Rating: FRAO for m/m interaction.
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Spoilers: "Napoleon's Battle Plan" and "What Kind of Day Has it Been"
Disclaimer: Not mine. Too bad.
Summary: The closet gets a bit full.
Author's Note: My first SN fic, and after seeing only two episodes. Hooray!
"Five minutes to air."
"Danny, I've been thinking," Casey said, looking in the mirror to check that his tie was straight.
"About what, Case?"
"I think my closet is too small."
"Well, you've got a lot of clothes."
"Yeah. There's barely any room in there for me anymore."
Dan looked up sharply from his script.
"Two minutes, boys. Here are some last minute scores." Natalie's appearance prevented Dan from saying whatever it was he'd been about to say.
Dan and Casey headed to their desks, both lost in contemplation.
Dan did the first part of the intro, concluding with the signature, "I'm Dan Rydell alongside Casey McCall."
Casey did the second part, ending, "You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around."
It was a good show, as usual.
"Give you a ride, Danny?"
"Sure."
Dan slumped into the passenger seat of Casey's car.
"You want to go to your place or mine?"
"Yours, I guess." Dan leaned back in his seat to watch Casey as he drove. "We weren't just talking about clothes earlier, were we?"
"No. I don't think I can do this anymore, Danny. I hate not being able to just be who I am."
"God, Case, I hate it too, but I thought we decided this would be the best way."
"That was years ago. Things have changed." Casey parked and continued to speak as he made his way to the door of his building. "Come on, Danny. You're the one who always wants things out in the open."
"I do." Dan leaned against the back of the elevator next to Casey. Not quite close enough to touch, but close enough to feel the heat radiating off of his partner. "I just want you to be sure that this is what you want. I don't want you to do something you'll regret later." Dan followed Casey into his apartment and back to the bedroom where they fell into a well-rehearsed getting ready for bed routine. "I mean, what if it interferes with the show. Or what if Lisa uses it as an excuse to get total custody of Charlie?"
Casey slid into bed and put his arms around Dan. "You worry too much Danny." Casey leaned in to kiss Dan.
"I know." Dan kissed back. "I'm tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow? You know, sleep on it?"
"Sure Danny. Night. I love you." Casey switched off the light.
"Love you too."
***
Dan awoke to the feel of Casey nuzzling at his neck. "Morning Case."
"Mm. Morning Danny." Another nip at his neck. "Wanna have sex?"
Dan laughed. "Oh that's romantic, Case."
"Okay, so it's not romantic, but it was direct and it made you laugh."
"Well, there's always that." Dan rolled onto his back, pulling Casey with him. "So." He pulled Casey down for a kiss, then rested his arms on Casey's back. "We going to have sex now?"
"Sure. We could do that." Casey smiled and kissed the tip of Dan's nose. "I love you."
"I love you too. Can we have sex now?"
It was Casey's turn to laugh. "Yes. We can have sex now." Casey leaned down to kiss Dan with serious intent. "What d'you want Danny?" Casey asked breathlessly.
"How about you inside me. Or me inside you. Whatever works for you. I'm not picky." Dan grinned up at his lover.
"Me inside you?"
"'Kay. Is there any lube left?"
"I hope so." Casey reached into the bedside table and withdrew a half-empty tube. He squeezed a bit of the lube onto his fingers, which he slid gently into Dan.
"Mmm . . . Think you could find that spot again?"
"I think I could manage that." Casey twisted his fingers again and leaned down to absorb Dan's moan with his mouth. He slid his fingers over himself, then sheathed himself in Dan.
"God, Case. You're damn good at this."
"You got that right." Casey kissed Dan to stifle any further commentary.
Their mouths stayed connected as they came. They lay together on the bed for a few minutes.
Dan was the first to recover enough to speak. "Shower?"
"Yeah." Casey sighed. "Share?"
"Sure."
It took them a few more minutes before they could move, but they eventually got out of bed and shared a leisurely shower.
"You know why this closet is so full?" Dan said as he rummaged through an assortment of clothes looking for something to wear. "You've got like half my stuff as well as your own."
