SN: Homophobic WIP – Part Eleven
May. 21st, 2004 03:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_therePrevious parts here.
***
He stayed for the opening ceremony. He had vague recollections of some little girl singing, and enough color and movement to remind him of Charlie's last school play. It would have been easier to be cynical about the entire thing if not for the way Dan sat there, staring at the screen, his mouth partly open in a childlike smile.
For Casey, it had as much to do with the Olympics as the half-time show had to do with the Super Bowl. You'd never hear him complain about the inclusion of cheerleaders into any sport, but it was basically entertainment for the masses. It wasn't sports. It was filler.
Danny, on the other hand, seemed to see it as a show of unity, as a display of the human spirit. He always said there was something marvellous about the entire idea of different nations competing, of people overcoming different political, social and theological beliefs for the same simple goal: to be the best a person can be. He said it was an example of modern diplomacy, of all the ways the world was improving.
Casey thought that was a load of political hogwash, but it was pretty hard to argue logic in the face of Dan's wondrous optimism. So instead of arguing about all the reasons he shouldn't have to sit through an opening ceremony just because it was loosely affiliated with sport, he thought about Dana's comments.
In fact, he didn't just think about it, he Thought About It. It was the type of concentrated rumination that required capitals.
The interesting thing was that the more he thought about it, the more plausible it became. They worked in high stress jobs, in the type of jobs where you put in eleven hours work for one hour of a final product, and then came back the next day to repeat it. It was a pressured environment, and they frequently dealt with it in unexpected ways.
There was Dana's camera equipment, for example. The list of words Dan had stuck inside the cover of the dictionary, explaining which words sounded different but meant the same thing, and which ones sounded similar but had opposite meanings. Jeremy had a troll doll stuck under his desk, simply because Natalie had given him the ugly creature as a gift and even though he hated it, he still considered it a good luck charm.
Strange things happened. The six month dating plan, for example. The fly that no one could ever find, regardless of the fact that it *was* there.
And Casey's reaction to certain things wasn't always proportionate. Those certain things generally involved his alma mater, or Charlie, or Dana, or Dan. After a week or so he tended to get over it. A month or two later, he could even look back and laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but at the time they seemed like things that could tear his world apart.
In the broad scheme of things, over-reacting to a kiss wasn't too farfetched. In fact, it made far more sense that he was just blowing this way out of proportion.
Dan was a very good looking man. You'd have to be blind not to notice. Casey's mind was stressed and was taking two objective facts (fact one: Dan was attractive; fact two: Dan and Casey kissed) and coming up with a ridiculous conclusion (that Casey *wanted* Dan), so it was probably best to ignore it. It was probably best not to stress himself out about it; to just let his mind think what it wanted, while the rest of him concentrated on covering the Olympics.
It would probably be even better to stop thinking of his mind as a separate entity.
Dan suddenly laughed at something, and Casey nodded, pretending he'd heard what Dan had said. Dan rolled his eyes affectionately, and flapped his hand in a 'don't worry about it' gesture.
Casey watched Dan's crooked grin and decided that he really was taking this whole thing too seriously. If, in the privacy of his own bed, he found his thoughts straying to the memory of Dan's mouth, to the idea of Dan's skin moving against his, it didn't have to make a difference to the rest of his life. It was just how he was dealing with stress at the moment.
***
Since it was barely eleven, Casey wasn't surprised that Dan wasn't in their office yet. Dan didn't like getting out of bed unless there was no other choice. Casey, on the other hand, had no objection to getting out of bed and this morning, he'd been glad to jump straight into the shower, to wash away any evidence of the night before.
Casey shook off the vague guilt and hung up his coat. Then, he decided to go see if Dana was in yet. As he'd expected, she was.
Sitting at her desk, she was tapping a pen against her lips as she read over something. He laughed when she suddenly stopped and glared at the smear of lipstick on the pen.
"Hey, Casey," she said as she gingerly felt around her lips for smudged lipstick.
He gave her a nod. "You're fine."
"Yeah?"
"Your lipstick's fine."
Dana sighed and pushed the paperwork away from her. "It's an old habit."
"I know."
"I always forget I'm wearing makeup."
"I know."
She tilted her head to the side, watching him in a rather birdlike fashion. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Casey replied easily. "Did you hear about-"
"No, I mean," Dana paused, rolling her hand in an airy circle, "are you *okay*?"
"Yeah." Casey could feel himself grimace slightly. "I think I am."
