"Happy birthday!"

Dan squeezed his eyes shut and groaned, annoyed from the rude awakening of Phil pouncing on him. He shoved Phil off and pulled the blankets over him, hiding his face under the pillows.

"Come on, princess, wake up! I brought you something!"

"Is it earplugs so I don't have to deal with your pestering?" Dan sarcastically responded, trying to ignore the way his cheeks heated up at the nickname.

"No, it's food."

Dan sat up, locking eyes with Phil who was standing over him with his hands behind his back.

"What is it?"

"You have to come and get it."

"Phil, that sounds oddly suggestive and-"

Phil ignored him, beginning to rush off backwards so the hidden food was still out of Dan's perspective. He left the room and Dan rolled his eyes, giving up on being moody and putting on proper clothing. Phil came up behind him and placed his hands over his eyes, moving him into the kitchen.

"Phil, if you walk me off a cliff-"

His husand then began singing Happy Birthday, stopping eventually and uncovering Dan's eyes. Dan opened them to see a homemade cake in front of him, one candle impaled in it.

"Make a wish."

"Phil. . ." Dan began, smiling at the nice gesture.

"I know it's not the prettiest cake, but it's something."

"It's great. Really. Thank you."

"Oh, just make a wish already," Phil giggled, waving him off. Dan obliged, leaning down and blowing out the candles. "What'd you wish for?"

"It's a secret."

Phil flashed him a coy smile. "Alright, well the ball is soon and your family will be there so put on something nice."

Dan simply waved him off, going to change. After he put on a tuxedo and tied on his mask, he checked himself out in the mirror before going to open the bathroom door until he peeked in and saw Phil wasn't done changing.

It wasn't like Dan was a voyeur, besides Phil wasn't completely naked. He had everything on but his shirt and mask, his back turned to Dan. Dan froze, lips parting as he let his eyes run over his husband. His backbones moved as his arms unfolded his shirt, head bowed down and biceps tensed.

Then Phil turned around. And Dan saw everything, scars and stitches littering his pale chest. Dan stepped back and Phil glared.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I was just-" Dan cut himself off.  He knew Phil wasn't mad at him for watching him change, it was because he saw the hidden scars. "What are those from?"

"Get out," Phil hissed, stomping forward and shutting the door. Dan leaned his head against the wood, sighing.

"Phil, I'm sorry."

"I don't need your pity."

"Then what are the marks from?"

"People aren't very kind to the homeless. I've been beat up more than once and some of the wounds never completely faded. It's just a reminder of how bad I messed up and I hate it."

"You didn't deserve that."

"I really did. If I would've just listened, I could've avoided all of this. Hell, I could've been as rich as you."

"I still think you're beautiful. You've just got some past flaws and that's okay, I do too. If you let me in, I'll show you."

There was a silence and then the bathroom door unlocked, Phil now fully clothed as he let Dan in. Dan moved his fringe up, revealing a tiny dent next to his eyebrow.

"I got this after I ran into a counter when I was four," Dan began. He pushed down his sleeve to reveal a tiny white scar on his finger. "I was trying to help my mom cook and ended up nearly slicing my finger off. I'm not the best chef, as you can tell."

Phil giggled, so Dan went on.

"Scars on a person shouldn't affect how another person feels about them. Stuff happened, but they're called scars for a reason, meaning it happened in the past. Yes, you'll have the constant reminders of what happened, but you should make it into something positive. Applaud yourself for surviving the injury. Tell yourself you're still pretty. Because, Phil Lester, you're still pretty to me."

Phil, smiling shyly, reached out and brushed the pad of his thumb over the dent in Dan's forehead. Then he pulled him in for a hug, and they stood there, not even saying anything. And really they didn't need to.

This wasn't going to be the cliché part where they kiss. This wasn't going to be the part where they finally said the 'L' word. They weren't ready, and there was absolutely nothing wrong with waiting.

"Do you really mean all of that?" Phil murmured against his shoulder.

"I've no reason to lie."

Phil squeezed him tighter at that, speaking up once more.

"Thank you." 

ღ

"That's a lot of rich people."

Dan looked at his husband. "We aren't even inside the venue yet."

"Yikes."

They sashayed in together, arms crossed and masks hiding their eyes. Their tuxedos matched and two butlers opened the doors for them, eyes following the famous couple as they moved inside. Dan's parents instantly spotted them, hurrying over to them.

"Daniel! Oh, how was the honeymoon? Is Japan as beautiful as they say? Happy birthday!"

"It was great; indeed, it was dashing, thank you."

Phil engaged himself into a conversation with Mr. Howell, Dan whispering to his mother.

"Some guests would like to see you two," his mother told him.

"And what do they call themselves?" Dan questioned.

"Phil's parents, of course! They just arrived and are very excited to see their son."

Dan froze, instantly wiping the fake smile off his face.

"Who invited them?"

"They invited themselves! They showed up and revealed their IDs, it's definitely his parents. Is something wrong, Daniel? I know they didn't get along in the past but-"

"They were barely in his past," Dan snarled.

"Won't you be a good host and socialize with them? Don't be crude, Daniel. They are guests!" His mother then rushed off, pulling her husband with them and leaving the couple alone.

"Is everything okay? You seem nervous."

"Phil, we need to go."

"But we just got here! That buffet table isn't going to eat itself-"

"Just keep your mask on and follow me out, please, we can't-"

"Philip? Is that you?

They spun around, and sure enough Mr. and Mrs. Lester were stood side by side with toothy grins plastered on their faces.

"It's been so long,"

"Not long enough," Phil murmured under his breath, trying to ignore the fact that he could feel himself shaking. He took his mask off, glaring at them. "You can't be here. You have to leave."

"It's your friend's birthday, we might as well show up-"

"It's my husband's birthday. If you're going to just show up out of the blue, you could at least respect my preferences."

"Son, we're just trying to get you back on the right track. First you're broke and now you're married to a man? This isn't the lifestyle we chose for you-" his father began, but Phil cut him off with his fists clenched.

"You barely chose a lifestyle for me at all! You weren't around. You never taught me wrong or right, never helped me learn from my mistakes- only made me feel like I myself was one. To even imagine that you two think you're good parents astounds me."

"How dare you speak to your father like that!"

"No, how dare you just randomly show up and expect everything to be fine!" Phil shouted, and guests began to look over with worried expressions. Dan stayed quiet, sliding an arm around Phil's waist for moral support. "How dare you only come back when you hear I'm not poor anymore! How dare you come back and refuse to accept my sexuality, how dare you use your own son for fame! Do you know how many times I cried myself to sleep, wondering what I did and if I'd ever see you two again? Do you know how many times I blamed myself for you two giving up on me? I took years to get over it, I built tons of walls and now you're trying to break it all down. You made my life hell without even being in it!"

Mrs. Lester opened her mouth to speak, changing her mind and shutting it.

"You two should leave," Dan stepped in. "Please don't make me call security to escort you out."

"You never fail to disappoint us, Phil," his father said, and him and his wife stormed off together.

Phil had his fists still clenched, eyes welling up with tears as he replayed what his father had just told him.

Dan moved in front of him and placed both his hands on his husband's face before speaking up. "Don't listen to them. They weren't in your life before and they shouldn't be now."

Phil was thankful his mask hid his tears. He hated crying, especially in public.

After awhile of silence, the brunette spoke again. "Are you okay?"

"I just really want cheesecake," Phil sniffled, looking down at his feet.

Dan offered, "what do you say we steal some of the cheesecake off the buffet table and get out of here?"

Honestly, Dan's birthday could've gone so much worse. But getting drunk off overeating cheesecake with his husband sounded pretty good too.