#how dare you make catnap look so amazing

[tvccreator]

Pffff - let CatNap be a charming bastard, Mommy. He deserves it.

>:V

[hiwelcometothemonstersancturary]

I’d love to hear your headcanons on the relationship of Catnap/Theo and The Prototype…especially when the poor kid became wee little baby Catnap. The Prototype must have a lot of guilt over that, and many, many other things…

Oh, boy, I have so much to talk about!

First, for me their relationship is and will always be of father and son. Even during the time Theo/Catnap starts looking up to Prototype as his god, it is still, at its core, a parent and child relationship. The religious imagery is just another layer it has, even if it's a very bad and unhealthy one. For me the whole cult thing was something Prototype only allowed to happen because it gave him more control over the factory, and, by extension, more protection to his kid, because if anyone dared to mess with him, they would know they would have messed up with the Prototye himself. And also because Elliot was used to people looking up to him and "lost" his "window" to cut it off before it became too much, like how we see in-game.

I think Theo met Prototype by accident, when he was running from bullies and accidentally got lost. He called for help until Prototype heard him and made a "mental link", gently guiding Theo out of where he was. Prototype was in the middle of an escape attempt, btw, and stopped because Theo was just a child and needed help. He would have done the same for any other kid in Playcare, and this is an important part of his personality to me. Proto would never hurt a kid (except if he thinks said hurt will free them from their suffering, which is why he kills CatNap during the og game).

Theo, very young and a bit religious, thought that the voice was actually a guardian angel guiding him out, and tried to contact the Prototype by praying. Proto, who still had the mental link with the kid, was very amused, and told him that no, he's not an angel, just another creature trapped inside Playtime Co. Prototype would often silently escape his cell in order to talk to Theo, or use the mental connection to make his hand appear in front of him. The kid was lonely, terrified, and no other adult seemed competent enough to just do their job as a person and help him, and Prototype knew what it was like to be lonely and terrified. He wouldn't allow this little one to be alone like he himself was.

He protected Theo the best he could. He wouldn't scare the bullies, knowing well that if he did, the higher-ups would immediately make a connection and end any attempts at contacting Theo. At this point Proto was already with the adoption papers all signed up inside his head but he just thought it was normal behavior for him until years later. Prototype helped Theo with homework, taught him how to calm himself down, and, little by little, started showing more of himself. First he made it so that Theo would only see his hand, then his arm. He warned the boy that he had a very scary appearance, to which Theo replied that even angels look a bit scary the first time you see then. Surprisingly, the little boy was amazed by how the Prototype looked like! He thought he was the coolest thing EVER.

Prototype's influence also made Theo start scoring higher at the Game Station. He was a very frail and clumsy kid. If it wasn't for Proto being gentle and encouraging, Theo would have never been fit for the Bigger Bodies initiative. This is something Prototype didn't realize until he accidentally overheard Sawyer talking about the Smiling Critters "line" of Bigger Bodies and saw the test results for Theo. By this point, Proto was planning an escape, with him and the boy freeing all the orphans trapped inside Playtime Co, but when he saw these papers, he decided that the plan must be done as soon and quick as possible. He would allow anyone else to be hurt. And he didn't realize it at the time, but he wasn't going to allow Sawyer to just take his kid away from him like that.

And then Theo almost fucking died. Haha. Lmao, even.

Maybe the fact that Proto didn't have more time to "train" him could be part of the reason why the accident happened. Maybe Theo was just too young. But what matters is that he almost died, and Prototype kept on calling to him, begging him to survive, to get up, but the boy wasn't moving. The Prototype had failed yet another child, and this time it almost costed their life. I think this is how he found out he could cry in his new body, because he was sobbing, and if he wasn't so focused on getting help and not being silent I think he would have screamed a bit.

And then he saw his boy being brought to that room, and he couldn't do anything to stop it from happening. And at least to me this was one of the worst things that ever happened to Prototype, because he loved that kid just like how he loved Poppy when things weren't like this. Taking care of him, raising him... He did that to Poppy as well.

And he failed the two of them.

I think that after Theo became CatNap, Prototype tried to keep a certain distance between them, because he almost killed that boy. He's not a good parent, nor a good friend. He tried to hard to save him, and for what? But to Theo, this wasn't a case of his parent trying to protect him. The last thing he heard was Prototype calling himself a failure: "You failed another one", he said, and Theo thought he was calling him a failure for almost dying. And combine that with the distance post-Bigger Bodies transformation, and the fact that to Theo he was still alive because Prototype saved him, and you have just the right amounts of guilt, second chances and redemption to kickstart the worship.

Theo/CatNap wanted to prove himself to be useful, to be better. Prototype wanted to free him and everyone else inside, and told him about the Hour of Joy. CatNap delivered the news to other toys, grateful that he was being useful to his savior, and helped him set everything in motion for the following months. After the HoJ, Prototype realized he had to feed all the toys inside, and food is not an infinite supply. He taught CatNap how to protect himself from other hungry toys and how to hunt and scavenge for food, and in CatNap's eyes his god was teaching him everything he knew just like old times. It was a reward, he had proved himself to be useful, things will be okay once more.

@/lassieposting made some really interesting posts about their relationship post-HoJ, and I recommend checking the poppy playtime tag on their blog! I love the idea of CatNap eventually leaving Prototype's wing/"area" after a certain amount of time, coming back to the Smiling Critters as a hunter and thinking it's stupid how the group doesn't want to hunt for other toys. However, I like to think that Prototype one day came up to him and told him there wasn't anything else for him to learn, and that he could go, once again creating a distance between them, as Prototype/Elliot still thinks he failed the kid and that he will fail him again if he stays close. In CatNap's eyes this was his savior asking him to prove himself so he would be allowed to be close to him again.

With enough time, CatNap made his Prototype cult, which was allowed to keep on going because Proto firmly believed this would protect him and the mini critters. Plus, more control over the factory, stopping toys from going on a rampage or trying to leave and risking making the experiments known to the authorities. Meanwhile CatNap had to provide food for the mini critters and was finding the same problems Proto himself was having with feeding the toys, and this just made his admiration and worship of him grow more and more (hc also by @/lassieposting).

There's also another element to their relationship: Elliot was a very kind man who was shaken up by war. He raised Poppy to be kind, as much as she possibly could be. For her, kindness was a choice she must make every single day. But for Theodore post Hour of Joy, kindness was something that could cost him his life. Prototype taught him how to be a hunter, and this meant not playing around and not being able to be a kid anymore. CatNap feels like a part of him went missing when he was forced to stop playing because he needed to survive, and a part of him does resent Prototype for that, but he will never admit it out loud.

By the time Angel enters the factory and the game starts, Prototype is being eaten alive by his own guilt. He failed every single child in that damned factory, he failed his two kids (Poppy and Theodore), and he failed himself and his principles. Meanwhile, CatNap is starving not just for food, but for any love and attention he can receive from Prototype. All he wants is for things to go back to how they were once before, but the distance between them just keeps on growing. The cult, the worship and the guilt are killing this relationship for years, and neither of them are able to talk about it.

CatNap just wants his dad back.

Prototype just wishes Theo never had to meet a monster like him.

[satsuki2406]

Dear Aomi Bakugou Katsuki x Reader

"I've seen you in a dream before, you are the warm and bright presence that embraced me on Cape Kamui a long time ago on a June afternoon."

Shinohara (Y/N) is a normal girl who had everything she could ask for, a loving family, a beautiful home, friends, and a fluffy cat. For a long time, she gave her life and happiness for granted, never imagining that she'll face one of the worst and crueler facades of society so closely, destroying what once was a happy, harmonious and normal family. One day, in hopes to recover what they lost, the Shinohara family took one of the more difficult decisions of their lives; leave behind their home back in Hokkaido and travel hundreds of miles south until Musutafu, the place that could grant them a solution and help close the yet fresh wound and scare away the ghosts of the past. Hardheaded, passionate, and ambitious (Y/N) is forced to confront the incarnated face of the superhuman society that she hated the most; Bakugou Katsuki.

PAIRING: (Bakugou Katsuki x Reader)

GENRE/WARNINGS: Romance, Fluff, Angst, Dark Themes, My poor attempt of humor, Strong language (Courtesy of Lord Explosion Murder 💥), Manga Spoilers, LONG ass chapter.

STATUS: On going

Chapter 1: School is a Great Place to Make Enemies

Chapter 2: My Stupid Classmate, the Angry Dandelion

3-In Conclusion, This Day Was...

The light night air caressed (Y/N)’s face and swayed her hair as she calmly strolled on the street. The ride from the konbini was short, after a couple of minutes, (Y/N) reached her home’s front gate. She pushed the creaky short gate pushing her bike along her with the shopping bags and closed it behind her. She put the bike on its little corner next to the driveway and locked it. She took the two shopping bags, along with her bag and walked to the front door. Before (Y/N) could even align the key with the keyhole, the door was harshly swung open revealing a much preoccupied and almost hyperventilating woman, (E/C) eyes met an equal pair of concerned (E/C) ones.

