Title: Couldn't Stay Away
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Carl Hickman/Louis Daniel
Fandom: Crossing Lines
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 482
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Carl Hickman or Louis Daniel, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Damn, it felt cold in here. And lonely.

Carl turned over in bed, sighing in frustration and wishing that he could punch his pillow -- or throw it against the wall. He didn't want to be in this room, sleeping across the hall from Louis. He wanted to have Louis in his arms, to share the same bed.

Well, not that he was doing much sleeping, he thought wryly. He had thought he was tired, but now that he was here in bed, he was wide awake.

He was fairly sure that if he was in the bed in the room across the hall, with Louis lying next to him, he would be able to sleep like a baby. After he got his fill of watching Louis sleep, that is. He might just stay up all night doing that.

He literally ached to hold Louis.

But he couldn't simply get up and go into Louis' bedroom; he couldn't just pull back the covers and slide into bed beside the other man, as much as he wanted to. That would be an invasion of Louis' privacy; he had to stay where he was.

When Louis was ready for Carl to come to his bed, then he would say so. He didn't think that would take long; Louis simply needed to be ready to move forward, and he obviously wasn't yet. Carl had to be patient, to give him time.

He loved Louis. He wasn't going to push him into something that he wasn't ready for; that wouldn't be fair to either of them. But he wasn't going to lie here in a cold, lonely bed all night, not when the man he wanted with all of his heart and soul was just across the hall from him.

Kicking back the covers, Carl got out of bed, moving as quietly as he could. He opened the door and went out into the hallway, raising a brow when he saw that Louis' bedroom door was open. So, it appeared that Louis wasn't trying to shut himself away.

He wasn't going to be allowed to do that. Not any more.

Taking a deep breath, he went into the room, standing by the doorway to let his eyes adjust to the light. He could hear Louis turn over; he wondered if the other man knew that he was in the room, if Louis somehow sensed his presence there.

Carl made his way across the room to the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding under them. He was no longer cold, not with the warmth of Louis' body beside his own.

Louis turned toward him; even in the near-darkness, Carl could see the surprise on his handsome features. "I couldn't stay away from you another minute," he murmured, wrapping his arms around Louis and pulling him closer.

Suddenly, the night was no longer cold -- or lonely.

***