delivered

50

the next four days were busy for dan. constant socialising and staying up late at night to keep all the work intact, was catching up with him, his mind chaotic and his body lethargic to the point where as soon as his body hit the unfamiliar hotel bed, he would fall asleep.

he hasn't been talking to phil that much, and after two days of ignorance phil had stopped trying, accepting the fact that dan might be too busy at work to talk to him. dan wasn't exactly interacting with chris either, only conversations about work or suggestions for his presentation and that was about it.

it was getting slightly too much for him to cope with the sudden amount of burden, but he was sure that whatever he is doing now will pay off in the future, and he may get a bonus or even a promotion, considering all the jobs that his boss has forced upon his shoulders.

the rotary event was a huge gathering of old and uncomfortably sophisticated people who would get offended if things weren't a certain way, and so dan didn't want to give anybody a reason to complain, nor ruin all his hardwork just because he was a little bit lazy or careless.

it was initially about the digitalisation of the different sources of writing and context, and even though dan's job at his office was to edit stupid manuscripts and reading old literature, he was given the job of making the new trends of writing and literature the highlight of the event.

right now, dan was on his laptop, an unattended cup of coffee resting on the nightstand and chris carelessly tapping away on his phone, occasionally leaning over to ask if dan wanted any help.

he had to present all his ideas in a meeting tomorrow and he was dreading it.

normally he wouldn't, because it was all the people he already knew, but tomorrow he'll be convincing a bunch of totally different people, and if they like the idea they may fund the event and also make long term ties with their company, which would feel like a huge achievement in dan's otherwise purposeless life.

"dan, you're stressing too much," chris furrowed his eyebrows, checking the digital clock by the bed which was flashing one am, and dan just nodded his head dismissively, not paying attention.

"like really, i know it's important to you but you've been overworking yourself a lot and you'll mess up if you do too much," his voice is calm and patient and dan just sighs, biting his lip harshly and shutting his laptop, his face buried in his hands.

he was overwhelmed with the situation.

as it is, he wasn't used to opportunities or responsibilities as big as this, and being his first time doing something like this was beginning to take a toll on him. he knew that even if he tried to not think about it, he would think about it even more, and the cycle would be endless to the point where he's mentally exhausted.

these were the times where he desperately needed phil to talk him down.

to just lay down with him, and softly twist the brown hair between his fingers, whispering encouraging things in dan's ear to calm him down. this was the time where he needed the attention, the care, times when he was desperate and tense and just wanted a release.

and these were the only times phil wasn't there for him.

"i'm so stressed chris, i don't know what to do," dan could feel a lump growing in his throat, heavy and ready to burst, and he was feeling so pathetic right now, crying over a stupid presentation.

"dan relax, you'll do well i know," chris wasn't sure how to comfort him. he knew that him just talking won't particularly do anything, and so he just shifted closer to dan and hesitantly wrapped his arm around dan's shoulder.

his grip tightened once dan started falling apart in his grip, desperately holding onto his shirt, and just by the way dan's breathing was irregular and heavy, chris knew he was breaking down.

"i'm so useless, what even is the point of all this? i will fuck it up so bad and get fired and then i won't have a job," dan rambled, burying his face further into chris' neck, who just shushed him softly, rubbing his hand up and down dan's spine to calm him down.

"no you won't, you'll do really great i promise," chris' voice was soft, his tone encouraging, and dan could feel his senses falling shut, body almost limp in chris' grip. "you're one of the best speakers i know, and you've been working on this long enough for you to impress them, don't worry alright?"

dan only nodded slightly in response, wrapping his arm around chris' waist to find the comfort that was previously lacking. chris' fingers were massaging dan's scalp softly, almost exactly like phil's and dan could feel himself drifting off, shutting out his thoughts for a while so he doesn't end up wide awake at three in the morning.

"do you want to sleep like this?" chris' asked, his hand going back to dan's spine so he could rub soothing circles and dan just nodded against his chest, the soft fabric of chris' shirt pressed against his damp cheek.

"okay then, good night," chris placed an affectionate kiss on the top of dan's head, causing dan to shuffle closer to him, and chris just leaned over to shut off the lights before keeping his phone away and tightening his grip on dan.

maybe sleeping the thoughts away would help him calm down a little.

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i gave maple a bath today shes soft and fuffle