#i like haru a normal amount. that fucking rabbit.

[sheila--e]

don't talk to me I'm thinking of Haru.

[auroraphilealis]

Heaven Scent Chapter Five

Heaven Scent | Dan Howell rarely leaves the house unless he has too, too socially awkward to function normally around other people, and generally making his only friends through Louise, a sweet beta who took him under her wing a few years back when they were both still in college. It’s no surprise, then, that the omega has yet to find a mate, despite craving one rather a lot. It’s not until he attends Louise’s birthday party and gets accidentally-on-purpose set up with an attractive alpha named Phil Lester who smells absolutely heavenly that Dan starts to fall into a proper romance, complete with courting and scenting and the like. | Phan | Mature | A/B/O dynamics (Omegaverse fic), Fluff, Getting Together, Eventual Smut, Courting | 8,724 Words this chapter

Disclaimer: In no way do I pretend that this is real or cast aspersions on Dan or Phil.

(Ao3) (Previous)

Chapter Five

Moving forward from traditional courting to becoming boyfriends was, unfortunately, a little more complex than a direct result of Phil scenting Dan. While Dan would have been happy to have the whole “boyfriend” talk with Phil after joking with him about being pretty sure Phil was Dan’s mate, they’d held off on pushing things any further than they already had that night.

In the end, Dan knew it was for the best. His heart had still been fluttering like a hummingbird's wings at the sensation of having been scented, and he’d been able to feel his body reacting to the new scent engulfing him in strange ways. It wasn’t the first time Dan had been scented, but it was the first time he’d been scented with any meaning behind it, and his body seemed to recognize that. Soft purrs and needy whines kept building up in his chest until he was a buzz of happy, content omega who wasn’t quite ready yet to show his full self to Phil.

Luckily, Phil was a gentlemen, one of the kindest alpha’s Dan had ever met, and after sharing a meal together on Dan’s kitchen floor, sat across from each other with their backs to opposite counters and their knees drawn up so they didn’t bump too much, Phil had showed himself out.

Or, well, he’d tried to. Dan had scrambled to his feet not longer after Phil had insisted on doing the dishes, and helped to guide the then obviously exhausted alpha to his front door. They hadn’t kissed, despite a part of Dan nearly begging for it, soft whine building in his throat, but instead had bid each other a gentle goodbye with soft grins on their faces. Dan’s body ached for someone as simple as a hug, but, shy as he seemed to be, Phil had awkwardly waved goodbye instead, and then he’d been gone.

When the alpha had finally arrived at home a half an hour later, he’d sent Dan a brief text message of a promise that he’d journeyed through London and arrived home safe. It was enough to make Dan chuckle at his alpha’s sense of humor, but before he could even begin to respond, Phil was shooting off another text message; this time, it was a photo of the Makato figurine Dan had bought for Phil which had prompted Phil’s sudden appearance at Dan’s flat that night.

Makato was Phil’s favorite character from the anime Free, and he eerily reminded Dan of himself, a fact that might have been a contributing factor to Dan choosing that specific figurine for Phil - not that Phil needed to know that. All Phil needed to know was that Dan was happy to find that Phil had liked his present, so he’d replied with a cheeky little heart in response and a quick good night to ensure that Phil actually got some proper sleep that night.

After that… things just kind of took off.

Dan had thought he and Phil had gotten along well before that; they’d hit it off at Louise’s birthday party, had a great first date, hadn’t stopped texting each other in the month they’d known each other, and Phil had finally scented Dan, but now? Now, it was like they were inseparable, finding ways to do everything with each other even when they couldn’t physically be in each others presence - which was often.

Phil’s new job with YouTube was taking everything out of him. He worked more hours than Dan himself, and Dan was a freelance writer who took on as many projects as he could in order to keep his income up, despite making his own hours.

Phil worked so many hours that sometimes he actually woke Dan up with his three am phone calls - not that Dan would ever admit this to Phil, knowing the alpha would stop calling him so late if he did, and Dan was living for the moments they did get to share together.

Still, the first time Dan brought up his concerns to Phil about his job, Phil waved him off with a caffeine accented smile at six am and the reassurance that it wasn’t always going to be like this. He’d just been picked up as an extra editor in the middle of a YouTube Red series launch via one of their biggest clients who they were hoping would set the subscription service off with a bang, and so work was a little hectic right now.

Said YouTuber, PJ Liguori, ironically a friend of Louise and Dan’s, was incredibly talented, though, according to Phil, who didn’t seem to recall that he’d met PJ the first time with Dan at the birthday party. His video series was incredible to work on, but it was the sheer amount of special effects, artistry, and animation that went into it that was taking it’s toll on everyone who was working on the content, including PJ himself, who directed every step of every process his series was going through.

It was Phil’s promise that he’d be finished with it soon, and be able to settle into more regular hours, that calmed Dan down enough not to push any farther. Besides, Phil wasn’t technically his yet, and Dan had felt almost out of line bringing up his initial concerns when it technically wasn’t any of his business what Phil did with his time.

