Title: Cold Inside
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Spencer Reid
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 9, Cold
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Spencer Reid, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg sat down on the couch in his living room, wishing that Spencer was still here with him. It had been a particularly rough shift at the crime lab, and he needed someone to talk to, but he knew that his boyfriend was on a case with the BAU and didn't dare call him.

These kinds of separations were something that he would have to get used to, he told himself sternly. Spencer couldn't be here with him all the time; he had a job in DC, responsibilities that he couldn't back away from. He was lucky to be here as much as he was.

He needed Spencer to be here. He needed to not be alone.

Maybe he should call Nick to come over and keep him company, Greg thought, glancing towards his land line phone on the coffee table. But somehow, that didn't feel right.

He didn't need the company of anyone he worked with. He needed the company of the man he loved, the person he trusted more than anyone in the world. He needed to be close to Spencer, to feel that he was safe and protected .... and loved.

At the moment, he just felt cold. Greg crossed his arms over his chest, rubbing at the goose pimples that had suddenly formed on his arms. It was chilly outside, yes, but the heat was on in his apartment, so feeling this cold had nothing to do with the weather.

He was cold because he was so far away from Spencer.

He wasn't just physically cold -- he felt cold inside, as though he'd been cut off from everyone he cared for, and who cared for him. That was ridiculous, he told himself firmly. He had good friends here in Vegas, people who cared about him. And Spencer didn't stop caring just because he wasn't here.

Greg took a deep breath and closed his eyes, trying to fight back the panic that he could feel rising within him. Foyet wasn't going to come back. Foyet didn't know where he lived. He was safe here; he didn't need for his boyfriend to be with him to feel safe in his own home.

He wasn't going to let himself feel intimidated, or give in to the coldness that was slowly seeping through him. He wasn't going to give in to fear.

That was much more easily said than done.

Slowly, Greg got to his feet to walk down the hallway to his bedroom. He would put on a sweater, and hope that it helped to dissipate the coldness he felt. But somehow, he knew that no amount of warm clothing would be able to melt away the coldness that was inside him.

***