Archive of Our Own

Dan's naturally bad at math as it is, and on top of that he's stressed the fuck out. Fuck math, man. Fuck Arin and his stupidly sweet, soft, kissable lips. Fuck his mind for just thinking that, Jesus Christ he can't even think in peace, can he? Just fuck everything.

He starts at least trying to answer the questions on the paper, anything to keep from spiraling out of control at this point, but that lasts about a solid minute before his eyes glance up from the paper, roaming around the room.

His eyes land on someone sitting in the front row, observing a head of long, brown hair with a blond streak Dan can't see from this angle but knows is there, and god damn it, Arin's pencil is scratching rapidly across his paper, as if he knows what he's doing. Dan feels like the action alone is somehow mocking him, was Arin not bothered by this whole thing at all? Was Dan just being dramatic as fuck?

Then again, Arin was usually the one better at math out of the two. Maybe he just knows what he's doing because of that. Or maybe he's just writing bullshit, but doing so in a way that makes it look like he actually knows what he's doing. If that's the case, then damn, is it working.

Arin must feel the gaze burning into his back because he turns around, looking right back at Dan as if he somehow knew it was Dan looking. Arin looks tired, and if Dan is the reason for that, he isn't sure if he should feel sorry or proud.

Probably sorry. Dan also hates the way it makes him kind of want to just cuddle Arin and kiss him again. Taking a nap with Arin would be heaven right now.

Not because it would be with Arin. Because he's just as tired.

...Oh, for fuck's sake, who is he even kidding anymore? Yes, because it would be with Arin. But sleep is cool, too.

The gaze is once again held for longer than it should've been, that seems to be a common occurrence between these two now. Arin's eyes are warm, longing, and they look like they're searching for something in Dan, eyes darting around rapidly even though his head is still, and Dan isn't sure what he's looking for. And even though he has no way of knowing for sure, something tells Dan his own expression isn't much different from Arin's.

The sound of someone clearing their throat loudly shatters the tension between the two, the shared gaze breaking as Dan turns to find the source of the sound. It's his teacher, she's glaring between him and Arin, she must've noticed the two staring at each other. Dan hopes that she doesn't think they're cheating. That is like the last thing they were actually fucking doing.

Dan is quick to look back down and focus on his paper. If he's going to fail this test, it's going to be with dignity, not because he got his test taken away because him and Arin got into an emotionally intense staring contest.

Even as he says this, he's pretty sure he's lost most, if not all of his dignity already. He'd probably lost the last of it this morning, while in the shower, because even though he willed himself to not think about Arin, he did.

He's only now starting to realize that his friend is actually rather aesthetically pleasing. He never really thought about Arin in that way before the kiss but now that he's started to, he can't stop, and he isn't sure if he likes it or not. Honestly, he's starting to feel frustrated about this whole thing.

As he starts working on the test again, all he's really thinking about is Arin, and how fucking badly he has to talk to him about yesterday.

--

Dan drags himself into the cafeteria with a heavy sigh. A few more classes have passed, and he somehow still hasn't gotten a chance to actually speak to Arin. He even shared some of those classes with Arin, but it just didn't happen. What did happen was a few small glances were shared between the two. Dan was about five times more frustrated than he was before, and maybe ten times more determined to find Arin and talk this shit out already.

It doesn't take long for his eyes to land on the table him and his friends usually sit at. Barry, Ross, Holly, and Suzy are already there, and his heart sinks when he notices the absence of Arin. Was Arin avoiding him now? Okay, what the actual fuck, Hanson? That's the exact opposite of what needs to happen right now. They need to talk, god damn it, to discuss this and figure out what the hell is going on between them, and what to do now, because it's very clear that something is happening, whether they like it or not.

"Oh, hi Danny," Ross' voice snaps him out of his thoughts once he finally reaches the group. He swears the Australian looks more...smug than usual, as if he's so damn happy with himself, but Dan doesn't know why so he just chalks it up to Ross being Ross. He had other things to worry about besides Ross.

"Where's Arin?" His voice is strained as he asks the question, and Barry and Ross share a side glance before looking up at him.

"He stood a little late in Art to finish something he was drawing," Ross answers him. "I doubt he'll be gone for the entire period."

So maybe he wasn't avoiding him. Or was that just a ploy? Dan holds on to the small hope that the not the latter as he sits down across from Barry. Ross, who's next to Barry, turns and starts talking to Holly about something Dan doesn't catch, and Barry is just sort of looking at Dan, sandwich in hand even though he'd stopped eating the second Dan walked into the room.

"Did you talk to him yet?" Barry asks, and Dan shakes his head. However, he can't help but glance pointedly at Ross, jerking his head in his direction. Holly's showing Ross a quite detailed and beautiful sketch of one of her birds she must've done recently in her book, and Ross is smiling and nodding, face red and blue eyes shining as he shows her his own drawing he did of his cat in his sketchbook.

There's a split second where Dan thinks he sees Barry frown as he follows Dan's gaze, eyebrows furrowing, but it's gone just as quickly as it had come, and Barry's face is blank. "He's busy, I doubt he's actually listening to what we're saying. Plus, I doubt he actually cares about the fact that you and Arin kissed."

"Barry, don't just say it like that!" Dan blurts out speedily, and Barry's eyebrows raise.

"Why not? Are you ashamed or something?"

Dan shakes his head vigorously, lifting both hands defensively. "N-no, no! Of fucking course I'm not! That's not— fucking shit Bear that's not the issue here!"

"Then what is the issue, Dan?" Barry's elbow is propped up on the table, head leaning on his hand as he looks directly at Dan, waiting for his response.

