Fic: Masquerade, Chapter 4/12 (CSI, Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko)
Title: Masquerade, Chapter 4/12
Pairing: Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
CSI Miami Main List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Eric checked his watch once more. Thirty-eight minutes till the beginning of the shift. He walked into the cafeteria and sat down opposite Ryan. The man looked up from his newspaper and put down his half eaten sandwich.
“Morning.”
“Morning.” Eric paused and waited, but Ryan went straight back to his reading. “Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem.”
“It was three in the morning, it was a problem.”
“Forget it. Did we get a case?”
“No.”
“And you’re not eating anything, so you`re stealing the seat from someone who actually needs it.”
“The whole place is half empty.”
“It’s the principle.”
“What’s the normal principle when you accidentally kiss a co-worker?”
“Wrong question.” Ryan countered. “You should ask: What’s the normal principle when a drunken co-worker kisses you when he`s feeling amorous after a one-nighter in a seedy club?”
“I didn’t say it was a one-nighter.”
“You didn’t need to, I could smell it and so could anyone within a two mile radius. You were horny and I was the nearest thing. Accidents happen, the end.”
“Did you freak out?”
“What do you mean?”
“You left.”
“Of course I left. I gave you a ride home and then I left. What did you expect?”
“Nothing, I guess…” Eric leaned back in his chair. “I just didn’t think you were the type to go around kissing guys like it’s no big deal and then leave.”
“First of all, it’s none of your business who I go around kissing, and secondly it wasn’t even a real kiss.”
“You say it wasn’t kiss, but you still hold it against me?”
“I’m not holding it against you, I’m acting like we always do.” Ryan emptied his coffee cup and got ready to leave.
“You didn’t deny it.” Eric stated as a last effort to get him to stay.
“Deny what?”
“That you go around kissing guys.”
“You know what they say about throwing stones in a glasshouse?” Ryan commented with a slight frown. “At least I don’t need to call help at three AM.”
He picked up the remains of his sandwich and walked out.
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Smack.
Smack.
Eric gave the machine one more hit and finally the candy bar fell out. He leaned against the wall and unwrapped the treat. Across the hallway Ryan and Calleigh were talking about their case. Eric tried to eat slowly, waiting for Calleigh to leave.
By the time he started counting his coins to buy another candy bar, Calleigh walked into the hallway.
“Eric? Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I… you got a quarter?”
“I think so.” She pulled out her wallet. “Was that your lunch?”
“Couldn’t eat much yesterday, my stomach was upset.”
“Stomach flue or just a racy night out?”
“The latter..” He took the quarter and fed it to the machine. “Still feels kinda funny.”
“Are you sure you should be working?”
“Yeah, I’ll get some real food when I got time for lunch.”
“How busy can you be? You’ve been here keeping the wall up for the last ten minutes.”
“I have?”
“You don’t look good.” Calleigh pressed his palm against Eric’s forehead. “Maybe you should go home.”
“I’ll be fine. I’m not going anywhere till I get my results, maybe I’ll take a nap in the break room.”
“Good idea. I have to go back to the scene, but someone can drive you home if you-”
“No.” Eric stated, a small voice in his head advising him to avoid rides of any kind for a while. “I don’t need a ride, but thanks.”
“Okay, but stay away from Alexx when you’re looking like that.” Calleigh stated and continued talking over her shoulder while marching down the hallway. “If she sees you, she’ll go to her maternal overdrive.”
Eric waited till she was out of sight, and walked into the room, where Ryan was still crouching down over a microscope. He leaned over the table, but Ryan didn’t react.
“I do both.”
Ryan let out a frustrated sigh, and straightened his back to look Eric in the eye.
“You do what?”
“What I said before about kissing guys. I do both. Guys and girls.”
“I kinda figured that out.” Ryan deadpanned. “Anything else?”
“I wanted to let you know, so you don’t think I’m some kinda closet case or hiding or-”
“Or using girls like that furious one as a cover?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, thanks for the clarification.”
“Aren’t you gonna say something?”
“I just said something.”
“About you. I told you about myself, now you say something about yourself. That’s how it’s supposed to go.”
“I didn’t ask.” Ryan removed the sample from under the microscope and saved his notes on the laptop. “Are we done?”
“Are you?”
“With this? Yeah. With you? Yeah again.”
“Great, let’s go.”
“Go where?”
“Out. I need some real food.”
