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secretlywritingstories · 11 months ago

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some of the most normal pictures | phan one shot

Summary: Phil took many photos of Dan. It was second nature. To capture this life that they shared and this man that he got to share it with. Each moment precious, captured when Dan was his most relaxed and at ease. And they're completely normal. Of course.

Behind the scenes look at each of the photos from this year's birthday tweet from Phil to Dan

Tags: Established relationship, domestic fluff, photographs, introspection, 4+1 times

Word count: 5.2k

No warnings

A/N: Written for @dandp who won a fic from @phandomgives' @phandomraffle for Dan's birthday! I hope you like it! (Also oops my 2-5k fic ended up at 5.2k, no one who knows me is surprised).

Read on AO3 or below

Dan was continuing his valiant effort to make a new sofa crease shaped to his butt, melting into the cushions. Phil loved when they packed their laptops away and enjoyed a quiet evening together. It was one of his favourite times of the day. A part of their lives that felt sacred in a way.

Dan was looking particularly soft today. Crinkled grey pyjamas, fluffy hair and a slight burn to his skin. They had gone outside yesterday and he’d forgotten about the sunscreen, and then he’d complained because Phil was usually the one reminding him that he needed to put it on in the first place.

Sometimes, it struck Phil fast and hard that he got to have this. A shared life with the man he loved so dearly. Even when they were just doing random stuff, every experience was enriched by the fact that they were in it together. They got to sit here on their sofa in the home that they literally built to fit them. Decorating had both been fun and stressful, but as most things with Dan, it had been perfect.

“Dan?”

Dan turned his head, eyes soft as soon as they found Phil’s. The golden light from the lamp shone upon him in a way that almost made him glow. It illuminated the slightly burnt appearance of his face, making him look like something almost ethereal. Phil kind of wanted to grab him, kiss him silly, run his hands through his hair, playing with the curls, tracing his thumb across the lines appearing on his forehead. The lines that had appeared slowly in the time that they had spent with each other. He’d got to see it all. See Dan grow up right beside him.

But to reach out and touch would ruin it.

So, he whipped out his phone.

“Wha-”

Phil just shushed him. “Do not move a muscle. Stay right there.”

Phil could see how Dan’s eyes sparkled, mouth pursing slightly as he was about to argue that he wasn’t some type of model for Phil’s viewing pleasure. Or maybe make a joke that Phil would need to paint him like one of his French girls instead of using a phone camera. Either of those options were plausible.

But Dan just relaxed back into the cushions, eyes turning soft again, just staring so intensely at Phil that it almost felt like a bit too much. He knew Dan looked at him like that often but it never got old to see it. To bask in it.

He took a couple of photos and then scrolled through them to see that he’d captured the image he wanted. But as he turned back to Dan, he had moved despite Phil’s strict instructions. At least his hands. Because there was now glass of water balanced on top of his head. Phil wasn’t even sure where he’d gotten that.

“What are you doing?” Phil asked Dan.

Dan made an expression half cringe and half fondness. But he still didn’t move or say anything. It looked like the glass was gently pushing the curls away to make room on his forehead. They really looked so soft.

Phil wasn’t really sure what had possessed Dan to suddenly balance a glass of water on top of his head, but he knew it should be getting documented as well. Phil quickly snapped a photo but even as he lowered his phone, Dan was still holding position. Waiting for Phil to be done. Always one to not only entertain Phil’s whims but also add to them. After all, it was what they had made a life out of.

Phil retrieved the glass carefully, worrying a little for the safety of their sofa. And Dan too. He would probably not get hurt but he would get excessively whiny if he got splashed with water, even if it would be because of himself.

“You can move again now.”

“Oh, I can?” Dan asked, voice pitched into a whine but he still didn’t really move.

So, Phil gave into his other impulse. Multiple impulses should be allowed when it was Dan. He reached out to touch him like he hadn’t wanted to do before. One hand carding through his curls, the other touching his face, soft and warm, just like the touch of his hand.

