fic: the night does funny things (the good wife/sports night; dan/natalie, will/natalie)
Title: the night does funny things
Author: empressearwig
Pairing/Fandom: Sports Night/The Good Wife crossover; Dan Rydell/Natalie Hurley, past Will Gardner/Natalie Hurley
Spoilers: All aired episodes of both shows.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~6000
Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is all for fun. This hasn't happened. Yet. Etc.
Summary: The one where Dan and Natalie get married and Dan meets his identical twin. Sequel to (You) I Thought I Knew You
Author's Notes: So. This was not my idea. The blame for this, and thus the credit, can be placed squarely on the shoulders of torigates and normative_jean. I guess I'm sort of grateful. Title comes from the Tom Waits song "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You", which I listened to approximately a billion times while writing. Please don't ask me to explain my brain. But if you want a soundtrack for this story, that's what you should be listening to.
It starts with an innocent question right before the six o'clock rundown meeting.
"Natalie," Dan says, his brow furrowed with confusion as he stares at a copy of the guest list, "who's Will Gardner and why is he invited to our wedding?"
It all goes downhill from there.
***
Dan is used to everyone else knowing more about his relationship than he does. From the very beginning, from the day that he and Natalie finally let slip that they were dating and it was met with absolutely no reaction whatsoever, all the way up until the day that they announced their engagement six months later, he's used to being the last to know what's going on.
That doesn't mean that he's prepared to find out that his fiancé apparently has an imaginary friend and that everyone but him has a story about this friend. That throws him for a loop.
"Explain it to me again," Dan says that night, after the show, when they've gone back to his -- their -- apartment. "Who's Will?"
Natalie rolls her eyes, and crosses the apartment to sit next to him on the couch. "Will was my college boyfriend," she says, slowly and deliberately, as if Dan's a little bit dim, which maybe he is. "We're friends now. That's all."
Dan frowns. "Are you sure? Because Jeremy said --"
"Danny," Natalie interrupts, and his name sounds like a laugh. She scoots closer and slides her hand up his arm to curl around the back of his neck, and okay, he can tell when he's being distracted. "Who are you going to believe: me or Jeremy?"
"But Kim," he tries again, but that's all the further he gets before Natalie climbs onto his lap and starts kissing his throat. "Or we can talk about this later. Much later. That works, too."
Natalie winds her arms around his neck and grins against his mouth. "I knew you'd see it my way," she says, and then she kisses him.
For the rest of the night, Dan doesn't think about who Will Gardner is once.
***
But of course that doesn't last, and the next day, Dana corners him in one of the editing bays, closing the door behind her. When she turns around to face him, she's got her serious face on and Dan can't help the little groan that escapes.
"About Will," Dana starts, and Dan holds up a hand to ward her off.
"Whatever it is, Dana, I don't want to know. I was perfectly happy not knowing for the six years that I've known Natalie, and I don't need to know now."
"But Dan--"
"No," he says. "And that's final."
Dana shakes her head. "Well, I can't say I didn't try."
She opens the door and makes a hasty exit, already calling for Kim, and the door falls closed behind her with a loud thud. Dan frowns at it.
What did Dana mean, 'Well, I can't say I didn't try'? What was she trying? Maybe he should have listened after all.
Jeremy pokes his head in the door. "Did Natalie tell you --"
"Get out," Dan orders without hesitation.
Or maybe not.
***
The save the dates go out in the mail and the wedding planning begins in earnest. Dan thought they were having a small, friends and family only, non-denominational wedding. He didn't realize that meant a level of planning and organization that rivals that of the Allies on D-Day.
He says this to Casey one day in their office, while he's hiding from Natalie and fabric swatches. "Was planning your wedding like this?" he asks, with genuine curiosit-. "I mean, was Lisa this crazy?"
Casey gives him a capital-L look. "Lisa was crazier," he says flatly. "And this is your own fault, you know."
Dan frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. "How is this my fault?"
"You wanted to be involved," Casey says, maybe a little too gleefully, like he's enjoying Dan's suffering, which now that Dan thinks about it he probably is. "You told Natalie that you wanted to help. If you'd done what I told you to do, none of this would have happened."
"You told me to tell her that whatever she wanted was fine and that all I cared about was marrying her."
Casey raises an eyebrow. If it's possible for an eyebrow to be smug, Casey's is. "And given that you're here, hiding from fabric swatches in the first place that she'll think to look for you, what did I say that was wrong?"
Dan's frown gets deeper. He really doesn't like it when Casey's right. "I don't want to answer that. Is there --" Natalie appears in the doorway and he cuts himself off without another word. "Hi, Nat."
"You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago," she says, not bothering with a greeting.
Dan tries to fake a look of confusion. "I was?"
From the expression on her face, he doesn't fool her for an instant. "Yes," she says. "So I went ahead and made the decision without you. You like puce, right?"
She turns on her heel and walks off at a speed that shouldn't be possible for someone of her diminutive stature. Dan stares at her ass for just a second because he's only human and then he turns to Casey, who's' now looking at him with pity. "I'm totally screwed, aren't I?" he asks with a sigh.
Casey nods. "Totally screwed," he says, and turns back to his computer, apparently done with the pity. "I suggest flowers."
Dan ignores him and goes after Natalie instead. Somehow he'll find a way to make this Casey's fault. He just hasn't figure out how to do it yet.
***
The next few months fly by in a blur filled with fittings (which he hates; Monica does a much better job), and cake tastings (which he loves), and pretending to care about flowers and table linens and who sits with who (which doesn't need further clarification), and just one more strange conversation about Will Gardner.
They're sitting at the table in the dining room that they never actually use addressing wedding invitations when Natalie looks up at him, a serious look on her face. "Danny," she says, and she's worrying her engagement ring in a way that he knows she only does when she's really nervous. "I need to tell you something."
He reaches out to take her hand, stopping her fingers by lacing them together with his. "What?" he asks. "You're not going to tell me you slept with Casey, are you?"
"What?" No," she says, letting out a short laugh. "why would you --"
"Then it can't be that bad," he says. "So what is it?"
She takes a deep breath. "About Will," she starts, her hand tightening painfully on his, "there's something you should know --"
"Natalie," he interrupts, "you don't have --"
"No," she says, shaking her head, "I really should --"
"Natalie," he says again, squeezing her hand. "I don't need to know about your ex-boyfriends. All I care about is that they stay your ex."
She smiles, just a little. "And that's sweet, Danny, but there's still something you should know."
"Fine," he says, switching tactics. "But would you rather talk about that or would you rather have sex on the dining room table?"
There's a long pause where she just stares at him. "That is a terrible distraction technique," she finally says, but he can tell by the way that she's licking her lips that he's already won.
He grins. "I know, but you're totally thinking about it, aren't you?"
"God help me, I am," she says, letting go of his hand. She leans forward to kiss him. "This conversation isn't over," she says, drawing back just far enough to speak.
He threads his hands through her hair and kisses her again. "I think you're wrong about that."
She smiles against his lips. "Danny," she says, feathering kisses across his jaw and down his throat. "Lose your pants."
He does as he's told.
***
They get married the first Saturday in May, a date they picked almost at random after trying to find the day with the least major sports conflicts and giving it up as impossible. No matter when they got married it was going to get in the way of something, and so they left it to chance.
