One-shots: Obstacles and Candy
I was bitten by the Halloween fluff bunnies, but I couldn't get this written until now (dang trick-or-treaters). Still, enjoy some fluffy, plotless one-shots. ^^ Happy (belated) Halloween!
Title: Obstacles
Author: mavymischief
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan (established, with child)
Category: Humor, some drama, and romance
Rating: PG (only for slash, otherwise it's pure fluff)
Warnings: Slash (duh) and new writer who messes up tenses. Often.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Sadly, I didn't get Eric or Ryan in my trick-or-treat bag. I got Halloween fluff bunnies and Lilly instead.
Summary: Eric learns there are some obstacles to be faced when you're tricked into carving a pumpkin.
Eric didn't know how he'd gotten into this. He remembered a brief haze of exhaustion, Ryan's murmured words among soft kisses, and his own mumbled 'yes.' The man didn't have a halo encircling his head, but honestly, his lover was just plain devious sometimes. Everyone knows that if ask for something after sex, they always will agree. Everyone, including Ryan. It didn't make it more devious.
Which was why he was posed awkwardly out on the patio, with one very expectant Lilly Wolfe-Delko staring at him and bouncing on the tips of her toes. It would have been a heart-warming moment if he hadn't been faced with this staggering task: he was supposed to carve a pumpkin. A pumpkin. What the hell did he do for karma to give him such a spiteful task?
"Papa! Hurry up, or we won't get finished before we go trick-or-treating, and I promised to go with Amber, no matter what!" The four-year-old huffed, blowing out her cheeks and stamping her foot, before wagging a threatening finger in his direction. "And you said I've got ta keep promises to be a re-sponsile person!"
Eric marveled how much Ryan had worn off on his daughter, as he was equally eager to keep promises and be punctual about everything. It was also rather amusing, since his daughter's attempts at being threatening were comical at best. She peered up at him out of bright indigo eyes, impatiently tapping her foot. It was the same pose Ryan took when he was upset with him, and Eric decided he really needed to stop allowing them to spend so much time together.
"Don't worry, angel, we'll be done by the time Amber comes over." He grinned indulgently down at his daughter, who immediately stopped pouting and gave him a toothy grin. Than, she hesitated for a moment, looking skeptical.
"Promise?" She inquired solemnly, and the Cuban chuckled lightly.
"Promise."
"Pinky swear?" Lilly whined, holding up her small pinky and staring at him. Her father laughed, holding his own pinky out and catching it around her's. Both kissed their thumbs and grinned secretly at each other, as if they made some secret pact, and Eric decided that carving a pumpkin wouldn't be too terrible.
He didn't know how wrong he was.
****************************
Eric went inside to retrieve a carving knife, a sharpie, and several newspapers (because Ryan would have a fit if he got pumpkin guts all over their deck). Lilly followed him eagerly, looking about ready to burst with excitement. Her mood was contagious, and by the time they returned to the deck, Eric was humming 'Monster Mash' as he scattered the newspapers, rolled the huge orange pumpkin on to them, and sat down. His daughter plopped down beside him, curling her knees underneath her and flashing a grin.
Feeling in much better spirits, he rolled the pumpkin towards him, positioning it between his legs and raising the carving knife over the top, positioning it at and angle before stabbing into it. There was an audible gasp from his side, and he glanced over at Lilly.
"You didn't tell me you were gonna kill it!" She wailed, her bottom lip quivering. Her light blue eyes glared at him accusingly, and Eric stared at her, dumbstruck. Pushing some curly brown hair out of her eyes, she popped upwards and sprinted towards the house, sobbing.
"Angel! Come back, please, darling?!" Eric called desperately, sighing as he sprinted after his daughter. The pumpkin was left innocently sitting on a pile of newspapers, the offensive knife still sticking out of its top.
***************************
After an hour, Eric has finally managed to coax Lilly out of her room, insisting that the pumpkin hadn't felt anything (he'd given up on convincing her that he hadn't 'killed it') and told her that it had actually asked him to be carved, as that was the pumpkin's biggest goal in life. That calmed her down, but she insisted that they say a few words of respect for the melon that 'gave his life to make them happy.' Thus, Eric spent another fifteen minutes waiting patiently as his daughter rambled on about the pumpkin's life story, and how he would be partying in the great pumpkin patch in the sky.
"Amen." He finally muttered after Lilly had finished, sighing with relief and sat down in front of the pumpkin once more. Lilly curled up at his side, still sniffling, as he proceeded to cut a circle in the pumpkin for the top. He allowed Lilly to pull off the top by the stem of the pumpkin, and she giggled as she saw the long strands of pumpkin goop that came up with it, all sadness for the melon's death forgotten.
As Eric cut off the strands and carved an smoke hole in the top, he glanced over at his daughter, who was giggling loudly as she scooped out pumpkin innards with her hand and threw them with a dull 'splat' onto the newspaper.
