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Thank you Madysoncurrier, Vivalavidaa, Jessi84, Lovebug21, and wolfsong98

Thanks to Shining-Zephyr for the review (deviantart)

I do not own or claim to own CSI: Miami characters. I do not own or claim to own CSI: NY characters. This is fanmade and I make absolutely no profit off of this. I do this for my own amusement.

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Chapter Six: Myths and Cigars

About a half hour later Horatio felt comfortable enough to get up. He knew that the harsher lights of the living room will burn his eyes, even though they had for the most part stopped aching. He sat up, rubbing at his face. It felt a little older, but at least he felt a lot lighter. He looked at his watch; it was around eight at night.

The secluded mountain area had plunged into an intense darkness that Horatio had never really seen before. He spent his entire life in the city; he had almost forgotten how black the night could get. Horatio grumbled to himself as he squinted outside, cursing the blizzard. If the snow would just stop falling then Rick and I could step outside and look at the stars.

The thought caught him by surprise. He had always been somewhat attracted to Rick, but never thought that the two of them could find themselves in this position. Stetler's personality had never really been taken into consideration. In fact, with the mask of IAB and with what happened to Yelina, he never knew much about Rick. Horatio always assumed that based on those two things that Rick was a deceptive, crafty, selfish asshole who never cared for anyone but himself. He never realized how little information he used to form a bias against Stetler. That bias was really the only thing that kept them from getting into this relationship long ago. Horatio just never noticed it until now.

Horatio walked into the bathroom and immediately began washing his face and fixing his hair in the mirror. He hadn't done that for anyone in years. He had never done that for a man since college. Despite the slight puffiness and bag under his eyes, he felt years younger. Looking upon his face he noticed he was smiling, he tried to wipe the grin off his face, only to find that he couldn't. He laughed quietly to himself as he realized that he was smiling stupidly and thinking about Rick for the past several minutes. As he progressed in age the more he seemed to forget what it means to be so happy, he hadn't smiled this much in years. His face began to hurt with all the smiling he was doing, which only made him smile more.

Finally satisfied with his appearance, Horatio slipped out the bathroom door leading into the living room. A warm rush of air calmed him, wrapping itself tenderly over his body. When Horatio left to comfort Rick the fireplace was nothing but glowing embers, now it was a full and powerful blaze. All the other lights in the room were turned down low, making the once cramped space look luxurious and romantic. Sniffing at the air Horatio detected the sweet heavy scent of a cigar; he looked over and saw Rick taking another drag. The smoke softened Stetler's once hard image, the cigar seemed to suit him.

Rick didn't see Horatio come out of the bathroom. After he had resurrected the fire and dug up the cigars he got bored and decided to occupy his time with a book from the bookshelf. It was a newer book, something that was probably forgotten by the last group that stayed in the cabin. Stetler buried himself in it, amused by the various short stories. It wasn't the sort of thing he would expect to get lost in, but somehow he did.

The redhead quietly approached the loveseat where Rick was curled up, reading and smoking. Not quite sure what to say to his new lover Horatio stood tongue-tied directly behind the other man. He looked down at the cigar box and smiled to himself.

"Romeo y Julieta Churchill," he read aloud, causing Rick to jump slightly. Horatio couldn't restrain a slight chuckle as Stetler turned to meet his eyes with Horatio's, obviously a little startled. "Are they yours?"

"No, I found them in the closet," Rick said, happy that his heart was beating again. "But that doesn't mean that you get one. You sneaked up on me and you scared me on purpo- No! Don't give me that look, Horatio. I might give you one if you get over here and sit with me". Rick closed the box and placed it on his lap.

Horatio smiled playfully down at Rick, not quite so sure exactly what type of games he was going to get himself into. He leaped over the back of the loveseat and plopped down next to his lover. He placed an arm over Stetler's shoulders.

"Can I get one now?" He hissed seductively.

"No," Rick smiled as he placed the box back out of Horatio's reach, "but possibly later".

Stetler leaned into the lieutenant's embrace, digging his shoulder blades into the back of the loveseat until he was comfortable. Horatio rested his head against his lover's, looking romantically into the fire until curiosity overcame him and he started reading over Rick's shoulder. Horatio whimpered sadly as Stetler flipped the page before Horatio was done with the first sentence. Rick chuckled.

