Title: Christmas Present
By: anmani
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Nick is putting all his eggs into one basket.

He was looking at the presents cluttering his dining room table. They were all nicely wrapped and had the appropriate tags on already, everything neat and tidy as usual.

All but one.

The box was sitting at the end of the table and held him mesmerized. There wasn’t anything special in it, if you just looked at the contents and not the recipient.

He moved around to the other side of the table, still ogling the offending box.

He made several moves towards the box trying to decide on its destiny.

It took the phone five shrill rings to pull him out his trance.

“Hello.”

“Hi little brother.” He easily recognized the voice of the one of his five sisters that had claimed the right to pick him up at the airport this year.

“Hi sis, my flight is still the same and yes I’m carrying mountains of presents. And yes I have got all the presents I need.”

“Hey easy there Nicky, just curious if I shall make room for an additional person in the car?” They always hinted to his status as single.

“Don’t you think I would have called if my marital status had changed?” He asked sighing heavily to let his irritation known in Texas.

“Well one never knows with you and your little secrets.”

“Gee thanks, I’ll see you tomorrow evening sis.” He didn’t need this, not now where that box was rattling his brain.

“Yeah see ya.” She hung up and he made a beeline for the bedroom, avoiding the gift in the shiny blue box with the purple ribbon on.

The kneeling position next to his bed was so familiar from growing up that he prayed automatically. This prayer though was very different from any ones he had ever prayed before. Finishing of with the compulsory amen he retrieved his two suitcases from under the bed.

It was the same routine every year. He would make sure that the presents would take up no more than three quarters of the space in the suitcases, so he could still bring a few changes of clothes. But this year there was that extra present.

He had looked at it for a month before deciding on buying it and every day since he had been ready to return it.

The suitcases were quickly packed and he checked just for good measures that he had everything he would need for a few days with the family. The shiny blue box with the purple ribbon had been staring at him while he packed the other presents. Perhaps he thought it was nervous about never being given away.

He sat the two suitcases aside and changed into his working clothes.

He picked up the last present and carried it to the door, sat it down while he got his shoes on. Then after a few attempts to pick it up and get out the door, he sat it back down and left.

Working swing shift meant it was a disaster getting to work because of the dense traffic and up ahead a black and white was diverting the traffic. He pulled into a driveway and managed to slip out between two trucks and head back home.

The shiny blue box with the purple ribbon was pulling him home like a magnet attracting metal.

5 minutes before shift he parked at the lab and stared at the box on the passenger seat. It pained him that he found it so hard. He still wasn’t sure whether he should give it to Greg or not.

His mind wandered down memory lane until he reached the spring of 2003. There had for a long time been this sort of promise that Greg and he could be more than just friends. All they had to do was to take that final leap. All they had to do was to let the flirting take total control. It had almost happened and he had planned to ask Greg out on a date for months. Just as now he had been indecisive and had left it too long.

It was a big bang that created the universe and a big bang that ended his.

For some freak reason the lab had exploded, well not all of it, just the part with Greg in it.

It had changed everything and in particular it had changed Greg.

Greg had from day one been this eternally happy energy ball bouncing all over the lab. The goofy smile the thick eyelashes the suggestive moves and the incredible coffee had won his heart in mere seconds.

He had known it the second he heard and saw Greg, that the young man was the perfect definition of his type. It had scared the living daylights out of him, since he had always figured it would be a woman and not man waiting out there to snare his heart away from him. At first he had vigorously dismissed the immediate attraction, but he had still flirted with Greg at any given moment. Then after a year he had started to research on homosexuality and his findings were as depressing as they were uplifting.

The love stricken part of his brain had slowly won over the terrified control freak. He knew that his life would tumble out of control if he took Greg as his ‘mate’. He knew it would ruin a lot for him; it would ruin more than he would ever be able to fix. That had held him back for too long. The fact that he would break his family’s expectations and hopes for him and that he most likely would be unable to fix it.

It would probably cost him his family. No Stokes had ever turned out gay; it was simply not an option in his family. A rap on the window brought his musings to a jarring hold and he took a little long to respond.

“Hey Bro where were you man?” Warrick’s face hinted a concern behind his mask.

“Halfway to Texas I guess.” He sighed and got out of the car, momentarily forgetting about the shiny blue box with the purple ribbon.

“Oh who’s that for?” The box jumped to the front of his mind again for the millionth time that day.

“Just somebody.” He snatched it up and walked past Warrick.

“Just somebody huh?” Warrick had fallen into stride with him.

