What Are You Doing New Year's?, a power rangers fanfic

What Are You Doing New Years?

Disclaimer: I don't own Power Rangers.

Warnings: Mild adult language, boy/boy relationships

Summary: Into the Woods AU. The three ninjas-in-training decide to celebrate New Year's together, but not without their share of hang-ups. Dustin worries over Shane, Shane worries over Dustin, and Tori actually decides to do something about their nonsense. Because she's Tori, and seriously, she can't take this stupid ogling anymore. It's driving her crazy. Shane/Dustin.

This is the second of my holiday gift-fics for my three betas. This one is for Rogue Ranger who requested a Shane/Dustin romance story in the "Into the Woods" verse. Because romance was not an intended factor in that particular story, this is a AU oneshot. You don't have to have read "Into the Woods" in order to understand this story, just know that this is pre-season when they are still training to be ninjas, and that Dustin is shy. Yeah, I know right?

This one's for you Rogue, thank you for patiently (and I cannot stress enough how much patience this guy has, it is incredible to say the least) guiding me in the ways of proper grammar, being kind when I forget (far too often) certain rules and helping me keep my stories in line. You're a boss, hoss.

Notes: Title based off of Harry Connick Jr's song, "What are you doing New Years?"

-:-:-:-:-:-

The nerves were a result of habit, Dustin knew that, because after months of reassurance and unrelenting company from Tori and Shane there was no need for him to be anxious, he was beyond that now or, he would like to think he was beyond that stage of his life even though he knew he really wasn't. It was…well, at least he was comfortable, right? He had two friends, and they never pushed (okay, Tori pushed, but Tori was Tori and the world would probably implode if she was ever in a state of not-pushing so Dustin couldn't hold that against her) and they liked hanging out with him, and he liked hanging out with them, and everything was all well and good whatever other adjectives would describe the positive state of Dustin's world that he couldn't think of because the nerves were attacking and the nerves were kind've the ultimate jerkwads.

Dustin didn't know who to blame for them. Well, it was obvious that he would be the one to blame, being that he was the one in control of his mental status or whatever, but he had been trying to cut back on the self deprecation on a count of Tori's especially ferocious look of disapproval she got every time he so much as thought of putting himself down combined with her uncanny ability to detect all Dustin-belittlement, so he tried to move his mind onto other things.

Like cleaning, cleaning was safe. It also happened to be something Dustin knew he was good at so he could finally put off worrying about Tori and start worrying about…well, Tori.

And Shane, to be fair. Actually, it was mostly Shane. It was always mostly Shane, but Dustin hated playing favorites so he tried to distribute his anxiety equally, because Tori's slowly-diminishing princess charm could be unnerving sometimes.

Which was, undoubtedly (if Dustin was using that word right, and he was pretty sure he was), a stupid thing to be concerned about. It was December 31st, the end of the first half of their basic ninja training together, as in together-together, and things like secret-ninja training were great for bonding and building comradery, so Dustin wasn't sure why his nerves felt like attacking now.

It was probably because this would be the first holiday they would spend together, just them. And it wasn't- it wouldn't be like all the other times when they hung out at each other's houses or at Storm Chargers or the beach or the Skate Park or whatever, it would just be them, no extra people milling about in the background whose presence provided constant white noise (or judgment, in Dustin's often non-verbalized case). Nope, this time it was just the three of them, cooking junk food in Dustin's kitchen, waiting for the New Year to come around.

It had been Tori's idea, and once Tori got an idea set in her brain it was ninety-nine percent easier to simply go along with it than it was to convince her differently. Sometimes Shane tried to anyway, though Dustin was beginning to realize it was because he found getting her worked up and on the defensive very entertaining, rather than like, actually disagreeing with her. Though that happened sometimes too, forcing Dustin to sit really still in the background and hope they don't pick him to be a neutral mediator, even thought they always did, and he got to have a mini-heart attack and logic things out so that whichever side ended up losing couldn't be too mad about it.

But he was getting sidetracked. Not all that surprising, but still, focus. He needed focus.

So Tori was going to come over with the food later and Shane had the drinks covered, leaving Dustin to concentrate on cleaning the entire first story of his house (with the exception of his mom's master bedroom, which would be locked up for the night) and making sure all the cooking tools they required would be ready and waiting, all the while repressing his stomach's rather insistent urge to go throw up in the toilet he had just finished making spotless.

Classy, he knew, but he couldn't help it. Usually this would be the part in his friendships where he would start to get pushed to the side (not that they could really do that because they were assigned to the same element team), where his friends would get less pleasant and detached until he was simply dragged along in their wake, the butt of their jokes, and then, when that finally grew boring, abandoned altogether.

But that wasn't the case this time. It wasn't.

This time they would stay and they would laugh and instead of getting more shut-off Dustin would open up, without having to worry about it, and he would win. All he had to do was make it through the night without freaking out.

Or worse, even slightly thinking about his unpleasantly strong fixation on Shane. Or like, acting on it.

…easier said than done.

-:-:-:-:-:-

So…Dustin had this thing for Shane.

He called it a "thing" because, as creative as Tori liked to tell him he was (though he never knew what she was going on about), Dustin couldn't think of another title for his… "thing" for Shane that didn't cause his stomach twist into more uncomfortable knots than it already did, so he went with the blandest, most vague title he could think of to give him some kind of peace of mind. It didn't really work, not that he thought it would, but at least he tried. He was an optimist at heart, honestly, despite his better sense.

So Dustin had this thing for Shane, and he was pretty sure it was normal. Not like- well, it wasn't normal to think of a guy almost like, all the time (even Dustin couldn't think out a way to make that equal out to normalcy), but his reasons were good, he thought.

