Good Casey, have a biscuit!
I decided to join phoebesmum in writing good!Casey. Suffers from teh cute a bit; some schmoop in which Danny worries about their anniversary and Casey buys coffee.
Casey turned out to be a surprisingly good boyfriend. He was more open in bed than Dan expected, he didn’t mind getting up first in the morning to make the coffee, and he had a gallant streak that pleased Dan nearly as much as it embarrassed him.
He wasn’t perfect, of course. Casey’s shortcomings in the romantic arena came as no surprise to Dan, because they were exactly the same ones he’d had as a friend for the last ten plus years. For someone who valued precision of speech so much, in his personal life he often spoke carelessly, not giving his thoughtless words a second thought until Dan’s hurt reaction was too obvious too ignore. And while he wasn’t selfish, he could definitely be self-absorbed, oblivious to the signs that something was going on right under his nose. He’d gotten better at that, though, and Dan had gotten better at hitting him over the head when needed, instead of waiting for Casey to notice something was amiss.
It was definitely the best relationship he’d ever been in, and Danny felt relaxed and confident and loved in a way that he hadn’t since . . . well, ever. Still, as the one-year marker of their expanded relationship approached, Dan wasn’t expecting miracles. He didn’t expect Casey to remember or anything, but he was hoping Casey wouldn’t mind if he suggested celebrating it in some way, just a private marking of a special date.
He was going to have to bring it up pretty soon, if they were both going to get the day off. Casey might think that was a bit much, though; he might prefer to just do dinner before the ten o’clock rundown. But if they were working, they’d have to go to a restaurant instead of eating at home, which pretty much killed any chance of romantic gestures or exchanging gifts.
Danny sighed; he knew it shouldn’t matter so much, it was just a day, and Casey showed his love all the time. But no matter how often he told himself that, it mattered to him. He didn’t even know why, but birthdays and holidays and anniversaries mattered to him. He loved to celebrate them in some tangible way, loved to take photos or keep mementos, putting them away carefully like talismans against some future unhappiness.
He didn’t expect Casey to share his enthusiasm - Casey’s response the previous year to the anniversary of their on-air partnership was far too fresh in his mind for that - but he was hoping for a reaction that didn’t include laughing or groaning or obvious reluctance. He knew that might be what he got, though, and he was trying to be prepared for it. He wasn’t going to get upset about it, though, he would just calmly explain to Casey that it was important to him.
"Hey, I brought you some coffee, if you’re not too deep in thought to drink it. What’s up?"
Danny jumped about a mile when Casey’s voice broke through his thoughts, and he cast about for a response. "I, um, nothing. Just daydreaming instead of working, I guess."
"Leaving the heavy lifting to me as usual." Casey slipped onto the sofa next to Danny, handing him a vanilla latte. He was wearing that leather jacket, his cheeks were red from the cold, and he was smiling at Danny like that was fine with him. "Good thing I love you so much, isn’t it?"
Danny’s heart flipped, because Casey looked so good and because he’d wanted a vanilla latte all morning but hadn’t wanted to go out for it and because Casey was so good at this. He was not, he decided, going to bring up the damn anniversary. He had this every day, he didn’t need to make Casey acknowledge one day. He took a sip of his coffee and focused on what Casey was saying.
"So, we have kind of a big day coming up, and I thought we should make some plans. I know coming up with an anniversary surprise would be the more romantic choice, but frankly, I’m not that good at surprises." If Casey noticed that Danny was looking mighty surprised already, he gave no sign of it. "Besides, we need to ask early if we both want the day off. I’m thinking - lazy day in bed, long conversations and the takeout of your choice for dinner?"
Danny swallowed; found his voice. "Nah, not takeout, I’m going to cook for you. Whatever you want."
"Italian," Casey answered immediately. "Which I was going to suggest, but then I thought suggesting that you cook on our anniversary might make me look like a very bad boyfriend." He dropped his voice and looked a little concerned. "And Danny, if that’s not cool, staying home - just tell me, okay? We can go out if you want. I just thought it would be harder, in a public place."
Danny nodded. It was a toss-up as to which of them hated the secrecy more, but neither of them was ready to risk their jobs by going public. "No, that’s cool, I don’t want to go out."
"So you’re not mad that I’m not surprising you? It’s okay if we plan it together?"
Danny laughed, and thought that miracles of the McCall variety were his very favorite. "I’ll pretend you didn’t ask me if I was mad. Of course planning it together is - it’s not okay, it’s perfect, okay?"
And Danny leaned forward and gave his surprisingly good boyfriend a pre-anniversary kiss.