All Was Golden In the Sky (Phan AU)

Chapter 2

"When the sun found the moon, she was drinking tea in a garden, under the green umbrella trees, in the middle of summer..."

***

On his walk to the floral shop the sky began to clear up, as if each cloud suddenly decided to go its own way. Only a few wisps remained, hanging delicately by cotton strings. Dan was silently disappointed, reminiscing over the last few days he had spent in Berkshire before his move. Home...

He rounded a corner, and found himself directly beside a Tudor-style shop. There was a lavender and yellow awning rolled out under a sign titled "Marie's Florist and Coffee". Swirly bronze tables and chairs sat out front.

'This should be the place.' Dan nodded and checked his phone for the time. 6:52. He heaved a great sigh of relief. Being eight minutes early- even being early in general -was something he had rarely found himself doing, which often resulted in many awkward situations. Dan took a seat at one of the tables. As if on queue, a tall, lanky man strode over and took a seat at another table. He was, no doubt, a little intimidating. He had two sleeves of tattoos, snakebite piercings, and a dragon tattoo that curved up his neck. But for some odd reason, that wasn't what intimidated Dan; what intimidated Dan was his jet black hair, streaked with blue. It fell, choppy yet smooth, across his forehead, framing a pair of icy eyes.

Were they actually icy, though? Dan pondered this, hoping his "people-watching" wasn't glaringly obvious.

No, they didn't look like ice at all. They closer resembled the colour of the Caribbean Sea.

The man tilted his head more in Dan's direction, and Dan immediately looked down.

"Hi there," said the stranger in a throaty accent. Oh no... He came over and sat across from Dan, then extended his hand in friendly greeting. "I'm Phil, what's your name?" Dan slowly fixed his gaze upwards. Phil's face was plastered with a goofy grin- that of complete contrast to his appearance.

"I-I'm...," Dan stammered, trying to find words. He wasn't in the habit of spontaneously greeting random people in public, "My name's Daniel, but you can just call me Dan." He took the man's hand, giving it a tentative shake. "N..nice to meet you... I guess?"

"That's cool! Do you come here for coffee often?" Phil did not break eye contact.

"N-no, I..." Dan trailed off.

'The Caribbean Sea, speckled with sunlight,' he thought. A wave of emotion suddenly soared up from his chest, but got caught in his throat. He was frozen in place, awestruck, his lips slightly parted. Dan could practically feel his pupils dilate. Oh no.....

"You could go swimming in those eyes," he whispered.

Right away, he realized his mistake.

'Oh god, I did not just do that... Not again!' How long had it been since he had thought out loud? He had been trying desperately to keep that under control, as it made people around him uncomfortable.

"Hmm?" Phil lifted his chin, directing his ear towards Dan. Dan's face felt hot. OH No.......

"I-I was talking about how much I liked pies!" he quickly covered up the comment. Phil seemed appeased, and chuckled. Then he leaned an inch or two closer, eyes widening, and mouth turned up at one end.

"Do you want to hear a cool fact?"

Dan shrugged his shoulders. "Sure."

"Did you know that lions have been found to be homosexual? Many animals have, actually."

"WhAt?!" Dan erupted in sudden outburst of laughter. "Okay?" He was doubled over giggling, hiding his flushed cheeks. Was this a nervous reaction, or was what Phil had said really that hilarious? It was mostly nervous, Dan decided, as he attempted to right himself in his chair, still laughing. Phil sat, calmly smiling.

"So you said you don't usually go here for coffee?" he inquired. "'Cause I was gonna ask how their drinks were. I'm kind of new in town, so..."

Dan ran a hand through his bangs. "I know just about as much about this place as you do. I just started working here. It's my first day on the job..." He folded his hands and set them on the table. "Where did you come from?"

"Manchester," the man answered. "Just a couple of weeks ago, actually. I'm starting work at a tattoo parlour right across the street."

"Right across the street?"

"Yeh. Where are you from?"

Just then, a short, stocky woman with her brown hair in a bun came arrived at the door of the flower shop, keys in hand. She unlocked the door, giving a friendly smile towards the two young men.

"G'morning," she said before going inside. There was a faint ding as the doors closed behind her.

"That must be my manager," Dan stated. He got up from his seat, pushed the chair in, and neared the door. "I'm from Berkshire, by the way. Moved here three weeks ago." He waved farewell to his new aquaintance. "Nice meeting you."

Phil's eyes crinkled up as he gave another grin. "Noice meeting you as well."