Can You See Me? (Game Grumps Fanfic) ✓

Thirteen - Strange Feelings

They arrived at the office at about 11. Everyone else was already there, hard at work on whatever needed to be done and Arin felt suddenly guilty for sleeping for so long.

No one seemed bothered by his late arrival, however, so he pushed down the feeling and smiled as they walked in.

"Afternoon, Arin!" called Ross from his desk where he was animating.

"It's not midday yet," corrected Arin.

"So?" Ross smirked and continued to work.

Arin shook his head; why did he ever become friends with someone like Ross? Half the time he didn't know what the Aussie was talking about.

"Hey Ross," said Dan cheerily beside Arin.

Ross's head jerked up in surprise as he heard Dan's voice, somehow having not noticed him before.

"He's alive!" he cried happily, throwing his hands in the air in over exaggerated celebration.

"What's Ross screaming about now?" asked Suzy worriedly, coming from around the corner.

"Dan's here! Did you know about this Suzy?" Ross narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"No, and don't look at me like that," she assured, "So are you guys planning on doing some recording?"

She looked at Arin quizzically. He glanced at Dan, who didn't look like he had an answer. He turned back to Suzy.

"I don't know how we'd do that if Dan can't see the game. Hey, Matt! Did you upload that video I sent you?" he called to Matt on the other side of the room, changing the subject.

"Yeah it uploaded a few hours ago. So far the feedback has been great," Matt replied, smiling as Dan's face lit up at the news.

Arin noticed too and gave Dan a quick, friendly squeeze around the middle. That only widened his smile, which sent Arin's heart into overdrive. He ignored the feeling as best as he could.

"See? Now you can go outside with your cane and it doesn't matter if you run into any fans!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, you finally got him to use it!" chirped Suzy, "How is it, Dan?"

"I've picked it up pretty well. Uh, but can we stop talking about it? I feel like I'm being stared at by all you guys," the taller man replied, feeling suddenly awkward with all the attention on him.

"Okay. We should all get back to work anyway. I'm just happy that Arin finally managed to convince you. He's been stressing out about it for days!" Suzy came over and gave Arin a kiss on the cheek before walking away and returning to her desk.

Arin smiled after her but couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable the kiss made him feel. He brushed the feeling away. He and Dan decided to go into their recording room.

Dan flopped down onto the couch.

"Man, I feel like I just keep migrating between couches," he commented with a goofy smile.

Arin sat down more slowly; as much as he tried he couldn't stop thinking about Suzy's kiss.

She's my wife. I shouldn't feel uncomfortable after her kissing me. What's going on with me these past few days?

"So, Arin. Do you want to try recording something?" Dan asked.

First I can't stop noticing how adorable Dan is. Then I feel uncomfortable when my wife kisses me.

"Arin?"

Dan reached out, checking that Arin was still beside him. His hand brushed Arin's shoulder, startling him back into the present.

"Huh?" he blushed, realising that Dan had been speaking to him.

Behind a curtain of brown locks Arin could see Dan frowning, worried. Despite his blindness he somehow seemed to be staring Arin down, maintaining perfect eye contact.

"Are you okay, Arin?" he asked.

Arin is never this quiet.

"Dan... Can I.. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, buddy. I'm all ears."

Dan moved a little closer to Arin on the couch, giving his friend a patient smile that he hoped he would be looking to see. He was worried about what was bothering Arin but was glad that he wasn't keeping it to himself.

"What does it mean if you... if you feel all fuzzy inside whenever you look at someone? And your heart beats really fast whenever you hear their voice? And..." Arin trailed off.

His eyes, which were glued to the floor, floated up until they landed on Dan. And just like that the tingling started, soon followed by the heart palpitations.

The way he's frowning slightly in thought. The way he's biting his bottom lip absent mindedly. Oh god...

Arin felt that special way that only men could feel. His eyes darted down quickly. Was it visible? Not that Dan could see it, but what if someone looked through the window?

He jumped to his feet. The movement made Dan jump.

The startled look on his face for a second there.

"I'll be back in a sec. I just need to..."

Arin bolted from the room, hiding the uncanny redness of his cheeks behind his hair as he entered the bathroom and locked the door behind him. He leaned against the wall, sliding down onto the floor and burying his head in his hands.

What's happening to me? I just want this feeling to go away!

There was a knock on the door that brought Arin to the surface. He looked up, feeling the wetness of his cheeks as he hadn't realised he'd started crying.

"Arin? Are you okay? Ross said you ran in here," came Dan's concerned tone.

"P-Please... Please leave me alone. I want to be alone."

That was a lie. Arin wanted nothing more than to fall into Dan's warm embrace and for him to be told that what he was feeling was normal. But it wasn't. Nothing about what he felt right now was normal.