17
Dan stays for dinner and Arin cooks since Suzy is so tired still. He makes stuff that's easy and quick to cook and whatever uses the least amount of dishes- so mostly grilled cheese sandwiches. Dan helps since he doesn't have much else to do besides awkwardly sit around or bother Suzy while she's sleepy.
After eating, they all settle down on the couch and put on a movie- Arin slumps against Dan's chest while Suzy leans on him, her head resting on Arin's stomach. Dan gently kisses the lightly scarring area on Arin's forehead as Suzy drifts off to sleep, and for the moment, everything is kind of... perfect.
When the movie ends they put on another, but after the second one, Dan figures he should go home since Suzy sits up and rubs her eyes and asks Arin if he's coming to bed with her or staying up longer, and he'd feel bad for keeping Arin up and away from her.
She lets Dan know that he can stay in the guest bedroom if he wants instead of going home, but Arin almost protests when he remembers that the bed isn't made up because of his little incident and he goes pink in the face at the thought, wondering if he should say anything about it or not. Though he figures that the sheets should've been washed anyway and he reckons he could easily use that as an excuse if either of them ask about the sheets being gone.
"I can help you make up the bed, dude," Arin offers in an attempt to get Dan to stay as well, but the older man seems unsure. Maybe he's scared that he's intruding or something, when he should know he isn't. "You should really just sleep here tonight since it got so late and everything. It's not a problem, obviously."
"Are you sure, man?" Dan asks worriedly, frowning. "I just want to make sure I'm not being a fuckin' bother or something because you've spent so much time with me this week and I don't want to take time away from you and Suzy too. We just talked about this."
Suzy waves her hand with a yawn. "Aw, Danny, don't worry about that!" she tells him, because she thought she made it clear that him being around and doing shit with Arin didn't bother her, but she guesses he might just need some reassurance. "I'm too tired to spend any real time with him right now. I am interested in spending time with my bed though."
She laughs, and it makes Dan smile a little and has him feeling a bit less tense than before.
Arin steps closer to him then and gently takes his hand, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to the scar on Dan's eyebrow. "So, are you staying?" he asks, and Dan just shrugs and nods with a grin, throwing his hands up in defeat.
"Fuckin'... yeah, alright, I'll stay."
Arin grins as well, stepping back to give Dan some space. "Good. I'm gonna help Suzy upstairs and then help you make up the bed in the guest bedroom."
With another nod, Dan sits back down on the couch and Arin walks a tired Suzy towards the stairs. She waves goodnight to Dan before they disappear from sight for a little bit. Arin returns not much longer after, turning off some of the unneeded lights on his way to where Dan waits for him in the living room. He quickly brushes by and heads into the laundry room, where he pulls out the now clean sheets from the dryer.
Arin nods towards the stairs, so Dan shuts off the TV and the lights and follows as the younger heads up. Arin flicks on the light in the guest bedroom and passes Dan the pillow cases while he works on putting the sheet on the large bed. Dan tosses the pillows at Arin, who laughs before he arranges them however.
He helps Dan put on the top sheet and the comforter, and then the bed is all made up. Dan falls backwards onto it, stretched out completely.
"Ah, comfy," he sighs with a smile. Arin watches him, wanting so badly to lean down and capture his lips in a kiss, but of course he doesn't. Dan is quiet for a moment, but then he sits up a little, a weird expression on his face. "Do you wanna take a walk with me, maybe?"
Arin blinks, but then he nods a little. "Alright."
Soon enough after Arin lets Suzy know he's leaving for a moment, they're out walking on the surprisingly well lit streets. It's a bit chilly, but Arin doesn't mind.
"Whatcha thinkin' about?" he asks Dan finally as they take slow steps on the sidewalk. "You look like you've got something on your mind, dude."
Dan shrugs. "I'm just thinking about... all the times when we've joked about shit, and how they weren't really jokes after all," he says simply, lips pursed a little. Arin swallows and hums a little, running a hand through his hair as he listens. "Every time you asked me to kiss you, every time we joked about having sex, every time that we said that we loved each other, when we cuddled or comforted each other, the way you looked at me. It should've been obvious, so... how did I not notice?"
"You said yourself," Arin begins to explain with a shrug, "That you just kinda blocked your feelings out or whatever and like... made yourself think things differently and convinced yourself that nothing was out of the ordinary. Plus, I've always done that shit, so it's normal."