"You sure?"
"I thought I wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about it?" Casey teased her, but the joke fell flat.
"Yeah…" Dana sighed and started tapping her pen against the desk. "I was thinking I didn't handle it so well yesterday."
"You handled it fine." He walked over and covered her hand with his. It was meant as a reassuring gesture, but it also stopped the annoying tap-tap-tap. "You handled it fine."
She blinked up at him. Behind him, her office door opened. Casey pulled his hand back, but he saw Eliot's glance dart down.
"Dan wants to know if he has to get out of bed," Eliot said, poking his head around the half-opened door.
"If he has to get out of bed?" Dana echoed.
Casey grinned. "I think it's going to be hard to move the studio into his bedroom."
"What is Dan talking about?" Dana asked, rolling her eyes at Casey's remark.
"He wants to know if today's rundown has been moved to four," Eliot explained. "If so, he says he's not getting out of bed until two."
"The four o'clock rundowns start tomorrow." Dana shrugged. "That's assuming we can get all the new schedules running smoothly today."
Eliot nodded unenthusiastically, and Casey guessed the temporary schedule was going to be just as hard on the technical crew as on him and Dan. "So I should call Dan and tell him to get out of bed?"
"Tell him to get his lazy ass in here by twelve. Not a minute later," Dana said firmly.
Eliot shrugged, obviously doubtful that Dan would be in on time. "I'll tell him."
"Word for word," Dana called out as Eliot closed the door behind him.
Casey glanced at the clock. "I think Danny's going to be late."
"Does Dan know?"
"That he's going to be late?" Casey asked, a little confused by Dana's question. "I'm pretty sure he does."
"Does he know about…?" Dana looked hesitant, as if she didn't know what to say, what she should say. The last time she'd looked that uncertain, Gordon had been standing beside her. "The kiss?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"He drove me home," Casey said, stalling as he thought.
"And?"
"And I was pretty wasted. Apparently, I told him," Casey improvised.
Dana's brows rose. "Apparently?"
"The next day, Danny told me not to worry about it." It wasn't the exact truth, but it was close enough. There was no way in the world that he was going to tell her everything that happened.
"Ah."
"He said it didn't count."
Dana cleared her throat. "Did he react better than I did?"
Casey almost laughed. "Dana."
Dana tapped her fingers on the desk. "I'm just... I'm trying to work out the right way to react to this."
Casey shrugged. "I don't think there is a right way."
"Sure there is. If someone gets married, you say 'congratulations.' If someone gets divorced, you say 'you're so sorry to hear about it but it's probably for the best.'" Dana's rows furrowed. "There should be a set reaction for someone telling you they're gay. Or could be. Possibly," Dana added quickly.
"Hope that works out for you?" Casey suggested.
Dana snorted. "Hope that works out for you?"
"It's supportive, it's positive and it implies a polite amount of interest."
"You don't think that a little too..."
"Too what?"
"Blaze," Dana finished with a small frown. "It's a life changing announcement. Shouldn't that require more than a catchphrase?"
"It doesn't change *your* life," Casey pointed out. "It's only a big deal to the person going through it. Like marriage. Or divorce."
"Hope that works out for you," Dana said cheerily, testing the phrase. Then she repeated it in a more compassionate tone. "Hope that *works* out for you. Hope that works out for *you*. Hm..."
"Yeah?"
"It could work."
***
"We live in a fascist society," Dan announced at the noon rundown, which actually did start at noon. Dan had overslept and it showed in the scruffy five o'clock shadow he was currently wearing. Evidently, if Dan had limited time, he'd choose coffee over shaving.
"No, we don't," Kim replied.
"We do. We live in a society that dictates our lives. Our jobs, our clothes, our appearance." Dan levelled a glare at Dana. "Our facial hair."
"You're shaving after the rundown, Dan." Dana looked down at her notes. "Now, about the US Open-"
"I want to grow a goatee," Dan interrupted.
Dana sighed. "You're not growing a goatee."
"I want one. Just for the Olympics. It could be an Olympics special. Two weeks of facial hair." Dan pointed at Casey. "Casey could grow a beard."
Casey raised his hands in defence. "Leave me out of this. I'm perfectly happy with my smooth-cheeked, boyish good looks."
"Thanks for the support, man," Dan said, scowling at him before turning back to Dana. "I still want to grow a goatee."
