Sports Night fiction written for Yuletide 2009: Mistletoe and Wine
Title: Mistletoe and Wine
Fandom: Sports Night
Characters: Dan Rydell, Jeremy Goodwin, Casey McCall
Rating: PG; mostly gen, some slash subtext; word count: 620.
Summary: In which both Jeremy and Dan learn that other people's rituals are not without their benefits, and Casey comes prepared.
Notes: Written December 2009 for Yuletide from a prompt by Laura: Anything holiday-ish would be great. And I do apologise for using such a bloody awful song as a title, but I wrote this, in accepted stocking-stuffer style, in about ten minutes flat and couldn't think of anything better.
Dan's taking the scenic route back from the men's room when he almost trips over Jeremy who's half-hidden behind the Christmas tree. There's a glass of eggnog clutched in Jeremy's hand, and Dan can see the whites of his eyes.
"Hey, Jeremy," Dan says. At times like these, he likes to pretend that everything's normal. "You okay down there?"
Jeremy's hand snakes up and grasps Dan's sleeve. "We're outnumbered!" he confides in a hoarse whisper.
"Ooo-kay," Dan says levelly. "Outnumbered by - ?" Wild jungle beasts? Aliens? Zombies?
"By the people who invented - this!" Jeremy brandishes the eggnog, which slops liberally over his hand, his sleeve, the carpet, and several baubles. The baubles were pretty tacky to begin with, and this doesn't make them any classier.
Dan himself has nothing against eggnog; his own palate was ruined at an early age by Manichewitz, and he doesn't pretend to be a connoisseur. He's happy with beer, and beer is happy with him, which works out well for everyone. But Jeremy, he knows, sees eggnog as a challenge to be mastered. Unfortunately, in all his experiments to date, things have turned out the other way round. Including, evidently, this latest go-round.
Since, judging by Jeremy's singular lack of focus, he's probably beyond rational argument by this stage, Dan settles on distraction. He hunkers down alongside Jeremy and makes himself comfortable.
"Christmas has its good points too," he offers.
Jeremy seems dubious. "Such as?"
Dan's not entirely sure himself. He gazes up at the Christmas tree for inspiration. The Wayne Gretzky bobblehead gracing the topmost branch looks back at him. Impasse. He lets his eyes wander around the room … ah.
"There's mistletoe?"
Jeremy looks panicked and starts to shuffle away. Dan grasps him by one threadbare elbow.
"Natalie," he says, politely but firmly, and light dawns in Jeremy's eyes.
"Natalie!" he says happily, and scrambles to his feet. "I should go find her."
"You should," Dan agrees, and watches Jeremy zigzag his way back to civilisation.
Dan himself stays where he is. It's peaceful here, and the room's way too hot and crowded. Maybe Jeremy wasn't on to such a bad thing …
A hand on his shoulder makes him start, and he looks up.
"Hey," Casey says, and passes him a beer. Dan takes it gratefully, and presses the cool glass to his forehead for a moment. Casey watches him, then comes to settle in by his side.
"Nice place you have here," he observes.
"M'm. I'm keeping it warm for Jeremy."
"Jeremy," Casey tells him, "Has better things on his mind." He parts a couple of tinsel branches to give Dan a better view. Sure enough: Jeremy has managed to find Natalie, and the two of them are now monopolising the mistletoe. From the looks of them, they plan on continuing to do so for a long, long time. Dan shrugs.
"Okay. Then my work here is done." He makes to stand up, brush himself off and move on, but Casey's hand on his wrist holds him still.
"What's the hurry?" Casey asks softly. Dan tilts his head, looks a question, and Casey smiles. "You know what I've got in my pocket?"
"This isn't some Hobbit thing, is it?" Dan asks suspiciously.
"Uh-uh."
Dan tries again. "Another beer?" There's no harm in hoping.
"Nope," Casey says, softer yet, reaches into his pocket and brings out what's in there.
Mistletoe. The tiniest sprig in all the world, just a twig, a leaf, and a berry, but enough to serve its purpose.
"Merry Christmas, Danny," Casey murmurs and there, behind the Christmas tree, hidden from prying eyes and safe in their own private bubble of a world, they kiss.
