He doesn’t know if they’ll be in the right place at the right time to go to any events this summer, or if they’ll be able to sneak out but he figures that if Dan is making sure they’re taking their stuff, then... They can discuss it nearer the time.
Phil very carefully doesn’t say anything when he walks into the bedroom, having finished his own packing for this next and biggest leg of the tour the day before, to find Dan seemingly halfway to Narnia, suitcase open on their bed, clothes, wires and shoes strewn haphazardly in and around the room.
It’s as he’s carefully clearing a space to sit down amongst the mess that he finds it, underneath an armful of clean socks and pants. From the outside, it’s just a plain black toiletries bag, but it’s what it’s bulging with that makes it important. Scratch that, it what the contents mean that makes it important. After all, there’s nothing in the least important about a pair of cheap, mismatched neon glittery wigs, a few pairs of novelty sunglasses and a few other assorted rainbow-themed items, folded inside a giant rainbow flag big enough to wrap both of them up in (they know, they have.)
Mainly, it’s the memories of the excitement and the fun they’ve had, ever since that first summers day in Manchester when they stepped out of a shop and suddenly found themselves swept up in the midst of the parade, following it all the way down to Canal Street before heading home, happy but exhausted sometime after midnight, covered head to foot in sweat, glitter, confetti and facepaint.
Since then, they’ve made an effort to be there, wherever they’ve been, secure in the knowledge that their cheap, tacky disguises will protect them from a social media meltdown if they were spotted in the crowds. And they’ve had a fantastic time every time.
He resists the urge to take out the contents and spread them across the bed – Dan won’t thank him if he ends up with glitter or bits of confetti covering everything he packs for the next two months, also, he’s not sure if it’ll lead to a discussion, heated or otherwise that they don’t really have time for this morning.
He doesn’t know if they’ll be in the right place at the right time to go to any events this summer, or if they’ll be able to sneak out (and/or if he’d have the courage to ask their team if it’s possible for them to go, alone, or shadowed) but he figures that if Dan is making sure they’re taking their stuff, then he’s researched, and also that he’s probably already made plans for when and where. They can discuss it nearer the time.
He’ll settle for being happy that they’ll be able to celebrate with their community, even thousands of miles away from home, and proud to be stood next to the man he loves, and who loves him back, even if they’re not ready to do so completely openly.
Yet.
