#(yes this counts cos the dogs are called dan and phil)

[terribleinfluence-tour]

Here’s the crew with the Dan and Phil puppies 🥹

Via @/Karmakel on instagram

[allthephils]

Where Our Heart Is

Rated G Word Count: 1613

Written for @phandomficfests​ bingo for my forever home square

Summary: Dan is in France when their dream house goes up for sale

Read on AO3

Dan was in France when the listing went up. He was meant to be spending time with his family, away from the internet. He was meant to be taking a break from everyday life, focused on nothing more than relaxation, decompression, and reconnection. There was internet in the town though and the whole family would pull out their phones over coffee, modern togetherness. After checking Twitter and Instagram, Dan couldn’t help but do a little house hunting and there it was. The house ticked all their boxes; good neighborhood, big windows, private garden, every single one. 

  He knew Phil wasn’t looking. He just didn’t see the point.. Every house in their price range was highly in demand. It wasn’t like they were going to put an offer on something without Dan seeing it. It seemed masochistic to fall in love with places that were bound to slip between their fingers. When he sent the listing, it was immediately followed by a calendar notification for the showing appointment the same afternoon.

  “I watched the virtual tour. It’s amazing. If it’s just as good irl, this could be our dream home.”

  “So what if it is?” Phil said, “What then?” 

  “Then we make an offer. Fucking quick too. They’ll be a dozen offers by tomorrow.”

  It didn’t feel right but Dan assured Phil there’s always a way out after the inspection. He was adamant that they not let this one pass them by so Phil agreed and booked an Uber to drive him to the house.

  “I’m going to text you a play by play the whole time I’m there.”

  “That’s fine. I’ve got my phone. I’ll stay in town for the signal.” 

  Their estate agent, Cam, is waiting outside when Phil arrives. He’s dressed in chinos and a slim button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He always looks like a businessman who’s pulling an all nighter. He also always wears a smile, always. It must be exhausting. When Phil gets out of the car, Cam rushes toward him, grabbing his hand for a two handed shake. 

  The house is beautiful, modern but not too modern, probably mid century but Phil doesn’t actually know that sort of thing. It sits back from the street so there is potential for a privacy fence if it becomes necessary. Phil stands back and takes a photo for Dan. 

  Cam is droning on about architecture and styles and roofing materials. Phil should probably listen more carefully. He’s stared at the house for a good few minutes but now he’s facing the other way, eyeing the park across the street. That would be a great place to have a run or just an evening stroll with Dan. It would be a good place for Dan to take a walk when he needs to be alone. A park in such close proximity would be especially useful if they have kids. The weight of that thought sits heavy on his chest for a moment and he breathes deep.

  They could have kids. They could have kids and raise them here. Phil scans the park for a play structure and sees one off to one side. He can’t make out the ground material form here. This street is a little busy and there’s foot traffic. Would their kid be able to cross safely to go play when they’re old enough? Is this too visible? Maybe they should be looking in a gated community where no one could spot them and take photos of their family outings. Phil’s heart is pounding when Cam’s hand lands on his shoulder and he jumps.

  “Woah, sorry there buddy,” Cam says, “you ready to head inside?”

  There’s a tight smile on Phil’s lips as he follows Cam to the front door. This part is always so weird. The houses are all staged, furnished like someone very successful and very boring lives here. Phil would actually prefer to view a clean slate but that doesn’t happen in their price range. 

  After an exuberant tour, Phil is fully briefed on every impressive feature the house has to offer. It’s nothing he didn’t already know from the listing. He’s standing in the garden with Cam. It’s lovely and private, big enough for a dog.

  “Cam,” Phil speaks up in a rare quiet moment, “is it ok if I walk through the house alone?”

  He moves slowly through the house, room by room. He runs a hand along the dark wood cabinetry in the kitchen, opens the fridge, turns on the faucet. If Dan were here, he’d be pushing buttons on the very tech looking oven and Phil would come up behind him and kiss his cheek. He’d tell him this is a perfect place for Dan to make him breakfast. He tries to picture it but he’s not sure. Maybe Dan would prefer painted cabinets, maybe the dark wood isn’t modern enough.

  There’s a big space for a table, not quite a dining room but not quite in the kitchen either. They could entertain here, have game nights. The lounge has a gas fireplace, wood would be better. On the other hand, neither one of them is going to want to haul wood into the house. The windows are pretty incredible. You can see clear across the park and Phil bets it would be even better at night. They are exactly what he always wanted, at least he thinks they are. Maybe big windows would be better upstairs, maybe they’d be better facing the garden. His thumbs are hooked in his pockets to keep himself from chewing on his cuticles. His skin feels restless, like it could take off running any minute and take him with it. He sighs and carries on.

