Secrets to Keep (Phan)

Chapter 6

I had been sitting here for hours against this dirty brick wall, and still nothing. At first, business was great, and I sold to about fifteen people, but it died down a lot quicker than usual. All of the broken little addicts had scampered back off to wherever they were staying for the night, leaving the street eerily quiet. I took in a deep breath through my mouth, holding the icy air in my lungs for several seconds before letting it out in a fog that danced its way into the night sky.

It was getting colder, and the dark, starless sky threatened to break open any minute and release the water it had been holding aloft for hours. I checked the time on my phone, seeing that it was only eleven and getting a bit frustrated. I've stood against this same building countless times for hours at a time, and it wasn't like I could exactly enjoy the scenery. From where I stood, there wasn't much to look at other than the run down buildings across the sorry excuse for a street, all overgrown with both plantlife and graffiti.

When a clap of thunder sounded in the distance, I decided to go ahead back to the warehouse. I wouldn't get any business in a storm, just a cold, and if I was super lucky, pneumonia... yippee.

As I walked down the cracked pavement with my head down and hood pulled up, I became increasingly aware of the smell of rain in the air. I tried to quicken my pace, but before I knew it, drops were falling steadily from above. They came down slowly at first, with just a few to be heard smacking against the concrete, but then it was as if someone had turned on a giant shower-head, and rain came pouring down from the heavens. It quickly soaked through my clothes, chilling me clear to the bone and making me have to constantly blink away the rain water that dripped down my forehead.

I finally made it back to the warehouse, earning a surprised look from Paul when he answered the door. "You're back early." he muttered, letting me inside where I peeled off the sopping wet hoodie I wore.

"Business was slow." I explained, digging the damp wad of cash from my pocket and setting it on the coffee table, along with the 'leftovers'. Paul nodded as I moved towards the bathroom to grab a towel, since my clothes were literally dripping. I switched out some laundry, slipping on some freshly dried sweatpants and one of my older Gengar shirts.

The warm clothes felt amazing having just come out of the dryer, the soft fabric rubbing nicely over my cold skin as I walked towards the basement steps.

I peeked into Dan's doorway to see him sitting on the floor exactly how I left him hours ago, his face illuminated by only the light of his DS. He snapped his head up and smiled when he saw that it was me.

"You're back early." he noted, going back to playing what I could assume was Mariokart based on the sounds. I shut the door behind me, using the device to guide me through the dark room, and over to where he sat.

"Yeah, it started raining like crazy so I came back." I explained after sitting down next to him.

"You're all warm and soft." he said with a yawn, pausing his game and setting down the device. I chuckled as he wrapped his arms around me from his sideways position, snuggling his face into my chest.

"Wanna go lay down?" I asked, motioning towards the duvet that Paul had been nice enough to give Dan. He nodded into my chest, and using the DS as a torch, we found our way over to the makeshift bed. I wrapped my arms around Dan, who was being even more cuddly than normal and had curled himself into my chest.

I was perfectly content with just lying there forever, and it only got better when Dan leaned his head up and pecked me quickly on the lips. I smiled in the darkness, leaning closer to where I could feel his breath on my chin. Our lips brushed together softly, and I could feel my insides erupt in a fit of warmth. The best way to describe it would be butterflies, but with machine guns and flash bombs... manly butterflies.

Our mouths moved together in harmony, still soft and slow, savoring the feeling. I felt Dan swipe his tongue across my upper lip, and I was shocked to say the least, an act like that was bold for Dan. He pulled his face away before I even had time to react.

"S-sorry, that probably wasn't ok." he stuttered, scooting himself away from me.

"Hey, no. It's alright." I replied, smiling slightly in the dark. I put my hand on his shoulder reassuringly, but he simply brushed me off.

"Is it Phil? How the fuck am I supposed to know with all the mixed signals you've been giving me?" he asked harshly, making me blink in surprise, although it's not like he could see it. "I mean first you leave me here without so much as a proper hug, and then you tell me that it's perfectly okay to make out with you and you are just really confusing." Dan added with a huff of annoyance. The room was thrown into a complete and utter silence, and even through the darkness I could feel Dan's beautiful brown eyes glaring into me.

"You're right." I muttered, rubbing my face with my hands in frustration. "Damn it Dan, I'm sorry...I don't mean to do it... God you must think I'm a dick."

The room was still quiet, and the more I thought about it, the shittier I felt. Not only was I completely useless to Dan's situation other than going to his house to feed his cat and get him clothes, I was probably confusing as hell to be around. This is the problem with not being able to express your feelings properly; an issue that I normally didn't have to deal with often.

"I don't think you're a dick..." Dan muttered quietly, "just a bit confusing."

"Yeah... In case you haven't noticed I'm not very good with the whole relationship thing... but I can try to get better." I muttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"We're... We're in a relationship?" Dan asked, hope strung together with his words like a necklace. At that point I was really thankful for the darkness, because otherwise my most likely beet-red face would be clearly visible, only making me more embarrassed.

"Well I mean... only if you want to be." I replied sheepishly, my arms starting to feel really empty without Dan in them.

"Of course I want to be." Dan replied shyly, making the 100% manly butterflies return.

My eyes had adjusted enough so that with the thin strip of light coming in from under the door I could barely make out the outline of Dan's silhouette. I moved closer to it, placing blind kisses until I found his lips. They were soft as always, with the exception of the scabbed over bit on the bottom left.

I pulled away carefully, resting my forehead on his, and enjoying the feeling of Dan's warm breath mixing with mine. It was the only sound that filled the quiet room, other than the muffled sounds of feet moving from the floor above.

And so we laid there, wrapped in eachother's arms and enjoying the silent company.