Dan wakes up alone in their bed for the first time in months, and it's strange to not have Natalie next to him, burrowing her head in his chest in a futile attempt to escape from the sun. He thinks that now he'll be able to wake up that way forever, and it makes him smile like the fool in love that he is. He's glad that no one is there to see it.
There's a pounding on the closed bedroom door and Casey's voice comes through it loudly, not at all muffled by the supposedly solid oak. "Dan," he says, "get your lazy ass out of bed. I have orders to have you to the hotel by one for pictures and I'm not going to be the one to piss off Natalie or Dana today." He pauses. "Or Natalie's mother. That woman frightens me."
"You and me both," Dan mutters, getting out of bed and opening the door. It was only when he saw Natalie's parents last night at the rehearsal dinner that Dan fully understood why Natalie had been making herself so crazy with wedding plans for the last few months. He hadn't understood just how much her mother disapproved of Natalie's non-Catholic wedding, how much she'd wanted Natalie to get married in the small Ohio town that Natalie hated, and just how badly Natalie wanted to prove to her mother that she could have a beautiful, perfect wedding here in New York.
"What was that?" Casey asks, already showered and dressed, two cups of coffee in hand. He passes one to Dan and Dan looks at it with surprise.
"You brought me coffee?" he asks instead, resisting his impulse to sniff it suspiciously. Casey never brings him coffee.
"It's your wedding day, I'm being considerate."
Dan shrugs and takes a sip. It doesn't taste like it's been laced with anything. "Fair enough. I need to shower."
Casey doesn't dignify that with a response, and Dan remembers why this man is his best friend. No one else would let the opportunity for a smell joke go to waste, not even on the day that he's getting married.
"Give me half an hour," Dan says, turning back into the bedroom still gripping the coffee mug. "Then we can head over."
"Take an hour," Casey calls after him. "You'll want to look pretty and you need all the help you can get."
Dan smiles and keeps walking. That too, is why Casey is his best friend.
***
They get to the hotel on time and make their way to the room that already has their suits waiting for them in it, which they proceed to ignore and turn on the television instead. There's an urgent sounding knock at the door and they look at each other.
"Dana," they say in unison, and Casey sighs, but gets up to answer the door anyway.
She takes one look at them and freaks out. "Why aren't you dressed yet?" she demands, barreling past Casey into the room. "You have to be downstairs to take pictures in less than an hour!"
"Just how long do you think that it takes to put on a man's suit?" Casey asks, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Dana."
She leans back into his hands, and Dan watches all of this with keen interest. He has this month in the "when will they finally give in" pool, and he could use the extra money.
"That's easy for you to say," Dana huffs. "You haven't been trapped in a room with Kate Hurley all morning."
"I do not like that woman," Dan mutters.
"That's no way to talk about your new mother-in-law," Dana scolds, and Casey snorts.
"That's exactly the way to talk about his new mother-in-law, especially when she's making it her mission in life to make Natalie crazy on her wedding day."
Dana frowns. "I don't care for the fact that you have a point."
"Welcome to my world," Dan says, grinning at Dana.
"I'm standing right here," Casey points out.
"And failing miserably in your duties as best man," Dana says, stepping out of reach of Casey's hands. Dan doesn't miss the look of disappointment on Casey's face when he tucks his hands into his pockets. "Get dressed."
Dan decides to take pity on Casey. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," Dana says, retreating to the door. "Don't be late."
"He won't be," Casey says, before shutting the door in her face. He turns back to Dan. "Were you planning on listening to her?"
Dan shakes his head., looking down at his watch. "I figure we have another twenty minutes at least."
"Same." Casey joins him on the couch again. "Let's watch baseball."
***
The next part of the day passes in what feels like an instant. Dan poses for pictures with Casey and then with his parents before the ceremony itself. He walks to the front of the ballroom, Casey by his side and Isaac waiting for them at the makeshift altar with a crooked smile on his face.
He sees Dana walk down the aisle, sleek and classy in a black dress, and then he sees Natalie on her father's arm and he doesn't see anything else. There isn't anything else. She's beautiful, but she's always been that and this is something else entirely. He'd always thought it was a cliché to say that brides glowed, but watching Natalie come down the aisle, come down the aisle to him, he finally understands.
He doesn't remember what Isaac says or reciting the vows that he worried over for weeks, but he remember the weight of Natalie's hand in his, her fingers sliding the ring onto his finger and slipping the matching band onto hers. He remembers the look in Natalie's eyes when he promises to love her for as long as he lives, but he doesn't hear the reading that Kim gives or the song that they asked Natalie's college roommate, Leslie, to play on the piano.
All Dan knows is Natalie.
Isaac pronounces them husband and wife, and says, "You may kiss the bride."
Dan grins, and takes Natalie's face in his hands. "I love you," he says before kissing her. Her fingers curl around his wrists, and she kisses him back. Dimly, he hears cheers and he knows that they should stop. He pulls back, looks at her smiling up at him, and kisses her again.
This time Natalie is the one to pull back, laughing. She laces their fingers together and stands on her toes to whisper in his ear. "There will be time for that later," she teases, taking a nip at his earlobe when she falls back down the ground.
When they walk back down the aisle, husband and wife at last, they are laughing.
***
Dan's relieved when the formal picture taking portion of the festivities is over and they can finally go to their own reception. He says so, forcefully.
"You mean you don't like having your picture taken?" Natalie teases him as they walk hand-in-hand to the ballroom. "I guess being on television every night is a terrible hardship for you."
"That's different," he protests. "You know that's different."
"Not from my seat in the control room," she laughs, tightening her grip on his fingers. "Now smile. Our public awaits."
Dan starts to respond, but then they step through the doorway and there is applause and catcalls that he assumes are mostly coming from their crew, and so he goes into showman mode and dips Natalie low, kissing her more deeply than is strictly decent in mixed company. The cheers get louder, and Dan straightens, pulling a flushed Natalie up with him.
"Danny," Natalie scolds, but there's no heat in it and her eyes are sparkling. "Don't do that."
"Kiss you?" He shakes his head. "I'm afraid I can't promise you that."
She rolls her eyes at him, and swipes at the corner of his mouth with her thumb. "That's not what I meant --" she doesn't get to finish her sentence, because her mother appears next to them, a disapproving look on her face.
"You should be greeting your guests," Kate says. "Not making public spectacles of yourselves."
"Mom," Natalie starts, her face tight with strain, an expression that Dan's seen far too many times in the last week.
"No," he says, interrupting her. Both women look at him with surprise, and he turns his attention to his new mother-in-law. "This is our wedding reception. We're going to do whatever we want, and I'm sorry if you disapprove of any of it, but it is our day. Your daughter's day. Now if you'll excuse us, we do have people that we need to see."
He doesn't wait for an answer, just takes Natalie's elbow and steers her towards the nearest table.
"You are so hot right now," Natalie says after they're out of her mother's earshot, and he looks down at her, not sure he heard her right. He was sure she'd be pissed, but she's practically beaming at him, and she's got the look in her eyes that means that she's more than a little turned on. "I mean it, Danny, you are going to get so much sex for that."
"In front of all these people? I think your mother really might object to that."
"All the more reason to do it," she says.
Dan laughs and they're at the first table, saying hello to Natalie's cousins from Ohio and accepting congratulations. They move from table to table, coaching each other through who's who as they go, and they've almost finished circling the room when Natalie's hand tightens on his.