Dan gives him a look. "Not always," he argues a little. "The way you've been looking at me has been different, but I never picked up on it. When your not-quite-jokes would fail, you'd seem to be disappointed. You seemed more careful than usual too. Either I did notice and blocked it out, or I didn't and I'm just a fuckin' idiot."
"Maybe a little of both," Arin jokes lightheartedly, and Dan shoves him playfully with a smile. "I mean, yeah, I wasn't exactly subtle, but I did try to play everything off as just a joke and sometimes, I'd just slip up and get so scared you'd notice, but you'd brush it off easily, leaving me both relieved and disappointed."
Dan frowns. "Arin?" he whispers suddenly, coming to a complete stop beneath a lamppost, so Arin hums in response to encourage him to go on, stopping just a bit ahead of him and looking back. "When did you stop joking and start meaning the shit you said? When did you start wanting me to say "yes" to kissing you or other things? When did you start meaning "I love you" in a different way?" He pauses momentarily, and in a small voice, he asks, "How long have I been hurting you?"
"Hey," Arin says immediately, quickly pulling Dan in close. The guilty expression on his face is too much for Arin to look at without feeling like he caused it. He guesses, in a way, that he is the cause. "You've not been fuckin' hurting me, Danny, I promise. I was hurting myself by refusing to let go even when it seemed the most impossible. It made me so depressed again, but I'm glad I never gave up, 'cause look where I'm at right now! I'm with you, right where I should be, where I want to be, and I just know that I'm gonna get happier just being around you more, knowing exactly what I mean when I tell you that I love you and having you loving me the same way. I wouldn't trade anything or do anything different, trust me."
"Are you sure?" Dan asks, pulling away to look at Arin's face to tell if he's lying or not. "I just feel so awful for everything. Whether unknowingly or not, I led you on when I had no intention of being with you. I joked around because I didn't realize that you were serious, and then when the truth came out and I just flipped the fuck out and I-"
"Danny," Arin interrupts, pressing a kiss to his forehead and then looking him in the eyes, "It's okay now. You don't have to feel bad because you didn't fuckin' do anything wrong. But if it really makes you feel better, I forgive you and it's okay. I don't blame you for anything, so don't blame yourself. I love you, and I completely understand."
"Fuck," Dan whispers, trying not to cry. "Alright, okay. I'm sorry. I just can't help but to feel even a little guilty for it, but if you insist that it's okay, then... I'll try to fuckin' forget about it."
"Good," Arin says with a small smile. "But for the record, I don't know how long it's been since I've stopped joking. I guess it must've been whenever I fell in love with you."
Dan's eyes meet his. There's a moment where nothing happens, and Dan looks absolutely gorgeous in this golden light and it makes Arin's breath catch in his throat. He wonders what Dan thinks of him right now, if the older man is seeing him the same way that he sees Dan or not.
Though he doesn't dwell on that thought for long when Dan leans forward and kisses Arin on the lips- softly, gently, like he's afraid, but trying not to be in the heat of the moment. Arin's surprised, and before he has a chance to think or register what's happened, Dan's lips are gone from his.
"Sorry," Dan murmurs, a little panicked as he's still not used to wanting to kiss Arin like this, especially since they're in public, where anyone can see. "Sorry, I know I just broke my own rule or condition, or what the fuck ever, but... I really felt like I needed to do that right now, so I did. It's still a little strange for me, though, especially with your facial hair. I, um... I'm sorry..."
Dan laughs a little and backs off. "Don't apologize for kissing me," Arin tells him, his heart beating too fast. "You can do it whenever you want to."
Dan shrugs then, frowning. "I feel like I'm being a fuckin' tease and it's... it's not fair to you, Ar."
"Dude, it's fine," Arin insists then, biting down on his lower lip. "I don't mind at all. I'm okay with waiting until you're ready, until you're comfortable with me. I wish I could make it easier for you to love me, but unfortunately I'm not a girl and I'll never be one, so I'm sorry that it's so hard for you and I can't really do shit about it to make it any easier."
"Aw, big cat," Dan utters sadly, reaching for Arin's hands. "Please don't say it like that, babe. It's not that it's hard to love you, it's hard for me to do that and feel like it's okay, hard for me to feel comfortable with myself. The problem isn't exactly even you. It's me."
