These characters and their environs on Sports Night belong to ABC and Aaron Sorkin. No infringement is intended. This is just for fun, no money is being made from this. This story involves pre-sex between two men, aka: pre-slash. If that is *not* your cup of tea, sweet as it is, then don't read it! (simple, ain't it??) Feedback is *very* much appreciated, and always answered. Flames will be passed around to friends and chuckled over. :) Sequel to 'Cleveland' and 'Treasure'. More to come... Creaming by Amirin #124 *********************** "What *are* you doing?" Casey stood frowning, watching Jeremy and Natalie go over lists together. Which wasn't all that odd, except that these lists didn't have stats or cues or points or wins or losses or news anywhere in sight. These lists had things like 'Natalie's hangers match the color of the clothes on them' and 'Jeremy has either a radio or a TV set in every room in his apartment'. "We're going over all the things we've learned about each other so far." Casey nodded like he knew exactly what they were talking about. From the look that passed between them, they weren't buying. "It keeps you from taking another person for granted, if you look for new things to learn about them," Natalie explained. "Jeremy?" Casey asked for confirmation that this was a completely normal thing for couples to do. "I'm pretty much along for the ride," Jeremy answered with a slight grin. Very slight. "But, it does help you keep your eyes open, I'll grant you that." "You should keep an eye on Dan," Natalie chimed back in. "Maybe you'll learn something you never knew before." "I've known the man for ten years. It's a little unlikely that I'd learn anything new about him." "You should try. Don't take him for granted." "I don't take him for granted." "Then you should try." "Fine. I'll try and learn something new about Dan." "Before the next run-down." "I'll learn something new about Dan before the next run-down." "Good. It'll be good for you." "Unless he thinks I'm psycho." "Dan knows you're psycho." "Then that's one less thing for *him* to learn about *me*." Casey was still pondering when he got back to his office, coffee cup in hand. Dan was working on his script, with the usual disorganized efficiency. Casey stood and watched, looking for something new. After a few moments, he came to a conclusion. This was completely pointless. Completely, utterly pointless. Everything was the same and had been the same since the first month they'd been here together. Including Dan. Dan was always the same. Dan was Dan, the very essence of sameness. Dan was... "What?" "What, what?" "You're staring." "I'm watching." "I'm not seeing a difference." "I'm looking for something new." "What's new?" "Nothing. Nothing at all." "I've completely missed the point of this conversation." "There was no point." "Then I haven't missed anything." "No, you haven't." "Glad to hear it." Dan went on writing for about a half-second then tossed his pen down. "You're still staring." "Watching." "The difference is still eluding me." "Natalie and Jeremy have lists." "Everyone is this office has lists." "They have lists about each other." "Really?" Dan was looking more than a little amused right now and it was making Casey feel more than a little foolish. "What about each other?" "Things they find out about each other, so they don't take one another for granted." Casey was becoming painfully aware that this was sounding more and more ridiculous as time went on. "Never mind." He stopped staring, no, *watching*, and stalked to his desk. "No, no. This is obviously weighing heavily on your mind. I have no idea *why*, but it is." "I said, never mind." "You think we take one another for granted." "No, I do *not*." "Yes, you do, or you wouldn't be worrying about it." "I'm not worrying about it." "You are." "I'm *not*." "Yes, you are. You want a thing." "A thing." "To put on a list." "I don't have a list for you." "Yeah, you do." "I do not have a list for you." "You do." "Danny..." "How do I take my coffee?" "Black with food, cream without." "Hot dogs?" "Relish on the bottom, mustard and onion on the top. Sauerkraut when it's cold out, horseradish on rare occasions. Stomach pump on the side." "Steak?" "Medium rare." "Orange juice?" "The pulpy kind." "Why?" "Because you know I won't drink it." "Pizza?" "Everything. Except anchovies. Unless you're drunk." Dan grinned up at him. "Case?" "I have a list." "You have a list, my friend. "A great, big, long list." "A great, big, long, ten-year-old list." "I had no idea." "It's cool. And if you really feel you need a longer list, stare away." "*Watch*." "Have it your way." Dan went back to writing. Casey went back to watching. Dan was doing an admirable job of ignoring Casey until Casey felt the need to speak. "What are you doing?" "I'm writing my script. And if you don't start writing and stop staring, I'll probably be writing *your* script, as well." "Watching. And I meant, what were you thinking, just now?" "I have no idea." "You were frowning." "I was." "And doing this curling thing with your tongue." "Okay, I've changed my mind, stop staring." "Watching. What were you thinking?" "I was going through the rotation for another word for 'beat'." "'Beat'?" "You know, whipped, slaughtered, massacred, creamed..." "Ohh, '*beat*'." "There are about forty words I use in the rotation." "And you were going through it to find the next one." "Exactly." "That's my thing." "Your thing." "For the list." "About me." "That would be the list, yes." "I'm incredibly happy for you." "I knew you would be. We have a run-down." "Give me ten." "You got it. What did you go with?" "When?" "In the rotation?" "Creaming." "That's a good one." "I'm glad you approve." "I'll see you at the run-down." "In ten." "In ten." And Casey was out the door. Dan waited until he was completely out of sight. "The man is psycho." ~~~ Casey entered the conference room beaming and took a seat across from Natalie and Jeremy. "Dan will be here in ten," he informed the room. "How did it go?" Natalie asked him. "I have a thing for Dan." Casey apparently didn't notice that the room had gotten very quiet. Dana decided this was a good time to jump in. "You have a thing for Dan." "Yup, I have a thing for Dan." "What's the thing?" Natalie asked with a strange smile on her face as Jeremy turned away and started shaking. "Dan curls his tongue when he's thinking about the beating thing." Natalie kicked Jeremy under the table as Dana frowned and opted to go for clarity, not confirmation. "The beating thing." Unfortunately, she got confirmation. "When he's going through the rotation for what comes next." "What comes next." "Yeah, whipping or creaming..." Jeremy was still shaking and had turned to face the opposite wall. Natalie was blinking very fast and nodding encouragingly with a huge grin on her face. Dana was still frowning and wondering what in the hell was going on. It occurred to her that, most likely, she didn't really want to know. "Thank you, Casey. Moving right along..." "It made sense when he said it." "Somehow, I doubt that. Moving right along..." ~~~end