Another Winter in a Summer Town – from the musical "Grey Gardens"
It was nearing 3 am as Horatio awakened. He turned his head and saw Rick facing away from him, blankets wrapped tightly around his bare shoulders. Sighing, the redhead sat up, wishing that they wouldn't have gone to bed immediately after fighting.
The clashing of CSI and IAB made their relationship strained at best. Arguments were coming on more often than not, and Rick's once seldom mood swings became frequent. Things were so suffocating that they talked about spending some time apart, if not breaking up entirely.
Maybe he should take the initiative and just leave.
He got off the bed slowly, doing nothing to move the bed enough to wake Rick up. As quietly as he could, he went to the dresser and opened his drawer, pulling out his clothes. Without a glance back at the bed, he pulled his old suitcase out of the closet. Aside from the jeans and T-shirt he slipped on, everything went into the baggage.
As he put his hand on the doorknob and began to slowly turn, he heard a soft mumble behind him. Turning, he watched as Rick shuffled his blankets off and reach for the vacant space in the bed. His name was slurred as his lover tried to cuddle up next to the emptiness by his side. Rick's sleep was restless, Horatio watching for long moments.
Rick's deep brown eyes opened as he felt his redhead slip into his arms. Sleepily, he watched his lover smile contentedly before pulling him into an embrace. Soft and familiar lips caressed the brunette's forehead.
"I think I'll take next week off," Horatio whispered.
Rick nodded and breathed into his lover's chest. "I'm sorry, H. You mean the world to me, but you deserve better".
"I love you".
Their eyes met before drifting closed, their foreheads resting touching as they drifted away together.
Author's note: thanks for reading. These were quite fun and I hope to do them again some time.