A/N – Ok so I know this isn't entirely my usual sort of stuff, there's no angst in here (shock horror!) but sometimes you've just got to give in to the fluff. It's just something that's been whooshing around in my head demanding to be written down before my muse would let me carry on with any other fics.
Disclaimer – I don't own them, I don't even know them, which is a pity because I think we'd get along quite well.
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Dedicated to the member 'RedHotLover' – Thanks for giving me a whole lot of confidence!
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The light being cast by the half-moon was just enough to see the path ahead of her, and Paige walked quickly, the tall thin heels on her shoes making a soft clicking sound on the path as she moved.
Crossing the street she stepped over the kerb and onto the parched expanse of grass, her footsteps now marked by the crunching of baked blades of grass rather than the clicking of her heels.
No grass stayed lush and green for long in Miami, unless the owner of the property had well-lined pockets, and unfortunately the city council didn't fall into that category. Oh, it maintained the landscaped spaces in the more affluent areas, but here, in the neighbourhoods surrounding Calle Ocho the few spaces allocated as parks were allowed to dry up and gradually turn to dust patches until the next community project laid more turf and maintained it for a few months before the cycle of neglect would start over again. Lights shone from the doors and windows of nearby bars, throwing the few sparse trees into silhouette and casting long, distorted shadows over the uneven ground.
Paige took a quick glance around the park to make sure no-one was watching her and shrugged her coat off, draping it over the back of a nearby bench. Droplets of rain began to fall, swiftly getting more intense. But instead of running for cover Paige held her arms outstretched relishing the cool refreshing splash of each drop against her bare skin. As the rain fell it gradually soaked into her cotton dress, turning the light blue fabric a darker shade, almost black, and made the garment cling to her skin. Rivulets of rain water ran down her neck joining together to form a steady flow of water down her arms and dripping off the ends of her fingers, turning her into a human water feature, like a carved nymph on a flamboyant Renaissance style fountain.
Music floated across the park from the open doors of a jazz club. The soft, mellow tones of a saxophone entwined perfectly with the deep, melancholy notes of a piano. The irresistible pull of the music lulled Paige into a daydream, and she found herself swaying slightly. This was her secret, her escape. One hour a week she allowed herself to dance in the moonlight, to sway and twirl in time with the beat, with no-one to watch her and to leave all her worries behind. Paige was so far from being aware of her surroundings she didn't notice the figure slip out of the jazz club and pause before making his way over to the park.
Horatio had managed to slip away unnoticed, he'd been dragged out of the office by Calleigh, determined that he needed some time to relax, and he had to admit she'd been right. He'd spent the evening being lulled into a relaxed state of mind by the smooth music and the deep baritone voice of LeNard Rutledge, nursing the occasional glass of single malt whiskey and leaving all his worries behind. Calleigh had met up with some friends, and Horatio, not wanting to cramp her style had slipped quietly away. As he stepped outside he pulled the collar of his jacket up around his neck as a shield against the rain, and hunched his shoulders slightly. He walked forward into the night, eyes fixed on the ground, and didn't see Paige until he was just a few metres away. He stopped in the shadow of one of the trees, momentarily surprised to find someone outside on a night like this, let alone someone dancing in the rain. He stood captivated by her beauty as the moonlight glinted off the droplets of rain that resided on her skin and in amongst her hair, giving her an angelic, spectral aura.
As the song faded from the club Horatio took a step forward, emerging from the shadows.
"You know, you'll catch a cold if you're out here for too long."
Paige jumped, startled out of her reverie by the deep voice, and spun around to face Horatio.
"Oh, I umm, I…I have to go." She mumbled, embarrassed that this man had seen her at her most vulnerable. She reached out to take her jacket from the back of the bench, and jumped again when Horatio placed his hand gently on hers.
"Dance with me?" He whispered softly.
"Wh…what?" Paige paused in her flight.
"Dance with me. Please?" He repeated.
Paige looked up, surprised by this request, and stared straight into the most piercingly blue eyes she had ever seen, there was something about those eyes, so open and honest that made her think twice. She took the time to take in his appearance, his hair was a red-gold colour, although the steady rainfall was gradually changing the hue to one that was much darker. The lines to the corners of his eyes gave him a gentle look, and his lips were turned up slightly at the corners in a smile. Her eyes flicked back up to meet his, and she melted. She allowed herself to be pulled towards him, his arms encircling her, holding her comfortingly.