"Yeah, but you've got half my stuff, too."
"So, what you're saying is that we have too much stuff."
"Basically, yes. That's what I'm saying." Casey kissed Dan's cheek. "French toast?"
"Sounds good. Should I make coffee?"
"Nah. I don't want to be that wired. How about juice? I think there are still some oranges left."
"Sure. Just let me do something about my hair."
"I kind of like the wet and rumpled look."
"Oh, go make breakfast," Dan said, throwing a towel at Casey. Casey merely chuckled and headed to the kitchen. He had already set the table and was in the midst of making the French toast when Dan finally emerged. "You're a great wife, you know that Case?"
"Just make the juice," Casey responded with a mock glare.
When they finally sat down to eat, Dan returned to the previous evening's topic. "Were you serious about us coming out of our closet?"
"Yes. Times have changed, Danny. Don't you think people can deal with gay sports anchors?"
"And what if they can't? What if Lisa tries to take Charlie away?"
"Well, then we'll deal with it. The audience will just have to live with it. And if Lisa tries anything, well, you're practically Charlie's second father anyway."
"Okay." Dan grinned. "So, does that mean we start shocking our coworkers today?"
"That sounds like a good plan."
"Better than Napoleon's."
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Not a chance." Dan dropped a kiss onto the top of Casey's head on his way to the sink with the dishes. Casey decided to let it drop and picked up the paper. "You wanna go in after you finish the dishes?"
"We never finished watching that movie we rented a few days ago. We could watch the rest of that."
"Danny. We didn't finish it because we started making out on the couch like teenagers. That's what'll happen if we try again. It wasn't that good a movie anyway."
"We could skip the movie and go straight to the making out."
"I think if we're going to shock our coworkers and still do a good show, we should get an early start."
"You're probably right." Dan sighed. "You done with your juice?" Casey tipped his glass to get the last mouthful of juice, then handed the glass to Dan so he could wash it. They took turns brushing their teeth, then left for the studio.
Casey grabbed the paper on the way out and handed it to Dan. "You can read me anything interesting on the way in," he said in answer to Dan's raised eyebrows.
"Case?" Dan said, setting down the paper when they were about halfway to work. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
"Totally sure. You're okay with it, right?"
"Yes. I just wanted to make sure."
They had the elevator to themselves on the way up. Dan grasped Casey's hand for last-minute reassurance and was rewarded with an answering squeeze and a quick kiss.
They sat down in their office and started reviewing the earliest sports reports and the day's sports schedule so they would know what they had to budget show time for.
"Well, you two are in early today," Natalie said, walking through their office door. "There's a chance that Jordan might be in town today. If he is, we're going to see if we can tape an interview and maybe do a retrospective next week."
"Sounds good," Casey said with a smile. He glanced at Dan who shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Dan followed Natalie back to her office and shut the door. He perched on the table.
"Remember how you were mad because I didn't share?"
"Yeah. What about it?" Natalie peered at him suspiciously.
"Well there's something else I didn't share."
Natalie moved to stand in front of him, arms crossed. "Well?"
"You might want to sit down for this." Natalie didn't move. Dan sighed. "Well, I guess I should just say it." He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. "Casey and I are involved."
Natalie looked at him blankly. "Involved? In what?"
"No. Not in what. Involved with each other. Romantically."
"And you just never found time to tell me." Natalie's voice stayed even.
"No. It's not that. We just decided that the closet was getting a bit full."
"I see."
"Natalie? You're not mad at me, are you?"
"I don't know. But as soon as I know, I'll share."
"Okay." Dan left and went back to his shared office.
"Well?" Casey looked up and asked.
"I shared."
"And?"
"I don't know, Case. This isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be."
"I know, Danny. Things rarely are." Casey softened his words with a smile. "I was thinking we should lead with hockey and end with preseason baseball."
They submerged themselves in work until they were summoned to Isaac's office early in the afternoon. They sat down in the chairs as Isaac leaned against his desk.
"I've heard the rumors. Are you two involved?"