It was a lovely moment but it also only tenderness wasn’t exactly their method of operations.

“You have a square head,” Phil told him, eyes already smiling because he knew the reaction that would follow.

Dan’s grasp of indignance was instant. Phil was laughing and already raising his arms because he foresaw the pillow thrown his way. He blocked it easily, even though he was now laughing his ass off. Getting reactions out of Dan was always the most fun.

It was only the one pillow attack before Dan gave up, just sighing before settling back into the sofa. He rolled his eyes but the edges of a smile were clinging to his lips. Phil giggled and snugged up close.

It was arguably not the most insane idea that they had but it was rather out there all the same. It was one thing to commission art from one of their fans. They did that with great joy actually, it was so incredibly cool to see the kind of artists that liked to draw them for fun and for the community. Commissioning official art for merch and socials was not quite as unhinged as staging a photoshoot to promote said merch on Twitter.

Once upon a time, Dan would have cringed at the idea. His posts all had to be carefully curated to the point that it almost sent him into a tailspin. He was proud of some of the people that followed him and scaring them into an unfollow had weighed heavily on him before. Not in this new era they had embarked on. It was the era of not giving as many fucks.

So, when Phil jokingly suggested a photoshoot with him as a catboy wearing the merch, well… he hadn’t anticipated not having to fight Dan on it at all. In fact, he was more than game. He had gone to figure out accessories almost immediately.

Cat ears, cat ears bow with a little bell, cat tail and of course, the knee-high baby blue striped socks.

Phil had a feeling that the cat accessories might all end up in their random costume drawer or even donated to a charity shop, while the socks might find their way into Dan’s regular wardrobe to be reused.

They had decided that the bed would be a good place for it but Phil was slightly rethinking that when Dan stretched to adjust the fluffy blanket, so it would lie just right. The catboy jumper was oversized and big on Dan but it still rode up easily when he stretched forward. He was wearing underwear but Phil’s eyes still lingered on his legs.

Phil had seen Dan in all manners of undress one could imagine but seeing only the thighs exposed to his eyes felt almost sinful. But Dan had wanted the photoshoot to both be sexy and funny, so he was definitely hitting the mark well. Going all in because Phil’s boy did not do anything half-heartedly.

“All good?” Phil asked, smirking at Dan’s thoughtful expression as he surveyed the bed and then climbed on with his knees. He was shuffling around kind of awkwardly, reminding Phil a little bit of Bambi on ice.

“What?” Dan asked.

“Awkward being a catboy with those long limbs of yours?”

“Shut up,” Dan said with a smile in his voice. “Or I’ll show you what these long limbs can do.”

And Phil did end up shutting up shortly after because Dan looked good and he gave it his all. They circled through several different poses, Phil snapping endless photos because he knew Dan would want to have options. For most of them, Dan had to have a hand pulling down the front of the jumper or he’d be flashing their audience a bit too much.

He was also making sure to pull the sleeves down over his hands, creating sweater paws just like he’d always done with his hoodies and big shirts ever since they had known each other. Making himself drown in clothes to be cosy. The bare legs weren’t exactly new either. It was something Phil saw a lot around their house.

A couple of times, they stopped for Dan to be able to view the photos to make sure that he had a good selection. Phil could see that Dan was tiring and it was about time to wrap up the session.

“Give me a hiss,” he requested when Dan got back into position for the last couple of poses.

Dan did a doubletake and sent him a funny look.

“… a hiss?”

“Like a naughty catboy,” Phil said.

Dan stopped a snort in his throat. “Do you hear the words coming out of your mouth sometimes?”

“Do I need to? You’re hearing them,” Phil said, putting on his best innocent face.

He had mastered that quite well during the years, even if he only brought it out in private to wind Dan up. They both knew he was far from innocent when it came down to it.

“Fine, you’ll get a naughty, hissing catboy, Philip Michael Lester.”

Breaking out the full name always meant trouble but it was worth it when Dan launched at the camera, hissing with all of his might. It made Phil’s hand almost shake a little, probably further slurring the photos but he hoped at least one would be good.

