Title: The Bitter With the Sweet
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Steve McGarrett & past Nick/Greg
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Hawaii Five-0
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 20, Bittersweet
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Steve McGarrett, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg sighed as he curled up on the couch in the living room, closing his eyes and letting his thoughts go back over the years when he had been a CSI in Las Vegas. There was so much to remember about it, so much that had been good, along with the bad times.

The bad times were starting to fade away, but somehow, Nick's letter had brought them all back in a rush. He didn't want to think about those times; he wanted to forget them.

He wanted to forget how his relationship with Nick had turned sour, and how he'd felt that he had to leave Vegas and start fresh, somewhere far away. He'd managed to do just that -- and now, Nick was coming here, to make it all come roaring back to life.

This wasn't going to end well. It couldn't.

Greg was sure that Nick and Steve would meet if Nick came here; he would feel that he had no choice but to introduce them. He knew that they could both behave civilly, but he was sure that Nick would spend most of his time here trying to convince him to come back to Vegas.

Even if he felt that it was an option -- which he didn't -- he would never go back. Nick would expect him to fall back into their old relationship, when Nick had always put work and ambition first, and Greg a distant second. He was never going to be treated like that again.

Maybe Nick realized that he'd made a mistake, but it was far too late for a do-over. Greg had moved on; he'd gotten over the heartbreak of knowing that it was over between him and Nick, and he'd found someone better. He was never going to give Steve up.

There were so many bittersweet memories in Vegas, memories that he didn't want to embrace. He would hold them at arm's length, and try to remember only the good times, not the bad. He had to leave all of that behind, and throw himself into this new life he'd made for himself.

He had to take the bitter with the sweet, and let those memories stay in the past.

If Nick couldn't accept that, then he had no business even coming here. He apparently thought that he could talk Greg into coming back, but that wasn't possible. He was happier than he'd ever been, and he had no intention of throwing that happiness away.

Would it be good to see Nick again? In some ways, yes, it would, Greg thought, heaving a sigh. And in others, it would be the most awkward situation he'd ever been in.

Seeing Nick again would be bittersweet, Greg decided, but he could deal with it. He just hoped that Nick would either decide not to come, or that he would leave quickly once he knew that he wouldn't get what he'd wanted -- though he doubted that would happen.

***