“Oh, (Y/N)! you’re finally home!” Immediately (Y/N) was engulfed in the hugest mama bear hug imaginable. Her mother, Akari consumed by aggravation and worry squeezed the lights out of her ‘little baby’ alleviated to have her between her arms, safe and sound.

“Mom...! I can’t- I can’t breathe…!” (Y/N) choked out.

“Oh, I’m so sorry baby! You know how I get when I’m worried, and excited, and when I see a good deal at the supermarket but enough of me! Tell me, are you alright? Are you hurt?” Lovingly, Akari cupped (Y/N) soft cheeks and proceeded to quickly exanimate her closer, looking for any scratch or cut. “Your temperature is normal, does any part of your body hurt?”

“Well, other than my legs, my butt, and the growing migraine I’ve been feeling since I left the konbini, I’m awesome, thank you.”

“I knew it! I knew that something was wrong! You must have been trapped in that horrible incident in the commercial district! What if the migraine is because you hit your head and will develop some brain damage if we don’t treat you immediately or your legs are injured?! What if they have to amputate them!? Should I call 911?! Or take you myself to the hospital?! No! We have no time to lose! Quick! Get in the car! I’ll go and get the keys and my purse-I have to call your dad!! Oh but he’s way too far right now! What if!-”

“Alright Mom! enough!” (Y/N) snapped. “Look at me, now, inhale and exhale, sloooowly, take your time and calm down. Once you are relaxed, I’ll explain myself, so stop jumping to conclusions please. Look at me in the eyes-that’s right, deep breaths, deep breaths…” You said softly while you also breathed deeply to show your mom how she had to do it while she dramatically imitated you, putting a hand over her chest to help herself.

“Al-Alright, I-I’m feeling better now”

“Perfect, so the reason I’m late is, indeed related to the villain attack, BUT! No how you are thinking! You know that in the center of the city there’s a bikeway, right?”

“Y-Yes I do”

“So, you also must remember that the Commercial District is part of that same bikeway’s route, right?”

“I-I recall so, yes”

“Perfect! Now that we have that important but kinda trivial piece of information clear, I’ll proceed to tell you what happened. Sooo… During my way back I decided to ‘take my time’ and you know, explore the city. But, but, but! When I was about to go back home, I heard a really big explosion coming from there, there was a lot of smoke as well. Right there I ran into an elderly lady and her daughter and they explain me the situation, they also advise me to get home as soon as I could. But the fastest and safest route home with the bike implies going right into the crime scene which was a super no-no, so I saw myself forced to take the long route around the Dagobah Park, a.k.a the city’s biggest illegal trash dump all the way down the coast line which took me around an hour which is also the reason my legs and butt hurt, oh! And also, the stop on the konbini that ended in an unfortunate incident related with a defective Ramune bottle and a rabid macaque-”

“W-Wait a minute! R-Rabid macaque?!” Your mother exclaimed panicked.

“That’s irrelevant right now mother, my point is I’m ok, and I’m not feeling like getting into the ER right now, also I have perishable products in this bags that need refrigeration and I reek like death and destruction, so can we enter to the house pretty please?”

“O-Oh, right, that was a bit confusing but I think I got it.”

“Great! By the way I bought the missing ingredients to make dinner.”

“Fantas!- Oh no! I was so preoccupied about you that I forgot to make dinner! I haven’t even made rice! Why don’t you take a bath while I put up something together to eat? You can also tell me about your first day of school over dinner!”

“Ok!”

 🐈🛀💢

Contently, (Y/N) hopped up the stairs and made a beeline to her bedroom. Although she has only been living in there for 2 weeks and a half, she found herself loving the place, the new house in general was really homey and cozy, it was roomy and stylish, somewhat similar to the house she lived before with her family back in Sapporo. One detail that she found extremely beautiful was that this new house possessed an ample number of skylights, in almost every room of the house, including hers, it gave her an amazing view of the sky while she was lying on her bed during night, or the rain clipping and clapping over the crystal. The house also possessed a pretty old and pretty picturesque cherry blossom tree in the backyard that had gifted them that very same spring with lots of delicate pink petals that she usually saw dancing in the wind.

But her room was something special. (Y/N) was not sure if it was the way the light illuminated it, or the color the room was painted at that moment but it was something similar like love at first sight. Since that very first moment she and her parents visited the place along with the realtor that winter day last year, she knew that this would be her special corner.

Moving itself is a long and tedious process, but in their case the distance made it trickier. Musutafu and Sapporo were 880 miles away from each other, which mean they had to go there by plane, otherwise, (Y/N) would’ve to be stuck in her parents’ car for over 18 hours.

The moving truck was sent in advance so their stuff would be there the day they arrived. The flight only took 1 hour and 35 minutes, it was really short but once (Y/N) got out of the plane it was like she entered into another dimension. Musutafu was way bigger than Sapporo, also busier and hectic, there were more heroes around the city which made sense because of its size, the crime rate must be higher here as well.

After all the unpacking and mess that moving in implied, the Shinohara family was successfully settled down, it felt like it was so long ago. Time really flies by when you are occupied, huh?

(Y/N) closed her room after she entered, going directly to her bed, plopping herself in the fluffy comforter. Suddenly with the corner of her eye she caught a sudden movement next to her, focusing more she recognized a familiar ball of white fluff that napped away comfortably over the mound of pillows and cushions situated on the upper part of the bed.

“Mashumaro!~”

“Mrrrow~”

Mashumaro, a 5-year-old white British Shorthair, stretched deliciously and stud up from his pillowy paradise to receive one of his (several) daily coddle sessions. (Y/N) opened her arms to the affectionate feline, enveloping him in a warming hug.

“Oh Mashu! You can’t imagine the day I had! Everything could have gone perfectly fine if it wasn’t for that stupid angry blowfish! And when I thought I got rid of him for the day, he ‘blessed’ me showing up in the konbini! That idiot! How dare he to live nearby!? I hope he doesn’t live close at all, see his ugly puckered face at school every day is bad enough! I’m utterly exhausted, and this was just the first day.”

“Mrrrow”

“Yes! Can you imagine?! How the rest of the year would be?!”

“Mrrrow”

“I know, I know, thankfully this is the last year of middle school, after next spring, boom! No more Bakushit!”

“Mrrrow”

“Oh Mashu! ~ You are the only one who understands me, thank you for listen to me, I feel better now~”

“Mrrrow...?”

“Talking about feel better, I have a date with that ofuro at the end of the corridor, so if you excuse me…”

In a fluid move (Y/N) wiggled out of her bed, leaving her furry companion to keep enjoying his catnap and get the most comfortable pjs she could find in her wardrobe. With the selected garments in her bed, she left her room and headed to the bathroom. Once inside the wet room, she proceeded to fill the tub, setting the water temperature to her liking. Meanwhile, (Y/N) slipped off her uniform and folded it aside into the hamper to wash later. Once ready, she stepped under the shower and turned on the head, soaking herself completely in the relaxing liquid. (Y/N) eagerly washed away all the stress and sweat that formed during this crazy day.

‘I wonder if Midoriya made it home safely’ (Y/N) absentmindedly took her shampoo bottle and squeezed some of its contents over her hand and applied it over her head.

She hummed blissfully while her fingers massaged her scalp. The bipping of the controlling pad interrupted her relaxation moment to inform her that the tub was filled and ready. She rinsed her hair and body drenched in shampoo and body wash foam and applied her conditioner to the final touch. Once she was ready, she turned off the shower head and wrapped her wet hair in a towel, she tested the water with her toe, which she approved with a soft sigh and submerged completely and hummed contently.

“Ahhh~ This is life!” (Y/N) closed her eyes and let herself being wrapped in relaxation and tranquility.

‘I’ll ask Midoriya tomorrow how it went, I hope he didn’t have to go near the villain attack. For what they say it was a big deal, I hope the hostage is ok’

(Y/N) came to a halt with the soft knock on the door. “(Y/N) sweetie, dinner will be ready in 10 minutes, don’t take too long so you can eat it while it still hot.”

“Ok mom! I will, thanks!”

‘I don’t wanna go to school tomorrow! I wonder if I can change classes or something, but that means Midoriya would be left alone at the mercy of that brute again.’

‘Alone…’

“No! Midoriya has had to deal with this by his own, if I can do something about it, I will”

‘He deserves to feel that someone appreciates him, supports him and believes in him, just like anybody else’

(Y/N) stud up from the tub and covered herself with a towel and exited the bathroom. Once in her room, she closed the door and sited on her bed to check her phone.

“Oh, I got a message…”

From: Haru ✨

 3:42 pm

Hey gurl! How was everything? 😁 Sorry I didn’t text you during lunch, I forgot my phone in the classroom, 😓 silly me I guess, 😅 like always, haha! 🤣🤣 Anyway! Tell me! How are schools down there? Did you meet some cute guys?~ 👀🤩 I’ll call you tonight!~ 😘💋

“What do you mean ‘how are schools down there’ you moron, like in the rest of Japan.” You snickered.