He liked candid and raw a lot more than Dan who scrutinised over his poses. It was just so much more fun. Phil made sure to snap a photo of himself looking concerned, fitting into the idea that this was a bit unhinged, even if it had initially been Phil’s idea and he very much was on board with it.

Dan looked positively deranged in the hissing photos, as they sat together on the bed afterwards scrolling through the whole section that would eat into so much of Phil’s iPhone storage.

Dan was still in the outfit, fiddling with the edge of his sock where it rested just above his knee. Phil put his hand on top of his to still his movements. And then he might have slid his hand further up Dan’s thigh as soon, as they had put the phone away closing out the photoshoot for good. And maybe the socks were the only thing on Dan moments later, but that was neither here nor there.

Phil himself loved Christmas and the celebration of it all but he couldn’t have his mother beat. In fact, he was pretty sure he had inherited it from her. She did Christmas hard and it was always made to be a big deal ever since he was a kid. He would be looking forward to the month of December as soon as the weather started turning colder.

Lots of baked goods, lots of cosy nights, lots of presents and family times. It was so essential to his life that he remembered being surprised that Christmas for Dan’s family was a much quieter affair. Of course, they celebrated and exchanged presents but it was just the few days up to and after Christmas. It was not a whole ordeal like he’d grown up with.

It was one of the reasons that they always made sure to make a trip north during December to ensure that they saw Phil’s family no matter what. His mother expected the visit with glee every time, perhaps even more now that they usually stayed home for Christmas Eve just the two of them.

It was a relative new development in the decade and a half they had been together. They felt like they could finally tell their families that they weren’t always coming over for Christmas and just spending it with each other. Before coming out, it wasn’t something they could have even properly considered. It would have felt too strange to explain away.

At least for Dan.

Phil knew that his family had known about it for an age, perhaps ever since he’d brought 18-year-old Dan over that December fifteen years ago. It was an unspoken thing between them to not put labels on their relationship publicly just to be safe. Actually, they still didn’t do that publicly but they had started doing it privately to people that they trusted.

This December was a little different though with the gaming channel revived and gamingmas in full swing. It brought back memories of frantically filming and editing videos like they were trapped inside of a hamster wheel. It was fun too, a challenge and something they knew they that brought joy to their audience.

They also had editors to help take the load off now, but that required that they could get raw footage from a video to them in a sensible time. It wasn’t always possible and as such Dan was sat on the sofa with headphones trying desperately to finish up the edit for the trombone cham video that had to go up the same day.

He had volunteered to edit, so Phil wouldn’t lose any time with his family. Initially, he’d tried to retreat to the guest room to be out of the way but Kath had taken one look at him and practically pushed him down to the sofa. No one was allowed to scurry off to their room.

It left him in a perfect position to be filled up with snacks and cookies too, so it wasn’t like Dan was complaining, even if he looked a little bleareyed at the screen while trying to get through their attempts at the musical game. He grimaced sometimes, but only for a moment before a soft smile crept up on his lips or a little chuckle escaped him.

“I thought you had those editors now,” Phil’s mother had said him while she was taking yet another tray of shortbread out of the oven.

“We do,” Phil said. “But we can’t expect them to edit on too short notice. It wouldn’t be fair working conditions.”

Phil had been busy sneaking yet another glance at Dan to try and capture another one of those soft expressions, but when he turned back towards his mother, it was her face that looked kind of soft.

“You’re a good egg,” she said, and reached out to touch his face but with the oven mitt still on. It smelled a little like burnt batter but he just laughed and kept still anyway. “But you’re still making him edit when you’re the one with the editing degree, aren’t you?”

Phil rolled his eyes. “Dan can edit just as well as me, and he can focus better here than I can.”

Kath let out a hum. “Are you sure about that?” she asked and nudged Phil to turn back around.

Dan had somehow wrapped the cord of his headphones around his nose. It looked utterly ridiculous. Phil was whipping out his phone immediately and walking over. Dan turned to look at him but hardly moved, the cord still perfectly on his nose.