"Daniel?" Dana asked sweetly. "If you try to grow a goatee over the next two weeks, I am going to personally make sure that you do the soccer play-by-play coverage. For every game."
"Fine." Dan sunk down in his chair. "But after the Olympics, I'm taking a week off and growing a goatee. You'll see how good it looks and then you'll regret not letting me grow one for the Olympics."
"I doubt that," Dana said sarcastically.
"I'll take a week off and I'll grow it!"
"Go ahead."
"In two weeks time," Dan announced, "I am going to grow a goatee."
"Hope that works out for you." Dana stopped, obviously realising what she'd just said. Then she caught Casey's eye and they both started sniggering.
Dan's brows lowered in concentration as he looked from Dana to Casey speculatively. "I'm still growing my goatee," Dan said suspiciously.
***
"Dana's upset about the mascot."
He stopped typing and found Eliot standing in the doorway. Casey shared a quizzical glance with Dan and then asked the age old question. "What?"
"She's upset about the mascot."
"Why?"
"It's an eel," Eliot replied.
"So?"
"It upsets her."
"How could you tell?" Dan asked snidely, now cleanly shaved. He was still sulking over the threat of soccer coverage. Casey suspected that disappointed pout would be making a guest appearance in tonight's 'I dream of Danny' special.
Eliot grinned. "I think the people in graphics are trying to use the shredder for ritual suicide as we speak."
Dan snickered. "Dana's being her usual charming, diplomatic self?"
"Hey," Casey objected. "Dana can be charming."
"She can't be diplomatic," Dan replied in an amused tone and Eliot nodded sagely.
"That's part of her charm."
Danny shot him a fast look. "Well, maybe you should go tell our charming producer to stop freaking out about the eel?"
Casey sighed, feeling like he'd drawn the short straw when he wasn't looking. "The goatee really wouldn't suit you, you know."
Danny flicked his wrist at him. "Go away."
"She's in her office?" Casey asked as he stood up. Eliot nodded.
***
***
He stayed for the opening ceremony. He had vague recollections of some little girl singing, and enough color and movement to remind him of Charlie's last school play. It would have been easier to be cynical about the entire thing if not for the way Dan sat there, staring at the screen, his mouth partly open in a childlike smile.
For Casey, it had as much to do with the Olympics as the half-time show had to do with the Super Bowl. You'd never hear him complain about the inclusion of cheerleaders into any sport, but it was basically entertainment for the masses. It wasn't sports. It was filler.
Danny, on the other hand, seemed to see it as a show of unity, as a display of the human spirit. He always said there was something marvellous about the entire idea of different nations competing, of people overcoming different political, social and theological beliefs for the same simple goal: to be the best a person can be. He said it was an example of modern diplomacy, of all the ways the world was improving.
Casey thought that was a load of political hogwash, but it was pretty hard to argue logic in the face of Dan's wondrous optimism. So instead of arguing about all the reasons he shouldn't have to sit through an opening ceremony just because it was loosely affiliated with sport, he thought about Dana's comments.
In fact, he didn't just think about it, he Thought About It. It was the type of concentrated rumination that required capitals.
The interesting thing was that the more he thought about it, the more plausible it became. They worked in high stress jobs, in the type of jobs where you put in eleven hours work for one hour of a final product, and then came back the next day to repeat it. It was a pressured environment, and they frequently dealt with it in unexpected ways.
There was Dana's camera equipment, for example. The list of words Dan had stuck inside the cover of the dictionary, explaining which words sounded different but meant the same thing, and which ones sounded similar but had opposite meanings. Jeremy had a troll doll stuck under his desk, simply because Natalie had given him the ugly creature as a gift and even though he hated it, he still considered it a good luck charm.
Strange things happened. The six month dating plan, for example. The fly that no one could ever find, regardless of the fact that it *was* there.
And Casey's reaction to certain things wasn't always proportionate. Those certain things generally involved his alma mater, or Charlie, or Dana, or Dan. After a week or so he tended to get over it. A month or two later, he could even look back and laugh at the ridiculousness of it, but at the time they seemed like things that could tear his world apart.
In the broad scheme of things, over-reacting to a kiss wasn't too farfetched. In fact, it made far more sense that he was just blowing this way out of proportion.
Dan was a very good looking man. You'd have to be blind not to notice. Casey's mind was stressed and was taking two objective facts (fact one: Dan was attractive; fact two: Dan and Casey kissed) and coming up with a ridiculous conclusion (that Casey *wanted* Dan), so it was probably best to ignore it. It was probably best not to stress himself out about it; to just let his mind think what it wanted, while the rest of him concentrated on covering the Olympics.