"Yes," Dan answered for both of them.
"Is it going to interfere with the show?"
"No," Casey answered.
"Luther's not going to like it."
"Well, we're together, so Luther will just have to deal with it." Dan's turn again.
Isaac nodded. "Okay. Get back to work, boys."
"Well, that went well. I guess," Casey said when the door had closed behind them.
"Yes, it did. But this might not." Dan raised his chin to indicate Dana heading down the hall toward them.
"Casey, can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"I'll be in the office," Dan said, excusing himself.
Dana pulled Casey into an empty room. "Are you and Dan really involved?"
"Yes."
"Do you love him?" Dana's voice was beginning to sound strained.
"Yes."
"And what about me, Casey?" Dana was barely hanging onto her control.
"Dana. I still care about you. I love you as a friend. And I didn't want you to marry Gordon because he wasn't right for you. But I love Danny." Casey shrugged. "That's just the way things are."
Dana drew in a ragged breath. "I see."
"Dana--"
"Don't, Casey. Just don't. I'll be okay." She managed a small smile.
"Okay." Casey nodded and left the room.
"You okay?" Dan asked as Casey came into the office.
"Yeah. I'm okay." Casey smiled. "We've got work to do."
The rest of the day went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.
"Five minutes to air."
Relax, Case." Dan put his hands on Casey's shoulders and rubbed gently. "You know, I've been thinking about our closets."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I think we should consolidate."
"Consolidate?" Casey looked up at Dan.
"Yeah. Put all our stuff into your closet or mine."
"Maybe we should just scrap both of them and start over."
"Yeah?" Dan asked.
"Yeah." It earned him a kiss to the top of the head.
"Two minutes."
They walked to their desks, smiling. Casey started the intro. "I'm Casey McCall alongside Dan Rydell." Casey turned just enough to direct his smile at Dan. "Right where I'm supposed to be."
"All that and more, coming up. You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around," Dan finished, grinning.
**********
The End.
**********
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Spoilers: "Napoleon's Battle Plan" and "What Kind of Day Has it Been"
Disclaimer: Not mine. Too bad.
Summary: The closet gets a bit full.
Author's Note: My first SN fic, and after seeing only two episodes. Hooray!
"Five minutes to air."
"Danny, I've been thinking," Casey said, looking in the mirror to check that his tie was straight.
"About what, Case?"
"I think my closet is too small."
"Well, you've got a lot of clothes."
"Yeah. There's barely any room in there for me anymore."
Dan looked up sharply from his script.
"Two minutes, boys. Here are some last minute scores." Natalie's appearance prevented Dan from saying whatever it was he'd been about to say.
Dan and Casey headed to their desks, both lost in contemplation.
Dan did the first part of the intro, concluding with the signature, "I'm Dan Rydell alongside Casey McCall."
Casey did the second part, ending, "You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around."
It was a good show, as usual.
"Give you a ride, Danny?"
"Sure."
Dan slumped into the passenger seat of Casey's car.
"You want to go to your place or mine?"
"Yours, I guess." Dan leaned back in his seat to watch Casey as he drove. "We weren't just talking about clothes earlier, were we?"
"No. I don't think I can do this anymore, Danny. I hate not being able to just be who I am."
"God, Case, I hate it too, but I thought we decided this would be the best way."
"That was years ago. Things have changed." Casey parked and continued to speak as he made his way to the door of his building. "Come on, Danny. You're the one who always wants things out in the open."
"I do." Dan leaned against the back of the elevator next to Casey. Not quite close enough to touch, but close enough to feel the heat radiating off of his partner. "I just want you to be sure that this is what you want. I don't want you to do something you'll regret later." Dan followed Casey into his apartment and back to the bedroom where they fell into a well-rehearsed getting ready for bed routine. "I mean, what if it interferes with the show. Or what if Lisa uses it as an excuse to get total custody of Charlie?"
Casey slid into bed and put his arms around Dan. "You worry too much Danny." Casey leaned in to kiss Dan.
"I know." Dan kissed back. "I'm tired. Can we talk about this tomorrow? You know, sleep on it?"