  The office is just a big empty room with a window looking out to the garden. It would be good for filming, they could have a few permanent spaces set up, for Phil and for live shows, for gaming. They could make content together again, once they’ve settled in. 

  Wandering upstairs, he finds the master bedroom. It’s nice, the en suite is nice, the bathtub is nice, Phil feels absolutely nothing. His fingers are curled around his phone now, gripping too tight. He’s snapped a photo or two in each room and he sends them now, hoping Dan can give some input, and hopefully, bring some clarity. Phil’s head feels muddled and his heart is just confused. 

  Dan texts as soon as the last photo sends. Looks pretty great Phil.

  I guess 

  There’s a big cushie velvet chair in a very Instagram worthy shade of teal and a bed with a luscious looking white duvet. Phil sits down on the floor.

  You guess? Is there something I’m not seeing? Cuz it looks perfect to me. I think we should do this Phil.

  We’re choosing our home, Dan. 

  I know that Phil.

  We can’t rush it. Phil hits send and then leans back onto the bed behind him and lets out a long slow exhale before typing again. I’m just not sure Dan. It’s too much pressure.

  I trust you Phil.

  I know you do, but I don’t trust me.

  …

  …

  The phone vibrates in his hand. “Dan.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know, I can’t tell if it’s right for us.”

  “If it’s right, you’ll know. It’ll feel like home.”

  “It doesn’t feel like anything. I don’t think it can feel like home without you here.”

  “Phil.”

  “I know. I know I’m being sentimental and impractical but I want to hold your hand and look out these windows.” Phil’s says wearily. “The kitchen opens onto the garden. I kept thinking about how our dog is gonna run around in the rain and track mud all over the floor. I wanted to say it out loud and see if your eyes crinkle.”

  Dan laughs gently into the phone. “If my eyes crinkle?”

  “Your eyes crinkle when you get feels.”

  “They do?”

  Phil hums a yes. A few moments of quiet pass. It’s a comfort just to have Dan’s soft, barely there breathing in his ear.

  Eventually, it’s Dan who breaks the silence. “Our dog, huh?” 

  “Yeah.”

  “Or our kids,” Dan adds.

  “Yeah.”

  “I just want you to love it, Phil. If you love it, I’ll love it.”

  “Right,” Phil says, “and I don’t know if I love it. I need to see your face light up. That’s how I’ll know.“

  Dan’s laughter is sweet and Phil just knows he’s shaking his head. “We really are co-dependent.”

  “Guess I can never leave you then,” Phil says.

  “Don’t even think about it.”

  “I miss you.”

  “I know. I miss you too,” Dan says, “Guess we’re letting that house go then.”

  “Guess so.”

  “They’ll be others.”

  “There will.” Phil stands up and heads out to find Cam.

  “Tell Cam to set up some viewings for when I’m home?” 

  “I will,“ Phil says.

  When he gets outside, Cam is on his phone, talking fast about percentages. He nods to Phil with a signature smile and wink. 

  Phil responds by whispering, “I have to go, this isn’t the one. I’ll email you.”

  Cam pouts and starts to end his call but Phil hurries away, escaping an awkward conversation he isn’t ready for. He doesn’t order a car. It’s nice out so he walks to the tube by way of the park, looking back for one last glance at the house before he gets too far.

  From here, it does look like something they’d design in the Sims. It kinda is their dream house. They aren’t looking for a dream house though, they’re looking for a forever home, and they can only find forever together.

  End.

[tulipau]

title: Bella Bella

word count: 639

summary: Dan and Phil, night time excursions, and trying to navigate their new role as dog parents. 

a/n: written for @phandomficfests pet flash fic fest! 

READ ON AO3 

The noise woke Dan up. Bella’s nails against the wood flooring. It sounded like she was running around, which wouldn’t annoy Dan, considering her active personality, if it weren’t for the fact that it was the middle of the night.

It had been two months since they adopted the loveable Tibetan terrier that was Bella and she fit right in with them, other than a tiny little detail: she didn’t seem to have much regard for their sleep schedule. Granted, sometimes they didn’t even have a sleep schedule, but they did need to sleep at some point. Bella, however, didn’t understand that, despite Dan’s attempts to explain it to her, because yes, he had stooped that low.

