Part 1: Role Reversal

Part 2: Difficult Decisions

Title: New Beginning
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRAO
Warning: Slash - explicit
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed, mention of Horatio/Stetler
Challenge: Lover100
Prompt: #50 Relationship
Word Count: 4000
Summary: Tim gives Horatio a chance for a different kind of relationship. Sequel to Role Reversal and Difficult Decisions.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

ooo

Speed stood in the hallway staring up at Horatio's office. The lights were on and the door was propped open so he knew Horatio was still in there. It had been two weeks since their little rendezvous in the showers and Horatio hadn't made any mention of seeing him again other than what he'd said in the locker room right after. The past two weeks had been busy for the whole team and Horatio had been a little on edge the first week. He didn't know if it had to do with what had happened between them or if there were other things on the redhead's mind. He did know that Stetler had been riding him about something that week and that always put Horatio in a mood. But ever since the weekend he'd seemed much more relaxed and happy. He knew they needed to talk but he had been hesitant to approach the other man hoping Horatio would make the first move. Since he hadn't Speed decided on a plan.

Horatio sat in his office staring at the open file on his desk. He glanced at his watch. He was hoping that Rick would stop by to ask him over for the weekend again. But it was after seven in the evening and he was beginning to give up hope. He knew that it was more likely that he wouldn't. It was unusual for them to spend more than two weekends a month together. But last weekend had been something special so Horatio still had that glimmer of hope. So, when he heard the knock at his door he looked up expectantly but instead of Rick he saw Speed standing there. He looked down momentarily not wanting the young man to see the slight disappointment in his eyes.

He looked up again and asked, "Speed, what are you still doing here? It's late."

"I could ask you the same thing," Speed countered with a slight smirk.

Horatio smiled shyly and cast his eyes down at the file on his desk. "Paperwork," he said. "It never seems to end."

Speed wandered into the office and over to Horatio's desk. "Well, it's after seven and if I'm remembering correctly, you were already here when I got in at five this morning. Maybe it's time to call it a night."

Horatio was still hoping that Rick might poke his head in, if for no other reason than to say goodnight. "I, um… Stetler is supposed to drop off some paperwork for me. I've, um, just been waiting for him," Horatio said looking down at his desk.

Speed raised an eyebrow. "Well, I think you're going to be waiting for a while. I saw him leave a couple of hours ago. Looked like he was heading out for the weekend."

Horatio looked up at him again. "You sure?" he asked.

Speed nodded. "Pretty sure, yeah." He heard Horatio sigh. "Why don't you call his office and find out for certain?" he suggested.

Horatio glanced over at the phone momentarily then shook his head. "No, I believe you," he replied sounding a little down.

But Speed mistook his tone to be one of annoyance and said, "It's Stetler. What do you expect?"

Horatio bit back his reply mostly because he knew Speed was right, but not for the reasons the young man thought. Because Horatio had made the decision to keep their relationship as it was, he knew Rick was giving him the chance to explore things with Tim. Though he had hoped he wouldn't force the issue.

Speed interrupted his thoughts. "So, does this mean you're done for tonight?" he asked.

Horatio sighed and closed the file that lay open on his desk. "I suppose it does," he said somewhat absently.

"Good," Speed said with a smile. "Are you hungry?"

"Hmm?" Horatio had only half heard him.

Speed smirked. "You know, food, that stuff you don't get enough of most of the time. I haven't had dinner yet and was thinking of stopping on my way home. I was wondering if you might want to join me."

Horatio weighed his options quickly; go home by himself and sulk or go grab a bite to eat with Tim. It wasn't a hard choice. "What did you have in mind?" he asked as he walked around his desk.

"Nothing fancy," Speed said. "There's a great little diner near my place. The food's good and it's quiet. I was, um, hoping we could talk," he said as they walked down the hall.

"Sounds good," Horatio replied. They walked out to the parking lot and Horatio went to his car. "I'll follow you," he said.

A short while later Speed pulled his bike into the parking lot of a small diner. Horatio followed and pulled his car into the space beside Speed's bike. He got out of his car and looked around. There didn't seem to be much in the area except what looked like an old building across the street and a small bodega on the corner. From the graffiti on the walls around them he could tell they weren't in the best neighborhood.

Horatio raised an eyebrow. "Interesting neighborhood," he commented.

Speed chuckled. "Looks worse than it actually is," he said as they walked toward the diner.

"You live around here?" Horatio asked.

Speed pointed to the building across the street. "Right over there," he said. Horatio looked over at the old building again then back at Speed with a dubious expression. "My uncle owns the building. He's a retired cop," Speed said as they walked into the diner.

Horatio nodded. "I didn't know you had an uncle who was a cop?" Horatio asked as they were shown to a table.

