Title: Close Call
Author: Carina Scott
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Genre: Slash
Rating: FRAO
Pairings: Warrick/Gil
Summary: Gil makes an accusation, but he's not the only one dealing with the fall-out.
Spoilers: All Seasons

~*~

Gil Grissom had to admit he was being a world-class jerk. Warrick had just stalked from their apartment after telling him as much.

He knew it was true, but he couldn't help it.

Just two months ago Nick had been taken. Kidnapped and buried alive. The whole team had been in panic mode, working as hard as humanly possible to find him. And they had. Almost too late, but ultimately they had found him alive.

And that had only been the beginning of Nick's journey to recovery.

To say Nick was in a fragile state immediately following the incident would be an understatement. In fact, besides his mother and father, the only person that he truly felt comfortable around seemed to be Warrick. Not surprising considering their close friendship, but it still hurt.

Gil hated to admit it, but he was jealous. The first month he had understood completely, Nick needed Warrick, and in many ways Warrick needed tangible proof that Nick was alive, if bruised and not quite 100%, but alive all the same.

But now, two almost three months later, he was beginning to wonder if Warrick needed him at all. Gil had been invited to Nick's on numerous occasions, but he'd felt like an interloper on the few times he'd actually accepted the invitation. He tried to keep his jealousy in check most of the time, realizing he was being completely unfair to both Nick and Warrick.

However, tonight he'd let all his insecurities break through and accused Warrick of cheating on him, of caring more about Nick than he did about Gil.

The look of utter despair and hurt had quickly been displaced by the flash of anger that appeared in his lover's green eyes. But that moment, that single glimpse had been enough to let him realize his mistake.

A snarled `fuck you' had been the last thing he'd heard before Warrick slammed the door behind him. And as sad as it may seem, all Gil could think was `he's probably going to stay at Nick's tonight.'

-----

"H'lo?"

"Nick, its Gil. Is Warrick there, I really need to talk to him."

"Here? No, why would he be. What happened?"

Gil was silent for a moment, mind reeling from the revelation that Warrick wasn't at Nick's house. Sighing, "I was an idiot. We had an argument, and he walked out. I just assumed he was at your house."

"No, I talked to him earlier, but I haven't seen Rick at all today. You're sure he's not at home?"

"I called his cell but I didn't think to check there, just figured he'd be at your house. I'm sorry I woke you. I'll try him at home."

"Okay. Make sure you call me if you don't get him."

"I will. Bye Nicky."

Gil ended the call before dialing Warrick's home number groaning when it went straight to voicemail.

Grabbing his keys off the coffee table, Gil headed towards the front door. Apparently he was going to have to make a house call.

----------------------

Warrick slammed the refrigerator door open with more force than needed, anger bubbling just below the surface. Pulling out the spoiled and mostly unrecognizable food in his refrigerator, he quickly discarded them into the trash bin.

This simple task only made his heart ache even more, a cold reminder of the increasing amount of time he'd spent at Gil's home. In fact, between work, Gil, and Nick he'd only managed to find enough time to grab some clean clothes and water his plants before returning to Gil's home.

His home.

He had to admit that with each passing day, Gil's condo felt like home and his townhouse felt almost foreign. Like he was just a visitor.

`Guess I'd better get used to being here again' Warrick thought bitterly.

He knew that he had been somewhat neglecting Gil. He wasn't blind to that, but he'd attempted to include Gil in his time with Nick. But Gil never seemed comfortable when he was over at Nick's, uncharacteristically quiet, even on subjects that would normally spark some life into him. He'd assumed that Gil understood that Nick needed him. That he needed to be with Nick.

It was no secret that Warrick still felt guilty that Nick had ended up as the one in that box rather than himself. Catherine, Greg, and Nick had all tried to convince him otherwise, but he knew it would take time. The constant reassurances that Nick was recovering helped, which is why he felt compelled to be around his best friend. And Nick had confided that he felt safer with Warrick around. So spending the occasional night on Nick's lumpy couch was worth it for the peace of mind that it gave to the both of them. And Gil had always been supportive; he'd been the first to suggest Warrick spend the night at Nick's when it had become obvious that they both needed the reassurance of the other one nearby. He'd seemed to understand and support that need.

Because of this Warrick had assumed that Gil was fine with the amount of time he was spending with Nick.

Apparently he'd been wrong.

Even so, to go from feeling neglected to accusing Warrick of cheating was overboard. And Warrick felt hurt and betrayed by Gil's obvious lack of faith and trust in him.

Sighing heavily, Warrick walked into the room and flopped down on the couch, staring morosely at his dust covered coffee table, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.

