Disclaimer: I don't own CSI:Miami or the characters
Pairing: Speed/Delko
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Eric's secret phobia brings him closer to a friend.
Notes: Inspired by Eric's comment "Ever tell you I'm scared of the dark?" in season one's episode "Body Count"
Fear of the Dark
"Ever tell you I'm scared of the dark?"
It was a throw away comment, spoken with jest, but Speed knew that deep down, Eric actually meant it. Eric hid it well, exceptionally well, but not from Speed, Speed knows him too well.
When night falls, Eric always ensures that he's not alone; he'd always be at work, at a club or find an excuse to hang at Speed's place. He's never alone come nightfall.
Even when they were just friends, Eric would stay over night after night finding flimsy excuse after flimsy excuse to stay. Speed never questioned it, he never minded the intrusion, it just made his infatuation for the younger man deepen.
Soon they were spending every night together one way or another, if one had to work late then the other would find an excuse to, if Eric wanted to go clubbing then Speed went too, and if they stayed in for the night, the other would be with them. They became inseparable, fast friends to the outside world, but in private something was stirring.
Slowly, it became common place for them to watch movies until they fell asleep together on the couch. They became accustomed to waking snuggled up together on that same couch, but they never discussed it, it just felt natural. Just as with the first time they kissed, the first time they slept together, it all felt so natural there was no need to discuss it.
They never talk of love, of sexuality, of commitment, just as they've never discussed Eric's phobia that brought them together. None of it seems to matter, so long as they're together when the sun sets.