Though he was slowly getting the sinking feeling that the reasons he liked to use to rationalize himself (a learned-from-Tori word) wasn't the same as the reasons that were like, the actual reasons.

But whatever, that wasn't the point.

So Shane was this cool guy, really easy going and likeable. Dustin hated him a little bit in the beginning because of how effortlessly charismatic he was (but that had quickly faded because, well, charisma). Shane could be anyone's best friend if he wanted to be, though he rarely made the effort (which made Dustin hate him a little more) and was, for lack of better word, charming. People liked Shane. They liked his humor, they liked his morale compass, they liked the entire package.

Shane was everything Dustin ever wanted to be, so it was natural (in the way that was Dustin-natural which was, admittedly, not regular-natural) for Dustin to be moderately (ridiculously) focused on him. Because he envied the air student and all that. Wanted to figure out what he did that made him so wonderful, which wasn't a weird thing to think, because Shane was wonderful, and there was no creepiness in stating the facts. Ipso facto, it was okay and Dustin was un-creepy. Moving on.

And it had been…Dustin wasn't sure what happened, but something happened, because it had started off academic (and he got it, that was rich coming from a C-average student but that wasn't the point). They, the three of them, had started hanging out together, and training together, and in those instances (when it was the three of them), Dustin would study Shane. Not like, staring at him or anything, or whipping out a magnifying glass or camera or voice recorder or- well, none of that stuff. Dustin just…he watched. He interacted. He learned. And they became friends.

Which was awesome, by the way. Having Shane and Tori as pals was hands down the greatest thing ever because they made him feel like a person, with like, value and stuff, and they cared about what he had to say and how he felt about things and understood he didn't always get the things they somehow already knew. That he needed to be caught up.

So they'd help him out, inform his un-knowledged brain in a patient and kind manner and then all of them were happy, and no one seemed agitated or lost. And sometimes, on occasion, Dustin would lose them and have to bring them up to speed on whatever he had been talking about, and they always eagerly ate up his explanations, no zone-out eyes in this place, no sir.

Those times were kind of the best.

After awhile Dustin had stopped studying, stopped trying to take notes. Instead he focused on interacting, because with all his focus and stuff he was losing out on actually being friends with Shane, and if there was one thing Dustin knew, it was that participating in friendship was way more enjoyable than trying to figure out how it worked. It was better to just like, be himself than try it was to try and figure out how to be Shane, because he knew, sort of, that they at least liked him.

Maybe if things turned bad this time round Dustin would revisit his old notes, but that was a worry for another day, if not a worry for never. Because this time it was going to last. It had to.

So Dustin had stopped watching.

And then, very…stealthily, so stealthily even he hadn't noticed, he started right back up again.

It wasn't the same though. It wasn't just what Shane did or how Shane laughed. It was…just Shane.

How he looked, what he wore, how he moved. And not just in general but like, how he moved when he was sparring, when he was on the skate ramp. How he looked in training robes, how he looked at the end of a day of training, exhausted and hair mused, sticking out in all wild directions like an embodiment of the element he was learning to master. How he looked leaning against the wall at Storm Chargers, handing Dustin his tools as he asked for them, right at home between the spare parts and oil stains. How he was at the end of the day, the beginning of the day, when he was drenched from the surprise rain storm that attacked them on the way to Tori's van, how he looked when he was happy, when he laughed, when he was frustrated, when he was tired, cheek pressed against the worn upholstery, when he was pleased to have company.

How he looked when he was with Dustin. And how he looked when they were apart.

Which was…normal? Because Dustin envied Shane, so it made sense. Dustin never considered himself all that normal a guy anyway, so the fact that he handled this mild jealousy so unusually wasn't something he should be concerned with.

It very quickly became un-normal.

Not that Dustin was surprised by this.

It had felt too good to be true.

Instead of just like…focusing on Shane's emotions and friendship and like, okay things, Dustin became enraptured (another Tori-word, which he might have learned during the recount of some chick-flick they were both gushing over, but he would never tell) by what was probably, even in his particularly special case, not-okay things. It hadn't seemed all that worrisome at the time, just, one day Shane had changed into a sleeveless shirt after training. There wasn't anything special about it; it was red (like it would be any other color) and really, just a shirt. It was the same thing Shane had worn when Tori picked him up in the morning, except now Dustin was awake enough to notice, maybe, or maybe it was that it had finally managed to sink in that Shane's biceps, that expanse of arm that was normally well-hidden under just about every other shirt he owned, was…buff.

So the guy worked out, obviously. They all did, they were all in a constant state of working themselves into exhaustion every day, it shouldn't be a surprise that Shane was showing the results of their training. With the amount of push ups the air teacher made his students do it would be more bizarre for Shane to be out of shape.

These were the things that Dustin tried to tell himself, while simultaneously not telling himself (because rationalizing your focus on a guy's arm didn't seem like the kind of thing that healthy people did), though by the end of it all his reasoning had been drowned out by those few inches of skin that were normally hidden safely out of sight. How they flexed, how they were just…they were big okay. Unfairly big. Everyone else's biceps wept when placed in comparison to Shane's, so it wasn't odd for Dustin to be fixated on them. They were fixation-worthy. Nothing wrong with that.

So that was what Dustin chalked it up to. Just another thing to be jealous of.

The fact that Dustin just…continued to notice Shane's upper arms, even when after they were put back into hiding, that was when the worry started to edge into his mindset. Just a little. Because he could see them, under Shane's training robes, his t-shirts, when he moved a certain way, raised his arm in a certain position so that the fabric gripped against the smooth bulge of muscle, tight enough so that it was almost skin again, a red, cotton-covered skin, and then Shane would continue moving and the moment would be over and Dustin would feel like an idiot, though he'd never understand why.

