Dan & Phil Oneshots

Picture Perfect (Part 1)

(Dan's POV)
Ok, yes. Being a model is a glorious job to have. I mean, if you work for a major industry, it's probably awful, but I work for a somewhat tiny business, so they treat me well. No, I'm not a clothing model, and no, I'm not a makeup product model...

I'm a yaoi model.

I get to take photos for books, movies, advertisements...all sorts of things! I thankfully don't have to strip, and the most skin I've shown was the time I had to be in my underwear for a remake of 50 Shades of Grey called 50 Shades of Gay...that was an interesting experience.

Anyway, I was fairly new to the industry, so my nerves always affected me at every photo shoot. I'd been getting better with every round, so I wasn't having second thoughts about this job. My next project was with one of the biggest stars in the industry: Phil Lester. I had been an admirer of him a bit before I got into the business, so I was super excited to go to work for the entirety of next week. A whole week of working with Phil Lester!

The day I got there, I was hanging around on the side of the stage with a bottle of water and a cookie as I waited for Phil to arrive. I guess the cookie was to calm my nerves. The water bottle was so I wouldn't have chapped lips, which I often tend to get. Unfortunately, I had to abandon my cookie when the makeup people whisked me over to their station. I bet that meant that Phil was about to arrive.

No sooner had they finished my foundation and fake freckles, the door opened and he entered. And damn, wow... he was intimidating in person. I didn't even see him with my own eyes yet! He was just a figure in my mirror walking across the room behind me. I heard my manager, Lucy, thank him for coming to work with us, and like the angel he is, he insisted he was more than happy to work with us. I was acutely aware of my hands beginning to sweat, so I whispered to the person doing my makeup if she could get me a towel. "Are you ok, Dan?" she asked as she handed me the towel. "Yea..." "I know I shouldn't be telling you this, but he's seen your photos. That's why he's here." I looked up at her, alarmed at what she just told me. "He...likes it?" "Like might just be an understatement, Dan. Now, go out there and have fun!" I tried to stutter out a "wait" and "help me" as she walked away, but it fell upon deaf ears.

Oh well. I stood up and went over to the wardrobe department to get my outfit and disappeared behind a screen to change. I think Phil was doing the exact same thing, but I was afraid to go look for him. Besides, I'd have to face him in a few minutes. I looked into a nearby mirror at the tight, plaid shirt that hugged my body and the pale blue skinny jeans that accompanied it. Cute, but not my style. However, they really did know how to bring out the color of my hair and eyes.

Gathering the courage to remove myself from the security of the screen, I gave my outfit one last look over and stepped out. Immediately, my eyes landed on Phil, who was seated on the edge of a bed in the middle of the room. All around him, people were touching up his makeup, setting up lights and cameras, and offering him various kinds of cookies and drinks for after the shoot. Man, he really is a celebrity.

"Dan!" Lucy yelled, causing everyone to look up. I gave her a sheepish smile as I made my way over to them. "Phil, this is Dan. Dan Ho-" "Dan Howell." I looked up in shock as he said my full name. So, my makeup expert wasn't lying. "Yes. Um... very nice to meet you," I said as I dared to look him in the eye, and boy did I make the wrong decision! His eyes were that kind of blue that pulls you right in, and the more I looked, the more I couldn't stop.

"Dan? Daaaaan!" I snapped out of my daze at Lucy's voice and looked down at the floor, a blush steadily making its way across my face. I heard Phil giggle in front of me, making me even more embarrassed. "Right, so what I was TRYING to say is that I have a vision. I want Phil to be sitting like this on the edge of the bed and you straddle his lap. Also, your chests will need to be touching. Oh yea, and Phil, put your hands around his waist." "W...what?" I asked. This was nothing new, but doing it with Phil was something no one could've been prepared for. "You heard me! Go!"

As she stepped away from us, I climbed into his lap and carefully rearranged my legs so that I was straddling him. My stomach was twisting into knots as I felt his hands gently slide around my waist, giving me a little squeeze just to reassure me. I followed Lucy's orders and scooted forward a bit so that our chests were pressed up against each other's. Unsure of what to do with my hands, I settled them on his shoulders, praying that Phil couldn't feel them shaking. "No, no, no! Around his neck, Dan, before I lose my wonderful vision." I swallowed rather loudly as I moved my hands to the back of his neck, daring to glance down at Phil to see him again. He was smiling at me, but he was looking at me like I was the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on, which surely wasn't right. "Hey," he whispered. I managed a shaky smile before whispering it back. My stomach clenched tighter as he rubbed this thumb back and forth where his left hand laid. "It's ok to be nervous. To be honest, I'm a little nervous myself." "What? But you've done this so many times." We were still talking in hushed tones as the people around us fiddled with the cameras and lighting. "Yea, but I've never worked with anyone like you before."

"What do you mean?" I asked as the first camera flashed. "I mean that none of them have made me so self-conscious before. I've always been a bit confident, but now...now I don't feel that way." I could feel my cheeks heat up yet again as we sat there, cameras flashing and people chatting around us. "Thank you-I mean, um... heh." He giggled, sticking his young out a bit before remembering we were doing a photo shoot and resuming his old closed-mouth smile. "Great. Now then, can you, Phil, cup his cheek with your right hand?" I watched as he carefully lifted his hand to my face, delicately cupping my cheek as if I could break at any moment. "Is this ok?" he asked quietly. "Yea. Yea." I smiled at him, feeling a jolt of happiness as he smiled back. I was still nervous, but not as much now that I knew he was nervous, too.

"Great! Now, Dan, nuzzle him!" Crap. I wasn't prepared. "Um...where?" "Neck for a few seconds and then his forehead." I leaned forward until my nose was pressed into the crook of Phil's neck. Daringly, I inhaled a bit, instantly hit with the smell of his cologne. I sighed and fully relaxed into our position as he moved his hand away from my cheek and to my back. "Phil! Look less excited and more lovesick!" I snickered a bit as Lucy yelled at him, feeling a bit bad as I realized his face and neck were heating up. 

"Sorry. Lucy can be a bit demanding." "Oh, it's no problem. After all, she has a vision." We laughed a bit before falling silent once again so the camera crew could finish their work. After switching my position so I could rest my nose in his silky, black hair, I heard Lucy yell, "Ok, that's good! Let's look at the photos and see if we need to redo any shoots." I pulled my face away from him and gave him a quick smile before moving off of his lap. He shot one back before climbing off the bed, extending a hand to me, and pulling me up. 

As we looked over everyone's shoulders to see the photos, I couldn't help but feel a bit proud at the fact that I had gotten some really great photos with Phil and not just any other model. They looked amazing, and even my expressions seemed to fit the image, even though I was scared out of my wits. "Everything looks good! That's all for today, but you both have other shoots with other people in a bit, so we'd better get Phil out of here and you, Dan, ready for the next shoot." 

Everyone disappeared from where we were, leaving only Phil and I standing by the computer projecting our photos. "Thank you for inviting me to work with you," he said with a smile. "What? I should be the one thanking you!" He giggled before saying, "Well, we'll call it even. But seriously, I had fun." I watched in awe as he disappeared behind the screen to get changed into his regular clothes, coming back out moments later to return the other clothes and wave goodbye to me. 

Heck, I was ready for tomorrow to come!