The Cuban allowed himself to just watch his daughter for a few moments, her unblemished innocence and joy for upholding a Halloween tradition, and marveled at how precious she was. A relationship with Ryan had proven challenging and straining at times, and the terribly difficult process of finding someone who would allow their child to be adopted by a gay couple had proven frightening. But at moments like these, he wouldn't trade the obstacles for any 'natural' relationship.
"You doing okay there, Lilly?" He inquired, watching his daughter tug at the strands of pumpkin goop.
"Mmm-hmm..." She mumbled, an adorable look of concentration on her face as she pulled on a particularly difficult piece.
Realizing that he'd forgotten to grab a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin guts, he stood up and stretched before making his way towards the glass door. He yanked it open and stepped inside, oblivious to the black streak that escaped before he closed the door. Humming lightly, he made his way to the silverware drawer, and made sure that the spoon he picked out wasn't one of the good ones, because he'd discovered that they'd always need a back-up set of utensils with all the bizarre circumstances they got themselves into. And house guests wouldn't appreciate a bent-up, pumpkin-stained spoon.
Sauntering back towards the deck, he stopped at the image he saw through the glass of the sliding door. Scooby, Ryan's temperamental charcoal kitten, was crouched over a pile of pumpkin seeds and innards, eating them joyfully. Lilly had followed the cat's example, shrieking with laughter as she stuffed the orange goop into her mouth.
Eric sighed and leaned against the wall, counting to ten to calm down and figure out a way to deal with this. Because he really doubted his lover would want to come home to a cat stuffed in a garbage can and a daughter locked up in her room with an orange stain around her mouth.
*******************
After stuffing Scooby into the bathroom (because if the feline was going to be sick, Eric didn't want Ryan to see it the moment he stepped through the door), and giving Lilly a stern lecture about how unhealthy it was to eat the inside of a pumpkin, they'd finally managed to scrape out all the pumpkin goop. Now all that was left was the actual carving, thank God.
"Do you want draw the face for the pumpkin, pumpkin?" He asked, holding out the sharpie and being rewarded with a giggle and a ecstatic nod from his daughter.
"Ooh, Papa, do you think I could draw kitty-cat face, like Scooby?" She asked, bouncing around as she uncapped the sharpie and glanced pleadingly at her father.
"Try to keep it simple for now, Lils." At her pout, he grinned and ruffled her hair lightly. "I'll love any face you make."
"Okay, Papa!" She set to work, drawing a large, triangular eye on one side of the pumpkin's 'face' and a smaller one on the other. Despite the wavy lines, Eric imagined it was the best jack-o-lantern face he'd seen. After adding an upside down triangle for a nose and a large, grinning mouth with two sharp upper teeth, she thrust it at him.
"Done!" She crowed, gazing up at him for praise, which he was quick to admonish.
"It's beautiful, Lilly!" He exclaimed, staring at the pumpkin as if it were some famous piece of art.
"Not as beautiful as me, right, Papa?" Lilly inquired, tugging at her father's sleeve and pouting at him.
"Nothing's as beautiful as my Lillypad." Eric swore, rubbing their noses together affectionately and causing the little girl to giggle. "Now I'm gonna carve it, and than we'll just have to place it on the porch and put a candle in it."
**************
"Ooh, Papa, it's the bestest pumpkin ever!!" Lilly squealed, clapping her hands and bouncing up and down as the father-daughter pair gazed at the completed project. The cutting was a bit crooked, one eye was still bigger than the other, and the lid would fall in if they didn't perch it just right, but to them, it was a master piece.
Eric grinned. "It's the bestest pumpkin 'cause I helped carve it, right?" He inquired, and Lilly cocked her head in consideration, smiling.
"I dunno, Papa, the one me and Daddy carved last year was pretty good, too!" She shrieked, before laughing wildly and taking off as Eric gave a mock growl and ran towards her.
"Oh, was it now?" He rumbled teasingly, scooping his daughter up into his arms, which caused her to shriek louder squirm. "I think this calls for tickle torture!"
"No! Not-ot tickle torture!" Lilly gasped, trying to squirm away as Eric placed her onto the patio, tickling her sides as she giggled violently and attempted to get away. Reaching out blindly, she curled her hand around something squishy and threw it at her 'attacker.'
Eric stopped tickling her as something wet and cold collided with his forehead, and a few orange stands dangled into his eyes. Lilly gasped, her eyes widening comically as she slapped two hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Her father grinned, before reaching up and pulling off the pumpkin goop.
"Two can play at the game!" He declared, throwing the offending innards at his daughter. She squealed and grabbed another handful from the pile, and soon both were laughing, caught up in a huge pumpkin war.
***********
When Ryan Wolfe-Delko arrived home, there was nothing he'd rather do than sleep. The case he and Calleigh had been working on was exhausting, and a way too close to home for him to think about without shuddering. The mother of a child who'd been adopted by a gay couple had decided she wanted her son back, and killed off the two men and kidnapped her son. His heart went out to the boy, who had lost the two people he loved most in the world and had no mother to go to, now that she was in jail.