"Dan," she says, looking at the table that's left. "Do you remember that conversation I wanted to have all those months ago? The one about Will?"
"Yes," he says. "Why?"
"Because he's sitting at the next table. And god, you really should have let me explain --"
He covers her mouth with his hand before she can finish. He looks over at the table, trying to figure out which one Will is. There are four men at the table. He rules out one right away, because he's Leslie's husband and he knows that they met in grad school. The second is another in Natalie's series of never-ending cousins, and the third is a friend of his from college. That leaves the fourth, and he can't see the man's face, just the back of his head. He's got brown hair, but that's not a surprise since Natalie has a history where men with brown hair are concerned.
He moves his hand from her mouth and drags her in that direction. He taps the man on the shoulder, and waits for him to turn around.
When he does, Dan sees himself. And that's when all hell breaks loose.
***
There are five of them out in the hall, or at least Dan thinks there are only five of them. He's not really sure, because he keeps starting at this other person who looks exactly like him. He expects it to be a prank, a wedding joke, but Will stays there, unmoving, and maybe that's the joke. Hadn't he just been thinking that Natalie had a type?
She does. He just didn't realize it was so specific.
"Dan?" Natalie says, tugging on the front of his jacket. "Look at me. Or say something. Anything. I don't care what."
He looks at her, sees her worried face and he wants to speak, really he does. He just doesn't know what to say. What do you say when you find out that your new wife's first great love could be your own twin brother?
Maybe he should watch more daytime television. Maybe then he'd have the answers.
"I told you this was going to happen," Dana says. "I told you that you had to tell him."
"I tried!" Natalie says, not even bothering to look at Dan. "He wouldn't let me. He said he didn't need to know anything about any of my exes."
Casey snorts. "Of course he said that. Let's all remember what happened the last time a woman he loved wanted to talk about one of her exes."
"I am not Rebecca," Natalie says sharply. "And Will is not Steve Sisco."
"I'm not who?" Will asks, and Dan can see the confusion on the other man's face plain as day. He wonders if that's what he looks like when he's confused. It's not a good look. "And can I just say something?"
"No," the other three snap in unison.
"Fine," Will says, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But all I was going to say is that I don't see it."
And that, finally, is enough to snap Dan out of his stupor. "You don't see it?" he asks incredulously. "Really? It's like looking in a fucking mirror."
"Danny!" Natalie says, beaming up at him. "You can still speak."
"Of course I can speak," he says, prying her fists off his lapels. He holds onto her hand, nudging her behind him as he steps closer to Will. "I just didn't know what to say. I still don't."
"You seem to be doing just fine with me," Will points out, and Dan's free hand twitches with the urge to punch his doppelganger in the face. He wouldn't do it, of course, but still. He's tempted.
"Will, don't," Natalie says, trying to move in front of Dan. He does his best not to let her. He'd never admit it to anyone, but it's harder than he thought it would be. She puts her free hand on Will's chest and Dan has to smother every instinct he has not to pull it off of him and chant, 'mine, mine, mine.'
Will looks at Natalie, and Dan sees his face soften with the obvious affection that he still has for Natalie. "Hey," he says, "I'm just standing here."
"You're deliberately antagonizing my husband and you know it," Natalie argues, and Dan feels the goofiest grin break out on his face.
"Say that again," he says, tugging on her hand to get her attention.
Natalie turns around with a confused look on her face. "Say what?"
"My husband."
"Oh," she says, her cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink. She looks around, as if finally remembering that they have an audience, and stands up on her toes to whisper in his ear. "My husband," she says for his ears only.
He has to kiss her, and so he does, ignoring the groans that he hears coming from Casey and Dana's direction. He's used to them.
But the sound of Will's voice makes him pull back. "Are they always like this?" Will asks, naked curiosity in his voice.
Casey answers, "Obnoxiously happy? Only for the last two years or so, but yes."
"Hey," Dan says, "aren't you supposed to be happy for us or something?"
"And I am," Casey says. "There's just my stomach to think about, too."
"Okay, okay," Dana intervenes. "Are we all done here now? Because I think there is a roomful of very curious people waiting for us, so we should probably get back in there."
"I'm fine," Will says. "But I wasn't the one who freaked out to begin with. Dan?"
Dan can feel everyone's eyes on him. "I still think it's really creepy."
"It is kind of creepy," Casey agrees, and Dana elbows him in the stomach.
"But?" she prompts, and Dan looks down at Natalie who's looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
"But," he says, holding his hand out to Will, "I guess I can try to act my age. Hi, I'm Dan Rydell. Nice to meet you."
"Will Gardner," Will says, shaking Dan's hand. "I guess we sort of look alike, huh?"
"Don't push it," Dan answers. He takes Natalie's hand again. "Satisfied?"
"Yes," she says. "For now."
Dan decides he's going to ignore that. For now.
***
All through dinner, Dan ignores the elephant in the room, even though he can see people looking at him and then at Will and then back at him. He can practically hear the whispered conversations, the "can you believe it?"'s and the "you see it, too, right?" But he ignores them all, and eats his steak and kisses Natalie when their guests do the annoying tapping on the champagne flutes thing and makes small talk with Natalie's father about whether or not the Browns stand a chance this year. He does all these things, even though he can feel the frustration and confusion and more anger than he'd like there to be building up inside him, and pushing him ever closer to the inevitable blow up.
He can feel Natalie watching him, gauging his mood, and that irritates him, too. He's not a child that needs to be coddled. He's a grown man who's been put in an incredibly awkward situation, and frankly, if he weren't freaking out, he'd think that was far more worrying. But given that Dana and Casey keeping shooting him concerned looks, too, Dan thinks that he's probably alone in that.
The meal ends and once the plates are cleared, Dan gives the band the high sign. He stands, and offers Natalie his hand. "May I have this dance?" he asks, as the sparse strains of Tom Waits start to play.
Natalie puts her hand in his, and let's him help her to her feet. "You may."
He leads her to the small dance floor and takes her in his arms, tucking their joined hands against his chest. They sway together, unspeaking, until Natalie finally breaks the silence.
"Are you okay?"
He shakes his head. "I don't want to do this now."
"If not now, when?" she asks, lifting her other hand to his cheek. "I don't want us to look back and have bad memories of today, Danny."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have invited my identical twin to our wedding," he snaps, and then instantly regrets it. The look of utter dismay on Natalie's face is enough to see to that. "Nat..."
She shakes her head. "No, you were right. We shouldn't talk about this now."
She turns her face away from him, pressing it into his jacket, and if there was an award for biggest jackass, Dan's pretty sure that he'd win it.
"Hey," he says, nudging her chin up with their joined hands. "Look at me."
She shakes her head again.
"Natalie," he says, close to pleading. "Please."
She looks up. There's a film of unshed tears in her eyes. He didn't know it was possible to feel worse.
It is.
"I love you," he says, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Nothing changes that, okay?"
"I love you," she echoes, raising her hand to his face once more and sliding it back to tangle in his hair. She tugs his face down to hers. "Only you."
She kisses him.
Their guests applaud and start to join them on the dance floor. Dan doesn't even notice that they're there.
His whole world is the space they share, Natalie's forehead pressed against his, their arms around the other. He never wants the music to end.