Phil’s easygoing, pleased smile in reaction, however, reassured Dan, who’d merely blushed as Phil had looked at him. He’d known he must look like a bushy haired mess, having only just woken up a few minutes prior to speak to Phil before he started his day, and it really hadn’t helped Dan’s self-consciousness in that moment. The fact that Phil looked so enamoured with Dan when Dan had been toying the line of partner, however, had wiped all other concerns from Dan’s mind, and he’d sighed out a breathy keen that had said all that Dan couldn’t just yet.

Phil’s answering rumble had been everything.

Regardless, they’d managed to settle into a routine. Where Phil couldn’t take Dan on dates, or just come over and visit him at his apartment, he could spend all of his free time on facetime with Dan, who had no technical working hours anyway and got paid by the word.

Phil spent every break he had on video call with Dan, giggling and smiling at him like Dan was his whole fucking world, and it was intoxicating. Dan had never been looked at the way Phil looked at him, and Dan didn’t always know what to do with himself in return. All he knew was that Phil felt like everything Dan had been missing for the last twenty-three years of his life - his best friend, his soulmate, his one true love.

It was so cheesy that Dan avoided admitting as much to anyone but his own mind, even as he answered each and every one of Phil’s phone calls with just as enamoured an expression as Phil.

They started watching anime together through an app called rabbit that allowed them to synch up their videos. It had a chat, video, and audio feature enabled so that they didn’t have to waste more data being on facetime as well, and within one week alone the two of them had finished each other’s favorite animes via lunch and bathroom breaks, early mornings, and late nights.

Dan was quick to find that while Phil had spoken so highly of Free, it turned out it wasn’t really his favorite anime, and that Phil had only been so obsessed with it recently because Makoto and Haru reminded him of them. The admission made Dan blush to the tips of his toes, all while Phil giggled at him, but it didn’t matter so much when Dan realized that Phil was blushing just as dark red as well.

“I might have gotten so excited the night I opened your gift because I felt like you’d given me you, more so than because I was happy about what you’d bought me,” Phil admitted as well, looking a little bit shy as he curved a gentle smile Dan’s direction through the camera on his phone.

Dan’s heart practically melted at the words.

Phil’s actual favorite anime turned out to be something called Magi that the two started binge watching not long after they finished Your Lie in April which, much to Dan’s satisfaction, had made Phil outright cry. Magi, on the other hand, was a completely different ball game to Your Lie in April, and while Dan’s anime had been a rollercoaster of musically infested emotions, Magi reflected Phil’s mind in a way Dan hadn’t been fully expecting. The animation was adorable, and the story endlessly magical, but Phil’s excitement and enthrallment with the series was impossible to match no matter how Dan tried.

He was far too busy staring at the way Phil’s lips curled into bright smiles every time something amazing happened on screen, far too distracted by Phil’s running commentary and brilliant exclamations over each and every magical moment that passed them by, to really pay attention to what was going on on screen.

(Dan took to re-watching the episodes while Phil was too busy at work to actually facetime and watch with Dan, but he didn’t really mind.)

In-between anime marathons, and bleeding into their second week of talking endlessly, Dan and Phil did other things too. Phil had found this weird website where they could play classic board games together, and at the first mention of a game of monopoly, Dan’s eyes had lit up and a feral grin had taken over his expression.

It turned out it was lucky the two of them could save their progress, as keeping up a steady stream of board game turns tuned out to be a lot harder than fitting in time to watch anime episodes together. Still, they managed it, with Phil on more than one occasion sending Dan text messages that he’d snuck in another turn and that Dan was up. The sneaky motions made Dan’s heart beat faster with the knowledge that Phil just wanted to spend time with Dan always, and he never wasted a second taking his turn and texting Phil back with smiley faces and false reprimations that Phil needed to pay attention to his job.

At one point in the middle of the night as Phil ate his dinner with skype open on his laptop, Dan actually hissed at Phil for making him pay up after he landed on Mayfair for the third time in a row, the sound a surprise to both of them. Phil had stared in stunned astonishment for all of a few seconds before a playful growl of his own had erupted past his smirking lips, eyes twinkling at Dan.

Dan, on the other hand, was practically trembling. He’d challenged plenty of alpha’s in his lifetime, but never one that he meant to impress, and definitely not one he was hoping to get along well with before his instincts really began to show. It was not only embarrassing, but a little bit terrifying for Dan, who knew that alpha’s often couldn’t help themselves when they reacted in kind to a threat.

Phil, however, took him by surprise the way he’d taken Dan by surprise in everything so far, and while Dan stared, Phil opened his mouth to reply.

“Daniel,” Phil murmured, somehow sounding teasing when Dan had literally just challenged him, “I think you ought to pay up, or else your alpha’s going to have to take the time to make you.”

Dan’s jaw dropped open in surprise, taken aback by the amusement permeating Phil’s reaction, the lack of prickling anger that usually came from an enraged alpha, and stared with confused eyes as Phil merely continued to stare at him with a slight teasing tilt to his lips.

Playful. Phil was being playful.

The words sent a shiver of unexpected desire through Dan, who’d never been so turned on in his life. He’d always known he liked to be dominated in the bedroom, preferred it most nights except for when he was feeling a particular way, but for Phil to turn him on so easily with a few simple words just after Dan had been expecting anger - that felt like a feat in and of itself. Dan didn’t know what to do with himself as his face went very obviously red and his pants grew tight around the crotch area.

