Tealeaves and Thorns

Aside from all of that, they just... had a lot of fun together. Whether games like this or going out or just hanging out at home watching movies on the couch. There was never a dull moment. Never a boring moment for the two of them. They loved being together, loved spending time together. They were still practically inseparable.

At one point during his reading he looked up only because he heard her singing. It was soft and soothing and beautiful and he found himself gazing at her for a few seconds, loving how happy she seemed to be and then he returned his attention back to the textbook. He was almost done. And a few minutes later, he finished but went on to read the questions, though he wasn't sure if she wanted him to write down his answers or if she wanted him to answer them out loud. So he asked just in case and her answer had his eyes lighting up again. Oh, he was very excited for this.

The way he made her feel, it made her act powerful. Horatio made her feel like she could take over the world. He made her feel that absolutely anything was possible and honestly, as long as he was there, anything was possible. She could be anything, do anything.

"If dinner was going to burn-" Maria replied, raising a brow. "-I'd be putting it to warm, or we wouldn't be doing this at all."

She'd actually changed what she'd been cooking, all because of what she'd suggested. Originally, she'd been trying a Moroccan beef recipe, with a few tweaks she'd managed to turn it into a stew and that meant it needed to simmer for a while. If on low it could simmer even longer.

"Alright." She said thumbing through the book to the first question. Maria moved to stand opposite him, putting the book on the table and locking eyes with him. "Which one of the following thermodynamic quantities is not a state function?"

@tealeavesandthorns asked:

[ hold ] – for the sender’s muse to hold the receiver’s muse by the face / neck gently and brush their thumbs along their cheeks to get them to focus on them.

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"Do you want to go over it again?" "No. I'm fine."

"Are you fully prepared to take the stand tomorrow?" "Yes."

"Do you need more time?" "No. I want to get this done."

"Are you sure you're ready, Horatio?" Stop asking me that.

Horatio.

Stop.

Horatio.

STOP.

Horatio?

Maria.

Her name. Her voice. Her hand on his shoulder instantly silenced the voices inside of his head and pulled him back into this moment, back into the present, with her. His eyes locked with hers through the mirror where he'd been standing for the past several minutes, going through the details of the upcoming trial over and over again. He thought about last night, having been put through a mock trial and asked questions about his father and about the abuse and he answered each and every question without fail. His voice didn't falter, not even once. He didn't break. He was ready. He felt ready.

Until now. Until this moment standing in front of the mirror dressed in a suit which was starting to feel a little too hot now. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead and his heart started to race, his nerves becoming erratic, betraying how calm and composed he felt last night. But this was different. This was real thing. Last night, he hadn't looked his father in the eyes when detailing everything he'd done to him, but today... today he would. He hadn't seen him in weeks, since that night, the night he almost died, and the idea of seeing him hadn't made him uneasy until today. He admittedly felt ashamed for feeling unsettled at the thought of seeing him again. He was supposed to be strong, he was supposed to be brave. He knew he was safe, yet he couldn't shake the memory of his father beating him from his mind. He couldn't quiet the voices constantly asking him if he was ready or if he was okay. All of it was getting to him and it showed in the way his shaky hands gripped the sink of his bathroom as he looked into the mirror, lost in thought. Lost in the dark corners of his mind.

Until Maria said his name. Until she touched him. Saving him.

Her hand slid down his arm and to his hand, loosening his grip on the sink and letting go entirely, turning to face her completely when she gently guided him to do so. Then she was moving her face to his hands, holding him gently, encouraging him to focus on her which he did so easily. Like she was his safe haven, his saving grace, his anchor, his light in the dark - because she was. She was all of those things and more.

He visibly relaxed in her hands and let out the breath he'd been holding and he closed his eyes for a moment, the voices and unsettling images in his mind having faded thanks to her. "I'm sorry." He murmured, shame in his voice and in his eyes when he opened them again, but there was also relief and warmth present in them, love and adoration, as well. All for the girl in front of him. "I thought," he sighed, shaking his head. "I thought I was ready, 'Ria. I mean, I... I am." He quickly corrected. "I am, I promise, but it's just... it's real today, you know?" Because he was going to be there.

When he pressed his forehead to hers, her hands came up to cup his face and she leaned in to press the gentlest of kisses to his lips. She needed him to know he wasn't alone, at all, she was right here. She needed him to know he was strong and she needed him to have faith in himself.

"You are ready Horatio." Maria said firmly. "You are, okay, it's just like a big game okay. The nerves and everything. You've got this and I've got you." She pulled back just slightly so her eyes could meet his. Then her hands moved to his tie; she undid the button beneath the knot, then she adjusted it so it wasn't so tight and so you couldn't see the top button undone.

He hadn't changed just yet since he'd just gotten back into the bedroom after cleaning up and he became focused on her and how beautiful she looked and how lucky he was. She was, indeed, glowing, and he couldn't help but think about how... different this was vs that day in the hospital when she was looking at herself in the mirror after everything that happened. How she was smiling now, how radiant she looked. God, happiness looked beautiful on her and he silently vowed to protect that smile for as long as he lived.

