They don't stay out long for lunch- Suzy's exhausted and swears she's not looking her best and honestly just wants to go home, even though Arin thinks she looks amazing all the time, but in any case he gives in and lunch is cut short.

She rests her eyes on the drive home, music playing quietly to fill the silence. Arin feels a bit sluggish as he drives, but he makes sure to be careful and tries not to disturb Suzy. Once home, he helps her get inside and she immediately kicks off her shoes and heads into the living room, falling onto the one and as well as the middle seat of the couch.

Arin carries her luggage upstairs for her before he sits down beside her in his usual spot, letting her feet fall into his lap. He rubs them for her, because he cares and she deserves it, and she easily falls asleep, Mimi curled up in her own lap.

Arin texts Dan to let him know that Suzy is napping now, but as soon as she wakes up, then he can come over. However she doesn't sleep for any longer than about an hour, tops.

"I'm honestly just feeling so tired," she giggles sleepily as she stretches and then runs her fingers through Mimi's fur. "I haven't been sleeping all that well. I missed you too much."

He feels like it's also because she's been worrying over him, but he doesn't say that out loud. Instead, he says, "I've missed you too. I couldn't sleep that great either unless I was curled up with Dan or just fuckin' drunk, and the night that neither was the option was kind of hard. I ended up taking medicine to make myself drowsy so I could just sleep in peace."

She nods sadly. "Yeah, I understand that, really. But I'm here now, so we both will be sleeping better, I hope. Oh, and is Dan coming by at all so that we can talk, or...?"

"Yeah, I just have to text him and let him know when to leave," Arin tells her, propping up his own feet on the coffee table. "Should I do that now then?"

"Yeah," she answers, yawning and sitting up a little. "Go ahead and get him over here so we can all sit down and have a chat."

As Arin types out the message, Suzy watches his hands move. "What happened to your hand?" she then asks, gesturing to the cut from Wednesday. "That looks like it hurts a lot, baby."

He shrugs and shakes his head. "It doesn't hurt anymore," he insists, which isn't a lie, but he mostly only says it for her benefit. "I accidentally did it when I was making salad the other day. I got a text from Sean and it scared me as I was cutting tomatoes and the knife slipped. I'm okay though."

She frowns, but doesn't press further. "Oh, you must've forgotten to mention it, but... anyway, I'm glad you're alright, be careful though, babe."

It doesn't take Dan very long to get to Arin's after the younger man texts him- maybe about ten minutes or so. Arin knows he's here before Dan even gets to the door, and without even knocking, Dan comes right inside, making his way into the living room.

"Hey Scuze," he greets as she stands to hug him. He gives Arin a shy smile and a small wave, not sure how to greet him with Suzy around as it's still weird for the both of them for this to actually be real.

Suzy doesn't sit back down on the regular couch, but instead takes a seat on the loveseat and turns slightly so that she's facing the couch, gesturing for Dan to take the seat she previously occupied.

"How was your trip?" the older man then asks her as he sits down at the opposite end of the couch from Arin, putting Dan closer to the loveseat where Suzy now sits. "Any interesting things happen while at your sister's house?"

Suzy tucks a stray piece of her hair behind her ear, smiling and shrugging. "The trip was long and tiring as usual," she states, relaxing a little. "Not many interesting things happened, but I did have a great time at my sister's. I missed her a lot, and it was good to see her. I visited briefly with my parents too, and sadly my mom is back in the hospital, but... I can't do much about it."

Arin gives her a surprised look. "You didn't tell me about your mom," he utters softly, and Suzy nods, a sad expression on her face as she tries not to get teary eyed. Dan just watches them in silence.

"I didn't want to worry you," she explains, and it makes Arin feel like a total asshole, if he's being honest. "You were already dealing with a lot and I didn't want to add to it, but I should've told you anyway. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry," Arin sighs, running a hand through his hair. "I should've been better, not as weak- and I shouldn't have been so fuckin' dramatic. Mostly, I should've taken care of myself better so that you weren't so worried about me. I'm sorry I've been selfish, Suze."

She shakes her head. "You haven't been, but we'll discuss this later."

"Well, I'm sorry and I hope your mom will be alright," Dan adds to the conversation, and Suzy nods in thanks, a sad smile reappearing on her face. "So, what exactly did you want to talk to me about? Not that I don't mind talking about other things, too, I'm just curious as to what you want to say. Arin was kinda vague when he was mentioning it earlier."