At first they had ignored her night time shenanigans, but they soon discovered her frantic running around was connected to the pee stains they found on their floor the morning after. It didn’t happen every night, more like once or twice a week at best but, still, they took turns to take her out whenever she needed it. Sometimes, though, they didn’t wake up in time; other times, the most tragic ones, they didn’t wake up at all. Those times they also took turns to clean the floor.

He kicked Phil’s leg, feeling somewhere between reality and dream land. He received a grunt in reply.

“It’s your turn,” Dan whispered, his voice hoarse.

“No,” came Phil’s answer. He sounded even more tired than Dan, who, being the perfect partner and dog co-parent, kicked his leg again.

“I took her out last night.”

Phil hummed in reply while he repositioned himself against Dan’s body. Bella chose that moment to barge into their room and went directly for their floor to ceiling window, standing in front of it and looking out into the street below. Her tail was wagging and she was softly crying. Master of manipulation, she was.

Dan sighed.

“You owe me,” he whispered to his right, where Phil was pretending to be asleep again, his dramatic puffs coming way too fast for him to be really asleep.

Dan pushed the covers and got up, quickly finding the clothes he left in his metal chair, specifically for this purpose because of that one time he hadn’t gotten dressed fast enough. Bella was already waiting for him, tail wagging at a speed barely perceptible to the human eye.

“C’mon baby girl, don’t want to wake Sleeping Beauty over there,” Dan said walking to the door.

*

“Remember last night? How you owe me one?” Dan asked.

It was early in the afternoon and they’d come back from one of Bella’s walks twenty minutes ago. Neither of them had mentioned what had happened the night before when they had woken up, but Dan already had a plan in mind.

Phil looked at him unabashedly from where he was sitting to his right on the sofa, Bella sleeping soundly next to him. “Yes.”

“Oh, so you were awake?” The look Phil sent him back could only be translated as “Cut the crap.”

“You need to call that dog trainer we talked about, Phil. This can’t go on anymore,” Dan said. He wasn’t talking as loud as he normally would because, as much as he was done with their night time excursions, it still felt weird to talk about it where Bella could hear them.

“But we can train her ourselves! I researched it.”

“No, we can’t. I feel bad every time I tell her off and you can’t stop giving her treats. She’s trolling us at this point.”

Phil didn’t reply back and just sighed, defeated. Dan knew it was because he was right.

“Thanks, babe.” Dan leaned in to kiss his cheek. He then grabbed the TV remote and unpaused the show they’d been watching before the conversation.

*

“At least it was good practise, right?”

[sleeplessnightwithphan]

All The Smiles You Never Knew You Gave Me

Summary: Soulmate!AU where Dan is surrounded by people who have found their soulmate, and he can’t help but feel like he will never meet his. (But let’s be honest, we all know he will)

Genre: Fluff, bit angsty, AU

Word Count: 2.3K

TW: Panic attack

A/N: This was written for DPSS, but I would like to post it on my own blog as well, because I like things organised. 

I would like to thank my dog, Foo Fighters and Bastille for keeping me company while writing this. Also, I’m not a native speaker, so yeah.

Read on AO3: X

Warmth. That was the first thing Dan felt when he woke up. But not the good kind of warmth that makes you feel satisfied and happy, like you’re safe and protected from everything. No, this was a suffocating warmth, like he was being wrapped in a blanket that was too thick, making you feel like you can’t escape.

Funnily enough, the reason to him feeling too hot was the same reason other people felt the good kind of warmth: the presence of another person next to him in the bed.

He couldn’t remember her name (the fact that he felt like taking home a girl with him instead of a guy might be an indicator of how much alcohol he had consumed the previous night), only that she wasn’t too hard to convince to go with him, and that she fell asleep right afterwards. She was currently lying with her head on Dan’s chest, breathing slow and humming barely audible. It was a happy, up-tempo melody that was repeated over and over again. Presumably her Soulmate Tune.

Only it sounded nothing like Dan’s Tune.

Dan lived in a world where everybody had a simple melody in their head, one they’ve been singing ever since they were old enough to be able to sing. These short pieces of music were called Soulmate Tunes. Some people had a very up-tempo song (like the girl lying next to him), others had a calm, relaxing one (Dan was one of those people). Nobody could quite remember when they first heard their melody, it had just always been there.

These melodies served only one purpose; to find your soulmate, the one person who you would be compatible with in every way, the one person who was meant for you.