It would probably be even better to stop thinking of his mind as a separate entity.
Dan suddenly laughed at something, and Casey nodded, pretending he'd heard what Dan had said. Dan rolled his eyes affectionately, and flapped his hand in a 'don't worry about it' gesture.
Casey watched Dan's crooked grin and decided that he really was taking this whole thing too seriously. If, in the privacy of his own bed, he found his thoughts straying to the memory of Dan's mouth, to the idea of Dan's skin moving against his, it didn't have to make a difference to the rest of his life. It was just how he was dealing with stress at the moment.
***
Since it was barely eleven, Casey wasn't surprised that Dan wasn't in their office yet. Dan didn't like getting out of bed unless there was no other choice. Casey, on the other hand, had no objection to getting out of bed and this morning, he'd been glad to jump straight into the shower, to wash away any evidence of the night before.
Casey shook off the vague guilt and hung up his coat. Then, he decided to go see if Dana was in yet. As he'd expected, she was.
Sitting at her desk, she was tapping a pen against her lips as she read over something. He laughed when she suddenly stopped and glared at the smear of lipstick on the pen.
"Hey, Casey," she said as she gingerly felt around her lips for smudged lipstick.
He gave her a nod. "You're fine."
"Yeah?"
"Your lipstick's fine."
Dana sighed and pushed the paperwork away from her. "It's an old habit."
"I know."
"I always forget I'm wearing makeup."
"I know."
She tilted her head to the side, watching him in a rather birdlike fashion. "You okay?"
"I'm fine," Casey replied easily. "Did you hear about-"
"No, I mean," Dana paused, rolling her hand in an airy circle, "are you *okay*?"
"Yeah." Casey could feel himself grimace slightly. "I think I am."
"You sure?"
"I thought I wasn't supposed to talk to anyone about it?" Casey teased her, but the joke fell flat.
"Yeah…" Dana sighed and started tapping her pen against the desk. "I was thinking I didn't handle it so well yesterday."
"You handled it fine." He walked over and covered her hand with his. It was meant as a reassuring gesture, but it also stopped the annoying tap-tap-tap. "You handled it fine."
She blinked up at him. Behind him, her office door opened. Casey pulled his hand back, but he saw Eliot's glance dart down.
"Dan wants to know if he has to get out of bed," Eliot said, poking his head around the half-opened door.
"If he has to get out of bed?" Dana echoed.
Casey grinned. "I think it's going to be hard to move the studio into his bedroom."
"What is Dan talking about?" Dana asked, rolling her eyes at Casey's remark.
"He wants to know if today's rundown has been moved to four," Eliot explained. "If so, he says he's not getting out of bed until two."
"The four o'clock rundowns start tomorrow." Dana shrugged. "That's assuming we can get all the new schedules running smoothly today."
Eliot nodded unenthusiastically, and Casey guessed the temporary schedule was going to be just as hard on the technical crew as on him and Dan. "So I should call Dan and tell him to get out of bed?"
"Tell him to get his lazy ass in here by twelve. Not a minute later," Dana said firmly.
Eliot shrugged, obviously doubtful that Dan would be in on time. "I'll tell him."
"Word for word," Dana called out as Eliot closed the door behind him.
Casey glanced at the clock. "I think Danny's going to be late."
"Does Dan know?"
"That he's going to be late?" Casey asked, a little confused by Dana's question. "I'm pretty sure he does."
"Does he know about…?" Dana looked hesitant, as if she didn't know what to say, what she should say. The last time she'd looked that uncertain, Gordon had been standing beside her. "The kiss?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of?"
"He drove me home," Casey said, stalling as he thought.
"And?"
"And I was pretty wasted. Apparently, I told him," Casey improvised.
Dana's brows rose. "Apparently?"
"The next day, Danny told me not to worry about it." It wasn't the exact truth, but it was close enough. There was no way in the world that he was going to tell her everything that happened.
"Ah."
"He said it didn't count."
Dana cleared her throat. "Did he react better than I did?"
Casey almost laughed. "Dana."
Dana tapped her fingers on the desk. "I'm just... I'm trying to work out the right way to react to this."
Casey shrugged. "I don't think there is a right way."
