Gil arrived first and asked for a small booth by a window and watched the door. After getting coffee a taxi pulled up and an individual came in, collar turned up and hat pushed down, covering facial features. The person waved away the hostess and made a beeline for Gil. As he walked he looked around. There were teddy bears all over. The person slide across the seat from Gil and took of his cap.
"Hi. Sorry for the getup, the Paparazzi are camped outside my hotel. Though, this is the LAST place they'd look for me. This place is amazing! All the teddy bears...so cute!" Casey looked around again. "I love it."
"I'm glad." Gil smiled.
"Thanks so much for meeting me"
"Hello..." the waitress's voice faltered when she saw Casey but only for a bit. "Welcome to Black Bear Diner. Can I get you some coffee"
"Yes, please. And," Casey looked at her nametag, "Sasha, please no"
"You don't have to ask. I won't tell anyone you're here." She gave him a wink. She poured him a cup of coffee and left to let them decided on their food.
"Wow, this place has everything." Casey said, looking at the huge menu.
"I'm glad you like it."
They looked over the menu and soon the waitress returned to take their orders. Casey got their corned beef hash with hot sausage and a side of biscuits while Gil ordered an ham and cheese omelet. They again fell into silence, both trying to think of something to say. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence, but each didn't want to give the other a wrong impression. "Do you eat here a lot?" Casey asked suddenly.
"From time to time. When I want to feel like I'm in great outdoors." Gil said with a grin.
Casey chuckled. "This may not be the time or place, but I think we need to get some stuff out of the way"
Gil set his coffee cup down. "Alright," a bit unsure at Casey's seriousness.
"I know we met under...dubious circumstances...but I think we work. As friends," Casey quickly added. "And I don't want you to think, well, that is..."
"Casey, whatever it is, you can say it. I promise I won't be offended."
"I know that. I do. Ok. I just want you to know that I'm happy we're becoming friends. I really am. I just don't want things to get weird between us...because I find myself attracted to you. And, I know, just friends. That's fine. It's great."
"But you'd be happier if we were MORE then just friends?" Gil asked.
"Well, yeah, but I don't expect it of you. It's ok. Really. I can deal. If you can." Casey looked down at his coffee mug. NOW the silence was uncomfortable. Casey didn't dare speak and as the silence grew he grew more anxious. What if he'd just ruined it? His first chance at coming out into the sun, at connecting with someone he found intriguing.
"I think..." Gil said after careful thought. "That I'd be ok with that."
"What?" Casey jerked his head up, unsure of what Gil meant. "Ok with...?" He prompted.
"Us. I don't know...but I find something, a lot of things, intriguing about you. You're an enigma. I like puzzles. I love figuring them out."
"You want to figure me out? Ok. I think I can say the same. You are fascinating"
"Me?" Gil was shocked.
"Yes, you." Casey laughed. "I can already tell you've got all these little quirks about you. And that's what I really find so attractive about you.
"So when you mean "us" you mean US? Together?" Casey laid his arm down on the table. Gil reached across the table and put his hand over Casey's.
"Yes."
"Really?" Casey broke out into a heart wrenching smile. His eyes got a little watery. Gil couldn't help but chuckle.
"Stop asking that."
Casey smiled back and bit his lip. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and exhaled. He opened them and looked into Gil's eye which returned his smile and gave him reassurance.
"So...what do you like?"
"Well, I like bugs..." And Casey couldn't help but grin. They didn't let go of each other's hand, not when the food was brought, which they hardly noticed. They sat there in the diner, in wonder of each other as they talked.
"What about you?" Gil asked when he'd finished a bit about his life. He hadn't mentioned he knew sign, but his mother did live near to where Casey had lived in California.
"Me, let's see. You already know I have a twin sister, Cassandra. Well, we were separated at birth. We grew up with separate families. We never knew we had a twin out there. They didn't tell us until we were 18. When she stepped off that plane I knew I had found the other part of my soul. And it was just so uncanny. We are so much alike, not just in appearance, but in mannerisms and tastes as well. She got married three years ago and adopted a five year old boy named Abel. He's...well, really introverted." Casey glanced at the clock on the wall. "Oh my god."
"What?" Gil looked concerned.
"It's 9:30. We've been sitting here for nearly three hours."
"Already?" Gil turned to look. "Amazing."
"Yeah." Casey looked around. "And we're getting a few stares..."
"Who cares?" Gil shrugged.
"Just an observation...but I think I can't feel my legs anymore."
They both reached for the check. "I'll get it!"
"Split it?" Casey asked.
"Agreed. For now." They left the diner and went strolling down the street hand in hand. They stopped to get milkshakes (chocolate and strawberry mix) and just kept talking.
"When did you meet Julian?"
"When I was 18, before I went into college at Berkley."
"Ten years!"
"It wasn't ALL bad. It just got bad when my career took off. By then...there was so much between us. I thought I could just tough it out and he'd get better. I thought the problem would go away." Casey shrugged and took a drink of his milkshake. As his eyes looked around he noticed someone with a camera. A few someones with cameras. "Don't look now...but I think we're on camera. Oh, yeah. They found me. Shall I wave?"
"What? Where?" Gil looked over to their right. "Good eye."
"You get a knack for it. Well, I know what's going to make some headlines. You might regret saying yes, you're never going to get away from the press now."
"I deal with the pres enough, though I much prefer staying out of the limelight."
"I hate to break it to you...you don't have a prayer in hell."
Sara unlocked her door to her apartment and dropped the keys on the table. She didn't know why she was so tired. She rubbed her neck and went into the living room. She dug for the tv remote and switched on the tv. Grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge she plopped down on the sofa to see if there was anything interesting on before she turned in for the day.
"And now for some local news... This just in! Our new local celebrity, Casey Armagh, who if you remember was just recently cleared of all charges in the death Julian Ballentine, was seen just a few moments ago walking hand in hand with our own CSI Gil Grissom. Can it be we have a new couple in town? Talk about fast love! Rumors are flying—"
The water bottle fell from Sara's hands. She stared at the pictures on the screen, mouth open and eyes aghast. There in perfect pixel was Grissom walking hand in hand with Casey, looking very much in love. They were all bright eyes and smiles. Staring at each other with a sickly happy expression plastered on their faces. When Casey noticed the camera was on them he gave them a wave and Gil laughed.
"NO!" Sara found herself shouting. "It's not...it can't be! Grissom isn't gay!" She felt hurt, crushed. She thought if she had waited enough, left enough little hints, that Grissom would finally get over whatever it was separating them and come to her. She knew that other women, like Sophie, had tried to take her place, but nothing had ever come of it. It was proof that Grissom did like her. Wasn't it? She had been so sure.
And now...someone had come in and taken her place again. HIM. She frowned, gripping the remote tightly in her fist. Bitter resentment welled up in her. She threw the remote across the room, leaving a chip in the wall and breaking open the remote. She couldn't let this happen. Grissom was HERS. He knew that. This was just a test...or a quickly dally. It wasn't serious. It wasn't. She turned off the tv and stormed into her bedroom.
Grissom would see what a folly this was. And he'd come back to her. Everything would go back to normal soon. Casey would leave and Grissom would forget about him. Simple.
