CHOKING ON FLOWERS ; phan

24

TWENTY THREE DAYS AFTER ; 2008

"Who were you talking to on the phone yesterday?" Dan asked, turning in his seat to look at Martyn. "Was it your girlfriend?" He chuckled, wiggling his eye brows.

"No," Martyn blushed, looking out the window. "She's just a friend."

"A friend you say 'I love you' to?" Phil added from the drivers seat. They had been on the road for hours now and for once, Martyn felt stuffed in this stupid car.

"You say 'I love you' to Daniel, don't you?" Martyn snickered, watching Phil clench his jaw. Dan's face went white and not shortly after did he turn back around. 

Daniel thought a lot about what Martyn said the other day about if Phil would take him back. Who would take Dan back? He killed his parents, killed Phil's only friend, killed PJ, killed the Lester's, he was psychopath, why would Phil- in his right mind- take him back?

God, did Dan miss him, though. That's odd to say since Daniel had been with Phil everyday for nearly a month now, but it wasn't the same. They didn't hold hands anymore, they didn't cuddle. Phil didn't kiss Daniel's temple when he was upset, they didn't have loving sex like they used to when they were fourteen and fifteen. Phil even stopped being his flirty self, only got angry with Dan then shut him out. How did Daniel change this? How can he fix all of the shit he put on the older boy? 

The brunet didn't realize it, but Phil had been looking over at the younger boy for the past five minutes through the corner of his eye, catching a glimpse here and there, stealing a look whenever he would look the window. It was pitiful, a constant game they would play with each other, being friends then not even talking at all. Phil's heart ached from all of the things he wanted to tell Dan, but Phil had talked enough, it was Dan's time to prove himself. It was when, was the problem Dan was facing.

.

.

.

Patty had to use the bathroom so they pulled over, Martyn going inside with her. Dan turned over to Phil, tracing the features of his face, the sharp curve of his jawline, the piercing glare in his eyes. When that frozen ocean crashed over Dan, he shivered.

"What?" Phil barked out, his tone rough and clipped with annoyance. Dan instantly felt bad. The younger boy looked down at his hands, thinking about everything that they used to be. Why couldn't they go back to that?

"I just wanna say I'm sorry, okay?"

"Why?" Phil frowned, listening to how soft Dan's voice had been, his heart beating faster. 

"For all of this," and that's when Daniel started to cry. "I'm sorry I ruined your life, I know that, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I pushed you away, I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry I left."

"Baby..." Phil leaned forward, placing his hand on Daniel's knee before getting out of the car entirely, rushing over to Dan's side of the car and opening the door. The brunet got out, letting Phil pull his trembling body closer, pressing soft kisses into his curly hair. "You didn't tell me to do this, you could have done this on your own, I could have said no. But I didn't, I stayed with you. It's not your fault that I helped you." Phil hugged Dan close, squeezing him tighter every time his body would convulse. 

"I'm sorry about PJ, I love you so much. The whole time I was with him I wanted to be with you instead, but... I... I don't know. I thought I needed to prove something to myself. Prove that I could do this without you, but I can't. I can't be without you, Phil." Dan cried harder, clinging onto Phil's neck, letting everything in his heart spill out.

"I know, I know." Phil shushed him, helping Dan calm down. "I love you too, and I'm not leaving you again. You can't get rid of me that quickly." Phil joked, causing Dan to chuckle. The pair pulled away after a second, Phil's hands cupped Daniel's cheeks, brushing away the tears before he leaned in and connected their lips. 

The kiss wasn't hard, it wasn't rough. It was soft and full of meaning and longing. It lasted only a couple of seconds, as soon as Phil pulled away Dan wanted more, but he didn't want to ruin the moment, so instead he laced their fingers together and smiled up at Phil, finally feeling happy for the first time in nearly three years. Phil looked up and past the car, a smile breaking out on his face. Dan turned around to see Martyn smiling at the two of them, little Patty looking up at the sky.

Phil smiled as he pulled Dan's body close, kissing between his shoulder blades on the base of his neck. It wasn't meant to be sexual, it was meant to be reassuring, a sign that Phil was here to stay for good. And that's all Daniel needed.

It started sprinkling when Dan turned around again, wrapping his arms around Phil's neck once more, pulling him down until their lips connected again, a smile spread across his face.

Martyn smiled to himself when he watched them hold hands between the gap in the seats inside of the car, Dan leaning his head on Phil's shoulder.

"Will you turn that up?" Martyn asked. "I really like this song."

Overwhelming ecstasy, our bodies moving in harmony....