Two Esposito/Ryan fluff (ish) fics...because I kept yelling at the boys to freaking hug each other in last night's (4/19/2010) Esposito centric episode "Den of Thieves"

#1 "Where's Esposito?" Ryan's voice, filled to the brink with urgency and rage, caused Holliwell's breath to catch in his already dry throat. He jerked his head sideways, indicating a room a few feet down the hall and off to the right, wincing as the uniforms cuffed him. Ryan released the white knuckled hold he had on the man's sweat soaked jacket and tore off down the marble lined hallway, Castle hot on his heels. The door burst open under the onslaught of Kevin's foot, and he charged in with his gun drawn, only to find Esposito supporting Thornton's head. "Shit, Javi…thought you'd been shot…" Ryan dialed for an ambulance, relief evident in his eyes as he and Castle dropped down to their knees. As soon as they were sure that Ike wasn't going to leave them in the near future, Ryan surged forward, gripping Esposito in a crushing embrace. "Thought I'd lost you…" he huffed into Esposito's neck, trying to stave off the tears he knew were coming and reveling in the feeling of Esposito's even breathing. "Nah Bro…I'm afraid you're stuck with me..." Esposito scrunched his fingers urgently into the leather of Ryan's jacket as if holding on for dear life. "I'll be with you 'til the wheels fall off…"

#2 "He killed my partner!" Esposito's sudden, aggressive lunge at Cana took everyone in the bullpen by surprise. It was only Ryan's quick reflexes that stopped with suspect from sustaining any harm. "Let me go, Kev…" The hiss in Esposito's voice was chilling, but Ryan didn't release his grip. "No." this simple statement caught the angry detective off guard. The uniforms took this lull in the action to speedily haul the suspect away, followed closely by Esposito's angry, boring eyes. The gentle squeeze of Ryan's hand on his shoulder brought him back down to earth with a shuddering sigh, signaling tears. Beckett read Esposito's face quickly and grabbed Castle's arm, dragging him from the room with no word of protest. Demming caught the hint as well and followed, muttering something about needing fresh coffee. Only once they were alone did Esposito allow his angry tears to gush out, leaning with his face buried into Ryan's shoulder, masking his pain from anyone who might pass through the room. All Ryan could do was pat his friend's back in a soothing manner while all the anguish poured out of the man in front of him. They stood like that for several minutes until Esposito was able to stop his tears with a few hitching breaths. No words were spoken as Ryan offered Esposito a tissue from a box on someone's nearby desk so he could wipe his eyes. Esposito took it with a hoarse "thanks" before gripping Ryan's dry shoulder in silent appreciation. Ryan nodded, offering a comforting grin. Esposito sniffed and dropped his hand from his friend's shoulder before heading towards the precinct doors, mouthing something about needing fresh air. Ryan let him go, knowing that his partner needed space, but ready to join him if needed.