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"Watch the step Philip Lester, we're not ending the night like that," Dan warned, pointing a finger at his boyfriend who nearly tripped out of the door as they left the Garlic and Shots bar, the final location in their day of filming, courtesy of Ben the rat.
"Uh oh," Phil giggled, hiccuping slightly as he found his footing again. He shouted behind him cheerily, waving a hand at the bar staff, "thank you!"
Dan shut off the camera then, feeling a little merry himself. The two of them had already had a cheeky few glasses of champagne during the day - not exactly by choice. Dan panicked at the afternoon tea place, just saying yes when he was offered, afraid of seeming impolite. Later, they'd been surprised with a free upgrade to the Cupid's Pod on the London Eye, thanks to some very lovely workers there in light of their recent announcement regarding their relationship, and with it, came a free bottle of champagne. As it got darker and edged into the time of prime night-life in London, they went to the naked painting event, where they drank a can or two of fruit cider between them. Phil's head was spinning by then, but he was enjoying himself far too much - both of them were.
And now, they'd just left the bar where they consumed a shit ton of garlic, and funnily enough - more alcohol, as much as they didn't need it.
Phil's attention was caught by someone coming up to him for a chat - presumably a fan - and he ended up talking for a minute or two before he waved them goodbye. Dan observed the way his figure swayed a little whilst he spoke, his gaze a little distant. He laughed to himself in amusement.
Dan was far more present than Phil was - having a much higher alcohol-tolerance than he did. Phil on the other hand? He had been slipping by champagne glass number 2. He'd been more bubbly than usual, an ever so slight slur to his words as the night progressed, which fell into full-on drunk Phil as they stand now, the fan having left, the chilly night air of London's autumn nipping their cheeks harshly.
"Feeling the drink, love?" Dan asked, a stupid grin on his face at Phil's slightly hazy expression as he shuffled towards Dan standing on the far side of the pavement, away from the door of the bar.
"Mm," Phil mumbled, slightly leaning on Dan to keep his own body weight up. "Maybe jus' a lil' bit," he pinched his fingers together, leaving a small gap between them to emphasise his point.
"I think it's a lot a bit," Dan teased, looking down to meet his lover's eyes, his expression sporting a goofy grin.
"Shh, pretty boy," Phil observed, his facial features soft and warm - a mix of the alcohol and his genuine adoration for his boyfriend making him speak his thoughts aloud. He put a finger to Dan's lips as he shushed him, giggling.
"Shut up," Dan scoffed against his finger,, though his smile betrayed his faux-annoyance as he moved it out the way.
"Never. You're my pretty boyfriend," Phil giggled in a sing-song voice, watching a thin dusting of blush creep onto Dan's cheeks.
"Oi pack that in," Dan prodded, a slur to his voice so small you'd miss it if you weren't paying attention.
Phil blew a raspberry at him, earning an eyeroll in response.
"You're insufferable when you're drunk."
"Mmnot, you are."
They probably needed to get home. Phil was already a walking accident when sober, nevermind multiple drinks deep. Dan's arm slipped around his waist loosely and looked at the road behind him to see if there were any cabs he could hail.
He wouldn't have dreamed of being stood in the middle of a street in Central London with his arm around his boyfriend's waist, holding him close to his body - Dan many years ago would've spiralled at that thought. It felt freeing, having hard-launched and announced that they had in fact been together the whole time, to be able to do normal coupley shit and not have to hide anymore. It was nice; really nice.
"Goin' home, Pip," Dan mumbled, feeling Phil nod against him slightly, as he finally managed to hail a cab for the two of them. He got Phil in first, then himself, giving the driver their address and setting off towards home.
Phil had livened up a tad since his momentary tired spell, his flirty head back on as he smirked at Dan, putting a hand on his thigh.
"Should wear denim jackets more often bub," Phil grinned, grip on his thigh tightening slightly. "Y' look good. Sexy."
Dan flushed a bit at the compliment, putting his hand on top of Phil's, glancing in the mirror at the driver, who thankfully seemed unaware of the conversation happening.
"Wow, flirty Phil doesn't normally come out very often after a drink, how far gone are you?" Dan laughed, squeezing his hand, feeling a slightly stronger wave of wooziness wash over him. Dan was very much drunk too, don't forget, he just tolerated it miles better than his boyfriend who was slumped against him, his confident spark having fizzled, reverting back into a drowsy haze.
"'m so gone Dan," Phil hums, almost in comfort, meeting Dan's gaze with glassed-over eyes of blue.
"Too many shots for old Philly," Dan taunts, earning a poor attempt of a heel to the shin in retaliation.
"I'm not 18 anymore," he groaned, hearing Dan laugh above him. "I can't knock 'em back like I used to be able to."