He sighed as he shoved the keys into the hole and flung open the door. After retrieving them, he closed the door quietly, leaning back again the door, shutting his eyes, and pinching the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he convinced himself he couldn't just lean against the door all his life, and so he shoved himself off of it.
At least Eric could cheer him up with kisses, and Lilly would probably ramble on about how the pumpkin carving. He was actually surprised the little girl hadn't attacked him the moment he came in the door. And the house was strangely...quiet.
His heart rate quickened--their home was never quiet. Eric would be singing terribly off-key in the shower, or Lilly would have Jojo's Circus on full blast, or Scooby would be yowling for someone to feed him his cat food. He hurried up the steps, taking them by twos, images of the murdered gay couple flashing through his head.
Skidding to a halt in the kitchen, he glanced around for any sign of distress, and blinked as he noticed, on the floor, were two sets of crusty orange footprints. They lead from the deck, where a jack-o-lantern grinned at him among scattered pumpkin goop, and...he was going to kill Eric, and there wouldn't be enough of him left for anybody to identify. His agitated OCD screamed its approval on the matter.
Stomping across the carpet, following the footprints, he wondered the cleanest way to kill his lover, and considered how Lilly would react. She'd be sad for a while, but maybe if he got her a puppy, she'd be okay. They lead into the living room, and Ryan summoned a breath, reading to give his lover a lecture about proper pumpkin carving.
"ERI--oh." He instantly quieted, a soft grin curling his lips as he glanced over the scene before him. The Cuban had his daughter curled up in his arms, both fast asleep with identical grin on their faces. Both had suspicious orange stains all over their clothes, and some strands of pumpkin goop were falling over Eric's cheek. He wondered if he should got get the camera--after all, while he found the image adorable, his lover probably didn't want to have people seem him with pumpkin innards on him. However, his lover stirred slightly, blinking up blearily at Ryan and grinning.
"Hey." Ryan said quietly.
"Hey." Eric gently sat up, carefully rearranging their sleeping daughter so a pillow was under her head. He stood up, glancing at the tracks on the white carpet and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about the mess--"
"it's okay." Ryan accepted hurriedly, reaching out for Eric and pressing a tender kiss to his lips. After a moment, however, he pulled away, wrinkling his nose.
"What?"
"You taste like pumpkin goop." He stated, amusement sparkling in his hazel eyes. Eric pouted indignantly--gosh, he had the same pout as Lilly.
"Lilly thinks pumpkin goop tastes good." He whined, and Ryan frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"How would Lils know what pumpkin goop tastes lik--?" Eric cut him off with another kiss, and Ryan decided he'd ask about it later, when his brain began to function again. He deepened the kiss, grabbing onto Eric's biceps even as his lover's tongue stroked the outside of his lips teasingly. Ryan's mouth granted access, but just as their tongues collided in a playful wrestling match--
"Papa! Daddy! You're only allowed to do that at night, remember?" Lilly grumbled blearily, blinking up at them accusingly.
Both gave affectionate groans, ending the kiss and leaning their foreheads against each other, sharing fond grins. Even with the interruption, this life was worth all the obstacles.
A/N: Because pumpkin carving is difficult! :P
Title: Candy
Author: mavymischief
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan (established)
Category: Romance, humor, and just plain fluff
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash (duh), new writer, and brain-freezing plotlessness
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even Pop Rocks. I ate my bag of them.
Summary: Ryan Wolfe is the best flavour of them all..
Eric shakes himself for what feels like the hundredth time this hour, forcing himself to stay awake, and his bleary eyes focus on the screen in front of him. He nearly growls when he finds that CODIS is still searching for a match to the skin cells he found under the victim's nails. It's been searching for one for almost three hours now, because unlike all the crime shows that show otherwise, matches don't usually pop up within five seconds.
Usually, there's some other evidence to distract him from the agonizing wait, but the killer was some kind of professional, leaving no fibers, fingerprints, or any DNA besides the skin cells under the victim's nails. Eric sighs, turning his head sharply to the right and sighing with relief as his neck cracks, a series of pops reaching his ear dully. He fiddles with one of the scattered coffee cups around the computer, evidence that he has been waiting for a while now.
"Eric." The Cuban snaps his head up so quickly he's afraid he'll get whiplash. Horatio is leaning against the doorway, his head cocked at the peculiar angle, and Eric wonders how he doesn't get neck pain.
"Yeah, H?" He inquires tiredly, yawning widely and leaning back in his chair.
"Go home, son, Shift ended fifteen minutes ago, and I daresay trick-or-treaters will be disappointed if they come pounding at your door and don't get any candy." His boss chuckles lightly, but Eric knows it's an order, not a question.
"But H, I don't have a match yet--" it doesn't stop him from trying to argue, but it sounds weak even to him. He gives up, stretching as he gets out of his chair. Hurriedly, he scribbles a sticky note for the night shift DNA technician to let the evidence run, and places it on the screen, before he turns back to Horatio. "See ya, Horatio."
"Bright and early, Eric." The redhead reminds him, before turning on his heel and sauntering towards his office. The CSI resists the urge to roll his eyes--Horatio might want him to go home, but he seems not to have any issues staying late himself.
