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Both Dan and Arin knew that William was a different kind of guest as soon as they saw him duck under the table comedically when they said that the guest was supposed to show up after they introduced the show. The reason for it was this: Arin, Dan, and William walked into the Power Hour set already talking up a storm. They sat down at the table and continued their conversation until the cameras started rolling. They hadn't even realized that William wasn't supposed to be on camera yet.
So, yeah. William was the kind of guy you could have lengthy conversations with. The perfect friend for Dan and Arin. The only other guests who were like that to them were friends they already knew, like Mark, Ethan, Ross, Brian, and Sean. "Welcome to the Ten Minute Power Hour! What are we doing today, Arin?"
"It's Christmas time."
"It sure is."
"And, uh, usually around Christmas time, what do you do?"
William was a guest on the Power Hour because he studied science and engineering, and today, they were building gingerbread houses that could withstand natural disasters. They had built gingerbread houses before. He still quoted their sleigh ride song with Dan around the holiday season. So this time, Arin wanted to switch things up a bit.
It was really fun watching the crew pour sugar all over the houses. And Arin was pretty proud of himself when they dropped the ice and his house was strong enough to break it. By the end of the episode, the floor was a mess (luckily, the crew had put a mat down), and Dan and Arin had a great time with William.
The cameras stopped rolling and Dan started packing his stuff up. He had plans for him and Arin to go Christmas light watching. It was always the prettiest when it was closer to Christmas. And Christmas was three days away. He looked over and saw that his boyfriend was talking to William. He wondered what they were talking about.
Arin waved Dan over with a smile. "Dan! Dan! William's gonna come with us on our Christmas outing today!" Oh...well, Dan liked William. He was a cool guy. He didn't realize that their friendship would be interferring with his and Arin's romantic outing though. This meant that the two of them would have to hide their relationship a lot more than usual. It was nothing Dan wasn't used to. It was mostly his choice to keep them a secret, after all.
But it was okay. He could hide a little longer. Dan took a breath and put on a smile. "Sounds great, Ar! William, you're gonna love this hot chocolate place me and Arin go to all the time. The marshmallows are to die for." The three of them walked out of the set and into Arin's car. It was a short drive as the place wasn't too far from the studio. It was one of those outdoor cafes with the umbrellas attached to every table.
As soon as they sat down at a table, Arin and William began chatting up a storm. Dan heard conversations about work and what they're doing for the holidays. He couldn't help but feel a bit bitter as they barely talked to him. It was just like how the Power Hour was. Yeah, he was included, but the conversations were mainly between William and Arin. When their houses succeeded, Arin only high fived William.
After a little bit, Dan had a frown on his face and was rolling his eyes when William laughed. "Alright. I'm gonna go to the washroom real quick. I'll be back." William got up from the table and walked to the bathrooms. Dan's eyes perked up as he saw this as a chance to talk to Arin.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Arin beat him to it, saying "Hey, Dan, isn't William great? He's such a good friend, man!" This caused Dan to sigh rather angrily "Yeah. He's so great. A real show stopper. How about this hot chocolate, huh? Are the marshmallows perfect or what?"
Arin tilted his head. "Danny, are you-" William came back to the table and his eyes caught the frown deepening on Dan's face. He placed the hot chocolate on the table. "Arin, a word with you." He tugged Arin from the table and brought him away from Dan.
"Dan's been upset all day. He was even upset when we ate those delicious cookies. Did something happen between you two?" Arin shook his head. "No, of course not. He has been quiet today...I'll go see what's up."
Arin went back to their table and grabbed Dan's hand, bringing him up from the table. "Dude, you alright? William says you’ve been kinda down today. I’ve been noticing it a bit too. Is it William? I thought you liked him. It seemed like it during the Power Hour.”
Dan rolled his eyes at the mention of William. He realized this action and sighed, feeling like he was acting like a jerk by being upset all day and not even explaining why. “No. I like William. I really do. It’s just…I wanted to spend today with you, Ar. In ways we can’t do around William. You know he doesn’t know about us and…well…”
"Oh..." Arin was hit with the realization. He should have known this sort of thing would hurt Dan. He still remembered on Halloween where he wanted to be public around the Power Hour crew. He was terrified now just as much as Arin was everyday. "I'm sorry, Arin. I’m being selfish. William’s a great friend, and we could spend time with each other any time-”
Arin frowned, tempted to grab Dan's face and squeeze his cheeks with both hands like he always did when he was insulting himself. “Danny. Don’t ever think you’re selfish just because you wanna spend a little more time with me. I’m like that too. I’m clingy as fuck, dude.” Dan smiled. He knew this very well. “As for William? I think we can trust him if we told him. He seems like a chill guy. I’m sure he’d be alright with two men dating. I don’t think he’d spread it around either because he knows how Youtubers like their private lives.”
Dan never thought of that. When they were on the Power Hour, he seemed to not comment on the certain way Dan would laugh at Arin’s jokes or the lingering looks they’d give each other sometimes. Maybe…maybe this could be the start of sharing their secret a little as they’ve already become more and more comfortable with their co-workers knowing they were in a relationship.
