blamin' it all on the nights on broadway

singin' them love songs

It's not that Arin hasn't seen Dan dance before; it's just that he doesn't see him dance often. When Dan does dance in front of Arin, it's dance moves that aren't serious, that are meant to make you laugh hysterically at the absurdity of his awkward and out of beat movements. It's the type of dancing most would refer to as 'dad dancing', cheesy and ridiculous, and it makes Arin smile each time Dan does it, because it's ridiculous to see.

But that doesn't mean Arin hasn't seen Dan dance seriously before; on the rare occasions Arin has caught Dan dancing seriously, he's always felt flustered because of it because the way Dan moves, when he's actually putting the effort in, is hypnotic. His movements are fluid, lanky body moving easily with the rhythm and beat of the music, whether Arin can hear the music or not. Sometimes he just catches Dan dancing to nothing but to whatever he's humming to himself, hips swaying and arms raising and falling, his whole body moving together in one fluid motion.

The first time he can remember catching Dan dancing he's coming out of the Grump room, wondering whether to make a sandwich quickly or to just grab a bag of crisps, and when he exits the room and looks towards the kitchen area, he stops dead in his tracks at the sight. Dan's in the kitchen, sliding along the floor in his socks with his hips swaying to some music he's singing to himself, humming some of the song before singing some of the lyrics under his breath. There's steam coming from the kettle and the sound of metal clinking can be heard so Arin assumes Dan's made himself a hot drink and is stirring the contents of whatever the drink is.

His hips sway, moving left and then right and back again, sometimes circling round and creating an eight shape in the air. He slides along the floor and pops open the fridge door, retrieving the milk and popping open the lid, pouring some of the milk into his mug, still moving his body to whatever beat he's creating. Arin watches hypnotized as his friend gracefully moves his body to an unknown rhythm, the milk being replaced back in the fridge and the door shut with a side hip thrust before he moves his way back to the counter.

When he finally finishes his performance, after stirring his drink one last time and setting away the spoon in the sink to be rinsed later, Dan stops dancing and takes a sip of his drink. He sighs contentedly, happy with the results and Arin tries to snap himself out of his trance. He steps away from the doorway and into the room, walking over into the kitchen just as Dan turns around and spots him, a blush high on his cheeks. Arin can't tell if it's because of the exertion caused by dancing or because he's embarrassed at the thought Arin saw him dancing.

"Hey man," Dan says almost breathily, almost shakily, and Arin tries to ignore the softness and breathlessness of Dan's voice.

"Hey," Arin says, coming into the kitchen and getting a glass from one of the cupboards so he can pour himself some water. He places the glass beneath the tap and watches the water flow until it reaches near the top and then turns the tap off and leans against the counter behind him. He takes a swig from his glass, letting the cool liquid refresh him as he takes a few big gulps, and then decides to spare Dan any embarrassment he might feel and comments, "Just came out to get a drink quick, and something to eat. You want anything?"

He's trying to pretend he didn't see anything and Dan looks wary, as if unsure if Arin actually did see something or not. He raises the mug of something steaming back up to his lips and takes a sip, shaking his head when he lowers the mug to say, "Nah man, I'm good."

"Okay, can you set the game up for me when you go back in? I'll be in there in a sec," Arin replies and Dan nods, making his way back into the Grump space to set up another game for them to begin playing and recording. Arin hopes the flush on his cheeks didn't give him away that he had been watching Dan this entire time.

*

It's been a while since then and Arin's only ever occasionally seen Dan dance seriously but over the course of the two years he's known Dan, he's gotten more confident in his dancing, not getting quite as embarrassed when people catch him swaying his hips or moving his whole body in one fluid motion. Still, he doesn't always try to dance in front of others but he doesn't seem to be as flustered about it when people catch him doing it, only turning his serious dance moves into his comical 'dad dancing' to make the person laugh with him.