"You could never handle more than 2 drinks anyways, beautiful."
Phil physically went rigid for a second hearing the name, not quite expecting it, despite Dan normally being the flirty and/or horny drunk. His cheeks flushed a deep red - even after 16 years, simple words like that still gave him butterflies that ravaged his belly in a fluttering swarm of warmth - even more so saying it somewhere that wasn't the safety of their own home like they'd been used to for so long
He stayed silent, erupting in a small fit of giggles, deciding to lean up and press a tiny kiss to Dan's jaw as a response.
Soon they were home, enveloped by the warm hug of their central heating system that had automatically turned on whilst they were out, the timer they had set this morning working wonders to their freezing cold faces and hands.
Phil tripped into the entryway, almost knocking Dan over.
"You clumsy idiot," Dan growled non-threateningly, a smile on his expression. "Whose idea was it to let you drink, you're even clumsier than you normally are."
"Yours," Phil jabbed his pointer finger into Dan's chest with an accusing tone.
"I think you'll find it was you.'
"Um, no," Phil argued. Then pondered. "Oh yeah."
"Hah! Loser."
"Wait- it was Ben, not me!" Phil gasped as he realised Dan's foul play of game, clutching his chest in offence. "You liar - framing me for something I didn't do."
"Ah yes, blame the rat for getting us hammered," Dan said sarcastically.
"Whatever or whoever it was, dunno," Phil slurred a bit, his words jumping in his throat, as he waved a dismissing hand in Dan's face. Dan caught hold of his wrist, bringing it down to Phil's side. Dan's other hand then tilted Phil's chin upwards slightly, mellow brown meeting ocean blue, a smile settling on his features as he pulled him in for a slow kiss.
Phil hooked his arms around his neck instinctively, humming into Dan's mouth, a hand reaching to the hair at the base of his mullet. God he loved that mullet so much. He held his hair in a gentle yet firm grip, tugging slightly, making Dan's breath hitch. Dan's hands traced down Phil's torso, settling at his hips and pulling him in closer, his cold hands dipping under the hem of his shirt; hunger and desire took over as the kiss fell more heated than before.
There's the drunken Dan he knows.
"I fucking hate how good you look in that stupid jacket," Dan mumbled against his lips, pulling away to grab Phil's wrist, dragging him towards their bedroom. "Let's finish our anniversary the right way, pretty boy."
Phil followed his lead, giggling like a newly in-love teenager as he stumbled on his way there, his back falling against the bed before he knew it, a stupid grin on his face as Dan's lips persisted against his once more.
The hum of the streets outside became white noise to the two of them, being totally normal to the ambience of their room.
They both laid in bed, bodies still slightly clammy after their.. activities - yet they were pressed together in attempt to get as close as humanly possible. Dan lay flat on his back, Phil's head resting on his bare chest and his arm draped across his body, their breathing in sync with one another.
Dan spoke up, his voice slightly gruff yet gentle nonetheless.
"How's your head?" He asked, fingers carding through Phil's bleached hair - still in surprisingly good condition and health despite having dyed it for over half of his life.
"Mm," Phil mumbles, exhaling against Dan's skin, making him shiver a bit. "Spinny. No talk - want sleep."
"Tired you out, have I?" Dan teased, earning a whine in response.
"Stop it," he dragged out the last syllable, readjusting his position to tuck more into Dan's figure, slightly headbutting his jaw on his mission to call the crook of his neck his home.
"Start it."
"Not this again. Shh," Phil insisted, placing a finger to his lips again, tone dreary and tired. "'s time for bed. 'n you stink of garlic, go away."
"So do you, the entire house probably does and probably will for days. Your fault for taking us there."
"Shut," Phil warned, leaving his cozy home in Dan's neck for a second, pressing a kiss to his lips, and settling back within seconds. "Love you."
"Love you too, you stinky baby," Dan smiled, returning the kiss and pulling him closer once he'd burrowed back to where he was, ignoring Phil's noise of protest at the name.
Not long after, Phil had undoubtedly fallen asleep, with the way his breathing slowed and the arm draped across Dan's stomach was entirely limp.
Adoration swarmed in Dan's chest, looking at the man sleeping peacefully against him. 16 years of loving Phil - his Phil - through thick and thin, in sickness and in health, quite literally. Phil was his world, Dan was Phil's world. The red string connecting their souls was one of the strongest materials in existence; no matter how hard the world tried to tear them apart, they remained eternally connected.
"Happy anniversary, Phil," Dan whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of his head, letting his own eyes fall closed, a sigh of comfort escaping his lungs.
The streets continued, gentle sounds of in-tandem breathing being the only audible noises in the household.
16 years down, an eternity to go - in this lifetime, and the next and the next; they knew one thing for sure.
Dan and Phil would always be together, forever.