Meeting the Parents - Dan and Phil PHANfic

The North

"Dan, are you ready to go?!" Phil shouted from the hallway outside Dan's dorm room.

Dan was still standing over the suitcase on his bed, suddenly unable to move. Normally Christmas time made him excited and relaxed with all the laid back, festive spirit, especially now that he had Phil in his life. He'd even come to enjoy searching endlessly for presents for all his friends. But now things were becoming stressful and so many things were racing through his mind. That's why he didn't even notice Phil standing in the doorway.

"Dan," Dan jumped as Phil spoke, "what are you doing? You don't even look half packed! You do realize we have to be at the station in 20 minutes to get to my parents' place on time?" Phil started grabbing Dan's laid out clothes and putting them in the suitcase.

"Mmmhmmm... Sorry," Dan mumbled, snapping out of his gaze and helping Phil grab the clothes. Then Phil stopped and looked at Dan, noticing that his face seemed more pale than usual.

"Is something wrong Dan? I didn't mean to rush you," Phil said in a comforting tone.

"No, it's not that, it's just..." Dan looked down at his hands, holding the fifth black shirt from his stack of clothes. Phil gave a small smile.

"You're still nervous about meeting my parents for the first time aren't you?"

Dan merely looked into Phil's eyes, and Phil could tell he'd figured it out. He should have known. Dan seemed to be worrying about this the entire week. Meanwhile Dan was hating himself for causing Phil to worry and adding to their problems. They'd been dating for almost a year now, and he still had never met Phil's parents. Yet Dan could still tell how much Phil respected his family, so to him they were like the last line of defense to Phil's heart. He could not blow it during this visit, Phil meant too much to him. The only thing was that he knew how awkward he could be, and the nerves were certainly not going to help. What if they thought he was weird? What if they thought he wasn't man enough to take care of their son? What if they really weren't ok with this entire relationship and Phil was lying to him the whole time? Then Dan tried to shake away those thoughts. No, if they had a problem to begin with they wouldn't be going to spend Christmas with them, right? This is how all boyfriends are supposed to feel, right? It meant that he cared, right? Oh God why did he care so much about everything?! Then he was brought back to reality by the sound of Phil's voice.

"Dan, I told you, you don't have to worry! My family doesn't bite! And besides, you're one of the sweetest guys I know. Just be yourself and it'll be fine," Phil grabbed Dan's hands, "they'll love you, trust me."

"Really?" Dan asked, now smiling.

"Well, maybe not as much as I love you, but pretty close," Phil replied with a smirk.

Dan chuckled to himself, blushing, while Phil suddenly pulled him into a hug. Phil then kissed his cheek and whispered in his ear.

"You know you're that guy everyone wants to take home to their parents right? You said so in your own liveshow didn't you?"

"Stalker," Dan said with a laugh.

"Look who's talking," Phil said with a gentle laugh. Dan rolled his eyes. Suddenly, Phil pulled apart with his hands still on Dan's shoulders.

"What're we doing?! We gotta go!"

They both got wide eyed and all nerves became directed towards getting there in time. Dan threw everything in his suitcase while Phil grabbed his own and went downstairs to hail a taxi.

Within minutes they were running through the Underground station, weaving through crowds, and jumping in the tube just in time. They were out of breath as that was the most intense workout they've done in a long time. Since there was nowhere to sit, they stood hanging onto the overhead rail. Dan wrapped his arm around Phil's waist, and they swayed to the motion of the tube. Eventually they were both relieved to find seats, where they sat the rest of the way. Dan remained silent. This was his and Phil's first Christmas together, and it also happened to be the first time he was going to meet Phil's parents.