You see, the melodies in people’s head were never a standalone piece. There was somebody out there whose melody would be a perfect match for yours, either following or preceding it. Together, they formed a melody that (like his mom explained it to Dan once when he was 9) “just feels right. You get this deep-rooted feeling to start singing along, the combination of the two melodies sounds like coming home, like happiness. You just know when you hear it.”

The fact that Dan woke up next to somebody who’s melody didn’t match his, wasn’t new to him at all. He was a 25-year-old man, he had needs. And as long as he hadn’t find his soulmate, he would just go out sometimes and pick up somebody willing to come home with him and help him with those needs. Simple as that.

Or at least, that’s what Dan liked to tell himself.

In reality, Dan hated the fact that he still hadn’t find his soulmate.

He hated how empty and alone he felt when his parents began singing their tune together. He hated how happy his best friend, PJ, would seem when he heard his girlfriend singing their tune. He hated how even his 16-year old cousin had already find his soulmate.

Sometimes, he wouldn’t even believe there was somebody out there for him. It rarely happened, but it wasn’t unheard of that somebody just never found their soulmate. Or maybe his soulmate had died.

(It was usually when his mind started to contemplate those ideas that he would go out and take someone home with him. He just needed to feel loved for a while).

The girl he took home yesterday - was it Lisa? or Luna? he couldn’t remember- had apparently disappeared while Dan was lost in thoughts, hadn’t left her number (they never do), so he decided to just get out of bed and go take a shower.

Dan’s apartment was –if we’re being honest- pretty crap, barely worth the name ‘apartment’. It had one bedroom, a bathroom and an area that served both as a kitchen and a lounge, and all of those rooms combined were the size of what some people considered just one room. The walls were dirty, the floors creaked everywhere, the heating was broken more often than not, and there was a weird smell that Dan tried (but not quite managed) to cover up using scented candles.

But hey, it was home to Dan. And with his job as a store clerk, he was barely able to afford this place, let alone anything better.

*****

After he had dinner (cheap microwave dinner, he wasn’t in the mood to do any proper cooking) he left to go down to the shop he worked at. It was one of those 24 hours a day shops, and having no life whatsoever, Dan usually requested to be put on the night shift, since it paid better.  It also had the extra benefit of being quieter with very few customers, so he could just read a book all night long.

That was exactly what Dan was doing when he heard the bell that hang above the door chime at about half past 11. He watched as a man walked in, smiling shyly at Dan before grabbing a basket and disappearing behind one of the shelfs.

Dan had to admit, he was used to people who were less attractive entering the store. The guy seemed a few years older that Dan, presumably in his late twenties. He had black hair that was swept in a fringe across his forehead. His skin was pale (he most likely didn’t see the sun all too often) and his bright blue eyes were framed by black glasses. Add black skinny jeans and a blue button-up shirt and you could say that Dan would have already walked up to him and started chatting him up, were he not at work.  

Instead, Dan settled on watching him going down the aisles until he made his way to the check-out.

“Good evening sir, were you able to find everything?” Dan asked him while ringing up his purchases (a deepfreeze pizza and a bottle of Ribena).

“Y-yes, no problems finding anything, thank you.” The guy spoke softly and shyly.

“Ok, that will be £4,48 please” The guy didn’t really seem up for conversation, so Dan decided to just leave him be, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

He watched as the man reached into his pocket, only to start looking a bit panicked as he reached into his other pockets.  Dan heard him swearing under his breath before noticeably starting to get a bit upset.

“Uhm… it seems as though I’ve left my wallet at home. I’m so so sorry.” He said, seemingly starting to have trouble breathing.

“That’s not a problem at all, how about you just go get your wallet and come back? I’ll keep your purchases here while you’re gone. OK?” Dan proposed, trying to calm the man down a bit.

“Yeah… I’ll go do that…” The man noticeably had trouble breathing now, and when he tried to walk out of the store, he had to hold on to the counter, seemingly not able to stand on his feet anymore. He had also started to tremble.

“Sir, is everything alright?” Dan asked, already knowing that it wasn’t. He walked around the counter towards the man, and helped him stay upright.

“I won’t let you walk around like this, how about you go sit in the back for a bit until you’re feeling alright again? My name is Dan by the way.”

“Yeah… Ok… Thanks... I’m Phil.” the guy managed to say between heavy breaths, seemingly not able to argue in any way.

