Dan & Phil Oneshots

The Ways I Say I Love You

(Phil's POV)

I didn't know why Dan was so upset recently! It just seemed like one day he stopped smiling as much. Every time I asked him if he wanted to watch anime with me, his response would be a half-hearted "yea." Whenever I'd offer to cook him dinner, it would be a quiet "sure, thanks."

Like today, we were playing Mario Kart and I was well ahead of Dan for once. I tried to jokingly tell him "you'd better catch up," but he only shrugged. Having enough of this, I paused the game and turned towards him. "Phil! Why'd you pause it?"

"Look, I don't know what's going on and I'm tired of not knowing it."

"What do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean, Dan! The halfhearted "yes"s, the disinterest in anything and everything. I can't even get you to be happy with a bag of Maltesers! And that never happens!"

"It's nothing. Can we continue playing now?"

"Not until you tell me what's wrong."

He sighed, chucking the controller to the side and rubbed his forehead with his hand. "I just don't often hear you tell me that you love me. And I know you'll say that I'm wrong, but it's what I feel! I mean, how do I know that you still love me and aren't just being polite and staying with me so my feelings won't get hurt?"

I began laughing, relieved that the problem was only a small one. Ignoring Dan's irritated look on his face, I stood up and extended a hand, pulling him up too.

"I know I don't say 'I love you' a lot, but that's only because I don't want it to lose meaning. I always have loved you, and I always will. Besides, I've always done different things to show that I love you."

"For instance," I said as I brushed a piece of his hair behind his ear. "I always brush your hair behind your ear as a way to say that you are absolutely, positively beautiful. Everything from your curly hair to your dimples has me absolutely mesmerized." I reached down to his hands and started playing with them, turning them over and tracing little designs on the palms. "Whenever I do this, I mean to say that I love what you and your hands do for me. Whenever they pull me in for a hug, or fix the most amazing hot cocoa, or mess with my hair, I love them and everything that they do." I walked closer to him and began to rub his back. "I always love how you have my back and how I have yours. I never take that for granted." He hugged me back, sniffing a bit as he rested his head on my shoulder. "I do this as to say that I deeply care about you and support you."

"Now then," I said as I pulled back. "Whenever I hug you before you leave? I always want to say 'be safe' or 'don't be long' because I can't stand not being around you. I figure it would be clingy to say those things, so I instead hug you to signify that. And when I cook you your favorite meals, I always love seeing the smile on your face when I tell you what I'm cooking. There's so much more I can tell you, but those are just a few of the ways I show that I love you. Please believe me because I don't think I could bear to know that I'm not trying my hardest to show you that I love you."

He gave me a smile, wobbly from the tears spilling out of his eyes. I reached up and ran my thumb along the tear trails, drying his cheeks as he grinned. "Oh, Phil," he said as he leaned in and gave me a kiss on the lips. I wrapped my arms firmly around his waist, squeezing him as he tucked his head into the crook of my neck. "I love you, Phil," he murmured. I pulled back enough to see his face, admiring his beauty from up close. I closed my eyes and pressed my lips to his, whispering "I love you, too, my beautiful bear" against them.

He smiled and kissed me one last time before pulling away. I smiled as he stretched, yawning a bit in the process. "Hmm...you know what would be great?"

"What?"

"Pizza."

I rolled my eyes as he laughed and walked over to the phone. "One large pepperoni to go," I said as I dialed the number. I smiled as he wrapped his arms around my torso while I waited for the restaurant to pick up. I have Dan back to his happy self, so my world is perfect again.