His body was reacting in ways he hadn’t been anticipating that night, and he was just glad that his laptop was on his kitchen counter and not on his lap the way it usually was right now, or else Phil might have a very good idea of what kind of effect his words had just had on Dan.

Slowly, Dan began to grin as well, allowing his lips to curl up into something just as playful as Phil’s expression, and he lowered his gaze so he could stare up at Phil from under dark eyelashes in the most seductive of expressions he could manage when he was sure his face looked like a tomato.

“I’d like to see you try,” he teased back, as coy and mischievous as he could be. He fluttered his eyelashes one last time for good measure, his fingers hovering over the “pay” button, consequently the only option available to him at the moment, for their monopoly game. He fully intended to pay, as he didn’t really have any other choice in the matter, but he was more than willing to wait for Phil’s reaction to his demand, first.

Phil, however, didn’t say anything for a moment.

He merely continued to smirk at Dan, his expression turning more and more sultry by the minute. Slowly, deliberately, he licked his lips, blue eyes molten in their heat.

Dan felt his stomach lurch, and a gasp nearly punched its way out of his lungs, but he held it back by sheer force of will.

“Oh, don’t worry Daniel,” Phil finally murmured, “I definitely plan to, and soon, if I have my way,” he said, and he didn’t sound playful anymore so much as seductive.

Dan felt his mouth go dry as his heart began to pound faster in his chest, something like need prickling under his skin and his loins practically throbbing for Phil. That same sense of longing, of want, he’d been experiencing for days dripped into him and pulled, until Dan wanted nothing more than for soon to come sooner rather than later.

Phil’s gaze drilled into Dan like molten lava, and then…

And then he laughed, and his eyebrows drew up into a cute little line, crinkles appearing around the edges of his eyes. His lips curled up in the most beautiful of expressions, tongue poking out between his teeth, and he pressed one hand over his chest like he was trying to hold himself together.

The moment was gone, and while Dan grumbled and finally pressed “Pay” on his computer screen, he could think of nothing but the deep need in his groin, and the way Phil had looked at him like he wanted to eat him right up.

Dan wouldn’t have minded, really.

Later that night, when Dan finally retired to bed, he pressed the palm of his hand under the band of his boxers and left his fingers play over the silky skin of his engorged cock, gasping and shifting uncontrollably on the bed while Phil’s steely gaze flashed through his mind over and over and over again. His voice, thick and laced with desire flowed through Dan’s ear and made his fingers jerk faster over his body, desperate need seeping into his very core.

Dan didn’t even need a second hand to press deep into himself when he had memories of Phil’s words still replaying through his mind, and he came with a blissful little sigh and his face turned to press deep into his pillow case, doing his best to drown out the final vestiges of Phil’s scent as it lingered around his apartment in the desperate desire not to make himself come again from that alone.

Dan knew it would feel good, but the embarrassment would drain the pleasure away far faster than Dan would have liked, and his hand was already covered in sticky semen that he was desperate to clean up, so avoiding any more uncomfortableness was top priority for right now.

Instead, he let himself work through the aftershocks with a few more short pulls of his dick, and then relaxed into a puddle of pleasure in his bed for another few minutes after he’d finished. His mind swirled with images of Phil, of his smile and the way his eyes gleamed when he looked at Dan, of how he’d postured and scented Dan the last time he’d been here in person...

As Dan climbed from his bed to clean up, he couldn’t help but sigh at the memory of Phil’s wonderful scent. It had long since disappeared from his skin in the two weeks since they’d seen each other, and Dan had been missing it far more than he could say. He’d stopped using his scent neutralizing soaps to keep Phil’s scent on him for longer, but it had still only lingered for so long before it was gone.

Dan’s home, on the other hand, still vaguely smelled of alpha, the last vestiges of Phil clinging to every nook and cranny. Now that Dan wasn’t lost in the throes of his own personal pleasure, the lingering scent of Phil was a comfort to him. He honestly couldn’t wait until he could get the full effect once again, and as he cleaned up and curled back up in bed a little while later, he couldn’t help hoping that soon really would be soon, or else Dan was sure to go crazy.

 The following Sunday, Dan slept in properly for the first time in weeks. There was no sudden early morning phone call from Phil to keep him half asleep and occupied while Phil made the quick trip on the tube for work, nor was there the usual endless banter that made Dan smile tiredly and eventually rock him back into sleep. Instead, there was the pure unfiltered delight of his own dreams, followed by Dan blinking himself awake feeling better rested than he had in weeks.

At first, Dan didn’t quite know how to feel. He was disoriented, for one, and confused, not to mention a little worried as he began to realize that he hadn’t heard from Phil yet that morning. They usually spent so much time together these days that to not hear from Phil felt like losing a limb, and Dan rolled over in bed to snatch for his phone the minute he realized why it felt like something was missing.

There were no missed calls from Phil, no text messages, and not even the errant turn on their current in-progress monopoly game. There was nothing, as if Dan had only just climbed into bed after having said goodnight to Phil last night, and not as if nearly twelve hours had passed in relation.