***
Of course it does, and there are more guests to say hello to and accept congratulations from, and after an hour of endless platitudes, Dan demands a breather. Natalie, who's talking to a friend from college, waves him off, and Dan escapes. He finds his way outside, and breathes the city in.
He just needs five minutes alone, he thinks. Five minutes to get his head together and to convince himself that the Will Thing isn't a big deal and that he's just overreacting.
He doesn't get the five minutes.
Casey finds him first, and it occurs to Dan that Natalie probably sent him.
"Hey," Casey says, leaning back against the wall next to him. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine," Dan says, not bothering to look at him.
"Is that Dan fine or actually fine? Because there's a pretty big difference there."
"Casey," he warns, and now he does look at him.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Casey says, holding up his hands.
"Stop trying."
"I can't," Casey admits. "Natalie and Dana sent me and if I come back with a less than glowing report I'm pretty sure my life won't be worth living."
The smallest laugh escapes him, and Casey grins proudly.
Dan shakes his head, amused at both of them. "Get the hell out of here."
"I'm going." He starts to walk away and then turns back. "Danny?"
"Yeah, Case?"
"She loves you, you know."
"I know," Dan says.
"Okay," Casey says, seemingly satisfied. He disappears back into the hotel, whistling under his breath.
Dan watches him go with narrowed eyes. Casey is entirely too cheerful, and in a way that an open bar can't explain. Something has to be going on with Dana. He smiles, instantly more cheerful at the thought of making all of his co-workers pay up.
The cheerfulness only lasts for only a minute, though, because walking out of the hotel is his doppelganger. Dan tries to shrink back against the brick of the hotel, but it's a futile gesture. Will spots him and after a moment's hesitation, approaches.
"Nice night," Will offers, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Sure," Dan answers, looking anywhere but at Will. It's just too weird.
There's a pause, and Dan assumes that Will is as much at a loss for conversation topics as he is. He wishes that would translate into Will leaving him the hell alone, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Congratulations," Will says finally. "I don't think I said that before, what with all the -- the confusion."
"The confusion," Dan echoes, laughing despite himself. "Sure, let's call it that."
Will grins, and the brief moment of solidarity Dan felt is gone like that. It's like looking in a fucking mirror.
He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. It's too goddamn weird."
Will shrugs. "I don't disagree."
Now Dan's curious. "So why the hell are we standing out here talking?"
"Because Natalie's someone that used to be very important to me and you seem to be someone that makes her happy, and I don't want to be the one to ruin today for her." Will gives him a level look. "Do you?"
"Of course I don't," Dan snaps. He really, really wants to punch Will in the face. He thinks he'd be perfectly justified.
Will shrugs again. "Well then."
Another silence falls. Dan takes deep breaths and tries to regain his equilibrium. He doesn't want to spend what's left of his wedding day angry. He doesn't want to be the one that has to explain to Natalie why one or the other of them has a black eye. He doesn't want to be that guy.
This time Dan's the one that speaks first. "What was she like?"
Will blinks. "What?"
"Natalie. What was she like when you met her?" Dan asks, through gritted teeth. If Will can be polite, so can he. Even if it kills him.
"Oh." Will sounds surprised. He can't be more surprised than Dan is. "She was -- well, naive is the first word that comes to mind. Sweet. Beautiful." He gives Dan a sideways look. "Nothing's changed there."
"No," Dan agrees. "But naive? Really?"
"We met her first day of college," Will says. "There was some culture shock involved. Her hometown is really tiny."
Dan laughs again. "So I've heard."
"You've never been?" Will asks politely.
Dan tries really hard to find some trace of judgment in his tone of voice, but there's none there to find. It's perverse of him, but he really sort of hates Will for that. He shakes his head. "Natalie and her parents," he says, pausing to try to find the right words to say the rest of it. He doesn't have to.
Will nods. "Say no more."
"Back then, too?" Dan asks.
"I think always," Will says. He gives Dan a questioning look. "I don't mean to break whatever tentative truce we've drawn here, but shouldn't you know that?"
Dan wants to bristle at the implication in the question, but the question itself is a fair one. "Natalie and her parents," he repeats, because really, that's enough of an answer. "And besides, I didn't know you existed, well," he waves his hand in Will's direction in a vague sort of way, "existed looking like that until two hours ago."
"Ouch," Will says, too lightly, and Dan can see the twinge of hurt cross the man's face. "She never mentioned me?"
"Not to me," Dan says, shaking his head. "Make of that what you will."
"I see," Will says, cocking his head to the side. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't want to tell someone I'd dated their double either."
Dan shakes his head. "I always knew she had a type," he says. "I just didn't know how deep it ran."
Will laughs, and Dan joins in. He can feel the knot that's been in his stomach since he saw Will's face start to dissipate. Maybe he'll never like the guy, but maybe he's not so bad either.
"And on that note," Dan says, pushing off from the wall. "I should go back in."
Will straightens, too. "Mind if I join you?"
Dan shrugs. "Suit yourself." An evil thought occurs to him. "Besides, just imagine Natalie's face when we walk in together, no blood to be seen on either of us."
"It's the least she deserves," Will agrees, and they head back into the hotel together.
***
Dan can tell the moment Natalie sees them, because her mouth drops open in one of those 'that only happens in movies' moments. Her eyes go wide and she bobbles the champagne flute she's holding, and there's a part of him that's petty enough to admit that he's gratified by the response. She walks away from the person that he's reasonably sure is one of her cousins without another word, weaving her way through the crowd on a straight path towards them.
He nudges Will with his elbow. "Incoming."
"I see her," Will answers. He gives Dan a sideways look. "It's not too late to not torture her, you know."
"I think you're underestimating the speed at which Natalie walks," Dan says just before she reaches them. "See? Hi, Nat," he says, stealing a kiss before she can tell him not to. "Having fun?"
She narrows her eyes at them. "What's going on?"
Dan does his best to look confused instead of like he's enjoying himself. "What do you mean?"
"You," she says, pointing to Dan. "And you," she says again, this time pointing at Will. "You're -- I mean -- this isn't --"
"Is there something weird about me and your ex-boyfriend talking?" Dan asks, not able to finish the question without laughing just a little.
Her gaze shifts back to him, and she pokes him, opening her mouth to speak, when Will cuts her off with an apologetic look at Dan.
"Great party, Nat," Will says. "Happy looks really good on you, you know."
She softens in an instant. "Will..."
He bends to kiss her cheek. "Make sure he keeps you that way," he says, straightening back up to his full height. He looks at Dan and then back at Natalie. He grins. "And if he doesn't, well, my firm has got some great divorce lawyers on staff."
Dan's pretty sure the noise he makes can best be described as a growl.
Parting shot made, Will walks away, vanishing into the rest of their guest without so much as a look back. Bastard. Dan really needs to remember to listen to his first instincts about people.
Natalie tugs on his sleeve, and he looks down, remembering the reason he shouldn't.
"He didn't mean that," she says. Then she pauses, a considering look on her face. "Well, he probably did, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be taken seriously. Because he doesn't."
And just like that, it's okay again. "I know," he says, and then he kisses her, slow and deep. When he pulls back, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are dazed, and he grins and takes her hand in his.
"Let's dance."
Author: empressearwig
Pairing/Fandom: Sports Night/The Good Wife crossover; Dan Rydell/Natalie Hurley, past Will Gardner/Natalie Hurley
Spoilers: All aired episodes of both shows.
