Title: Paradise in His Arms
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Carl Hickman/Louis Daniel
Fandom: Crossing Lines
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 499
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.

***

Life wouldn't always be paradise, but that didn't matter.

Louis smiled as he turned to the hotel room, away from the window where he'd been looking out at the beach for the last time before they left.

They were returning to Paris this afternoon, to start their new life as a married couple. Their honeymoon had been paradise, but now, they had to return to the real world, and think about going back to work. They'd agreed that work would be a priority.

Neither of them wanted to leave the team, or stop what they were doing, even though they knew that the life they led was dangerous.

It was a part of them both, and they couldn't give it up.

The life they led was one that they had both worked hard for -- and it was a life that had brought them together, as well. Louis couldn't see either of them without it.

Their jobs didn't define who they were, but Louis knew that working in law enforcement was important to both Carl and himself. They had talked extensively about giving up that life, but they had come to the conclusion that something would be missing from their lives if they did.

So they were going to keep working with the team, even though they both knew that they would be putting their lives at risk with every new case.

Still, it was something that he and Carl didn't want to give up. They did some good in the world. They helped people. And in the end, that was the important thing.

They didn't have to give up their work to make their marriage work. They had both known that their work would be a constant in their lives when they had begun their relationship, and if they were lucky, working together would add to their relationship, not detract from it.

"Are you ready to go, babe?" Carl asked him, looking up from the suitcase he'd just closed and locked. "I love it here, but I'm ready to get back home."

Louis couldn't help but smile at the eagerness in his husband's voice.

"More than ready," he assured his husband, glancing at his watch to reassure himself that they weren't past their checkout time. "I want to get home to Paris."

"I can't wait to start our life together," Carl murmured, moving across the room and wrapping his arms around his husband's waist, pulling Louis close against him. "It's going to be a great life, Louis. Now that we have each other, I think we can do anything."

"Indeed we can, my love," Louis whispered, closing his eyes as his lips met Carl's for a passionate, steamy kiss that almost made him wish they could stay here longer.

That kiss told him that paradise wasn't found on a honeymoon in the tropics.

Paradise was found right here in his husband's arms, no matter where they might be.

There was no other place he wanted to be.

***