I Will Love You Endlessly (Sequel to i dare you to love me)

Part 3

Another pot falls to the floor, the sound of ceramic breaking echoing throughout the (thankfully) empty flower shop, and Phil decides that he really needs to get his shit together because there's no way Dan is going to want to marry him if he keeps breaking his things.

He's been at Game of Thorns all day. He called off from the BBC and made a point to come over early in the morning, playing it off as he had slept in a bit (when in reality, he was lying awake in bed too anxious to fall back asleep after waking up at the - not literal - asscrack of dawn) and simply had nothing else to do with his day. He helped out in any way that he could, mostly by referring several customers to the lilies but also by cleaning up all the messes he had been making because he was all thumbs today, wound up with so much nervous energy that he couldn't stop his hands from shaking.

Dan, luckily, wasn't angry with all of the pots he had broken or the bags of soil he had spilt or even the sunflowers he nearly drowned because he had zoned out while watering them and simply found all of it to be amusing. Not to mention, he had grown used to Phil's antics and clumsy mannerisms. And Phil was lucky in the fact that he could blame everything that happened today on him being derpy and clumsy, but even he knew that he was worse than usual today; breaking pot plant after pot plant is a huge step up from simply tripping over your untied shoelaces. But he has good reason to be nervous, and now, at the end of the day, his nerves have all but tripled and he kind of feels like throwing up. The shop has closed for the day and Phil stayed behind to "help Dan clean up" - or at least that's what he's told him. Truthfully, he's here because today is The Day.

"Phil, did you break another one of my pots?" Dan's voice calls from his office in the back.

"It was a bird!" Phil insists, quickly getting down to the floor to scoop up the spilt dirt and shattered remains of the third pot that he managed to destroy today.

He hears Dan's footsteps and the brunet asks, "Why are you so jittery? Too much coffee?"

"An extra shot of espresso at Starbucks today," Phil says getting up to his feet and taking Dan's hands, pulling the younger boy closer and pressing their lips together. "Sorry about all the pots. I'll make you some new ones."

"That'll be a sight for sore eyes," Dan teases him.

Phil chuckles, his thumb rubbing across Dan's knuckles and just breathing in this moment; they way they're stood there holding hands, the way Phil has to push himself up on his toes just slightly so he's taller than Dan, the way Dan's touch gives him goosebumps and makes him feel so damn alive and god he's so in love, he's so fucking in love.

"We can make them together," he suggests.

Dan smirks a little. "God, are we going to become that couple who goes to pottery classes together?" he asks.

"Well we're already that couple that makes monthly trips to the botanical gardens," Phil points out.

"What's next - weekend cooking classes?" Dan asks with a chuckle.

"Only if you want to, love," Phil replies and kisses him again. The smile on his face is as wide as can be and he literally cannot stop smiling, no matter how hard he tries, and even Dan's begun to notice it.

"What's going on with you?" he asks. "Why are you so happy?"

Phil shrugs a little, hoping to appear nonchalant, despite the fact that there are butterflies in his stomach flying around at top speed and his heart is absolutely racing at the moment. "I dunno," he mutters. "I'm just happy. Being here makes me happy,"

Dan smiles at that and Phil has to resist the urge to kiss his dimples. "Does it really?" he asks.

"Yeah, the shop is, like, my favorite place," Phil tells him. "This is like our place, you know? Obviously, we know it's your favorite place on earth, but over the years, it has become my favorite place as well. It's where we first met, where we had our first kiss, where we officially got together. The shop has sort of become a staple in our relationship, it's become our thing."

Dan's smile grows. "Yeah, this place definitely has a lot of memories for us," he says fondly.

"Most importantly though," Phil says. "It's where I fell in love with you."

"Phil!" Dan bows his head just a bit to try and hide the blush growing on his cheeks. "Me too, though," he says. "This is where I fell in love with you too. Where I fall in love with you day after day."

Phil grins. "Do you really?" he asks.

"Is that even a question?" Dan asks in reply. "Everyday I'm with you, it's like I'm falling in love with you all over again for the very first time." He gives Phil's hand a little squeeze. "I love you, Phil Lester."

"I love you too, Dan Howell," Phil says and as he leans into kiss Dan once more he thinks this is it and oh God, he feels as though he's going to internally combust. "You know," he starts and his voice is wobbly but he blames it on the fact that he's trembling like a leaf in a hurricane. "Every time I'm here, I can't help but to associate with Dan or with their relationship in some way. There are so many memories rooted in this building, why not add one more?"

Dan raises an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Phil takes a deep breath; it's now or never. "I love you so much, Dan Howell," he pauses for a moment, still holding Dan's hands - which is mostly to be romantic but also because he's sure that he's definitely going to fall over at any moment - as he gets down on one knee.

He hears Dan gasp, his eyes going wide. "Phil..." he says slowly.

Phil looks up at him and smiles. "I love you so much," he repeats. "That I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

"Oh my God, Phil," Dan untangles one of his hand's free of Phil's to bring it up to cover his mouth and Phil swears he sees tears welling up in those big brown eyes.

"You - I - There's so much I want to say," Phil stutters. "So much I want to tell you, about how much you mean to me and about how much you love me, but there aren't enough words to suffice. But I know that you are the best person in the world, and I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. And I hope that you feel the same way because... "

Phil reaches into his pocket and pulls out the ring, taking a moment to consider the fact that he probably should've gotten it out before hand because he's definitely struggling to get it out right now. But he finally manages to free his hand from his jeans pocket and he produces the ring. "It's like the lily says - I dare you to love me," he says. "And Dan Howell, I dare you to marry me."

Dan sniffles, his free hand going up to wipe his tear stained cheeks and he chokes out another, "Oh my god," and Phil laughs nervously but he has a strong gut feeling that the next words that come out of Dan's mouth are going to be -

"Yes, of course."

Phil can't say another word, and he simply gets up to his feet and pulls Dan into him, kissing him with all of the passion he can muster up. He feels like he's in a movie, and this would be the part where the fireworks would be going off or the crowd of people watching the scene unfold would clap and cheer for the happy couple. But it's real life, and it's just him and Dan in the flower shop. And it's perfect. It's all that he needs.