monochrome brushstrokes // phan

chapter 4

Phil had begun a routine of visiting Dan every Tuesday and Thursday after rehearsals. Their time together was usually spent teasing each other and watching anime. He had never brought up Dan's past, and Dan never brought up his. They seemed to like it that way.

Phil had learned to be careful not to suddenly touch or startle Dan, as he was a bit jumpy. The older boy never knew why terror flickered in Dan's eyes when he raised his voice a little too loud, or when he distractedly placed his hand on Dan's back. It didn't take long for Phil to put more thought into his movements.

Almost two months had passed since they had first met and while they weren't extremely close, they were comfortable enough around each other. Dan had been one of the few people to treat Phil as a regular person, and he relished in the feeling. The two never went out together,  as they were both afraid of the paparazzi, or as Phil described them as, "the pooparazzi". However, Dan had been wanting to drag the metal vocalist to a certain art museum for a few weeks...

dan: hey can you come with me somewhere?

phillion: i thought you didn't want to go out in public?

dan: well there are a few exceptions...

phillion: such as?

dan: you'll have to wait and see ;))

phillion: dannnnn

dan: meet me in the lobby, remember to hide your face!

phillion: if you lead me down a shady alley i'm never talking to you again.

dan: rude ;((

phillion: whatever i'll be down in 10 minutes

dan: yay!

Phil put his phone down on his bed before rummaging through his closet. He slipped on a new pair of black skinny jeans, ripped at the knee. However, instead of going with all black (as he did when he wasn't trying to hide), he decided on a powdery blue crewneck with the words "be art" in white slanted capital letters. They wouldn't imagine Philip Michael Lester being seen with such light colored clothing. He put on a black mesh cap that the paparazzi had never seen him in and a pair of sunglasses. As he was leaving, Phil realized that he had forgotten to straighten his hair. Whatever, my hair is usually straight anyways. Unlike Dan's. The raven-haired boy smiled warmly, thinking about the familiar brown curls. He checked his phone only to realize that he was running 5 minutes late. Phil rushed down the stairs, grabbing his wallet and keys on the way out. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. 

****

Dan sighed in relief when he saw the familiar pale man. He got up from the chair he was sitting in to meet him. 

"Sorry! I lost track of time." Phil quickly apologized.

Dan smiled reassuringly, "It's fine." He wasn't about to admit that he thought that Phil bailed on him. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, are you gonna finally tell me where we're going?" Phil asked, tilting his head slightly.

"Not yet," Dan smirked. He pulled out a black bandana from his pocket. 

"Kinky," Phil chuckled, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Stoppp," Dan groaned, batting at Phil gently, only to be met with more laughter.

****

When the two got into a cab, Dan slipped the driver a piece of paper, which Phil suspected was the mystery address. 

"Put this on," Dan turned to the vocalist, handing over the bandana that he had been holding before.

"I never thought I would be bossed around by a sub," the older boy snickered before quickly clamping a hand over his mouth. Phil hadn't realized what he was saying before it had already spilled out. Oh God, you went too far this time.

Dan turned a bright shade of red, playing it off with an eye roll. How did he know I was a sub? Damn, I knew I wasn't intimidating but really... "W-Whatever just p-put it on," he stammered, turning away to hide his burning face.

Phil loved how Dan blushed so easily. He found it endearing how easily he could turn the other boy into a flustered and stammering mess. He eventually ended up tying the bandana around his head, a bit disappointed that the brunet hadn't done it for him. Phil soon learned that wearing a bandana over his sunglasses was quite uncomfortable.

Thankfully for both of them, the cab driver had stopped at the destination. Dan politely thanked him, handing him the owed money before guiding Phil out of the vehicle.

"Can I take this off now?" the ebony-haired man asked, tugging at the bandana. 

"Yeah," Dan replied, toying with the sleeves of his oversized sweater in anticipation.

The front of the museum was spectacular. It had a large marble arch in on the lawn and a swirling walkway that lead to the building. Various statues stood on the lawn, some abstract while others depicted humans and animals. The structure had pieces of Greek architecture. Six large stone columns held up the roof, embellished with carvings. 

"I guess I picked the right shirt to wear today," Phil commented, gazing in awe at the art museum. 

"I mean, you're already a masterpiece so you should easily fit in with the art." Dan grinned, winking cheekily. He wasn't sure why he was feeling especially flirty. Perhaps he just wanted Phil to blush for once.

"Dannn, you're gonna make me blush," Phil smiled, turning away to attempt to hide the faint pink that was growing on his cheeks. 

However, Dan had already caught sight of the blush. He triumphantly broke into his, as he described it, "victory dance". 

Phil had already seen this dance multiple times when they played Mario Kart. He decided that although Dan was adorable, he should definitely change his 'victory dance'. "You literally look like a middle aged soccer mom dancing," Phil groaned, amusement glinting in his azure eyes.

"I made the Phil Lester blush!" Dan exclaimed, receiving a few strange looks from people around them.

"Shh, keep it down. Also, I'm blushing from embarrassment of your terrible dancing, not because of your flattery." Phil murmured, glancing around at the people around them to make sure there wasn't any paparazzi.

"Yeah, sure," Dan replied, clearly unconvinced.

"Well, enough speaking, let's go in!" the dark haired boy exclaimed, pulling Dan by the hand like an excited toddler.

The younger man briefly flinched at the sudden contact but relaxed at the knowledge that it was only Phil. 

******

author's note // this was super fluffy  with a ton of uncreative dialogue yay and I think I'm gonna try to write the chapters on a computer bc it was more comfortable and stuff !!