He loved that she was just as excited to marry him as he was about marrying her. His heart fluttered each and every time Mrs. Caine was said out loud, whether it was said by her or someone else, and this moment was no different. "Officially". He echoed with a smile. It was the way she used that word because in every way, she was already Mrs. Caine. They were each other's in every way. His heart was entirely hers. He was hers entirely. But she did have a point about needing to figure out the surnames and his heart fluttered with each name she said out loud with his at the end, his eyes shining with unbridled joy and love and his smile growing. A chuckle fell from his lips at the last one and he kissed her shoulder when she said he was going to be amazing with him. "And you, sweetheart, are already amazing with him." He praised her right back, tearing his eyes from hers only so he could look down at the bump for a brief moment.

"As for the names," he hummed thoughtfully. "I think it's really what you'd prefer. If you'd like to keep the Bloomsco name. You've gone by it for so long now, I wouldn't want to take that from you." Well, not that he'd be taking it away. She'd always be a Bloomsco, that would never change. "Though I suppose it would be a lot to write down whenever you're filling out any kind of paperwork." Horatio teased with a grin, pausing as he really thought it over, his expression softening.

It was interesting, the relationship people had with names. When Maria had talked to Harvey about it, he'd always said it just 'felt right' to be a Bloomsco rather than a West.

Now, Maria supposed, for her and Maddie and Nicky, it felt right to be a Caine. Their names with Caine after them just sounded right. Correct. Like it had always meant to be that way.

Maria had her hand on his, her fingers tracing little swirls on the soft skin of his hand. She looked up at him in the mirror but then turned her head to look at his face.

"Caine, Caine feels right, correct." She told him. "Maria Alice Caine, Maddie Trudy Caine, Nicky Horatio Caine." She turned slightly, then, only slightly, though because the bump was starting to put more and more distance between them when they were facing each other.

And only after he received her answer did his lips return to her neck, asking how many kids they'd have in the future. Which she reminded him of how they'd already discussed this that morning in her kitchen and he growled against her skin at the memory. That had certainly been a morning to remember. He could barely walk into her kitchen now without thinking about that. "Eight." He echoed with a grin, pulling back to look at her again, wetting his lips with his tongue. "Mm, would take a lot of practice, but I'm definitely not complaining about that." He chuckled, what with them being very active. They were insatiable, really. They couldn't get enough of each other. "Let's see... four girls and four boys?" He started to glide his hand up and down her stomach underneath the blanket, his touch featherlight. "Or... six girls and 2 boys?" He paused. "That would be a lot of girls."

"I don't think get to choose what you have." Maria chuckled. "As long as they were happy and healthy I wouldn't care if it was all boys." Maria told him. "Although I would love just one little girl, who would hopefully be into girly things for at very least some of her life." Maria sighed, and when his fingers ghosted over her stomach, she sucked in a breath.

"Okay, if we could choose..... maybe 5 girls, three boys." Maria told him. "I don't know why, I just like the sound of it. What about you? What would you have?"

When he said there wouldn't be enough room for books Maria huffed.

"You do need her-" Maria agreed with him. She didn't tell him about how Eve would text her when he was having a particularly bad day, letting her know that chocolate and tea might be needed. Gareth didn't need to know about that, and he definitely didn't need to know about the pictures Eve sometimes sent her when he was looking particularly handsome under certain lighting.

"I know you won't, but I think I'm right. If there is a mole we don't want to do anything to tip them off. This way we have everything we need and all that other stuff is put back where it belongs. If anyone asks about it being in it's proper place I can say I was tidying. Which is believable."

"Next time we have more than just a fleeting fifteen minutes for a brew, I'll pull them out." Maria told him. "I'd drop them at your desk but I don't want to distract you from your very serious job." Because Maria could absolutely see him getting lost in all those glorious bits of history for hours on end.

"No."

His face fell. She really denied him a kiss. Even with that puppy-eyed look of his, she denied him. God, she was getting so much better at resisting him and despite the feigned disappointment within him, he couldn't help but laugh because this was all incredibly amusing and entertaining. He'd just... need to do better, try harder, but at the same time he was admittedly proud of her. Proud of her staying strong and resisting his advances and he couldn't deny finding it sexy, too. She was playing hard to get and it was a challenge Horatio very much enjoyed, but the other reason it was sexy was because, well, he loved and admired how seriously she took her studies. Their studies. She was so goddamn smart and dedicated and god, he loved her. He loved her so fucking much and it was taking everything in him not to pull her back down onto her lap and tell her that.

But instead of putting distance between them, instead of punishing him by walking away, she does the complete opposite. She leaned over the table right next to him, so close that when she turned her head to look at him, her face was right there and it was taking everything in him not to kiss her right then and there. Made evident in the way his gaze flashed to her lips while licking his own, but he was trying his best to behave.

