Title: Beauty and the Geek
By: Callista_Mythol
Pairing: David/Nick
Rating: R
Summary: The typical 'Barbie' girl has met her match.

***

David Hodges wasn't known to have a sunny bright attitude (the closest thing to him being happy usually occurring at someone else's misfortune) and it was safe to say that right then his reputation rung true.

He glared viciously at the blonde on the other side of the glass, tittering away like that ridiculous talking Barbie doll that Ronnie's youngest daughter had and practically growled when the 'life-size Barbie' giggled again and slapped a hand to one Nick Stokes's chest.

Granted, it wasn't exactly his place to get jealous over some bimbo flirting with the CSI (a lowly labrat? Preposterous!), but could he really help it? Didn't anyone tell this young naïve new lab-tech that David Hodges, bastard extradionaire, was sporting one fierce and almost obsessive crush on the Texan CSI she was currently trying to spread her legs for?

...Probably not, but then again not a lot of people within the lab knew about said crush and those that did had been severely warned that should his little secret happen to get broadcasted without his say-so then a painfully long torture session would come their way, one involving sharp tools and a tube shoved in their mouth with a never-ending supply of Sara Sidle's coffee.

Amazing how the latter seemed to be the most effective.

His fingers tightened on the test-tube he was holding as another high-pitched giggle reached his ears. He glanced up again at the couple outside his lab and he happily noted that Nick was looking rather bemused by the girl's apparent hysterics over his comments. Looking back down at his tube with determination David could hear a commotion and not wanting to look up in case Nick had finally cottoned onto her game and was vigorously taking her against his window (and how inconsiderate would that be?) he forced his hand to remain steady as he prepared his latest test.

"Obvious much?"

David had always prided himself on being aware of his surroundings, of never being caught unawares but this one time it took everything inside of him not to let out a high-pitched squeak and jump a mile. Whipping his head round he glared viciously at his intruder and Archie grinned cheekily back at him.

"What do you want Johnson? Can't you see I'm being very important and doing my job...like you should be doing?" he said and Archie shrugged as he lifted the mug in his hand in a mini salute.

"Coffee break," he said simply before making himself comfortable and watching the scene in front of him, "Jeez, is that girl blind? Can't she see that Nick wants to be anywhere but there?"

David looked back up at Nick and the blonde again but merely frowned before looking back at Archie.

"Because having a hot young woman talking to him is such a hardship?"

Archie looked at him then with raised eyebrows, looked back at Nick then back at David again.

"Dude, that is an uncomfortable man out there. Can't you see it?"

Sighing David turned his gaze back to the pair and really looked this time. Whether it was simply fate or maybe Nick had felt more eyes on him the Texan then turned and locked eyes with him. David almost grinned at what he saw there.

The man was begging with his eyes only for David to rescue him from this persistent blonde.

He quirked his eyebrow in question and watched as the brown eyes got more pleading in answer. Making a show of sighing, rolling his eyes and getting up he turned his head away very briefly so Nick couldn't see the smile that twitched at his lips.

"Off to rescue your true love David? How sweet," Archie teased and grinned widely when he received a scowl in return.

"Archie, if you aren't out of my lab by time I'm done rescuing another poor defenceless CSI then I'm telling Greg about that lady Klingon that turned out to be a ladyboy Klingon you hooked up with at your latest convention meaning the entire lab will know by the end of shift, understood?"

He'd never seen a man move so fast.

Smirking to himself David then poked his head out of his lab door and caught Nick's eye from behind the girl. Nick looked so relieved it was almost funny. He waited until he was at least a foot from the girl before he cleared his throat quite obviously.

Barbie simply continued talking.

Both Nick and David raised their eyebrows in confusion before David tried again.

Still, Barbie continued to flirt, badly.

David then loudly, and significantly coughed into his hand and bit back a grin when 'Barbie' whipped her head round and glared at him.

"Do you mind?" she said tersely and David stared at her in a bored manner.

"That you're obstructing an investigator from getting to my lab after I paged him? Yes. That I have been forced to watch a bad representation of some sort of mating ritual for the past," he checked his watch, "fifteen minutes? Definetly. But do I mind that I coughed at you when you failed to notice my more subtle methods of grabbing your attention, as short spanned as it may be? Then no, I don't mind at all."

'Barbie' (whose name actually appeared to be Linda from her nametag but in no way was as appropriate) blinked in surprise but David managed to catch a brief glimpse of Nick covering his grin with the back of his hand. He determinedly ignored the butterflies currently residing in his stomach from such an image.

"Now, if you're quite finished mauling my CSI with your over-priced press on nails then I would suggest you find yourself making like the wind towards your actual workspace and let the rest of us more seasoned techs get on with our jobs. Stokes, results," and then he turned and re-entered his lab with his intestines in knots and his heart doing the conga.

He deliberately sat himself back on his stool calmly and then took his time looking up when the door opened admitting one Nick Stokes.

"That was harsh man," Nick said teasingly and David arched an eyebrow at him.

"Stokes, you'd be standing out there for God knows how long and that's because you're a nice guy...'nice guys' can't get rid of unwanted attention, they stand and listen to the door to door salesman, they don't hang up on the call centres and they don't know how to say no to a girl who is interested in them when they themselves are so clearly not. Believe me, I only expressed what you were thinking."

Nick laughed then and leaned his hip against the counter as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"She seemed okay," he said, probably feeling that he should at least try and defend her a little.

"Sure, if you like breasts that don't move from the silicon and hair that smells of the bleach that got it that colour. Personally, I like to be able to actually sustain some form of conversation that doesn't involve an excessive amount of false giggling. Besides, I do recall someone giving me the puppy dog eyes hoping to be rescued."

