Title: He's Like the Sun
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Carl Hickman/Louis Daniel
Fandom: Crossing Lines
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 479
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.

***

Louis looked up as Carl came into his home office, sitting down next to him.

He couldn't help but smile; being with Carl always made him happy, even if they were sitting on opposite sides of the room, each busy with their own personal matters.

Just having Carl in his presence made him feel light and happy, in a way that he never had with anyone else. It had never been that way with Rebecca; she had always made him feel as though he had to stop whatever he was doing and pay attention to her.

Carl never gave him that feeling. Carl made him feel joyous, not stressed. Carl had no set expectations of him, and that was how it should be.

Carl was the sun that his life was starting to revolve around.

"What was it that Dorn wanted to talk to you about a few days ago?" Carl asked, his voice carefully neutral and modulated. "I'm assuming it was about us."

Louis sighed before nodding slowly; he should have known that he couldn't keep anything from Carl. This man managed to see everything; those sharp eyes took in all and missed nothing. And he he had to realize that Michael was uneasy about their new relationship.

"Yes, that was it," he admitted, turning to look at Carl. "I told him that this wasn't going to change the team dynamics in any way."

"He thinks this is going to be like you and him, or like what happened between you and me before," Carl muses, shaking his head. "He thinks you'll run away again."

Louis didn't like admitting it, but Carl was right. Reluctantly, he nodded, heaving a sigh and leaning back to look over at Carl. "Yes, that's what he thinks," he said, his voice very soft. "But it won't happen, Carl. That was the past. This is the present."

Carl smiled at him, then leaned forward to brush his lips over Louis' in a sweet, gentle kiss. "I know that, baby. I know you're older and wiser now."

Louis could only nod, the kiss catching him off-guard.

How could this man not be the sun in his sky, the bright light that had managed to shine into all the dark corners of his life? Carl understood him in a way that no one else ever had.

Carl moved closer to him on the couch, one arm sliding around Louis' waist to pull him close against the warmth of Carl's body. He seemed to radiate warmth; Louis couldn't help gravitating to him, turning his face towards Carl as flowers turned towards the sun.

When their lips met, his arms moved around Carl's neck to pull his lover even closer to him, his own body feeling as though he was melting into Carl's arms.

He was like the sun, and Louis couldn't turn away from that brightness.

***