Disclaimer: CSI characters belong to their creators, not to me. Spoilers for Fur and Loathing (s04.e06).
A/N: You could consider this a sort-of follow up to Pushing the Boundaries. This takes place the same day as F&L, minor spoilers but nothing else. PAFCON isn't my thing, but before you go judging anyone or anything, do some research. &remember, you can't judge what you don't know..
Warrick leant against the side of Catherine's Tahoe, waiting patiently for her to finish up and book out; glad that the extreme temperatures of Las Vegas seemed to have settled back down, over the last week or so, to something more manageable. He glanced at his watch and then at the doors, happy to wait for her, idly wondering if there was a hold up. He'd only seen her the once during shift today but her case, strange as it was, had drawn to a conclusion of sorts over the last forty-five minutes. He found the entire concept of PAFCON a little strange and he knew Catherine was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea as well. Warrick didn't consider Catherine or himself to be particularly closed-minded, but he'd decided this was one of those things you either felt, or you didn't. In contrast to hers, his shift had been peaceful since he'd spent most of his time in the lab analysing evidence.
He heard the sounds of a door opening followed by the crunch of footsteps on gravel and looked up to see Catherine leaving the building. She hadn't seen him even though she was walking in his direction, rummaging through her shoulder bag for what, minutes later, turned out to be her keys. She looked up then and a bright smile crossed her face. Warrick couldn't have kept an answering smile off his face if he'd tried. She was beautiful to him always; she just seemed especially beautiful to him right now, even tired from a confusing shift. Warrick had always believed that time away from the one you loved deepened your appreciation of them.
"Hey, Warrick!"
She jogged the last few steps, straight into the hug he offered her and he wrapped his arms around her, taking a minute to re-memorise the feeling of having her, held close. Her arms snaked around his neck; she wanted a kiss and he gave it to her willingly. She fit in his arms perfectly, inspiring feelings in his heart he was rapidly learning he couldn't live without. When they broke apart she rested her head against his shoulder and muttered, "War, this has been a weird case."
He chuckled softly. "Any particular part or just the whole thing?"
"People actually do this kind of thing!" Catherine stepped backwards, gesturing as she talked. She was always at her most expressive when she was confused, or puzzled, or enthused about the subject she was discussing. He loved to watch her when she was hyped up about something, lost in the rhythms of her voice and movements. "Warrick! These people dress up like animals, get together in a fur-pile and yif each other. I don't get it," she gave him a look of puzzled confusion, then repeated the question she"d previously asked Grissom. "What the hell happened to normal sex?"
"Normal sex didn't go anywhere, Cat," he told her, fighting back a smile at the face she was pulling and the strangeness of their conversation, leaning back against the car again. "People like variety," he added with a shrug. "Vegas just happens to offer an exceedingly ... wide variety." Warrick hadn't been faced with the reality of PAFCON since he'd been stuck in the lab with the evidence and he didn't have the mental imagery Catherine had picked up to contend with.
"I'm starting to think that there are just no rules in Vegas," Catherine sighed, running a hand through her hair and freeing it from the ponytail she'd put it in earlier. She peeked at him with suddenly mischievous blue eyes, distracted from her obsession with understanding the case, and invaded his personal space again pressing him back against the Tahoe with her body. They were safe from view as they lost themselves in each other; the hours apart adding an intensity to their kisses that neither complained about.
"I have to tell you though ..." Catherine's lips were merely inches from his own and her eyes were still closed. His fingers were tangled in her silky blonde hair; he freed one hand to massage her lower back. "If you expect me to dress up as 'Sexy Kitty' at any stage in this relationship, we're going to have a problem."
They hadn't slept together yet, preferring to take their relationship slowly. He brushed a kiss across her closed eyes, wanting her to open them so he could see if the question was serious or playful. He always had to nudge her before she'd confess any doubts she had, as though she was afraid to bring up problems for fear of causing a fight. As confident as she was in everyday life and as confident as she was around him most of the time, he knew she still had the occasional doubt about his feelings for her. That she was older than he was bothered her too, no matter how many times he reminded her that it didn't make a difference.
"You're already sexy, Kitty," he tickled her, rephrasing her own words, making her laugh and open her eyes. She glanced down at the ground to hide the blush in her cheeks; moments later her eyes flicked back to his.
"Really?" she whispered and the tone of the conversation slipped into serious.
He never felt like he found the right words to convey to her how strongly she affected him, just by being in the same room. There was nothing that he would change about her, to him she was perfect just the way she was. He didn't want her to be anything other than herself and happy. Conveying that to her successfully was proving somewhat more difficult than he'd thought it would be, but he didn't mind. He could talk quite happily about why he loved Catherine, for hours.
"Really," he confirmed, keeping his eyes locked with hers, tracing her features with his fingertips. "You're beautiful, Cat."
"Promise?"
"I promise." He kissed her again and then straightened. "Come on," he let her go, keeping one of her hands clasped in his. It was morning and getting brighter, shift was over and it was time to go home. "If we're quick we could pick up breakfast and be back in time for Lindsay to eat hers before she goes to school."
Catherine's smile was back and it warmed his heart. "That sounds good," she nodded, unlocking her car and pulling open the door. Warrick let her roll down the window before he closed the door.
"You gonna follow?" she leant on the edge of the window frame. "Or you could leave your car." In her voice and in her eyes, he caught the unspoken 'Stay at mine today'. He'd stayed at Catherine's before but something suggested to him that today was different. Another natural progression, another boundary shifting.
It wasn't a hard choice to make.