Hug the one you're with
Sports Night Fiction
Author: Fizzerbass
Title: At the End of the Day
Pairing: Dan/Casey
Summary: I’ve had kind of a crappy day and, apparently, so has Dan…
Notes: Un-betaed ‘cause I didn’t want to be a bother so I will tell you right now that commas will be missing all over the place.
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Dan had had one of those days. First off, he awoke all alone in his bed because last night was a Charlie night and Casey had stayed at his own place. Then, when he got to work, he remembered that today was Casey’s rostered day off and he had been scheduled to work with Bobbi Bernstein. Never easy to begin with, this was next to impossible on a day that began without Casey bringing him coffee in bed.
Next, Dana had decided that even though World Cup qualifying wouldn't start for six more months, it still warranted extended soccer coverage in the thirties and who do you think was given that plum assignment? Again, barely tolerable on a normal day but absolutely coma-inducing on a day when he couldn’t finish the rest of Casey’s sandwich at lunchtime.
On top of that, Monica had picked out his least favorite shirt to wear on-air tonight. There was nothing wrong with the shirt per se, but it happened to be the one that he was wearing on the day he found out that Rebecca was going back to her husband. Since then, he had broken out in hives all along his spine every time he wore it. Hives weren’t even bearable on a day that included Casey from sun-up to sun-down so he could just about hang it up today.
Finally, as the piece-de-resistance, he kept missing Casey every time he tried to call him on the phone. They had done nothing but play phone tag all day long and he wasn’t even sure if they were getting together after the show tonight.
So he wasn’t really all that surprised when a few tears almost came to his eyes when he opened his apartment door to find Casey leaning casually in the kitchen doorway, a beer in each hand. It wasn’t unmanly at all that he whimpered like a lost puppy when Casey set the beers down, gathered him up in his arms and lazily began scratching long strokes up and down his spine; thereby erasing the effects of the hive-inducing shirt.
“Tough day, Tired Man?” Casey asked as he placed a gentle kiss on Dan’s temple. “I noticed you looked a little low on testosterone tonight compared to Bobbi.”
“My tanks are empty. I’m totally tapped out,” Dan mumbled into the crook of Casey’s neck.
“Well, let’s see if I can fill you back up,” he whispered into Dan’s ear and brushed a gentle kiss across his lips. “And, no, I don’t mean that way, you pervert. C’mon.”
He let Casey lead him over to the couch and help him out of his jacket. He had already changed into sweats after the show so all he had to do was toe off his sneakers before being pulled down to lay on top of Casey. He felt the detritus of the day drop off him as Casey wrapped one arm around his shoulders and used the other to hitch his top leg across his own thighs. He let a sigh escape him as the warmth from Casey’s chest and the vibration of his voice began to lull him to sleep. Always good on a regular day, these were life-restoring at the end of a day like today.
And he wasn't letting go of it anytime soon.