Title: Club Descent: Choices
Author: Aeon Cole
Rating: FRM
Genre: AU, angst, hurt/comfort
Warning: Slash
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pairing: Horatio/Speed
Challenge: Lover100
Table: table-c
Prompt: #86 choices
Word Count: 1950
Summary: A chance meeting at a club does not work out as he'd hoped.
Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me and I am making no money from this.
Author's Note: This is NOT part of my H/Speed universe. This is my first AU. I have plans to turn this into a limited series.
Previous Chapters: The Meeting, Regrets
Tim dragged himself to the university early Monday morning. His mood was obvious to everyone whom he'd passed on campus and they'd all given him a wide berth. He was silently cursing himself for having hope that maybe, for the first time in a long time, there might be something more than a one night stand or a quick weekend fling in his future. After all he hadn't spent more than fifteen minutes with the guy. He didn't really understand where that hope had come from. He hadn't felt that drawn to anyone since Andrew.
He'd spent the remainder of the weekend alone, his time split between moping around his apartment and riding around the highways of Miami, losing himself in the physical thrill of acceleration. He was on campus early, not able to stand being alone in his small apartment any longer. He entered the lab building through the back entrance, hoping to avoid the other faculty for the time being. He didn't want to be alone but at the same time he didn't really want to talk to anyone either. At the moment he preferred the company of his mice.
An hour later Jessica walked into the lab and found Tim standing at one of the lab tables. She wondered how his weekend had gone and if it had improved his mood any but when she got close enough to get a good look at him she began to worry a bit. Several things struck her all at once. The first was that he looked like he hadn't shaved in days. This wasn't all that unusual since Tim drifted back and forth between wearing a beard and not. Jess had always liked him with a beard. She thought it made him look older, more mature, but every time she'd told him that he'd shaved again the very next day.
He was also wearing his headphones. Again, not so unusual in and of itself. They were his personal 'do not disturb' sign. But the shades in the lab were drawn on a beautiful sunny day. This was very unusual and, along with the other things, indicative of his current mood. Tim loved the sun and hated artificial light. He always had the shades up and usually had the windows open. She approached him carefully so as not to startle him and laid her hand gently on his arm. He glanced over at her and she could see it in his eyes. She knew that he was subject to frequent mood swings but this was different. Things had obviously not gone well this weekend. She gestured to his headphones.
He pulled one side of his headphones away from his ear and Jess was hit with a blast of heavy metal music that made her wince. "You're gonna go deaf," she muttered. Tim pursed his lips but he reached over and turned off his CD player. "Morning," she said. He answered her with a slight hum. She let him brood for a few moments longer before she spoke again. "You wanna talk about it?" Tim shrugged. "It'll make you feel better if you do."
He turned to her. "Why do you care?" he practically spat the question at her.
She could tell he was more hurt than angry but she got defensive anyway. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It's a simple question, Jess. Why do you care what happened or how I feel about it?" He didn't know why he was lashing out at her, other than she was conveniently close and trying to engage him in conversation.
"I thought we were friends, Tim," she shot back. "Isn't that what friends do, care about each other?"
"But it's not like there's ever gonna be anything more between us. So why bother?" Where the hell did that come from, he thought.
"Is that what you think? That the only reason I want to be friends with you is to get you into bed? Well guess what, not everything is about sex, or you for that matter." As she turned to leave she muttered, "Forget I even asked."
Tim let out a heavy sigh. His momentary outburst had drained the anger that had been building up all morning. He called out to her, "Wait." He walked over and stood in front of her. He could see in her eyes that what he'd said had hurt her. He really hadn't meant to. She looked like she wanted to cry and he was kicking himself again. "I'm sorry," he said, looking down at her. He reached out and took her hand. "I shouldn't take my bad mood out on you." He looked into her eyes. "Forgive me?"
Before she knew it she was in his arms with her head resting on his chest. His hand was gently resting on the side of her head. "You're just trying to help and I'm a foolish, stubborn, idiotic," he paused for a moment and looked down at her, "stop me any time you like," he said.
She giggled foolishly into his shirt. "I don't know why I put up with you," she joked.
"Because we're friends, remember?" he bantered back and a chuckle escaped her lips.
"You're something else, you know that?" she said. She pulled back and met his gaze. "What happened this weekend?"
Tim released her and made his way back over to the lab table. Jess followed him. "Tim?"
He wasn't going to deny her now. "I met someone," he said.
Confused, she asked, "Well, wasn't that the whole idea?"
"No Jess." He turned to face her. "I met someone."
The emphasis he put on the word met made his point and she smiled. "Really? Isn't that a good thing?"
"I don't know anymore," Tim said cryptically. "He's a cop."