Shaking his head, he makes his way to the locker room, wondering if he could somehow convince Horatio that he can stay a little longer. He's sure that CODIS was close to a match, and he doesn't want the DNA tech on the night shift losing the paper among the other cases. It hasn't happened before, but he that doesn't mean it's not a possibility.
The sound of a locker door clanging shut brings him back to the present, and he see Ryan holding something in his hand. The brunette is frowning at it, tearing at it, but he can't seem to get it open. Eric cocks an eyebrow in amusement, and is about to offer his assistance when his lover raises the package to his mouth, and bites at the side before pulling his head back. The action is successful as the paper rips, and Eric wonders how the younger man can be so arousing in the simplest movements. And also, very Wolfe-like, because he has never seen Ryan resort to his teeth when he can't get something open.
This makes him curious, because what can Ryan want open so badly that he'd open it with his teeth?
Ryan pours the bag's contents into his hand, raises it to his mouth, and pops the handful inside, and Eric realizes it's candy. Ryan, who nags him constantly not to eat junk food, is devouring candy like his life depends on it. Oh, this is black mail worthy.
"What 'cha doing, Wolfe?" He drawls lazily, smirking triumphantly as the other man jumps nervously, hiding the--black?--candy bag behind his back. Ryan grins confidently at him.
"Just getting ready to go home, Eric." The innocent answer only causes Eric's grin to go wider, and he stalks towards Ryan with a predatory swagger in his step. Ryan squirms uncomfortably, pressing his back against the lockers. Eric leans forward, his breath ghosting across Ryan's lips. He shudders, and his eyes flutter shut, and Eric grasps the opportunity, his hand snaking behind his lover's back and yanking the candy bag out of his limp hands.
"Eri-Eric!" Ryan gasps in surprise, but Eric turns his attention to the bag in his hand, reading the label.
"Strawberry Pop Rocks, Ryan?" He inquires in amusement as the man in question snatches the bag from his hand, curling it up and stuffing it in his pocket as he glares at Eric.
"They're healthier than the candy you eat!" Ryan huffs indignantly, and Eric stares at him.
"That's pure sugar, Ryan. I eat chocolate, and chocolate's good for your heart." Ryan snorts, shaking his head.
"Only dark chocolate, and if I remember correctly, you hate dark chocolate." He argues, and Eric shrugs nonchalantly.
"Still, Pop Rocks?"
"Have you ever had Pop Rocks with soda?" He inquires, grinning slightly. "I used to all the time when I was a kid."
"Ryan Wolfe drank soda?" Eric inquires, causing Ryan to roll his eyes and smack his arm.
"I did have a childhood, yes."
Ryan looks so adorable and exasperated, the Eric just grins at the dry sarcasm, catching the other man's lips with his own. Ryan doesn't object, curling his fingers lazily around Eric's shoulders and deepening the kiss, his back hitting the lockers with a metallic 'thud.' He opens his mouth instinctively as his lover's tongue brushes against it, and Eric blinks when something sharp suddenly hits his tongue, before realizing it's the Pop Rocks, bouncing into his mouth from Ryan's. They don't hurt, if anything, it makes his tongue explore Ryan's more eagerly.
"Mmm...Eric, we said not at work." Ryan mumbles against his lips, though he notices, with some smugness, that he makes no move to stop the kissing.
"I'll stop when you stop." He teases back, vastly unconcerned about how immature he sounds, lost in the sensation of Pop Rocks and Ryan and just...life. The kiss isn't fast and desperate, but slow, passionate, loving. Still, when they pull back for air, they're panting heavily and staring at each other out of lust-darkened eyes.
"My place or yours?" Ryan pants heavily, and Eric grins, Pop Rocks still bouncing around in his mouth, clicking against his teeth and thudding against his tongue.
"What about the trick-or-treaters?" He's just being a tease, and he knows it, but Ryan's 'need some now' look is worth it.
"We'll leave out a bucket of candy, or something." It's nearly a whine, but Eric frowns, seeing a glimmer of...mischief? in the other man's eyes. Suddenly, it hits him.
"You planned this, didn't you?" Eric gapes, but Ryan just looks at him innocently, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"What? No, it was completely spontaneous." He dodges, pulling out the bag of Pop Rocks, pouring some into his hand, and popping them in his mouth. "My place, than?"
He saunters off, adding a bit more sway to his hips than completely necessary, and Eric bets there will already be a pail of candy outside Ryan's condo door when he gets there, set up in the morning when he was coming up with the devious plan. But Eric really doesn't care, because his lips still tingle, and he doubts it's from the Pop Rocks. He just grabs his keys and jacket and follows eagerly, knowing one thing.
Ryan Wolfe is his new favorite candy. And, damn, is he addicting.
