✧˚ · . Egobang One-Shots * ˚ ✦

Nap Time (Pt. 2)

as you could tell, this is part two! it has the same warnings as before since it is only a continuation. so, sit back, relax, and enjoy this much needed *longer* part lol <3

Gnawing on the end of his fork, Arin munched through sloppy noodles and egg rolls like he hadn't eaten in days, which might've been true if it hadn't been for the fact that Dan kept his tummy full most days and nights during recording. It was mostly Dan who did the lunch and dinner runs and Arin who held down the fort back at the Grumps office, so he knew he wouldn't seriously go hungry. Dan cared too much about his well-being and sanity, so, even if he didn't want to eat, there's no way he'd get out of it the moment Dan noticed something was up.

That was something Arin admired about Dan, and he let him know it. There wasn't a day that went by that Arin didn't comment on Dan's partnership and effort he put into the Grumps, but most importantly, his affection. There was never any tension between the two, unless, of course, they had spent hours late into the night recording and sending footage away to be edited. At those times, it was mostly frustration that stung them both. No arguments, just mumbly conversations and heavy arms laid across thighs. Sometimes, there was a hint of something else, and neither of them would admit to it, but Arin knew.

Arin wasn't blind nor was he an idiot. He might've acted like one on camera, elbowing Dan in the side when he said something ridiculously out of pocket and funny. However, his intelligence and ability to notice subtle changes in someone's body language did not subside during those times. When Dan would bring his knees together and turn them outwards and away from Arin, he knew he'd done or said something that gave him butterflies. He didn't know why he acted this way, or what exactly made him, but sometimes he used it to his advantage. Dan would turn bright red and his knees would buckle together and a hidden bulge would pop under his trousers. Arin was not an idiot.

And so they sat together on the Grumps couch, inches from each other, their elbows resting on either side of the couch arms. Arin watched as Dan shifted his weight on the cushions to better suit him and his hands full of food, his fingers latched around two boxes of a variety of meats and veggies mixed in with steaming noodles. As Dan popped the plastic lids off, the tips of his fingers slid past a glop of sauce and smeared across his hand. Instinctively, he let his tongue fall out to lick it clean and stuck his fingers in his mouth.

Arin had never felt himself become so entranced by something, much rather his best friend licking clean his fingers during dinner. Well, maybe there has been a time before, like the moment Suzy came down the aisle in her gown, but that was the only other time. He had fallen straight in love with her at that very moment, and those same butterflies seemed to appear with Dan, as well. He could feel his blood run cold in reaction to other intrusive thoughts that surfaced his conscious in those few seconds Dan spent cleaning up.

Turning his head so that his hair fell and created a wall between him and Dan, Arin went back to picking apart his dinner, only this time, his fingers shook in anticipation and fumbled around with the utensils. It took him a few tries to actually pluck a piece of chicken from his noodles, but eventually the fork prongs bent in and Arin carried the food from the box to his salivating mouth.

The rest of the evening went by quickly. Both boys slurped up the last remaining noodles and sauce from their carry-out boxes and sat them inside one another on the coffee table in front of them. Arin eventually found himself curled up in the blanket he had previously napped under, with Dan's feet tucked in, too. He was slowly falling asleep against the arm rest when Dan made a sudden movement.

"What're you doing?" Arin asked, suddenly awake.

With his lanky arms stretched back behind his head, Dan stood and bent backward to crack what joints he could. "It's getting a little late, don't you think?"

Dan bent forward and scooped up the trash, his mouth falling wide open with a yawn.

"Well, just a little. Can't you stay around for just one more episode? I'm," Arin fumbled with his words searching for an excuse to keep Danny longer, "I'm afraid we won't get much done tomorrow considering how tired we are."

Stopping, Dan sat the empty trash back down below him and limped back into the couch next to Arin. Yawning again with his chin pressed down against his collarbone, Dan scooted in next to Arin. Arins heart thudded heavily and he could feel the excitement rush from his head to his groin with train-like speed.

"May I?" Dan asked, fingering the underside of the corner of Arins blanket. His heart stopping, Arin picked up said corner and gestured Dan to sit in closer. He did.

Their knees touching, thighs squished in closer, the two of them awkwardly half-snuggled. Arin felt as if his heart was going to crawl up his throat and fall into his lap, and he was pretty sure Dan could tell.

Without a second to notice, Dan had his hands around Arin, pulling him into his chest as if they had done this every single night. Arin didn't protest but shook in his arms, afraid if he spoke, his voice would crack in two. Dan didn't speak, either. Instead, he breathed softly and ran his fingers through the ends of Arins hair.

In silence, with tummies full of warm food, the two laid tiredly in one another's arms on the couch, awaiting the moment sleep would take them both over.