“Yeah just somebody.” He sighed and did his best to shrug of Warrick’s curious glance.

“Yeah right whatever Bro.” At least his friend knew when to pull his head in.

The shift held mostly suicides as always for the holidays and the few early ‘family get together’ parties that ended up wrong. Nothing big or exceptional, nothing that the three of them couldn’t handle within their regular hours.

The shiny blue box with the purple ribbon tortured his mind all evening.

The last chance to decide its destiny was coming up and he had still not reached the right answer. He wrapped up the last bit for the evening and went to the break room, just to say merry Christmas to his old shift.

For a second he considered pouring himself a cup of coffee, but opted for a diet ice-tea. Ever since he got moved to swing coffee had lost its hold over him, no coffee tasted right anymore. There was only one who could make his coffee just right…

The shiny blue box with the purple ribbon was sitting under his chair.

He had seen Warrick slip into Cath’s office when he was on his way to the break room and he got the fifth wheel feeling again.

He heard the familiar and most longed for sound of Greg coming down the hallway.

“Yuck, how can you drink that stuff?” Greg eyed his bottle of ice-tea with disgust.

“Maybe because I can’t get a decent cup of coffee anymore.” He sighed looking up into those dashing brown eyes, a shade lighter than his own.

“Oh poor Nick, the evilness of the universe and Ecklie eh?” Greg smirked.

“Yeah nothing is holy to either.” He chuckled and dove deeper into Greg’s eyes.

“So how’s swing?” Greg asked and turned to start some fresh real coffee.

“Ok I guess, but I feel…” Greg cut him short.

“Like a straight line in a circle.” He doubled over laughing and came eye to eye with the shiny blue box with the purple ribbon.

He sobered up real fast and braced himself, before taking the leap.

“Greg remember Christmas 2002?” He got up and face to face with Greg. He waited while his younger friend took himself back in time. From the emotions displaying on Greg’s face he could easily tell what the various memories that Greg passed were. There was no doubt in his mind when Greg remembered that day 2 years ago, first a smile and a happy face only to be replaced by a disappointed and disillusioned one. Then he continued: “I owe you this one I guess.” Greg had given him a present and he had not given Greg one. He held up the present that had caused him so much agony for the past 5 weeks.

Bewildered Greg looked at him and stopped his coffee making.

“Huh… Let’s go up on the roof.” Greg’s word gave him a short breath of relief before the anxiety crept back in on him.

“Good idea.” He handed Greg the present and headed out to the stairwell.

Greg stood there in the middle of the open space staring at the box in his hands.

“Why now?” Greg did nothing to hide his confusion and grief…

“Because I’m slow and stupid and insecure.” He whispered and surprised himself by his honesty, not the answer he had planned. But Greg had always had this weird ability to dig beneath his BS and make him do strange things.

Greg locked eyes with him.

“Slow and insecure, but not stupid. Nick you are not stupid. You are just hung up on what other people think.” Greg spoke calmly and convincingly. “Please open it.” He shuffled his feet on the coarse surface.

Greg did as told and he noticed every single detail of the way Greg moved while opening the present. Greg undid the bow and peeled the ribbon off in one piece and then he carefully removed the tape holding the shiny blue paper together. The paper came of and revealed a Geomag box. Greg’s eyes shone like bright stars at the sight and his smile filled most of his face.

“Thank you.” Greg whispered showing how touched and happy he was when a few tears fell from him.

Instinctively he moved over and embraced Greg. Greg responded by pulling him tighter holding the box in one hand behind his back.

“I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner.” His own voice was getting thick with the threatening tears.

“But you did give it though.” Greg’s free hand roamed his lower back and it felt heavenly.

“Maybe we could go out when I get back?” He held his breath waiting for Greg’s reply.

“Breathe.” Greg whispered before he pulled the shirt out of his trousers allowing for his hand to meet his own naked back. He took a deep breath and looked Greg into the eyes.

Like in slow motion their heads were drawn to each other and after eons their lips met for the very first time. Greg’s lips were slightly fuller than his own and so soft.

His brain released an unknown number of chemicals that heightened the kiss to the most exhilarating one ever.

Greg broke the kiss and looked into his eyes searching for an answer. He knew what the question was without having to ask.

“I won’t freak out. I’ve missed you… for so long.” He licked his lips and kissed Greg again letting the kiss develop to his knees got wobbly and he could barely stand up.

“I better have a present for you when you get back.” Greg smiled sheepishly after another intense kiss.

“You are all I could ever want.” He wondered shortly how something so sappy could come out his mouth and then he remembered the Greg-effect.