Speed smiled at him. "NYPD for thirty years and I suspect there's a lot you don't know about me," he said.

Horatio chuckled. "I suspect you're right." As they sat down he added, "That's a situation I'd like to rectify." They took a moment to look over the menu. Once they'd ordered he looked over at Speed and asked, "So what other surprising little tidbits are there about Timothy Speedle that I don't know about?"

Speed blushed slightly. "What do you want to know?" he asked.

Horatio wanted to keep the conversation casual for the moment so he asked, "I know you're from New York. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

Speed nodded. "I have a little brother. He's still in high school back in Queens." He could tell Horatio was surprised by that so he added, "My father died when I was ten and my mom remarried a few years later. Teddy was born a year after that. I was fifteen."

"That had to be a little weird for you," Horatio commented.

Speed looked down. "We've never been that close, with the age difference." He added, more quietly, "And it doesn't help that my stepfather hates me."

Horatio winced. He could tell that he'd struck a nerve. Without thinking he reached across the table and took Tim's hand. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay," Speed said giving Horatio's hand a squeeze. "But can we talk about something else."

Horatio was kicking himself. It had been so long that he'd forgotten how tricky this part of a new relationship could be. They ended up sitting in silence for a few minutes until Speed asked, "So, um, how'd you end up joining the force?"

One side of Horatio's mouth quirked up. He could deal with that change of subject. "There was really nothing else I wanted to do. Since I was a kid I wanted to be a police officer," he answered.

They spent the next hour eating and engaging in small talk, exchanging stories from their past. It wasn't the conversation either of them was expecting when the evening began but Horatio, for one, was grateful for the benign conversation. It gave him a chance to get to know Speed a little better.

When they were nearly finished with their meal, Speed asked, "So, um, I don't suppose you'd, um, like to come back to my place for some coffee?"

Horatio pushed his plate aside and smirked. "Just coffee?" he asked.

He watched as Speed's face flushed just a bit. "Well, maybe some more conversation. Maybe something else," he said quietly. "If you want to, that is."

Horatio didn't say anything but he smiled and signaled for the waitress. Speed insisted on paying the tab and they walked out to the parking lot. "Do I need to move my car?" Horatio asked.

Speed shook his head. "No. I have an arrangement with the owner."

"Convenient," Horatio said.

"And safer," Tim added. He pointed up to the corner of the diner at a video camera. "They have round the clock monitoring," he said.

He reached over and took Horatio's hand as they walked across the street to the apartment building. It made Horatio just a little self-conscious but it felt good. Speed pulled out his keys and unlocked the front door. Horatio looked around when the got inside.

"Looks like the place is deserted," he commented.

"At the moment it is," Speed said. "My uncle only spends half the year here. He's up north right now so it's just me." He flipped the lights on in the hallway and Horatio could see a door to his left and opposite, two mailboxes. Speed opened one and took his mail out. "Come on. My place is upstairs. My uncle lives down here."

He led Horatio to the end of the hallway to what looked like an old freight elevator. He slipped a key into the lock at the side and turned it. The elevator door slid open and Speed lifted the old wrought iron gate. Horatio looked over at him and asked, "This used to be a warehouse?" Speed nodded and they road up to the second floor.

Horatio was surprised when the door opened again onto a nicely furnished loft. It was spacious and homey at the same time. Speed looked over at him. "What do you think?" he asked.

"It's very nice and not what I was expecting," Horatio said as he glanced around.

"What were you expecting?" Tim asked as he walked over to the kitchen.

Horatio chuckled. "I don't know, but not this. I've heard Eric teasing you about where you live. I just assumed…"

"That I lived in a dump," Speed finished for him. "Well, just so you know, Eric has never actually been up here. He just picked me up out front once and assumed."

Horatio nodded and wandered into the kitchen. Speed turned to face him and asked, "Would, um, you like some coffee?" Horatio shook his head. "You, um, wanna talk for a while?" Speed asked as Horatio stepped a little closer shaking his head. Speed cleared his throat, his mouth suddenly going dry. "Um, something else?" he asked.

Horatio nodded but still didn't make the first move. It took Speed a moment to realize he wasn't going to so he took the last step closing the distance between them and taking Horatio's mouth in a slow kiss. Horatio sighed into the kiss and Speed wrapped his arms around Horatio's waist pulling him closer. Horatio draped his arms around Speed's neck as he felt Speed's tongue explore his mouth. After a few moments Speed pulled back and rested his forehead against Horatio's.

Once he'd got his breath back he took Horatio's hand and said, "Come on," as he lead him up a circular staircase to his bedroom. Horatio just stood there waiting. Speed was beginning to realize that Horatio probably wasn't going to do anything without his prompting, part of his submissive nature, so he moved closer to him. Standing face to face with him he raised Horatio's chin so that he was looking him in the eye. He smiled gently.