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: ~6000
Disclaimer: I own nothing, this is all for fun. This hasn't happened. Yet. Etc.
Summary: The one where Dan and Natalie get married and Dan meets his identical twin. Sequel to (You) I Thought I Knew You
Author's Notes: So. This was not my idea. The blame for this, and thus the credit, can be placed squarely on the shoulders of torigates and normative_jean. I guess I'm sort of grateful. Title comes from the Tom Waits song "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You", which I listened to approximately a billion times while writing. Please don't ask me to explain my brain. But if you want a soundtrack for this story, that's what you should be listening to.
It starts with an innocent question right before the six o'clock rundown meeting.
"Natalie," Dan says, his brow furrowed with confusion as he stares at a copy of the guest list, "who's Will Gardner and why is he invited to our wedding?"
It all goes downhill from there.
***
Dan is used to everyone else knowing more about his relationship than he does. From the very beginning, from the day that he and Natalie finally let slip that they were dating and it was met with absolutely no reaction whatsoever, all the way up until the day that they announced their engagement six months later, he's used to being the last to know what's going on.
That doesn't mean that he's prepared to find out that his fiancé apparently has an imaginary friend and that everyone but him has a story about this friend. That throws him for a loop.
"Explain it to me again," Dan says that night, after the show, when they've gone back to his -- their -- apartment. "Who's Will?"
Natalie rolls her eyes, and crosses the apartment to sit next to him on the couch. "Will was my college boyfriend," she says, slowly and deliberately, as if Dan's a little bit dim, which maybe he is. "We're friends now. That's all."
Dan frowns. "Are you sure? Because Jeremy said --"
"Danny," Natalie interrupts, and his name sounds like a laugh. She scoots closer and slides her hand up his arm to curl around the back of his neck, and okay, he can tell when he's being distracted. "Who are you going to believe: me or Jeremy?"
"But Kim," he tries again, but that's all the further he gets before Natalie climbs onto his lap and starts kissing his throat. "Or we can talk about this later. Much later. That works, too."
Natalie winds her arms around his neck and grins against his mouth. "I knew you'd see it my way," she says, and then she kisses him.
For the rest of the night, Dan doesn't think about who Will Gardner is once.
***
But of course that doesn't last, and the next day, Dana corners him in one of the editing bays, closing the door behind her. When she turns around to face him, she's got her serious face on and Dan can't help the little groan that escapes.
"About Will," Dana starts, and Dan holds up a hand to ward her off.
"Whatever it is, Dana, I don't want to know. I was perfectly happy not knowing for the six years that I've known Natalie, and I don't need to know now."
"But Dan--"
"No," he says. "And that's final."
Dana shakes her head. "Well, I can't say I didn't try."
She opens the door and makes a hasty exit, already calling for Kim, and the door falls closed behind her with a loud thud. Dan frowns at it.
What did Dana mean, 'Well, I can't say I didn't try'? What was she trying? Maybe he should have listened after all.
Jeremy pokes his head in the door. "Did Natalie tell you --"
"Get out," Dan orders without hesitation.
Or maybe not.
***
The save the dates go out in the mail and the wedding planning begins in earnest. Dan thought they were having a small, friends and family only, non-denominational wedding. He didn't realize that meant a level of planning and organization that rivals that of the Allies on D-Day.
He says this to Casey one day in their office, while he's hiding from Natalie and fabric swatches. "Was planning your wedding like this?" he asks, with genuine curiosit-. "I mean, was Lisa this crazy?"
Casey gives him a capital-L look. "Lisa was crazier," he says flatly. "And this is your own fault, you know."
Dan frowns and crosses his arms over his chest. "How is this my fault?"
"You wanted to be involved," Casey says, maybe a little too gleefully, like he's enjoying Dan's suffering, which now that Dan thinks about it he probably is. "You told Natalie that you wanted to help. If you'd done what I told you to do, none of this would have happened."
"You told me to tell her that whatever she wanted was fine and that all I cared about was marrying her."
Casey raises an eyebrow. If it's possible for an eyebrow to be smug, Casey's is. "And given that you're here, hiding from fabric swatches in the first place that she'll think to look for you, what did I say that was wrong?"
Dan's frown gets deeper. He really doesn't like it when Casey's right. "I don't want to answer that. Is there --" Natalie appears in the doorway and he cuts himself off without another word. "Hi, Nat."
"You were supposed to meet me ten minutes ago," she says, not bothering with a greeting.
Dan tries to fake a look of confusion. "I was?"
From the expression on her face, he doesn't fool her for an instant. "Yes," she says. "So I went ahead and made the decision without you. You like puce, right?"
She turns on her heel and walks off at a speed that shouldn't be possible for someone of her diminutive stature. Dan stares at her ass for just a second because he's only human and then he turns to Casey, who's' now looking at him with pity. "I'm totally screwed, aren't I?" he asks with a sigh.
Casey nods. "Totally screwed," he says, and turns back to his computer, apparently done with the pity. "I suggest flowers."
Dan ignores him and goes after Natalie instead. Somehow he'll find a way to make this Casey's fault. He just hasn't figure out how to do it yet.
***
The next few months fly by in a blur filled with fittings (which he hates; Monica does a much better job), and cake tastings (which he loves), and pretending to care about flowers and table linens and who sits with who (which doesn't need further clarification), and just one more strange conversation about Will Gardner.
They're sitting at the table in the dining room that they never actually use addressing wedding invitations when Natalie looks up at him, a serious look on her face. "Danny," she says, and she's worrying her engagement ring in a way that he knows she only does when she's really nervous. "I need to tell you something."
He reaches out to take her hand, stopping her fingers by lacing them together with his. "What?" he asks. "You're not going to tell me you slept with Casey, are you?"
"What?" No," she says, letting out a short laugh. "why would you --"
"Then it can't be that bad," he says. "So what is it?"
She takes a deep breath. "About Will," she starts, her hand tightening painfully on his, "there's something you should know --"
"Natalie," he interrupts, "you don't have --"
"No," she says, shaking her head, "I really should --"
"Natalie," he says again, squeezing her hand. "I don't need to know about your ex-boyfriends. All I care about is that they stay your ex."
She smiles, just a little. "And that's sweet, Danny, but there's still something you should know."
"Fine," he says, switching tactics. "But would you rather talk about that or would you rather have sex on the dining room table?"
There's a long pause where she just stares at him. "That is a terrible distraction technique," she finally says, but he can tell by the way that she's licking her lips that he's already won.
He grins. "I know, but you're totally thinking about it, aren't you?"
"God help me, I am," she says, letting go of his hand. She leans forward to kiss him. "This conversation isn't over," she says, drawing back just far enough to speak.
He threads his hands through her hair and kisses her again. "I think you're wrong about that."
She smiles against his lips. "Danny," she says, feathering kisses across his jaw and down his throat. "Lose your pants."
He does as he's told.
***
They get married the first Saturday in May, a date they picked almost at random after trying to find the day with the least major sports conflicts and giving it up as impossible. No matter when they got married it was going to get in the way of something, and so they left it to chance.
Dan wakes up alone in their bed for the first time in months, and it's strange to not have Natalie next to him, burrowing her head in his chest in a futile attempt to escape from the sun. He thinks that now he'll be able to wake up that way forever, and it makes him smile like the fool in love that he is. He's glad that no one is there to see it.