"I..." Dan blinks, his hands falling to plop on the table, any trace of anger or annoyance leaving him as he stares blankly at the wood. "I...I don't know, dude. I'm confused as fuck. I just want to talk to Arin, man."

"What exactly are you gonna tell him?"

Dan's eyes shift to the wall sheepishly. "I...don't know? I hadn't really thought that far, to be completely honest."

"Dan—" Barry says his name disapprovingly, most likely about to scold him, but Dan doesn't let him finish his thought.

"Okay, I'm probably going to ask him how he feels about the kiss. And how he feels about me. And how I feel about him."

"Wait, what? You're going to ask Arin how you feel?"

Dan pauses, realizing the slip-up in his words. "...Oh. Oh, no, that was fucking stupid of me to say. That was more of me thinking out loud, haha," Dan laughs nervously as he rubs the back of his neck, the noise more tense than he means it to be. "And I kinda want to know how the fuck he managed to answer all the questions on the test, because fuck, I could barely think straight."

"OH!" Danny and Barry both turn to face Ross, who had shouted suddenly. "...Shit. Dan, you have math with Arin, so you took the test, right? How was it?"

Dan can't tell if Ross just has impeccable timing, or if he was eavesdropping the whole time like Dan had feared. However, Ross is looking at him sincerely, not a hint of teasing or ulterior motive visible, so once again he lets Ross off the hook without questioning it.

However, he does fix Ross with a harsh glare as his answer, silently telling him he didn't want to talk about it, and Ross just raises his eyebrows. "Seriously, it was that bad? Fuck. Barry, can I borrow your notes?"

"Why can't you use your own notes?" Barry questions him, and Ross scoffs.

"What notes?!" He exclaims, throwing his hands in the air with wide eyes.

Barry rolls his eyes, of course Ross hadn't actually taken notes the one time he should've, he was probably busy doodling the whole time. Regardless, Barry still bends over to shuffle through his bag, pulling his notebook for the class out. Ross' eyes light up, and he snatches the notebook out of Barry's hands immediately.

"B, I fucking love you, you're the best!" Ross says, voice bursting with gratitude as he smiles warmly at Barry.

This time, Dan is absolutely fucking certain he sees Barry's cheeks tinge red, nodding as his gaze doesn't quite meet Ross', and Dan's lips curl into a smirk. Dan opens his mouth to comment, and—

"Oh, hey guys."

All the air escapes his lungs in a sharp hiss, not unlike that of a deflating balloon as he hears the voice he's been craving to hear this entire time. He looks up swiftly, Arin's standing at the end of the table, bookbag hanging off of one shoulder and sketchbook in hand, and man does he look great. Well, he looks the same as usual. But that doesn't mean he doesn't look great.

He shrugs his bag off, letting it fall to the ground. He's about to sit in his usual spot between Dan and Suzy, making the group even with three sitting on each side of the table as it normally was, but before he can Dan jolts up, hands slamming loudly against the table, and all five pairs of eyes are on him.

"...Dan?" Arin says, voice laced with concern, and damn it even just hearing him say his name like that is making Dan feel feelings. What feelings? Dan's asking himself the same exact question.

Dan turns to Arin, expression stern and serious, and he can see the way Arin's eyes widen. Before Dan can really figure out what's happening or what he's doing, his hand is around Arin's wrist, dragging him away from the table and towards the double doors of the cafeteria. He could hear Holly and Suzy questioning what had just happened, but their voices and the rest of the noise of the room is lost in the ringing in Dan's ears.

"Dan? Where are we even going?" Arin just sounds curious, not necessarily alarmed, and Dan doesn't trust his voice enough to verbally answer, not yet, so he just keeps moving.

He stops once they're in an empty staircase, letting Arin go, and Arin's face twists in discomfort as he rubs at his wrist. Dan looks at him apologetically, he didn't mean to grip so hard but fuck is he determined. He's running on adrenaline, blood pumping, and considering the situation, how close in proximity he actually is to Arin, that probably isn't the best condition to be in right now.

"Okay, dude, what the fuck was that ab—"

Arin's cut off mid sentence as Dan steps forward suddenly, crashing their lips together and kissing hard as he presses Arin up against the wall.

Yeah. This is exactly why that isn't the best condition to be in right now.

Arin's eyes shoot open in surprise, though he doesn't even attempt to push Dan away, and Dan feels him kissing back quickly. Arin wanted this, too. Good to know.

This kiss is much different from the first one, which was soft and gentle, much more cautious since it was more of an experiment than anything. This one is intense, heated, desperate, both of them clearly wanting, no, craving the other's touch, and Dan is burning, just like in his dream. He feels like his skin is on fire, each drag of their lips just making him burn hotter, and damn, it's absolutely breathtaking, both literally and figuratively.

Dan feels a wetness swipe at his bottom lip, it's Arin's tongue, he's trying to deepen the kiss, and Dan can't help but grin slightly into the kiss. Someone's a fast learner.

Their tongues slide together, wet and sinful, and Dan realizes with some surprise that if someone were to walk in on them doing this at that very moment—they were just in a staircase after all, it was more than possible—he probably wouldn't even care.

Dan steps back, a string of saliva still connecting the pairs of lips as they break apart, and he's quick to wipe his mouth. That may have been a brief kiss, but that didn't change the impact it had or the way it felt. Arin's just looking back at him, dazed and flustered, still leaning against the wall with red, shiny lips, and Dan adores that look on Arin just a little too much.

"...Okay...now that that's out of my system...we really have to talk."