Nick laughed again and held up his hands in a surrendering motion.

"Alright, you got me. She just wasn't hearing me when I said I had to get to your lab, said something about having honey rather than vinegar," Nick had pushed away from his leaning post by this point and was moving towards David to take the results offered.

David cleared his throat and looked down at the results trying to ignore their new closer proximity but he couldn't help it, Nick's warm body was making his arm tingle pleasantly.

"Which is probably true," he said, his voice a little hoarser than before, "but unfortunately 'honey' can't tell you that the paint chips you found at the scene were from a Mercedes, Azurite blue at that."

Nick continued to silently read before he absent-mindedly spoke as he scanned the sheet.

"I find honey too sweet anyway."

David scratched at his chin as he glanced away, downright refusing to believe that the warmth on his cheeks could be due to the fact he was blushing. Blushing? Little girls and pretty boys on those ridiculous Japanese cartoons Archie loved blushed, not he, David Hodges, trace tech and self asserted sarcastic bastard to boot.

"I'm sure you're one of a minority in that opinion then Stokes, most men would love to have something involving both the Barbie doll back there and honey to play with," he said instead and made to simply glance at Nick but blanched a second later when he found warm brown eyes already on him.

"I'm not most men," Nick said with a faint smile and David couldn't make himself drop his eyes despite the red flashing 'alert!' sign in his mind's eye. If he listened really clearly he could practically hear the sirens going.

"It's Nick, by the way," Nick continued and David frowned in confusion, "Not 'Stokes'."

"You call me Hodges," David said weakly and Nick grinned as he looked down rubbing at the back of his neck slightly.

"I'll call you David if you like," he said honestly when he looked back up and David was beginning to feel light-headed. Why didn't life prepare you for things like this? Maybe give you a warning when you first wake up, some little voice going 'Listen up bud. Today? Is going to be one weird fucking day so buck up and take it like a man!'

As it was, he was mentally floundering.

"I...uh..." David wanted to slap himself upside the head. 'Say something you idiot! Something requiring a sentence and possibly eligible to those around you!'

Nick was watching him carefully now and David tried to get his mouth moving when, as though someone had mentally kicked him in the backside, he suddenly spoke, loud enough to make Nick jump slightly.

"Sure! I mean..." his mind started flailing once more, "I...have all you CSI's been forced on some communications programme? You know, 'Working together for a better tomorrow' and all that?"

"You're cute when you panic," Nick said instead chuckling slightly and David's eyes widened.

"What?"

"I said you're cute when you panic."

"No I heard that, I was just a little surprised."

"Why?"

"Have you looked up the definition of cute Nick?"

Nick smirked and blinked at him significantly. David, starting to get his feet under him again crossed his arms over his chest and turned to face Nick more face on, the other man moving to imitate him.

"Cute, according to the rest of the mundane and sane population, is a kitten. It's a puppy with over-sized paws or a chick. Cute is a little kid singing for their Grandmother or some teddy bear dressed up in a mini outfit. I however fail to fall under any such definition and therefore am forced to bring such an observation to your attention."

Nick remained silent as he watched him amusedly. David, whilst trying to keep his bearings, was mentally going over what could've possibly changed in the time from him glaring at a supposed heterosexual encounter to him finding himself being called cute.

"Do you want to go for breakfast after shift?"

In David's mind everything screeched to a halt and his eyes widened minutely as he took in the still calm and collected manner of one Nick Stokes.

"Sorry?" was all he could manage.

"Breakfast? After shift, you and me? I'll pay if you like," Nick said.

David scrubbed a hand down over his face and then moved to cross his arms again. He really, really could've done with that warning this morning.

"I'm curious Nick, you do know you're talking to me right? You haven't hit your head and you currently think you're in the DNA lab talking with Wendy or anything are you?"

"I know I'm talking to one David Hodges in the Trace lab," Nick confirmed and David blinked again.

"But I'm not a woman."

"Hmm, and to think someone paid to find what others don't failed to miss that."

"Am I sensing a hint or sarcasm, because that would make me very proud of you right now."

Nick laughed and stepped forwards enough to be more in David's personal space. The butterflies from before started up their barn dance once more and David resisted the urge to step back or glance around to see who was watching just in case it shattered this moment he had both desperately wanted and feared. He wasn't ready for this.

"Nick..."

"Just one breakfast, then you can over-analyse it," Nick said quickly and he seemed to be losing some of his cool as his eyes turned pleading and his hand twitched as though to reach forwards. David swallowed and looked down at the hand before he closed his eyes. He inhaled, exhaled, then looked up again into earnest brown eyes.

"Okay," he said quietly and had to resist the urge to grin when Nick offered him one of his own.

"Okay," Nick repeated just as quietly and made to push away but paused for a moment, turned and then quickly brushed his lips over David's cheek. For a man his lips were surprisingly soft and David felt his jaw slacken slightly as Nick pulled back blushing and smiling shyly. Then the Texan winked, turned and left the room with one last glance over his shoulder.

"See you after shift."

David nodded bemused and tracked Nick past the glass before his eyes drifted to two separate things; One was of Archie Johnson, Bobby Dawson and Wendy Simmons all watching him with their jaws dropped (Wendy with a fork ladled with some salad half way to her mouth) in shock and the other was of 'Barbie', who'd obviously returned for another go, looking at him equally as shocked but with more anger in her eyes.

David, finally shaking himself out of his dumbstruck stupor, raised one hand, smirked and then waggled his fingers in a greeting towards her.

Beauty: 0 – Geek: 1.



finite

***