But it was still okay, he figured. It didn't sound okay but- it's like when you're watching a movie or something, and someone points something out that you didn't notice, like, how this one character's voiced by this one actor and you had never really picked up on it and now that it's been pointed out to you all you can hear is that actor's voice, except instead of just being in that movie it's everywhere, now that you've noticed it?

He was just noticing Shane, was all. That was nothing to be worried about.

And when that attention spread from Shane's bicep to his forearm, the way the muscles tightened and how tan- to his fingers, his palms, the worry steadily began to grow, because that was getting a little too close for comfort, edging into territories that were sure to make Dustin shunned again, which only served to build up that sense of dread the earth student had managed to tame somewhat slightly, creating a resurrection of the nerves.

Arm-envy, that wasn't normal. Arm fascination and intensive studies, that wasn't cool, and try as Dustin might he couldn't focus on anyone else, there wasn't anyone else that he-

And it degraded, or unraveled, or it- it just got worse, just as things were starting to get really, really good for once. Just as Dustin was finding a balance with his friends, good ones, his mind decided to viciously attack him with these-

It was like he was sabotaging himself, except he wasn't because he knew so he kept his eye out for them. For the moments where he stared too long at Shane's…at Shane's anything, because that was what it was coming to. His hair or eyes or his nose, never his lips, Dustin couldn't-

When things progressed lower, not like- feet were okay, because everyone had feet, or you know, most people had feet and there was nothing wrong with looking at them, no one got offended by a viewing of their naked toes. But then it moved up, to shins, and knees and-

When Dustin hit thighs, clothed-

He had problems, he knew it. He was ruining himself. His mind just didn't want him to be happy did it? He finally had something he had been fighting for, something he thought he was never going to have and – brain attack – he was going to screw it all up.

Dustin was just going to keep being a creeper despite not wanting- he didn't want to do this! He just wanted it to stop. He didn't know why it was happening or what any of it meant and he didn't care, he just wanted to be normal. He wanted to be an average Joe an not worry about all the things he could possible do to be labeled a freak and abandoned back on the outskirts of society. Dustin had done that, didn't particularly feel like doing it again. He just- he couldn't. He had it too good, he had been too pampered, he couldn't go back to his old ways. He didn't know what he would do if they made him try.

So Dustin took all that, all that awful, and channeled it into his training. His…all the stuff he couldn't do, all the stuff he pushed aside he used to motivate his miles of running, his numerous push ups, his never-ending stream of katas. He got it out there so he wouldn't have to carry it with him. So that he and Shane and Tori could stay just he and Shane and Tori, laughing and shooting the breeze, normal teenagers in secret-ninja training. Bonding through stealth and carpools and extreme sports.

The nerves weren't…they weren't as habitual as Dustin liked to claim they were; but if either of them asked, if they threw any concerned looks his way, he could at least fake an explanation for them. He at least had something he could swear by, even if it wasn't necessarily true.

They both knew it was a slow road to exuberance, to pulling Dustin completely out of his shell, they both understood when he had minor relapses.

And that was all this was, that thing with Shane.

It was just a relapse.

Eventually Dustin's brain would stop hating him and he could actually share some of the jokes he had building up in his head.

And that fixation? That focus? It would just be an unpleasant memory of the past.

Never to be spoken of or acted on. Ever.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Shane had to run to at least three stores before he had sufficient supplies to satisfy the combined, food-snobby might that was Dustin and Tori. Not that his grumbling was completely justified, because Shane could have brought a gallon of lukewarm tap water and Dustin would have been fine with it, not in that I-will-go-along-with-whatever-you-want-just-please-stay kind of mindset that the earth student had rocked when they were first getting to know each other, but because he was a really laid back guy and didn't particularly care what he was drinking. He had preferences, Shane could tell, but none of them were ever strong enough to be demanded for. Dustin literally did not care, and would try anything at least once. Come to think of it, Shane couldn't think of a food or drink Dustin didn't like. It was almost as if he had no bad things to say about them or, now that Shane thought about it, that Dustin could always find at least one good quality in just about anything.

That was one of the things that made Dustin so cool, that like, optimism. Not that he always showed it, because he tended to get self-conscious, but there were just so very few things in their world that Dustin found unforgivable.

Tori, on the other hand, was a completely different story, and she had given Shane his list (a list, because she was convinced he wouldn't remember it all (though he had to begrudgingly admit that was true, as much as it pained him)) just to ensure he got all the correct beverages to make their New Year teeerrrific!

Okay, he added on that last part, but he had been kind've peeved about the list. He was allowed that right?

Of course, there was the added fact that said list didn't actually contain items that were all that uncommon, pineapple juice and sparkling cider (and lime sherbet, for some odd reason) were the most out-there provisions, but he still ended up going to three different stores anyway.

Mostly, if not entirely, because he had waited until the last minute.

Before his internal Tori-voice could start griping at him about the importance of timeliness Shane tried to interject that it was not completely his fault. They had gotten the week off from training just for the holidays, ranging Christmas through the day after New Years and his parents had been making the most of it. Making up for lost time was more likely, time they could be using Shane to do their bidding, driving his little sister back and forth to all her very pressing appointments and making the house spotless for relatives he had no particular interest in meeting during those moments he was supposed to be "relaxing". In fact, aside from the times he had begged off to "work" with Dustin and Tori on whatever academy stuff he had made up at the time, and this New Year's thing at Dustin's, Shane had been at his parents beck and call. Yippee him. Go life. And hey, he had even gotten a selection of ties for Christmas, just one of his many wonderful gifts from his parents.

