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'.  More to come...

Treasure  by Amirin <groh@iquest.net>  #123


***********************


Casey was climbing the walls.  Which nearly guaranteed that everyone
*else* was climbing them right along with him since Casey didn't 
like to climb alone.

Casey didn't like to work alone, either.  He didn't like to be in 
the office alone.  And he really hated having conversations with 
himself.  He always won the arguments, always had the last word. 
It really sucked.

So, he started talking to Dan.  

The fact was Dan was stuck hundreds of miles away didn't faze him 
in the slightest.  He could practically hear Dan talking back to 
him, hear every response, see every grin, like the man was right 
there.  In spite of the fact that he wasn't.

And Casey knew that.  He really did.  But it didn't stop him from
talking to Dan Rydell.  And it didn't make him crazy.  Not in the
slightest.

But if Dan didn't get his sorry, thankfully-still-alive ass back 
home and soon, everyone *else* in the office was going to go nuts.  

~~~

It took Dan two days to get back from Miami.  He called to talk to
Casey from the airport before he left.  He called to talk to Casey 
when he landed in New York.  He called to talk to Casey from his 
apartment while he was unpacking and dealing with laundry.  He 
even called to talk to Casey from the phone in the elevator, which 
was taking too damned long to get him to his floor.  

When he finally got to his floor, he made his way through the throng
carefully, perfect smile firmly in place, casual laughter at the 
ready, the usual Dan.

He made the required responses, joked about Luck and Fate and 
Casey, set everyone at ease.  The usual Dan.

Hugged people, kissed people, came a *little* too close to kissing
Isaac but it would've been okay.  Everything was okay.  He was okay.
The usual Dan.

Until he saw Casey in the doorway of their office.  Looking like he
hadn't slept in the last three days.  

The casual laughter died on his lips.  

The perfect smile faded a heartbeat later.  

And the usual Dan was no where to be found.

Casey's hand connected with his, pulled him into a hug, and didn't 
let go.

"Thank god you're not in Cleveland."

"Yeah."

The throng melted away after a few more back pats that Dan barely 
felt.  All he felt was Casey.  And relief.  And they were pretty 
damned close to being the same thing.

There was so much he wanted to tell his best friend, so many things
he needed to say, things that needed to be said.  But then he saw
something.  And he let Casey go after a quick touch to the side of 
his neck, headed over to the desk, and picked up the hardbacked 
book with the burgundy cover.

"What's this?"

Casey sighed.  

"Dana gave it to me.  On Isaac's orders."  

"It's a thesaurus."

"I know.  Danny..."

"Dana gave you a thesaurus on orders from Isaac."

"Yeah.  She did.  Listen..."

"Did she forget about our understanding?"

"No."

"Did she tell Isaac?"

"Yeah."

"And she did it anyway."

"When you were in Miami, I was driving him crazy."

"And you needed another word for 'insanity?"

"No, I needed another word for 'largesse'."

"I *gave* you another word for 'largesse'.  In fact, if I remember
correctly, and I believe I do, I gave you *two* words for 'largesse'."

"I asked Isaac first, before you called."

"You asked Isaac first."

"Yes."

"And he didn't know?"

"He knew."

"Then why did you ask me?"

"I always ask you."

"But now you don't need to."

"Danny..."

"You've got a *thesaurus*."

"It wasn't my idea.  I can get rid of it."

"No, no.  It's fine.  Really.  It is."

"I'm getting this feeling that it's not."

"We should go.  We've got a run-down."

"Don't...dammit, I hate it when you do this."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Yes, you are.  You are most definitely doing something.  You're
*avoiding*."

"Are you sure that's the word you want to use?"

"I think so, yes."

"If it isn't, you can always look it up in your brand-new thesaurus."

And with that, Danny was out of the office and headed for the
conference room, Casey right behind him.  And things remained unsaid.

~~~

The room cleared quickly, taking the silence and the tension with it,
and Isaac sat for a moment, thinking.  Dana let him.

The meeting had gone okay.  Quietly, but okay.  Until Casey had 
stopped Danny right outside the door and told him that they needed 
to talk.  And Danny had told Casey that he had nothing to say.  And
Casey had protested.  And Danny had insisted that Casey had a whole 
big, burgundy book full of wonderful words and he certainly didn't 
need any more from Dan.  And then, they'd each gone their separate ways.

