SPORTS NIGHT: Things Unseen
Title: Things Unseen
Characters/Pairing: Dan/Natalie, Natalie/Jeremy, Dana and Casey
Word Count: 330
Rating: G
Summary: There were some things Natalie forgot about Dan, and some things she's just realizing.
Notes: Written for the itsproductivity prompt for October 5.
Disclaimer: I am not Aaron Sorkin. I do not own Sports Night or any of its characters.
It was supposed to be over.
Well, not really. It was never supposed to be over, just a temporary breakup, but she could have sworn it was over. Danny had moved on - Danny had given Jeremy advice on dating her, for God's sake. So what could it hurt to move on?
It would hurt less, in point of fact.
She'd forgotten. She forgot that Dan never gave up on anything, ever. She forgot that when Dan cared about someone, he never stopped caring. She forgot how good Dan was at hiding those things.
It wasn't a big moment. Just one of those things, where realization had been building for a while, like a wave, and then it hit, all at once. A collection of moments, the flicker of his eyes when she mentioned the white dress shirt, the way his eyes followed her whenever she popped into his office to ask a question, the almost imperceptible edge to his voice when he asked about her wrist...
They all added up, that last sad little smile completing the equation, and she stopped halfway between the anchor desk and the control room, frowning at nothing in particular. She turned around to walk back to the anchor desk.
"Danny, are you-"
She stopped. What was she going to say anyway? Especially with Casey sitting there listening even though he was pretending not to, and with that knowing look as he studied his script... Casey knew. Casey knew, and she had missed it. Oh God.
Dan raised his eyebrows questioningly. Natalie stepped back from the desk and tried a little smile. "Nevermind, you guys have thirty seconds. It can wait."
She walked back to the control room and sat down heavily, acting like she didn't notice Dana's frown as she put on her headset. She couldn't explain to Dana, of all people, that it wasn't really over... and somehow she hadn't noticed.
Characters/Pairing: Dan/Natalie, Natalie/Jeremy, Dana and Casey
Word Count: 330
Rating: G
Summary: There were some things Natalie forgot about Dan, and some things she's just realizing.
Notes: Written for the itsproductivity prompt for October 5.
Disclaimer: I am not Aaron Sorkin. I do not own Sports Night or any of its characters.
It was supposed to be over.
Well, not really. It was never supposed to be over, just a temporary breakup, but she could have sworn it was over. Danny had moved on - Danny had given Jeremy advice on dating her, for God's sake. So what could it hurt to move on?
It would hurt less, in point of fact.
She'd forgotten. She forgot that Dan never gave up on anything, ever. She forgot that when Dan cared about someone, he never stopped caring. She forgot how good Dan was at hiding those things.
It wasn't a big moment. Just one of those things, where realization had been building for a while, like a wave, and then it hit, all at once. A collection of moments, the flicker of his eyes when she mentioned the white dress shirt, the way his eyes followed her whenever she popped into his office to ask a question, the almost imperceptible edge to his voice when he asked about her wrist...
They all added up, that last sad little smile completing the equation, and she stopped halfway between the anchor desk and the control room, frowning at nothing in particular. She turned around to walk back to the anchor desk.
"Danny, are you-"
She stopped. What was she going to say anyway? Especially with Casey sitting there listening even though he was pretending not to, and with that knowing look as he studied his script... Casey knew. Casey knew, and she had missed it. Oh God.
Dan raised his eyebrows questioningly. Natalie stepped back from the desk and tried a little smile. "Nevermind, you guys have thirty seconds. It can wait."
She walked back to the control room and sat down heavily, acting like she didn't notice Dana's frown as she put on her headset. She couldn't explain to Dana, of all people, that it wasn't really over... and somehow she hadn't noticed.