"Sure Danny. Night. I love you." Casey switched off the light.
"Love you too."
***
Dan awoke to the feel of Casey nuzzling at his neck. "Morning Case."
"Mm. Morning Danny." Another nip at his neck. "Wanna have sex?"
Dan laughed. "Oh that's romantic, Case."
"Okay, so it's not romantic, but it was direct and it made you laugh."
"Well, there's always that." Dan rolled onto his back, pulling Casey with him. "So." He pulled Casey down for a kiss, then rested his arms on Casey's back. "We going to have sex now?"
"Sure. We could do that." Casey smiled and kissed the tip of Dan's nose. "I love you."
"I love you too. Can we have sex now?"
It was Casey's turn to laugh. "Yes. We can have sex now." Casey leaned down to kiss Dan with serious intent. "What d'you want Danny?" Casey asked breathlessly.
"How about you inside me. Or me inside you. Whatever works for you. I'm not picky." Dan grinned up at his lover.
"Me inside you?"
"'Kay. Is there any lube left?"
"I hope so." Casey reached into the bedside table and withdrew a half-empty tube. He squeezed a bit of the lube onto his fingers, which he slid gently into Dan.
"Mmm . . . Think you could find that spot again?"
"I think I could manage that." Casey twisted his fingers again and leaned down to absorb Dan's moan with his mouth. He slid his fingers over himself, then sheathed himself in Dan.
"God, Case. You're damn good at this."
"You got that right." Casey kissed Dan to stifle any further commentary.
Their mouths stayed connected as they came. They lay together on the bed for a few minutes.
Dan was the first to recover enough to speak. "Shower?"
"Yeah." Casey sighed. "Share?"
"Sure."
It took them a few more minutes before they could move, but they eventually got out of bed and shared a leisurely shower.
"You know why this closet is so full?" Dan said as he rummaged through an assortment of clothes looking for something to wear. "You've got like half my stuff as well as your own."
"Yeah, but you've got half my stuff, too."
"So, what you're saying is that we have too much stuff."
"Basically, yes. That's what I'm saying." Casey kissed Dan's cheek. "French toast?"
"Sounds good. Should I make coffee?"
"Nah. I don't want to be that wired. How about juice? I think there are still some oranges left."
"Sure. Just let me do something about my hair."
"I kind of like the wet and rumpled look."
"Oh, go make breakfast," Dan said, throwing a towel at Casey. Casey merely chuckled and headed to the kitchen. He had already set the table and was in the midst of making the French toast when Dan finally emerged. "You're a great wife, you know that Case?"
"Just make the juice," Casey responded with a mock glare.
When they finally sat down to eat, Dan returned to the previous evening's topic. "Were you serious about us coming out of our closet?"
"Yes. Times have changed, Danny. Don't you think people can deal with gay sports anchors?"
"And what if they can't? What if Lisa tries to take Charlie away?"
"Well, then we'll deal with it. The audience will just have to live with it. And if Lisa tries anything, well, you're practically Charlie's second father anyway."
"Okay." Dan grinned. "So, does that mean we start shocking our coworkers today?"
"That sounds like a good plan."
"Better than Napoleon's."
"You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"
"Not a chance." Dan dropped a kiss onto the top of Casey's head on his way to the sink with the dishes. Casey decided to let it drop and picked up the paper. "You wanna go in after you finish the dishes?"
"We never finished watching that movie we rented a few days ago. We could watch the rest of that."
"Danny. We didn't finish it because we started making out on the couch like teenagers. That's what'll happen if we try again. It wasn't that good a movie anyway."
"We could skip the movie and go straight to the making out."
"I think if we're going to shock our coworkers and still do a good show, we should get an early start."
"You're probably right." Dan sighed. "You done with your juice?" Casey tipped his glass to get the last mouthful of juice, then handed the glass to Dan so he could wash it. They took turns brushing their teeth, then left for the studio.
Casey grabbed the paper on the way out and handed it to Dan. "You can read me anything interesting on the way in," he said in answer to Dan's raised eyebrows.