To: Haru ✨

6:41pm

It is complicated to tell how my day was, ‘incredible’ maybe? 🙄 Just to give you a preview it got me so tired that I want to sleep for the next 25 years and this was just the first day. 😫😫 Anyway, I’ll go get dinner, call you later. 

(Y/N) dried her body, put on the clothes she chose and went down stairs were she saw her mom setting the table filling it with several steaming yummy looking plates and bowls.

“Wow! this looks really good!~”

“I’m glad you think so, come on, sit now before it gets cold”

“Ok!~”

There on the table laid a full arrange of delicious comfort food; hearty veggie miso soup, grilled salmon, green salad and potato salad, pickled veggies and last but certainly not least katsu white curry, one of (Y/N) favorites.

“Its been a long time since we ate white curry!���

“And don’t forget the cheese stuffed tonkatsu~”

“Yay! ~”

“Itadakimasu!”

(Y/N) took a spoonful of rice and curry and hummed happily at the savory and spicy flavors dancing in her tongue, the golden-brown tonkatsu was crispy and juicy, crowned by the gooey cheese on the inside.

‘Mom’s food is the best~’

“By the way, your father called when you were in the shower, he said he’ll be back in Musutafu on Thursday afternoon”

“Really?! That’s awesome!”

“Things went way smoothly than he thought, we will bring the remaining suitcases we left, the ones with summer clothes”

“Oh, those will come handier here since is warmer”

“You are right, now tell me how was your first day of school? Did you make some new friends?”

(Y/N) almost chocked on her soup as all her misadventures of the day came to her mind at the same time, trying to think about a good response she cleared her throat and compose a bit.

“Mmm, I’m not actually sure if I can call him a friend but there was this really timid guy in my class-”

“Oh! A boy?! Good thing your father is not here otherwise he would be seething, and crying at the same time because his baby is growing up so fast!” Your mom said with an amused expression on her face at the mental image of your father in such state, the tips of her fingers were covering her lips in a vain attempt to conceal her giggles.

“M-Mom! I-It’s no like that! A-And I just met him today! Good God! Don’t go saying things like that so blatantly!” (Y/N) said suddenly rising from her seat, her face completely aflame with shame for her mother’s words.

“Oh honey, I’m kidding! No need to get so riled up!”

“Hmp!” (Y/N) grunted with puff up checks and an expression that more than angry, looked cute. And of course, her mom made sure to emphasize it.

“That face makes me want to squish it to death just like when you were still my little cutie baby boo! ~”

“M-Mom! Stop it!!!”

“Haha! Honey calm down! Don’t take it too seriously!”

“Hmm…”

 📱📱📱

“Woah, woah, woah! So, you are telling me that this guy actually called you a bitch and threaten you and another classmate in front of the whole class and the teacher didn’t do or say anything?! No even detention or something?!” (Y/N) best friend, Haruka exclaimed as she suddenly paused applying her moisturizing cream, a part of her ‘night beauty routine’.

“You got it, I guess that he’s scared of him, everyone actually, so he must be used get away with everything and you know that people usually looks away when a quirkless person is discriminated, like it wasn’t serious or it was something to laugh about.”

“Yeah crude but true, unfortunately that’s not new, the ‘bully with a decent quirk’ kind of story is really common, but to that extent? Is kind of terrifying. You also said he wanted to be a hero? What the heck?! I’ll definitely will not support a hero like that! If you actually could be able to call him a ‘hero’ after all, I hope that U.A reject him on the spot! A meanie who bullies my bestie does not deserve such title!”

“I’m pretty sure that the U.A staff would have your concerns into consideration”

“I’m serious (Y/N)!”

“Me too”

You were now laying lazily in the comforting warmness of your bed. As you promised you called Haruka after dinner, filling her into all the details of your crazy first day, and a certain insufferable spiky blond.

“How about you? How was everything there?”

“Cold as hell! It started snowing when I was walking back home. You know, typical Hokkaido.”

“You know that the hell is hot, rig-?”

“Don’t smartmouth me bitch, you get my point.”

“Yeah, yeah, today the weather was really nice here, is getting warmer everyday and the sakura are on full bloom. I think is the first time I haven’t freeze to death on my first day of school. It was a nice experience for a change.”

“Oh, I’ll wish to be there! I can’t believe we are in firkin’ April but it feels like January!”

“Like you said, Typical Hokkaido. Hey Haru, my eyelids are closing; I’ll go to sleep now ok? I’ll message you tomorrow and please for God’s sake don’t leave your phone in the classroom, you moron.

“Ok! Ok Mom! Geez! Suzue told me there was this new hottie in class 3-C and I had to check if he was Jefree Star Approved!”

“Doesn’t Jefree Star review make-?? Oh! Shut up and go to sleep!”

After hanging up to a pouty Haruka, (Y/N) put her phone to charge and submerged herself under the softness of her comforter, turning off the bedside lamp she sighed prying to whatever God out there listening that tomorrow could be a better day.

“Just a good day, that’s all I’m asking for…”

With little flashbacks of all those days spent with Haruka and all her friends, her family, her old home, of Hokkaido.

 Embraced in sweet memories, she was lulled to sleep.

Raise your hand if your mom also freaks out about everything ✋

*Mashumaro: Marshmallow in Japanese ヾ(•ω•`)o

[let-me-love-you-loki]

In a Day or Two--Ch. 4

Chapter 4

           I leaned against the wall just outside the door of my building, fiddling nervously with my phone. It was late afternoon on my third full day in Tokyo. I’d spent the day before walking around the ward to get a sense of direction and to see what my temporary home had to offer. My body clock was still adjusting to the fourteen-hour shift, but I was slowly pushing my way back to a normal schedule. The catnaps and ward walks were helping.

           Movement to my left caught my attention. When I looked up, I saw Kenny walking down the street toward me. The first day we met, I hadn’t paid attention to what he was wearing since I was just happy someone spoke English. The second time we ran into each other, he’d been in a pair of gym shorts and a t-shirt. Now, I couldn’t help but feel giddy at how attractive he looked.

           He wore a white Henley sweater that hugged his arms and shoulders and tapered down to his waist. The front tail of it was tucked into his waistband behind the silver buckle of his belt. His jeans were ripped in the right thigh and the left knee, and they looked relaxed and well-worn. There was a small black messenger bag strapped over his chest. His two-toned curls bounced as he walked. Mirrored aviators hid his blue eyes from the sun.

           “Hey, Shaye-san,” Kenny greeted as he closed the distance between us on the sidewalk. His hands were tucked into his pockets, making his biceps look bigger in the Henley. “You ready?”

           I stepped away from the wall, nervously brushing at my clothes. At least I didn’t look underdressed based on what he had on. “Be kind to me, Kenny-san. I’ve never been to an honest-to-goodness arcade before.”

           He gestured for me to go ahead of him. “You’ll love it. I promise.”

           We walked in silence for a few minutes, both of us meandering along on the sidewalk. I was strangely aware of his presence close by. In a way, he reminded me of a guy I knew in college. We’d been best friends the entire time, and, when he got married a year after graduation, he’d asked me to be his “best gal” at the wedding. I had the sudden strange urge to snap a picture of Kenny and send it to him just to get his opinion. It was funny that I didn’t want to talk to my mother about Kenny, but sharing the knowledge of him with my old friend was perfectly comfortable.

           The thought made me laugh quietly. Kenny must have noticed, as he gently bumped my shoulder. “What’s so funny?”

           I glanced up, aware keenly of how tall he was. He had to be an easy five or six inches taller than me, which put him around six feet if I had to guess. “I was just thinking that you remind me of one of my guy friends back home.”

           “Hmm. Tell me about him.” He slowed his pace to a little.

           My lips tipped upward into a smile as I looked up at the sky. “Ned is something else, and that’s the easiest way to put it. Well… his name is Edward, but everybody’s called him Ned since I can remember. We met in college. I remember one time, a few months after we met in freshman year, that I went camping with him and his family. Like, the whole deal—tents and fishing and all of it. I grew up in New York City, so I’d never done anything like that before. It was amazing.”

           He let out a faint hum in recognition. “Is he cute?”

           “As a button,” I replied, swiping my phone open and going straight through my photo gallery to a photo of Ned from a recent dinner. I turned the screen toward Kenny so he could see.

           “Agreed.” He tucked his hands deeper into his pockets. “How come he didn’t come with you?”

           I looked at my companion, feeling my brows merge in confusion. “Why would he?” Before Kenny could respond, it clicked in my brain. I tried very hard not to laugh at him. “We’re not a thing. He’s married. He’s, like, my best friend. But that’s it.”

            Kenny smiled sheepishly, color burning on his cheeks. “I just assumed…”

           My eyes rolled so hard that I thought they would be stuck in the back of my head. “If you wanted to know if I had a boyfriend or a girlfriend, all you had to do was ask.”

           “Well, I mean, I did just meet—wait, girlfriend?”