A/N: You know you've got a problem when you can't eat your favorite candy without being reminded of the Hardy Boys. For those of you who never had Pop Rocks, they're basically sugar with something else that makes them react to the water in your mouth and pop around all over. They're awesome. ^^
Title: Obstacles
Author: mavymischief
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan (established, with child)
Category: Humor, some drama, and romance
Rating: PG (only for slash, otherwise it's pure fluff)
Warnings: Slash (duh) and new writer who messes up tenses. Often.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Sadly, I didn't get Eric or Ryan in my trick-or-treat bag. I got Halloween fluff bunnies and Lilly instead.
Summary: Eric learns there are some obstacles to be faced when you're tricked into carving a pumpkin.
Eric didn't know how he'd gotten into this. He remembered a brief haze of exhaustion, Ryan's murmured words among soft kisses, and his own mumbled 'yes.' The man didn't have a halo encircling his head, but honestly, his lover was just plain devious sometimes. Everyone knows that if ask for something after sex, they always will agree. Everyone, including Ryan. It didn't make it more devious.
Which was why he was posed awkwardly out on the patio, with one very expectant Lilly Wolfe-Delko staring at him and bouncing on the tips of her toes. It would have been a heart-warming moment if he hadn't been faced with this staggering task: he was supposed to carve a pumpkin. A pumpkin. What the hell did he do for karma to give him such a spiteful task?
"Papa! Hurry up, or we won't get finished before we go trick-or-treating, and I promised to go with Amber, no matter what!" The four-year-old huffed, blowing out her cheeks and stamping her foot, before wagging a threatening finger in his direction. "And you said I've got ta keep promises to be a re-sponsile person!"
Eric marveled how much Ryan had worn off on his daughter, as he was equally eager to keep promises and be punctual about everything. It was also rather amusing, since his daughter's attempts at being threatening were comical at best. She peered up at him out of bright indigo eyes, impatiently tapping her foot. It was the same pose Ryan took when he was upset with him, and Eric decided he really needed to stop allowing them to spend so much time together.
"Don't worry, angel, we'll be done by the time Amber comes over." He grinned indulgently down at his daughter, who immediately stopped pouting and gave him a toothy grin. Than, she hesitated for a moment, looking skeptical.
"Promise?" She inquired solemnly, and the Cuban chuckled lightly.
"Promise."
"Pinky swear?" Lilly whined, holding up her small pinky and staring at him. Her father laughed, holding his own pinky out and catching it around her's. Both kissed their thumbs and grinned secretly at each other, as if they made some secret pact, and Eric decided that carving a pumpkin wouldn't be too terrible.
He didn't know how wrong he was.
****************************
Eric went inside to retrieve a carving knife, a sharpie, and several newspapers (because Ryan would have a fit if he got pumpkin guts all over their deck). Lilly followed him eagerly, looking about ready to burst with excitement. Her mood was contagious, and by the time they returned to the deck, Eric was humming 'Monster Mash' as he scattered the newspapers, rolled the huge orange pumpkin on to them, and sat down. His daughter plopped down beside him, curling her knees underneath her and flashing a grin.
Feeling in much better spirits, he rolled the pumpkin towards him, positioning it between his legs and raising the carving knife over the top, positioning it at and angle before stabbing into it. There was an audible gasp from his side, and he glanced over at Lilly.
"You didn't tell me you were gonna kill it!" She wailed, her bottom lip quivering. Her light blue eyes glared at him accusingly, and Eric stared at her, dumbstruck. Pushing some curly brown hair out of her eyes, she popped upwards and sprinted towards the house, sobbing.
"Angel! Come back, please, darling?!" Eric called desperately, sighing as he sprinted after his daughter. The pumpkin was left innocently sitting on a pile of newspapers, the offensive knife still sticking out of its top.
***************************
After an hour, Eric has finally managed to coax Lilly out of her room, insisting that the pumpkin hadn't felt anything (he'd given up on convincing her that he hadn't 'killed it') and told her that it had actually asked him to be carved, as that was the pumpkin's biggest goal in life. That calmed her down, but she insisted that they say a few words of respect for the melon that 'gave his life to make them happy.' Thus, Eric spent another fifteen minutes waiting patiently as his daughter rambled on about the pumpkin's life story, and how he would be partying in the great pumpkin patch in the sky.
"Amen." He finally muttered after Lilly had finished, sighing with relief and sat down in front of the pumpkin once more. Lilly curled up at his side, still sniffling, as he proceeded to cut a circle in the pumpkin for the top. He allowed Lilly to pull off the top by the stem of the pumpkin, and she giggled as she saw the long strands of pumpkin goop that came up with it, all sadness for the melon's death forgotten.
As Eric cut off the strands and carved an smoke hole in the top, he glanced over at his daughter, who was giggling loudly as she scooped out pumpkin innards with her hand and threw them with a dull 'splat' onto the newspaper.
The Cuban allowed himself to just watch his daughter for a few moments, her unblemished innocence and joy for upholding a Halloween tradition, and marveled at how precious she was. A relationship with Ryan had proven challenging and straining at times, and the terribly difficult process of finding someone who would allow their child to be adopted by a gay couple had proven frightening. But at moments like these, he wouldn't trade the obstacles for any 'natural' relationship.
