Here is a seasonal ficlet I wrote for the first day of Autumn. Enjoy.
***
Apples
Ryan looked up as his boss rubbed his eyes for the umpteenth time. It was obvious that he was having a pretty unforgiving headache, and staring at a brightly lit evidence examination table wasn't exactly helping.
"You see this red?" Horatio asked, squinting down as he pointed at a little red speckle on the purse found at the scene, "run the chemical composition, I think our victim brought this to the scene".
"H," Ryan cautiously started, "are you okay?"
"I'm fine, why do you ask, Mr. Wolfe?"
"You're not 'fine', you have a headache," Ryan said decisively, "and staring at this table is just going to make it worse. Where's your sunglasses?"
"I left them at home, I didn't think I'd need them".
"Well… that won't do. Now, go lie down in the break room and send Eric in here. That way the scene would be processed and you will be able to function later".
"I suppose you're right," Horatio sighed, rubbing his eyes again, "I'm sorry about this, Ryan. I've never had this bad of a headache before".
"It's alright, H," Ryan said sympathetically, "just lie down".
***
Horatio trudged into the break room, looking up to see Eric and Calleigh. They both were examining a shallow, wooden basket that sat in the middle of the table.
"What's that?" Horatio mumbled as he poured himself a glass of water.
"We don't know," Calleigh shrugged, "it just kinda showed up this morning".
"Are you alright, H?" Eric asked as he turned around to see his boss.
"No, actually; I have a bit of a headache. I need you to go over to trace and process the scene with Ryan".
"Alright, no problem," Eric nodded, quickly kissing Calleigh on the cheek as he rushed out, "I'll talk to you later, okay Cal?"
"Alrigh- oh shoot! I had to go to the morgue and grab a bullet for testing," she panicked, rushing out of the break room, "Alexx is going to kill me!"
Horatio barely had the strength to smirk at the energy of the young lovers as he wearily made his way over to the couch. He needed to rest his eyes, just for a little while. Good thing today was cloudy and there wasn't any sunlight filling the glass offices and labs. Horatio lay down and buried his head in his arms, closing his eyes and sighing heavily.
***
Rick Stetler quietly stepped out of the elevator, a large paper bag in his arms. He was hoping that he would go unnoticed as he wandered into the halls of the CSI labs. He had a guilty pleasure of going into the CSI's break room; they really did have the best coffee he had ever tasted. Occasionally he would get chased out and yelled at by Eric or Natalia, but most people didn't mind his presence; they just left him alone. But the real reason he had for stopping at the CSI's floor was one person and one person alone: Horatio Caine.
He absolutely adored the lieutenant, his brilliant red hair and his soft low voice always drove him wild. Sure, Horatio stepped out of line and would act suspiciously every now and again, but Rick loved that about him. Then he would be able to go downstairs and 'yell' at him, and Horatio is so adorable when he's flustered.
Rick walked into the break room and dumped the contents of the paper bag into the basket that he had placed there earlier. He always felt that he had to make some sort of contribution to the break room, especially since he knew that nobody really appreciated him using it. So he brought in something new every once in a while. This time he brought in apples, beautiful, red, cinnamon-y apples. He smiled, quite satisfied with himself. Rick picked up an apple and polished it to a shine with his orange and red polka doted tie.
"What are you doing here, Stetler?" Horatio grumbled, sitting up.
Rick jumped about a foot in the air, he didn't expect to see Horatio there; he almost never goes in the break room. He fumbled the apple against his suit as he tried to pull himself together.
"Just… delivering some… apples," he stammered, grinning.
"Why?" the redhead moaned, rubbing his temples.
"It's the harvest season. First day of autumn".
"'Harvest'? Stetler, I don't know if you've noticed, but you're not in Oklahoma anymore. We live in Florida. It's 80 degrees outside. We harvest oranges… in June".
"But… I… have… apples," Rick stuttered sadly, realizing that Horatio didn't really appreciate his gift.
"Well…" Horatio sighed, flopping back onto the couch, "thanks for buying them".
"I grew them".
"'Grew them'?" Horatio repeated, grunting as he sat back up, "In Miami?"
"Yeah, I've always been really good at growing apple trees. I planted this one when I moved here. It's really nifty. These are Cinnamon Spice Apples. Want one?"
Stetler reached out, offering Horatio the bright and shiny apple. The redhead cocked his eyebrow; Rick's pose suddenly reminding him of many a picture in fairy tale books.
"C'mon," Rick coaxed, "it tastes cinnamon-y".
At that moment, the clouds parted and the Miami sun bounced off the glass walls of the CSI labs. Horatio squinted at the brightness and curled up into a little ball on the couch again, groaning in attempt to internally whine his headache away.