The realization made something sour turn in Dan’s gut, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit he might have whined a little bit, disappointed and more than a little bit worried about Phil. He’d looked so exhausted last night, and he’d gone to bed even earlier than he usually did when it came to their usual late night adventures. Dan hadn’t said a word at the time, but he’d wanted so badly to beg Phil to take some time off from work before he came down with something more serious than the cold he’d had just last week.

Had he done so? Had he slept in, and forgotten to call into work? Had he gotten into an accident on the way in, and not even gotten the chance to call Dan before he’d gotten on the tube and -

Dan shook his head. He needed to stop that train of thought right there and then before it could cascade into something any worse. There was no point in dwelling on the negative when there had yet to be any confirmation that something bad had even happened in the first place.

Still, Dan’s fingers didn’t hesitate to check a few news sites he lurked on from time to time, searching for any sign of distress in the greater London area, and sighed when he found none.

Surely, then, Phil was fine.

Surely.

So why hadn’t he called Dan yet that morning?

When was the last time Phil hadn’t called Dan almost instantly after he woke up? Surely it had been weeks, so it just didn’t seem to make any sense that Phil wouldn’t have called Dan today.

Shaking his head and dropping his phone to his bed, Dan sighed and tried not to let his thoughts get any more tangled up than they already were. He was just so used to hearing from Phil nearly every minute of the day that to sleep in and not have any missed messages from the other man was not only unusual, but more than a little bit distressing to the clearly enamoured Dan.

Codependency was a slippery slope, Dan knew, but he couldn’t help it when the relationship was just still so brand new.

Climbing out of bed, Dan tried to go about his morning as he usually would, using the restroom and washing his face before heading into the kitchen for breakfast. He had a quick, unhealthy bowl of cereal, and then headed back into his bedroom to collect his laptop and his phone.

He had work to do, if nothing else, and surely, surely, Phil would message him eventually.

Right?

Dan forced his attention back to work and the few projects he currently had going; one more month before this one was due, a few weeks for this one, that one he’d sent in last night before Phil had called, this one he could send in now if he just typed a few more words into the word document he’d left up last night…

Dan got to work typing, his fingers furious on the keyboard as he tried to work out the anxiety he was currently feeling about Phil, and run away from the fears still lingering deep inside the furthest recesses of his mind.

 Before Dan knew it, a few hours had passed and it was already well past three in the afternoon. He’d been so consumed with his work that he’d forgotten to check his phone nearly as often as he usually did while Phil was talking to him, and while the thought stung now as Dan picked the object up only to find that Phil still hadn’t messaged him, he was actually kind of relieved for the brief respite as well.

Phil would contact him eventually, and in the meantime, Dan was getting loads of work done. By the time he finally got to spend any time with Phil again, he was sure to be so far ahead that he wouldn’t even have to worry about ditching Phil for some write up or another. That didn’t mean Dan didn’t have to be unhappy about Phil’s sudden quiet, however, and as his stomach growled, Dan finally stood up and started to head into the kitchen for a very late lunch.

He was clad in nothing more than a pair of boxer shorts and an old baggy t-shirt, mismatched socks adorning his feet to keep him from being too cold, as he meandered about his apartment. He closed his laptop lid and left it sat on top of his coffee table as he stretched his body leisurely, proud of all the work he’d gotten done in such a few short hours, and checked his phone one last time for any sign of Phil, despite knowing he’d find none.

It was at that exact moment that Dan was slapped in the face with a sudden wave of an all too familiar scent, followed almost instantly by the sound of a tentative knock at his front door. Dan froze, the hand holding his cell phone dropping slowly to his side where the object then fell from limp fingers, and Dan was left staring in wide eyed surprise at the dark wood of his door.

Surely… surely not?

Suddenly, the puzzle pieces that were Phil’s absence all morning and his exhaustion last night began to fit themselves together in Dan’s mind to create an all too clear picture, and he felt a slow smile finally start to curl over his face. Laughing, the sound full of nothing short of delight, Dan shook his head ruefully and began to head over to his front door.

Had “soon” finally come, then?

His hands were slippery over the brass of his doorknob, but he managed to get the object open, inhaling deeply the minute Phil Lester was revealed stood in front of him in all his alpha glory with a bouquet of wildflowers clutched tightly in his hands.

Phil looked even more amazing than Dan had remembered, and his scent was everything that Dan had been missing, just as strong as Dan had remembered. He was dressed in what appeared to be a scuffy, old pair of black jeans, and his usual quirky t-shirt. This time, he was covered in little marvel insignias, the dark blue fitting nicely against the paleness of his skin.

“Hi,” Phil greeted tentatively, looking almost more shocked then Dan did at the sight of his alpha stood in front of him, finally, after nearly three weeks apart. His pupils were nearly blown as he took in Dan, and it wasn’t until Dan noticed his nostrils flaring that he realized this was the first time Phil was getting to smell Dan’s scent.

Dan couldn’t help wondering if Phil would love it as much as Dan did Phil’s, and he felt his cheeks grow warm as he gently prised the bouquet of flowers from Phil’s hand to hide his face against the beautiful blooms. His heart was beating frantically in his chest just at the chance to be in Phil’s presence again, but to have Phil looking so absolutely stunned by Dan’s scent was only making it race harder and harder until he could practically feel it slamming against his ribcage with the desire to just burst right out of him.

