dan absolutely loved phil's parents.

the first time phil invited him over, he was shaky and jittery and an absolute mess all day. he paced his room, messed with his hair, and changed three times. phil watched him amusedly from the window, except for when dan made him cover his eyes while he changed. he even put on the most normal thing he owned, jeans, but even those were a faded lilac color.

"they won't care if you wear a skirt," phil said finally, looking up from picking at his cuticles absentmindedly. dan looked at him, and blinked. how had he read his mind?

"t-they won't?"

phil shook his head, glancing at him again. his hair blew in his face, obscuring part of his face. "no."

"oh..." dan bit his lip nervously, looking toward his closet. "w-will you, will you p-pick something for me?"

phil's lips curved into a hint of a smile, and he nodded. he climbed through dan's window rather agilely, making his way across his room.

he only dug through dan's cluttered drawer for a moment before pulling something out. he touched it gently, as if it was made of paper and string. he held it out, his long fingers curved gently around the article of clothing. "this?"

it was a pink tennis skirt, the fabric folding in on itself all the way around in even spaces. dan was fairly certain it was his favorite article of clothing that he owned, but he was terrified to wear anything like that to school. he already got beat up and ragged on enough as it was. he chewed on his lip.

finally he nodded, taking the skirt from phil's outstretched hands. "okay," he whispered, his eyes wide and fearful. phil nodded encouragingly.

"i won't look," he muttered, laughing softly, his hands coming up to cover his eyes. dan smiled.

he changed out of the jeans, pulling the skirt on. it was a tiny bit too big for him, but he was growing into it. he paired it with a fuzzy pink sweater that hung so low on him that it nearly covered the skirt, and smiled.

"you c-can look."

phil uncovered his eyes, looking at him and grinning. "you look so pretty!" he reached out, his fingertips brushing over the hem of the skirt, his skin making contact with dan's stomach for a split second. "here..." he helped dan tuck the sweater into the skirt, fixing it gently so that it had a bit of bagginess to it. dan's cheeks tinted cherry red when he turned to the mirror.

"thank you..." dan beamed with pride. phil nodded, smiling at him.

"you're welcome."

phil stood up, grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers before dan could even think to react. he tugged him to the window, ducking below the foggy glass.

"c'mon..."

dan squeaked when phil tugged on his hand again, struggling not to fall out the window. his bedroom was in the roof, and he was a tiny eleven year old... he didn't think a fall from that height would be good for him. but phil was older and smarter (thirteen seemed absolute decades away to dan), and he clearly knew what he was doing.

he helped dan step out onto the slightly slanted roof, his knees shaking a bit at the effort of not slipping up. the bright afternoon sun shone in dan's eyes and he held his free hand up to shade them. he didn't want to misstep due to his sight being obscured. the rough tiles were scattered with orange and red leaves as well, which made him even more nervous.

he and phil's houses were built the same, all the houses in their neighborhood were, but all the insides were quite different. dan's roof sloped down toward the ground, but it stopped its decline a foot away from the end of phil's roof.

dan squeaked as phil pulled him down the slope, stumbling on his feet a bit. "phil-!"

phil laughed, as if dan potentially falling to his death was humorous to him. dan had the sudden urge to pout, but fear overruled it ten to one.

phil finally let go of his hand, but dan felt even more unsteady, and rather abandoned. he watched him jump the short distance to his own roof, his eyes widening.

"phil..."

phil turned, raising his eyebrows at him. "c'mon."

"i c-can't..."

"sure you can." he offered him his infamous crooked grin that dan would learn to hate. "i'll catch you, don't worry."

dan chewed on his lip anxiously. "promise?"

"i promise." phil held out his arms. dan nodded shakily, making the little hop and swaying a bit on the slanted surface, but phil grabbed his arm, holding him still. dan let out a huff of relief.

phil pulled on the sleeve of his sweater, tugging him to his open window and climbing inside. dan followed suit carefully, trying not to catch his skirt on anything.

phil's room seemed somehow bigger than dan's, but it might have been because it was clearly decorated better. his walls were covered in posters and slips of paper that had been sealed down with scotch tape, and strips of fabric, writing sewn onto them in bright blues or yellows or reds. dan looked around, a bit in awe.

many of the posters were for bands dan had never heard of, or pictures of rugby players that dan wouldn't have been able to name if someone had a gun to his head. he had little triangle shaped college banners hung around, dan assumed for colleges his dads had gone to, or maybe even ones he wanted to. on one wall he even had a giant rainbow flag, pinned against the white wallpaper with thumb tacks. a tv sat across from phil's bed.

