Title: Payback

Author: Aeon Cole

Rating: FRAO

Warning: Slash (explicit)

Fandom: CSI: Miami

Pairing: Horatio/Speed, past Horatio/Stetler

Word Count: 1720

Summary: If you prank there will be payback.

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.

Author's Note: This part of In Another Life.

ooo

Tim dragged himself into the break room. The case he was working on was a killer and he was beginning to develop a decent headache from staring into a microscope all morning. He pulled his lunch out of the refrigerator and flopped down at the table. A few minutes later Rick Stetler wandered in with a newspaper under his arm.

He saw Tim sitting there and said, "Sorry, didn't know you were in here."

He turned to leave but Tim stopped him. "It's ok. You don't have to leave," he said.

Stetler nodded. "Thanks," he said. He sat down and opened his paper.

An uncomfortable silence settled over the room while Speed debated with himself about asking Rick a question that had been on his mind lately. He wasn't even remotely certain how his question would be received but in the end he figured it couldn't hurt to ask. The worst thing that would happen would be that Rick would get up and leave.

"You mind if I ask you something?" he asked. Rick looked over the top of his newspaper. "It's um, about Horatio."

"Ok," Rick said laying his newspaper down on the table. "But you do know that just about anything I know would be considered confidential."

Tim smirked and shook his head. "No, not Lieutenant Caine. I wanted to ask you about Horatio. What was he like when he was younger?"

Rick chuckled. "Oh," he replied. "What did you want to know?"

Speed was a little surprised that Rick seemed open to talking to him. He had to think for a moment. "I don't know. I mean, I know what he's like now. I'm just curious about what he was like when you two were," he ducked his head for a moment. "He doesn't like to talk about it much."

"Hmm, I suppose that's understandable," Rick said. "I hurt him pretty badly." Again Speed was surprised to hear the other man admit that. "I suppose the biggest differences between Horatio then and Horatio now, he was a little less confident, a lot less arrogant, a bit more hyper."

Speed laughed. "Hyper? Now there's a word I would not use to describe Horatio now," he said.

"It always seemed to come out in the form of practical jokes. He had a wicked sense of humor back then," Rick said becoming lost in a memory.

"He still has a pretty good sense of humor," Tim replied. It was a side of Horatio that he had been surprised to find when they'd first gotten together. "He walks like a mouse. He loves to sneak up behind me."

Rick chuckled. "That's better than hiding behind a door then popping out and scaring the living crap out of me."

That made Speed laugh out loud. He closed his eyes for a moment. "Why is it that I can see him doing that," he said.

"I swear, it got to the point where I would enter the apartment commando style, like I was clearing a potential crime scene," Rick said shaking his head at the memory.

"I guess people do change. He's much more subtle about it now," Tim said and they both laughed.

Horatio stood in the doorway of the break room looking in unnoticed by the two inside. He wondered just how worried he should be that Rick and Tim were in there talking. And not just talking but laughing together. He wandered in casually and poured himself a cup of coffee. He couldn't help but notice the glaring silence that engulfed the room when he entered. He turned and leaned back against the counter taking a sip of his coffee.

He looked back and forth between the two men. "Should I be worried?" he asked.

They both gave him the 'who me' innocent look and shrugged simultaneously. Horatio rolled his eye and slowly wandered toward the door. As he passed Rick he leaned down and said, just loud enough for Speed to here, "You used to love it when I scared you like that," and casually walked out of the room.

ooo

Lower East Side of Manhattan

November 1, 1987

Rick was tired. It had been a long shift with way too much paperwork. He slipped the key to Horatio's apartment out of his pocket and unlocked the door. The lights were out when he entered and he figured that his lover had gone to bed already. It was pretty late. He shut the door and pulled off his overcoat tossing onto the sofa.

He slipped his weapon off his belt and placed it on the side table. He was so tired that he hadn't bothered to change out of his uniform before he left the station. He made his way into the bedroom without turning on any lights. He didn't want to wake Horatio. But the moment he passed the edge of the doorway a figure jumped out and said, "Boo," and grabbed him.

