Title: Beyond the obvious
Author: hen3ry
Pairing: Ryan/Dan Cooper
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: The following is meant in no way to infringe on CBS' copyright, simply little stories from a distracted mind. I'm not making any money from this either.
Summary: Sometimes, it's the little things that are the most important.

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For most people, it's easy enough to timeline a relationship. All the moments that are significant are obvious, and both people can see where it's all going.

This one was different though, because he and Dan were both on different pages completely. Ryan expected it all to go flirting dating kissing sex and so on, but this time, it seemed to jump back and forth… Dan didn't particularly see sex as something significant, and the first time it happened, there was every chance it'd never happen again. But it did, and then came the dating, and the flirting, and the kissing, and Ryan found himself re-thinking his evaluation method.

The first time Dan let Ryan pick him up, instead of meeting him wherever they were going. The first time he gave Ryan a lift into work. The first time he let his arm rest across Ryan's shoulders as they sat in some random beach bar. All things with any other person Ryan would have forgotten, if he even noticed in the first place. This relationship was forcing him to notice the little things he's overlooked in the past.

Other things, things he's expect with anyone else took on new significance. The first time Dan ignored some random guy in a club to spend the night just dancing with Ryan. The first time he stayed in instead of going out.

The first time Dan used his name-barely audible-when they were having sex. The first time they actually made it to a bed before it was all over.

Dan doesn't talk much when it's just the two of them, so it's all about reading the signs. Of knowing exactly which eyebrow twitch means 'alright' and which means 'leave me alone.'

Dan doesn't really do monogamy, so Ryan can't put that stamp of commitment of longevity on the relationship. He knows for a fact that the first three months Dan was still sleeping with other people, and has no idea if he still is, but to his surprise, he finds he doesn't care.

Dan hasn't said I love you. There's a good chance he never will. But he lets Ryan put decaf in his coffee-maker. And that says it all, really.

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