"Tell me what you want, Horatio," he said softly.

Horatio hesitated. He didn't know how to answer. Speed cocked his head to one side as he studied Horatio's reaction to what he'd asked and a light bulb suddenly went on in his head. He'd thought of Horatio's submissive nature as a surface thing, something he played at. But he had it exactly backwards. Lieutenant Caine was his surface mask. What he was seeing now was the real Horatio. He wasn't remaining silent because he didn't want to answer the question. He was remaining silent because he couldn't answer the question. He also realized that there had to be someone else in Horatio's life. He wouldn't have ended up like this all by himself. He watched as Horatio's head fell and his shoulders slumped. Speed reached out and took his hand.

"It's okay. You don't have to answer me," he said.

All of Horatio's instincts were telling him to slip back into his lieutenant mask. He could deal with things that way, make decisions when he needed to, answer questions with confidence. But he knew if he did that the evening would be over for them and he didn't want the evening to be over, not yet anyway. He knew he couldn't perform as Lieutenant Caine only as Horatio. But Horatio had a lot of trouble making decisions especially about what he wanted. He needed Speed to be able to figure out what he wanted without him having to say it just like Rick could. Most of his other partners just took what they wanted and weren't interested in what he wanted or needed. He felt himself being led over to the bed.

"Sit down a minute," Speed said and he sat on the bed next to him. "It's okay. I think I understand now. But I need to ask you something." He waited until Horatio looked at him. "There is someone else, isn't there? You're in another relationship." Horatio nodded and Speed sighed. "It's okay for you to speak, Horatio," he said trying not to sound annoyed.

"Yes, I am," Horatio answered quietly.

"Then why are you here?" Speed asked. He wasn't angry, just curious.

It took Horatio a moment to answer but finally he said, "It's complicated."

"Complicated or not, I need to know," Speed said a bit sharply.

Horatio looked down at his hands. "Do you want me to leave?" he asked.

Speed took his hand again. "No, I don't want you to leave. I want you to talk to me," he said. "This other guy, he's okay with you being here?"

Horatio nodded. "Yes, he is."

"Why?" Speed asked.

Horatio was wracking his brain trying to figure out how to explain. "I, um… I suppose you could say we have an open relationship. I don't know how else to describe it. We've been together for a long time. It's just how it's always been."

Speed remained silent while he tried to process all of this new information. After a moment he asked, "Is he the reason you got your piercing?" Horatio nodded. Speed smirked and quipped, "You know, when you've been together a long time, the ring is supposed to go on your finger."

Despite himself Horatio chuckled at Speed's remark but after a moment he asked, "So what do we do?"

Speed took a deep breath and tried to organize his thoughts. He knew what he wanted to do but he needed to say it the right way. "It's been a long time since I've been in a relationship, Horatio, a really long time. And I don't think I'm really looking for one right now. This whole thing may work out for the best. I like you, a lot, more than just as a friend. I want something with you and I've been trying to work out just what that something is. I just don't want either of us to get hurt."

Horatio nodded thinking he understood what Speed was trying to say. "If we both go into this knowing that we're not going to be exclusive…"

"Then we should be all right," Speed finished.

Horatio smiled and Speed leaned in placing a soft kiss on his lips. He stood and pulled Horatio to his feet then started unbuttoning his shirt. Once he had the shirt open he ran his hands over Horatio's chest. Horatio sighed happily but there was still another matter he needed to clear up between them so he took Speed's hands and held them still against his chest. Since Speed hadn't brought it up he had to. Speed looked at him questioningly.

"There needs to be rules," he said quietly. Horatio needed boundaries, a set of rules they would both adhere to no matter what.

"What kind of rules?" Speed asked.

"Nothing at work. No one knows about us at the lab, not even Alexx," Horatio said.

Speed nodded. "Okay, that's smart," he said. He wasn't out at the lab either so that wasn't a difficult one to deal with. "We should probably be careful about sleeping over on work nights too." Horatio nodded. "And no driving in together." He leaned in and took Horatio's mouth in a slow kiss then pulled back slightly. "We can work the rest out as we go," he whispered against the redhead's lips.

Horatio smiled and dropped his hands. Speed pushed his shirt off and undid his belt. Horatio just stood there allowing Speed to undress him. He gasped as Speed teasingly lowered the zipper of his pants dragging it over his erection. Then he pushed Horatio's pants and boxers down. He reached down and stroked Horatio's rapidly growing cock from base to tip feeling it grow bigger in his hand.