“Don’t move,” Phil said, though he realised belatedly that Dan wouldn’t be able to hear when he was wearing the noise cancelling headphones. But he kept still, frozen at Phil’s demand even though he couldn’t hear him.

It wasn’t a stretch to figure out that he wanted to take a photo. Phil loved snapping photos of Dan whenever he was doing something weird. He had a whole hoard of photos like that. Like a dragon with precious jewels.

He had so many photos of Dan that he was pretty sure he was taking up like a third of his camera roll at least. He had more photos of Dan than he had of himself for sure. But who could blame him really?

It was a beautiful photo, the cute Christmas tree framed nicely in the background. His mother had done well again this year, the gold colour scheme really working. Dan had been a little jealous when he’d seen it.

Phil said that they could try to decorate the one they would get similarly but Dan had just rolled his eyes and leaned over to kiss him. Only to mutter that he knew Phil couldn’t stick to a single style and colour scheme if his life depended on it.

Dan didn’t move until Phil lowered his phone.

“How’s it coming along?” Phil asked.

Dan blinked at him, lazily almost like he wasn’t getting enough moisture to his eyes. He pushed off one of the ears of the headphones and dislodged the cord around his nose.

“Oh, you know, just slowly losing my sanity. Why do we choose to play games like this?” Dan said and gestured at the screen.

He didn’t mean it. It had been a hilarious video to film, even if the editing was now giving him trouble.

“We’re close to the finish line, Danny,” Phil reminded him. “Just another week or so.”

“Sure, bub,” Dan said and moved to isolate a section to blow up to full screen.

Phil always had liked Dan’s editing style. It was so distinct to him and it felt even more obvious now that they had other people editing their videos as well. Dan’s humour just bled through so well.

“Thank you,” Phil said, one of those quite moments where he found the words to voice his sincerity. “For taking one for the team.”

“You’re cooking the first night we’re back home, you hear?”

Phil threw back his head and laughed. “I’ll choose what we’re going to eat and order, how about that?”

Despite having designed a kitchen just how they wanted it, they were admittedly not using it a whole lot. They mostly ordered out because it was just so convenient and good. Easy. They could afford it and skip the making dinner altogether, which was also nice because they could order so many more dishes than they were actually capable of making.

Dan narrowed his eyes towards Phil.

“Pick, order and answer the door,” Dan negotiated.

Phil wasn’t a big fan of answering the door, but then again neither was Dan. The two of them had gotten slightly better with age, and the last few years of constant builders in and out of their home had helped build up experience, but it was still an annoyance.

“You’re on.”

“I was not done; I want a shortbread too. Fresh out of the oven,” Dan added.

Phil pushed himself up and turned towards the kitchen to go swipe one for Dan.

“How did you even know they were done? You’ve had your headphones on,” Phil called to him.

“My nose still works,” Dan said with a wide grin.

Dan got his shortbread and he finished the video too. Without wrapping the cord around his nose again, which felt like a loss because it had been a rather cute look, if Phil was being honest.

So, they were baking on the “gaming” channel now too. It had been a long time coming. It was fun to finally allow themselves the freedom to just do whatever. They had bent the rules a little in the past, before the hiatus but they had still tried to keep stuff mainly gaming related.

This was a new era and a joint baking video that would usually go up on either of their personal channels now felt like it fit so much more on DanAndPhilGAMES. It was their joint venture and it felt fitting to push the boundaries of what was going up on that channel. It was the era of giving no fucks and just doing whatever they wanted and it was working out surprisingly well for them at the moment.

Dressing up for baking videos wouldn’t be entirely new but this time, Phil had a very distinct agenda. Dan had sputtered and playfully argued against it when he’d first suggested it but he’d caved soon after. Phil had wanted to see Dan in his Spirit Halloween’s slutty nun costume.

Dan had been in freaking US when he’d bought and worn that for the first and only time. It had been bought as a joke. Phil knew that now. He’d needed a costume and seen it and figured why the fuck not? He’d been coming into his own during his We’re all Doomed tour, even though he still called Phil almost every day to chat.