*****

Dan had no idea what to do, but he knew that the man was in no condition to walk around like that. While guiding him towards the small kitchen in the back, he managed to tell his co-worker to take over the check-out for him while he stayed with Phil until he felt better.

By the time they made it into the back, Phil’s breathing difficulties seemed to have gotten a bit less bad, even though the trembling hadn’t gotten any better. Dan let him sit on a chair and pulled up another one to sit next to him. He had read somewhere that you could help people with a panic attack (which he assumed Phil was having) by letting them breath in and out with you, so that’s exactly what Dan did.

“Just focus on my breathing, you’re doing great. Breathe in. Breathe out. In. And out. That’s good, keep going.”

After a while, Phil had calmed down enough so that his breathing was almost normal again and he had stopped shaking. He looked up at Dan and smiled gratefully.

“Thank you very much, and I’m sorry for freaking out like that. I was feeling a bit on edge the entire day already, and me forgetting my wallet was just too much for me to handle today.” Phil’s voice sounded a bit raspy and rough, but still quite pleasant to Dan’s ears.

“No problem at all, you don’t need to apologise. Would you like something to drink? I can get you a glass of water?” Phil nodded at his request, and Dan went to grab him something.

That’s when he heard it. A soft, calm string of notes that was repeated over and over again. A beautiful humming that stirred something deep inside Dan’s chest.

It made him think of the apple cake that he and his mom used to make when he was still a boy, the smell filling up the entire house. It reminded him of when he used to take the family dog for a walk in the woods nearby their house when the trees were emptying their branches, colouring the ground different shades of red and yellow and brown. It reminded him of late-night conversations with his friends in high school on the patio of whoever was hosting the party they were currently at, a faint smell of cigarettes making it a tad more difficult for him to breathe.

It filled him with warmth, the good kind of warmth. It made his chest feel like it wasn’t big enough anymore to contain his fluttering heart, it made him feel like he was about to ascend into the air, being weightless and without any worries.

It made him feel like he was at home.

It took him a minute to fully realise why he was feeling like this, but when he did, it all made perfect sense to him.

Phil was humming his Soulmate Tune. And it matched Dan’s Tune.

He was pulled away from his train of thoughts when he felt cold water streaming onto his hand. He was still filling up the glass, which was starting to overflow. Quickly, he turned off the water and emptied the glass a bit so he could carry it to Phil without making it spill everywhere.

Was Phil really his soulmate? Could he possibly be lucky enough to have this beautiful man be his perfect match? Dan was a bit skeptical, so he decided to not tell Phil just yet. Maybe he was just getting desperate enough to be imagining everything.

“Is that your Soulmate Tune you’re singing?” Dan asked innocently while handing Phil the glass.

“Yes, it is. I usually sing it to myself when I’m feeling distressed. It always manages co calm me down.” Phil spoke with a soft smile on his face.

Dan felt a bit defeated. The only reason it would be able to calm him down is that he had already found his soulmate and it made him think of them. Of course, it was too good to be true.

“Does your soulmate usually help you through these attacks?” Dan decided to not show his disappointment, and just keep talking to Phil for a bit. It wasn’t like he wanted to go back to work anyway.

Phil giggled a bit. “I haven’t exactly found my soulmate yet, to be honest. But just the thought of there being somebody out there who is perfect for me in every way is usually enough to comfort me. They have helped me through so much already, even without me having ever met them. The fact that they exist is enough for now. And you know, good things come to those who wait.”

This made Dan feel a lot more confident about how he was feeling. Phil seemed to be a perfect balance for Dan, who tended to overthink everything. The idea of Phil being his soulmate didn’t seem that impossible to him anymore.

And when Phil continued to hum his Tune, Dan, in a sudden burst of confidence, decided to sing his own Tune right after it. Very softly at first, afraid it might not be Phil after all, but when he saw the way Phil’s face lit up, he started singing with more and more confidence.

It wasn’t until he felt Phil embrace him in a warm hug, that he realised he was crying. He just felt so happy that the universe had blessed him with the man currently holding him in his arms.

They both just held on to each other until Dan had stopped crying. Phil brushed Dan’s fringe away from his eyes and wiped away a stray tear that was still making its way down his cheek, before starting to caress his cheek.

“I knew that patience would be rewarded” Phil said with a smile on his face, and that’s when Dan knew for sure.

It was him. Dan had finally found his Soulmate.

And what an amazing soulmate it was.

The link to the original post is over here.

Thank you for stopping by ^^