Right, forget it; bitterness had no place in his off-time. They had held Shane to the last minute, as long as they could have him, before he had managed to break free. Unfortunately by this time all the shelves had been hit up, leaving Shane scrambling until eventually, a couple stores later, he had everything he needed. And he was only running fifteen minutes behind schedule. Point Shane.

It wasn't like Dustin and Tori were expecting him to be on time anyway, that was sort of his shtick. There was regular-time and there was Clarke-time and, as much as Shane hated it, his life was determined to live by the latter. Shane liked to think it added to his charm but Tori always rolled her eyes any time he put forth that argument, maintaining that he was just too scatterbrained and immature to manage a schedule. Dustin, as was usual, said nothing and gave a sympathetic shrug, though whether it was because of Shane's inability to be on time or because the air student was suffering under Tori-wrath, he did not know. But, at the very least, Shane knew Dustin didn't care. He just liked it when Shane arrived.

Sometimes Dustin's incredibly low standards and expectations made Shane's heart ache. Just, the persistence of it. That even after months and milestones Shane and Tori thought they achieved Dustin still wouldn't be surprised if one day, just, out of the blue, they stopped talking to him. And worse, he wouldn't even fault them for it.

It was better now, way better than it was in the beginning (when Shane couldn't see, just thought Dustin was another shy kid, didn't know-), they had made progress. Shane liked hanging out with Dustin. He liked having a guy-friend that wasn't always loud and obnoxious and completely full of himself, filled to the brim with ego and high expectations, never acknowledging the frailty of their existence. That they had to be invincible. Untouchable.

Dustin was…he was almost the exact opposite of that. Because he knew he wasn't indestructible. He knew he was a target and had learned how to defend himself from things he would never be able to fight against, to definitions he couldn't fill, despite desperately wanting to.

That was probably what made Dustin better, besides being just a cool and funny guy. The ego he had was modest and deserved, and despite being flighty, thoughts flitting through his brain at terminal velocity only to be quickly replaced by new ones, seemingly disconnected, yet somehow making perfect sense, he was a very good friend.

And when the day was just right, and they somehow managed that combination of exhaustion combined with joyful enthusiasm, flopping on the ground and gasping for air as they breathed out harmless barbs against each other's performance, or quiet jokes about how their training had gone and Dustin was just too tired to be self-conscious…those were the best times. Because he just talked. About whatever, it didn't matter, off-the-wall stuff, and Shane would laugh and Tori would laugh and Dustin would beam, corners of his lips pulled tight in victory, in contentment, because they had all won.

It didn't happen often, but those encounters were steadily increasing, slowly but surely, leaving Shane even more and more ecstatic for reasons he couldn't really comprehend.

Well, he could understand them, he just didn't necessarily like the reasons he found.

They weren't exactly what he was looking for.

-:-:-:-:-:-

So…Shane had this problem with Dustin.

Though, to be fair, the word "problem" wasn't exactly appropriate in this sense, that implied that Dustin had committed something that sat ill with Shane, that the fault was his and easily correctable, given the time and patience, but that wasn't really the case. Yes, Dustin was doing something that bothered Shane, but the problem, the actual conflict here, was that Shane had no idea what the hell it was.

Things hadn't been going any differently than they had before. It had been the same schedule, the same routine over and over with the exception of Dustin opening up more, but that wasn't a problem because Shane liked when that happened, so it couldn't be that, but-

Just, one day, things changed.

And it was ludicrous because literally nothing changed, not with Tori, not with Dustin. It was him.

Shane had changed somehow but he didn't know what happened, couldn't place a finger on it, hated thinking about it. He had just…he had been fine, just relaxing, living, doing what he had always done and then one day, out of nowhere, he noticed Dustin.

As odd as it sounded, Shane hadn't been all that bothered by it at first. Hadn't even perceived it, in fact. Because hey, Shane hung out with exactly two people (okay, he spent time with a lot of people, but Tori and Dustin were the ones that mattered) and there were certain social protocols that dictated focusing on girls and certain girl-parts was sort rude, and as great a friend as Tori was, she also happened to be a really hot chick, so Shane had a habit of focusing on Dustin during their earlier conversations, lest his eyes begin to wander.

So he spent a lot of time looking at Dustin, which was fine, totally in the bro-code for avoiding unnecessary social slip-ups. And as an added bonus, that focus seemed to help pull Dustin out his shell a little more, because of eye contact or an audience to play to or, more realistically, Shane's growing amusement as he watched Dustin talk with his hands, because he so did and it was always fun to watch. When Dustin was on his game, really on his game, the guy was unstoppable, rolling out the theories and entertaining like it was nobodies business. His range of movement was anywhere from broad, sweeping hand gestures to quick, spastic waves, fingers twitching sporadically, sometimes tugging at his curls, one irritating strand stubbornly dangling in front of his eyes. Shane hadn't even known there could be so many variations of a simple shrug but Dustin had taught him all of them, from sympathetic to wistful, gradually built up to or gone in an instant, just a brief, subconscious movement, before it's gone. Sometimes Shane thought Dustin didn't even notice them, didn't have any idea how expressive he could be with just the barest movement of his shoulders.

His eyes were a big deal too, since Dustin hadn't spoken much in the beginning Shane had to learn to decipher his moods from just a quick glance, the position of his eyebrows, the wrinkles on his forehead. Unnerving, at first, because Shane hadn't been used to staring so intently at a guy before, had never needed to pay that much attention, but he did, and he got over it, figuring out Dustin's language.