That American leg of the tour had been the longest they had ever been apart, surpassing three weeks of not seeing each other in person for the first time in almost a decade and a half. And then he’d done a whole photoshoot in that costume and sent the photos to Phil first.

He’d looked good. Too good. But most importantly, he’d been feeling himself. It had radiated out of him and Phil wanted to see it in person. Recreate the magic of those photos right in front of his very eyes.

Dan still put up the petulant act when he had to go off and change off camera. Like he hadn’t carefully done his make-up already to complete the look once he was dressed. But he came back and it was overwhelming to see. Phil’s devil costume paled in comparison but honestly, Phil wasn’t sure that there was anything that could rival Dan in that outfit.

He could perhaps have gone without the flirty comments that made him feel like bushing. Overt flirting wasn’t Dan’s usual game. It hadn’t been when they’d first gotten together and it certainly wasn’t now. These days, they mostly communicated their love in gestures, grunts or simply asking for what they wanted. Though Dan was still Dan and occasionally he’d say something profound and loving that felt like it carved right into Phil’s chest, making his heart push at the walls just so it could expand a little more.

To hold more love for Dan.

The baking itself went about as expected. Phil was distracted the whole time and having fun playing off Dan, even when he was shaking his ass and swinging out flirts like it was nobody’s business.

The waiting in between baking had always been Phil’s least favourite part because it left him with just nothing to do. Dan was a bit more sensible, going to check the footage and charge up the cameras to make sure they didn’t decide to spontaneously die on them.

Dan kept fixing his headdress – veil? Phil wasn’t actually sure what it was called – with such careful hands that it was a little distracting. His legs and ass too, since the dress wasn’t made for a man of his height. There had been fishnet stockings once upon a time but those had torn pretty quickly so it was just Dan’s long legs on full display.

It was late in the night, but they always did their baking at way too late in the evening. It was a tradition at this point. Back when they were still doing Phil is not on fire videos, those tended to mostly be filmed late too. There was just something else in the air. A bit of silliness that was easier captured when the rest of the world felt like it was sleeping and it was just the two of them.

Dan sat in his costume at their desk and Phil just couldn’t stop smiling at the sight. He’d been right that it was something special to see Dan like this. And his energy had been off the charts, just like Phil had hoped.

Most of the time, Dan was pretty safe with his outfit choices but Phil wondered if maybe he should get a dress that wasn’t a Halloween costume just to see how it made him feel. He’d certainly not hear any protests from Phil no matter how he wanted to dress.

His favourite Dan was a Dan who was comfortable in his own skin and he’d gotten to see that more and more as the years passed. He hoped it would continue to be the case forever.

“All good?” he asked when Dan let out a hum, eyes focused on the screen. He’d tugged one leg under him in a way that was no way beating the allegations that gays couldn’t sit in chairs.

“Yeah, we’ve got everything so far,” he confirmed, and then turned to where Phil was standing, hand just now lowering with his phone.

“Were you taking photos of me again?” he asked with a smirk. A genuinely flirting look in his eyes for a moment. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you’re obsessed with me.”

It wasn’t really that far from the truth and Dan knew it too.

“No,” Phil still said, voice completely deadpan. “I’m just a big fan of Sister Daniel’s obviously.”

Dan slowly stood up from his chair and advanced towards Phil. He was backing up on instinct, even if he wanted nothing more than for Dan to get close. Maybe it was just a ploy to pull him in. They were closer now when Dan was almost backing him up against the wall.

“Is that so, Father Philip?” Dan said and he tried to keep that sultry tone in his voice that he did admittedly well, but he cracked under pressure.

Just giggling right in Phil’s face and Phil was soon to follow too. They always had trouble keeping a straight face when it was just the two of them goofing off. They could go to severe length for the bit, but when it was late and they were tired but wired, cracks came easily.

“I win,” Phil said.

“We weren’t competing,” Dan said.