His eyes followed hers to the book, then, his brow arched when she mentioned him reading and answering the questions like she was going to propose something, like there was an incentive coming. He waited with bated breath, his heart starting to thunder inside of his chest, and when she turned to look at him again, she leaned in like she was about to kiss him and he mirrored her movement to meet her halfway, but then she stopped when their lips were only inches apart and a quiet whine left him.

"I'll sit right here, on this table, and let you have your fill."

Fuck.

Admittedly, it had taken her a little longer than it seemed to take Horatio. Horatio 'insatiable' Caine she'd started to call him in her head. During finals, graduation, the basketball games. Maria had never really stopped things from happening. Carried away, caught up and maybe because it was relief from the fullness of both their heads. She very very rarely resisted him and even now, if things weren't so important she wouldn't.

For Maria, the biggest bargaining chips weren't sex. Generally speaking they were books, food, the ability to learn. For Horatio though, for Horatio exactly what she'd just offered was the biggest bargaining chip, or rather the absence of it. She was learning the best way to get him to focus, when he was distracted, was the promise of something better to come. She wondered if it would fade as they got older, as he got older. As she got older, as her body would change with the children they were going to have. Would he still desire her so much that she could use the idea of him touching her as incentive when they were in their fifties?

Maria pulled her head back into the present. Not particularly wanting to think about that right now. About if he'd still love her then or if he'd be bored of her by then. After all that's what people kept saying, it was always in work, it was always strangers. Never her family, never him. Some of the people in her class. It was always the same 'ah young love', 'you're only young', 'we'll see', 'married! But you're so young!'. To the point it had actually started to get in her head a little.

It was only when she was away from him that the thoughts took hold, when she took one look at his face again, like now, they vanished into nothingness and she felt both guilt and annoyance at herself for ever questioning this, for ever questioning if she'd trapped him somehow.

She turned away from him and started on dinner, cutting, slicing, getting the big pot out to put everything into so it could simmer on the stove. She hummed the whole time she was doing it, singing to herself softly until his voice cut through it.

When Maddie asked if she could go, Horatio had been about to say yes, but Maria answered before him and he quickly closed his mouth, pressing his lips together in a thing line. He was glad she answered first, because he hadn't thought about how busy it might be and she had a point in saying it was an event for grown-ups, considering it was all about weddings. Seeing Maddie all sad and disappointed, though, made him sad and after Maria helped cheer her up by agreeing to still let her pick things, Horatio smiled and added, "we'll also take pictures for you. How does that sound?" He asked, figuring they were going to be taking pictures anyway if they saw something they liked and they could show them to Maddie.

That seemed to cheer her up even more, nodding excitedly. Horatio chuckled and moved over to her, cleaning up her face with one of the wet wipes first and then gently patting it dry before tickling her neck which made her erupt into a fit of giggles. "Alright, go get your glittery pens and a coloring book. I'll finish cleaning up in here and we'll meet you in the living room." He said and Maddie instantly ran out of the kitchen which made Olive jump up onto her four little paws and down onto the floor, following Maddie.

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It was near the end of the movie that Maddie had fallen asleep. They colored for the first half hour before Horatio moved to the couch and Maddie followed, sitting in between them and snuggling with them underneath the blanket. She said something about wanting a dragon like Hiccup and minutes later, she was out. Olive, too, curled up on her lap. Maria had taken little Olive into her arms while Horatio picked Maddie up into his, carrying her into her bedroom and tucking her into bed. She let out a sleepy whine as she stirred and Horatio leaned down to press the softest of kisses to her forehead, murmuring that he loved her which she mumbled sleepily in return, making his heart swell, made it felt as warmth spread through him. After Maria set Olive down next to Maddie and said goodnight to her, he turned off the light and exited the room, telling her to head on into the bedroom while he cleaned up in the living room.

Olive pretty much jumped out of her arms and then curled up next to Maddie on the bed. They'd also bought Olive her own little cat bed for in Maddie's room and Maddie had made her a whole castle out of cardboard and glitter and bits of paper. So she had a choice.

Maria went into the bathroom to start her nighttime routine. She always had and always would be strict about her skincare routine of a night, she wasn't particularly heavy on her make-up but ever since she was a teenager she'd used mostly the same routine. First get all the make-up off with a wipe, then wash her face with whatever face wash was her flavour of the month. Then she had a variety of serums and lotions, which had grown over the years as she'd gotten older.

Then she slipped into her pajamas. Though that was getting harder and harder so at night she'd taken to wearing a nightgown. She'd bought some new maternity ones, there were comfy ones and then there were sexy ones just for Horatio but tonight was a comfy night. Not that that would stop Horatio. Maria watched herself in the mirror, smiling at how much she was glowing, at how healthy she looked, at how different this time was. At how visible and physical the difference was.

She lit up the second he was behind her and her eyes were on his, slipping only to look at his hands on the bump.