           I shrugged. “Hey, girls are pretty awesome too.”

           Something about that response struck him into silence. I hoped that the silence didn’t mean that I’d upset him or made him feel uncomfortable. Honestly, it was just that I wasn’t very good at meeting new people.

           “Here we are,” Kenny spoke up after a long while of silence. We were standing on the sidewalk outside a tall building with neon signs on the outside. An automatic door swooshed open as we walked in, filling the space around me with the air-conditioned noise of change machines, prize drops, and dance music.

           “Holy shit,” I breathed as I glanced around at the game systems that spread out in every direction. “Arcades definitely don’t look like this in New York.”

           Kenny smiled and put his arm around my back hovering just over the base of my spine, but he didn’t touch me. Still, it made my heart pick up its pace. The presence of his hand was enough to guide me into the building and off the tiled aisle onto a carpeted area littered with every type of game known to man. I looked at the game closest to me, surprised to find that it was skee-ball.

           “I know that one!” I exclaimed, twisting to look up at him. What I saw was slightly breathtaking. He’d removed the sunglasses and hung them from the collar of his Henley. Even in the lower light of the arcade, his eyes were bright and wide. They crinkled a little at the corners as he smiled, flashing white teeth and something like dimples but not quite.

           “Just a second,” Kenny said, digging his wallet out of his pocket. He grabbed some cash and stepped over to a change machine. The coins clattered out and Kenny swept them up in his nimble fingers. He turned around and held out a handful to me. “Loser buys dinner?”

           “Done,” I grinned, cupping my hands so that he could spill a portion of the coins into them. I pushed some into my pocket and palmed the others as I reached out, snatched Kenny by the wrist, and began pulling him toward the skee-ball game.

           Dropping my coins into the machine, I quickly swept my hair back into a knot. As the balls rattled down the chute, I glanced over to see Kenny pulling his sleeves up his forearms. He picked up his first shot, holding the ball balanced with his thumb and forefinger. I took up mine, turning it over and over in my palm.

           Lights flashed and the sound of a bell triggered the start of the round. I didn’t dare look at Kenny. Instead, I focused on picking up balls and flinging them up the ramp into rings as quickly as I could. The first few ended up in the 10-point spot, but I got lucky with a few in the 500. What felt like five seconds later, a buzzer went off.

           I turned to see Kenny looking sheepish. “Sorry,” he shrugged.

           “Best two out of three?” I quipped, knowing full well that I probably wasn’t going to win.

~Ω~

           I slid into the booth across from Kenny, feeling warm and winded after playing what felt like every game in the arcade. He leaned his cheek against his palm, elbow propped on the edge of the table, and gave me a look that was somehow hazy around the edges. Flustered, I looked anywhere but at him. My eyes landed on the plastic laminated menu, searching the pictures to find something—anything—that I would want to eat.

           “What’s good here?” I asked, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

           “I always get the yakitori,” he replied, his beautifully unique fingers tapping on the menu over a picture of what looked like a kebab. “It’s fantastic. Trust me.”

           “Hmm, trust you?” I made the mistake of glancing up. Kenny was watching me with a slight tilt to his lips. I tried not to think of how attractive he was. “I mean, you did set me up in the arcade. How was I to know you were going to mop the floor with me?”

           “Well, my friends do call me ‘The Cleaner’ so…” He leaned back in the booth. I felt his feet bump into mine as he stretched out his legs. “But I haven’t steered you wrong on anything important, Shaye-san.”

           I pushed the menu away, knowing I was going to follow his advice anyway. “You call me ‘Shaye-san.’ Am I being rude by not calling you ‘Kenny-san?’”

           He shook his head and sent his curls bouncing. “If it bothers you, I’ll stop.”

           “I didn’t say that.”

           Kenny bumped his feet into mine again, this time it felt intentional.

Tag List

@mox-made-me-do-it​

[fauxfables]

“the woman who has his damndelion heart" Oh my god this was amazing! So cute . I loved it so much. Is there going to be a next part?

Aww hun my heart is bursting from your kind words, thank you so much! I don’t think I’m going to write a part III anytime soon since I had a bit of difficulty writing part II haha … maybe sometime in the future I will pick up the story but who knows. I will, however, leave you with this little blurb I had written as part of the series but never actually put it into the story. I’d imagine it fit right in between Braids and Excuses! 

Catnap 💤

When hefinds you on the couch, a few hours later, reading your anatomy textbook, hesighs from relief at the familiar sight (and the peace and quiet). Anne hadgraciously offered to shift the reunion to the backyard to give you a quietplace to study even though you had originally asked to go the library for a fewhours. The clangs of glasses echoed slightly from outside, but you didn’t seemto mind, lost in your own world from the way you hadn’t noticed Harry ploppinghimself next to you, laying his head on your comfortable shoulder whilecrossing his arms in an exhausted sigh.

“Love?”  

Yourefused to indulge him, determined to finish this week’s chapter.

“Pet?” 

The feelingof his curls rubbed sweetly against your neck as he peered up to look at you(damn him).

“Muppet?”

“Harry!” yousnapped stretching his name in annoyance. “Jus’ give me a sec.” You took a deepbreath to calm yourself as you flipped a page of your book roughly, eyes stillconcentrating on your readings. 

“Hmm,” a familiaraccusing tone surfaced in his groggy voice, “someone’s gettin’ snippy…”

His comment wasignored once again, but he didn’t mind. He felt quite smug at the moment. Theever so patient Y/N had crumbled slightly in the depths of his over-eagerfamily (despite him triggering the hindrance).

“She lasted longer than anyone,” Harry thought tohimself, eyes grazing over the complicated words of her book. His eyes droppedslightly, as a deep wave of exhaustion over took him. He gazed over to hisfamily through the glassed doors, his sister was holding Jamie in her arms andhe was grateful for the moment of peace without the little one. He loved her tobits of course, but she exhausted the wits out of him. He closed his eyes,finally, as a deep slumber over took his body.

⭐

You were just aboutdone your chapter when you heard a low grumble resonate in your right ear as a lean tattooed arm carelessly wraps itself around your stomach knocking the book slightly that was secured on your lap.

“Son of a bi—” Yourharmful idiom halts at the cold nose that sinks deeper into your neck.

You peer down athim, chest rising and falling steadily, eyes closed, as his usual dimples aretucked away from his puckered lips. You swear this boy will be the end of youfrom how positively adorable he was. I mean, how dare he interrupt yourstudying with grabby hands and an inkling for a cuddle? You tried to be angrywith him (as it was your default emotion whenever he was like this), for if youever actually gave in to the flutter in your stomach, you’d be a goner forsure. 

This whole reunionwas actually quite frustrating to say the least. It was borderline torture towatch him play with little Jamie all day, sparking fantasies of him andyou parenting a child of your own. And just about everyone gave you subtlehints about the two of you. His aunt practically gave you a speech aboutHarry’s ideal woman, a picture perfect description of the qualities you had(coincidentally) possessed. You should have been flattered, but it justseemed so cruel to daydream about stuff like that. Because as much as youlike to fantasize about being Harry’s one and only, you understood the world hethrives in – a grandiose one with exhilarating lifestyles of fame and beauty. 

You’ve always enjoyed being the person he’d go to when he’d want a break fromit all, but sometimes you wondered what it would be like to reassure him with a soft kiss to his lips instead of one to his cheek. Granted, you were never a jealous person, but it wasonly natural for the green eyed monster to surface as you imagine the luckywoman who would be pampered by Harry’s gentle heart.

But maybe, justmaybe, you can indulge yourself just this once. 

Your head carefully dropped tothe curly one on your shoulder, at the same time closing your book and movingit promptly to the side. You had no idea what to do with your now empty hands,contemplating their placement on the arm hooked around your stomach. Aware youwere taking huge liberties, you wrapped your right arm around his strongshoulders pulling him closer and tugging your feet in under you as you restedyour crunched knees on his lap. You settled yourself, wriggling a bitinto a comfortable position. 

By now, his head moved slightly from your shoulderto the skin of your collarbone, and you could feel his steady breathing as youembraced his warmth. He smelt deliciously good too, there was biologybehind that (with pheromones and all), but that had not stopped you fromdigging your nose in his hair as you took a deep breath. A soft whine came fromhim as his left arm moved around your back and your head snapped up.

He was awake!

You lowered yourgaze to him, but he grumbled and almost pouted. You sighed in content; he wasonly reacting to your warmth. Harry quietened finally as you began to doze offfrom his steady breathing.

“Only for a couple of minutes,” you thought, “thenI’ll get back to studying and he wouldn’t know a thing.”

⭐                                                  

Gemma was justabout done with Jamie now. She tried her best to get her into a deep slumber,but the child was restless, fidgeting in her arms and whining into her neck.Gemma padded inside the house then, carrying Jamie to her crib before sheskidded into a halt when she saw her brother and her friend having a bit of a catnap on the couch. 