“Hello,” Dan greeted in reply after just a moment, voice more than a little shy. “Is this our routine now, you surprising me at my apartment?” he teased, because he didn’t know what else to say, and Phil was still looking at Dan like he was something - otherworldly. It was both exciting and just a little bit overwhelming.

For a moment longer, Phil didn’t reply. It was as if his mouth had been glued shut, and, after another moment, he closed his eyes and inhaled so deeply Dan actually felt embarrassment flare over him in a hot dose of want. He’d never seen someone look so enthralled by his scent before, and it was making Dan dizzy with the implications of it. His lips curled into a tiny, pleased smile, even as he hid his face even deeper into the wild flowers Phil had brought for him.

The whole bouquet had been done in brilliant shades of orange, yellow, light blue, and a periwinkle purple, wild with green shoots and grasses decorated around the bright ensemble. It was unique in the fact that it wasn’t the cliches roses or sunflowers Dan had seen run rampant in flower shops in the past, and made Dan feel ever so special in the more rare pick of wildflowers.

He didn’t want to put the bouquet down.

“Dan,” Phil finally stated, sounding more than a little gone. The thought made Dan giggle into his flowers, and he turned his back on Phil to head back inside his apartment to find a vase to put the bouquet in.

The front door shut behind him, indicating that Phil had stepped inside as well, but Dan didn’t look back. He wasn’t sure he could deal with whatever expression might be on Phil’s face right now after all. From the sound of Phil’s soft footsteps behind Dan, he was following him at least, which excited Dan. The idea of Phil not wanting to be far from him after how little time they’d gotten to enjoy being in each other’s presence was wonderful, considering Dan didn’t really want to be away from Phil either.

As Dan shuffled around in his cupboards for a vase, the bouquet of flowers lovingly placed on the counter in front of him, he tried to think of something witty to say to hide his continued embarrassment over the fact that he could sense Phil scenting his entire apartment just by being within its confines. He seemed unable to contain his own scent as he did whatever it was he was doing behind Dan just then.

“You didn’t answer my question,” Dan joked after another moment, his voice coming out a little high pitched. “Are you always going to surprise me by showing up at my apartment?” he asked.

Phil chuckled behind him, the sound breathless and warm in all the best ways, practically caressing over Dan’s body. The sound was deep, husky, so close to the way Phil had spoken when he’d teased about making Dan pay him what he owed in their game of monopoly the other night, and Dan could feel his body reacting in kind. He released a mass of pheromones into the room before he could stop himself, a scent that was meant to entice and gave away just how much Dan wanted the alpha to be his.

Phil inhaled sharply in response, a low grumble erupting behind him, before he seemed to get a hold of himself.

Dan grabbed hold of a vase, face heating up at his embarrassing instincts.

“Maybe. If it gets reactions like this out of you,” Phil teased in response. His voice was still a low grumble, something that Dan hadn’t heard much of in the past. Phil tended to sound so happy and excited all the time, half squealing and jumping with cute little chirps when something scared him. Now? Now he sounded like a proper alpha, all hot and expectant.

Dan could practically imagine him licking his lips behind him.

Dan pressed the bouquet of flowers Phil had brought for him into the vase, and carried it all over to the sink so he could fill the bottom with water, hoping that would encourage the bouquet to survive a little longer than normal. His heart was doing all kinds of funny things over the small gesture, and it really wasn’t helping that a mix of his own pheromones and Phi’s scent were becoming overwhelmingly powerful in the air around him. He could feel his skin breaking out into goosepimples already as he moved.

“Dan,” Phil said again, only this time his voice was much closer than it had been before.

Camly, much more calmly than he actually felt, Dan finished filling the vase with water, propped it in his kitchen windowsill, and slowly turned to find that Phil had migrated even closer to him. His body seemed almost larger than usual, and Dan knew it was his scent, the way he was posturing for Dan, knew it was because he wanted so badly to scent Dan all over again, just as much as Dan wanted to scent Phil.

“You smell - amazing,” Phil added after a second, the gravelly sound of his voice so close to Dan’s ear now as he leaned in, eyelashes fluttering and making the deep blue-green-yellow of his eyes sparkle intimidatingly at Dan. “Better than I ever could have imagined. You hadn’t mentioned - I didn’t know you were -”

“Didn’t know what?” Dan whispered back, breathless himself as his gaze flashed back and forth between Phil’s eyes and his lips. He didn’t know what he wanted more; for Phil to kiss him, or for Phil to scent him all over again. This time, though, Dan was sure to scent him back.

Phil swallowed thickly, the sound loud for how close their faces were. Dan could feel Phil’s breath on his cheek now, their noses nearly brushing against each others, and it was intensely erotic for someone who was no stranger to one night stands, hooks up, and the like. With Phil, it was just somehow different.

His eyes were dilated as he reached up with surprisingly gentle hands to lightly grip both of Dan’s arms, leaning in just that little bit closer now.

