I Am Not Your Master; I Am Your Partner: A (Neko) Dan and (Human) Phil Series

Becoming Mr. Lester

Dan clutched the fragrant bouquet as he moved forward.

Phil's eyes were fixed on Dan the moment that he first appeared on the horizon. He was absolutely beaming, his smile wide, his eyes sparkling. Phil could see his dimples, which were deeply defined on both sides. His chest tightened at the sight of him; Dan had truly never looked more beautiful.

He loved the Neko boy, and the Neko boy loved him back.

Dan's eyes were fixed on Phil the moment that he first appeared in his line of vision. He stood proudly, next to his father, looking absolutely gorgeous. Dan walked ever closer, never breaking eye contact.

It seemed that they could communicate through eye contact alone.

Dan knew that Phil was also thinking about the moment that they first met one another's gaze. This moment was not unlike that one - so full of trust and absolute certainty.

And here they were, about to be married.

The man who extended his hand, the man with eyes like the ocean and skin like a China doll, was about to become Dan's husband.

Phil thought about how far they had come. It was becoming harder and harder to conjure up an image of the poor, frightened Neko. Dan had grown up and reached far beyond that place of need. Phil looked at the beautiful, confident Neko before him and exhaled deeply. His eyes burned with impending tears.

At last Dan and Kate reached the arch. It was hard to say who shed tears first, for all five of them wiped away wetness of varying degrees. Phil reached for Dan, who handed his Cherry Blossom bouquet over to Kate.

Kate stood with Michael, leaning into him for support. She was overcome with emotion, having just walked Dan down the aisle to her own son. The sight of them, standing together under the arch, made her sway. She held Dan's bouquet close to her chest and placed one hand over her heart.

Phil reached forward to Dan's face, catching a single tear with his thumb. He couldn't remember a time in which he felt so full of joy. Standing here with his baby was nothing less than perfection.

Dan ached to kiss Phil and had to hold his lower lip between his teeth to keep himself from actually doing it. He was already anticipating the moment in which he could hold Phil as his husband.

Violet was speaking, though Dan and Phil remained fully fixated on each other. They stood, less than a foot apart, Dan's hands inside of Phil's. Fingertips grazed the sensitive flesh of their palms causing them both to shiver.

Phil could hear Violet's
voice, though it was hard to concentrate on her words. Memories lined up in his mind's eye as he looked into Dan's eyes.

Phil could see the young Neko, wounded but trusting, reaching for his hand in the station. He could see the nervous boy leaning in for that first kiss in the study, his responsive ears twitching this way and that. Phil could feel the knowing that he felt the very moment that their lips collided, and the swell of his heart the instant that Dan pressed his broken body against him in bed for the first time. He could feel the way that Dan pressed his cheek against his own and called him "daddy." The flash images were there, even when he closed his eyes.

Dan couldn't look at Phil without feeling the very momentum which brought them here, and there were the butterflies in his tummy. (It seemed that they were never far away, even after eight years.) His heart fluttered thinking about how they ended up here from that place so long ago.

The white paper lanterns hung from the trees and billowed above them, occasionally tipping skyward. Dan thought that they looked like orbs, catching the sunlight and holding it inside. The cool breeze felt good against his skin.