Youwere both cocooned towards each other, your right arm wound around hisshoulder, the other resting on his right arm that had a strong grip on yourupper thigh which had been pulled further onto his lap. Harry’s face was hiddenbehind his hair as his left cheek rested on your chest, your small frame, tinyenough for his left hand to wrap around your back and reach around to the skinof your stomach.

“He always liked being the littlespoon,” Gemma thought to herself, fondly gazing at the sight. Shecontemplated on waking you both, but Jamie had an idea off her own as shescrambled out of her arms suddenly and dashed towards the sleeping Harry. “Ay,come back here!” she harshly whispered, following after the giggling child.

Your right cheekwas pressing oh so comfortably on the couch when a sudden sharp jab to your jawcaused your teeth to chatter roughly at the impact. Your eyes snapped opensearching for the perpetrator as you groan and grumble from distress. 

“Ow,” youmoaned, finding Harry (his hair sticking up in random order) sitting up asalert ever, trying his best to settle little Jamie on his chest as she yawnedfrom exhaustion.  

You grumbled loudly this time gaining his attention as your eyessquinted angrily at Harry mentally sending “youhit me ya jackass” with your stare. Harry took in your sleepy state, eyes puffy fromthe rude awakening, your face still burrowed into the cushion. Thoughts ofHarry kissing away your pouty lip and furrowed brows struck lightening throughhis body as he relished in your adorable frown. 

“Fook I’m sorry love, c‘mere.”He murmured slouching on the couch next to you and shifting Jamie’s head fromhis left shoulder to his right so he could get a better look at you.

You hissed as hebrought his hand to your jaw, moaning about his clumsy nature. “Shh, would yeh?Wanna make sure s’not broken.”

You snorted as yourhands went to rub the sleep from your eyes, “It’s not,” you confirmed, “if mytemporomandibular joint was dislocated I wouldn’t be able to talk right now.”Harry nodded at your complex words, knowing full well it wasn’t broken. He was just itching to feel your smooth skin on his fingertips. 

He glanced from hisinspection on your chin to your eyes, noticing how they fluttered shut due tohis touch, but before he could wipe the strand that had fallen onto your cheek;he was interrupted by his sister offering him a bag of ice with a knowing smirkbefore she walked off to quiet the guests that have now entered the house from thebackyard.  

And in the span of a few seconds, Harry’s intimate moment with you had been ruined as the rest of his familyjoined the both of you in the living room. You were awake then, gingerlyholding the ice pack on your chin as you chatted about recipes with hisrelatives. 

“Y/N,” he rasps quietly to you leaning into your shoulder a tad,“m’really glad yeh came.”

His confessioncaught you off guard, not from his words, but from a hidden emotion behind itthat you couldn’t quite put your finger on. His eyes were gleaming as it gazedinto yours, and because you’ve turned your head towards him you were nearlynose to nose in your proximity. Your face flushed and there was a stir in yourbelly, but you kept your composure and petted the hand that was squeezing yourlower thigh. 

“Me too,” you beamed, “even if your family is a little much attimes,” you chuckled quietly with him.

“I told yeh kitten,” he rasps with a grin. And as the laughter ceasedbetween the two of you, he indulges himself - just this once - as he kisses the tip of your nose and you scrunched yourface in retaliation. 

[worksofphiction]

April Fools Fic

Summary: This whole thing started out as a joke. Phil hadn’t meant any harm. He just wanted Dan to know that he could also pull a cheeky prank.. Genre: Fluff + Tiny bit of Angst (if you squint) Word Count: 6,994 Reading Time: 00:25:46 Disclaimer: Characters are works of fiction and no copyright infringement is intended. I do not own Dan or Phil and as far as I know, this will never happen. <3

So Ao3 is down until 3:00pm…RIP.

I’ll post it here when it comes back up, but for now, happy April Fools Day folks. This thing was totally not planned so I’m sorry if it’s kind of meh. <3

This whole thing started out as a joke. Phil hadn’t meant any harm.

It was early in the morning and Phil was used to a quiet house until 12:00 when his best friend and flatmate would wake up. He rolled out of bed at 9:00, regretting his choice of staying up with Dan the night before because he had a lot of editing to do and he had already yawned thrice since he had left the bed. As he took his morning shower, he remembered that it was April Fool’s Day and he laughed a little, excited about the new DanandPhilCRAFTS video that they were scheduled to put out that day. Phil had never been one for pranks and a couple years back when Dan had the idea of pretending that they were a thing, Phil turned him down because he wasn’t really comfortable with that - especially after what happened in 2012, and they came up with the craft idea which was pretty amazing anyway. People really responded well to that.

But Phil was no stranger to a good old fashioned trick. He always got excited as a kid because in his house, April Fools Day was always just an excuse to play little tiny tricks on his friends and family. He remembered dying his family’s milk red one year and flipping his kitchen table upside down. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the harmless pranks that he’d pulled in the past, kind of itching to do one this year.

Dan was not an easy target however. He was one of those people who, like Phil, found little pranks hilarious and more often than not, Dan was playing them on Phil. Whether those pranks were jumping out and scaring him and filming it for the world to see or putting flower in his hairdryer after a shower, Phil knew it wouldn’t be easy to get Dan back because he was always expecting it. Especially on a day like today. One thing he had gotten pretty good at however, was snapping pictures of Dan while he was asleep or not paying attention. Those were easy. Dan couldn’t be on guard when his eyes were closed or he was lying on the floor and brainstorming a video. He obviously trusted Phil enough that he wouldn’t bother him too much while he was taking a catnap or slouching over on the couch and drooling. But Phil was not above taking those photos. They were admittedly pretty funny. His fists balled when he thought about the picture Dan took at the oscars party, shaking his head and deciding that he was going to get Dan back today. He was going to play a harmless little prank that would get Dan back for that sneaky little photo.

Phil stepped out of the shower and got himself ready for the day. He pulled on some sharks and dolphins and padded out into the hallway. Dan’s door was still closed. Perfect. This was the opportunity he was waiting for. Usually, Phil didn’t go into Dan’s room without an invitation, but Phil figured that since it was a special occasion, he would be let off the hook when Dan found out.

He placed his hand on the handle of the door, gently twisting it and sliding the door open a crack. Luckily, the door was totally silent. The position of Dan’s bed made it easy for him to snap a picture without even opening the door all the way. Phil didn’t even have to slip his head in. He could just point the phone and shoot. Plus, Dan was lying on his back and there was no way he was going to be able to see Phil even if he was awake. Phil slipped his hand into his pocket, grabbed his phone and aimed it through the crack, onto Dan’s sleeping form. He couldn’t see Dan’s face in the frame which his friend would probably appreciate because he knew how particular Dan was about his appearance in photos. There were no chances for fringe checks today as Phil quickly took the cheeky shot and backed out of the room within about two seconds flat. He didn’t want Dan to wake up because how the hell would he explain that one? “Yeah, I’m just creeping around and watching you while you sleep?” He didn’t even really have time to look at the photo itself, all he knew was that Dan hadn’t caught him and he had finally gotten him back for that one during the oscars.

He snickered as he entered the living room and turned on the usual. Some re-runs of the British Bake Off would do. After all, he wouldn’t want to watch an episode the he hadn’t seen before. Dan would surely be pissed if he missed some more curdled cake tears. He opened up Twitter and scrolled through some of his feed. There were plenty of celebrities and friends that were playing into the day, having the same ideas about pranking their followers. Phil rolled his eyes at some he saw on Casper’s Twitter and one he saw on Zoe’s. He laughed at some cute dog gifs, some compilation of dogs falling into snow, then his thumb drifted toward the top of the screen. He clicked on the little icon in the top right, a blank canvas ready to receive his little prank.

@danisnotonfire April Fools! Sincerely, your flatmate who is getting stealthier!

He quickly attached the photo and then hit send faster than he had ever sent a tweet. He was excited for the world to finally realize that it was not only Dan who could pull a good prank, Phil was just as capable.

For forty seconds, he was happy. He was proud of himself and he was just about to continue watching his program when he heard a loud bang and a door swing open.

“Phil Lester!” Dan’s scream was loud and Phil could hear it clearly, as if Dan was sitting right beside him. He smirked a little because he had a feeling he knew what was coming his way. He loved riling his best friend up like this. But he thought too soon, because suddenly he heard his friend stomp down the hallway and Phil’s brow furrowed. Those didn’t seem like friendly stomps. They seemed like actually angry stomps.

Sure enough, Dan’s face appeared in the doorway and then the rest of his body, his pokemon trainer trakkies hanging low on his hips and his shirt left on his bedroom floor. When Phil looked up at Dan’s face, expecting a smile, he was greeted with pure anger.

“You need to delete that tweet right now,” Dan ordered with a hostile tone. Whatever was left of Phil’s smile fell from his face and a frown took its place. He was frozen. It was just a prank. What was Dan so angry about? “NOW PHIL.”

Phil’s eyes widened and he crossed his arms.

“Why? What’s the problem? You took a picture of me a few weeks ago while I was sleeping! How come I can’t-”

“Phil. Delete the photo.” Dan was rubbing his temples, clearly flustered and upset about this as Phil reached for his phone.