I must be mad she thought. I don't even know his name. And yet, instead of pulling away she rested her head on his shoulder and he in turn rested his cheek against the top of her head.
Instead of the single hour that Paige usually allowed herself in the park she found herself swirling and twirling for hours, lost in the strong arms of this handsome stranger. Only when the music faded to silence did she come out of the trance. As people started to filter out of the bar Paige looked around wildly. She pulled up the sleeve of Horatio's jacket and took a look at his watch, startled at the lateness of the hour. She broke away, raising her hands to his chest and pushing him back. Turning quickly she grabbed her jacket from the bench and ran in the opposite direction of the bar. As she reached he edge of the park and stepped off the kerb onto the hard surface of the road Paige turned to see the lone figure of her dancing partner standing, staring after her. She flashed a coy smile in his direction and continued running away.
Paige awoke the next day with a smile playing along the line of her lips. She remembered everything so vividly, but couldn't determine whether it had been anything more than a dream. She eventually raised herself from the bed, despite the exhaustion that seemed to press like a lead weight all over her. Walking over to the door her feet found soft material on the floor, and she looked down. Light blue fabric lay in a crumpled heap on the floor and as Paige picked it up she recognised the garment as the dress she had worn last night. It was still wet in places from the rain that had soaked her through to the skin. The smile that had been on her lips when she had awoken returned again, so it wasn't a dream. Somewhat guiltily she remembered looking back as she ran away at the end of the night and seeing the handsome stranger watching after her as she went, a sad and lonely expression on his face.
The feeling of euphoria followed her as she walked to work, it made her grin as she opened the doors of the gallery and lasted all day, the feeling still just as strong when she eventually set off on her journey home. Her colleagues at the gallery commented on how happy she seemed today, if a little uncharacteristically ditsy and questioned her mercilessly about why she was so chirpy, or alternatively why she was yawning so much, the more observant of the group putting two and two together and asking what his name was. Paige kept quiet. Allowing everyone to speculate around her, the thoughts and memories in her head were hers and hers alone, she didn't want to share them. As if telling anyone would dilute the potent fairytale-like quality of her evening.
At home she ate a light meal and tried to read an article on emerging twenty-first century painting styles that she would need to inform her work at the gallery, but with every phrase she read; her mind wandered back to those hours in the moonlit park, the feel of the rain against her skin, and the wonderful scent of the stranger as he took her in his arms. Paige discarded the book after trying to read the same line for the fiftieth time, and threw herself back into the sofa with a groan. Was this what it was going to be like from now on? Would she be unable to concentrate on anything from now on without the thought of those few hours pulling her thoughts away?
"Darn it." She muttered to herself.
Paige took a quick glance out of the window to find a wonderfully warm evening, the sort of evening only guaranteed in Miami. The sun was just about to disappear along the horizon, painting the whole bay with swipes of colour; reds, oranges and golds blazed across the sky, and were reflected in the clear waters below, doubling their intensity. She pulled on a pair of trainers, deciding that a run along the beach would help her clear her mind and hopefully sufficiently exhaust her so that she might be able to fall into a deep and dreamless sleep upon her return, a sleep not haunted by a lingering Jazz tune and the memory of the handsome red-haired stranger that she had shared it with. Paige grabbed her keys and swiftly exited the apartment, pulling the door shut behind her and jogging down the stairs.
Reaching the path that wound along the length of the beach Paige broke into a steady pace, concentrating on breathing in a constant rhythm, listening to the beat of her heart as it speeded up, pumping more blood around her body as her working muscles cried out for extra fuel. She didn't know how long she'd been running, but as she reached the end of the beach track Paige discovered that her mind was still not clear. She turned inland, deciding that the necessity of an increased state of alertness that was required for more urban running would turn her brain to other thought processes and leave the red-haired stranger far behind. She twisted and slalomed her way through traffic, pedestrians and roadworks, in some places upping her pace to a sprint pushing through the dull ache that she could feel building in her muscles as lactic acid was stockpiled as a by-product of anaerobic exercise, running on despite the rapidly developing stitch in her side.