The earth student probably had the worst poker face in the world, no question. When he was happy, just, pure exuberance, it showed, eyes lit up and pleased, joyous, unable to contain himself. It made it easy to spot when he withdrew, because there was always this sort of sad look of nervousness in his eye, a subtle confusion like he didn't know, and that had baffled the hell out of Shane in the beginning, because he had never seen a guy that expressive before. Dustin was an open book, and it took Shane an unfortunately long amount of time to get used to that fact.

But eventually, Shane learned how to read Dustin's moods. He got used to studying the other teen, casually though, never being obvious about it because then Dustin would get self-conscious, and Shane didn't want that, that wasn't what he was looking for and…

It came as a bit of a shock one day, when Shane realized, half-way through a conversation, that he had absolutely no desire to check out Tori. Not one.

At first Shane viewed that as progress. Yes, he, Shane Clarke, had overcome his goddamn hormones! He was the master of his body, not his libido, not those spontaneous urges, him. He would be the one decide what to do and when to do it, and he could finally, finally have a conversation with Tori without ever having to feel like a sleazebag because he, ladies and gentlemen, had evolved. Matured. He had won.

Shane savored this victory in silence, reveling in his success and deciding, quite befittingly, to celebrate by doing what he had so valiantly restrained himself from doing before, by equally dividing his attention between Dustin and Tori, because that was how you should do things and he was a goddamn adult. Suck it world, Shane was a winner.

So he set his plan into action, this new behavioral strategy and noticed, but a few seconds later, that he still had his attention completely set on Dustin.

Well, that was nothing to be worried about. That was habit, that was what Shane had drilled himself to do; it was only natural for him to go back to that default position. With only a mild chastisement and some slight amusement, Shane turned his focus back to Tori.

And, several seconds later, his eyes were glued back on Dustin.

What. The. Hell.

Now that Shane was more aware of it, he realized that when the three of them where together he just about always looked at Dustin, and not because it was habit, it was just…

He was fun to look at? Maybe?

Hell, Shane didn't know, and it was starting to piss him off that he couldn't figure it out.

Dustin was expressive, and a riot to look at when he talked because there was a sincerity about his words that was charming, freeing even, because you could trust him, which didn't always happen. It was like…Dustin wasn't a guy who threatened Shane's authority or machismo or whatever. Dustin was just a guy. He was a friend. A great friend, a fun friend, but still just a goddamn friend.

Tori was a girl! Tori was just as charming and just as funny and just as sincere as Dustin, just, more logical and, most importantly, a girl. Shane should be leaping at the chance to…ogle her? Okay, event that sounded stupid in his head, but that wasn't the point. Shane should be more inclined to look at her, because she was a girl and girls were pretty and Shane liked pretty girls who also happened to be his super-good friend and no offense to Dustin but Tori should have just a smidgeon of priority, not get completely thrown to the side because Shane's head felt like screwing around with him!

Maybe he was really just a mean guy at heart, and something in his subconscious wanted to mess with Dustin or something and just stare, just, give into that unknown desire to be a dick or something, but that didn't feel right. Shane looked at Dustin because he liked looking at Dustin which…

Didn't mean good things at all.

And then, naturally, things took a turn for the worse. Somewhere after this little realization the other aspects of…looking, came into play. The ones Shane had been trying to avoid with Tori. It stopped being just about watching Dustin talk or how his hands moved or trying to figure out what he was feeling and started to be about…

Him.

Like…his body, and stuff.

Okay, so Shane wasn't in any way particularly proud of himself when he stumbled upon that internal nugget of hidden wisdom but his brain, yeah, it could have cared less, because all it wanted to do was stare at Dustin's cheeks and his hair and his eyes and his…

It was so goddamn stupid. Shane was a guy. He knew what Dustin looked like underneath his clothes because they had the same damn parts. There was no mystery! Not even- they changed together for Pete's sake, they had gone to the beach- Shane knew what Dustin looked like down to his swim trunks, and it wasn't like what was under there mattered except now it was apparently the most important thing in the universe as far as he was concerned, and also horrified because that wasn't right, Shane was a guy, Tori was a girl and Dustin-

Was also a guy, but Shane found that he really didn't care. Not a goddamn bit. Because he was Dustin and Shane liked spending time with Dustin and he liked looking at Dustin and he wanted-

A whole lot of Dustin. Just…all of it, as much as he hated to say it, as much as it ate away at him. Not only was he…not only would he be a joke, to his family, but it was all for Dustin.

Dustin who, to this point, or any point really, would never be ready for a relationship. Relationship, gah- how stupid did that sound? No, just- there would probably never get to the point where it was okay to talk about sexual preferences- and okay, that there, that hurt Shane's brain, a lot, how did he know that phrase? Anyway-

It would never happen.

It would never ever happen and it was only a phase anyway so Shane shouldn't want it to happen and he would be fine, he'd be fine, because eventually he'll move on and the world will keep turning, and he won't ruin his friendships over things that will never be, or urges he would never normally have.

Mission accomplished. No freaking out.

Time to move on.

-:-:-:-:-:-

"What's the status on the pigs in a blanket?"

Dustin furrowed his eyebrows as the crescent roll dough decided to stubbornly cling to the counter, somewhat impeding his treat-making abilities. "Got like, half of them rolled Tor. Should have the rest of theses guys done…eventually."

"Awesome," Tori chirped, pausing from making the queso to smile at the curly-haired teen's attempts to properly chastise the tan mess into submission. "And if I've got the time right, Shane should be here-"

"Now," the air-student-in-question muttered as he strolled into the kitchen, arms laden with grocery bags. "Also, that's not funny Tor."

"Nope," Tori agreed, smiling over her shoulder as she continued stirring the pot on the stove. "But it is accurate."

