:coffee: Hot Chocolate Therapy :coffee:

:coffee: Fic Title: Hot Chocolate Therapy

:coffee: Word Count: 1099

:coffee: Summary: When Phil wakes up without Dan in the bed beside him, he worries. It’s a good thing that they can always calm each other’s anxieties. And, well, sometimes hot chocolate works okay, too.

This was written for the Phanfic Club’s Sleepless Night Challenge! #SleeplessNightFic

:coffee: Read on AO3 or below! :coffee:

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Phil blinks awake from a warm, gooey sort of sleep. He doesn't any dreams in particular, but he feels he has just woken up from a lovely, satisfying one. His limbs feel loose, like some kind of jello and spaghetti combination that’s somehow not at all disgusting, but instead delicious. The world is soft around the edges without his glasses and in that moment under the covers, the world seems perfect.

That is, until he notices that Dan, the main source of warmth under those sheets, is missing.

At first, Phil thinks that Dan is probably just in the bathroom or getting a drink in the kitchen. He doesn’t see lights coming out from under the door of their ensuite or the hall, though, and Dan’s awfully afraid of the dark to explore without a light. He waits a couple of minutes, blurry gaze shifting to each shadowy dark corner or area lit by blueish reflected moonlight. After what seems like an awfully long time, Phil decides that something is wrong. If Dan just had to get up and go pee or get a drink of water, he wouldn't be gone for so long. And Phil’s not even sure how long Dan’s been gone. Maybe Dan left hours ago and Phil’s been too preoccupied in dreamland...

Phil hopes it's not one of those nights. He hopes that tomorrow Dan will smile and once Dan reappears beside him, it won't be a struggle to get him out of bed. Phil can only hope that Dan didn't decide to go out for a late-night walk. They live in a nice part of London and Dan is six-foot-three and his shoulders are wide, but he doesn't want Dan to do anything stupid and he doesn't want anyone to hurt him and he doesn't want to worry about where he is or if he'll ever come back. Although a few minutes ago it felt like he could slip back into a dreamy sleep at any moment, now he is on high alert. He has to find where Dan is.

Phil grabs his glasses from his bedside table, puts them on, and throws off the warm covers. He opens the door to the ensuite, just to make sure, but sees no sign of Dan. He tiptoes down the hall and opens the doors to the rooms he es. He’s not in the old gaming room, he’s not in the hall bathroom, and he’s not in the living room. Finally, Phil makes his way to the kitchen and he is positively elated to see soft, glowing lights and his beautiful Daniel sitting at their table.

Dan has a too-big tee-shirt on and is drinking something out of his Colin mug. He’s staring out, through the glass door, into the dark abyss of their balcony. He seems entirely calm, which is just about the opposite of how Phil feels.

Phil practically runs to the table and breaths out, “Dan, thank god.” He didn’t even realize he was practically holding his breath as he traversed the flat. He was just worried, really. So, so worried. And worries make themselves stronger in the night.

Dan snaps around to face Phil. He smiles gently. “What’s the matter?” His voice is soft and low. It’s like golden honey, like sweet, dark molasses, and it lets Phil calm down.

Phil pulls out a chair and slips down onto it. “I just-- I didn’t know where you were.”

“Oh.” Dan’s smile fades and he looks into his drink, and then angles the mug slightly towards Phil. “Just drinking some hot chocolate,” he says, like that explains everything.

Phil quirks an eyebrow. “Why?”

He shrugs. “I had a… bad dream. It doesn’t matter much now. I don’t want to think about it.”

Phil hums, sad. He wishes he could make it so Dan would never have a nightmare again.

Dan nods. “So I decided I wanted to distract myself somehow. I laid in bed a little while but I couldn’t get back to sleep ‘cause I kept thinking about it. I know you get like that sometimes.”

“Yeah.”

“So I made hot chocolate.” He taps the edge of the mug. “You want me to make you one?”

Phil shakes his head. “No, I’m alright thanks.”

They sit in silence for a moment. Dan takes a drink. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”

“It’s not your fault, Dan, really. I just want to keep you safe.” Phil decides he wants to keep this moment in his mind forever. It’s quiet and domestic and he never wants to let Dan go.

Dan sighs and looks down at his drink again. “I love you,” he whispers. He offers his hand, palm up, on the table.

Phil laces his fingers through Dan’s. “I love you, too. You just worry me sometimes, that’s all.”

Slowly and hardly at all, Dan nods. “I’m working on it, your worry makes sense. Good thing I fixed my brain’s stupid darkness with liquid chocolate.”

Phil cracks a smile. “At least you didn’t call for a pizza at three in the morning.”

“I don’t think I’d trust any pizza place that was open at this hour.” Dan lets go of Phil’s hand, shrugs, and then dissolves into giggles. “Let me just finish up, then I’ll be back in bed.”

“Would you mind if I stayed? I’ll go back if you want me to leave you alone--”

“Stay.”

Dan’s eyes are soft.

“Okay,” Phil says, and he practically melts into his seat.

They’re silent until Dan finishes with a final slurp. He gets up to rinse out the mug and then puts it in the dishwasher. Phil watches as he strides over and extends his hand. “Ready to go back to bed?”

Phil takes Dan’s hand and stands up. Dan turns off the kitchen light and then as they make their way down the hall together hand-in-hand, he turns off every light Phil turned on looking for Dan.

When they get back in their bedroom it once more feels soft and warm and beautiful in the moonlight. Dan takes off his shirt and throws it on the floor somewhere. It’s a problem for tomorrow-Dan. They slip under the covers and Dan curls himself around Phil, intertwining their legs and resting his cheek against Phil’s bare chest.

Phil leans down and kisses Dan’s forehead. This only makes Dan squeeze Phil a little harder and snuggle him more intensely.

“Your breath is going to smell rank in the morning,” Phil says, once again almost half-asleep.

Dan grins against Phil’s chest. “You’ll still kiss me anyway.”

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