Rick pouted playfully, grabbing himself a quick cup of coffee before he trotted on over to the lieutenant.
"Does little Horatio have a headache?" Rick cooed, sipping at his drink and playing with the apple.
"Don't patronize me," Horatio grumbled, turning his face towards the cushions and digging himself a little deeper into the couch.
"Apples are good for a headache," Stetler smiled, dropping the fruit into Horatio's reluctant hands.
"I don't think so," the lieutenant sighed, "I heard that ginger is though".
"Heh heh heh," Stetler chuckled, looking down on Horatio's light features, "'ginger'".
He reached down and playfully mussed Horatio's silky red hair. He lightly massaged the other man's head, drawing swirly patterns on his scalp. A sly smile spread across his face as he heard the redhead release a soft moan.
"Stop touching me," Horatio groaned, "leave me alone".
Rick pouted as he realized he was accidentally making the headache worse. He let his hand slip out of Horatio's hair. He felt horrible, he liked flustering Horatio, not making him miserable.
Looking up, Stetler noticed for the first time that each of the glass panel walls had venetian blinds that could be pulled down and closed. He moved quietly around the room, shutting out the harsh sunlight one panel at a time. He then turned off the lights, leaving the room immersed in a golden twilight.
Horatio lifted his head and looked around the dimly lit room. He could see vague silhouettes of people moving behind the walls, like silent and peaceful ghosts walking past him. He sat up and saw Stetler sip away at his coffee, looking into the bushel of apples he had just gifted.
"Thank you," the redhead whispered softly to Rick.
"Anytime," Rick nodded, "I'm sorry for pestering you like that".
"No harm done".
The two of them sat in silence for a while, each lost in his own mind. After a few minutes, Rick finally spoke.
"You know," he said softly, "I can get rid of that headache for you. You'll be back in the lab in a few minutes".
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's a massage my college roommate taught me how to give him for when he had a headache. His used to be pretty bad too; he'd get them all the time".
Horatio lay on his back, considering his options. He could lie around in misery for another hour, or he could let Stetler give him a massage. He could feel like he had his head in a vice grip for what could be the rest of the day, or he could let Stetler give him a massage. He could feel like the only way out of the headache would be a full frontal lobotomy, or he could let Stetler give him a massage. He could-
"-Well?" Rick asked, interrupting Horatio's thoughts, "You want one or not?"
"I'm still, kind of deciding," Horatio admitted, wondering if Stetler would ever let him live this down.
After another moment of consideration, Horatio timidly agreed. Rick's heart did a little flip as he realized what Horatio was going to let him do. He flashed a quick smile to himself before he set his coffee down on the table and joined Horatio on the couch.
Rick picked up a pillow and set it on his lap before he motioned Horatio to lie down on it. Still a little unsure, the redheaded lieutenant slowly lowered himself onto the lap of the man who had been tormenting his department for the past few years. Rick was thankful for the thickness of the pillow, that way Horatio couldn't feel how stiff he was making him.
Tenderly, Stetler's fingers slid under the hairline, slowly and gently massaging Horatio's scalp. With his other hand, Rick brushed his fingertips over the other man's face, guiding his eyes closed. Horatio marveled at how soft Rick's palms and fingertips were, letting his head sink into the pillow.
Rick lovingly stroked Horatio's soft and pale skin, his fingertips learning every detail of the lieutenant's face. Horatio was impressed; it didn't take long for Rick's talented fingers to brush his headache away; all the tension he felt seemed to melt in the gentle heat of the IAB sergeant's hands. Smiling to himself as Horatio finally seemed to relax; Rick gently cupped the side of the redhead's face, pulling a soft sigh and contented moan out of him. Gently he traced a fingertip along Horatio's jaw line, up behind his ear, and then down his neck. His hand swept lightly over the redhead's throat, drifted back up his neck, and to the side of his face, where Rick rested his hand. The little noises that his actions pulled from Horatio's lips brought Stetler to a light blush.
Horatio instinctively nuzzled up against the comforting hand, completely forgetting to whom it belonged to.
Without a word, Rick gently lifted Horatio's body to a sitting position. He propped himself behind the redhead and immediately began running his hands over Horatio's shoulders and down his back. Unable to suppress a soft "Oh", Horatio let his head roll back as he relaxed into the sensations.
Stetler reached up under Horatio's jacket and gently rubbed and scratched at his back, making him moan and gasp. Needing more, Horatio pulled his jacket completely off and un-tucked his shirt, letting Stetler run his hands over the bare skin of Horatio's back. The lieutenant moaned happily, it had been years since anyone had done this to him, and even longer since they did a half-way decent job. Stetler was amazing, he felt like he was being lifted right off the couch.