“Good luck hunting. I got stuff to do.”
“You said you were done with that. Lunch with me or I’ll follow you when you go home.”
“What do you want?” Ryan frowned and crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m not gonna tell people about your nocturnal activities, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“I’m not! I got a reputation here anyway, that wouldn’t shock anyone.”
“So why are you still here?”
“Lunch. I wanna…” Eric pressed his mouth shut for a moment to gather his thoughts, and not just blurt out the wrong thing. “I wanna make up for last night. For the ride.”
“You’re not going to give up, are you?”
“No.”
“Okay, but only to get rid of you. Maybe I should get one of those masks and scare you to shut up...”
Eric froze, and Ryan gave him a curious glance.
“The ones from that shop where the guy was killed? Whacked on the head with the cash register? Last week? Ring any bells?”
“Right, that.” Eric pulled the door open and waited for Ryan to shed off his lab coat. “My mind kinda wanders.”
“I can see that. What’s your thing with masks anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“When we were in that shop you looked like you’d seen a ghost or something.”
“They’re… they bring out some memories.”
----------------------------------
“Really classy, Delko.” Ryan stated and took a bite from his hotdog.
Eric sat down next to him on the bench. The beach was practically empty, only few children were playing under the watchful eye of a sulky looking teenage girl, who was busy gabbing to her cell phone.
“I’m a classy guy.”
“Lunch isn’t that great, but the scene almost makes it edible.”
“Thanks.”
“I meant the sea.”
“Whoops…”
“You’re starting to sound like yourself again.” Ryan took a bite and wiped few crumbs off the side of his mouth. “So was this it? Hotdog on the beach and you’ll leave me alone?”
“No, I wanted to apologise.”
“For what?”
“The kissing thing.”
“I told you: It wasn’t a kiss.”
“It was.” Eric shoved a piece of his hotdog into his mouth and continued talking while little pieces flew out with each word. “And you didn’t say anything today.”
“About that? Because there was nothing to talk about.”
“No, about guys. You didn’t even try to deny it.”
“Why would I?” Ryan took a sip from his soda. “I don’t hide the people I date, but I don’t advertise it like you do.”
“I don’t advertise-”
“You do. I don’t care what you do between your girls in the lab lobby, or what you do in secrecy with your guys. But don’t think you know how I operate.”
“Hey, calm down! I come in peace!” Eric lifted his hands in the air, and the rest of his hotdog landed on his lap. “I just wanted to check.”
“Check what?” Ryan pulled few napkins from his coat pocket.
“Where did you get those?” Eric chuckled and held out his hand. "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. You probably got a mop and some wet wipes stashed somewhere too.”
“Do you want them or not?”
“I want them.”
“And what do you say when you want something?”
“Please?”
“That’s better.” Ryan handed him the napkins, and continued his own meal. “So what did you want to check?”
“What?”
“You said you wanted to check something.”
“Yeah, I wanted to check your preferences.”
“Well, I already told you. Any more questions? I need to get back to work soon.”
“Yeah, I got another thing to say. It`s about the club.”
“I don’t need to hear this-”
“I was gonna say that just because I went there for some fun, it doesn’t mean I’m trying to hide that from people. Or that the whole clubbing is all there is.”
“Like I said, I don’t need to know.”
“Listen, Wolfe. That wasn’t the point.”
“I wasn’t even sure if you had a point.”
“The point is: I can do mushy and civilised too.”
“Good for you.”
“Like a dinner.”
“Keep practising, and one day you`ll know how to have a civilised lunch too.”
“Tonight?”
“What?”
“Practise dinner.”
“Why?”
“I promised you lunch, you said a hotdog wasn’t that good.”
“That’s a bad idea-”
“I want me to go to the club instead and call you in the middle of the night?”
“Pick me up at seven.” Ryan got up from the bench and tossed his used napkins to the trashcan. “You’ll pay, I want a real table and utensils, you will not grope the waitress like you do in that Mexican place near the lab, and don’t expect a goodnight kiss.”
“You’re such a sweet talker…”
“Take it or leave it.”
“I’ll take it.” Eric grinned and got up. Ryan gave him a frustrated glance, but a small smirk was trying to make it’s way to his face.
“Back to work, Romeo. And stop hoarding those candy bars from the machine, you’ll rot your teeth.”
“Thanks, mom.”
Chapter 5/12 (NC-17)