Finally she stopped, coming to a rather abrupt halt as she started to look around her and realised that she didn't recognise this street, she walked briskly to the next intersection not wanting her muscles to cramp up with stopping so suddenly, the street names sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite orientate herself within her mental map of the city. Turning right she jogged on along the road, maintaining a much more sedate pace now and suddenly features took on a more familiar sheen. Now she could place her position exactly, she had managed to run almost a circle and now found herself barely a block from the park, her park, the tiny patch of sunburnt nature that she had shared with the red-haired stranger last night.
"Dammit." She cursed out loud, earning her a few disapproving looks from nearby folk. But Paige didn't notice, even her subconscious was playing tricks on her, bringing her to the very place that she was trying desperately to forget. Her feeling of annoyance was soon over shadowed by one of intense curiosity as she wondered idly if he too had been plagued by the memories from the previous evening. Don't be stupid girl, she chastised herself, silently this time, remembering that a lone woman talking to herself in the middle of the street was unlikely to appear entirely sane to the few people standing around. But now I'm here, what's the harm in taking a quick look? Just in case. Besides, the quickest way home is straight through the park. This was completely ridiculous she was holding an internal debate, without waiting for the outcome of her mental conversation she started forward.
As she reached the last building on the edge of the block she paused, trying to peer around the corner. Paige realised that her emotions were all jumbled up, not really knowing whether she wanted him to be there or not. She walked out from the shadows a little way but still couldn't get a clear view, the few trees that had seemed so sparse last night seemed to have grown immeasurably in the intervening hours until now they seemed like mighty redwoods blocking her line of sight. As she drew nearer she could make out the space clearer and she could see that it was deserted. There was no-one waiting for her and her heart sank a little as she realised that she had been hoping deep down that he'd be there. Paige sat down on the bench that she had draped her jacket over the night before and bent down to rub her calf muscles.
She sat up a little, resting her elbows on her knees, her head hanging down and the internal debate started up again, much louder than before.
Well, it's your own fault if you don't know how to contact him. You had to go running off, pulling a Cinderella move on him, if you wanted him to find you, you should have left a glass slipper.
The man could've been a mass murderer. Didn't your mother always tell you not to talk to strangers? It's a good job you ran off when you did, otherwise you might be tied up in a car trunk by now.
Yes, but your mother never said anything about dancing with strangers did she? Besides you looked into his eyes, there was so much pain built up there, mass-murderers don't have eyes like that.
And just how many mass-murderers do you know in order to make this scientific comparison?
Well, it hardly matters now does it? He's not here and you don't even have a name to go on, so let's go home, break out the ice-cream and forget all about it.
When Paige looked up, her breath caught in her throat as she saw him standing there directly in front of her. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was leaning back against the trunk of a tree, his startlingly blue eyes roamed around her face, a small smile jumping to his lips, mirroring her own expression.
"How long have you been there?"
"A few minutes. You looked like you were deep in thought, I didn't want to disturb you Ma'am."
"Please don't call me Ma'am, it makes me feel old."
"Sorry." A few more seconds passed before the stranger poke again. "I hoped you'd be here." He reached out and took her hand in his, pulling her up from her sitting position on the bench until she was standing in front of him.
"Paige."
"I beg your pardon?" A slightly confused look crossed his face and he paused, still holding her right hand in his.
"My name. It's Paige. I thought perhaps an introduction was in order."
He smiled.
"Horatio."
He watched her as her face took on the same expression that most people's did when he first introduced himself as she was initially surprised by the unusual moniker. He could hear her quietly rolling the syllables over on her tongue.
"Horatio…Horatio…I like it, it's a good name."
"Thank-you, I've always been quite partial to it myself." He grinned and she returned it with a smile of her own.
Introductions dealt with he pulled her closer as they adopted the same stance as the previous evening, she resting her head against his chest, his cheek softly laid on the top of her head and even though there was no music drifting through the air to provide a rhythm the pair began to sway to their own imagined melody.
She felt the rumbling formation of the words as he began to speak.
"I'm glad you came back."