Horatio's mind was gone, far gone. Suddenly an evil smirk crossed Rick's lips; he wondered just how open to suggestion the redhead's mind had become. He lightly tugged on Horatio's clothes and the lieutenant immediately backed up and pressed his back against Rick's chest, rolling his head back and resting it on Rick's shoulder. Stetler ran his hands over Horatio's chest, quite satisfied with himself.
Having no reason to simply stop there, Rick took one of the other man's wrists and positioned his fingers over the top button of his shirt. Swiftly, Horatio opened his shirt for Rick, moaning as Stetler rubbed and stroked his bare chest.
Hoping that nobody in the lab was thinking "You know what sounds excellent right now? Coffee!" Rick decided to push his luck just a little more. After a moment for Rick's fingers to become acquainted with Horatio's soft red chest hair, he took the other man's wrist again, this time leading it to his belt.
Rick's eyes widened as he watched Horatio tug at his belt buckle, opening it. But Horatio didn't just stop there, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants too. Rick finally stopped the lieutenant when he began to dip his hand into his boxers.
Gently, Stetler brought two fingers right up behind Horatio's jaw line, turning his head just enough to give himself access to the redhead's lips. Careful not to pull him out of his suggestive state, Rick pressed their lips together. Horatio moaned softly, opening his mouth for more. Possessively, Stetler dove into the other man's mouth, going on to now massage his tongue.
Maybe it was the taste of coffee Rick's mouth had. Maybe it was the slight groping he was now experiencing. Maybe it was how the room significantly darkened as the sun went back behind the clouds. Maybe it was the angle of which Stetler's arousal was digging into his backside. Whatever the reason, Horatio snapped very quickly back to reality.
He pulled himself out of Stetler's kiss, throwing himself down onto the floor. He looked up in shock at Rick, who was trying desperately and failing terribly at looking innocent. Horatio's eyes wandered down to his own person, seeing for the first time that his jacket was off and his shirt and pants were open. His headache, however, was completely gone.
Horatio zipped back up and secured his belt before he buttoned up his shirt and pulled his jacket on. At some point far beyond what would normally be defined as "irate", Horatio grabbed Rick by the tie and pulled him to his feet.
"What the fuck are you trying to pull?" he growled, somehow able to stare down a man half a foot taller than him.
"Nobody saw anything," Rick noted, raking his brain for a way to calm Horatio down.
"What the fuck are you trying to do to me?!"
"This," Rick answered, taking Horatio's face in his hands and crashing their lips together.
Horatio's bright blue eyes widened as Rick suddenly had complete control over the situation. He struggled for a few moments his hands flying to Rick's chest in attempt to push away. Rick slid one of his hands back to tangle with the soft red hair and soon Horatio was under his complete control again.
A little more aware this time, Horatio opened his mouth and let Rick in. He waited patiently for Stetler's tongue to explore every inch of the warm, wet cavern. He let a few moans escape, nobody was going to find out anyways.
Might as well enjoy it for a bit before it's over with, Horatio thought, then I can get to denying that it ever happened.
After a long and slightly heated moment, Rick slowly extracted his tongue from Horatio's mouth. Stetler's hands had dropped to the redhead's hips, holding their bodies together. A little short of breath, the two men rested their foreheads together and breathed heavily. They stood like that for a while, taking in the silence of the room.
"Admit it," Stetler whispered into Horatio's neck, "You liked it".
"What the hell's going on in here?" Frank Tripp asked as he burst in, his voice suddenly cutting through both Rick and Horatio's skulls.
The two men whose lips were locked quickly pulled away from each other, retreating into their own little personal space bubbles. The three of them stared at each other, not quite sure what to do next.
"I was just on my way out," Rick explained quickly, backing further away from Horatio.
"What were you two doing in here with the blinds down and lights off?" Frank asked, switching them back on.
"Horatio and I both had headaches," Rick somewhat lied.
"Mine's gone now," Horatio nodded, going along with it, "so is Rick's".
"Why were you hugging?" Frank asked, crossing his arms.
"We weren't," Rick declared, grabbing his coffee and running out of the room.
Frank watched Stetler rush down the hall and into the open elevator. He turned back to Horatio, who was pushing the couch cushions back into place.
"What just happed, Horatio?" Tripp asked, not quite sure if he really saw what he thought he just did.
"Rick brought apples," the redhead answered, hoping that Frank would find that to be a sufficient explanation.
"Apples?" Frank answered, confused but curious.
"Yeah…" Horatio nodded, "because today's the first day of… autumn".
"Huh…" Frank grunted, looking down at the bushel, "are they any good?"
"They better be".
FIN