Work Text:
There's mist all through the city, shrouding the buildings like a soft grey blanket. Walking to work, Dan can feel it damp against his nose and his frosty breath mingles with it as he waits on the corner to cross the street.
By mid morning it has all but disappeared, but there is still a lingering nip in the air when Dan goes to buy coffee and a blueberry muffin. He slipped out without telling anyone because he didn't want to be saddled with a list of orders and when he gets his coffee and muffin, he sits at a bus stop to eat and drink so no one will scold him about not telling them where he was going.
Back at the office it's all go, go, go. Dana acting crazy and brilliant; Natalie perky with an iron fist; Isaac wise and not to be crossed. Jeremy spends half an hour regaling them with baseball facts during the twelve o'clock rundown, but no one tells him to shut up because everything he says is really interesting.
Casey's at home, curled up in bed or hanging in the living room in sweats and a t-shirt because it's his day off. Dan makes a point of ringing him just to remind him about how much he suffers for his work and what an easy life Casey has in comparison. Casey laughs and tells him that he's making spinach and ricotta cannelloni for his and Charlie's supper and does Dan want him to keep some back for when he finishes work? Yes please, Dan says, because Casey really does make good cannelloni.
Peter Lasker is filling in for Casey that night and even though there is a general tendency amongst the Sports Night staff to poke fun at their West Coast Update counterparts, Dan quite enjoys working with Peter. He's got a sense of humour dryer than the Sahara and his knowledge of golf knows no bounds. Paul is a twit and everyone, including Peter, knows it, but Dan thinks Peter's okay.
At lunch time, which is four o'clock for Dan and therefore afternoon break time for the rest of the world, Dan ventures out alone again after turning down an invitation from Chris and Elliot to grab a bite in the cafeteria. He sits in the booth at the diner, waiting for his turkey on rye and chocolate milkshake to arrive, knowing Abby would chide him about all this solitary behaviour but not really giving too much of a damn. Sometimes a guy just needs to spend time alone. Nothing wrong with that. Just means he's comfortable with himself.
As he eats his sandwich, Casey calls him on his cell phone and spends ten minutes griping about the cost and quality of the ricotta cheese at his local Italian supermarket. Dan retaliates by bragging about the interview he just landed with Tayshaun Prince, an interview he knew Casey was angling for in a half-hearted way. They bicker good-naturedly for fifteen minutes and by the time Casey hangs up, Dan feels that all is once again right with the world.
After he finishes eating, Dan doesn't feel like going back to the office straight away. So he fills in some time wandering around Border's; thumbing through the new Neil Gaiman and checking out a history of the America's Cup that someone recommended to him. Half an hour later he walks into the newsroom with both books and a Monty Python DVD. He just smiles when Dana points out that they're not paying him the big bucks to buy books then goes to show Isaac what he bought.
The afternoon moves along. He spends a lot of time on the phone following up leads about NBA daft speculation and is mildly snarky to Sally when she strides in on her too-high heels to ask Peter a question. She blinks at him a couple of times and says something vaguely unpleasant in return and leaves soon after. Dan got over deliberately trying to antagonise Sally long ago, but it doesn't mean he won't throw her the occasional bone to chew on if he's in the mood. Then Casey rings again to give him an update on the cannelloni and to talk about Detroit walloping the Laker's in the finals and Sally fades from his mind.
Ten minutes before airtime finds Dan, Jeremy and Elliot having a vigorous debate over the relative merits of red versus green jellybeans and if the pink ones really are made out of cough syrup. When Dana asks them if they are on top of the hole in the fifties, Dan grunts a non-committal reply and returns his attention to jellybeans. He only half hears the comment Dana makes about 'easy to replace' and 'well-trained chimp.'
Due to one thing and another, Dan doesn't make it out of the office until its well past midnight. The show ran smoothly enough, but a million annoying little things kept cropping that couldn't be put off until morning. When he finally escapes he breaths a sigh of relief and slips away before someone can drag him over to Anthony's for a drink.
Casey is sleeping the sleep of a man who's spent the day cooking and hanging with his son when he lets himself into his partner's apartment, but there's cannelloni keeping warm in the oven and a Heineken in the fridge with his name on it. He sits at the kitchen table and eats quickly with only the light over the stove for company. The food is good and the beer even better. It never occurs to him that this is the third meal he's eaten alone in the space of twenty-four hours.
When he's finished he rinses his plate, drops the empty bottle into the recycling bin and goes to clean his teeth. As he reaches for the floss he looks out the bathroom window and notices the fog settling around the city again. Dan smiles at this and decides to walk to work in the morning, just so he can feel it nipping at his nose.
Casey doesn't stir when he slips into the bedroom and strips down to his boxers and t-shirt. He does stir a little when Dan gets into bed beside him, but it's Dan who squidges over and wraps himself around his partner. Casey is a solid lump in his arms, all legs and elbows, and over his shoulder Dan can see through the window and watch the fog a little more.
Nice, he thinks as his eyes drift close. Very nice.
FIN