Phil was the first to stir the next morning. He started to stretch but was constricted by a sleeping body next to him. He smiled to himself and pulled the younger boy closer. Dan stirred ever so slightly and curled on his side, laying his head on Phil's shoulder and bringing his arm over Phil's torso. Smiling to himself, Phil wrapped his right arm around Dan. He ran his left hand over the arm across his stomach. He closed his eyes and rested his head on the top of Dan's and just took in the moment. He felt better than he had in a long time. Nothing but happiness and he caressed Dan's arm while listening to his breathing.

He was enjoying think about everything that had happened the previous evening and he mindlessly ran his fingers across Dan's skin. Phil crinkled his brows at what he felt. He figured there must be a scar. He laughed at the vision of clumsy Dan falling and ending up with some random scar. He looked forward to hearing the story behind it. He opened his eyes and gazed down at what he had been feeling. He flipped Dan's arm to look better. That happiness he had just been feeling drained from his body immediately. What he had thought were clumsiness caused scars were actually quite the opposite.

Phil had no idea what to do or say. He knew that Dan had been through a lot, but he had no idea it led him to this. He couldn't process it. He didn't get the chance, as soon as he realized what he was looking at, Dan started to stir. He quickly pulled the cover over them both and pulled Dan close. Dan smiled into Phil's chest as he was embraced. He laughed softly with confusion and looked up to Phil who had sadness in his eyes.

"What…" Dan started but was interrupted by Phil's lips. There was something in the air that neither wanted to address. Dan knew he was missed something but knew Phil needed him in that moment. So he lied there at let Phil hold him. Phil couldn't bring himself to bring up what he saw, and Dan was kind enough not to address the a crying fit he was in. He just couldn't understand why ihis/i Dan would do ithis/i. Dan was rubbing soft circles on Phil's back not wanting to end the moment too soon, but his bladder was getting rather impatient. Phil had just taken a breath to say something but Dan beat him to it. "As much as I love all this, I might piss your bed so…" Phil laughed and released Dan, who quickly scrambled to the bathroom. Phil watched his form dashing, smiling sadly to himself.

He got up and gathered some clothes for Dan to wear, figuring he probably wouldn't want to walk without anything on. As he was picking out a shirt it dawned on him why Dan was picking at his sleeves. He decided to get Dan a long sleeved shirt and wen to pick up shorts, but then got nervous so he decided to get the sweatpants from the night before and some pants. He carried them over to the bathroom. He stood there listening for a minute.

Dan was standing in the bathroom looking himself over in the mirror. He couldn't believe how many marks Phil left on him. He was going to make Phil pay for that. He ran his fingers over the marks left behind by an enthusiastic Phil. He bit at his lips at the memory. He turned and reached for the door and caught sight of his arm… iShit!/i He had forgotten about his clothes. His scars were not covered… He couldn't possibly go back out and keep out of Phil's view and put his clothes back on without Phil thinking something weird. He backed away from the door as if it were spitting fire. He tripped over the rug and fell backwards, he continued to push himself further away from the door until his back was against the tub.

Dan's breathing started to get heavy as all of his scars seemed to be screaming at him for all the things he's done wrong. He covered his ears and tried so hard to be quiet. Phil heard jumbling- he tried to lean closer to hear just what was going on. Dan whimpered slightly then covered his mouth with his hand. iShut up you idiot!/i Heis mind continued to berate him and Phil stood on the other side of the door tearing up. He couldn't be there for Dan and he didn't know what to do. If he said anything wrong, he knew Dan too well, he'd be out there door in a heartbeat. So instead he swallowed his nerves and contoured up a mask of his own.

Dan heard knocking in the distance and willed himself to be calm enough to hear what Phil would be saying to him. "... so I'll leave some clothes for you right here outside the door okay?" Dan wiped his tears and sat up, barely processing what he had heard.

Phil was about to walk away, but contoured up one more happy sounding sentence. "Hope you like pancakes!" And walked off towards the kitchen. When he got there he fell to the ground against the cabinets. He hated, absolutely hated, not being able to burst through the door and hugging Dan close. He had to get over himself though. This was not about him. He had to be what Dan needed right now, and he did not need Phil boo-hooing like an idiot. He wiped at his face and quickly started making some noise in the kitchen so Dan would be able to hear that he wasn't in the bedroom anymore and could get the clothing he left for him.

It took Dan about ten minutes to get to the point where he was comfortable enough to stand up on shaking legs. Keeping his arms crossed over his stomach he opened the door slowly, peeking out. Making sure Phil wasn't near him, he looked down and saw a pile of folded clothes. He picked them up and closed the door quickly. He slipped on the pants and reached for the shirt. Breathing a sigh of relief he slipped on Phil's long sleeve shirt that he was given. After putting everything on he looked himself over in the mirror. He looked like absolute shit. He worked on cleaning himself up for about 10 more minutes until he decided that Phil was probably starting to get concerned over the state of his bathroom if he doesn't get out of there ASAP.