"Sure there is. If someone gets married, you say 'congratulations.' If someone gets divorced, you say 'you're so sorry to hear about it but it's probably for the best.'" Dana's rows furrowed. "There should be a set reaction for someone telling you they're gay. Or could be. Possibly," Dana added quickly.
"Hope that works out for you?" Casey suggested.
Dana snorted. "Hope that works out for you?"
"It's supportive, it's positive and it implies a polite amount of interest."
"You don't think that a little too..."
"Too what?"
"Blaze," Dana finished with a small frown. "It's a life changing announcement. Shouldn't that require more than a catchphrase?"
"It doesn't change *your* life," Casey pointed out. "It's only a big deal to the person going through it. Like marriage. Or divorce."
"Hope that works out for you," Dana said cheerily, testing the phrase. Then she repeated it in a more compassionate tone. "Hope that *works* out for you. Hope that works out for *you*. Hm..."
"Yeah?"
"It could work."
***
"We live in a fascist society," Dan announced at the noon rundown, which actually did start at noon. Dan had overslept and it showed in the scruffy five o'clock shadow he was currently wearing. Evidently, if Dan had limited time, he'd choose coffee over shaving.
"No, we don't," Kim replied.
"We do. We live in a society that dictates our lives. Our jobs, our clothes, our appearance." Dan levelled a glare at Dana. "Our facial hair."
"You're shaving after the rundown, Dan." Dana looked down at her notes. "Now, about the US Open-"
"I want to grow a goatee," Dan interrupted.
Dana sighed. "You're not growing a goatee."
"I want one. Just for the Olympics. It could be an Olympics special. Two weeks of facial hair." Dan pointed at Casey. "Casey could grow a beard."
Casey raised his hands in defence. "Leave me out of this. I'm perfectly happy with my smooth-cheeked, boyish good looks."
"Thanks for the support, man," Dan said, scowling at him before turning back to Dana. "I still want to grow a goatee."
"Daniel?" Dana asked sweetly. "If you try to grow a goatee over the next two weeks, I am going to personally make sure that you do the soccer play-by-play coverage. For every game."
"Fine." Dan sunk down in his chair. "But after the Olympics, I'm taking a week off and growing a goatee. You'll see how good it looks and then you'll regret not letting me grow one for the Olympics."
"I doubt that," Dana said sarcastically.
"I'll take a week off and I'll grow it!"
"Go ahead."
"In two weeks time," Dan announced, "I am going to grow a goatee."
"Hope that works out for you." Dana stopped, obviously realising what she'd just said. Then she caught Casey's eye and they both started sniggering.
Dan's brows lowered in concentration as he looked from Dana to Casey speculatively. "I'm still growing my goatee," Dan said suspiciously.
***
"Dana's upset about the mascot."
He stopped typing and found Eliot standing in the doorway. Casey shared a quizzical glance with Dan and then asked the age old question. "What?"
"She's upset about the mascot."
"Why?"
"It's an eel," Eliot replied.
"So?"
"It upsets her."
"How could you tell?" Dan asked snidely, now cleanly shaved. He was still sulking over the threat of soccer coverage. Casey suspected that disappointed pout would be making a guest appearance in tonight's 'I dream of Danny' special.
Eliot grinned. "I think the people in graphics are trying to use the shredder for ritual suicide as we speak."
Dan snickered. "Dana's being her usual charming, diplomatic self?"
"Hey," Casey objected. "Dana can be charming."
"She can't be diplomatic," Dan replied in an amused tone and Eliot nodded sagely.
"That's part of her charm."
Danny shot him a fast look. "Well, maybe you should go tell our charming producer to stop freaking out about the eel?"
Casey sighed, feeling like he'd drawn the short straw when he wasn't looking. "The goatee really wouldn't suit you, you know."
Danny flicked his wrist at him. "Go away."
"She's in her office?" Casey asked as he stood up. Eliot nodded.
***
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Re: Canon virgin question
Date: 2004-05-22 08:56 pm (UTC)I have no idea canonically *how* they met, but I do just know the vague timeframe. Personally, I follow the idea that other fics have suggested: that Casey was working at a small/local station at the time and just met through co-incidence at a party as friends of friends.
Of course, there's also a fic that offers the theory that Dan could have studied one semester in LA and maybe boarded with Casey, which is a lovely idea too.
Or another commonly offered suggestion is that they met covering the same sport (Dan for the college paper, and Casey for whatever station he was working for at the time).