"She's got a point dude," Dustin said quietly, trying to put forth some honest info before the two of the conversation inevitably devolved into pointless bickering. He knew that was sort of how the other two communicated, like, it was fond and all, but sometimes it made these awful bursts flit through his psyche, feelings he didn't understand (or did and they were like, the worst), so he tried to cut them off at the pass before his mind got all confused again. This was supposed to be a happy evening.

"Fine," Shane muttered, not noticing Dustin cut off his fun as he settled the bags on the kitchen table with an air of one that was very put upon. "Take her side."

But that's not-

"Dude," Dustin replied, tone hurt, just as Tori gave off a quiet laugh, shoulders shaking as she listened to their antics.

To his credit, Shane immediately looked remorseful, frown pulling off his face as he turned to face Dustin, somewhat alleviating that anxiousness that had been building up in the brunette's stomach all day. Right, he shouldn't be- it didn't mean anything-

"Sorry," Shane said, interrupting Dustin's mental tirade. "It was just a joke."

"Yeah well…" Dustin mumbled, trying not to fidget under the other teen's gaze. Overreaction, right, what a surprise from him. "It wasn't a good one."

It was okay to be nervous; Shane and Tori were okay with him being nervous he just needed to stop freaking out-

"Now boys," Tori began brightly, clucking her tongue to recapture their attention. "It's a holiday, play nice."

-:-:-:-:-:-

There was something Shane would like to play with-

Seriously? That was what he was going to do now? Amazing. That was- yes, amazing. This was his life.

Whatever.

Shane shook his head in an attempt to clear it, turning to focus on unpacking the drinks and getting them into the refrigerator, ignoring his stupid hormones and trying to think of ways he could possibly not offend the guy who created these stupid feelings of conflict within him. That would be swell.

Swell, that was a word he learned from Dustin. The guy used all kinds of fifties-esque lingo, like "dandy" and "wazoo" along with a whole slew of words Shane was almost certain he made up, like "nertz", "skizit" and "nopele's". Just, you know, another harmless detail Shane had spent too many hours thinking about, formulating lists and favorites and contexts and growing far more attached to these words, this lingo, than he needed to be. He had even started using "nertz" at home, to the amusement of his sister.

As silence overtook the kitchen, a silence that was not as comfortable as it normally would have been, Shane felt a very familiar set of eyes on him. Usually he would not be arrogant enough to assume he could detect when someone stared at him, because that kind of skill required a level of stealth-mastery Shane was nowhere close to achieving, but practice and repetition had helped beat this particular onlooker's examination into his brain. He knew who that stare belonged to.

A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed that Tori was giving him that same stupid smirk she had so fondly started to wear around him, like she knew something he didn't. It didn't used to bother him so much, she always bore that look, always had this cocky sort of confidence that screamed she could see more than both Shane and Dustin combined, but lately it had been a little…too zoned in, Shane thought. Too focused on him. Too smug, too…

As if reading his mind, the smirk grew, because she knew he hated it and then, to add insult to injury, her eyes darted over to Dustin (who was too focused on glaring at the tan dough sticking to his fingers to bare either of them any notice) before returning her focus to Shane.

That, that there had been going on for weeks. The past month, at the very least, and it was grating at Shane's nerves. She had never spoken to him about it (and he had given her plenty of opportunities when it was just him and her, but she remained stubbornly silent) but she insisted on staring, just- like he was supposed to be able to read her mind or something. No, he had no idea what she wanted, what she was trying to convey, but he did know it wasn't helping any.

Shane glared at her in response then went back to his unpacking, not wanting Dustin to see that he was off his game. This was- it was ridiculous, that was what it was.

"Shane, a little…" Dustin broke the air student out of his mental tangent, waving a dough-covered hand in the other teen's direction as he stared down pitifully at the mess in front of him.

"Yeah," Shane replied, smile finding its way onto his face regardless of his mood of irritation just a few seconds before. "I'll help you."

"Awesome," the curly-haired teen muttered, pausing his task to throw Shane a quick smile, relief and that pure happiness, that unguarded, open expression aimed solely at Shane, just for him. His smile grew in return, couldn't help it, he should help it but he couldn't, not with Dustin, and-

"Guys?"

Shane blinked stupidly, and Dustin must have been shaking himself out of a fog as well at Tori's interruption, the female only staring at them in amusement whenever they both turned to look at her.

"The rolls?" she suggested, nodding to Dustin's mess, and they both made sounds of confirmation, agreeing, and quickly set back to work, or in Shane's case, started to work, ignoring that moment of stupid happiness they had shared just a second ago.

Dustin was just glad to have friends; he couldn't pick up on awkward social cues. Shane was just…forgetting himself.

He was doing that too much lately. He should thank Tori for her interruption.

They probably would have stood there for a few good minutes if she hadn't spoken up.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Man, if Tori hadn't said anything…

Dustin would have been an ogling fool. But it wasn't his fault, honestly, Shane had an awesome smile. Dustin was pretty sure if he did a survey of random people they would all totally back him up on that claim. Shane plus happiness equaled something majorly worthy of constant examination. That should be an undisputed fact.

But it was also sort of a creepy fact, because that was what Dustin was becoming right, and he couldn't- no, he couldn't just explain that to Shane, that wouldn't be a valid excuse, so-

Yeah, it was a good thing Tori had started talking. It was a good thing she was there to play as a sort of mediator.

