The particular karaoke bar and grill they're at has a pool table and a few other activities. There's a few people around but not too many, and the ones that are lingering are mostly at the bar or sitting down to eat their lunches.

They all find a large roundish booth close to the stage that they all can fit in and try to decide who gets to go first. Arin and Brian want Dan to, but Dan wants Ross to. Ross would prefer not going first and suggests that Matt and Ryan start off with a silly duet. Matt is into it, but Ryan asks Sean if he'd rather go first instead, just in case.

In the end, it's Matt and Ryan who get up there. Matt wants to do "Baby Shark", but Ryan wants to do "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart" for shits and giggles. They have a vote and the only one who votes for "Baby Shark" is Sean, but even as he votes for that one he states that he doesn't care what song they sing really.

So they end up singing "Don't Go Breakin' My Heart", and it's so weird yet hilarious that everyone else at the booth can't stop laughing. Even Matt starts laughing halfway through the song, so much so that he gets embarrassed.

They return to the booth afterwards and take their seats, sipping on their drinks as they try to figure out who is going next. Brian shrugs when they ask him if he wants to go and he gets up there, picking "Baby Shark" since Audrey likes it so much that he learned the words already and because Matt didn't get to do it.

The best part about it is how stone-faced he is the entire time he sings. He returns to the booth after with a bow as they clap and Sean asks Ross if he wants to do a duet with him. While they're up there singing, Dan turns to Arin and asks if he wants to do a duet with him as well.

"Okay," Arin agrees with a nod, "But what song do you want to do? I don't really know any songs that we could sing together."

Dan hums, searching his brain for any ideas. "Ah, what about a Disney song?" he asks with a grin. "I've been watching a lot of the Disney movies lately and they tend to have duets, don't they? Like in the princess ones?"

"Oh, sure," Arin replies quietly, his face feeling warm when he continues with, "Wasn't there like a really nice one at the end of the Rapunzel movie? We could fuckin'... do that one, if you want to."

"Oh yeah, you're talking about "Tangled"? Sure, dude, I'm totally up for it. Do you remember how it goes?"

Arin thinks about it, but then he nods. "Yeah, man, I believe so."

"Okay, "I See The Light" it is then," Dan murmurs with a small smile. At that point, Ross and Sean get off of the stage and settle back in at the booth.

"Who's next?" Sean inquires, looking between Arin and Dan. "One or both of you get to go next, so have you guys thought of a song yet?"

"Yep," Dan responds cheerfully as he slides out of the booth after Arin. "We're gonna do that cute song from "Tangled". It's gonna be great. I hope they have it- they have Disney shit, don't they?"

"Yeah," Ross tells him. "I saw a category specifically for it when Sean and I were picking our song. Now get up there and make fuckin' fools of yourselves for our entertainment. Begone."

Arin laughs. "Don't we always do that though?"

Dan leads the way to the stage and they climb up onto it, heading over to the machine where they select a song. Once they find it, they listen to a sample of it to make sure they remember it right before they each grab a microphone and start the song.

Dan takes Flynn Rider's role in the song, leaving Arin to sing Rapunzel's parts. It's a sweet song and they can't help but to giggle through it, half looking at the mini screen for the lyrics they can't remember and half looking at each other.

When it's over, they head back to the booth with goofy grins on their faces. They take their seats next to each other and see if anyone else wants to go back up.

They all end up singing a couple more songs each before they decide to all head back to Arin's house. Arin checks his phone before he gets into the driver's seat to text Suzy back and see what time it is. He's surprised to see that it's getting close to 5PM already.

Once at Arin's house, Matt and Ryan decide that they're ready to get back home. They wave goodbye after letting Ross out of the car and head off.

"I probably need to get back home too," Ross tells them, climbing into his own car. "Thank you for lunch though, and for inviting me out. I had a nice time hanging out with you guys."

"Anytime," Arin says as he leans into the vehicle to give Ross a hug. Ross closes his door with a nod and leaves, going back to his own house and leaving Arin, Dan, Brian, and Sean.

Before they can even get inside to sit down for a moment, Brian receives a text. "Oh, sorry guys," he murmurs suddenly, stopping on the porch as he reads the message. "Rachel made dinner and wants to know when I'll be back, so I should probably get going."

He gives them each a hug, heading to his car. "I'll see you later, Bri," Dan calls out to him from the porch. Brian waves before he leaves too.

Dan sits down beside Arin and across from Sean at the island. They chat for a while and even play a few games or so for about an hour before Sean decides he should probably get back to where he's staying so he can make sure he gets up early for his flight. They hug him goodbye and make plans to meet up and hang out again soon, whenever he will be back in California.

When it's just the two of them, Arin settles into his normal spot on the couch, his stomach growling. Dan chuckles because of how loud it is.

"Do you want to eat soon?" he asks as he pets Otto, who sits in his lap. Arin shrugs, but then he nods. "Well what do you wanna have? Chicken parm? I can help you make it."

"If you want to, that'd be awesome, man," Arin sighs out, standing up and heading into the kitchen area. Dan moves Otto to the empty cushion and gets up as well, following behind.

