviously not remembering due to having just been woken up.

"Last night, you were about to tell me something. You said that we'd been living together for a while now and you just wanted to say- and then you were cut off. Is there something you wanted to tell me?" I almost knew what Dan was going to say. When he looked at me right before we were interrupted, it was the same look that used to be reserved for Phil alone. Something told me deep inside that Dan was going to tell me that he loved me. But now that Phil was back, I wasn't so sure. I knew that if he stayed for a while, Dan would fall back in love with him and I would never have a chance. That's why I confronted him sooner rather than later, to make sure that would never happen.

"Oh, yeah." Dan sat up and looked me in the eyes before taking a breath. "I just wanted to say- thank you. For everything." He smiled.

My face fell. I really thought that he was going to say that he loved me. "Yeah well, no problem. You'd do the same for me." I stood up to walk back to my room but Dan caught my wrist before I could.

"Wait, no. That's not what I wanted to say." He let go to run his hands through his hair and I sat back down. "I was going to tell you that- I just wanted you to know-" He sighed. "Ah, fuck it. I love you, Peej. Okay?" Dan looked frustrated by his own emotions and I couldn't help but chuckle. For that, he gave me a puzzled look.

"Don't hurt yourself, Dan. And I love you too, but I think you know that already." I took his hands in mine, showing him how much I cared. He smiled brightly and I couldn't resist. I bent down slightly and kissed him, the first one slow and soft, the second one firm and loving. When we pulled apart, Dan put his forehead against mine and we just sat there breathing in each other for a moment. Finally, I stood up.

"You've had a long day. You should sleep." His mouth opened to object, but I pecked him on the lips quickly, silencing his words. I started to walk away and our hands, which were still clasped together, gently glided across each other's as I made my way back to my room.

Before I shut my door, I heard him mumble, "Good night." I smiled to myself and shut the door, collapsing onto my bed. Finally, I thought. Someone loves me. I closed my eyes after those words, drifting off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.