Title: Breaking the Cycle
Author: hen3ry
Pairing: Ryan/Dan Cooper
Rating: NC-17
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: Parallel to 'Circles', runs from One of our own alongside, and continues afterwards. Ryan makes some changes, and starts up with someone new.

***

Dan didn't feel guilty the first time. He was single, and as far as appearances were concerned, so was Ryan.

Appearances can be deceptive though. The pair of them were convinced they had everyone fooled. Impressive enough, considering where they worked, and who with. Dan was pretty sure he was the only one who noticed.

Noticed the sly grin on Eric's face when Ryan was extra careful to ensure the hickey on the back of his neck was covered. Or noticed the the undercurrent of other tension in the fights they had in the lab.

Dan noticed they were together, and also noticed the less-then-perfectness of the relationship. And after the FBI left the lab, and he bought Ryan an I'm-sorry-for-leaking-about-your-eye drink, and Ryan bought him an I'm-sorry-I-threw-you-against-the-wall drink, and each of those drinks arrived in several glasses, he had only a split second to decide if he was up for it.

He was, and it wasn't much longer before the pair of them were tangled together in his sheets.

The next morning when they wake up he can practically feel Ryan going into cover-up mode. For a second he berates himself for being weak and horny, but he's too hungover to care, and when Ryan insists that no one can ever find out, he agrees.

He pretty much forgets about it over the next few months and goes back to watching the pair of them dance about each other in the halls. Until the whole thing with the filmmaker blows up, and after that they regain an angry silence.

He's disgusted with himself when when he walks into the locker room to find Ryan changing he still can't help getting a little turned on. Which is stupid, because even if he manages to catch his eye the other man looks away.

Four days after Eric wakes up he opens his door to find Ryan there and be barely has enough time to breathe (and figure out how Ryan got his address) before he's flattened against the wall, Ryan's hand attacking his belt. Neither of them last long, and when he closes his eyes at the end to regain some composure he's not even surprised when Ryan's gone before he opens them.

Dan can sense a pattern emerging, and tells himself that he should probably feel used, but he finds it hard to care when he's getting this much sex for relatively little effort on his part. He's never really been the relationship type, and this whole no-strings-attached thing works just fine for him.

He only starts to feel guilty when he notices Ryan starting to look drawn. So one day, before he can talk himself out of it, he intercepts Ryan as they both clock off and drags him to a bar.

"What's going on? This isn't the deal..."

"Yeah well. I promise we can fuck silently in the bathroom once we're done, right? We just need to sort something out."

Ryan looks pissed off, but stays quiet until they get to the bar at least.

"What is it?"

"What's going on with you and Eric?"

"Isn't that question a little personal?"

"I figure after three months of blowjobs I've saved up enough intimacy to get one personal question."

"Why do you care? It's got nothing to do with this." Ryan gestures between the two of them.

"I don't know. Because having sex with someone who looks like they're about to cry can be pretty depressing?"

Ryan smiles gently at that before leaning back in his chair.

"He doesn't remember everything. Like why we broke up before his accident. He's trying to make it better, I think, but it's not working. He's still him, and I'm still me and... I've told him no, but it's taking a while to get used to. For both of us."

Dan finished his drink quickly. "Just as long as something gets sorted out. This is getting far too stressful."

Ryan didn't finish his drink before he headed home.

(Dan kept his promise, two days later when they bumped into each other at the same bar.)

Three weeks later, and it's the first time Ryan sleeps over after sex. Dan's making coffee the next morning, and trying to figure out if this means their in a relationship or have just crossed over the narrow line between 'fuckbuddies' and 'friends with benefits' when Ryan walks into the kitchen.

"We're not in a relationship, are we?"

"God no."

Dan stops for a sec to decode whether that's an embarrassed-because-I've-totally-picked-out-our-kids'-names 'no', or an honest 'no'. When he snaps out of his daze, Ryan's eating his bagel.

"Hey! That's mine."

"I know, but you should be watching your figure." He reached over and pinched Dan's waist. "I mean, I'm not going to keep sleeping with you if you get fat."

Dan would be insulted, but at least he's pretty much figured out where they stand on the whole FB-FWB-Relationship spectrum.

Two months later they're eating lunch, and Dan can tell something's up.

"Alright, what's the problem?"

"I've met someone."

He searches his brain for a scrap of jealousy, but he can't find any. He's gald Ryan found someone more on his wavelength. Hot (and convenient) as it was, they couldn't go on forever.

"Cool."

"You're okay, right?"

"Course. Just now I have to put some effort into getting laid."

"It'll do you good. You've been getting complacent."

"Haven't heard you complaining."

"I have been too." Ryan laughed. "Friends?"

"Always."

***