"So?" She still felt like she was missing something.
"He didn't tell me he was a cop."
She wrinkled her brow. "You spent the weekend with this guy and he didn't tell you what he did for a living?"
Tim shook his head. "I didn't actually spend the weekend with him."
"Well, what did you do?" she asked.
"I kissed him."
"You kissed him," she repeated. He nodded. "I think I'm still missing something here. Why don't you start from the beginning?"
Tim sat down heavily onto one of the lab stools and ran his fingers through his hair. "Do you believe in love at first sight, Jess?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "You lost me," she said. She was beginning to believe he was purposely being obtuse.
"It's a simple question," he stated.
"I don't know. I've never experienced it," she answered honestly.
"The first time I saw Andrew, our eyes met and I just knew that I'd found the person that I would spend the rest of my life with." He had a sad smile on his face which quickly disappeared as he continued. "Then the accident happened and he was paralyzed. A year later he died and I was alone again." His eyes became distant for a moment or two. "I've never had that feeling again, not in ten years. Until Thursday night, that is."
"That's when you met this cop?" Jess asked.
Tim nodded. "Didn't know he was a cop then. He walked into the bar. He wasn't like the others, older, dressed different. Didn't look like he belonged there." Tim was becoming lost in the memory of those first few moments. His voice became wistful. "He has the bluest eyes," he said, then he noticed Jess smiling at him and he blushed slightly.
"You are in love," she teased. When he didn't say anything she asked, "So what happened next?"
"We chatted, had a drink. He started to look nervous, a bit uncomfortable. He looked like he wanted to run away."
"What did you do?" she asked.
Tim took a breath. "I kissed him."
Jess raised an eyebrow. "What did he do?"
Tim's head fell. "He ran away."
"That's it?"
Tim nodded. "I found out that he returned to the club the next night. He bribed the bartender for information about me. Max told me he was a cop. Why would a cop be looking for me?"
"Well, maybe he wasn't there that night as a cop. Maybe he was just a guy, looking for a good time. Just like you," she said. "Besides, it's not like you've done anything illegal."
"Recently," he added.
She rolled her eyes. "Tim, smoking pot when you were in college doesn't count anymore. You should give this guy a chance." He shrugged his shoulders. "Do you mind if I open the shades?" she asked. She wasn't used to it being so dark in the lab.
"I guess I can't sit here in the dark all day," he said.
Jess pulled the shades and opened the windows. When she did, Tim became aware of the commotion outside in the quad. "What's going on out there, a riot?" he asked as he made his way over to the window.
"Have you been living in a hole all weekend?" After the look she got from him she said, "Never mind. The workmen breaking ground for the new labs across the quad found a buried body. The police have been here since yesterday."
Tim looked out the window and saw the crime scene tape. Behind the tape he could see people working. Then he caught sight of something that caused him to gasp. Jess looked at him, worried. "What is it?"
Tim pointed at a man in a suit and sunglasses, standing with his hands on his hips. He was clearly in charge of the scene. "Jess, that's him."
She followed his gaze. "Him?" she asked. "The guy in the suit?" Tim nodded. "The guy in the suit? Do you know who that is?"
Tim looked at her, confused. "Should I?"
She rolled her eyes. "I forgot, you don't watch the news. That's Horatio Caine, head of the Miami-Dade Crime Lab." Tim stared at her for a moment then redirected his attention to the man below.
Down in the quad, Horatio was surveying the area, first at ground level then he drew his gaze up to the building in front of him. As he scanned his eyes up the building he was suddenly drawn to an open window on the third floor. He stared in disbelief for a split second before he removed his sunglasses and locked eyes with Tim. Eric walked up to him but couldn't get his attention. Horatio simply strode away toward the building leaving Eric staring after him.
Tim backed away from the window quickly. "He's coming up here. What do I do?"
Jess could see that desire to flee in his eyes again. "You stay here and talk to him, Tim." He started pacing. "Calm down," she said but her plea fell on deaf ears.
Tim continued to pace the lab until he came face to face with Horatio. They stared at each other for a long moment. Horatio broke the silence first. "We need to talk," he said. The hesitancy of the other night was gone. His voice was strong, authoritative.
"You speaking as a cop?" Tim asked.
Horatio looked down, addressing his answer to the sunglasses in his hand. "No, I'm speaking as me. I'm sorry I ran off the other night." Tim nodded. Horatio pulled a card out of his jacket pocket and handed it over to him. "My cell is on the back. Can we meet somewhere tonight?"
Tim took the card and turned it over, seeing the phone number, handwritten. He looked up at Horatio and said, "Club Descent, seven-thirty tonight."
TBC