Merry Christmas indeed.
***
Fandom: Sports Night
Characters: Dan Rydell, Jeremy Goodwin, Casey McCall
Rating: PG; mostly gen, some slash subtext; word count: 620.
Summary: In which both Jeremy and Dan learn that other people's rituals are not without their benefits, and Casey comes prepared.
Notes: Written December 2009 for Yuletide from a prompt by Laura: Anything holiday-ish would be great. And I do apologise for using such a bloody awful song as a title, but I wrote this, in accepted stocking-stuffer style, in about ten minutes flat and couldn't think of anything better.
Dan's taking the scenic route back from the men's room when he almost trips over Jeremy who's half-hidden behind the Christmas tree. There's a glass of eggnog clutched in Jeremy's hand, and Dan can see the whites of his eyes.
"Hey, Jeremy," Dan says. At times like these, he likes to pretend that everything's normal. "You okay down there?"
Jeremy's hand snakes up and grasps Dan's sleeve. "We're outnumbered!" he confides in a hoarse whisper.
"Ooo-kay," Dan says levelly. "Outnumbered by - ?" Wild jungle beasts? Aliens? Zombies?
"By the people who invented - this!" Jeremy brandishes the eggnog, which slops liberally over his hand, his sleeve, the carpet, and several baubles. The baubles were pretty tacky to begin with, and this doesn't make them any classier.
Dan himself has nothing against eggnog; his own palate was ruined at an early age by Manichewitz, and he doesn't pretend to be a connoisseur. He's happy with beer, and beer is happy with him, which works out well for everyone. But Jeremy, he knows, sees eggnog as a challenge to be mastered. Unfortunately, in all his experiments to date, things have turned out the other way round. Including, evidently, this latest go-round.
Since, judging by Jeremy's singular lack of focus, he's probably beyond rational argument by this stage, Dan settles on distraction. He hunkers down alongside Jeremy and makes himself comfortable.
"Christmas has its good points too," he offers.
Jeremy seems dubious. "Such as?"
Dan's not entirely sure himself. He gazes up at the Christmas tree for inspiration. The Wayne Gretzky bobblehead gracing the topmost branch looks back at him. Impasse. He lets his eyes wander around the room … ah.
"There's mistletoe?"
Jeremy looks panicked and starts to shuffle away. Dan grasps him by one threadbare elbow.
"Natalie," he says, politely but firmly, and light dawns in Jeremy's eyes.
"Natalie!" he says happily, and scrambles to his feet. "I should go find her."
"You should," Dan agrees, and watches Jeremy zigzag his way back to civilisation.
Dan himself stays where he is. It's peaceful here, and the room's way too hot and crowded. Maybe Jeremy wasn't on to such a bad thing …
A hand on his shoulder makes him start, and he looks up.
"Hey," Casey says, and passes him a beer. Dan takes it gratefully, and presses the cool glass to his forehead for a moment. Casey watches him, then comes to settle in by his side.
"Nice place you have here," he observes.
"M'm. I'm keeping it warm for Jeremy."
"Jeremy," Casey tells him, "Has better things on his mind." He parts a couple of tinsel branches to give Dan a better view. Sure enough: Jeremy has managed to find Natalie, and the two of them are now monopolising the mistletoe. From the looks of them, they plan on continuing to do so for a long, long time. Dan shrugs.
"Okay. Then my work here is done." He makes to stand up, brush himself off and move on, but Casey's hand on his wrist holds him still.
"What's the hurry?" Casey asks softly. Dan tilts his head, looks a question, and Casey smiles. "You know what I've got in my pocket?"
"This isn't some Hobbit thing, is it?" Dan asks suspiciously.
"Uh-uh."
Dan tries again. "Another beer?" There's no harm in hoping.
"Nope," Casey says, softer yet, reaches into his pocket and brings out what's in there.
Mistletoe. The tiniest sprig in all the world, just a twig, a leaf, and a berry, but enough to serve its purpose.
"Merry Christmas, Danny," Casey murmurs and there, behind the Christmas tree, hidden from prying eyes and safe in their own private bubble of a world, they kiss.
Merry Christmas indeed.
***