Rick jumped a foot in the air. "Damn it, Horatio! You nearly gave me a heart attack," he said as he turned to face his lover. But catching sight of his smirk and the glint in his eyes Rick knew that he had absolutely no remorse for scaring the crap out of him. In fact it was quite the opposite. He looked extremely pleased with himself. Rick growled and pushed the redhead back onto the bed quickly pinning his arms up over his head.

"Yeah, and what are you going to do about it, Officer Stetler?" Horatio asked.

"You know, I could arrest you for assaulting a police officer," he said with a smirk of his own. He reached back to his belt and pulled out his handcuffs. He quickly locked Horatio's wrists to the bedposts. "But there are other ways to make you pay."

"Promises, promises," Horatio teased as he lightly struggled against his bonds.

Rick chuckled and hopped off the bed. He sat down on the edge and stared down at the redhead. "Hmm," he hummed. "You know, I'm kind of hungry." He stood up. "I think I may just go get a quick snack," he said.

"Hey," Horatio complained. "What about me?"

Rick glanced back. "Oh, are you hungry too? I could bring you something," he said innocently trying to hide his amusement, and failing. Horatio struggled against the handcuffs but Rick could see that he was getting more and more aroused by his situation. He'd learned very quickly that the one sure fire way to get Horatio all worked up was to restrain him. He turned and took a step closer to the bed. "Not hungry?" he asked.

"Not for food," Horatio answered, his voice strained as he tugged at his wrists again.

"Oh yes?" Rick strolled over and stood at the end of the bed. He slowly drew his hands up Horatio's legs. "What are you hungry for, Detective?" he asked as he slipped his fingers into the waistband of Horatio's boxers and slowly pulled them down dragging them teasingly over his erection.

"Yes," Horatio hissed and tried to arch up but Rick stepped back.

Horatio whimpered and squirmed on the bed desperate for Rick to touch him. But Rick stood back at the end of the bed and slowly began unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled it off and pulled the t-shirt he was wearing underneath up and over his head. Then he reached for his belt.

"Is this what you want, Horatio?" he asked as he pulled his belt off and tossed it aside.

He opened his pants and slipped out of them and his shorts but still he just stood there staring at his captive lover. Horatio was staring back wantonly. Rick held his arms out from his sides and asked again, "Is this what you want?"

Horatio's mouth had gone dry and he couldn't find his voice so he just nodded. Rick smirked, satisfied that he'd achieved his initial goal of rendering his lover speechless. He slowly crawled up onto the bed staying up on his hands and knees and being careful to avoid actually touching Horatio. He leaned down just millimeters from Horatio's lips.

"Is this what you want?" he whispered again and Horatio lifted his head catching Rick's mouth in a heated kiss.

He arched up again trying to make some sort of contact with the body hovering over him. Rick took pity on him and flattened himself out along Horatio's body. Horatio arched his hips up and groaned at the sudden friction while Rick reached over to the nightstand for supplies. Then he sat back on his heals and slowly rolled the condom over himself all the while his eyes locked with Horatio's. He added some lube and slowly pushed in. Once he was all of the way in he paused for a few moments enjoying the tight heat of his lover's body. Horatio let out a long, low groan. Rick had a tight hold on his hips so he couldn't thrust up.

"Move… please…" Horatio begged.

Rick knew what Horatio wanted. When he was in this sort of a mood he liked things a little rough. He started out slow and easy but after a few minutes he was pounding into Horatio's body causing him to grunt with each thrust. Horatio was panting and gasping with every stroke his prostate was taking. And just as he would start to feel the tingle of his climax build, Rick would back off and slow down. He was desperate to touch himself and struggled against the handcuffs.

"Please," he begged.

"Please, what?" Rick breathed. He hadn't forgotten that Horatio was being punished for practically giving him a heart attack earlier.

"Please… let me come…" Horatio gasped.

Rick picked up his pace again as Horatio felt the tingle build. But this time instead of backing off, Rick wrapped his hand around Horatio's cock and gave it a stroke. Horatio cried out and came hard his muscles clamping down on Rick pulling his release from him.

ooo

Speed could see a slight blush working its way up Rick's neck and he smirked wondering just what it was that followed those scares to cause him to blush like that. Rick cleared his throat and said, "If I were you, I'd check behind the doors when you get home tonight."

Fin