“I didn’t know you were already off the - the scent neutralizers. I didn’t know… all this time, I could have - could have smelled you…” he rumbled, looking absolutely stricken and even more needy than ever before. Dan’s breath caught in his throat as his eyes fluttered shut and he tilted his neck to offer himself to Phil.

Phil made a needy sound, but didn’t move just yet, clearing waiting for some kind of response.

Cheeks flaming red at the admittance, Dan murmured back, “I had to, if I wanted your scent to linger longer.”

Phil very nearly moaned at the words, the sound garbled within a half growl of need. His fingers tightened on Dan’s arms, and when Dan peered through dark lashes up at Phil’s face, he found that the alpha looked absolutely gone for Dan.

The idea of Dan having that kind of effect on Phil made him practically want to combust, and he keened as he arched up slightly to offer himself to Phil all over again.

“Phil,” he gasped. “Scent me. Please,” he practically begged, his own hands moving up to grasp lightly at Phil’s side and hold him steady, just in time for Phil to lean in and do what they’d both been wanting since Dan had first opened up his front door.

Phil pressed his face into the crook of Dan’s neck and inhaled deeply, his hands moving from Dan’s arms to trace down the revealed flesh of them, stroking every bit of Dan that he could reach before moving his hands around Dan’s body to hug him tight. He nosed along the skin of Dan’s neck as Dan relaxed in his hold, allowing Phil to maneuver him as he would and cover him in the scent of the alpha he hadn’t been able to stop thinking of for over a month, now.

Being scented by Phil a second time was somehow better than the first. Perhaps it was the knowledge that Phil could actually smell him now, or maybe the realization that Dan could scent him back, but nevertheless, as Phil nuzzled his nose up against the bottom of Dan’s neck, around his throat, and to the other side of his face, his hands wandering in desperate circles along Dan’s back and then up and into his hair, Dan felt like his entire body was on fire.

His mouth had long since dropped open, and he was making a low keening sound he’d never made before. He could feel his body reacting the same as last time but more, and while it wasn’t sexual, it still felt so intimate Dan might as well have been naked and writhing on the kitchen floor.

Gasping as Phil’s lips ghosted along the skin of his throat and snagged at his collarbones, Dan finally started to move in retaliation, and his own hands shifted upwards to bunch into the fabric of Phil’s t-shirt.

“My turn,” he practically growled, keening all over again when Phil merely sighed and went limp in reaction, craning his neck to the side and making himself vulnerable to Dan in return without putting up so much as a fight. The ease with which he submitted to Dan was everything as Dan shoved his own nose into the crook of Phil’s neck and inhaled his scent sharply.

The musk was so much stronger here, just along Phil’s scent glands, intoxicating in a way that made Dan’s head swim. He wanted to bite down on Phil’s neck, but he didn’t, not wanting to push any more boundaries when the two had yet to even talk beyond the mentions of wanting to find a mate. Instead, he merely shoved his nose along Phil’s skin and breathed deeply against him, hands wandering everywhere now that he was finally getting the chance to mark Phil as his.

It felt even more amazing than just being scented by Phil. Dan could already smell their scents intertwining in a heady mix that just felt so right. He’d never wanted someone as badly as he wanted Phil, so it was really no surprise to Dan when he somehow went from scenting Phil to threading his fingers through thick, dyed black hair, and turning Phil’s head until their lips slotted together in the perfect parting of mouths.

Phil’s mouth was… entirely different than what Dan had been expecting. While every other part of Phil was cold to the touch, Phil’s mouth was warm and heady as he shuddered under Dan’s mouth and began slowly to kiss Dan back. He was just as talented as Dan had been expecting, and yet more so as his tongue flicked along Dan’s bottom lip, sucking on it lightly with his own and tugging so gently with his teeth that Dan felt nothing more than a gentle scraping that only made him want more.

Phil’s fingers were digging into the small dips in Dan’s hips, his body pushing Dan’s backwards until he was properly corralled against the sink, and then, before Dan could even blink, Phil was hoisting him up so he was sitting on the counter with Phil stood between his legs. Dan didn’t get a chance to comment on this change in position before Phil was pressing in softly for another kiss, this time far less hungry than Dan’s lips had been when he’d first dragged Phil in for an open mouthed kiss.

He was all calmness and finesse as he grinned against Dan’s lips, fingers moving from Dan’s hips to press lightly to his cheeks instead. His thumbs caressed the skin under Dan’s eyes lightly, like Dan was something precious to be held, rather than someone to be desired, and yet the way he kissed, though tentative and respectful, echoed want as well.

Phil was everything that Dan had never known he���d wanted, and as Phil switched to gentle, sweet pecks of the lips, one after the other after the other, Dan couldn’t help being desperate for so much more.

“I think we should stop,” Phil whispered instead, chuckling when he pulled away and Dan did nothing but try and chase his lips, small whine escaping his throat that should have been embarrassing, and yet somehow wasn’t.

To soothe away the wounded ego Phil seemed to recognize in Dan’s answering frown, Phil skated the pad of his thumb under Dan’s eye all over again, and pressed one last chaste kiss to the corner of his lips.

