PhanPhone Sidestories

3

"Dad," Rosie said, with a smile, referring to Dan. "Can I be a dinosaur for Halloween?" She grinned at her father, multiple teeth missing from the smile. Dan smiled back,
"Of course, sweetie. I'll get you that costume for Halloween online, okay?" He said, and his daughter nodded her head vigorously, her wavy strawberry blonde hair bouncing along.

So that night, Dan and Phil found an adorable dinosaur onesie for Rosie, and ordered it through amazon. She wasn't like a tomboy or anything, she loved girly things like braiding hair and painting nails, but she was also very sciencey. As a kind of nerdy five year old, she fit in with both guys and girls as friends. She had plenty of both, because despite being the daughter of two awkward men, she was very socialible.

When Halloween rolled around, Rosie went off to school in her costume, Phil dropping her off outside the front entrance. Before getting out of the car, she kissed Phil on the cheek goodbye. On her merry way, Rosie entered school, and went to her class. She was greeted by multiple friends, her best friend, Emily, dressed as a Rapunzel from Tangled.

"RAWR!" Rosie greeted, pretending to have little t-Rex arms with her costume.
"Hi, Rosie! I like your costume, it's cool!" Emily said, grinning a toothy smile.
"Thanks! My dads got it for me on the magical internet! I like your costume, too," Rosie said in response, taking a lock of blonde hair in her hand, obviously part of a wig.

One of Rosie's other friends, Brendon, came over and complimented her costume, as well. The teacher smiled at her and mentioned how great her costume was, which made Rosie beam with pride. Every time she would mention how her dads got the costume for her.

One time a girl by the name of Veronica walked over and just looked her up and down,
"Isn't that a boy's costume?" She asked with a snarl. Rosie just shrugged.
"It can go both ways, I guess."
"It's for boys, though," Veronica insisted. "Don't you want to be something more... girly?"
"This is just as girly as a fairy or a princess!" Rosie said, slightly more aggressive now. "Who's cares if I want to be a Dino. They're really cool."
"People are gonna think you're a boy or something, it's weird."

Rosie recalled something Phil had once told her when she first got into studying dinosaurs. She was nervous that her friends would judged he for being a girl that was interested in them. Phil had said, "Interests are not defined by gender." So, that's what Phil's daughter told Veronica. After that, Rosie just walked away, leaving the girl dressed up in a Dorothy costume to question what she had been taught.

~•~

That evening, Rosie went off trick or treating with a group of friends and Emily's mother, with all the little girls staying overnight at her house. It left Dan and Phil to give candy to the children that rang their doorbell. Dan was ironically dressed up as an emoji, and Phil a a very poor representation of a vampire.
"At least you're pale enough," Dan commented with a smirk, earning a light shove from his husband.
"Oh, shut up, Dan. I tried, okay?"

Dan and Phil were known for giving the best candy in the neighborhood, because they did. The king sized chocolate bars were their specialties, along with multiple lollipops and jolly ranchers. They took pride in being the most popular house on the block this time of year, smiling kids ringing their doorbell.

One of the trick or treaters that year just looked up at them and said,
"You're gay!" To the couple, the kid's father immediately apologized, while Dan and Phil laughed about it.

"It's fine, really, we don't mind." The kid just stared at the ground, wondering what he had said wrong. The father tried to lecture him that you can't just say that. Before they left, the kid came up to Dan and Phil for his candy. Dan kneeled down and said,
"Yeah, we're gay," and gave him some extra candy. The little boy smiled and thanked the two, skipping away giddily in his storm trooper costume.

Once the kids were all gone from the streets, Dan and Phil saved their extra candy for themselves, indulging in a scary movie. At one point Phil jumped and yelped, burying his head into Dan's chest.
"That was barely a jumpscare," Dan teased slightly.
"You know how I am! I nearly had a heart attack trying to play Five Nights at Freddy's that one time," Phil defended, still clinging onto Dan for dear life. Dan just chuckled and put his arms around Phil, keeping him close.

A cliché, but still very cute way to end Halloween.

Happy Halloween!!!