Finally building up the courage, Dan opened the door and was greeting with the sweet scent of pancakes. He strolled into the kitchen where Phil was attempting to flip a pancake in the air and caught it successfully. He threw his hand up in excitement as Dan began to clap, making Phil jump slightly. "Why thank you." Phil said proudly.

Dan laughed, "I'm not going to lie, I definitely thought you were going to fail epically." Phil lowered his shoulders defeatedly.

"Gee, thanks, Dan." Phil muttered. "So is the bathroom safe?" He joked and looked behind hi. He saw Dan's wide eyes. "Please tell me you at least sprayed something when you were done?" Phil jokingly pushed Dan's shoulder as he hurried by. He had rehearsed what he was going to say in order to ease the mood. "You hogged it so long I thought I was going to have to pee in the sink!" He yelled as he jogged into the bathroom. Dan just laughed to himself. How innocent Phil's mind was. There he had been, losing his mind and here Phil is thinking he was shitting! Dan adored that tall little dork.

Phil took advantage of the time he had to look over the room to make sure nothing seemed out of place. He washed his hands and returned to the kitchen. Dan was laying on the couch going through his phone. Phil walked over and kneeled next to him so they were face to face. Dan turned off his phone and looked over to Phil. He was about to say some smart-ass statement about the bathroom, but decided it wasn't the right moment. Phil leaned forward and moved the hair from Dan's eyes. Dan squinted, he was insecure about his "too large" forehead. He felt slightly uncomfortable at the way Phil was staring at him with such kindness and tenderness in his eyes. He wasn't used to it and cold feel his eyes tear up. He was the one to initiate the kiss.

Phil breathed the kiss in, he wanted this. Every day he wanted Dan here with him. To protect him and make him know just how much he deserves to be loved. There will never be enough he can do for him that will be enough but he knew he'd never stop trying to be enough for him. He wanted to say all of this, but knew it was too soon. He just hoped that Dan could understand what he was trying to portray.

Dan didn't care for the kindness right now. He didn't want to crack open in front of Phil. So he kept pulling at Phil to get closer, finally succeeding in getting Phil to get on the couch with him, practically on top of him. They laid like that, making out for almost 10 minutes. Just as Dan's hands started to roam down, Phil pulled back and went to get up. Dan tried to make him stay, but Phil gave him a look. "Our breakfast is getting cold…" Phil whispered.

"Fuck breakfast, kiss me." Dan said, reaching up for Phil who dodged and almost fell off the couch. Dan started to laugh as he sat up giving Phil his best flirty gaze. Phil stuttered a bit and pleaded his hard on to go away. He stood and awkwardly walked to the kitchen.

"You'll be saying that differently after you eat it!" Phil explained.

Dan chuckled. "You know, out of context…"

"Shut up!" Phil yelled. He strolled out of the kitchen with two plates all decked out. Dan's eyes widened as he grabbed one of the plates. Phil smirked. Phil turned on a random morning show as they quietly ate. Phil sat close enough to touch thighs. Every once and a while they would make awkward eye contact and giggle. When they were done Dan leaned back on the couch.

"You were right Phil." He said. "I definitely don't need you to make me cum anymore." Phil pushed him and turned bright pink at the language as he got up and cleaned up the dishes.

"I was thinking," Phil yelled over the sound of the dishes. Dan decided to walk in so he didn't have to keep yelling. "We could go into town… If you want. I could show you around?" Dan smiled brightly.

"That sounds great, Phil." Dan said, "Let's do it!" It was Phil's turn to smile as he went to pull Dan into a hug, but Dan wagged his finger, "Oh no. You had your chance, time to get ready." He said jokingly as he turned to change. Phil just stood there and smiled. He deserved that. He took a deep breath in. iHe'll tell me./i He hoped.

They took turns in the bathroom getting ready, sharing random moments of flirty eye contact and looks. Especially when Dan was trying to cover up the marks that Phil left behind. Right as they were about to leave Dan pulled Phil in close and whispered in his ear. "I'm going to make you pay for those marks you left on me, by the way."

Phil just smiled and asked, "Oh? How are you going to do that?" He said leaning in for another kiss. Dan reached one hand down and caressed Phil just enough to make Phil's pupils grow before starting to walk away.

"Dunno Phil. How should I?" Dan asked slyly as he looked over his shoulder holding the door open. Phil glared up at him and smirked. This is going to be a long day...