"I'm sorry," Arin apologizes now, rubbing at his eyes. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that- so guilt-trippy, but... I do mean it. 'Cause if I could make it easier for you to love me, I would- if I could make you feel okay with all of this, in a fucking heartbeat, I would. I wish I wasn't putting you through the whole rethinking your sexuality thing though; it's hard enough when you're just feeling unsure because you just are, but when you've got someone who is kind of putting pressure on you in a way, it's gotta be a lot fuckin' tougher, and I'm sorry for that."
"It's okay, Arin- it's not like I could keep hiding how I really felt about us forever. Eventually, I would've broken, and it could've been really fuckin' bad. You helped me out by making me face it now instead of hiding it from even myself for however long it would've taken for me to break. So thank you."
"You're giving me too much credit, man," Arin says with a small smile, shaking his head.
Dan reaches forward and brushes a strand of Arin's hair out of his face, tucking it behind his ear; Arin always loves when he does it.
"Or not enough credit," Dan laughs a little, and it's his turn to press a kiss to Arin's forehead, right where he hit his head and is now healing. The older makes a face, so Arin gives him a questioning look. "I just had a thought, sorry."
"Was it bad or something?"
Dan shakes his head a little, but then he shrugs and smiles shyly and then they continue walking again. "I mean... it was about when you fell down the stairs. I just thought about if like... fuck, what if you'd lost your memory or something? How fucked up would that be? I'd have to explain to you who everyone is, what Game Grumps is, everything that we do and that you do. You'd have probably forgotten that you loved me, and things could've been so different."
Arin dismisses that with a wave of his hand. "Dude, if I didn't know who you were or anything else, I wouldn't have known about the things I risked losing by being in love with you and by making a move, and I probably would've done all that shit way earlier." Dan seems a bit skeptical, so Arin just smiles. "I mean, honestly, if I could fuckin' fall in love with you once, why not twice, right?"
"It's so weird to hear you say that you're in love with me," Dan confesses, somehow seeming to change the subject easily.
"Do you want me to stop?" Arin asks him, letting go of Dan's hand and coming to a stop again. "Because I can and I will if it'll make you a bit more comfortable."
"God, no, you don't have to," Dan sighs, coming closer and hiding his face in Arin's shoulder. "I'm already feeling bad enough by asking so damn much of you, so you can have that at least. Honestly, there must be something fuckin' wrong with you for you to be okay with me being so selfish like this. You should just say "never mind" now while you can."
Arin hums. "If I do that, then I guess I don't really love you," he says, running a hand through his hair. "I don't want to give up, but do you want to call it quits? Because I understand if you do, and I won't be mad at you."
"I don't," Dan answers honestly as Arin wraps his arms around him. "I wanna try to be with you, I really do. I mean it. So if you don't want to back out, then I don't either. I'm sorry that I'm asking a lot of you though."
"You can make it up to me later when you're comfortable- in kisses, that is." For emphasis, he kisses the mess of curls on top of Dan's head.
The older of the two giggles, looking at the younger. "Mhm, sure you only want kisses, and not anything sexy. I can see right through you, Arin; this guy you're talking to right now is the same guy who also is Danny Sexbang, you silly bastard. Did you forget or something?"
Arin laughs a little, flushing and shaking his head. "Well, I can't help the fact that you're sexy. But I'll tell you what- you can just make it up to me however you want, then. Sound fair?"
"Alright," Dan replies, smiling as he pulls away from Arin a little, but then they start walking back towards Arin's house. After a moment, Dan finally adds, "Though depending on how I feel when I decide, it could still end up being sexy, or it could totally not be. You won't know. Hell, I probably won't either."
"Well, whatever it is that you decide, dude," Arin begins, "I'm still gonna love it, because it's something you picked, and I mean- I love you, so..."
Dan playfully hits Arin's arm as his face heats up. "Oh shut the fuck up, Hanson. Let's go back to your house already and go to bed, you giant sappy fuck."
Arin chuckles, intertwining his fingers with Dan's again, hoping that it's okay. "Well, fine then," he murmurs lovingly, a grin stretched across his face. "Let's go back to my house so that you can sleep, Avidan."
Dan giggles a little, and once they make it back to Arin's, they say their goodnights and part ways for the night. Arin informs Suzy of the kiss and she's clearly happy for him, asking him how it was. As they turn out their light, Arin has Dan on his mind as he drifts off to sleep, wondering if Dan's thinking about him, too.
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