Title: Beauty By My Side
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Carlos Moreno
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 52_challenge
Prompt: 24, Beauty
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 Carlos Moreno, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Carlos looked appreciatively at Greg as his boyfriend glanced into the mirror to adjust his tie, admiring his boyfriend. They had the night off, and Carlos was taking Greg out to dinner at a nice restaurant; he wanted to show off his lover, to be seen publicly with him.

It didn't matter to him that hardly anyone he knew ever went to the place where he was planning to take Greg; it was enough for him to be able to show the word that he was in love, that he was with someone he was proud of. Being able to do so meant a lot to him.

None of the women -- or men, for that matter -- who he'd dated in the past had ever seemed to think that it was important for them to spend time going out on dates, but Carlos thought it was romantic. He wanted this new relationship to have as much romance as possible.

There was something about Greg that brought out the romantic in him, he told himself with an inward smile. No one else had ever made him feel the way this man did; Greg had a way of bringing sunshine into a room just by entering it, spreading happiness all around him.

Did everyone else feel the same way about Greg? he wondered. Probably not; the people at the crime lab, while they were obviously friendly with Greg, didn't seem to appreciate what Carlos saw as some of his finger qualities. Well, he appreciated them.

He still could hardly believe that someone as beautiful as Greg was still single. Why hadn't anyone snapped him up already? Carlos had hardly been able to fathom the fact that someone as gorgeous as Greg had wanted him, and that they were now involved.

How had he managed to get so lucky? After his last disastrous relationship, he hadn't thought that he would want to be with anyone for a very long time. All of his passion seemed to have burnt out, leaving him feeling like an empty shell with no capacity to care about anyone.

Not that he had lost his heart to Fin, Carlos told himself with a wry smile. But he had wanted her -- at least for a while -- and he'd thought that they might end up being together permanently. He should have known that she had no such feelings for him.

That hadn't broken his heart -- but it had left him shaken, feeling that he couldn't tell whether someone actually cared about him, or was using him for physical fulfillment, as Fin had done. He had never been used and thrown away like that before.

Greg would never do something like that, he told himself. Greg was a beautiful person, both inside and out. He wasn't the kind of man who would use anyone he was involved with; if he wanted to be with someone else, if the passion died, he would be honest about it.

Not only was Greg a beautiful person on the inside, his glowing good looks matched that inner beauty. Carlos was having a hard time taking his eyes off his boyfriend; he couldn't stop staring at Greg, imagining what they would do when they got back home tonight ....

It was a good thing they both had the night off work, he told himself, a smile curving his lips. Because if he had his way, they were going to be spending the night in bed, doing everything that two males could possibly do to each other -- and enjoying every moment.

But he had to put those thoughts out of his mind for now, Carlos told himself firmly, pushing the images in his mind of what would happen later tonight away from him. They were going out to dinner, he was going to show off his boyfriend to the world, and he'd enjoy every moment of that, as well.

"Ready to go, sweetheart?" he asked softly as Greg turned away from the mirror. "You don't have to worry about how you look,'" he added, his voice soft and husky. "I can tell you that you look fantastic. Every eye in the place is going to be on you."

"You look pretty great yourself," Greg told him, his gaze taking Carlos in, wandering appreciatively over his body. Carlos could feel desire rising in him again; he ruthlessly pushed it down, knowing that if he indulged that desire, they'd never make it out of the apartment.

"You're so beautiful," he said softly, raising a hand to gently brush back a few errant strands of hair that had fallen over Greg's forehead. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, but whatever it was, I hope that I keep doing it for the rest of our lives."

Greg's answer was a smile that seemed to light up the room; for just a moment, Carlos was dazzled by the beauty of that smile. If he'd had to say a word, any word, he couldn't have made himself do so. All he could do was look at his boyfriend, struck speechless.

Then his arms were around Greg and they were in each other's arms; his lips were on Greg's, his hands moving down the other man's sides to rest on his hips, the warmth of Greg's body against his own. All he could think of was kissing Greg, holding him, loving him.

For a fleeting moment, he considered not going out tonight, just staying home and making love to Greg all night. Stripping his clothes off, laying him down on the bed, and losing himself in that gorgeous body, in Greg's kiss, his touch, the two of them locking the world away.

But he drew back from the kiss reluctantly, giving Greg a smile before brushing his lips gently across the other man's one last time. "If we keep that up, we won't be going out. I'll be takng you to bed instead. And we've been planning to go out all week."

"We don't have to go out," Greg told him, tilting his head to the side and looking thoughtful. "But we can always make plans for when we get back home, y'know. And the anticipation only makes it more exciting when we're behind closed doors."

"That's for sure," Carlos said with a soft laugh, nodding in agreement. "So I'll take my beautiful boyfriend out to dinner, and then make love to him all night when we get back home. It sounds like a win/win situation to me. There's no way either of us can lose, with that plan."

Greg laughed softly, moving away from Carlos towards the bedroom door. "If we don't hurry up, we're going to lose our reservations. C'mon, let's get out of here and go to dinner. I'm starving. And not just for food," he added, his dark eyes sparkling. "The sooner we go out ...."

"The sooner we'll get back home," Carlos finished for him. His laugh joined his boyfriend's as he followed Greg out of the bedroom and down the hall, more than ready for their evening to begin. He couldn't wait to show off his gorgeous boyfriend to the world.

And he also couldn't wait to get back home, to be alone with Greg, and to have that beauty all to himself. He smiled at the thought; he hoped that Greg was prepared for a long night ahead of them, and sleeping in late tomorrow morning. He didn't doubt that they'd both be exhausted.

It was past time to get the evening under way, Carlos told himself as he picked up his car keys and followed Greg to the front door. He intended to enjoy every second of the coming evening -- and with such a beauty by his side, he had no doubt that he would.

***