"You doing okay there, Lilly?" He inquired, watching his daughter tug at the strands of pumpkin goop.
"Mmm-hmm..." She mumbled, an adorable look of concentration on her face as she pulled on a particularly difficult piece.
Realizing that he'd forgotten to grab a spoon to scoop out the pumpkin guts, he stood up and stretched before making his way towards the glass door. He yanked it open and stepped inside, oblivious to the black streak that escaped before he closed the door. Humming lightly, he made his way to the silverware drawer, and made sure that the spoon he picked out wasn't one of the good ones, because he'd discovered that they'd always need a back-up set of utensils with all the bizarre circumstances they got themselves into. And house guests wouldn't appreciate a bent-up, pumpkin-stained spoon.
Sauntering back towards the deck, he stopped at the image he saw through the glass of the sliding door. Scooby, Ryan's temperamental charcoal kitten, was crouched over a pile of pumpkin seeds and innards, eating them joyfully. Lilly had followed the cat's example, shrieking with laughter as she stuffed the orange goop into her mouth.
Eric sighed and leaned against the wall, counting to ten to calm down and figure out a way to deal with this. Because he really doubted his lover would want to come home to a cat stuffed in a garbage can and a daughter locked up in her room with an orange stain around her mouth.
*******************
After stuffing Scooby into the bathroom (because if the feline was going to be sick, Eric didn't want Ryan to see it the moment he stepped through the door), and giving Lilly a stern lecture about how unhealthy it was to eat the inside of a pumpkin, they'd finally managed to scrape out all the pumpkin goop. Now all that was left was the actual carving, thank God.
"Do you want draw the face for the pumpkin, pumpkin?" He asked, holding out the sharpie and being rewarded with a giggle and a ecstatic nod from his daughter.
"Ooh, Papa, do you think I could draw kitty-cat face, like Scooby?" She asked, bouncing around as she uncapped the sharpie and glanced pleadingly at her father.
"Try to keep it simple for now, Lils." At her pout, he grinned and ruffled her hair lightly. "I'll love any face you make."
"Okay, Papa!" She set to work, drawing a large, triangular eye on one side of the pumpkin's 'face' and a smaller one on the other. Despite the wavy lines, Eric imagined it was the best jack-o-lantern face he'd seen. After adding an upside down triangle for a nose and a large, grinning mouth with two sharp upper teeth, she thrust it at him.
"Done!" She crowed, gazing up at him for praise, which he was quick to admonish.
"It's beautiful, Lilly!" He exclaimed, staring at the pumpkin as if it were some famous piece of art.
"Not as beautiful as me, right, Papa?" Lilly inquired, tugging at her father's sleeve and pouting at him.
"Nothing's as beautiful as my Lillypad." Eric swore, rubbing their noses together affectionately and causing the little girl to giggle. "Now I'm gonna carve it, and than we'll just have to place it on the porch and put a candle in it."
**************
"Ooh, Papa, it's the bestest pumpkin ever!!" Lilly squealed, clapping her hands and bouncing up and down as the father-daughter pair gazed at the completed project. The cutting was a bit crooked, one eye was still bigger than the other, and the lid would fall in if they didn't perch it just right, but to them, it was a master piece.
Eric grinned. "It's the bestest pumpkin 'cause I helped carve it, right?" He inquired, and Lilly cocked her head in consideration, smiling.
"I dunno, Papa, the one me and Daddy carved last year was pretty good, too!" She shrieked, before laughing wildly and taking off as Eric gave a mock growl and ran towards her.
"Oh, was it now?" He rumbled teasingly, scooping his daughter up into his arms, which caused her to shriek louder squirm. "I think this calls for tickle torture!"
"No! Not-ot tickle torture!" Lilly gasped, trying to squirm away as Eric placed her onto the patio, tickling her sides as she giggled violently and attempted to get away. Reaching out blindly, she curled her hand around something squishy and threw it at her 'attacker.'
Eric stopped tickling her as something wet and cold collided with his forehead, and a few orange stands dangled into his eyes. Lilly gasped, her eyes widening comically as she slapped two hands over her mouth, her shoulders shaking with silent laughter. Her father grinned, before reaching up and pulling off the pumpkin goop.
"Two can play at the game!" He declared, throwing the offending innards at his daughter. She squealed and grabbed another handful from the pile, and soon both were laughing, caught up in a huge pumpkin war.
***********
When Ryan Wolfe-Delko arrived home, there was nothing he'd rather do than sleep. The case he and Calleigh had been working on was exhausting, and a way too close to home for him to think about without shuddering. The mother of a child who'd been adopted by a gay couple had decided she wanted her son back, and killed off the two men and kidnapped her son. His heart went out to the boy, who had lost the two people he loved most in the world and had no mother to go to, now that she was in jail.
He sighed as he shoved the keys into the hole and flung open the door. After retrieving them, he closed the door quietly, leaning back again the door, shutting his eyes, and pinching the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he convinced himself he couldn't just lean against the door all his life, and so he shoved himself off of it.
