A/N: YAY STORY
Present day, kinda angsty-ish?? and about New Year's
* * *
"Sorry, that was my mum," Phil apologizes, coming back into the lounge. He looks at Dan, sprawled out on the couch. "She wanted to wish us a Happy New Year before she would be gone with Martyn and Dad all evening."
Dan only nods, focused on an intense game of Mario Kart.
Phil sits down next to Dan. "How are you?" Phil asks, giving Dan a kiss. "Are you okay? Something seems to be bothering you."
"No, I'm fine," Dan says, trying to finish his lap and come in first.
Phil watches Dan fall from fourth to fifth, and then as a player quickly passes Dan at the last second, he comes in sixth.
Dan sighs, muttering under his breath, and throws the controller down in frustration.
They don't say anything for a minute until Dan gives in: "My parents haven't called me at all yet."
Phil frowns, holding Dan closer. "I'm sorry, Dan," he says. Dan leans his head back to look at the ceiling. "They still haven't forgiven me! God, I just wish I knew they cared."
There are only five hours left of their 2015. Around the world, some people have already had a new year, and others have barely even begun preparation.
Phil just wants Dan to know he's loved. There's never enough hours in the year for Phil to give all his love to his best friend.
Hours later, at 23:54, Phil finally loses it. He and Dan have both been staring at the TV watching a dumb program and gnawing on takeaway pizza. He can't end 2015 like this. He doesn't want to. "Come on, Dan, you're not really about to start 2016 watching a crappy TV show, are you? Let's go do something." Dan laughs dryly: "Like what?"
And with that, Phil reaches out his hand to help Dan off the couch. "Go grab our coats, and then come back here," he tells Dan, who whines, but goes to grab his winter coat.
Phil pulls the string and the hatch comes down from the ceiling, revealing the ladder to the attic. In the attic is a door to the roof, where the two have shared an abundance of sweet memories having midnight picnics on the roof or making out under the starlight.
Dan returns, holding the coats. Phil puts his on and checks his watch: 23:57. He clambers up the ladder and looks back to make sure Dan's coming too.
"Phil, do you know how cold it is out side?" Dan tells him. "Yeah, it's probably gonna be freezing, but that's okay, because the view is worth it."
With two minutes to spare, Phil holds Dan on the roof of their apartment. The view is a picturesque of London. Here, they are far away from everybody, and closer to the sky. The drunken people below are ants, and the houses look miniature. They are the giants of the world, with hands high enough to reach up and hold a star. Nothing can hurt them here.
"You know what, Phil? When I was younger, I used to have this idea in my mind that during 00:00, anything could happen. Like it was magic. The first 00:00 of the year, within that minute, everything is possible. Anything could happen."
Phil looked at Dan. Really looked at him. Looked over the man who he would fall asleep with on the first night of 2016 and wake up to on the first morning. It was an alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.
"I know exactly what you mean, Dan."
All of a sudden, the sky lit up. Fireworks shot up into the sky, and the clock tower began to ring. It was a handful of miles away, but they all felt so warm and close. Phil heard Dan giggle to himself like a little boy as he watched all the rockets whiz and whistle into the sky.
"It's 00:00, what magic do you want to make? You only get 60 seconds!" Phil said loudly over the noise to Dan.
"I don't need 60 seconds to tell you I love you, Phil. I mean, I'll use the 60 seconds, but I'll be telling you I love you till the day I die, and that's a very long time."
Dan leans in to kiss Phil. They both have fireworks going off in their hearts, as loud and as booming as the ones in the sky.
Dan pulls away. "Ah, it's 00:01," he says sadly. "Aren't you glad you're up here, feeling better, rather than eating takeaway on the couch like you would've done instead?" Phil asks. Dan nods with a smile.
Before Dan could go back and kiss Phil again, his phone began to ring. "Hello?... Mom!"
Phil only smiles, and lays back on the roof as he listens to Dan gushing over the phone to wish his family a happy New Year. "They didn't forget!" Dan exclaims.