"it's kind of messy," phil muttered, his voice laced with embarrassment. his room was messy, but in a way that almost complimented the overall theme. several cardboard boxers with unreadable scribbled labels sat in the corner still, stacked on top of each other.

"it's okay," he said softly. phil beamed at him.

"let's go downstairs."

phil's house was decorated almost elegantly, very different in contrast to dan's. at dan's house, there were always papers scattered over every surface, empty fast food containers, half gone bottles of alcohol. phil's seemed incredibly neat and well put together, especially for a family that had just moved in.

"dan!" a man rounded the corner, standing at the bottom of the stairs with his arms open wide, a large smile (that seemed familiar) melted on his stark features. dan was a bit taken by surprise that he knew his name.

the moment they got down, the man enveloped him in a huge hug, squeezing him. dan's face went red and he squeaked softly in surprise; no one he knew (other than phil) had ever shown him that kind of affection.

"gosh, i'm sorry," the man said finally, pulling back, his hands on dan's shoulders as he looked him over. "i got a bit excited." he laughed. "i'm elias."

elias had black hair, and a slightly chubby figure, but maybe it just seemed that way because his features seemed more squared than circular. his eyes sparkled in good humor when he smiled, and it took over his face the same way phil's smile did.

"hi," dan said softly, tucking a strand of hair behind his ear. "s' nice to meet you..."

"how polite!" the man beamed. "it's wonderful to meet you too. are you staying for dinner?"

dan glanced at phil in question, not wanting to intrude or overstay his welcome. phil raised his eyebrows, nodding in encouragement.

"yes please," he breathed. elias's smile appeared to widen.

"great." he pulled away, his hands slipping off of dan's shoulders. "make yourself at home."

dan smiled to himself, biting his lip. he already liked phil's house so much more than his own.

phil's other dad was in the kitchen, sitting at a dark-wooded table, scribbling on a form. the rest of the table was scattered with other papers that looked similar.

he had a slightly more pointed face, but it looked just as warm and soft as elias's was. nevertheless, the way he looked and carried himself made you want to call him sir. glasses similar to the ones dan had seen in phil's room, sitting on his bedside table, sat against the arch of his nose.

"hey dad," phil said, beelining to the fridge. dan watched him reach for a soda.

"phil," the man said, his tone warning, his eyes not leaving his work. phil sighed, grabbing a bottle of water instead.

"this is my friend dan..."

the second the man realized there was a guest and he was being rude he looked up, his focused look melting into a welcoming smile.

"oh, dan! it's so nice to have you here!" he held out a hand. "i'm howard, but you can call me howie if you'd like."

dan shook his hand timidly. "it's nice to meet you, sir." he swore he heard phil snort.

"oh, please. there's no need for that." the man smiled widely at him. "you're a guest, you don't have to call me sir."

"s-sorry."

howie squeezed his hand before letting go, turning to phil. "did your dad have plans for dinner?"

"he's probably just gonna get pizza again," phil replied with a grin.

"jesus christ," dan heard howard mumble under his breath, reaching up to straighten his glasses, pushing them up on the bridge of his nose. "why do i even try to keep you two healthy?"

he stood, pushing his chair out. he was taller than dan had thought. phil watched him go.

"he's a nurse," phil muttered as soon as he was gone, his footsteps getting quieter down the hall. "he likes to pretend he's a health nut."

phil reached into the fridge again, grabbing a soda and handing it to dan. dan held it awkwardly between his hands, a drop of cold water running down his fingers.

"what d-does elias do?"

phil grinned, taking one for himself. "absolutely nothing."

dan smiled, gazing down at his own soda can, not moving to open it.

he definitely liked phil's house a lot more than his own.