TITLE: Your Dice, Destiny

AUTHOR: Demon Faith

FANDOM: CSI: Miami

PAIRING: Speed/Eric

NOTES: At last – sequel to 'Freeze-frame' for lasairfhiona.

Title taken from the Nietzsche-attributed quote – 'Give me today, for once, the worst throw of your dice, destiny. Today I transmute everything into gold.'

Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.

Coincidence is the preferred explanation of fools.

Everything is Random.

It was strange that they pulled the road up in winter, but gas lines burst, water pipes freeze. It was odd that he was hungry when he'd eaten breakfast not twenty minutes before. It was pure chance that his regular coffee shop was closed and so he'd nipped round the corner to the old café he'd barely given two glances to before.

It was destiny that he ran straight into his dead best friend.

They stood there for a moment, shock consuming Eric and horror flooding Speed's eyes. Rationally, he knew this could happen. He'd seen the tape, seen Speed move when he shouldn't even have been breathing, but the chances of actually seeing him, being able to drink in the sight of him and reassure himself that he was in fact very much alive were…astronomical.

Eric frankly didn't care.

Tim apparently did, as he grabbed hold of Eric's arm and dragged him outside, round the corner and straight into the back of a van. For one absurd moment, Eric thought he was being kidnapped, and found that he actually didn't mind.

The van was freezing and Eric soon realised that Speed had been living in it. There was a sleeping bag, a pair of binoculars and a Dictaphone, all which made no sense whatsoever to Eric's whirling brain. Speed was here, he was here with Speed – he never thought this would happen again.

But here it was, happening, and all Eric could do was gawp like a fish.

"Didn't think I'd been seeing you again," he said with forced lightness, and Speed smiled awkwardly, lips twitching amongst the scraggly beard. Eric preferred the stubble.

"I, uh, this wasn't meant to happen."

Eric swallowed down his fervent ramblings about destiny and chance and offered a small, closed smile.

"Yeah, I figured." A significant pause. "Should I just go?"

Tim's reaction was instantaneous – his hand shot out and grabbed hold of Eric's arm. "No," he croaked out, then tried to withdraw but Eric held on, covering his hand with his own.

"Can you tell me what's going on?" Tim shook his head. "Do you have to stay…dead?" A sigh and a nod. "Do you have to live in here?"

Speed shuffled awkwardly on the floor, mumbling under his breath. Eric leaned closer to hear – "Nowhere else to go."

"Stay at mine."

A definite shake of his head then, but Eric reached out to him, made him look.

"There's an abandoned basement directly beneath my apartment. You wouldn't…even have to see me. But you can't stay here – you'll catch your death."

As if to prove his point, Tim started to cough, a horrible hack that made Eric draw him into his arms and rub soothing circles into his back. When the fit subsided, they stayed together, slowly breathing in each other, a strange ritual that neither fully understood but just seemed…right.

"I can't be alone anymore." Tim's voice cracked ominously and Eric closed his eyes, willing himself to be strong.

"You don't have to be," Eric said gently and, after a few quiet moments, felt Tim's head nod against his shoulder and just restrained his sigh of relief.

"Come home, Tim."

He shouldn't be doing this. He should put this down to a random whim of Fate and carry on with his task.

He absolutely should not be heading up to Eric's apartment.

Words of protest were rising to his lips when he stopped and really thought about it. Who would know? He could report in as normal – there'd be no way of knowing where he was choosing to sleep.

And this might just give him the strength to live another day.

"Hey, you okay?"

Eric had stopped with him and was regarding him with concern. Tim raised a shadow of a smile for him and gestured ahead. "Shall we?"

A grin then and Speed realised how very much he had missed that smile. He pushed all the 'importance of solitude' briefings out of his mind and concentrated on the broad sweep of muscle, the faint scent of salt that always seemed to claim Eric's skin and those dancing dark eyes that could promise him the world if only he would take one step beyond...

They were at the apartment door and Eric was pushing him towards the shower, handing over fresh towels and some apple-scented soap before heading for the kitchen to make waffles. It was a strangely surreal experience, a reminder of the home in Syracuse that he'd left behind long ago. As the hot water pounded down around him, Speed thought he could get used to this and that scared him because it was against the rules, against protocol, and it could wind him up dead for real.

A few minutes with Eric and he'd forgotten all those barriers – he just wanted to stay forever. And that was terrifying.

He emerged from the shower to find an old pair of Eric's pyjamas waiting for him. He dressed quickly and then sat down at Eric's kitchen table, trying not to notice that the picture of the two of them was now face down on the mantle. He was soon presented with a plate of waffles and golden syrup and wolfed it down without thinking, ignoring Eric patiently telling Horatio that he was very sick and wouldn't be in for a couple of days.

He thought the sneeze were a nice touch.

Eric whisked the plate away before he could protest and shepherded him towards his bedroom and before he knew it, his exhausted body was curled up in bed and he was already half-asleep.

Without really thinking, he asked Eric to stay and when his best friend slipped in beside him, he pulled him close and wondered if this was against the rules.

He found once more that he didn't care – today, Destiny was smiling, and he'd take his random chances as they came.