At least Eric could cheer him up with kisses, and Lilly would probably ramble on about how the pumpkin carving. He was actually surprised the little girl hadn't attacked him the moment he came in the door. And the house was strangely...quiet.
His heart rate quickened--their home was never quiet. Eric would be singing terribly off-key in the shower, or Lilly would have Jojo's Circus on full blast, or Scooby would be yowling for someone to feed him his cat food. He hurried up the steps, taking them by twos, images of the murdered gay couple flashing through his head.
Skidding to a halt in the kitchen, he glanced around for any sign of distress, and blinked as he noticed, on the floor, were two sets of crusty orange footprints. They lead from the deck, where a jack-o-lantern grinned at him among scattered pumpkin goop, and...he was going to kill Eric, and there wouldn't be enough of him left for anybody to identify. His agitated OCD screamed its approval on the matter.
Stomping across the carpet, following the footprints, he wondered the cleanest way to kill his lover, and considered how Lilly would react. She'd be sad for a while, but maybe if he got her a puppy, she'd be okay. They lead into the living room, and Ryan summoned a breath, reading to give his lover a lecture about proper pumpkin carving.
"ERI--oh." He instantly quieted, a soft grin curling his lips as he glanced over the scene before him. The Cuban had his daughter curled up in his arms, both fast asleep with identical grin on their faces. Both had suspicious orange stains all over their clothes, and some strands of pumpkin goop were falling over Eric's cheek. He wondered if he should got get the camera--after all, while he found the image adorable, his lover probably didn't want to have people seem him with pumpkin innards on him. However, his lover stirred slightly, blinking up blearily at Ryan and grinning.
"Hey." Ryan said quietly.
"Hey." Eric gently sat up, carefully rearranging their sleeping daughter so a pillow was under her head. He stood up, glancing at the tracks on the white carpet and grinning sheepishly. "Sorry about the mess--"
"it's okay." Ryan accepted hurriedly, reaching out for Eric and pressing a tender kiss to his lips. After a moment, however, he pulled away, wrinkling his nose.
"What?"
"You taste like pumpkin goop." He stated, amusement sparkling in his hazel eyes. Eric pouted indignantly--gosh, he had the same pout as Lilly.
"Lilly thinks pumpkin goop tastes good." He whined, and Ryan frowned, raising an eyebrow.
"How would Lils know what pumpkin goop tastes lik--?" Eric cut him off with another kiss, and Ryan decided he'd ask about it later, when his brain began to function again. He deepened the kiss, grabbing onto Eric's biceps even as his lover's tongue stroked the outside of his lips teasingly. Ryan's mouth granted access, but just as their tongues collided in a playful wrestling match--
"Papa! Daddy! You're only allowed to do that at night, remember?" Lilly grumbled blearily, blinking up at them accusingly.
Both gave affectionate groans, ending the kiss and leaning their foreheads against each other, sharing fond grins. Even with the interruption, this life was worth all the obstacles.
A/N: Because pumpkin carving is difficult! :P
Title: Candy
Author: mavymischief
Fandom: CSI: Miami
Pairing: Eric/Ryan (established)
Category: Romance, humor, and just plain fluff
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Slash (duh), new writer, and brain-freezing plotlessness
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Not even Pop Rocks. I ate my bag of them.
Summary: Ryan Wolfe is the best flavour of them all..
Eric shakes himself for what feels like the hundredth time this hour, forcing himself to stay awake, and his bleary eyes focus on the screen in front of him. He nearly growls when he finds that CODIS is still searching for a match to the skin cells he found under the victim's nails. It's been searching for one for almost three hours now, because unlike all the crime shows that show otherwise, matches don't usually pop up within five seconds.
Usually, there's some other evidence to distract him from the agonizing wait, but the killer was some kind of professional, leaving no fibers, fingerprints, or any DNA besides the skin cells under the victim's nails. Eric sighs, turning his head sharply to the right and sighing with relief as his neck cracks, a series of pops reaching his ear dully. He fiddles with one of the scattered coffee cups around the computer, evidence that he has been waiting for a while now.
"Eric." The Cuban snaps his head up so quickly he's afraid he'll get whiplash. Horatio is leaning against the doorway, his head cocked at the peculiar angle, and Eric wonders how he doesn't get neck pain.
"Yeah, H?" He inquires tiredly, yawning widely and leaning back in his chair.
"Go home, son, Shift ended fifteen minutes ago, and I daresay trick-or-treaters will be disappointed if they come pounding at your door and don't get any candy." His boss chuckles lightly, but Eric knows it's an order, not a question.
"But H, I don't have a match yet--" it doesn't stop him from trying to argue, but it sounds weak even to him. He gives up, stretching as he gets out of his chair. Hurriedly, he scribbles a sticky note for the night shift DNA technician to let the evidence run, and places it on the screen, before he turns back to Horatio. "See ya, Horatio."
"Bright and early, Eric." The redhead reminds him, before turning on his heel and sauntering towards his office. The CSI resists the urge to roll his eyes--Horatio might want him to go home, but he seems not to have any issues staying late himself.