"Oh," Suzy starts, straightening up a little and leaning forward. She makes a gesture between both of the men on the couch, but then she purses her lips. "You don't mind if I'm just... very blunt and straightforward, do you? I don't want to be crude exactly, but it'll come out the best if I just say what I mean instead of beating around the bush to avoid making anything awkward."

Dan flushes just a little, but it's not that noticeable and he covers it up with a shrug and a quick shake of the head. "I don't mind at all. I'm sure Arin doesn't either, honestly."

"Of course I don't," Arin agrees, on the outside seeming very relaxed and a bit confident, but on the inside feeling a tad nervous and unsure. "You can say what you want however you want to. It'll only be awkward if we fuckin' make it that way ourselves."

"Alright," Suzy sighs with a nod. "Firstly, have you two already talked about like... establishing a relationship? Basically what I'm asking is have you both decided that you want to be boyfriends and have you made it official?"

Arin and Dan share an unsure look. "Well, I guess we haven't exactly talked about it per se," Dan answers honestly. "We haven't exactly said that we were officially together or anything, but I guess it's kind of unspokenly agreed upon."

"So you and Arin are boyfriends now, right?"

Arin looks over at Dan, wanting him to answer for them since it all comes down to how he feels as Arin is fine with anything. Dan's quiet for a moment, but eventually he responds with, "Yeah, I think so. I know that's what he wants and I think that might be what I want, too."

Arin can't hide the small quirk of his lips at that.

"So then it's settled," Suzy hums, leaning back against the back of the loveseat. "Dan, tell me what exactly your conditions are, and be honest. Nobody is going to be upset with what you're deciding. I know that things are weird for you right now, so I just want to know how you feel."

Dan shifts a little awkwardly in his seat. "Well," he begins, his curls bouncing a little with every move he makes, "I mostly just want to start things off slow and basically do everything we did before, but adding like, hand-holding and like maybe occasionally forehead and cheek kisses. Those kinds of things."

"And what else?" Suzy presses, and Arin finds himself watching Dan and waiting for an answer as she continues with, "What about the things that you find in most relationships, like dates, kissing and sex?"

"Dates I think I'd be okay with right now," Dan says, his voice soft. "Kissing? I'm not quite yet ready for that, but maybe soon, I don't know, it depends. It's just a little weird for me still to want to kiss another guy and I'm trying to work on getting over that."

Dan sighs a little. "And sex- shit, I've been pushing the thought of that way far back into my mind. And it's not like it's exactly a problem with Arin; I mean, shit, I guess in a way it is, but Arin's not the problem of course- it's mostly just the fact that Arin has a dick is what's troubling me, but like... I can learn to get over that. It's just... I honestly don't know if I could handle having something... inside of me... if I'm being completely real with you guys. That's more than I think I will ever be able to handle for at least the foreseeable future, because for me right now, it's... really weird and scary. I'd have to think about it really hard before I'd even consider."

"Well, sorry for being so direct, but uh... what about something like blowjobs or handjobs, or mutual masturbation?" she asks him then as Arin sits back, feeling both a little disappointed and a bit embarrassed at the whole situation, but nobody seems to notice. "How do you feel about those?"

Dan gives it some thought. "Obviously, I'm not ready for any of that with him yet, but... I'd... probably be okay with mutual masturbation and probably handjobs before anything else. I wouldn't rule out blowjobs though, but it would just take me a long while to get used to the idea of putting a dick in my mouth, is all. Unless I'm the one receiving the BJ, then as selfish as it sounds, I'd be okay with that."

He laughs a little to try and rid himself of the embarrassment he feels and to lighten the mood. Suzy smiles at him and shakes her head, and Arin watches him carefully, his own lips quirking into a small smile.

"So you're scared," Suzy finally concludes as if she's some kind of therapist, crossing her arms, "Of, um... of penetrative sex with Arin, mostly, right? That's what really worries you, or is it something else? Is it because you think it'll hurt, or because you're not used to the idea, or...? I'm sorry for prying, I'm just... curious, I guess."

Dan shrugs. "That's okay. It does worry me, honestly, and I think it's mostly because I'm not exactly ready for that yet because I'm not comfortable with my sexuality right now, and I'm trying to figure it all out. Who knows? My mind could possibly change within the next couple of weeks or something, or maybe it won't. So it's not off the table completely- just... just for now. Just until I decide what I want to do and what I'm comfortable with, you know? That's why I'm waiting with the whole kissing thing even- I just want to be comfortable with the idea first, want to be comfortable with the fact that I like Arin and want to kiss him, but I have to get over the fact that Arin is... well, a guy."