"It's a book of urban legends," he smiled.

"Is that what had you so worked up?" Horatio teased, "Are you afraid of bigfoot?"

"Now you're just making fun of me. Well, I'll have you know, lieutenant Caine that I am a very high-strung person. It doesn't take much to make me jump, so don't be too proud of yourself. That and I was reading about this thing:" Rick flipped back the page.

A sketch drawing of a wolf-like beast with deathly eyes glared back from the page. Its jaw was unhinged to an unnerving degree, showing its saliva-covered dagger-like teeth. The small page read:

Crocotta: The Speaking Beast

The crocotta can be found in the forests of India, the United Kingdom, Germany, and the North Americas. It eats anything, but prefers domestic animals and man.

First the crocotta will follow the master (or, as the situation may dictate, the friends) of its prey. The beast can quickly learn to imitate any voice or sound, human or otherwise. It then waits, deep in the woods, for the target to come within ear-shot. The crocotta then calls out to it, leading its prey far from any path. The victim is soon tired, confused, and helpless will not be chased, but simply attacked and devoured.

There are several interesting physical characteristics the crocotta has. One is that it can open its jaws to a 140 degree angle. The backbone of the crocotta is so rigid that the creature cannot turn its head. When it wants to look in a certain direction the whole body has to be turned. The creature never closes its eyes and (in fact) has no eyelids. And finally, the eyes of the crocotta are rare crystals that (if rumors are true) are capable of telling the future.

Horatio stroked Rick's arm and nuzzled up against him.

"Is that what scared you?" the redhead cooed.

"Well, you weren't here to protect me when first I read it" Rick quipped. "Plus, there's more. There are stories about cannibals and madmen who roam the mountains. It's quite unnerving when you read it all by yourself".

As Stetler spoke, Horatio looked up and saw that the cabin door had been dead bolted. Rick wasn't kidding when he said he was high-strung.

Rick smiled at his lover before he returned to the pages of the little book. Horatio gently took the tome from him and threw it onto one of the other loveseats.

"By the end of that book," Horatio stated matter-of-factly, "you would be a nervous wreck. And I do not want to be taking care of a nervous wreck all night. And can I have my cigar now?"

A little half-smile crossed Stetler's lips. He knew Horatio was right about his nerves. Turning, Rick pulled out a cigar for Horatio and handed it to him.

Horatio leaned forward, on his way to the fireplace to light his cigar, but Rick stopped him. From his pocket he pulled out a little silver lighter, leaned over, and lit the cigar. Horatio took a long drag on it, before finally pulling it from his lips. Stetler had started smoking his again to hide the slightly aroused smile that came over him when he saw Horatio with a long fat cigar in his mouth. Rick accidently inhaled a bit of the smoke as he watched the redhead suck at the Romeo y Julieta Churchill. It was almost erotic to him.

Horatio looked up at Rick, their eyes met. Stetler was almost completely lost in the other man's brilliant sapphire blue eyes. He wanted to pull away, but he couldn't. He was under the same spell that he saw take control of Yelina, Rebecca, and Marisol.

The redhead had removed the cigar from his mouth and placed it in the ashtray on the end table. He then lifted his hand and took the smoke from his lover's lips, placing it next to his own. Rick didn't react; he was spellbound, lost in Horatio's gaze.

"Rick," Horatio whispered gently.

"H," Stetler gasped, not realizing that his breath had been taken from him.

Like before, Rick's actions were going faster than his mind had time to process them. He hovered over Horatio on the couch, pulling his lover under him. Straddling the redhead's midsection, he leaned in and caught the other's mouth. Horatio moaned sweetly as Rick gently probed his mouth with his tongue, feeling every inch of the wet cavern. The redhead reached one hand up and groped the other's well-formed ass. Stetler smiled into the kiss as he felt Horatio lightly and playfully struggle. Rick's lungs begging for air, he broke the kiss, letting his head fall on his lover's shoulder. He looked down and noticed that in his rush of passion he had taken a firm grip on the front of Horatio's shirt, crumpling the fabric. His other hand had flown to Horatio's wrist, pinning it to the sofa's arm above them.

