coffee//d.h.+p.l. {completed}

day 5

❮pov: phil❯
today's the day. phil's internal monologue was somehow already kicking in before he was even completely awake. yes, i'm aware. make sure your breath is fresh. make sure you dress decent. make sure you bring lube and a cond- wait, you're getting your hopes up too high. phil sighed. he sat up from the comfortable position on his bed and grabbed his phone as he stood up. that morning, phil spent exactly 27 minutes trying to find a decent outfit, 10 minutes obsessively brushing his teeth, and 1 minute subtly throwing a pocket-sized lube into one of the obscure pockets of his backpack. as he walked out the door, he flicked off the light and smiled to himself. today's going to be a good day.
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when phil arrived at work, dan looked up. phil could see his eyes were rimmed red and puffy.
"dan, are you okay?"
"yeah, just allergies," dan's voice trembled.
"are you sure?"
"absolutely."
"okay. do we have any take-out orders?"
"n-no. but could you run drive-through? susan caught a cold from the water spilling over her yesterday and can't come into work today."
"sure."
phil was concerned for dan, especially because for himself, his eyes looked rimmed with red and puffy as well. phil knew dan was lying through his teeth, partly because phil had cried himself to sleep too many times to not know what night-crying eyes looked like in the morning, and because dan's excuse of allergies didn't make too much sense; it was the middle of winter.
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it was nearing the end of the day. phil was in the back cleaning up while dan was organizing the cash register. phil realized that meeting anonymous would be very late; around ten p.m. so, by seven, dan had closed himself in the men's bathroom, making the excuse that he was cleaning, but phil heard quiet sobbing. phil knew that he should leave dan alone and go meet the anonymous number, but his concern for the man that captivated him so much demanded more attention. so, he knocked on the door.
"dan, are you okay?"
the crying stopped.
"of course i am, why haven't you left yet?"
"i-i heard you crying so i couldn't leave."
a pause. and then, the door opened.
phil took this as a peace offering of sorts, and gently opened the door. inside, dan looked like a mess. his eyes were swollen and he was crying heavily.
"what's wrong, dan?"
"i-i'm just- i'm just heartbroken."
"why?"
"some guy broke my heart."
"that sucks. i know how it feels."
the two sat in silence, dan's sniffling eventually easing up. phil checked the time. it was now nine in the evening.
"i'm sorry, dan, but i'm meeting someone in an hour. i have to leave."
"it's okay, it was getting late anyways."
"goodbye, dan."
"goodbye, phil."
the two looked at each other for a lingering moment. eventually, phil took his backpack and turned, walking out of the door. dan looked at the back of his head, tears sliding down his face. phil, i was meeting someone at ten. i was meeting you at ten. because i love you.
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at ten, phil arrived at the door of the closed coffee shop, the sidewalk illuminated by the moon and the streetlights. snow was falling gently. ten minutes passed, and then fifteen. he's not coming. of course he's not. i was the one who broke his heart. he turned to leave, when he heard someone calling his name.
"phil!"
phil turned around.
"dan."
"hey."
"so you were anonymous?"
"y-yeah."
the two sat in silence. until phil broke the silence by drawing closer and pressing his lips to dan's.
"i knew it was you all along. you gave me your number the day you interviewed me for the job."
"i'm sorry-"
"you have no reason to be. i should be the one apologizing."
"no."
"daniel howell, i love you."
"philip lester, i love you too."