Rating: G

Pairing: Horatio/Speed

Warning: Implied slash, nothing explicit

Summary: Sometimes you have to agree to disagree.

Author's Note: There's really no point to this story other than it's an argument that's been going on for twenty years between myself and my significant other over our very individual eating habits.

Horatio sat at the dinning room table with the contents of a file spread out in front of him. He'd been sitting there for several hours looking for something. He was certain he was missing something. Speed had made several attempts to distract him, to pull him away from working on one of their rare days off together. But Horatio was determined to find that little clue in the photos that would break the case. Speed had long ago learned that when he was in that type of a mood it was better to just let him be, so he'd stalked off to do laundry and some housework.

After staring at the same set of photos for several hours, Horatio found his concentration beginning to wane. He pinched the bridge of his nose. He was beginning to get a headache. He felt his stomach rumble and looked at his watch. It was two in the afternoon and he hadn't eaten breakfast this morning.

"Time for lunch," he muttered to himself.

He opened the refrigerator, perusing it's contents. Then, having made his decision, he removed several items and laid them out on the counter. He pulled a plate from the overhead cabinet and placed two slices of bread on it. He opened the package of deli meat and began piling it on top of one of the slices of bread.

Speed wandered into the kitchen and stopped, staring at Horatio in disbelief. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Horatio glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow. "Making lunch," he said slowly.

"But… that's roast beef," Speed said with a hint of surprise.

"Yeah, it's a roast beef sandwich," Horatio replied, wondering what the big deal was.

Speed eyed him as he picked up the empty piece of bread and did the unthinkable. He watched in horror as Horatio spread a large amount of mayonnaise over the bread then placed it on top of the sandwich. He picked up his sandwich and was about to take a bite when he noticed Speed's horrified look and said, "What?"

At first Speed just stared at him. He shook his head. Horatio just stood there with his sandwich in his hands, staring back. "What?" he said again.

"How did I fall in love with someone who eats roast beef on white bread," he said shaking his head. "With mayonnaise," he added with a grimace.

"What? I like roast beef with mayo. And white bread is all we have," Horatio replied as he took a bite of his sandwich. "Mmm, good stuff," he said with his mouth full.

"That's a sacrilege," Speed said shaking his head.

Horatio smiled at him and wandered back out to the table and his file, eating his sandwich. He looked down at the photos lying on the table and noticed something he hadn't seen before. "Bingo," he said as he downed the last of his sandwich. He picked up the photo. "That's a footprint. Why didn't I see that before?"

"Maybe you just needed some roast beef and mayo to clear your mind," Speed said sarcastically.

Horatio glance over at him and said, "I don't like mustard and we don't have any rye bread. Besides, I think I just broke this case."

Speed walked over to the table and looked at the photo. "You know, it's a good thing I love you."

Fin