There's a pounding on the closed bedroom door and Casey's voice comes through it loudly, not at all muffled by the supposedly solid oak. "Dan," he says, "get your lazy ass out of bed. I have orders to have you to the hotel by one for pictures and I'm not going to be the one to piss off Natalie or Dana today." He pauses. "Or Natalie's mother. That woman frightens me."
"You and me both," Dan mutters, getting out of bed and opening the door. It was only when he saw Natalie's parents last night at the rehearsal dinner that Dan fully understood why Natalie had been making herself so crazy with wedding plans for the last few months. He hadn't understood just how much her mother disapproved of Natalie's non-Catholic wedding, how much she'd wanted Natalie to get married in the small Ohio town that Natalie hated, and just how badly Natalie wanted to prove to her mother that she could have a beautiful, perfect wedding here in New York.
"What was that?" Casey asks, already showered and dressed, two cups of coffee in hand. He passes one to Dan and Dan looks at it with surprise.
"You brought me coffee?" he asks instead, resisting his impulse to sniff it suspiciously. Casey never brings him coffee.
"It's your wedding day, I'm being considerate."
Dan shrugs and takes a sip. It doesn't taste like it's been laced with anything. "Fair enough. I need to shower."
Casey doesn't dignify that with a response, and Dan remembers why this man is his best friend. No one else would let the opportunity for a smell joke go to waste, not even on the day that he's getting married.
"Give me half an hour," Dan says, turning back into the bedroom still gripping the coffee mug. "Then we can head over."
"Take an hour," Casey calls after him. "You'll want to look pretty and you need all the help you can get."
Dan smiles and keeps walking. That too, is why Casey is his best friend.
***
They get to the hotel on time and make their way to the room that already has their suits waiting for them in it, which they proceed to ignore and turn on the television instead. There's an urgent sounding knock at the door and they look at each other.
"Dana," they say in unison, and Casey sighs, but gets up to answer the door anyway.
She takes one look at them and freaks out. "Why aren't you dressed yet?" she demands, barreling past Casey into the room. "You have to be downstairs to take pictures in less than an hour!"
"Just how long do you think that it takes to put on a man's suit?" Casey asks, coming up behind her and putting his hands on her shoulders. "Relax, Dana."
She leans back into his hands, and Dan watches all of this with keen interest. He has this month in the "when will they finally give in" pool, and he could use the extra money.
"That's easy for you to say," Dana huffs. "You haven't been trapped in a room with Kate Hurley all morning."
"I do not like that woman," Dan mutters.
"That's no way to talk about your new mother-in-law," Dana scolds, and Casey snorts.
"That's exactly the way to talk about his new mother-in-law, especially when she's making it her mission in life to make Natalie crazy on her wedding day."
Dana frowns. "I don't care for the fact that you have a point."
"Welcome to my world," Dan says, grinning at Dana.
"I'm standing right here," Casey points out.
"And failing miserably in your duties as best man," Dana says, stepping out of reach of Casey's hands. Dan doesn't miss the look of disappointment on Casey's face when he tucks his hands into his pockets. "Get dressed."
Dan decides to take pity on Casey. "Yes, ma'am."
"Good," Dana says, retreating to the door. "Don't be late."
"He won't be," Casey says, before shutting the door in her face. He turns back to Dan. "Were you planning on listening to her?"
Dan shakes his head., looking down at his watch. "I figure we have another twenty minutes at least."
"Same." Casey joins him on the couch again. "Let's watch baseball."
***
The next part of the day passes in what feels like an instant. Dan poses for pictures with Casey and then with his parents before the ceremony itself. He walks to the front of the ballroom, Casey by his side and Isaac waiting for them at the makeshift altar with a crooked smile on his face.
He sees Dana walk down the aisle, sleek and classy in a black dress, and then he sees Natalie on her father's arm and he doesn't see anything else. There isn't anything else. She's beautiful, but she's always been that and this is something else entirely. He'd always thought it was a cliché to say that brides glowed, but watching Natalie come down the aisle, come down the aisle to him, he finally understands.
He doesn't remember what Isaac says or reciting the vows that he worried over for weeks, but he remember the weight of Natalie's hand in his, her fingers sliding the ring onto his finger and slipping the matching band onto hers. He remembers the look in Natalie's eyes when he promises to love her for as long as he lives, but he doesn't hear the reading that Kim gives or the song that they asked Natalie's college roommate, Leslie, to play on the piano.
All Dan knows is Natalie.
Isaac pronounces them husband and wife, and says, "You may kiss the bride."
Dan grins, and takes Natalie's face in his hands. "I love you," he says before kissing her. Her fingers curl around his wrists, and she kisses him back. Dimly, he hears cheers and he knows that they should stop. He pulls back, looks at her smiling up at him, and kisses her again.
This time Natalie is the one to pull back, laughing. She laces their fingers together and stands on her toes to whisper in his ear. "There will be time for that later," she teases, taking a nip at his earlobe when she falls back down the ground.
When they walk back down the aisle, husband and wife at last, they are laughing.
***
Dan's relieved when the formal picture taking portion of the festivities is over and they can finally go to their own reception. He says so, forcefully.
"You mean you don't like having your picture taken?" Natalie teases him as they walk hand-in-hand to the ballroom. "I guess being on television every night is a terrible hardship for you."
"That's different," he protests. "You know that's different."
"Not from my seat in the control room," she laughs, tightening her grip on his fingers. "Now smile. Our public awaits."
Dan starts to respond, but then they step through the doorway and there is applause and catcalls that he assumes are mostly coming from their crew, and so he goes into showman mode and dips Natalie low, kissing her more deeply than is strictly decent in mixed company. The cheers get louder, and Dan straightens, pulling a flushed Natalie up with him.
"Danny," Natalie scolds, but there's no heat in it and her eyes are sparkling. "Don't do that."
"Kiss you?" He shakes his head. "I'm afraid I can't promise you that."
She rolls her eyes at him, and swipes at the corner of his mouth with her thumb. "That's not what I meant --" she doesn't get to finish her sentence, because her mother appears next to them, a disapproving look on her face.
"You should be greeting your guests," Kate says. "Not making public spectacles of yourselves."
"Mom," Natalie starts, her face tight with strain, an expression that Dan's seen far too many times in the last week.
"No," he says, interrupting her. Both women look at him with surprise, and he turns his attention to his new mother-in-law. "This is our wedding reception. We're going to do whatever we want, and I'm sorry if you disapprove of any of it, but it is our day. Your daughter's day. Now if you'll excuse us, we do have people that we need to see."
He doesn't wait for an answer, just takes Natalie's elbow and steers her towards the nearest table.
"You are so hot right now," Natalie says after they're out of her mother's earshot, and he looks down at her, not sure he heard her right. He was sure she'd be pissed, but she's practically beaming at him, and she's got the look in her eyes that means that she's more than a little turned on. "I mean it, Danny, you are going to get so much sex for that."
"In front of all these people? I think your mother really might object to that."
"All the more reason to do it," she says.
Dan laughs and they're at the first table, saying hello to Natalie's cousins from Ohio and accepting congratulations. They move from table to table, coaching each other through who's who as they go, and they've almost finished circling the room when Natalie's hand tightens on his.
