Fic: Heard it throught the Grapevine, Chapter 2/5 (CSI Miami, Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko)
Title: Heard it throught the Grapevine, Chapter 2/5
Fandom: CSI Miami
Pair: Ryan Wolfe / Eric Delko
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always welcome.
CSI Miami Main List
Chapter 1/5
Alexx left the door open and gave Valera a small nod.
“Would you give us some privacy, honey?”
“Sure.” She sneaked outside a quickly as she could. Her sigh of relief was audible as Alexx closed the door.
“Alexx, I think I know what you’re thinking, but you’re wrong-”
“Am I?” She placed her hands on her hips and waited.
“Yeah, it’s just a rumour Cooper started and-”
“You think I want to talk about that?”
“Well… don’t you?”
“You think you could have fooled me for a year? And that I would have let you carry on cheating? If you really thought that, you don’t know me too well.” Alexx`s tone was getting more and more serious and she leaned forward like a hen, that was about to start pecking someone’s eyes out. “I’m talking about Ryan. How could you be so insensitive?”
“How was I insensitive? I just said it was ridiculous! How’s that offensive unless-” He noticed the expression on Alexx`s face and snapped his mouth shut.
“I send him home to rest, he looked too grey for my taste.” Alexx gritted through her teeth. “If you can’t control your mouth, you better stay away from him.”
“I can control my… What do you mean grey?”
“Don’t try to dodge the issue.”
“The issue is that I didn’t say anything offensive. I just said the whole idea about me and Wolfe is totally ridiculous.”
“And you don’t think that’s offensive?”
“Why would he care what I think about it… Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Seriously?”
“If you got something to ask, just ask.”
“Is Wolfe… you know?”
“What?”
“Well, you know! Does he… kiss guys?”
“Remind me how old you are, Eric.”
“Fine. Is Wolfe into guys?”
“Are you honestly saying you didn’t know?”
“So he is?”
“Half the lab knows.”
“I didn’t!”
“If this is your best reaction to that, it’s no wonder.”
“He dated that busty blond from the PD!”
“And also that hunky lab tech, who was subbing for Jacqueline when she was on maternity leave last year.”
“If the rumours had been going around, I would have heard about it!”
“Like you heard about the rumour about you and him?”
“Oh crap… What else have they been saying?”
“About you or about him?”
“Me. I mean both of us.”
“From what I’ve heard, Cooper got that thing started last Friday, then that girl talked to her friends over the weekend and you had the Monday off, so it erupted today.”
“Thanks for the timeline, but that wasn’t what I was looking for.”
“You know what happens when rumours start circulating. People look at things differently and then they see meanings where there isn’t any. One version says Ryan found out about your womanising and he went to Boston to think things through.”
“I thought he went there for some family thing.”
“Cousin’s wedding.” Alexx explained. “But that doesn’t matter when the story gets going. It starts to live a life of its own.”
“Is that the worst of it? He left because he found out?”
“No.” She looked down and cleared her throat. “You remember that case you two worked on before he left?”
“Homicidal clown and a dead ringleader? That was a funny one.”
“And what happened when the clown tried to escape?”
“Wolfe tackled him to the koi pond at the park.” Eric grinned at the memory. “Ever seen a soaked clown? It was hilarious.”
“And what else?”
“We got to take apart his clown car?”
“What else happened in the koi pond?”
“I wasn’t in there, I just cheered them on.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me… Did you even see Ryan after the case was wrapped?”
“No, he was going straight to the airport.”
“Did you see the bruises on his torso after the fight?”
“No…”
“Someone else did when he was changing in the locker-room, and when people started talking…” Alexx sighed heavily and shot Eric a dark glare. “According to the gossip, you’re both a cheater and a beater.”
“Don’t tell me…”
“Yeah, so I’d say you better do something about this and quickly, because that little show just now didn’t do much to dispel the rumours.”
“I didn’t out on a show-”
“You grabbed him in here-”
“How do you know that?”
“The girl from the reception told me. And five minutes later Ryan comes out looking like someone just drove over his puppy.”
“He doesn’t have a puppy. At least he doesn’t have one as far as I know, but it doesn’t seem to mean much.”
“Drove over the puppy, then reversed and drove over it again.”
“It couldn’t be that bad, it’s Wolfe! It’s not like he cares what I think about him.”
Alexx sighed heavely. She grabbed her head and took deep breaths.
“Alexx?”
“I`m trying to fight the urge to smack some sense to your head, so don’t talk to me right now.”
“What did I say?”
“Think about it. Think about it really carefully, and I’m about ready put you across my knee and give you a good spanking.”
------------------------------
Ryan opened the door and eyed the man standing in the hallway.
