Title: Coastal Cities
Spoilers: /
Rating: K
Disclaimer: CSI doesn't belong to me :(
Beta: GER
Notes: Dipping my hand into another 'atmospheric' story. A short little one this time, please R&R :)
Coastal Cities
I need to get away, was what he told them. It was the truth, but not all of it. To leave the harshly lit lab and the layer of lights in the night sky for somewhere more serene, more real.
It was rather ironic that he felt closer to her with two oceans separating them, the Atlantic on her side, the Pacific on his. The logic, he told himself, was that they were almost exactly parallel to each other, asymmetrical.
They would talk daily, 5pm on his side and 8pm at hers. He had grown used to the muted city noises on her side as she was to the hum of classical music on his.
The studio apartment he was occupying was small but adequate. Singular roomed, it had a balcony facing the sea. He had just arrived but it already felt snug and comfortable enough already. Not like home though, nothing felt like home. Sara took that feeling away when she left, and nothing could quite replicate it.
With the large windows opened but the translucent windows hanging over the frames, the place was bathed in muted light. The sun too covered the clouds, highly unusual for Los Angeles he noted.
The dialing tone beeped mechanically in his ear as he waited for that fleeting emotion of home to rush through him.
"Hello?"
And there it was, sending a wave of nostalgia coursing through his veins. As soon as it came though, it was gone.
"Sara."
He could never tire by saying her name, more so once she was gone. It crept into his everyday conversations, be it accidentally calling Catherine that, or it slipping past his lips at twilight.
"Gil," her voice came back, and he could almost hear her smile. That and the usual quiet rush of traffic, penetrating her apartment from the roads fifteen floors up.
"I don't hear music." She wondered aloud; he could see her eyes grow subtly wider, as it did whenever she was confused.
"I'm not in Vegas right now. In Los Angeles actually."
"Oh." Her answer was thick with questions.
He smiled; her inquisitive nature was one of her most endearing qualities. "Now there is only water separating us, no land mass. Locations almost parallel to each other."
"Because symmetry is all important."
She was silent after muttering that, as he listened to her quiet breathing just like those times she laid beside him.
"And you didn't come to New York?"
He nodded, even though he knew she couldn't see. "You wouldn't want that."
Static buzzed in his ear as she exhaled into the receiver. "You're right." She answered, sounding pleased. He knew she liked her own space, as he had learnt.
"Do you think about coming back?" he asked cautiously as he watched the blurry waves from the turquoise sea pound the rocks, salty sea breeze penetrating the place.
"Everyday, Gil." She breathed, sounding as soft and fragile as the foam atop the waves, voice laced with longing.
He didn't ask her why, or even when she was coming back. He just took that in and smiled. Talking to her was always bittersweet, warming his heart but stinging his eyes.
They bid their goodbyes, and he stepped out onto the balcony. His eyes scanned the vast horizon, the sea spreading out as far as his eyes could see.
He had no idea whether she really was positioned parallel to him or not, although it provided him with a peace of mind. He had always heard more than her voice over the phone, he heard hope.
Today, he couldn't help but think it sounded a lot more pronounced than usual, because this time, nothing but the sea distanced them.