"Alright." He took a breath. "I'll-I'll trust him." Arin smiled and held his hand. “Well then, let’s let him know that I’m dating the best man in the world.” Danny’s cheeks flushed. Arin looked proud of his reaction. They walked toward William who was sipping on some hot chocolate. His eyes casted down to their entertwined hands and raised a brow.
"William. We want you to know that Dan and I are..." He lowered his voice. "Dating." William didn't look to fazed. He sipped on his hot chocolate. "Yeah, I had a feeling." When he saw their shocked faces, he added, "What? It was obvious. I study science and engineering. I know these things.”
Dan felt a little silly now. They could have avoided all this. A squeeze of Arin’s hand reassured that what he felt was okay. It calmed him. “We’ve been keeping it a secret from the public,” Arin said. “So please, at least for now, could you keep it to yourself?”
William nodded. “Of course. Your business isn’t mine to tell. Now, come on. Your hot chocolate is gonna get cold.” This also calmed Dan. He had a feeling he could trust William. By the end of the day, Dan was feeling a lot better about him and Arin. It warmed his heart to know that his friends were all supportive of their choice. They waved William goodbye when they dropped him off, then began driving back to Dan's house.
As they did, the sky began a light snowfall. Dan looked out the window with a big smile on his face. It didn't snow as often as he'd like in California. This winter, however, it was snowing a whole lot more and the ground was covered in white. When Arin parked in the driveway, Dan practically jumped out of the car. He fell back into the snow with a laugh, making a snow angel.
Arin's light laughter made him feel even happier. He heard his boots crunching in the snow before seeing his face looking down at him, a smile on his face. "Danny, you're gonna get your jeans all wet." He offered a hand to help him up. A mischevious look came upon Dan's face. "Shouldn't have done that, Ar..." Dan grabbed his arm and pulled him down into the snow right next to him, laughing as Arin gasped from the cold.
He put a hand to his chest in mock offense. "Dan, you traitor! I was trying to help and this is what I get in return? That's it, no mistletoe this whole season. I refuse to put it up and kiss a traitor." Dan sat up and rested on his elbow. “Isn’t that more of a punishment for you then me?”
“It’s a punishment for both of us.” He crossed his arms.
Dan scootched next to Arin, his face inches from his. “Then I guess you won’t be getting these lips through the holidays, huh? Such a shame. The cold makes them look so kissable.” He licked his lips to make his point.
Arin’s face went bright red, stuttered out something that didn’t sound like English, and then huffed. "Alright fine. You win." Dan smiled and pecked his lips, starting to get up. Absolutely not. Arin pulled him down again and kissed him deeply. Snow was getting all in their hair and clothes. They would have to take showers tonight. Arin couldn’t wait.
When they separated, they leaned their foreheads against each other. “I’ll be buying that mistletoe tomorrow. Make sure I hang it everywhere in your house so you can’t escape me.” Dan laughed. “That sounds wonderful.”
After that, they both got up out of the snow and went into the house. "Are you sick of it, or would you like some hot chocolate?" Dan said as he hung his jacket up. "I could never get sick of hot chocolate." Dan smiled and walked into the kitchen to make some.
Arin hung his jacket as well and made his way to the living room. He sat on the couch and turned on the TV, happy to see that there were Christmas specials on. The 1966 version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas was on at the moment. It was at the part of the movie where You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch was playing. The Grinch was playing poker with ornaments to put them in his bag.
Dan entered the room with two steaming mugs of hot chocolate, his plaid overshirt taken off leaving his blue Natural History Museum of London shirt with the stegosaurus skeleton on it. He gave one of the mugs to Arin as he sat next to him. He brought his attention to the TV and giggled a little.
“What?” Dan looked at him. “You remember when we were joking about the singer being a complete dick to The Grinch?” Arin remembered. It was during the many episodes of Supermarket Simulator. Arin can't remember which one exactly.
"Yeah, dude! You're a mean one, Mr. Singer." He sang. "Whoah, I can dish it, but I can't take it." Dan said. The two of them laughed. Dan leaned on Arin’s shoulder as the movie went on. Soon enough, Dan was passed out and it was near the end of It’s A Wonderful Life. Arin stroked Dan’s hair as he slept and couldn’t help but think about how lucky he was.
Here, he had a wonderful, adorable, and perfect man laying on him. One that meant the world to him. Now, they would be spending every Christmas and Hanukkah together. As a couple. The best part was he knew Dan was starting to become more comfortable with his sexuality and his relationship with Arin. His trust in William today proved that. That made him happier than anything he could have gotten for Christmas.
He looked down at Dan’s sleeping face and smiled. He knew that one day the two of them would be able to be out in public together. It was getting closer and closer. Excitement bubbled in his chest knowing that one day Dan will say, ‘I’m Dan, and this is my boyfriend Arin’ when introducing himself to the lovelies. He'd wait until Dan was ready. And when he was, Arin will be right there with him, supporting him all the way.
“Look, daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” He watched Zuzu say to her father George. It was a wonderful life indeed.