Horatio gave Speed the space he requested. They continued to work together, making no mention of what had transpired between them.
Speed observed Horatio for a number of days after that final conversation. He watched as Horatio slowly pulled himself out of the darkness that had enveloped him. Horatio began to reconnect with the rest of the team. He spent less time at the lab too; Speed hoped that this meant Horatio was now sleeping properly. The brightness had certainly returned to his eyes.
Speed was feeling better too. He hadn't really noticed how tied in with Horatio his own mood was, until now. Ever since the pair had reached their agreement to take some time apart, Speed had in many ways felt that his professional relationship with Horatio was improving.
They worked together smoothly, no hint of the emotional undercurrent running between them.
True to his word, Horatio gave Speed all the space and time he needed. Until, nearly a month later, Speed arrived at Horatio's office door, shuffling his feet nervously.
Speed watched Horatio for a few moments, oblivious to his presence, working through a pile of reports. Finally, Speed drew the other man's attention with a soft, "Hey."
Horatio looked up from his desk and returned the greeting, "Hi," with a slight smile.
Speed looked away from Horatio, readjusting his feet nervously as he did so. "I, uh," Speed paused and took another breath, "Do you want to go get a beer?"
Horatio smiled, "Sure. Can you give men ten minutes to clear this away?" Horatio asked, gesturing to his crowded desk.
Speed nodded, narrowing his eyes slightly as he asked, "Do you mind driving? Eric gave me a ride in this morning," Speed explained.
"No problem. Meet me by the Hummer in ten minutes," Horatio instructed.
Speed nodded wordlessly before turning on his heel and leaving Horatio to finish.
Horatio drove them to a bar several blocks away, one not generally frequented by members of the MDPD, hoping to preserve their privacy for the time being.
Directing Speed to take a seat, Horatio bought them both a beer before joining him at the table.
Once again neither was willing to speak at first, both wary about what the other might say.
Eventually, Horatio decided to give Speed a push, "This is your show now, Tim." Horatio had given him the time he wanted. However, Horatio now needed some answers in return.
After taking a, hopefully, fortifying gulp of beer Speed began, "My feelings for you haven't changed." Speed didn't look up at Horatio. Instead he studied the label of his bottle. "But, I'm still not sure if that is going to be enough."
"Enough for what?" Horatio asked quietly.
"Enough to," Speed hesitated, "Enough to risk pursuing this."
"I've never known you to shy away from a risk."
Speed nodded, accepting the observation as truth.
"Speed, answer me this," Horatio pleaded. "Ignoring everything else, do you want this? Tim, we could make this work. If you give it a chance, we could make this work."
Speed considered Horatio's words. For all the time he had taken to think, he had been unable to come up with a firm final decision to bring to Horatio. Despite this, Speed had still chosen to reach out to Horatio; he didn't feel it was fair to keep him waiting. The truth of the matter was that Speed did not enjoy the imposed physical distance between himself and Horatio, even if it had been established at his own request. That fact probably gave some degree of insight into what he wanted.
"I'm not going to push you into anything you don't want," Horatio started, interrupting Speed's thoughts. "If you say no now, we can just walk away," Horatio paused and added quietly, "Pretend this never happened."
"I," Speed spoke up suddenly, "I don't want to do that. I can't do that," Speed said firmly, looking up at Horatio for the first time in many minutes.
Horatio raised his eyebrows hopefully, "Yeah?"
Speed nodded, "I want to try."
Horatio let out a relieved sigh.
"So, now what?" Speed asked.
"Now, now we take it slow."
"Slow?"
"Yeah. It's late, so I am going to drive you home. Then, tomorrow night, we are going to going to go out for dinner."
Speed nodded, glad Horatio was taking the lead.
They rose from their table and headed out of the bar back to the Hummer. Before they parted to move to opposite sides of the car, Horatio laid a hand on Speed's arm drawing his attention. Horatio leaned in to Speed, brushing their lips together. As Horatio began to lean back again, Speed moved forward extending the kiss.
They parted again, this time separating completely to get into the hummer.
Horatio and Speed drove in silence, enjoying the quiet, both happy to be alone with their own thoughts for the time being.
Horatio killed the engine as he pulled up to the curb outside Speed's building.
"I'll see you in the morning, Speed."
Speed reached for the door handle and was about to get out when he changed his mind. Turning back to Horatio, Speed leaned over to him, their lips meeting eagerly. Horatio opened his mouth to the advance of Speed's tongue. Their tongues continued to duel for long minutes. When they eventually pulled apart, both men had threaded their fingers through the others hair in desperation for contact.
"I'd better go," Speed said with a smirk, "before we stop taking things slow."
Horatio nodded, unable to speak, as Speed got out of the Hummer.
