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Dan and Phil had their tenth anniversary on October 19th.
From 2009 to 2019, things had inevitably changed. They had grown so much, their personalities and interests had shifted, but their endless love was still there. Of course, there had been fights and disagreements, but all together, they could say their relationship was more than healthy.
Being in a relationship with someone is hard already, living with them, harder, but building a career and working together? It seems almost imposible. Nevertheless, Dan and Phil managed to make it work.
Even though October 19th wasn’t their actual anniversary since they had become boyfriends some day around December, it was the day they first met and the one they started dating, so they decided to leave it as their anniversary date.
So, when Dan found out Phil was not gonna be there in October 19th, he got a little pissed. It’s not an everyday thing, marking ten years into a relationship with the love of your life. Phil obviously told Dan he was so sorry a thousand times, but he had to go up north to see his father, who wasn’t feeling well. Dan offered to accompany him, and when Phil said no, Dan couldn’t help to feel insecure.
Was he not a good enough boyfriend? He thought Phil’s family loved him, ever since the beginning they had been so accepting and loving towards him. Did Phil not want him to be near him in that hard moment? Everything seemed weird and almost impossible, but Dan accepted the situation and decided to just roll with it.
When October 19th came around it was raining in London, the sky grey and sad, just like Dan. He woke up alone on their bed, the sheets feeling a little too cold for his liking. He turned around hoping that, thanks to some god or whoever, Phil would be there. But of course, he wasn’t. He reached for his phone then, instantly going to his messages. Nothing was there.
Maybe Phil wasn’t awake yet? It was only 9:30, after all.
He decided to sent a text anyway.
Dan
happy anniversary!! ten is such a big number tbh i’m scared
anyways i miss you and love you lots xx
He left his phone and sat up on the bed, stretching his back and arms. He felt so lonely.
Whenever Phil was away, either visiting his family up north or in Florida with them, it was always so hard for Dan. He hated it, feeling so dependent on a person, but he just couldn’t help it. Ever since 2011 he had lived and shared every moment with Phil, and when he wasn’t there, it was just hard to cope. Although he obviously wasn’t all day hugging, kissing or talking to Phil when he was home, he just loved his company. Knowing his boyfriend was on the house just for the sake of knowing it was what made Dan feel home.
He looked at his phone again. Still no notifications. He decided it was better to do something to get distracted. So he stood up and walked towards the bathroom to take a shower.
At about 11am, he was driving himself insane. He had done everything he possibly could, showering, eating breakfast, going on twitter (a mistake, since all he saw were edits of him and Phil), cleaning their room, watching youtube videos and going for a short run. Phil still hadn’t answered, and there was no way on earth he was still sleeping.
Dan was pulled off of his thoughts when the doorbell rang. He rushed to the screen that showed the recording from the front door just to see that it was the mailman. Great.
He went downstairs anyway and picked up the letter, which had been sent to him.
Once he was at their flat again, he sat on the couch and opened it, hoping for a work related or advertisement letter, but finding something completely different.
Train tickets. To Manchester.
He felt like he could cry. Or maybe he was crying, he didn’t know, all he knew was that he had to hurry up, cause his train would departure in one hour.
He didn’t know if he had to pack clothes, or bring a suitcase at all. He ended up taking a backpack and putting the essentials in.
The train ride was spent quickly, Dan sending a thousand messages asking Phil what was going on, and Phil not responding a single one.
When the train finally stopped at Manchester Piccadilly, Dan was a nervous wreck. This station already meant so much to him, being the one when he first met Phil. But on October 19th, it was even more meaningful.
Ten years ago, he had been exactly on the same spot, young and excited to meet his best friend, the person who had brightened his life in ways he could not believe.
As he walked away from the train, stepping into the platform, he felt like he was dreaming. Looking around at the trains, the signs and the shops, everything had changed completely. He himself had changed so much as well. He had grown as a person, he had overcome his depression, fuck, he even had come out. Every single thing had happened with Phil by his side, and honestly, he didn’t think any of that could have happened without Phil’s help.
“Happy anniversary, babe” A voice said behind his back, making him stop daydreaming.
He turned around and there he was, prettier than ever.
“You’re... here” Dan said as he let himself fall in Phil’s warm and safe embrace.
“Of course i’m here, idiot! Did you really think i wasn’t gonna spend this day with you?” Phil asked as they stepped away from each other.
“I... i don’t know...” Dan was still shocked.