"This has something to so with that understanding you mentioned,
doesn't it?" Isaac finally asked Dana. 

"Yes.  It does."

"You want to explain it to me?"

"It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense to anyone but them,
Isaac."

"Try."

"It's...it's about how they talk to each other.  And how they don't. 
Sort of."

"Dana."

"Isaac, I'm trying.  I really am."

"Okay," he sighed.  "Go on."

"They talk about everything.  And sometimes it's buried under an awful
lot of nothing.  But some of their conversations, especially the major
ones, start with one of them asking the other about something
inconsequential, like 'why do people insist on using the word 
'irregardless'?'."

"It's a starting block," Isaac said, nodding thoughtfully.

"Exactly.  They use it as a bridge to start talking to each other. 
First, they talk about the words, then, they start using them."

"And that damned thesaurus burned the bridge.  And now, they can't 
talk to each other."

"You got it."

"Get me that book, Dana.  Steal it right out of their office."

Dana grinned at him.  "Consider it done."

~~~

Dan was back in the elevator.  It wasn't so bad.  It was reasonably
quiet, except for the bell pinging every time the doors opened.  

He stood towards the rear of the car, watching the numbers light up 
as people do, but carefully not watching the people watching the 
numbers.  It was the way it was done.

Until Casey got on the elevator.  And stood silently in the opposite
rear corner.  A neutral corner.  He didn't say a word.  Until the 
bell rang.  Pinged.  Whatever.  Then, he came out swinging.

"The thesaurus is gone."

"What'd you do with it?"

"Nothing.  It was gone when I got back to the office."

"Someone took your thesaurus."

"Looks like way."

"Do you miss it?"

Casey looked at him like he'd lost his mind.  

"No, I don't miss it.  Talk to me."

"You start."

"Danny..."

"You start.  I started last time.  It's your turn."

"Fine.  I'll start."

"Go right ahead."

"Okay."

"Whenever you're ready."

"Jeremy told me that 'thesaurus' comes from the Greek 'thesauros',
meaning 'treasure'."

"I was not aware of that.  So, what's another word for 'thesaurus'?"

Casey grinned.  

"'Danny'."

"You made that up."

"On the spot."

"I'm pretty impressed."

"Thank you."

"I take it your brain is working again."

"You're home."

"And that has something to do with it."

"Only everything."

"I've left instructions with Dana that you are to give me my flight
information from now on."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'll do my best."

"You couldn't do much better."

Dan and Casey were looking at each other, talking to and with 
each other, and things were so close to being said.  So damned 
close.

They moved toward one another, colliding gently somewhere in the
middle, between the neutral corners of the otherwise-empty elevator.

Casey's arms tightened briefly around Dan, then relaxed.  But 
didn't let go.

"Cleveland would have really sucked this time of year," Dan murmured
quietly into Casey's ear.

"Cleveland really sucks at *any* time of year.  Promise me something."

"What?"

Casey eased away, just enough to see his best friend's face.

"Promise me that you will never go to Cleveland without me."

Dan chuckled out loud.  

"You got it."

Casey grinned back.

"Good."

~~~

Casey was still grinning as he walked through the office.  He'd left
Dan on the elevator, but the man swore he'd be back as soon as he 
made one more trip.  He was *this* close to humming when Isaac 
called out to him.

"Casey, can I see you a moment?"

"Sure."

"Come on in, have a seat."

Isaac waited patiently for him to notice, but Casey still wasn't
entirely on the clue bus until the older man turned a lamp on.  
A lamp which really didn't need to *be* on at seven in the evening.
Nice lamp.  Nice base.  Nice, hardbacked, burgundy-covered base.

"*You've* got it."

"I thought it was only fitting, since it was my idea in the first
place.  Besides, I like it where it is.  That lamp needed to be a 
bit higher, just to get the glare out of my eyes."

"Thanks, Isaac."

"You're welcome.  And should you ever need to borrow it..."

"I know where to find it."

"My thoughts exactly.  You two going to be okay?"

"We'll be fine."

"Good."

Casey stood, the whole point of the meeting over, and headed slowly 
to the door, the grin having never left his face.

"Isaac?  Thanks."

"You're more than welcome," Isaac waved him off.  "Now, get back to
work."


~~~end