CATEGORY: Fluff
FEATURING: shy!Dan and outgoing!Phil
TRIGGER WARNINGS: None
PROMPT: After moving in with Phil in the big city, Dan is reluctant to leave the apartment by himself. Phil offers to accompany him.
WORD COUNT: Approximately 1,460

Dan was growing used to this, his life in the apartment he shared with Phil.

He'd moved in with Phil just about a week ago. The two had started their relationship after becoming friends in secondary school, but once school ended, Phil went to university in London. They'd been in a long-distance relationship for a while, but after dropping out of university to pursue a career in YouTube, Dan finally accepted Phil's offer to move in with him.

The moved had been scary, and new, and exciting all at once. Phil and his friend Louise came in Louise's car and helped Dan pack his belongings, although he didn't have much. Dan had been very happy to see Phil again, and he knew the feeling was mutual by how Phil covered him with kisses, and held his hand, and told him all about London and how much fun they would have living together.

The mornings in this new life started off simply enough. Phil usually woke up first, and Dan would come out of the bedroom they shared to find him making coffee. They'd share a kiss, and eat breakfast together on the barstools at the counter. Phil would excitedly talk about the things he had planned for the day, and Dan would smile and laugh and add in his own thoughts. Then Phil would ask Dan what he had planned, and Dan would ramble about some YouTube stuff for a while, while Phil would smile and nod and laugh in all the right places.

One morning, the sixth day of Dan's new life, was a tad different.

He got out of bed, as per usual, and Phil was already up. Dan found him in the kitchen, standing by the coffeemaker as it brewed the black drink. He reached up to get a coffee cup from the cupboard, and briefly, Dan admired how beautiful Phil was.

Phil put the coffee cup on the counter, then noticed Dan standing in the kitchen. "Good morning, bear," he said sweetly, placing a kiss on Dan's head. He was probably the only coffee drinker in the world who was still kind and gentle even before getting that first cup.

"'Morning," Dan responded with a light smile, and got a coffee cup of his own. Dan's cup was black and had a cute space design on it, and Phil's was blue and patterned with corgi dogs.

"Sleep well?" Phil asked, leaning against the counter and watching as his boyfriend got a box of cereal from the cupboard.

"Mhm." The cereal box felt unnaturally light to Dan. Frowning slightly, the boy put the box on the counter and opened up the top. There wasn't so much as a piece of cereal inside. Even the plastic bag was gone. "Phil, did you eat my cereal?"

"Maybe..." Phil responded, looking incredibly guilty.

Dan threw the empty box in Phil's general direction, and Phil barely caught it. He still looked guilty, but now he was laughing. 

"That was my breakfast, you spork." Dan crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to be mad.

"I tell you what." Phil put the empty box on the counter and wrapped his arms around Dan, hugging him from behind. "I'll give you the money for a new box, and I'll let you beat me at MarioKart tonight, okay?"

"I always beat you, anyway," Dan grumbled, trying not to smile.

"Well, then maybe we could do something else later," Phil suggested, trying to wink but failing horribly.

Dan started giggling and lightly pushed him away. "You're such a dork."

The coffeemaker beeped, and Phil took the full pot, pouring equal amounts of coffee into his and Dan's cups. "Maybe, but you love me anyway."

And he was right.

They sat together at the counter with their coffee. Phil ate his own cereal, talking about his plans for the day in between bites. He was still going to university, so most of his plans revolved around that. Halfway through talking about a paper he had to turn in, Phil trailed off. "Dan, why aren't you eating?"

"Someone, and I'm not gonna say who, ate my cereal," Dan reminded him.

Phil slid off the barstool and went down the hallway. "I think that someone should really pay you back so you can get more," he called from his room. A few moments later, he returned to the kitchen with a bit of money in his hands. "Here. There's a shop just a couple blocks down the road, and you could probably get some and get back in a few minutes."

Dan pouted a little. "Shouldn't you be getting it, since you at the last of it?"

"I believe I promised to do the laundry this morning," Phil said, almost apologetically, and he was right.

If Dan was in his old town, popping down to the shops to get a few groceries would be no problem. However, this was the big city, and Dan still wasn't familiar with it. He and Phil had gone out to dinner on their first night in London together, but that was really the only time he'd left the apartment. He didn't know his way around, and it was much more crowded and busy here than it had been in his old city as well.

"I don't want to go alone," Dan said honestly.

"Why not?"

"I don't know my way around, and I don't fancy getting lost. I barely know what our building looks like from the outside."

"You won't get lost," Phil promised. "I can text you directions, and if worst comes to worst, I'll come and fetch you."

"Please go with me?" Dan begged. He stared at Phil and tried to look sad.

"Oh, fine." Phil smiled and kissed Dan's head. "Actually, it sounds kind of fun. It'll be an adventure, Dan and Phil out together in London!"

And so, after getting dressed--Dan in a black jumper and torn skinny jeans, and Phil in a long-sleeved button-up and jeans--they headed out of their apartment and onto the street.

It was certainly at least twice as crowded here than in Dan's old city, and he hesitated at the edge of the pavement. Phil, however, seemed perfectly at home, and he walked right out into the crowds with no problem. Dan quickly hurried after him, and grabbed Phil's hand to keep him close. He really didn't want to get lost.

While it was crowded, Dan did have to admire the city. It was full of life, and of lots of different kinds of people, shops, and culture. He wished he wasn't so nervous about going out on his own; several of the shops he and Phil passed, he would have liked to go in sometime.

Phil led the way, and they walked about two blocks before he abruptly pulled Dan into a small grocery shop.

The aisles inside the shop were small and crowded, far too small and crowded for a trolley, but it was almost kind of cute. The shop even had a small bakery counter, and Dan could smell the fresh-baked bread right away. Phil grabbed a basket, and they walked down the aisles together.

Now that they were inside the shop, they were less rushed by crowds, and so Dan calmed down a little bit. He didn't let go of Phil's hand, however.

They quickly found Dan's brand of cereal, and they bought two boxes, 'just in case', as Phil said, which made Dan roll his eyes.

"Do we need anything else?" the smaller boy asked, brushing a stray brown curl out of his face.

"Hmm." Phil paused in the aisle, thinking. "I don't think so."

"Can we get some bread?" Dan asked, pointing to the bakery counter. The smell of the fresh-baked loaves was very tempting.

Phil nodded and smiled, and Dan picked out a loaf to put in their basket.

They paid for their purchases, with Phil buying (as promised). They hadn't brought any grocery bags, so Dan carried the cereal, and Phil carried the bread. They almost got separated once, at a bus stop, but luckily Phil was very tall, so Dan had little trouble seeing him and catching up to him again through the crowds.

Before Dan knew it, they had arrived back at their apartment. Phil started to open one of the cereal boxes for his boyfriend, but Dan stopped him. The smaller boy sliced two thick pieces of bread from the loaf, and put them in the toaster. When they popped up, he put them on a paper plate and spread butter on them. 

Almost proudly, Dan carried the plate over the counter, where Phil sat on a barstool. "Here, there's one for you and one for me."

"What about your cereal?" Phil asked, picking up his share.

Dan grinned, and took a bite of his toast. "There's always tomorrow."