"Dan," she says, looking at the table that's left. "Do you remember that conversation I wanted to have all those months ago? The one about Will?"
"Yes," he says. "Why?"
"Because he's sitting at the next table. And god, you really should have let me explain --"
He covers her mouth with his hand before she can finish. He looks over at the table, trying to figure out which one Will is. There are four men at the table. He rules out one right away, because he's Leslie's husband and he knows that they met in grad school. The second is another in Natalie's series of never-ending cousins, and the third is a friend of his from college. That leaves the fourth, and he can't see the man's face, just the back of his head. He's got brown hair, but that's not a surprise since Natalie has a history where men with brown hair are concerned.
He moves his hand from her mouth and drags her in that direction. He taps the man on the shoulder, and waits for him to turn around.
When he does, Dan sees himself. And that's when all hell breaks loose.
***
There are five of them out in the hall, or at least Dan thinks there are only five of them. He's not really sure, because he keeps starting at this other person who looks exactly like him. He expects it to be a prank, a wedding joke, but Will stays there, unmoving, and maybe that's the joke. Hadn't he just been thinking that Natalie had a type?
She does. He just didn't realize it was so specific.
"Dan?" Natalie says, tugging on the front of his jacket. "Look at me. Or say something. Anything. I don't care what."
He looks at her, sees her worried face and he wants to speak, really he does. He just doesn't know what to say. What do you say when you find out that your new wife's first great love could be your own twin brother?
Maybe he should watch more daytime television. Maybe then he'd have the answers.
"I told you this was going to happen," Dana says. "I told you that you had to tell him."
"I tried!" Natalie says, not even bothering to look at Dan. "He wouldn't let me. He said he didn't need to know anything about any of my exes."
Casey snorts. "Of course he said that. Let's all remember what happened the last time a woman he loved wanted to talk about one of her exes."
"I am not Rebecca," Natalie says sharply. "And Will is not Steve Sisco."
"I'm not who?" Will asks, and Dan can see the confusion on the other man's face plain as day. He wonders if that's what he looks like when he's confused. It's not a good look. "And can I just say something?"
"No," the other three snap in unison.
"Fine," Will says, holding up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "But all I was going to say is that I don't see it."
And that, finally, is enough to snap Dan out of his stupor. "You don't see it?" he asks incredulously. "Really? It's like looking in a fucking mirror."
"Danny!" Natalie says, beaming up at him. "You can still speak."
"Of course I can speak," he says, prying her fists off his lapels. He holds onto her hand, nudging her behind him as he steps closer to Will. "I just didn't know what to say. I still don't."
"You seem to be doing just fine with me," Will points out, and Dan's free hand twitches with the urge to punch his doppelganger in the face. He wouldn't do it, of course, but still. He's tempted.
"Will, don't," Natalie says, trying to move in front of Dan. He does his best not to let her. He'd never admit it to anyone, but it's harder than he thought it would be. She puts her free hand on Will's chest and Dan has to smother every instinct he has not to pull it off of him and chant, 'mine, mine, mine.'
Will looks at Natalie, and Dan sees his face soften with the obvious affection that he still has for Natalie. "Hey," he says, "I'm just standing here."
"You're deliberately antagonizing my husband and you know it," Natalie argues, and Dan feels the goofiest grin break out on his face.
"Say that again," he says, tugging on her hand to get her attention.
Natalie turns around with a confused look on her face. "Say what?"
"My husband."
"Oh," she says, her cheeks turning the faintest shade of pink. She looks around, as if finally remembering that they have an audience, and stands up on her toes to whisper in his ear. "My husband," she says for his ears only.
He has to kiss her, and so he does, ignoring the groans that he hears coming from Casey and Dana's direction. He's used to them.
But the sound of Will's voice makes him pull back. "Are they always like this?" Will asks, naked curiosity in his voice.
Casey answers, "Obnoxiously happy? Only for the last two years or so, but yes."
"Hey," Dan says, "aren't you supposed to be happy for us or something?"
"And I am," Casey says. "There's just my stomach to think about, too."
"Okay, okay," Dana intervenes. "Are we all done here now? Because I think there is a roomful of very curious people waiting for us, so we should probably get back in there."
"I'm fine," Will says. "But I wasn't the one who freaked out to begin with. Dan?"
Dan can feel everyone's eyes on him. "I still think it's really creepy."
"It is kind of creepy," Casey agrees, and Dana elbows him in the stomach.
"But?" she prompts, and Dan looks down at Natalie who's looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.
"But," he says, holding his hand out to Will, "I guess I can try to act my age. Hi, I'm Dan Rydell. Nice to meet you."
"Will Gardner," Will says, shaking Dan's hand. "I guess we sort of look alike, huh?"
"Don't push it," Dan answers. He takes Natalie's hand again. "Satisfied?"
"Yes," she says. "For now."
Dan decides he's going to ignore that. For now.
***
All through dinner, Dan ignores the elephant in the room, even though he can see people looking at him and then at Will and then back at him. He can practically hear the whispered conversations, the "can you believe it?"'s and the "you see it, too, right?" But he ignores them all, and eats his steak and kisses Natalie when their guests do the annoying tapping on the champagne flutes thing and makes small talk with Natalie's father about whether or not the Browns stand a chance this year. He does all these things, even though he can feel the frustration and confusion and more anger than he'd like there to be building up inside him, and pushing him ever closer to the inevitable blow up.
He can feel Natalie watching him, gauging his mood, and that irritates him, too. He's not a child that needs to be coddled. He's a grown man who's been put in an incredibly awkward situation, and frankly, if he weren't freaking out, he'd think that was far more worrying. But given that Dana and Casey keeping shooting him concerned looks, too, Dan thinks that he's probably alone in that.
The meal ends and once the plates are cleared, Dan gives the band the high sign. He stands, and offers Natalie his hand. "May I have this dance?" he asks, as the sparse strains of Tom Waits start to play.
Natalie puts her hand in his, and let's him help her to her feet. "You may."
He leads her to the small dance floor and takes her in his arms, tucking their joined hands against his chest. They sway together, unspeaking, until Natalie finally breaks the silence.
"Are you okay?"
He shakes his head. "I don't want to do this now."
"If not now, when?" she asks, lifting her other hand to his cheek. "I don't want us to look back and have bad memories of today, Danny."
"Then maybe you shouldn't have invited my identical twin to our wedding," he snaps, and then instantly regrets it. The look of utter dismay on Natalie's face is enough to see to that. "Nat..."
She shakes her head. "No, you were right. We shouldn't talk about this now."
She turns her face away from him, pressing it into his jacket, and if there was an award for biggest jackass, Dan's pretty sure that he'd win it.
"Hey," he says, nudging her chin up with their joined hands. "Look at me."
She shakes her head again.
"Natalie," he says, close to pleading. "Please."
She looks up. There's a film of unshed tears in her eyes. He didn't know it was possible to feel worse.
It is.
"I love you," he says, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Nothing changes that, okay?"
"I love you," she echoes, raising her hand to his face once more and sliding it back to tangle in his hair. She tugs his face down to hers. "Only you."
She kisses him.
Their guests applaud and start to join them on the dance floor. Dan doesn't even notice that they're there.
His whole world is the space they share, Natalie's forehead pressed against his, their arms around the other. He never wants the music to end.