“What do you want?”
“What? I can’t just come for a visit?”
“You’ve never even been here, so no.”
“Come on, let me in. I wanna talk to you.”
“Make it quick.” Ryan moved to the side to let him in and closed the door. He was dressed in a rumpled T-shirt and sweatpants and his hair messy like he had just been woken up. “My migraine’s acting up. Funny how it always happens when you’re around.”
Eric took a look at the dark apartment. The windows were blocked by thick curtains, keeping the rooms so dim he could hardly see where he was going. After a minute of fumbling Ryan guided him to the living room.
“You always keep the place like this?”
“No, I don’t even get these that often.” Ryan sat down on the couch. “Say what you got to say and get out. I’m really not in the mood for this.”
“Can I sit down or will you just let me stand here?”
“You weren’t invited, so just be glad you even got in. Did Alexx send you here?”
“Yeah.”
“Of course, why else would you be here?”
“Do you really have to be so hostile?”
“I’m not hostile, this is how I act with your kind of people.”
“What does that mean?”
“A lot of things. But in this case it means foulmouthed bigots.”
“I’m not a bigot! My sexual policy is: Everything goes.”
“As long as you’re talking about yourself.”
“Honestly, I didn’t know you’re… whatever you are. Gay? Bi?”
“Bi.”
“See what I mean? You don’t look like it.”
“How would I look if I looked like it?”
“Is that a trick question?”
“No, it’s just one more proof about what kind of a guy you are.”
“Hey, I got nothing against guys getting jiggy! I wouldn’t do it myself, but I wouldn’t put on a dress either and that doesn’t mean I hate cross dressers.”
“It’s a real wonder you get called to testify in court, because you’re not very convincing.”
“Whatever!” Eric exclaimed. “This is about work! You gotta act like the whole thing’s the joke that it is before this gets out of hand.”
“So that’s what this is about…” Ryan chuckled. He got up and walked into the kitchen. Eric followed him and watched as he grabbed a bottle of prescription medication from the cupboard with clear sense of familiarity. He briefly wondered how often Ryan actually needed those, if he had gone through the trouble of getting the prescription. Ryan downed a pill with a glass of water and glared at Eric over the rim of the glass. A sliver of light was coming pass the curtains, giving the room a bit more light and illuminating the man watching Eric.
“Still here? Feel free to leave anytime you want.”
“What did you mean? What do you think this is about?”
“Your whole speech about your own open-mindedness. Open-minded as long as it doesn’t include you. This is about your reputation, that’s why you’re here.”
“It’s not-”
“You know what?” Ryan placed the glass on the kitchen counter and approached Eric slowly, pacing his steps with his words. “Everyone who goes that far to explain himself has something to hide. And bullies like you…”
Eric didn’t realise he had taken steps back, until his back hit the wall. He wasn’t sure what was going on, and the uncertainty seemed to paralyse him. Ryan closed the gap between them.
“… are always afraid of something. Maybe my preferences, maybe me. Which one is it?”
A snappy answer tried to crawl up Eric’s throat, but he couldn’t get a word out. He just stared at Ryan with his eyes wide. Ryan was leaning closer, observing him with unwavering curiosity. His eyes looked slightly glassy and his pupils were dilated.
“How many of those pills have you had?” Eric finally managed to gasp out.
“Wrong answer. Just like I said… Afraid.” Ryan leaned closer and before Eric could react, he pressed their lips together. Eric’s brain registered the sensation, but refused to give orders for the rest of the body to pull away.
Ryan pulled back, closing his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened them again, the effects of the medication seemed to catch him. He looked drowsy and slightly goofy with a little grin on his face and his messy hair pointing to every direction.
“You know where the door is.” He headed out of the kitchen, leaning against the wall for support, and disappeared into the darkness of the apartment. A minute later Eric heard a distinctive sound of a door being locked, and he assumed Ryan had gone to his bedroom. Eric brought his fingers to his lips. The kiss had been nothing more than a chaste meeting of lips, but he could still feel the man’s lips against his. The tingle went down his body, covering every spot Ryan had pressed against. Eric draw in a deep breath and grasped the counter to get out of the kitchen. His mind was in chaos, and the darkness only seemed to heighten the unwanted thoughts.
He got as far as the foyer until the lack of light took its toll and he fell down. He got up to sit on the hard floor, and rubbed his aching knee. It took a moment to realise he had walked into a shoe rack, and most of it’s content was now spread across the floor. He was too confused to do anything about it, he just stared at the mess for a minute. Finally he got up on his unsteady feet and escaped as fast as he could.
Chapter 3/5 (NC-17)