“I mean, fine, but I don’t understand-”

“Did you look at it?”

“Hm?” Phil was scrolling and leisurely making his way to twitter where he found his post and thumbed over the delete button.

“Did you look at the photo before you bloody posted it?” Dan asked, putting his fists on his hips. The tweet was deleted and Phil was unsure what Dan was on about. He navigated to his photo album on his phone and opened up the photo. He glanced up at Dan who was still fuming, raising his eyebrows as if he was daring Phil to take a good hard look at what was in front of him. Phil was entirely confused, but he looked down and analyzed the picture.

“Of course I looked at it. What are you-”

Phil stopped.

Oh.

He didn’t think he had ever fucked up so completely.

Not in his entire life.

Dan seemed to notice his realization as he probably could see Phil turn as red as the tomato on their counter.

“I. Wasn’t. Sleeping.” Dan said through gritted teeth, his face turning a soft shade of red as well.

Sure enough, Dan was right. Phil hadn’t looked closely enough at the photo he took to notice that Dan was in fact not asleep, he was very much awake, taking care of a unique problem that likes to surprise their gender in the morning. Phil had zoomed in and although it was hardly noticeable when looking at the picture from afar, Phil could clearly see Dan’s monstrous hand, wrapped around what could only be, without mistake, Dan’s dick.

“Oh crap.” Phil said, because he couldn’t think of anything else to say. He heard Dan scoff as his heartbeat stopped.

“Oh crap?” Dan asked. “That’s all you have to say? Oh CRAP?”

“I-I’m SO sorry…oh my god.” The reality of what had happened finally hit him and he self declared himself as the worst friend in the entire world. “Oh my god. Dan. I should have-”

Silence.

“I should have looked. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I just-” He couldn’t finish a sentence he was too embarrassed. He couldn’t even imagine what Dan felt like right now. Half the internet had just seen his dick and here he was, standing in the door, probably plotting Phil’s murder.

But Dan only narrowed his eyes and stared at Phil who swore he was about to cry and Phil watched as he took a deep breath, releasing it and nodded with pursed lips.

“Next time, just check before you post a photo. You should know better.” Dan said the words flatly, turned on his heels, then fled the room, his bedroom door shutting with a slight slam. No yelling. No screaming. Just a calm voice and then nothing.

Phil was left shaking, in disbelief. How could he have been so stupid? Dan was right. He should know better. Their life was documented left and right. Their followers were relentless. They picked out little blemishes and claimed they were hickeys. They always had to check their side tables for incriminating objects because they would never live it down if they left fucking lotion on the desk. God forbid. The phandom dug for this kind of shit and Phil had just handed it to them on a silver platter. And oh fuck, now he was getting tweets. Shit shit shit.

Phil was a complete flop.

But right now, the internet was the last thing on his mind. Dan. Dan was the first. Dan was probably fuming. Hell, he would be too. Phil had literally shown his most private parts to the world and he hadn’t said more than “you should know better.” There was something wrong about that. Dan must be really really mad. With good reason of course. But it was rare that Dan didn’t voice his opinion so Phil needed to suck up his own terror and embarrassment and go make sure his friend was doing alright.

He got up from the couch and he migrated to the closed door that guarded his best friend’s room (he wasn’t even sure if he held best friend status anymore to be honest). He knocked lightly and shuffled so he wasn’t standing so close to the door.

“Dan?” He called once there was no answer. “Dan can I come in?”

“I’d rather you not.” Dan’s voice was monotone and Phil could tell he wasn’t a happy camper. Phil stayed silent and waited a few seconds. That seemed to be the answer Dan was going with and Phil couldn’t tell if he was meant to try harder or just back off. But Dan seemed to make that decision by yelling out to him again. “But if you’re just going to stand there silently, then you might as well.”

Phil didn’t think that sounded like an invitation, but he took it as one, desperate to fix this. He would do just about anything.

He opened the door slowly and found Dan sitting at his piano with his hands over the keys. He wasn’t playing, Dan didn’t play very often, he just liked to sit there when he was thinking, sometimes playing a note to jive a memory or something. It seemed he wasn’t even doing that today. Just sitting on the bench with his back slouched and his head staring blankly at the Guild Wars shrine above it. Phil would have smiled if he wasn’t in such trouble. Dan was awfully cute when he was thinking really hard about something. Not that he was thinking that right now. The room was awfully tense.

“I’m really-”

“I know.” Dan spat out. He didn’t give Phil the chance to apologize. Not even a little. “I know you’re sorry. I’m not mad at you.”

“Y-you’re not?” Phil asked meekly.

“No.” Dan sighed, his hands fell from their position and he looked up at the older boy. “I’m not mad. It was a mistake. I get it.”

Phil let out the breath he was holding, running a shaky hand through his fringe.

“I’m just frustrated. There’s nothing we can do about it now. You deleted the tweet. So…” Dan just looked to the floor. “I’m not mad at you, Phil. Relax. I’m just mad about the situation.”

Phil blessed his friend for being so understanding. Phil thought to himself that he might not be the same. He was impressed if he was being honest. Dan seemed a lot more collected than Phil would have been.

“How can I help?” Phil asked, the guilt in his stomach still making him want to hurl. Dan shrugged.

“You can’t. What’s done is done.” Dan said, turning his body and his fingers back to the keys. “Just…try not to respond to anything. People are already…”

There was a slight hesitation.

“…talking about it.”

The guilt reminded Phil again that it was his fault, Dan’s dejected voice sounding rather sad. Phil wished he could turn back time.

“Well…” Phil started. “If you think of anything I could do…”

“Yeah, okay.” Dan said, nodding, staring at the poster again. “I’ll let you know.”

Phil nodded and shuffled on his feet for a minute before deciding that he should leave Dan alone for a bit. The last thing Phil wanted was to be a bother. He left the room and closed the door, going back to his reruns, not really paying attention anyway.

-

Phil didn’t see Dan again for at least a few hours. Phil thought that maybe he would be hungry, but Dan must have had snacks stashed away because he didn’t leave his room again until nearly suppertime. Phil couldn’t help but think it was his fault. In retrospect, perhaps he should have left the flat so Dan could have some space away from him.

But Dan did show up in the doorway of the lounge and asked if Phil wanted a pizza. Phil checked the time and only then realized it had gotten that late. He nodded and Dan disappeared again to order their usuals.

Phil expected Dan to take his pizza and hide out in his room again, but he brought it to the lounge and plopped himself down in the sofa crease that Phil had left open for him if he had decided to come join him during the day. Phil tried not to act surprised with the younger boy opened the lid of the box and took a photo of it and then tweeting it. Phil understood that it would probably be pretty bad if he had gone radio silence since the incident. But while he was trying to pretend that he wasn’t staring at Dan, studying what he would do next, he suddenly noticed the brown eyes on him.

“What?” Dan asked, his voice quiet as he bit into a slice of pizza. “Aren’t you hungry?”

Phil nodded and snapped out of it. He grabbed a slice and took a massive bite.

“Phil?” Of course it was after that bite that Dan decided to say something and Phil turned his head with his full cheeks, earning a tiny chuckle before Dan kept going. “I have to talk to you about something.”

Phil’s heart fell to his stomach. Suddenly he wasn’t sure the bite was going to go down. Had Dan finally come to his senses? Was he going to move out? Did he not trust Phil anymore? Were they not allowed to be friends? His mind was whirring and apparently Dan could tell from his wide eyes that Phil was thinking into a hole.

“It’s really important so I need you to listen for a second.”

Dan had never used this tone on him. Even if Phil wanted to talk, his mouth was full of pizza and it felt like it had been sewn shut. He just nodded gently, hoping that was enough to let Dan know he was in serious mode. Dan just fidgeted with his sleeve and was barely making eye contact.

“I wasn’t going to tell you this, but seeing as we met unfortunate circumstances this morning, it sort of seems appropriate…” Dan started, his face turning a shade of red that Phil hadn’t seen in a long while. The haircuts they got a few days before revealed Dan’s cheekbones that were flushed a pretty pink. “I think you should know that I haven’t been telling you everything I should be telling you, Phil.”

What was Dan on about? Did he kill someone? Was he suddenly confessing to a life of crime and a death sentence? Who actually was Dan Howell?

“You know how you always tell me that I should let you know if I’m having irrational thoughts? You know…the ones that put me in an existential crisis?” Dan started, his eyes dropping to his lap. Phil nodded and Dan saw it in the corner of his eye. “Well I’ve been having some of those thoughts. For a while now. And they’re not the normal ones. You know, the ones about death? Those I can usually tolerate. But these…” Dan played with the hem of his shirt. “…these thoughts are a little more difficult to deal with.”

“What do you mean?” Phil spoke up, not too sure where Dan was going with this.

“Phil, when you caught me this morning, I wasn’t just thinking about some random hot guy on pornhub,” Dan admitted as his voice got quieter. “I was thinking about you.”

Phil nearly choked.

