Tacit Promises by quiesce, Dan/Casey, rated: G
Title: Tacit Promises
Author: quiesce
Author's website: fic index post
Pairing: Dan/Casey (with Casey/Lisa implied)
Rating: G
Category: ficlet, slash
Notes: Written for phoebesmum and the "Dan/Casey, promise" prompt for rat_jam. ( excerpt cross-post)
A gay bar -- "Not a gay bar, a regular old club that just happens to have a gay DJ on tonight and will probably have a more mixed crowd than usual but rest assured there will be lots of women there so you'll be able to make it through the night with your masculinity safely in tact, geez, Casey" -- was the last place Casey wanted to be but Lisa and Dana had been emphatic.
He stood with his back to the wall, relegated to official drink holder for the evening. Every two or three songs, Lisa or Dana or both together would take a breather from dancing and take another swig from their drinks, asking Casey if he was sure he didn't want to join them on the dance floor. He was. Every single time they asked.
The patrons weren't quite as scary as he'd imagined but still not at all the kind of people he generally associated with. Take this one kid for example -- if hard-pressed, Casey'd have to admit that the boy probably wasn't that many years younger than himself, but he certainly looked like a kid. He danced through the crowd openly flirting with everyone he passed, female and male. If what he was doing could be called dancing. Casey was hardly one to talk -- it was painfully obvious from the ballroom dancing lessons that Lisa insisted they take in preparation for their wedding that he had two left feet -- but this kid was barely able to hold the beat and even the most charitable person wouldn't describe his dancing as good. He was enthusiastic though. Maybe that's why all the more talented dancers indulged him as he worked his way across the floor, ignoring the music to rest a hand at his waist and match his swaying until he moved on to the next person.
Lisa and Dana took to him immediately, closing in on either side until the three of them moved as one. Casey fixated on Lisa's hand where it tightened on his side. He couldn't help but notice the rhythm and roll of his hips, silently promising that any clumsiness he may have on the dance floor did not carry over to the bedroom. Casey forced his gaze back to Lisa.
The kid must have said something funny because suddenly all three were laughing. Lisa pointed and waved at Casey and he quickly turned his head, embarrassed to be caught staring before remembering that it was perfectly acceptable for him to be watching his fiancée. And anyone she may be dancing with. He waved back.
They started walking over and Casey groaned to himself. Lisa and Dana obviously wanted to introduce their new friend to him, but could Casey possibly have to say to someone who hung around in places like this? He'd agreed to come along, what more did they want from him?
"Danny," the kid said, half-shouting over the music. Casey took his hand, somewhat surprised by the firm grip. Lisa and Dana downed the rest of their drinks and left arm-in-arm to weave their way back to the bar. Casey smiled awkwardly at his new charge.
"So, what do you do?"
"Student. You?"
"Fact checker for sports radio."
"No kidding."
Casey hadn't thought it possible that the kid's -- Danny's -- face could light up anymore, but it did and he was suddenly off talking a mile a minute about his plans to get into sports journalism. Casey had to tell himself not to roll his eyes at first, but it was not long before he could tell that Danny was not only serious, but he knew his stuff too. They barely noticed when Lisa and Dana returned and Danny absent-mindedly waved off their attempts to drag him back out dancing.
Casey found himself swept up in Danny's enthusiasm, nodding and grinning along when Danny's ramblings about the future changed from "hey, maybe we'll run into each other at awards shows and industry banquets and stuff" to "we could do a show together: the Casey and Danny Sports Hour." It was all crazy fantasizing from someone he'd just met and would probably never see again, Casey knew this but couldn't help adding in his own "what ifs."
Closing time came much quicker than Casey expected. He'd stopped checking his watch every few minutes once he started talking to Danny and apparently they'd spent almost two hours making predictions and discussing their own futures. Lisa and Dana returned, breathless and sweaty, and the four of them collected their jackets together. Danny gave Casey his number and said they should catch a game of college ball together sometime. Casey agreed and was forced to admit to himself that he'd had the wrong first impression about Danny.
Dana and Danny were headed in the opposite direction, so Casey and Lisa said goodnight and caught a cab back to their apartment. Lisa nestled up beside him in the backseat and gave Casey a sticky kiss. She twined her fingers through his.
"See? Not so painful. You even ended up spending half the night talking about sports so rest assured that your masculinity remains in tact."
"Right," Casey nodded, forcing himself to focus on the perfectly safe sports talk part of the evening and ignore the tangents that wound their way back to the flirting, swaying boy and the tacit promises he made.