"So you just…" Dustin began, trying to run Shane through the motions of proper pigs-in-a-blanket creation. "Place a cocktail weenie on the strips of dough that I already cut and-"

"Roll 'em up?" Shane finished helpfully, smiling as the dough of Dustin's example pig decided it did not feel like cooperating. Despite the good nature of it Dustin felt heat rise to his cheeks unwillingly, flushing as the dough stuck to the counter, and tilted his head downwards, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"Ideally," Dustin replied, finally managing to get the dough to work with him.

Great, one down, twenty more to go.

They would be at this all night.

A hand rested on Dustin's shoulder and gave a comforting squeeze, making Dustin fight off the urge to sigh, instead looking back at Shane to give him a tiny smile. He didn't want to be like this, he didn't want to be unable to complete these simple tasks-

"We'll get it done," Shane declared quietly, giving Dustin's shoulder one last squeeze before turning to the work in front of them. "We've faced tougher things right?"

Dustin held up a hand in front of him, examining the tan goo that caked his fingers thoughtfully before replying, "I think that's debatable."

That earned him a few quiet chuckles, chuckles he would totally accept, thank you, because they were amazing and made him feel so…good. Happy, wanted there. Entertaining for the right reasons.

He liked Shane's chuckles.

They worked quietly for a few more minutes before Tori started up the conversation, getting them back into the holiday mood, and soon it was just as it had always been, with the three of them joking and laughing. With Tori and Shane bantering and Dustin making helpful insights that were, undoubtedly, the most insightful and Tori's melodic laughter and more of Shane's chuckles and then even, on occasion, his barks of laughter, and then Dustin would beam because it couldn't get better, it couldn't and see, his thing with Shane wasn't going to ruin everything. They were fine. They were doing just fine. They had almost filled up the entire cookie tray with pigs-in-a-blanket to-be and they only had a few rolls left to fill. Things were looking up.

If they ever looked back on it, and they would because, well, it was important, there would be no question as to exactly how improbable the next series of events would be.

The answer was very.

Very, very, very.

Dustin wasn't sure what happened, could only guess in retrospect that the cookie tray was closer to the edge of the counter than he thought it was, which was weird because he was always mindful of that so he could avoid messes (he knew he attracted them naturally but he at least tried to be clean) but he must have forgotten or something. The tray was to his left, on the counter, and Shane was on Dustin's other side, so maybe the air student had pulled the tray closer to Dustin so that he could put the appetizer's on it more easily, but Dustin would have thought he would notice something like that, but…

Well, the point was Dustin, who had not been paying attention, accidentally knocked his elbow against the tray he had not-thought-was-there, causing the tray that should-not-have-been-there to jut over the edge of the counter, dangling precariously over the edge and seriously considering a complete surrender to gravity, which would make all of Shane and Dustin's hard work be for nothing.

Naturally, Dustin and Shane didn't want this to happen, but the curly-haired teen had sort of a…conundrum, if he used that word right, because his hands were full of dough and cocktail weenies, but the tray was-

He didn't have to worry, not even a little bit, because Shane was right there. And Shane, unlike Dustin, actually had a free hand, so he simply reached behind the brunette's back and lunged for the tilting cookie tray, grabbing its edge easily and pushing it back onto the counter, safely away from the edge.

Dustin turned to thank him, or congratulate him or apologize for his forgetfulness or something, he was pretty sure there was something but he forgot it almost immediately afterwards because his foot slipped and really? It seemed so ridiculously unrealistic because it couldn't be happening, why would it be happening the floor was clean, Dustin knew the floor was clean because he had cleaned it and made sure it was dry and slip-proof to avoid slipping incidents and he knew he hadn't spilled anything because they hadn't even been cooking that long so how-?

So he slipped on nothing, because that was Dustin's life, and face-planted into Shane's chest, because that was also his life and on a completely related un-related note Shane had been closer because of the earlier-lunging, and Dustin's brain just might be exploding over nothing, sort of like the nothing that he had to have slipped on because Shane was there, there, there, right there, right-right there all buff and muscle and chest-in-Dustin's-face and arm around his side around his back rightthere- leaving no room, no room as Dustin looked up, still collapsed against him because the stupid floor was stupidly slippery and he was getting the other teen's shirt dirty with dough, sticking to- and Dustin tried to apologize, tried not to be horrified or blush because if his face lit up anymore he might as well use that to cook the dumb pigs-in-a-blanket and if Tori wanted to say something now he would be cool with it, so cool with it seriously anything, anything would be okay she could mock them for all he cared-

But she continued to say nothing, and his feet continued to refuse to cooperate with him and Shane…

Just kept his arm around Dustin's back, but that was just because of his feet, and they would joke about this later and-

It would be fine.

It would be fine, it would be fine, it would be fine, it would be fine-

And eventually, Dustin was sure, he would stop feeling like he wanted to run outside and earth-dive until he couldn't even hear the reverberations of footsteps on the ground high above, until he was safe and out of sight and unable to do anymore stupid things that made him feel awful.

Eventually.

-:-:-:-:-:-

It had simply been a series of reactions for Shane, instinct kicking in as the cookie tray started to tilt, and then Dustin fell and it was only natural for him to steady the other teen, even if he was right there and right against him and feeling-

Amazing, but not- couldn't- Shane couldn't do it but Dustin couldn't find his feet and it felt too good, felt too nice and what was he tripping on? The floor had looked fine earlier; Shane hadn't noticed any spills so what-?

Over the steady buzz of his thoughts, Shane felt it, felt that stare, that knowing look and knew, instantly, who was to blame. He didn't bother looking down to see that Tori had sneaked some water beneath Dustin's feet, was using it to keep the teen off balance, though what she wanted to achieve Shane didn't know. Did she want to taunt him? Did she think it was funny? Had he made her angry recently? What had he done?