“Still won,” Phil maintained and puffed out his chest a bit, almost brushing it Dan’s. Provoking him because it was always fun to see his reactions.

“Oh?” Dan said and he had control back over his voice again. He was acting again and while nothing really beat normal Dan, he was pretty stunning like this too. Or maybe Phil was just a simp for all expressions Dan could hit him with.

“Nope, you win,” Phil conceded and he had to actually duck out under Dan’s arm.

It was easy enough because Dan was laughing again, with his entire body swaying and eyes crinkling up so beautifully as he took in Phil’s reaction.

The rest of filming went smoothly, even as they became more and more unhinged.

“You’re a copycat, you know that, right?” Phil teased Dan.

They were doing another charity livestream for the PCRF, just like they had done for Phil’s birthday. They had been extremely overwhelmed with the sheer force of their audience and their ability to rally behind a cause. It was a bit awe-inspiring and they wanted to do another round of it for Dan’s birthday.

So, Phil didn’t really mind at all that they were going to do almost the same thing. He’d been very supportive when Dan had brought it up.

But he could still tease him about it.

“My whole career is following in your footsteps, senpai,” Dan said, voice flat and devoid of emotions as he typed something on his computer not even looking up.

Dan wasn’t very fun to tease when he wasn’t paying attention to it.

It was a lie too. Him and Dan had similar paths, but what they had carved together was something special, they couldn’t have done without each other. And their projects on the side were wildly different too. Dan had gotten to shine with a few of his lately. Phil was hopeful for some of his own projects to come into fruition soon, but he also didn’t really mind having Dan and Phil be at the core of his working life again.

He'd missed it and now it was becoming something more certain and tangible. The tour announcement was eminent and it would already start in September. They would be back on the road again. He’d get to see their audience again for the first time in like five years.

“Don’t you need to pick some embarrassing photos of me?” Dan asked, finally looking up from his screen.

Full attention on Phil now. Eyes bright and focused. Anticipation.

Traditions were a funny thing. Phil had just done it on a whim the first time, not really knowing what to tweet Dan for his birthday. He wasn’t great with expressing his love in words, so instead showing all the little quiet moments with Dan had felt like a profound idea.

It still was now that it had become a yearly tradition. Dan got Phil a cake with letters that was probably traumatising their nearest bakery, and Phil showcased the photos he’d taken throughout the year.

The weirder the better.

“You just don’t know art. It’s a lovingly curated selection,” Phil said.

He’d been preparing a little because they were going to unveil the photos first on the livestream as an incentive to donate. He actually had too many photos, almost a dozen and he was going to have to whittle it down further. He could only post four in his tweet.

Though maybe some bonus photos weren’t the worst idea he had. The ones that didn’t make the tweet could get to be shown on the livestream instead.

“I look like a gremlin in all of them, don’t I?” Dan said with a snort, and he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Phil.

“You’re fishing to see them early and I won’t show you. It’s supposed to be a surprise for you too. One of your many birthday gifts from little old me.”

“They’re not a gift. They’re bullying,” Dan countered, but he was just kidding around.

They knew each other’s tone well. As well as each other’s boundaries. Dan was secretly enjoying the attention of it, getting to see how Phil saw him, not matter how silly weird or strange. Perhaps in particular when he was like that.

When they were just hanging out the two of them in their own little world. When Dan was his most authentic self, and it was exactly that which caused Phil to reach for his phone to capture a snapshot of the moment.

Because that was his favourite moments with Dan. The ones where neither of them had to be pretend and they were just existing together.

On the livestream later, they reminisced about the moments where the photos had been taken, but there was also so much they kept for themselves.

Phil was pretty sure it leaked through their tones judging by how everyone in the chat went insane. Phil did like that part. But he liked seeing Dan’s reaction even more and to see his eyes get just a little softer around the edges as he was confronted with the last year they’d shared together in loving snapshots.

It was that exact look that had made Phil make the birthday photos a tradition in the first place.

#phanfiction #phanfic #phandomgives #domestic phan #phan one shot #my stories #pedia

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