Did he go back to Gil? Could he? Did Warrick really want to be with someone that thought so little of him? No matter how much he loved Gil, knowing that Gil believed him capable of such action was too much. He'd been hurt in the past, had confided as much to Gil on a painful night when they were talking about old relationships, so Gil was aware of Warrick's thoughts on infidelity. He knew the tailspin into depression that Warrick had taken after he'd found Kevin, his last serious relationship before Gil (even if it had been almost ten years ago), in bed with another man in the condo they'd shared at the time. And after Warrick had pulled himself out of that depression, he'd vowed never to give his heart away again. Obviously it was a mistake thinking that Gil was worth the risk, because he was back in the same spot. Alone and hurting. But this time the betrayal was more profound.

Not only did Gil's accusation imply that Warrick didn't care about Gil or the relationship they shared, and had shared for the last three years; it also indicated the type of friend he assumed Warrick was. Did he truly think that Warrick would take advantage of Nick? Because sleeping with his best friend when he was so obviously still in a vulnerable state, and seeking the safety net that friends were supposed to provide in times like these, would be exactly that.

Leaning back against the couch, Warrick closed his eyes, feeling the first signs of an impending headache. All this contemplating wasn't doing anything but bringing up more questions, and he already had plenty of those. Groaning, Warrick stood up and headed towards his bedroom. Maybe a shower would be a good idea.

He'd almost reached the bedroom when he heard the loud knock at the door. Instantly knowing who it was, Warrick truly contemplated ignoring it, before giving in and turning back to the living room. Crossing the living room, Warrick opened the door to find Gil standing on the other side. "What do you want, Grissom?"

----

Grissom. Gil sighed. Warrick was beyond pissed if he was back to calling him Grissom.

"Can I come in?"

"Why?"

Warrick was obviously not going to make this easy. "I need to talk to you, explain my actions, and I would rather not do it on your front step. I will, if you insist; but I'd prefer to be inside."

Gil tried not to shift as Warrick stared at him for several quiet moments, letting out a small sigh of relief when the younger man stepped aside to let him enter.

Gil walked into the living room, standing in the center of the room as he watched Warrick walk over to the couch and take a seat. As the minutes lagged on it became glaringly obvious that Gil was gonna have to start the conversation, if there was to be one.

"I was jealous."

"What?"

"I was jealous. Of you and Nick. The time you were spending with him. The bond you two have developed. I mean, you've always been close, and I've always envied that. But I didn't think you two could get any closer. But this whole ordeal made me realize how wrong I was. And rather than bringing that to you, I bottled it up, and then exploded all over you today with my jealous tirade. I'm so sorry, Ricky. I know that I hurt you, and there's no excuse. Just.. I mean - can we start over?"

"I don't think we can do that Gil."

"Oh." Gil tried not to show how much Rick's rejection hurt, but he knew he was failing. "Well, uhm, I'll just - I'll just go."

Warrick was at his side in an instant. Grabbing Gil's arm, Warrick turned the older man back towards him. "I didn't mean it that way, Gil. I meant that we can't start over until I explain a few things. Plus, I believe I owe you an apology as well."

"For what?"

Warrick led Gil over to the couch and pulled his lover down next to him. "Before you came here today, I was pissed. Beyond pissed. Just knowing that you thought that I could betray your trust, our love, or my friendship with Nick; it hurt Gil. I love you, I thought you knew that. But hearing you tell me about your reasons for the accusation; it made me realize that I haven't really shown you that in the last few months."

"But Nick's needed you."

"And so have you, baby. Nick is healing, and he doesn't need me around nearly as much. In fact he's been telling me to go home a lot more lately. But I think I've been using him as a crutch. And in doing so I've neglected you Gil. And for that I'm sorry. But don't ever, ever, accuse me of cheating on you. You know my feelings on infidelity, Gil. You know what Kevin put me through. I would never do that to you. I love you too much, and I need you too much to ever do anything to jeopardize your place in my life. Okay?"

"Okay," Gil nodded, reaching up to caress his lover's cheek, before kissing Warrick softly. Pulling back, Gil frowned, "You look like hell, my love. Have you been sleeping?"

Grinning for the first time all day, hearing the caring and concern in his lover's gentle question, Warrick shook his head. "Nick's couch is hell on my back, so I haven't really been sleeping too well. But I didn't say anything, didn't want to make Nick feel guilty or anything."

"Come on. You go grab a shower, and I'll grab some clean linen out of the closet. I'm sure that the sheets haven't been changed in months and probably smell all stale. I'll change the bed while you shower, and when you get out I'll treat you to a full body massage." Gil said, pulling Warrick off the couch.

"And once you're done, I'll give you a treat too," Warrick purred as he pulled his lover in for another kiss.

Wrapping his arms around Warrick's neck, Gil smiled, "Ricky, once I'm done with you, you'll be too boneless to treat me to anything."

"Well, there's always tomorrow."

Smiling as he followed his lover down the hall, Gil smiled, "Yes, there is."

END