Title: Sunglasses Of Justice II
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Horatio/sunglasses
Rating: G
Series: 1) Sunglasses Of Justice
Summary: What follows is the continuing adventures of Horatio/SOJ OMGOTP4EVA!!1!!!!@. I cannot believe you people are actually reading these.

It had to be done.

As long as she thought Madison was Horatio's daughter everything was fine, because she kept her distance and he had Horatio all to himself. It was for the best, because they worked better when it was just the two of them. But then she learned the truth – he's sure Horatio didn't tell her, because he's always with Horatio so he would have heard.

Maybe she went to see Suzie, to find out the truth for herself. Or maybe Suzie went to her -- it doesn't really matter, because she found out somehow and that left him to take care of the problem. Horatio wouldn't understand, so he keeps the truth to himself. He doesn't say a word when they pull the coffin out of the hearse, doesn't flinch when Horatio reaches up to adjust his balance on the bridge of Horatio's nose. And he regrets the necessity, but they have a job to do and he couldn't stand by and allow Horatio to be distracted.

It was easier than he expected it to be. He feels a little guilty for keeping quiet while Horatio and the rest of the team tried to determine the cause of death, but he didn't have a choice. In the end they called it spontaneous human combustion. Speed argued that it wasn't scientifically warranted, and for a few agonizing moments he thought he might have to deal with Speed the same way he dealt with Yelina. But Horatio just shook his head a little sadly and reached up, absently caressing his frame while he explained to Speed that sometimes there just weren't any answers.

But he knew all about fragile human skin – Horatio burns easily, after all – and it wasn't difficult to position himself just so until Yelina's skin began to burn. And he feels a little pang whenever he thinks about the fact that Horatio forgot him in Yelina's house that night, but Horatio came back for him in the morning – came back and found the body, and that's punishment enough for carelessness.

He prefers not to think about that night at all, about lying forgotten on the sideboard while Horatio and Yelina sipped red wine and talked in hushed voices about Madison. He doesn't like to remember the way Yelina cried, the way she leaned into Horatio or the way his lips brushed over her forehead when she finally fell asleep. He prefers not to think about after, a long night spent waiting for the sun to rise and when dawn finally shone through the skylights in Yelina's living room, he saw his opportunity.

There's an undeniable spark of pride at the memory of how easy it was to harness a single sunbeam, but he ignores it because this was never about pride. It's about necessity, about keeping Horatio focused on the greater good. That's been his job since they started their lives together, and he has no intention of letting someone like Yelina get in the way.

He watches silently as the coffin is lowered into the ground, shielding the hot tears he feels just behind his lenses. It's just another part of his job – keeping Horatio's private pain out of view, making sure no one ever sees any of his weaknesses. And Horatio has weaknesses, but as long as he's around no one will ever know.

Next story in series - Sunglasses Of Justice III