Instead of barking out his questions, fighting off that wave of anger that arose every time someone so much as thought of messing with Dustin, that overprotective nature kicking in subconsciously, Shane looked down at the earth student leaning against him, putting his other hand against the brunette's waist to steady him without even thinking about it.

It just proved to show how in sync they were, because that was when Dustin had finally looked up and the expression on his face, flushing with embarrassment and…another emotion, misery, evident in his features, though if it was because of his clumsiness or because he thought he was bothering Shane or if it was because of the exact same reasons that were making Shane himself miserable then…

Then…

Tori must have seen it, the realization, maybe, because Dustin finally regained his balance, though he didn't move, because Shane was still holding him there, close and the brunette was blushing, so- It looked good on him, it always did.

And there was a good chance, a very good chance that Shane shouldn't do this, that Shane was completely and totally wrong and that he was going to hurt Dustin, ruin a friendship he came to value so dearly and the thought of that struck at Shane's core, hurt, because he didn't want to live like that. He didn't want to go back to a world before Dustin and Tori and he didn't want to hurt him and he didn't want to confuse him or force him into something he didn't want but-

He hadn't moved. And that could be because he couldn't think of a proper way out of this and that could be because he was waiting for Shane to take the lead or for Tori to say something but the fact of the matter was he hadn't moved and maybe all of those moments Shane had thought he had mis-remembered when Dustin looked just a little more happy to see him than Tori or stared at Shane when he thought he wasn't looking or when he blushed and it seemed like only Shane could make him do that…

All those things he had totally disregarded…

Maybe they weren't as imaginary as he thought they were.

Without thinking about it, Shane hooked an arm around Dustin's waist, securing him flush against his chest, because that was where he was wanted and, as he raised a batter-dirtied hand to rest against the side of Dustin's face, Shane was almost certain he felt that knowing smirk from Tori change into a look of triumph, because she did know and he was right, and they were-

He didn't think much about kissing Dustin.

Because he wanted to kiss Dustin. So badly.

-:-:-:-:-:-

There was everything, everything in the whole entire world steamrolling through Dustin's brain at that exact moment because the world was ending, imploding and mentally rampaging against poor unsuspecting brunettes and was it midnight? You kissed at midnight but it wasn't midnight and Shane was kissing him and Shane was holding him and Shane was there and Shane was there and Shane was doing things with his mouth that Dustin didn't know how to reciprocate but really, really wanted to learn how to but there was also the pressing question of why, why would- was it a game? Please let there be a reason that was like Dustin's reason though Dustin wasn't really sure of his reason- all right, he was, but that didn't make it any less confusing and also Shane was kissing him.

They broke it off (Shane broke it off because Dustin had wanted to keep going, figured he was safe as long as they were, you know-) when Tori started clapping and cheering behind them, well, him, and she was laughing and smiling and her eyes were twinkling in that magical, fairy tale way she somehow managed and behind him (now that he was looking at Tori) Shane gave off a couple chuckles of his own which were, yes, very nice, but also not so nice, because-

"Finally," Tori laughed, confusing Dustin because finally what? What had they finally-?

But then Shane was squeezing the arm that was around Dustin's waist, like that comforting squeeze from earlier, but better, and-

When he rested his head against, Dustin's shoulder, the other arm moving to join the other one, Dustin finally, maybe, managed to get it.

Because Shane had felt it too.

He had a "thing" for Dustin.

"You know," Tori continued, smiling brightly to mirror the twin looks of contentment in front of her. "You're supposed to wait until midnight for that."

Shane tilted his head so that it could rest against the side of Dustin's cheek, scoffing quietly, "You're the one that pushed us ahead of schedule."

"Wait, you-" Dustin began, words spilling out as it finally dawned on him, and he quickly inspected his feet, seeing the guilty trail of water puddle off to the side. He looked back up at Tori, so, beyond disbelieving. "Why did you-?"

"You guys were being stupid," She replied easily, then shrugged, like that was the simple facts of the world.

That earned a bark of laughter from Shane, and Dustin couldn't help but join in, feeling the chest behind him vibrate, a comfort, and he trailed off into a smile, nodding Tori his thanks as he leaned back against Shane, tilting his head back so that he could get a better look at his…

His…well, his air ninja.

Yeah, his.

Though his laughter, Shane raised a hand to cradle the side of Dustin's face, meeting the other teen's gaze with a look of…whatever it was they had going on. Affection, maybe? Wouldn't that be something, wouldn't that be…?

It didn't matter though, ultimately. The labels, Dustin meant. He didn't actually care too much about the labels.

He had Shane there, right there who, when they managed to finally talk it out, wanted to continue being right there for Dustin. With Dustin.

And with a proposal like that, how could the earth student possibly turn him down?

Obviously, he couldn't.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

There is a very good chance this is based off of the Paisley household tradition of too much junk food and too many bad movies, but only a chance mind you *wink* *wink*

The beginning of this story was surprisingly easy to write, it was the end that felt like giving me trouble. Of course. Of course it would be the ending. I had been aiming to have this out on New Year's Eve but nope, it just wasn't having it. Luckily, inspiration did eventually strike, so I wasn't that far behind schedule.

And now, moving onto the informative section of these endnotes…

For those of you who are unfamiliar with pigs-in-a-blanket, it is essentially a cocktail wienie (tiny hot dog) rolled up in a piece of crescent roll dough that is then baked. Really good stuff. And queso is just melted cheese that you dip chips into. Also very good stuff, though I suppose the proper term for it would be chile con queso. I mean, if you want to be hoity toity about it. No faults with that ; )

Until next time.

PS: Happy New Year everyone, good job surviving that apocalypse thing :D