***
Of course it does, and there are more guests to say hello to and accept congratulations from, and after an hour of endless platitudes, Dan demands a breather. Natalie, who's talking to a friend from college, waves him off, and Dan escapes. He finds his way outside, and breathes the city in.
He just needs five minutes alone, he thinks. Five minutes to get his head together and to convince himself that the Will Thing isn't a big deal and that he's just overreacting.
He doesn't get the five minutes.
Casey finds him first, and it occurs to Dan that Natalie probably sent him.
"Hey," Casey says, leaning back against the wall next to him. "You doing okay?"
"I'm fine," Dan says, not bothering to look at him.
"Is that Dan fine or actually fine? Because there's a pretty big difference there."
"Casey," he warns, and now he does look at him.
"Hey, I'm just trying to help," Casey says, holding up his hands.
"Stop trying."
"I can't," Casey admits. "Natalie and Dana sent me and if I come back with a less than glowing report I'm pretty sure my life won't be worth living."
The smallest laugh escapes him, and Casey grins proudly.
Dan shakes his head, amused at both of them. "Get the hell out of here."
"I'm going." He starts to walk away and then turns back. "Danny?"
"Yeah, Case?"
"She loves you, you know."
"I know," Dan says.
"Okay," Casey says, seemingly satisfied. He disappears back into the hotel, whistling under his breath.
Dan watches him go with narrowed eyes. Casey is entirely too cheerful, and in a way that an open bar can't explain. Something has to be going on with Dana. He smiles, instantly more cheerful at the thought of making all of his co-workers pay up.
The cheerfulness only lasts for only a minute, though, because walking out of the hotel is his doppelganger. Dan tries to shrink back against the brick of the hotel, but it's a futile gesture. Will spots him and after a moment's hesitation, approaches.
"Nice night," Will offers, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Sure," Dan answers, looking anywhere but at Will. It's just too weird.
There's a pause, and Dan assumes that Will is as much at a loss for conversation topics as he is. He wishes that would translate into Will leaving him the hell alone, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
"Congratulations," Will says finally. "I don't think I said that before, what with all the -- the confusion."
"The confusion," Dan echoes, laughing despite himself. "Sure, let's call it that."
Will grins, and the brief moment of solidarity Dan felt is gone like that. It's like looking in a fucking mirror.
He shakes his head. "I'm sorry, I can't do this. It's too goddamn weird."
Will shrugs. "I don't disagree."
Now Dan's curious. "So why the hell are we standing out here talking?"
"Because Natalie's someone that used to be very important to me and you seem to be someone that makes her happy, and I don't want to be the one to ruin today for her." Will gives him a level look. "Do you?"
"Of course I don't," Dan snaps. He really, really wants to punch Will in the face. He thinks he'd be perfectly justified.
Will shrugs again. "Well then."
Another silence falls. Dan takes deep breaths and tries to regain his equilibrium. He doesn't want to spend what's left of his wedding day angry. He doesn't want to be the one that has to explain to Natalie why one or the other of them has a black eye. He doesn't want to be that guy.
This time Dan's the one that speaks first. "What was she like?"
Will blinks. "What?"
"Natalie. What was she like when you met her?" Dan asks, through gritted teeth. If Will can be polite, so can he. Even if it kills him.
"Oh." Will sounds surprised. He can't be more surprised than Dan is. "She was -- well, naive is the first word that comes to mind. Sweet. Beautiful." He gives Dan a sideways look. "Nothing's changed there."
"No," Dan agrees. "But naive? Really?"
"We met her first day of college," Will says. "There was some culture shock involved. Her hometown is really tiny."
Dan laughs again. "So I've heard."
"You've never been?" Will asks politely.
Dan tries really hard to find some trace of judgment in his tone of voice, but there's none there to find. It's perverse of him, but he really sort of hates Will for that. He shakes his head. "Natalie and her parents," he says, pausing to try to find the right words to say the rest of it. He doesn't have to.
Will nods. "Say no more."
"Back then, too?" Dan asks.
"I think always," Will says. He gives Dan a questioning look. "I don't mean to break whatever tentative truce we've drawn here, but shouldn't you know that?"
Dan wants to bristle at the implication in the question, but the question itself is a fair one. "Natalie and her parents," he repeats, because really, that's enough of an answer. "And besides, I didn't know you existed, well," he waves his hand in Will's direction in a vague sort of way, "existed looking like that until two hours ago."
"Ouch," Will says, too lightly, and Dan can see the twinge of hurt cross the man's face. "She never mentioned me?"
"Not to me," Dan says, shaking his head. "Make of that what you will."
"I see," Will says, cocking his head to the side. "Well, I suppose I wouldn't want to tell someone I'd dated their double either."
Dan shakes his head. "I always knew she had a type," he says. "I just didn't know how deep it ran."
Will laughs, and Dan joins in. He can feel the knot that's been in his stomach since he saw Will's face start to dissipate. Maybe he'll never like the guy, but maybe he's not so bad either.
"And on that note," Dan says, pushing off from the wall. "I should go back in."
Will straightens, too. "Mind if I join you?"
Dan shrugs. "Suit yourself." An evil thought occurs to him. "Besides, just imagine Natalie's face when we walk in together, no blood to be seen on either of us."
"It's the least she deserves," Will agrees, and they head back into the hotel together.
***
Dan can tell the moment Natalie sees them, because her mouth drops open in one of those 'that only happens in movies' moments. Her eyes go wide and she bobbles the champagne flute she's holding, and there's a part of him that's petty enough to admit that he's gratified by the response. She walks away from the person that he's reasonably sure is one of her cousins without another word, weaving her way through the crowd on a straight path towards them.
He nudges Will with his elbow. "Incoming."
"I see her," Will answers. He gives Dan a sideways look. "It's not too late to not torture her, you know."
"I think you're underestimating the speed at which Natalie walks," Dan says just before she reaches them. "See? Hi, Nat," he says, stealing a kiss before she can tell him not to. "Having fun?"
She narrows her eyes at them. "What's going on?"
Dan does his best to look confused instead of like he's enjoying himself. "What do you mean?"
"You," she says, pointing to Dan. "And you," she says again, this time pointing at Will. "You're -- I mean -- this isn't --"
"Is there something weird about me and your ex-boyfriend talking?" Dan asks, not able to finish the question without laughing just a little.
Her gaze shifts back to him, and she pokes him, opening her mouth to speak, when Will cuts her off with an apologetic look at Dan.
"Great party, Nat," Will says. "Happy looks really good on you, you know."
She softens in an instant. "Will..."
He bends to kiss her cheek. "Make sure he keeps you that way," he says, straightening back up to his full height. He looks at Dan and then back at Natalie. He grins. "And if he doesn't, well, my firm has got some great divorce lawyers on staff."
Dan's pretty sure the noise he makes can best be described as a growl.
Parting shot made, Will walks away, vanishing into the rest of their guest without so much as a look back. Bastard. Dan really needs to remember to listen to his first instincts about people.
Natalie tugs on his sleeve, and he looks down, remembering the reason he shouldn't.
"He didn't mean that," she says. Then she pauses, a considering look on her face. "Well, he probably did, but that doesn't mean he deserves to be taken seriously. Because he doesn't."
And just like that, it's okay again. "I know," he says, and then he kisses her, slow and deep. When he pulls back, her cheeks are flushed and her eyes are dazed, and he grins and takes her hand in his.
"Let's dance."