Title: Home

Spoilers: One of our own, Rio

Warning: slash, some violence, language

Rating: T

Pairing: Eric/Ryan

Summary: Eric returns home

A/N I'm planning in turning this into a series of one shots let me know what everybody thinks.

Thanks to my beta Sunhawk

HOME

Eric had arrived at Miami a few hours ago. He hadn't bothered to called anyone, he just said goodbye to H at the airport, took a cab and went to his house. Technically it was Ryan's house but they had been living together for about six months before everything went to hell, before Marisol had been killed. And before he had disregarded his lover's feeling and his pleas, and left on his crazy quest for revenge. At the time, he thought that it would make things better, that it would help with his feelings of despair, of the pain of knowing that his sister was dead. But most of all, he thought it would help with his feelings of guilt, that if he caught the man responsible for her death he would feel less guilty. But it hadn't helped. In fact, he felt more guilty knowing that he was dishonouring his sister's memory, and that he had probably destroyed the best thing in his life; his relationship with Ryan, and boy did it hurt to think about it.

Their relationship had never been easy; Ryan hadn't joined the team at the best of times. Speedle had died and Ryan was brought in as his replacement, and as awful as that sounded, it was the truth. The tension had been there from the beginning, both ignored it. Well, Ryan ignored it, Eric just turned it into open hostility towards the younger man, making him feel like an outsider. He continued doing so until Alexx had put her foot down and told him to stop being an ass and start acting like the Eric Delko she knew or else, and he had back off for a while. Then Marisol got cancer and he needed an outlet that Ryan so easily provided; he needed to make someone else's life as miserable as his and Ryan always pushed the right (or wrong, depending who you ask) buttons. So the hostility had come back with a vengeance, and it didn't help any that Ryan had that bitch Erica hanging off his arm. But he hadn't realized that the sexual tension between them had been that strong or out of control until the day he had snapped and had lost all semblance of reason and control.

Eric was angry and he was out for blood, not that it was anything new these days, but still, the people of the lab were happy that he wasn't mad at them and pity the poor soul that had to bear the brunt of that anger. They were pretty sure who that person would be, in fact they even had a bet going - after all, they figured it was only a matter of time before Eric hit him or fucked him against a wall, and they might as well get something out of it. And it was obvious that they were right when he slammed open the door of the locker room and let out a menacing

"Wolfe."

"Yeah," replied Ryan without looking away from his locker. Well, that just pissed Eric off more, and with no regard for the consequences, pulled Ryan away from his locker and slammed him to the one besides Eric's locker.

"What the...Eric,'' said a startled Ryan.

"Why the fuck are you so late?" said Eric, pulling Ryan's hands higher above his head and resting more of his weight on the younger man when Ryan started to struggle with more force.

"Well forgive me, your majesty." Sarcasm and anger dripped from every word. "But my babysitter ran late and I couldn't leave Emily all by herself."

"Your...what?" Said a shocked Eric, never releasing his bruising grip on the other man. Meanwhile, Ryan had just realized what he had said, and was trying to think of a way to get himself out of the hole without digging himself any deeper.

"You have a daughter."

"NO."

"Don't lie, you're horrible at it. So why did you kept her a secret?"

"What does it matter, it's none of your business."

"Maybe I want it to be." And with that, he leaned forward, kissing the other man and putting his knee between Ryan's leg. Eventually he needed to breathe and let go of Ryan.

"What the fuck, who do you think you are? You can't just come in here and kiss me after almost a year of hating me, thinking that it would fix everything."

"I know. And I don't hate you."

"I'm not someone you can just fuck any time you fancy, I'm nobody's one night stand, and I'm no one's whore." The venom behind that statement surprised Eric; clearly there was story there, but now was not the time. And even though he himself didn't understand how he'd gone from wanting to kill Ryan to wanting to fuck him against the wall in the space of three seconds, he knew he had to say something, anything or he would be fucked and not in the way he wanted. He loosened his hold on the other man's wrist somewhat before speaking,

"Ryan...look, I know that most of the tension between us is my fault," at this Ryan snorted, but Eric ignored him. "And that I might have taken my anger and frustration out on you because you were simply there."

"So I'm a commodity now," interrupted Ryan, but Eric ignored him again.

"But I would like us to be friends and maybe someday we could be more, but in order for that to happen you have to give me a chance, give us a chance Ryan, please."

Ryan stayed quiet for a while and just as Eric was about to give up, Ryan spoke.

"OK."

That day he gained a friend, a month later he gained a lover, a daughter, a family.

Eric never heard the front door or the backyard sliding door opening but he did hear Emily's excited "Eric!", and turned just in time to catch her.

"You're home," she said; it wasn't a question, it was a statement made with such conviction that it took his breath away. But he didn't reply, he just hugged her and looked at the emotions playing on his lover's face. Ryan was looking at him, he was searching for something, and he must had found it because he walked over and stopped a couple of inches in front of Eric.

"You're home," he said and Eric pulled Ryan towards him, hugging him close and giving him a kiss to the side of his head. Then he said "I'm home."

He knew it wasn't over, he knew that once Emily was out of hearing distance, Ryan was going to rip him a new one. He knew he deserved it. But for now, he would bask in the warm feeling that came from being with the two people he loved more than life itself - with his family.

THE END