Suzy nods in understanding. "I get it, Danny," she tells him. "And look, I mean- this might sound weird, and of course you can do whatever you want; you don't have to do whatever I say and you don't ever have to have sex with him if you don't want to and it makes you uncomfortable, but... if it's because you're afraid to have him inside of you, just know that if... well, if that's what you're unsure about, Arin would probably be more than happy to be on bottom." She gives a breathy laugh. "I'm just gonna put that out there."

Dan doesn't seem surprised, but Arin is laughing just a little, face heating up as a bit of surprise takes over him. "I mean," the younger man starts, "I might have dropped those kinds of hints before, so you probably know... but she's right, I'd do it. For you, mostly, but I wouldn't mind it, and anything is fine by me as long as it's okay with you."

Arin pauses, but before anyone else can say another word, he continues. "So, if you're scared of having sex and me like, for lack of better words, fucking you, then I won't. I don't wanna fuckin' make you uncomfortable or anything so if you don't want that, then it's not happening. You don't wanna have sex with me? It's not happening, period, okay? Don't feel comfortable kissing me? It's not happening. Same thing goes for everything else you don't want. I'm not gonna violate your space or your trust with unwanted actions again."

Dan gives a shy yet fond smile, but it holds a smidge of guilt too as if he feels like he's holding Arin back somehow or denying him too much. "I'll keep it in mind, thanks, big cat. And I appreciate that you would respect my wishes and my comfort level and shit and all of that. It really fuckin' means a lot, and... well, I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable either, but... it feels wrong of me to promise a relationship but not actually do anything real couples do."

He pauses for a moment, but then he continues on. "I want to clarify that it's not that I'm afraid to have sex, you know- I've had it before many times as you already know, but never once with a guy and that's... that's really what's making me hesitate. I'm not unwilling to try it, but I'm not up to it right now I think and I'm sure that you're not exactly ready either, as we just started this relationship. I just need to figure out myself and then we can try it. So just... give me some time and let's just keep things slow for now. And when the time comes and I've figured something out, we'll talk about it again, okay? But don't write everything off as if it'll never happen."

Arin gives a nod in agreement, reaching over to take Dan's hand in his own briefly to give it a squeeze before he lets go.

"Well, moving away from the sex talk," Suzy starts up again, shifting in her seat. "Do you have any other conditions, Dan?"

The oldest of them all shakes his head. "No, I think my only real one was to take things slow and mostly just go by my pace until I can figure my shit out and all of that, if that's okay."

"Okay, well, I have some," Suzy then replies, crossing her legs now. "Most importantly, I don't want Arin to neglect our marriage, but I don't want him to neglect you, either, so we need to balance things out some and perhaps even make a schedule of when we get to spend time with him or something, and if things are starting to go off track, we need to sit down and handle it like adults instead of getting upset about it. Agreed?"

Arin and Dan both nod in agreement, but Suzy isn't finished. "Good, and secondly," she continues on, "I don't want you to be weird around me, or like hide away your relationship with Arin because you think I'll get upset or get bothered by seeing it- I won't. You can kiss him in front of me or hold his hand or whatever, and I won't be upset by it. Another thing is though that I want to be informed of any major thing happening between the two of you, no matter who tells me and no matter what it is."

She takes a deep breath. "Look, I hope it doesn't sound like I'm intruding, but I don't want to be out of the loop on any big changes between you both, you know- and that includes the first date, the second kiss - though the first while you're in a relationship- and the first sexual encounter or any with big changes, and like any big arguments if they occur or any big thing that happens... I want to know all of it. If you'd rather not tell me up front, then Arin will have to and it'll be discreet- but I just want to know what happens. And I especially need to be informed if like down the road you want to live with us or something, or if you want to take Arin somewhere for a long amount of time. Those are things we all would have to discuss together. But... yeah, you get me- just things like that. The major shit. I don't think that's too much to ask."

"Okay," Dan agrees easily, because that's fair. She's not really asking much considering she's giving up part of her exclusive relationship with Arin so that they all can be happy. "Is there anything else, Scuze?"

Suzy shrugs, but then she sighs. "Maybe just let me know before you tell anyone about your relationship though, if possible. And always know that if you need to, you can talk to me about your relationship with Arin too. It's not gonna be weird and it won't bother me, and I'll do the same with you. Other than all of that, there's really nothing else and anything else goes. If you're not sure about something, all you gotta do is ask me."

"Alright, sounds good to me."

"Me too," Arin finally adds to the conversation. With that, the deal is made and they change the topic to other things, all relaxing a bit easier now that all the major things have been discussed and handled.

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