They hadn't been able to find any physical evidence to tie their suspect to the homicide six months ago but, they had him on this one. Horatio was still talking with the DA when Tim left the lab. He arrived home first, even after stopping at the market to pick up what he needed to make dinner. As he set to his task, he thought about his conversation with Alexx. Things had moved rather quickly between himself and Horatio, but they had the advantage of having known each other for several years already. He figured Alexx would understand once she knew who his new lover was. That is, if Horatio agreed to the idea.
Ever since their little night out and talk a month ago, Horatio had undergone a transformation. He was much less shy in their relationship and less paranoid about being out in public. They would even go out to eat every now and then. Always some place small and out of the way, but it was a nice change. And he'd returned to his old self at work, too. Maybe the idea of coming out to Alexx wouldn't freak him out too much.
A half hour later Tim was stirring a sauce on the stovetop, lost in thought when a pair of arms wrapped around his waist from the back. He felt lips on his neck and leaned back, resting his frame on Horatio.
"Welcome home," he said lazily. "I didn't hear you come in." He turned in Horatio's embraced and placed a kiss on his lips.
"You were in another world, I think," Horatio said smiling at him.
"Not a chance," Tim replied, kissing him again. "I like this one too much."
They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before Tim said, "Go get changed. Dinner's almost ready."
After dinner they decided to watch a movie. While Horatio filed through their newly combined DVD collection, Tim was trying to figure out the best way to bring up the whole Alexx thing. He finally decided to just go for it.
"Uh, Horatio?" he said somewhat hesitantly.
Horatio could tell by the tone of Tim's voice that something was up. He stopped his movie search, stepping over to the sofa to sit down. "What is it?"
Tim looked at his hands for a moment, then back up at Horatio. "I, um… I was wondering… how would you feel about, uh,… maybe,… having Alexx over for dinner?"
Horatio was silent, the expression on his face unreadable. He knew that eventually this would come up. Alexx and Tim were close and he knew that she knew about him. But he wasn't sure how ready he was. Truth be told, the idea scared him a little. He was only just now coming to terms with things himself.
"Horatio," Tim said quietly, bringing him out of his thoughts.
Horatio looked at him. "I, uh…" He closed his eyes for a moment. Just be honest, he thought. "I, um… I don't know," he finally said.
Tim nodded and took Horatio's hand. "I know it's a difficult decision for you, and I know you're scared. But it's just Alexx."
Tim had this way of throwing him completely off balance. It was actually one of the things Horatio had come to love about him. But he had never allowed this part of his life to be known to anyone before, aside from the few male lovers he'd had, and more recently some of Tim's friends from the club. But that was different.
"What was it like?" he finally asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The first time someone found out about you? How did you deal with it?"
Tim cringed. "Bad example," was the only response he gave.
This didn't fill Horatio full of confidence. Tim hadn't talked much about his life before Miami. Horatio had heard stories from his college days, and some from his childhood, mostly from Jeff. But there was a gap of time that he simply didn't talk about.
"I didn't have the best experience back then. But Alexx was great," he said quickly, trying to change the subject. "She's been totally supportive and she's been bugging the crap out of me lately about meeting you."
After a few moments Horatio sighed. Secrets weren't good. Secrets had the potential to create problems, cause mistrust. He came to a decision. "I'll make you a deal." Tim looked at him. "We have Alexx over this weekend but you have to tell me about that part of your past that you've always refused to talk about. We can't have secrets from each other."
Now it was Tim's turn to hesitate. He knew he was asking a lot of Horatio with his request. He also knew it was reasonable for Horatio to ask for something in return. But this wasn't something he wanted to remember, much less have to talk about. The incident had sparked the beginning of his self-destructive period. As much as he loved Horatio and as much as he knew that Horatio loved him, he was afraid that knowing about this part of his life would change things between them.
He had been quiet for a while but Horatio simply waited. He could see that the decision was a difficult one for Tim. But he felt, no less so than the one Tim was asking of him. After a few more moments, Tim nodded. He couldn't do it right now. He needed to prepare himself mentally. "After we see Alexx, I'll tell you about it."
Tim had a restless night, that night. At one point he woke up with a start from a nightmare. Horatio tried to ask him about it but Tim just blew it off saying it was nothing. The next morning he headed down to the morgue hoping Alexx would be alone. He found her there talking to Calliegh.
He decided to interrupt them. "Hey Cal. Alexx, when you have a minute, I need to talk to you."
"Sure thing Timmy, what can I do for you?" Alexx asked.
Tim looked over at Calliegh then back to Alexx and said, "Actually, I need to talk to you alone."
"Well," Calliegh said, "that, I believe, is my cue." She turned to Alexx. "I'll be in ballistics." She noticed that Tim was dragging a bit this morning so as she passed him, she asked, "Everything okay?" He nodded.
Once Calliegh was out the door he moved closer to Alexx. "So," he started, "you doing anything this Saturday?"
It took a moment for his question to sink in. "He said yes?" she asked surprised.
"It took some convincing, but yes. We were thinking around 1pm. I'll throw something together for lunch."
"Timmy, you don't simply throw anything together when it comes to food. I'm looking forward to it." She looked at him a little more closely. "Are you sure you're okay, honey? You look tired."
"Didn't sleep so well last night. It's nothing. Just happens sometimes," he replied, not meeting her eyes.
Alexx wanted to say something more but just at that moment Eric walked in so all she said was, "Okay Tim, I'll see you later."