Phil only hugged him again briefly and took his hand. Dan looked at him, surprised. Even though they had announced their relationship to the fans a few months ago, it was still so weird and new for them to show their love on public.
“I’ve got a full day of surprises planned, so we better get going” Phil beamed as he started walking towards the exit.
“Phil, you shouldn’t have, i didn’t even bought you anything thinking we weren’t going to celebrate this year”
“It’s fine! I told you that we wasn’t going to do anything, and it was part of this whole surprise”
Dan was still looking down with a frown. Phil kissed it off of his face.
“Now, let’s go”
They walked around the Manchester streets holding hands, the weather here was sunny and pretty warm, which made the city look even nicer. They just talked about everything and anything, laughing and having an amazing time.
When they arrived to their first location, Phil was covering Dan’s eyes.
“Okay, are you ready?”
“I guess”
Phil uncovered Dan’s eyes. There laid a Starbucks. But not any Starbucks, the one where they had gone when they first met.
“This is so sweet. You’re too sweet for me. Stop.” Dan said, smiling.
“Let’s go inside and i’ll buy you a caramel macchiato” Phil winked at him, referencing to their first meeting.
“You know we technically share all our money so you can’t exactly buy me anything right?” When Dan finished the sentence, Phil was already inside.
The coffee date was spent between small jokes, talk and comfortable silence. Phil’s foot nudging Dan’s underneath the table, and Dan hitting Phil over it just for fun.
When they finished the coffee, they threw their cups away and walked out of the store.
“Would you like to go to the park?” Phil asked.
“You planned this day, you get to decide what to do”
“Yeah, i was just trying to be nice”
“You’re always nice, Phil”
“Shut up” Phil said, blushing as he started leading the way towards the park.
“I love you”
“You too”
When they arrived to the park, they sat underneath a tree, looking around.
“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Phil said.
“That’s it’s been ten years? Yeah...”
“I always knew we would be together, you know”
“I didn’t, i was so sure you would hate me”
“Strange knowing you still were the one to kiss me” Phil said cockily, Dan blushed at the statement.
“Yeah, just cause i could tell you liked me”
“Well done sherlock, it’s not like i was being very subtle” They both laughed.
“You literally were biting me”
“Stop!” Phil covered his face with his hands as he laughed.
“You are lucky i was so obsessed with you. If i wasn’t that would have been too weird”
“I can’t believe you came to my house after that first date. What if i was a murderer!?” Phil exclaimed, changing the subject.
“I was just a reckless teen”
“Yeah, you were so tiny”
“In fact, you were taller than me”
“Old times” Phil said in a nostalgic manner.
“Old times...” Dan repeated.
After that conversation, they watched the sunset while they held hands and gave each other tiny kisses. Dan thanked the universe or whatever god for giving him the opportunity to find his best friend, his soulmate and his boyfriend so early on. He thanked the universe for all the experiences they had had together and all the ones to come.
Both Dan and Phil felt truly, utterly happy.
Their next stop was one of the big ones. Phil had been planning going to the Hilton sky bar for a very long time, he had even made the reservation two months ago. Just like in 2009, the place might have seemed like something too fancy, way off their comfort zone, but Phil’s plan was to recreate the whole day they met, so he couldn’t stop including the restaurant.
Dan realized where they were going when they were a few blocks away, since the building stood out because of its height. He smiled and held Phil’s hand a little tighter.
When they entered the lobby, it smelled of vanilla and looked as clean as possible. It was so weird thinking that ten years ago Dan had never been to such a fancy and high end hotel, but now he was used to them. In moments like that Dan would realize how lucky he truly was, and how many luxuries he and Phil could afford nowadays.
Phil guided Dan towards the elevator and pressed floor 31.
“I remember feeling so bad when you payed the £2000 bill that night” Dan spoke his thoughts.
“I remember being broke after it” Phil said and laughed.
“I still don’t understand... Why did you do that? You didn’t even know me”
The elevator was about to stop, so Phil took advantage of the moment.
“You are worth so much more than that, baby... Also... I’ve known you since forever” He winked and quickly kissed Dan’s lips.
When the elevator doors opened, Dan took some time to recompose before following Phil. It was so strange, how even ten years into their relationship Phil still managed to make Dan blush and feel nervous like a teenager in love.
“Hello! Do you have a reservation?” A lady with her brown hair in a slick ponytail asked from behind the desk.
“Yeah, Philip Lester” Phil answered.