"Case?" Dan said, setting down the paper when they were about halfway to work. "Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"
"Totally sure. You're okay with it, right?"
"Yes. I just wanted to make sure."
They had the elevator to themselves on the way up. Dan grasped Casey's hand for last-minute reassurance and was rewarded with an answering squeeze and a quick kiss.
They sat down in their office and started reviewing the earliest sports reports and the day's sports schedule so they would know what they had to budget show time for.
"Well, you two are in early today," Natalie said, walking through their office door. "There's a chance that Jordan might be in town today. If he is, we're going to see if we can tape an interview and maybe do a retrospective next week."
"Sounds good," Casey said with a smile. He glanced at Dan who shook his head almost imperceptibly.
Dan followed Natalie back to her office and shut the door. He perched on the table.
"Remember how you were mad because I didn't share?"
"Yeah. What about it?" Natalie peered at him suspiciously.
"Well there's something else I didn't share."
Natalie moved to stand in front of him, arms crossed. "Well?"
"You might want to sit down for this." Natalie didn't move. Dan sighed. "Well, I guess I should just say it." He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her. "Casey and I are involved."
Natalie looked at him blankly. "Involved? In what?"
"No. Not in what. Involved with each other. Romantically."
"And you just never found time to tell me." Natalie's voice stayed even.
"No. It's not that. We just decided that the closet was getting a bit full."
"I see."
"Natalie? You're not mad at me, are you?"
"I don't know. But as soon as I know, I'll share."
"Okay." Dan left and went back to his shared office.
"Well?" Casey looked up and asked.
"I shared."
"And?"
"I don't know, Case. This isn't as easy as I thought it was going to be."
"I know, Danny. Things rarely are." Casey softened his words with a smile. "I was thinking we should lead with hockey and end with preseason baseball."
They submerged themselves in work until they were summoned to Isaac's office early in the afternoon. They sat down in the chairs as Isaac leaned against his desk.
"I've heard the rumors. Are you two involved?"
"Yes," Dan answered for both of them.
"Is it going to interfere with the show?"
"No," Casey answered.
"Luther's not going to like it."
"Well, we're together, so Luther will just have to deal with it." Dan's turn again.
Isaac nodded. "Okay. Get back to work, boys."
"Well, that went well. I guess," Casey said when the door had closed behind them.
"Yes, it did. But this might not." Dan raised his chin to indicate Dana heading down the hall toward them.
"Casey, can I talk to you?"
"Sure."
"I'll be in the office," Dan said, excusing himself.
Dana pulled Casey into an empty room. "Are you and Dan really involved?"
"Yes."
"Do you love him?" Dana's voice was beginning to sound strained.
"Yes."
"And what about me, Casey?" Dana was barely hanging onto her control.
"Dana. I still care about you. I love you as a friend. And I didn't want you to marry Gordon because he wasn't right for you. But I love Danny." Casey shrugged. "That's just the way things are."
Dana drew in a ragged breath. "I see."
"Dana--"
"Don't, Casey. Just don't. I'll be okay." She managed a small smile.
"Okay." Casey nodded and left the room.
"You okay?" Dan asked as Casey came into the office.
"Yeah. I'm okay." Casey smiled. "We've got work to do."
The rest of the day went smoothly. Well, as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.
"Five minutes to air."
Relax, Case." Dan put his hands on Casey's shoulders and rubbed gently. "You know, I've been thinking about our closets."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. I think we should consolidate."
"Consolidate?" Casey looked up at Dan.
"Yeah. Put all our stuff into your closet or mine."
"Maybe we should just scrap both of them and start over."
"Yeah?" Dan asked.
"Yeah." It earned him a kiss to the top of the head.
"Two minutes."
They walked to their desks, smiling. Casey started the intro. "I'm Casey McCall alongside Dan Rydell." Casey turned just enough to direct his smile at Dan. "Right where I'm supposed to be."
"All that and more, coming up. You're watching Sports Night on CSC, so stick around," Dan finished, grinning.
**********
The End.
**********