“I want… I want so much more from you than a desperate tryst the first time we finally get to see each other again,” Phil explained. His eyes were warm when Dan finally opened his, understanding and yet blazing all the same. “I wish I’d realized you’d be - well, openly omega, because then I might have been able to prepare myself for your scent, but…” Phil trailed off with a slightly ashamed little grin. “I’d never imagined you could smell so good.”

As if to prove a point, Phil pressed his face into the crook of Dan’s neck again, right against his scent glands, and inhaled deeply, as if he couldn’t get enough of Dan.

The thought of that… it made Dan moan, and he could feel himself getting all worked up again. His body was reacting the same way it had when Phil had turned that seductive voice onto him the other night, and he could smell his own pheromones making a mockery of his kitchen with their enticing scent. Dan was kind of amazed Phil could stand against them when Dan’s body was giving away just how much he wanted the alpha currently stood between his legs.

Slowly, Dan sighed and allowed himself to relax as best as he could. All of his muscles had bunched up in anticipation for something more than a quick makeout session that had, honestly, ended far sooner than Dan would have preferred, and he was trying to calm them down now. De-tangling his fingers from Phil’s thick hair, Dan let his hands drop to Phil’s wrists where they still bracketed his face, and twined his own fingers around the skin their gently, if only to hold onto something steady.

Phil pulled his face back from Dan’s neck like he never wanted to leave it, but was fighting hard to control himself.

“You’re insane,” Dan complained after a moment, grinning a bit dazedly when Phil merely chuckled at him. Dan was pleased to note that he could see an interest stirring in Phil’s own pants, and tried not to let his body began secreting slick in reaction to the bulge. He didn’t think that would do any good for either of their self control, and while Dan was definitely up for letting Phil fuck him already, the last thing he wanted was to push Phil’s boundaries when he’d already drawn the line in the sand for them.

Sighing again, Dan shook his head to clear his mind and try and stop himself from creating anymore pheromones, and then released Phil’s wrists for good measure, disappointed when Phil dropped his hands and backed away slowly from Dan.

Slipping from the counter Phil had placed him on, Dan skated a hand down his face.

“Anyway,” he said, cheeks a deep red. “I’m uh… glad you like my scent. It might have been disastrous if my boyfriend thought I smelled disgusting the first time he got to scent me properly.”

The words were out of Dan’s mouth before he could think twice about them. He hadn’t quite meant to call Phil his boyfriend, and yet, as he recalled the vase of wildflowers he’d just placed into his windowsill, not to mention the endless hours of facetime, text messages, and phone calls… he knew he wouldn’t take it back for the world.

He wanted Phil Lester to be his boyfriend more than he’d wanted anything in the world, and as he stared coyly up at a stunned looking Phil, Dan reached out and took his hand into his.

“I think it’s about time we took this past the courting stage, don’t you?” His eyes were twinkling, his own smile blinding, as he waited for a reaction from Phil, but he knew even before Phil reached forward to take his chin in hand and kiss him all over again just what his reaction would be.

 They ended up crashed on Dan’s sofa in the living room because Phil thought the bed would be too tempting - “For what? I thought you didn’t have to have sex tonight.” “No! Of course, not! I mean, I do, I just mean - well, I haven’t gotten much sleep lately, now have I?” - curled up against each other and buried under a mound of blankets Dan had rescued from his bedroom. An old episode of Friends was playing on Dan’s TV, but neither male was really paying it any attention.

They were too busy talking, the way they always were these days, mumbling soft confessions to each other and giggling as they played games with each other’s hands, twining their fingers together back and forth in a small little dance. Dan couldn’t stop staring at the way they looked pressed together, Phil’s fingers long while Dan’s were thick. Somehow it worked, and it made him grin just to think of it, to feel the way his body gave so easily to Phil’s, and how their mixed scents were beginning to permeate the entire apartment already.

Head resting just over Phil’s heart, Dan murmured soft pleasantries to him, back turned to the TV completely by then, and closed his eyes for a moment of rest.

It came as no surprise to him when Phil chose that moment to reach down and card his fingers through Dan’s curly and unkempt fringe.

“The project’s done, by the way,” Phil murmured. “The one I’ve been putting so many hours into? We finished it last night, and I - that’s why I went to bed so early. I was planning to come over after I woke up, only I slept in a bit longer that I’d been expecting,” he admitting, chuckling at himself.

Dan hummed, just enjoying the way Phil’s fingers felt sliding so softly through his hair.

His fingers were so smooth, not a caulous in sight, and Dan couldn’t help wondering how Phil kept them so well taken care of.

“I’m kind of relieved honestly, because it means - well, it means I can finally start spending more proper time with you. Not that what we’ve been doing so far hasn’t been great, but finally getting to hold you…” The arm Phil had wrapped around Dan’s body tightened, hugging him closer, as if to prove a point, “That’s… so much better than seeing your face through a phone screen and wishing I could kiss you.”

Dan couldn’t help but snort at that, almost willing to give up the way he’d smooshed his face into Phil’s chest to tease him for saying something so cheesy, but he didn’t. He was far too comfortable as it was, and the reality of the situation was, Dan was pleased to finally be in Phil’s physical presence as well. Being able to kiss Phil whenever he wanted… that was definitely going to come in handy sometime soon, he was sure.

