Next Stop

Apr 13, 2003 00:46

Next Stop
Fandom: Sports Night
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Aaron Sorkin owns them, I just collected them for the evening.
Summary: Dan and Casey take a train, and Dan gets things chugging along.
Notes: For the contrelemontre middle of the night challenge. Written in 55 minutes.


Four A.M, and Dan is wide awake, listening to the sounds of the commuter train, as it reaches out to places unknown. Or at least, places barely known to him and Casey.

It's not surprising that he's wide awake. His insomnia is near legendary. What is surprising is that he's actually on the train -- with its seats sticky with gum, and God knows what -- heading towards dawn, and no real destination.

It's what Casey had wanted. He'd been in an odd mood all day. Curt with Dana, overly abrupt with the food service girl (whose name he never could remember; it was Cookie, which ought to have made it easy.) By the end of the day, Natalie had a new nickname for him: Snitty McSnotpants.

With Dan, he had mostly just looked at him oddly, and sighed. Dan wasn't sure if it was a "you're the hottest thing going, and I can't wait til we can go home" dreamy sigh, or a "you confuse me. I wish things were back to normal" sigh.

He feared it was the latter. A week into their relationship, and "things" -- junior high school term if ever he heard one -- were too new between them.

To Dan, it was a newness reminiscent of the sweaters his mother used to buy him for the third night of Hanukah. They were attractive, but made him uncomfortable, and a little bit itchy. After a few washings, they felt like he'd been wearing them all along.

Just like Casey. A little bit new, but mostly a comfort. Dan knew that he would grow into him.

The first two nights were the good gifts; An Atari, a new basketball hoop. The things he wanted. It was the rest of the week that he got the things he needed.

After the show that night, and their obligatory stop at the bar across the street, complete with expected flirting, Casey didn't want to go home.

"We're going someplace new," he said. "And we're going there by train."

When Dan pointed out that there wasn't any place either of them had a need to get to by commuter rail, Casey just laughed, and called him a snob. "That's ok. I am too", he said. "I just want to know what it's like out there, where the real people are. Sometimes I just feel --fake"

So that was why they found themselves on the 3:20 A.M to Far Rockaway. And why Casey was currently sound asleep, missing their journey. Dan really didn't mind.

He just watched as the random patterned lights of the city played over Casey's face, his lean torso, and finally slid down his long legs.. He looked pale, his face a canvas, head thrown back, eyes closed in imitation of something Dan had so far only imagined.

Red rectangle green rectangle blue, moving over Casey's still form like the color bars they'd left behind at the station.

He was a work of art, like they hadn't seen at the MOMA, and Dan was having a Casey McCall renaissance. He waited for Casey to wake up, so he could tell him.

sportsnight

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