"I love that I can make that happen," he said softly. Then he fingered the ring and Horatio's knees gave out as he moaned. Speed caught him quickly. "Whoa there," he said. "Maybe you should go lay down before I do that again."

Horatio made his way back to the bed on wobbly legs and lay down. Speed had the feeling that Horatio tended to be on the giving end rather than the receiving end in his other relationship and he wanted that to be different when he was with him. So he stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto the bed. He could show the redhead a thing or two.

When he felt Speed's weight on the bed Horatio spread his legs in a blatant invitation. But after their first time together Speed wanted the chance to take things slowly. He gently ran his hands up Horatio's legs.

"We have all night, Horatio," he said smiling. "I want to go slowly." Horatio gasped as Speed reached the top of his thighs and the back of his hand brushed his scrotum. Speed thought he looked like he wanted to say something so he said, "If you want to say something, go ahead."

It took Horatio a moment to find his voice. "Need a cock ring," he managed to get out. He felt like he was so close already.

Speed shook his head. "No. No cock rings. You can come when ever you need to, how ever often you need to. That's a rule," he said. "And if you want to say something, you just say it," he added.

He wrapped his fingers around Horatio's shaft and heard him gasp. He stroked lightly as he fingered his piercing. Horatio moaned loudly. "Oh, God," he breathed. His eyes were tightly shut as he tried to hold back. Speed used his other hand to fondle his balls.

"It's okay, Horatio. Come for me," he said as he tugged at the ring.

Horatio arched up into his hand and cried out as he came. He collapsed back onto the bed but Speed didn't give him a chance to recover. He continued to stroke him as he kissed his way up his chest to his neck and over to his ear. He nibbled at Horatio's ear as he gently stroked him. In almost no time Horatio felt himself getting hard again. Once Speed felt Horatio's cock growing again in his hand he slipped down his body and ran his tongue from base to tip then swallowed him down. Horatio cried out and bucked his hips. Speed worked him with his teeth and tongue. Horatio's brain was swimming and he was moaning non stop. Again he was trying to hold back but the feeling of Speed's mouth teasing him and the ring moving almost continuously undid him quickly. He was practically sobbing. He couldn't control his body any longer and he began thrusting into Tim's mouth. Tim relaxed his throat and allowed Horatio to go deeper until he was thrusting wildly with no control left at all. Finally he came hard continuing to thrust up until, spent, he fell back onto the bed and blacked out for a few moments.

Speed let Horatio's cock slip from his mouth just as the redhead's eyes fluttered open again. Speed smiled up at him. "Tell me what you need, Horatio," he said as he began laying kisses along Horatio's stomach and chest. "What do you want me to do?" he whispered against his skin. He glanced up at Horatio's face waiting for him to answer.

After a moment Horatio whispered, "I need to feel you inside me."

Speed reached over to the nightstand and pulled out lube and a condom. He leaned down and kissed Horatio. "Your wish is my command," he said against his lips. He sat back and lubed a couple of fingers then inserted them into Horatio's opening. Horatio moaned. His whole body was still very sensitive and he arched up when Speed wrapped his free hand around his cock again. He stroked him gently as he moved his fingers in and out keeping his pace slow. Horatio completely gave himself over to Speed as he fisted his hands in the sheets and let go. He whimpered slightly when Speed removed his fingers and let go of his cock.

"One second," Speed purred as he rolled the condom. He lubed up and positioned himself. "Ready?" he asked.

He thrust in all at once causing Horatio to gasp then stilled giving Horatio a chance to get his breath back. After a moment Horatio arched up just a bit trying to get him to move but Speed wasn't quite ready yet. Instead he took Horatio's cock again and gently stroked him hard. Horatio was still arching against him when he fingered the ring and felt the redhead's inner muscles start to pulse around him. He almost collapsed forward.

"Damn, Horatio," he gasped suddenly.

Horatio was barely breathing as Speed finally started to move, slowly at first still fingering Horatio's ring but he was soon thrusting hard, pounding into Horatio's body. He finally managed to find Horatio's prostate with his cock and the redhead cried out. Speed knew he was close so he made sure to hit that spot again with his next thrust as he pulled lightly on the ring. Horatio came with a loud cry pulling Speed over with him. Speed kept thrusting through both their orgasms then collapsed onto Horatio's chest.

They stayed that way for a few long minutes before Speed rolled to the side pulling out. He disposed of the condom then rolled back and gathered up Horatio's limp body into his arms kissing him softly. Horatio smile at him but he was already staring to doze. Speed ran his fingers through Horatio's damp, sweat-soaked hair. He watched Horatio sleep for a while wondering idly if he would be able to stick to their deal, follow the rules they'd agreed to. But, if it meant having Horatio in his life like this he was willing to give it his best try.

Fin