Phil seemed to take Dan’s snort as a chance to make fun of him, however, as before Dan knew it, Phil was jostling Dan and pushing him away from his chest to stare at him with amusement in his eyes. There was something mischievous in his smile as he tapped twice on Dan’s nose, and then said, “What’s with that noise? Aren’t you happy to see me Dan? I thought you’d be glad when I finally got some time off!”

He was whining now, finally starting to sound like the Phil Dan knew again. The dark rasp from earlier was gone, a sound that only seemed to come out of Phil when his instincts were all riled up, and while Dan had enjoyed that sound, he liked this Phil even more - the one untempered by instinct.

Smirking at Phil, Dan shifted and pressed one arm along Phil’s chest, propping himself up so he could stare down at Phil with a mischievous look of his own on his face. He leaned in close to nuzzle at Phil just a the teeniest bit before pulling away.

“Why in the world would I be happy about that?” Dan complained, eyes sparkling with mirth. “Now you’ll just keep me from my work even more,” he whined, dropping his weight all onto Phil’s body as he collapsed on top of him and dug his face into the crook of Phil’s neck, taking the chance to inhale another bout of his wonderful scent. “Woe is me, now I’ll never be rid of you!” he bemoaned in the most dramatic voice he could manage, giggling when Phil began to wheeze with laughter underneath him.

Pleased with himself, Dan shifted so he was nose to nose with Phil all over again. At the same time, Phil reached up to caress gently along Dan’s sides, cool palms sliding up and down in a soft motion that made Dan want to sink into Phil all over again, but he resisted, not quite down with the teasing.

“Why are you laughing?” he pouted, “I’m serious! I don’t want you here!” he complained, trying to roll away from Phil, only for the alpha to grab on tighter to him and hold him in place.

There was mischief in Phil’s eyes now as he grinned up at Dan, and tugged him closer still, bodies moulding together as their hips slotted together and their ribs bumped, stomachs rising and falling in opposition to each other as they each tried to breathe.

Their noises bumped again.

“Oh, is that right?” Phil teased, rubbing his nose lightly against Dan’s, delighting when Dan’s eyelids automatically fluttered shut in reaction. Dan tried to struggle against the natural reaction, but it was no use when Phil’s voice had gone all low and husky again, sending shivers of want up and down Dan’s spine. “Trying to get rid of your boyfriend already, Daniel?” he added, lips ghosting along Dan’s now. “I thought we really had something special here,” he teased, voice a whisper as he took Dan’s lips in the gentlest of kisses.

Before it could go anywhere, however, Phil rather abruptly pulled away from Dan and pushed the other male off of him, sitting up properly and crossing his arms over his chest with a ridiculous looking pout. Dan, meanwhile, struggled to maintain his balance on the too small sofa, and yelped as he caught himself before he could fall. His legs were draped over Phil’s, his body half hanging off, and his head bundled against the side of the sofa, all while Phil continued to pout at him.

Dan didn’t even get a chance to say anything before Phil was shoving Dan’s legs off of his, nearly upending Dan again, and stood up.

“But if that’s how you feel, I guess I should take my leave now. I know when I’m not wanted, and the last thing I want to do is force myself on anyone,” he explained, sorting out his hair and turning no his heel like he didn’t have a care in the world.

Dan’s jaw fell open, and he stared at the perfect planes of Phil’s back as he began to walk away, stunned into absolute silence. This wasn’t actually happening, was it? Phil totally hadn’t just upset their perfectly warm cuddling session for a joke, had he?

Apparently, he had, because Phil didn’t even turn as he shot over his shoulder, “I guess we were never really boyfriends after all,” voice a singsong of woeful brilliance that tugged at Dan’s heartstrings.

He pouted as well, standing before Phil could get too much further than he already had, and growled as he threw himself at his boyfriend's back, interrupting the next slew of words Phil had been attempting to get out.

“I guess I’ll just take my broken heart and get out of here then - augh!”

The two fell to the floor in a heap of tangled limbs, giggling as they crash landed and rolling against each other to try and gain the upper hand. Even having nearly landed on his face, it didn’t take Phil much time at all to roll over and prevent Dan from completely taking control, wrestling with his aggressive hands and laughing in Dan’s face as Dan tried to pin him down. Their knees cracked against each other, but neither male cared as they continued to wrestle, trying to one up each other and take over, panting against each other's skin and being assaulted by scents they were entirely accustomed to just yet.

It left Dan winded as Phil finally rolled them both over with a triumph “Aha!” as he pinned Dan’s wrists to the floor and stared down at him with a look of absolute adoration in his eyes. Dan grinned up at him, despite having lost, and lifted his chin until his lips were a breath away from Phil’s. Phil’s grin wavered for all of a few seconds, gaze dipping down to Dan’s parted lips, before returning to Dan’s teasing gaze.

“You’re not going anywhere, Lester,” he teased, struggling for just a second against Phil’s hold, and then relaxing completely underneath him. “You’ve got a lot of lost time to make up to your boyfriend, after all, don’t you think?”

Phil didn’t really have an argument against that, so when Dan bucked up to press his lips to Phil, he didn’t encounter any resistance. Rather, Phil tangled their fingers together, and kissed him back.

(Next)