What?

“This started a few weeks ago and I can’t seem to get it out of my head. I just…I know I shouldn’t be having these thoughts about my best friend, but I feel like I should come clean before it gets any worse,” Dan said, his voice kind of frantic now, almost like he was worried he wouldn’t get everything out before Phil said something to shut him down. “And I get it if you totally hate me…I just-”

“No, no, I don’t hate you…” Phil trailed, his mind blanking entirely. “I just didn’t…expect it, is all.”

“Yeah…” Dan said. His head was hung and Phil was totally lost. This day had been a roller coaster. It was like the Universe had decided that it was going to screw with Phil’s life today. No mercy.

Phil thought about what Dan just said, Phil’s eyes locked onto the pizza box in front of him. He thought hard. A few weeks was a long time to fester on a crush. Why did Dan think it was a good idea to tell him about it? Did he expect Phil to feel the same way? Oh no…Phil felt himself getting hotter. He loved Dan, a lot. He was his best friend. But he most certainly didn’t think of Dan in the same way that Dan was describing. Dan was a wonderful human being and Phil knew that he was objectively good looking but Phil had never looked at Dan that way and it didn’t really seem possible for him to think of him as anything more than a pal. What the hell was he supposed to say? Dan was sitting there quietly, his emotions on the table and his best friend was staring at the food in front of him like some sort of dumbass. God, Phil was not on his A-game today. He wondered if it had anything to do with…

That was it.

April Fools Day.

Suddenly, Phil understood what was going on here.

“Oh!” Phil exclaimed, seeming to startle the boy beside him as he jumped, his head snapping up to Phil’s face which was sporting a wide grin. “I see what’s going on here.”

“Y-you do?” Dan’s eyebrows raised and his eyes looked like a deer in the headlights.

“Don’t play dumb, D-slice. This is payback for this morning!” Phil laughed, clutching his stomach and nodding. “Very funny. You nearly got me for a second.”

Dan was silent, staring at him with the same shocked expression for moments before Phil saw Dan’s slightly agape mouth turn at the corner and he released a small chuckle as he turned to face his own pizza.

“Yeah. Ha. April Fools.” Dan grabbed his half finished slice and neared it to his mouth. Phil kept eating at his own, patting his friend on the back.

“Good one, Dan. I nearly believed you.”

“Mmhmm.” Dan said, shoving more pizza in his mouth and averting his eyes from Phil’s gaze.

“You’ve gotten really good at blushing on command.” Phil was impressed. He wished he could pull something like that. Maybe that’s why he wasn’t cut out to be a prankster. “Want to watch a movie?”

“Nah, I think I’m just going to head to bed.” Dan said, closing the box. He barely ate anything and if Phil knew Dan, as he did, he would guess that something was bothering him. Then again, Dan’s dick was on the internet and Phil understood the sour mood he might be in because of that.

-

The events of April Fools Day passed and Phil realized that Dan was not getting any less weird. He was still awfully skittish around Phil and Phil rarely saw him unless they were eating together or doing something important that required both of their presence. The internet had calmed down and it became quite evident who the real phans were. Sure, people freaked out and both Dan and Phil avoided social media for a while, but clearly without even asking them to, the fans picked up on the mistake and they pretty much stopped circulating the image. Much like with the Valentine’s Day video, their fans were looking out for them and that made Phil very happy. He hadn’t wanted to mortify his flatmate but if he had to do it, it might as well be to their loyal phans.

But this made Dan’s behavior super weird because now that the image was not a part of gossip and such, Dan was unwarrantedly acting unusual. Phil didn’t like how quiet it was around the house. It was two weeks since April first and Phil had seen more of his own face in the mirror than he had of Dan. And that was surely unusual.

Phil was lying in his own bed, thinking about everything Dan had said to him. When had he started acting strange? It was surely after April Fools Day and that was the last time they had an actual conversation. What had they talked about? Ah, right, Dan’s April Fools Joke. Phil laughed a little to himself when he thought about it. That was a pretty good one. Phil thought about how quickly he fell for that one. Phil was always a little on edge about that sort of stuff. The internet could really get into your head sometimes. At first it was really annoying that so many people that didn’t know him shipped him with his best friend. He thought it was invasive and kind of weird, but he would be lying if he didn’t worry sometimes about the thoughts they had about each other. They spent nearly every second with each other, it’s impossible not to accidently think about the other during odd moments or dream about the other in a weird situation. But Phil was always afraid that one day, one of them was going to wake up in love with the other and the other wouldn’t feel the same way. He didn’t think something like that could happen, but when Dan said what he had said the other day, it scared Phil for a moment. That would have been a nightmare. Phil wouldn’t have known what to do.

Phil thought back a little further to when they first met. Phil would be fibbing if he said he didn’t feel something for the younger boy way back then. He probably would have fallen for the joke a lot more had he still felt that way. The way Dan was all those years ago, small and insecure, totally unsure of who he was as a person and what he wanted to do. Phil had fallen so hard for him that he deemed it dangerous. He didn’t want to influence the impressionable boy at the time so he forced himself to get over his little crush and try to remain friends, guiding and befriending the boy so he would have someone to lean on. Since that beginning year, he hadn’t thought about Dan in that way. Dan had grown, matured, become someone that Phil was proud to be friends with and the internet was convinced that it was all because of Phil. Phil would never think that, but he knew he had a part in it. He chuckled a little as he thought about 2009 Dan and all of his issues. He was so cute and unsure. But now Dan was hot and confident, and Phil couldn’t believe he just thought those words. He shook his head. He didn’t need these thoughts to come back. He tried so hard to repress them and for some reason, opening this box of thoughts was something he only did when he was really tired and full of alcohol. He had no reason to open it while entirely sober and also awake.

But that’s not how thoughts work and now he was thinking about Dan’s smile and how much his cheeks had changed. They had gone from fleshy and pinchable to soft and sculpted. Dan’s eyes had changed from doe eyes to beautiful brown orbs that stared back at Phil with conviction and passion. Phil absolutely loved Dan’s eyes. Dan called them muddy and Phil shut that down real quick. Dan’s body had changed, turning from a lanky boy who didn’t know how to strut, to a thick and comfortable figure that could walk around with enough confidence to put Phil to shame. There really wasn’t a negative to Dan’s appearance, Phil thought. He was also just genuinely nice and suddenly tons of memories flooded behind his eyes. Ones where they ventured outside in the middle of the night because Phil just wanted some chocolate ice cream. Ones where they stayed up all night talking about silly things, Dan’s head leaning and grinning into Phil’s shoulder. Ones where they shared a bed on the tour bus because Dan’s back was in pain and Phil didn’t want to see Dan wince.

Phil was in too deep and he sat up. He needed to stop. He couldn’t think any further into this hole because on a very real note, he knew it was dangerous. This is why it was an April Fools joke, because these thoughts were invalid. It was too ridiculous. Dan knew that. Dan and Phil were not destined to be. Or they would be together already. It didn’t matter how many people shipped them, they were just friends and that was all they ever would be.

But for some reason, Phil was feeling a slight bit of disappointment and he told his brain to shut up.

-

Phil was in trouble. He shouldn’t have thought about it. Because now Dan was still being distant and all Phil could think about were the things he missed about him. His smile, his eyes, his thighs, his witty humor. He literally could list it all off the top of his head because that was all he could think about. His heart rate would spike when Dan came in to ask him a question and then his whole body would deflate when Dan shuffled off to his bedroom again. Something was wrong with Phil. He knew that he was being irrational. As Dan had joked a couple weeks ago, the thoughts were difficult to deal with.

Normally, Phil would tell Dan about this kind of thought. If it weren’t about Dan, he would have already told him. But Dan wasn’t wrong on April first. Phil wanted Dan to tell him if he ever thought things like this. It had been a joke but that’s why it was so believable. Because Dan would have told him if he had actually felt this way. But that worked both ways. Dan would expect the same from him. Phil froze, his finger stopping its scrolling through Tumblr. He needed to talk to Dan. It was only fair.

He checked the time and made sure it wasn’t too late but when he realized it was only 7:00pm, he was sure his flatmate would be up. He stood and stretched, kind of nervous. He knew it would be no big deal but he hated that him and his friend were on such bad terms. Phil would just mention that these thoughts were coming about because he missed Dan. That’s all. He was sure of it. Maybe they could do a few movie nights a week. Something to make sure Phil was getting proper Dan time. Maybe then it wouldn’t freak Dan out so much, coming clean and telling him that it was no big deal.

He arrived outside of Dan’s door and he knocked, feeling strange. He and Dan hadn’t had a proper conversation in weeks.

“Hey, Dan?” Phil called. “Do you have a second?”

“Yeah, sure, Phil. What’s up?” Dan called, inviting Phil in. Phil opened the door, slowly as usual and tried to keep his body from trembling. He wasn’t nervous. This was no big deal. Dan understood missing people, right?

“Can we talk?” Phil asked, playing with the hem of his shirt. Dan looked at his computer, clicked a few things, and then closed his laptop, scooting over on the bed and patting the space beside him.

