"how long has it been since you've been back here?" dan asks as they walk the trail hand in hand.

"ever since we said our goodbyes."

their feet crunch under the the ice. dan holds his hand out to touch the leaves that have frozen droplets on them. he notices that phil never does talk on the way to the garden. now he can see why, the walk helps you gather your thoughts, think to yourself for a minute. dan was thinking about how he ended up here agian. after eight years he finds phil exactly where he left him; with no husband and a 18 year old daughter. he definitely lucked out. it could've been much worse, but it wasn't.

phil moves back the leaves that cover the entrance and once again dan marvels at the small alcove that still seems to keep its beauty even after being buried in snow. blanket in hand, phil stretches it out on the ground and helps him to sit.

"this is nice." dan announces into the quiet. the waves roll smoothly along the bank below.

phil drapes an arm around his shoulders and pulls him close. even though he had a coat on, dan was thankful for the extra heat. "well...it's nice just being with you."

dan looks up at him. "cheesy."

phil just responds with a smile and rests his chin on top of his head. they ease back into silence once more. the quiet was nice along with the cold wind that nipped his exposed skin every so often. he closes his eyes and sighs.

"so, when are you going to tell me about what's happening between you and alex's friends?"

phil chuckles and the vibrations from his chest make dan's toes curl in his shoes.
"there's nothing happening between us honey, they're just kids."

"yea but at the school you said-"

"let's talk about us okay? that's a story for another day."

dan huffs which makes the vibrations come back. phil tilts chin up and dan meets his eyes. "are you mad at me?"

being put on the spot like this was something that rarely happened to him. "uh no i'm not. just...annoyed."

phil kisses his forehead. "i apologize."

"make up for it then." dan smirks.

the cold hit his body hard as phil backs away from him.

"did i say something wrong?"

"dan i don't need to kiss you for you to know that i love you, and i certainly don't need to have sex with you to prove that i'm sorry."

dan gazed at him shocked. "i'm fucking kidding phil damn, get your head out of your ass."

phil looks at him for a minute before bends down to hold his head in his hands, "i-i know i just...i just regret that i only kissed you that time because we were both horny and-"

"hold up." dan sits up on his knees. "first of all, i kissed you first so you have nothing to be ashamed of and second, it's just a kiss phil we've done that before."

when phil doesn't look up at him dan reaches forward to take his hands away. "look, i know you said you wanted to start over with me and that's great, but that doesn't mean you forget what happened in the past. we were together and we still are, there's nothing that can change that."

after a moment of silence, he speaks up. "well you didn't have to preach it to me." phil laughs. dan flicks his cheek that was rosy red and contrasted with the rest of his pale face.

"you're so annoying."

"so i've been told." he brings dan's face closer to his and smiles, "i would like that kiss now."

dan covers his mouth quickly. "um no you're still a little sick and i'm not risking that."

his lips were in a pout as dan pulls his hand away but then it slowly melts into a shit eating grin. "well you just wait until i fully recover then." he says, raising up slightly.

dan looks at him doubtful. "what's going to happen?"

phil shrugs, "that's for me to know and you to find out, till then, i'll just...tickle you!"

dan collapses into the ground in a fit of laughter as phil jumps on top of him, laughing too as he squeezing his sides harshly.

"phil you little shit my head is on the cold ground and you know i hate being-" his sentence was caught off by another fit of laughter from himself as phil unzips his jacket and tickles his stomach.

"what was that? couldn't hear you!"

*me the director*: alright good now let's switch into a birds eye view and pan out... great now let's let the laughter die down as we get farther and farther away.....

that's all i saw in my head as i was writing that part sorry

~ alivia