Though there isn't much that Dan can help with, he hangs out in the kitchen anyway. Arin seasons the chicken and puts it into the oven to let it start cooking and then he and Dan watch funny video clips on Youtube until the timer goes off. Arin checks the chicken and then spoons the tomato sauce over the pieces and puts it back in for a little bit.

They then start boiling water for noodles to go with it, though Arin doesn't usually eat his chicken parm with noodles. When the noodles are cooked, they strain and set them aside with the extra sauce and then put some texas toast in the oven as well.

When the next timer goes off for the chicken, Arin lets Dan help him sprinkle the cheeses on top and then they stick it in one final time to let it melt, pulling it out after about five minutes. The texas toast also comes out and they turn off the oven. Dan pulls plates out of the cabinet and hands them to Arin before he goes back for the forks in the drawer by the sink.

Dan then takes a seat as Arin dishes out the food for both of them- the noodles on the bottom, then a little sauce and cheese, and then the chicken parm itself and a slice of the texas toast on the side. He brings the food over to the island and places Dan's plate in front of him before he sets his own down as well.

Arin sits down then, a grin on his face. "Doesn't it look good?"

Dan nods in agreement, very enthusiastic. "Oh absolutely," he says as he picks up his fork. "It fuckin' smells amazing as shit too. Thank you, Arin."

Arin's face goes a little pink. "You don't need to thank me, dude," he tells the older man, getting up to get them both a drink. "Besides, I should be thanking you for being around and keeping me company. I would've gone fuckin' crazy here all by myself."

Dan chuckles a little shyly as Arin sits back at the island across from him, looking down at his plate. "Well, that's what friends are for, right?" he murmurs, finally meeting Arin's eyes.

"Yeah," Arin agrees quietly, feeling his breath catch in his throat as he picks up his fork. "Well, dig in and tell me what you think, dingus. I need feedback."

Dan smiles and rolls his eyes, and in the comfortable silence, they both slowly eat their food. They both agree that it's pretty good, and they clean their plates. Together, they both put away the leftover food and clean up any sauce messes on the stove. They then start loading up the dishwasher.

Arin leans against the counter after he puts in the last dish and adds the soap, and Dan closes the door to the dishwasher, standing in front of the younger after, drying off his hands with a hand-towel.

"Dinner was great, Arin," he starts, his hands in his pockets now. "Well, really today was just super fuckin' great too, and so has been the week so far. I had a blast hanging out with you and everyone and having lunch and doing karaoke and shit, and just seeing how much happier you've become lately."

"I had a great time today and this week too," Arin admits, his voice soft as he looks down at his and Dan's feet. "And you know, I'm really fuckin' trying to be better and be happier because things are so much easier when I am. Right now, I feel happy-ish. Not one hundred percent or anything yet, but I'll get there."

"What do you think would make you get closer to one hundred?" Dan suddenly asks, sounding genuinely curious. Arin looks up at him with a small, sad smile, wanting to say it but unsure if he can make himself. Being with Dan would make him so much happier if he's being honest, but... he doesn't know what will happen if he tries.

Dan's still waiting for an answer, but Arin doesn't know what to say. The older wordlessly reaches forward, brushing a strand of hair out of Arin's eyes so gently that the younger finds himself flushing at the intimacy of it. Everything's quiet as his eyes meet Dan's, but Arin's heart is beating so loud in his own ears that he wonders if Dan can hear it too.

And then it's like time stops. Arin holds his breath as he pushes off the counter and takes the step forward, removing the distance between them, pressing his lips against Dan's. In this moment, nothing else matters but him and the way his soft lips feel against Arin's own.

Until Dan is pushing him back by the shoulders.

"Whoa, Arin... what the fuck, man?" Dan says, a bit dazed, eyebrows furrowed as he backs up a little. Arin blinks stupidly, parting his lips like he wants to say something, but he can't find the words. "What... what the hell was that?"

"I..." Arin tries, running a hand through his hair as the anxiety within him starts to rise. "Danny-"

Dan takes a step back when Arin reaches out to touch him, shaking his head. "No, I..." he trails off, taking a deep breath and swallowing. He seems to be internally panicking too as he looks around frantically. "Just no. I need to- I need to go. I can't fucking do this. Goddammit, Arin- what the fuck."

Arin's eyes go wide and he steps towards the older man, reaching out for him with a shaky hand. "No, Dan, wait- don't go, please."

But Dan isn't listening, walking away and shaking his head as he finds and puts on his shoes. He heads upstairs to get his duffle bag quickly and comes back down just as fast. Before he can make it to the door, Arin grabs ahold of his wrist.

Dan flings it off like Arin's skin burns him. "Don't fucking touch me, dude," he snaps, and Arin feels like he's just been struck- he doesn't think he's ever seen Dan like this before. It hurts, seeing him react this way- it's exactly what he's been so afraid of. Dan's face softens a little as he sees that hurt in Arin's eyes, but he doesn't falter when he says, "I'm leaving. I can't... I can't deal with this right now, Arin. I just can't, I'm sorry."

He closes the door loudly on his way out. Arin can hear Dan's car door close, the engine start, and the screeching sounds the tires make when Dan drives away.

-

heh