Shaking his head, he makes his way to the locker room, wondering if he could somehow convince Horatio that he can stay a little longer. He's sure that CODIS was close to a match, and he doesn't want the DNA tech on the night shift losing the paper among the other cases. It hasn't happened before, but he that doesn't mean it's not a possibility.
The sound of a locker door clanging shut brings him back to the present, and he see Ryan holding something in his hand. The brunette is frowning at it, tearing at it, but he can't seem to get it open. Eric cocks an eyebrow in amusement, and is about to offer his assistance when his lover raises the package to his mouth, and bites at the side before pulling his head back. The action is successful as the paper rips, and Eric wonders how the younger man can be so arousing in the simplest movements. And also, very Wolfe-like, because he has never seen Ryan resort to his teeth when he can't get something open.
This makes him curious, because what can Ryan want open so badly that he'd open it with his teeth?
Ryan pours the bag's contents into his hand, raises it to his mouth, and pops the handful inside, and Eric realizes it's candy. Ryan, who nags him constantly not to eat junk food, is devouring candy like his life depends on it. Oh, this is black mail worthy.
"What 'cha doing, Wolfe?" He drawls lazily, smirking triumphantly as the other man jumps nervously, hiding the--black?--candy bag behind his back. Ryan grins confidently at him.
"Just getting ready to go home, Eric." The innocent answer only causes Eric's grin to go wider, and he stalks towards Ryan with a predatory swagger in his step. Ryan squirms uncomfortably, pressing his back against the lockers. Eric leans forward, his breath ghosting across Ryan's lips. He shudders, and his eyes flutter shut, and Eric grasps the opportunity, his hand snaking behind his lover's back and yanking the candy bag out of his limp hands.
"Eri-Eric!" Ryan gasps in surprise, but Eric turns his attention to the bag in his hand, reading the label.
"Strawberry Pop Rocks, Ryan?" He inquires in amusement as the man in question snatches the bag from his hand, curling it up and stuffing it in his pocket as he glares at Eric.
"They're healthier than the candy you eat!" Ryan huffs indignantly, and Eric stares at him.
"That's pure sugar, Ryan. I eat chocolate, and chocolate's good for your heart." Ryan snorts, shaking his head.
"Only dark chocolate, and if I remember correctly, you hate dark chocolate." He argues, and Eric shrugs nonchalantly.
"Still, Pop Rocks?"
"Have you ever had Pop Rocks with soda?" He inquires, grinning slightly. "I used to all the time when I was a kid."
"Ryan Wolfe drank soda?" Eric inquires, causing Ryan to roll his eyes and smack his arm.
"I did have a childhood, yes."
Ryan looks so adorable and exasperated, the Eric just grins at the dry sarcasm, catching the other man's lips with his own. Ryan doesn't object, curling his fingers lazily around Eric's shoulders and deepening the kiss, his back hitting the lockers with a metallic 'thud.' He opens his mouth instinctively as his lover's tongue brushes against it, and Eric blinks when something sharp suddenly hits his tongue, before realizing it's the Pop Rocks, bouncing into his mouth from Ryan's. They don't hurt, if anything, it makes his tongue explore Ryan's more eagerly.
"Mmm...Eric, we said not at work." Ryan mumbles against his lips, though he notices, with some smugness, that he makes no move to stop the kissing.
"I'll stop when you stop." He teases back, vastly unconcerned about how immature he sounds, lost in the sensation of Pop Rocks and Ryan and just...life. The kiss isn't fast and desperate, but slow, passionate, loving. Still, when they pull back for air, they're panting heavily and staring at each other out of lust-darkened eyes.
"My place or yours?" Ryan pants heavily, and Eric grins, Pop Rocks still bouncing around in his mouth, clicking against his teeth and thudding against his tongue.
"What about the trick-or-treaters?" He's just being a tease, and he knows it, but Ryan's 'need some now' look is worth it.
"We'll leave out a bucket of candy, or something." It's nearly a whine, but Eric frowns, seeing a glimmer of...mischief? in the other man's eyes. Suddenly, it hits him.
"You planned this, didn't you?" Eric gapes, but Ryan just looks at him innocently, a smirk tugging at his lips.
"What? No, it was completely spontaneous." He dodges, pulling out the bag of Pop Rocks, pouring some into his hand, and popping them in his mouth. "My place, than?"
He saunters off, adding a bit more sway to his hips than completely necessary, and Eric bets there will already be a pail of candy outside Ryan's condo door when he gets there, set up in the morning when he was coming up with the devious plan. But Eric really doesn't care, because his lips still tingle, and he doubts it's from the Pop Rocks. He just grabs his keys and jacket and follows eagerly, knowing one thing.
Ryan Wolfe is his new favorite candy. And, damn, is he addicting.
A/N: You know you've got a problem when you can't eat your favorite candy without being reminded of the Hardy Boys. For those of you who never had Pop Rocks, they're basically sugar with something else that makes them react to the water in your mouth and pop around all over. They're awesome. ^^