Author: quiesce
Author's website: fic index post
Pairing: Dan/Casey (with Casey/Lisa implied)
Rating: G
Category: ficlet, slash
Notes: Written for phoebesmum and the "Dan/Casey, promise" prompt for rat_jam. ( excerpt cross-post)
A gay bar -- "Not a gay bar, a regular old club that just happens to have a gay DJ on tonight and will probably have a more mixed crowd than usual but rest assured there will be lots of women there so you'll be able to make it through the night with your masculinity safely in tact, geez, Casey" -- was the last place Casey wanted to be but Lisa and Dana had been emphatic.
He stood with his back to the wall, relegated to official drink holder for the evening. Every two or three songs, Lisa or Dana or both together would take a breather from dancing and take another swig from their drinks, asking Casey if he was sure he didn't want to join them on the dance floor. He was. Every single time they asked.
The patrons weren't quite as scary as he'd imagined but still not at all the kind of people he generally associated with. Take this one kid for example -- if hard-pressed, Casey'd have to admit that the boy probably wasn't that many years younger than himself, but he certainly looked like a kid. He danced through the crowd openly flirting with everyone he passed, female and male. If what he was doing could be called dancing. Casey was hardly one to talk -- it was painfully obvious from the ballroom dancing lessons that Lisa insisted they take in preparation for their wedding that he had two left feet -- but this kid was barely able to hold the beat and even the most charitable person wouldn't describe his dancing as good. He was enthusiastic though. Maybe that's why all the more talented dancers indulged him as he worked his way across the floor, ignoring the music to rest a hand at his waist and match his swaying until he moved on to the next person.
Lisa and Dana took to him immediately, closing in on either side until the three of them moved as one. Casey fixated on Lisa's hand where it tightened on his side. He couldn't help but notice the rhythm and roll of his hips, silently promising that any clumsiness he may have on the dance floor did not carry over to the bedroom. Casey forced his gaze back to Lisa.
The kid must have said something funny because suddenly all three were laughing. Lisa pointed and waved at Casey and he quickly turned his head, embarrassed to be caught staring before remembering that it was perfectly acceptable for him to be watching his fiancée. And anyone she may be dancing with. He waved back.
They started walking over and Casey groaned to himself. Lisa and Dana obviously wanted to introduce their new friend to him, but could Casey possibly have to say to someone who hung around in places like this? He'd agreed to come along, what more did they want from him?
"Danny," the kid said, half-shouting over the music. Casey took his hand, somewhat surprised by the firm grip. Lisa and Dana downed the rest of their drinks and left arm-in-arm to weave their way back to the bar. Casey smiled awkwardly at his new charge.
"So, what do you do?"
"Student. You?"
"Fact checker for sports radio."
"No kidding."
Casey hadn't thought it possible that the kid's -- Danny's -- face could light up anymore, but it did and he was suddenly off talking a mile a minute about his plans to get into sports journalism. Casey had to tell himself not to roll his eyes at first, but it was not long before he could tell that Danny was not only serious, but he knew his stuff too. They barely noticed when Lisa and Dana returned and Danny absent-mindedly waved off their attempts to drag him back out dancing.
Casey found himself swept up in Danny's enthusiasm, nodding and grinning along when Danny's ramblings about the future changed from "hey, maybe we'll run into each other at awards shows and industry banquets and stuff" to "we could do a show together: the Casey and Danny Sports Hour." It was all crazy fantasizing from someone he'd just met and would probably never see again, Casey knew this but couldn't help adding in his own "what ifs."
Closing time came much quicker than Casey expected. He'd stopped checking his watch every few minutes once he started talking to Danny and apparently they'd spent almost two hours making predictions and discussing their own futures. Lisa and Dana returned, breathless and sweaty, and the four of them collected their jackets together. Danny gave Casey his number and said they should catch a game of college ball together sometime. Casey agreed and was forced to admit to himself that he'd had the wrong first impression about Danny.
Dana and Danny were headed in the opposite direction, so Casey and Lisa said goodnight and caught a cab back to their apartment. Lisa nestled up beside him in the backseat and gave Casey a sticky kiss. She twined her fingers through his.
"See? Not so painful. You even ended up spending half the night talking about sports so rest assured that your masculinity remains in tact."
"Right," Casey nodded, forcing himself to focus on the perfectly safe sports talk part of the evening and ignore the tangents that wound their way back to the flirting, swaying boy and the tacit promises he made.