It’s not like Dan would ever admit it, but he loved when Phil made reservations for the two of them. He loved when people saw them as a family and he most certainly loved when they called him Daniel Lester by mistake.
The girl walked them trough the restaurant to their table, which was just by the huge windows that overlooked the whole city.
The skyline, all the dark buildings that formed an uneven line contrasted with the deep, dark blue skies. The lights of the city were like tiny dots that embellished the whole picture. To add just a little more of beauty was the moon, round and full, shining and giving its yellow dim light.
Dan smiled at Phil, taking his hand over the table.
“Thank you” He murmured.
“It’s nothing Dan, i told you you deserve everything on this world”
“Not just for the dinner... For everything, all the things you’ve done for me in this past ten years... You’ve made my life a thousand times better” Dan said, blushing.
“You have made me the happiest man on earth, Dan. Believe me, the feeling is mutual” Phil said holding his boyfriends hand a little tighter.
After that, it was just comfortable silence while they looked trough the menu. When they had chosen their dishes, the waitress appeared near the table and took their order.
The food was amazing, and the two or three glasses of white wine they had with it made everything feel more relaxed and beautiful.
When Phil asked for the bill, Dan felt some kind of pain in his chest.
It was over. Their tenth anniversary, it had been great, of course, way better than he expected. But it had happened so fast, just like his ten years dating Phil. It made him feel insecure and vulnerable, knowing he had little to no control of time and how fast it flew.
He looked over at the man in front of him, who had his eyes pinned at the window. The light coming from the city made his face shine brighter and his eyes seem bluer. He had some wrinkles forming at his forehead, and his glasses rested easily on the bridge of his nose. He looked, and was, amazing. Dan looked at his lips and thought of all the times he had kissed them, he looked at his hair and thought of all the times he had ran his hands trough it.
“What are you looking at?” Phil got him out of his thoughts.
“Just admiring the prettiest sight”
“I think that’s if you look out the window, Dan”
Dan just glared at him and Phil laughed.
“Let’s go, i’ve got one more surprise”
They left the restaurant and walked trough the chilly Manchester streets. The sun was completely gone and there were very tiny droplets of rain falling. It was already late, so there was almost no people walking around, which made Dan feel like the city was just theirs. Like it was their canvas, and they could paint whatever story then wanted on it.
“We’re here” Phil said softly, holding Dan’s hand as they stood in front of a bus station.
“A... bus station?” Dan asked, perplexed.
“A little bit more than that” Phil smiled as he looked at his boyfriend.
“Wait, Phil, is the wheel isn’t it? This is where it used to be” Dan said, his eyes immediately filling up with tears.
“Yeah... Dan, i couldn’t let this day finish without bringing you here, where we first kissed. Back to that day, October 19th 2009, i was so, so nervous and insecure. I didn’t know if you liked me back, and believe me, i was really hoping you would. But then, right on this spot, you kissed me and i instantly knew we were meant for each other. You know i love you with every single bit of my heart, and i’ll love you forever. This ten years with you have been... a lot, more than i could have ever imagined, but there wasn’t a single moment where i didn’t love you. Every memory i have with you it’s a treasure that will be in my heart forever” He dropped Dan’s hand gently as he stepped away, searching for something on his back pocket. “I never thought this would be the way it would happen, but thinking about it, it just felt right” All Dan could do was cry as he watched how Phil kneeled and extended his arms at him, holding a black box in his hand. “You make me the happiest person in the world, you are my soulmate, the love of my life, everything i always dreamed of. Dan, i love you more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow. Will you please marry me?”
Dan was crying messily, he couldn’t form the words, so he just nodded at Phil, who put the beautiful silver ring with black stones on Dan’s finger.
Phil then stood up, and Dan hugged him the tightest he had ever hugged someone.
The rain, now thick and heavy, was falling and soaking them wet, but they didn’t care.
“I love you so much Phil” Dan whispered as he pulled away from the embrace to look at his fiancé on the eyes.
“I love you the most” Phil answered, and then their lips were meeting in a soft and warm kiss.
The scene was beautiful, it had taken ten years and a lot of experience, but finally, it happened. Dan and Phil were kissing once again, in the same spot they had kissed for the first time. But things had changed, now it wasn’t a nervous kiss that held the questions and doubts of an unknown future as a couple. Now, it was a kiss that represented all that they had went trough, and all that would come. This kiss was a celebration of their success, of their upcoming wedding, but most importantly, of their true, endless love.
The end.