“Sure.”

Dan still looked a little sad. Phil didn’t really have a point of reference, considering he hadn’t seen his flatmate in so long, but he liked to think that he knew Dan pretty well and this was not a joyous version of Dan.

“You can’t laugh at me.”

Dan looked confused. “Why would I laugh at you?”

“I don’t know…just…don’t, okay?” Phil requested again, trying to get Dan to understand how embarrassing this was for him to admit.

“Pinky swear. I won’t.”

“Alright…well, first of all, I want to make sure you’re okay. You’ve been kind of distant recently and I wanted to see-”

“I’m fine.” Dan jumped in, clearing his throat. “Just haven’t felt the best the last couple weeks. I think I caught something.”

“Oh…alright. Well are you feeling better?” Phil asked, hoping that meant that he wasn’t going to be hiding out as much.

“A bit.” Dan answered, not looking at Phil.

“Well…that’s good,” Phil mumbled, picking at the sheets below him. “Um…so the reason I ask, is that I have been having…”

Phil contemplated his sentence.

“I just…miss you, is all. And I keep having these…” Phil looked at Dan who didn’t seem like he was paying much attention. His face had fallen and he was looking at his own lap. “…thoughts.”

That’s when Dan’s head snapped up. Phil jumped a little.

“Thoughts?”

“Yeah…thoughts,” Phil clarified, nodding. “I don’t know where they came from but I know we have an honesty thing going on and I just wanted to tell you. I’m sorry I hope that’s not weird…”

“No, no…not weird.” Dan stumbled over his words, his eyes looking more than interested all of a sudden.

“And it’s funny,” Phil paused to let out a nervous laugh for a second. “When you were joking a couple weeks ago, you mentioned these thoughts and you said they were difficult to deal with. And I know that was a joke…but it’s funny because they are awfully hard to deal with.”

Dan gave a half laugh but his eyes never changed. They were glued to Phil’s.

“But don’t worry!” Phil quickly added. “I’ve figured it out.”

“Oh you have, have you?” Dan asked quietly, almost like he was expecting something.

“Yes! I know why I’ve been having them,” Phil declared, hoping Dan wasn’t freaking out too much. He seemed a little scared. “I think it’s just because I haven’t been around you much. I keep thinking these things because you aren’t around. So I’m glad you said you’re feeling a bit better because maybe now those thoughts will start to go away. You know?”

Dan didn’t nod. He didn’t answer. He just stared.

“I’m sorry, perhaps I should have said something sooner…” Phil said, trying to read Dan’s reaction but Dan was not moving. He wasn’t even blinking and Phil wasn’t sure what to think. “Are you…okay?”

That’s when Dan blinked and he looked down, his face getting pink again. Phil saw the color wash over his cheeks.

“What are these uh…thoughts…about?” Dan coughed, not looking up again. Phil narrowed his eyes. Dan wanted to know what he was thinking about? Wouldn’t that just make this more awkward? He wasn’t going to argue with his best friend though, especially if he wasn’t feeling well.

“Um…nothing really intense. Definitely not like what you were joking about,” Phil laughed a little, watching Dan shrink a little. “But do you want to know something really embarrassing?”

Dan looked up through his fringe and nodded slowly.

“I used to have the biggest crush on you, Dan.” Phil chuckled. “And for some reason I just keep thinking about it.”

Dan had now gripped the sheets in his hand, totally frozen. Phil hoped that what he said wasn’t too weird. He wasn’t really thinking right now and he realized that maybe telling your best friend that you used to like them was not really the best way to go about keeping a friendship.

“Sorry…that’s probably…” Phil didn’t know what to call it. TMI? Not necessary info? Crazy?

“No. It’s fine…um. Me too.” Dan said, almost mumbling. Phil’s eyes went wide.

“What?” he laughed. “You too?”

Dan was smiling now, his cheeks pink. Phil could almost see his 2009 best friend in the face that Dan was pulling.

“How have I never known this?” Phil asked, kind of amazed that this had never come up. “I mean, I got over my crush in 2010! We’ve been best friends for seven years. How come we never talked about this?”

Dan was silent again, refusing to look up from his bedsheets below him as he picked at the duvet with his fingernails.

“I mean…when did you get over yours?”

Dan stopped. He froze and Phil kind of thought it was a little creepy. He looked like a mannequin or something even more uncanny. He was staring wide-eyed at his hands and he wasn’t even blinking. Instead of the blush that was previously over his cheeks, the color had drained and Dan was looking paler than ever.

Then he mumbled something that Phil didn’t quite catch.

“What?” Phil asked, leaning a little closer to the boy who was shrinking before him.

“I didn’t.” Dan repeated, louder this time.

Now it was Phil’s turn to freeze. What did Dan mean he didn’t? That would mean…

“Wait…”

Dan looked up and met Phil’s eyes. He looked scared. Like he had just told Phil something he shouldn’t have. He was one hundred percent vulnerable and suddenly it clicked. Dan had not been joking a few weeks ago. He had not been trying to get back at Phil for pranking him. Dan had been completely and entirely serious…and Phil had just laughed.

Oh God.

Phil was being a worse friend than he thought.

But Phil didn’t have time to think about that right now. His mind was taking him back to 2009 when he looked into the younger’s eyes for the first time in person and fell for him. Now that he knew Dan felt the same way, everything was different. Now that he knew that Dan was still feeling the same way, everything was different. Everything that Phil had thought about in the past few days was rushing back to him. Dan’s eyes, his lips, his hair, his whole body. Every inch of Dan. Every single thing.

And Phil felt stupid.

He felt so stupid that he hadn’t thought about Dan like that in so long. Dan had changed so much but as Phil stared into his beautiful brown eyes, he realized that Dan was the same as he had always been. That handsome young boy who just adored Phil and would do anything for him. But now, Phil would do the same for Dan. And was that what you called love? Was Phil in love?

Well holy shit.

This was a lot to realize all at once and it was clearly showing. Phil’s face was a range of emotions but he wasn’t sure about any of them. He had no idea if he should feel angry for not knowing, happy because he felt this way, relieved because of the lack of pressure, or sad because he lost so much time while running around like a chicken with his head cut off. Dan clearly saw the confusion though and he just let Phil work it out in his head for a little bit. Phil could feel the corners of his mouth turn up a little and Dan’s eyes shifted down to view them. He was mimicking Phil’s smile and it seemed that Phil’s was growing.

Phil was racking his brain, trying to figure out the perfect thing to say. Anything to say. He just didn’t know what to do.

Luckily, Dan knew him better than anyone else. He could see the moment it all clicked for him and it was Dan who broke the silence. Not with words but with a gentle kiss to Phil’s lips.

Phil jumped, gently of course, but he kissed back and that was the moment. The moment of clarity. He was kissing Dan. Dan Howell. Youtuber, best friend, flatmate and the love of his life. His lips were soft and inviting and it seemed like they had practiced this moment for ages. It seemed like Dan had given this kiss a lot of thought which warmed Phil’s heart. He wondered what other things he didn’t know about Dan, if this had been something that he had hidden for seven years. What had Dan thought about those stupid little dates he went on with those stupid girls a few years ago? What did Dan think when Phil complained to him about being lonely and not being able to find anyone? What the hell was Dan thinking when he had caught Phil naked a few years back, having forgotten his towel and walking back from the bathroom? This explained so much and nothing at all and while he kissed the younger boy with the brown fringe, he let his hands tangle into the back of his hair, letting their lips continue their dance until Dan was through. This must have been the moment Dan had been waiting for and it must have taken entirely too long. It’s too bad Phil was so dense. Maybe they wouldn’t have had to wait.

But now he understood. He understood it all.

The kiss broke slowly and they sat breathing heavily for a moment with their foreheads pressed together.

“This isn’t some sort of sick way of getting back at me or something, is it?” Dan asked, his insecure self showing and Phil’s heart melted. He shook his head and chuckled a sad chuckle.

“Of course not, Dan. I would never do that to you,” Phil said, promising Dan something with his words. He hoped Dan didn’t think those things for long. Phil really wasn’t the pranking type.

“Good. Because I’m about to say something really stupid and I want to make sure it’s worth it.”

Phil said nothing, kissing Dan lightly on the lips and smiling in support.

“I love you, Phil Lester.” Dan whispered. “And I’ve loved you for seven years.”

Phil’s heart was a puddle. Dan sounded so sweet and it was as if 2009 Dan was sitting inches from him and telling Phil himself. Dan had probably waited for years to say those words. In that order. To Phil. He could feel the waterworks happening behind his eyes. He felt guilty - of all things. Because he was just not realizing how much he loved Dan. He supposed that he knew, deep deep down, but he wouldn’t let himself think about it. But now that he was…oh, now that he was. He could feel the way Dan’s words affected him. He could feel the butterflies in his stomach.

“I love you too, Dan Howell.”

Before he could say or do another thing, Dan kissed him again and this time, Phil didn’t think he was ever going to let go.