"Oh God," Horatio moaned, kissing Rick's neck. "Again," he ordered, there was no response. "Damnit Stetler, I-"

Horatio was silenced as Rick's mouth closed over his again. This time Horatio slipped his tongue into Rick, massaging him. Stetler moaned and whimpered softly throughout this kiss, making the redhead smile. The feeling of each other's bodies and the scent of the cigars that hung heavy in the air was nothing short of intoxicating. They could have remained in that position forever if it wasn't for the need to breathe.

Stetler rested on Horatio's shoulder again, this time feeling the man rise between his legs. Rick lifted his upper body, hovering over his lover once again. Horatio looked nervous, excited, and embarrassed all at the same time.

Without thinking, Rick began unbuttoning Horatio's shirt, slowly working his way down to the redhead's waist. He playfully nipped and kissed at each inch of newly exposed skin, all the while listen to Horatio moan softly. It wasn't until he touched the other's pants that reality hit him, literally throwing him off of Horatio. He stumbled back and collapsed onto the other sofa next to his book. Rick's mind was once again racing and wasn't able to stop. Breathing heavily, Rick looked up at his lover, who had sat up and was looking at him with a concerned expression.

"Too fast," were the only words that Rick could muster out.

"I'm sorry," Horatio timidly responded.

"No, no. It's my fault. I didn't mean to push you in any way".

"I wasn't being pushed"

"Wait. Stop. We need to talk this over".

"Talk what over?"

"This whole relationship," Stetler was a little unsure as to how much he could hear, but knew he needed to hear it. "I need to know what's going on. Before today you didn't talk to me, you could hardly stand to look at me. And now we're…You're not just doing this because I saved your life and you found out that I'm gay, are you?"

"What?"

"I need to know the truth, Horatio. You're hiding something from me, I can feel it," Rick was speaking slowly, but the questions he wanted to ask were swarming his mind. What if this was an elaborate plan Horatio concocted on the way to the cabin to get me fired? What if he doesn't want to fire me, but just humiliate me once we get back to Miami? I've never seen him with any other man before, what if he's lying about the whole bi thing? What if he just wants to find a new way to hurt me?

Horatio walked over and sat down next to Rick, putting the book on the end table with the cigars. He reached out his hand to Stetler's face, but the other turned away before Horatio could make contact. Quietly he grabbed Stetler's hand, lifting it to his lips and kissing lightly.

"I don't blame you for not trusting me," the redhead whispered. "I just haven't felt so open with anyone in the longest time. I don't know if that's based on you saving my life or you coming out to me or something … just something else. I know that I can be a little difficult at times, I can get quite moody. But I never mean to hurt anyone. And I…I know I've hurt you before. There were times when I wanted to really…just tear you to pieces for what I thought you were doing to Yelina…and my lab…and me".

Stetler winced slightly, knowing that his own intentions looked questionable at best.

"But that," Horatio continued, "that was all just a misunderstanding, I see that now. If I knew then what I knew now things would have been very different. If I could go back and change things so you wouldn't feel so afraid I would. I'm sorry it took me so long to get over the whole IAB thing, I know you're just doing your job, I know that both my lab and I could be a little sketchy. I'm sorry everyone gives you a hard time about that. I really am. And maybe if I wasn't so damn accusatory I would have been able to see things differently. I-"

"I love you, Horatio Caine".

Horatio stopped, for the first time looking up at Rick and seeing the tears on his face.

"But Christ," Rick said softly, his voice cracking, "I still don't know if you could ever love me back".

Horatio pulled a handkerchief out of his pants pocket and began gently wiping Rick's tears away. He pulled Stetler in closer, stroking his arms and back gently. Rick's breath started staggering again as he breathed softly into Horatio's neck,

"Oh God, Horatio. Don't give me any false hope".

The redhead breathed heavily, pressing himself up against Rick's body. He cradled the other man for a minute or so, not really being sure of how to respond. He thought back on everything that happened today. Yes, their actions were a little fast, but that didn't mean that they were without merit. After all, Rick did save Horatio's life. That and he knew that there was defiantly a mutual physical attraction. Finally he spoke.

"You know," Horatio breathed into Stetler's ear, "I could see myself loving you".