Title: Crush
By: Serenity
Summary: Nick has always had a crush on Greg. Set during the hiatus between season five and season six.
Beta'd by anmani
Characters: Nick, Greg
Genres: romance, case file
Rating: NC17
Warnings: none

Nick surreptitiously looked across at Greg, his co-worker and long-time crush, as the other man concentrated on the road ahead. He always did that, watched from the corner of his eye and hoped the other man wouldn't notice the attention. Sometimes Greg would glance back at him, but Nick would pretend to be following road signs through Greg's window, or make out like he'd been about to ask Greg a question. There were always ways around getting caught, if it meant he got to continue watching Greg without anyone finding out how he felt about the younger man.

It wasn't that he was scared about being outed, he knew that day would have to come eventually, he was pretty sure Catherine already suspected. No, he was scared of Greg rejecting him, no longer classing him as a friend. And that was a pain he wasn't sure he'd be able to deal with. Not after everything he'd already been through lately. Working together after that would be hell.

"Great to all be back on the same shift, isn't it?" Greg grinned across at him. Nick jumped slightly in his seat, realising he‘d been caught gazing.

"Sorry, I was miles away." he lied, hoping that Greg would assume he'd been staring into space rather than at him.

"Well, snap out of it, dreamy." Greg teased. "We're here."

Greg pulled the Denali into a space beside Brass' SUV and jumped out, grabbing the two silver field kits from the backseat. He handed one to Nick with a small, crooked smile. Nick returned the smile and began to walk towards their latest crime scene, a body found outside the city‘s latest ‘hottest club‘, Splinter. Nick had never been to it, but he'd heard enough stories to know that he didn't want to go.

The alley behind the club was cold and dark and smelled like a revolting mix of urine, vomit and rotting meat. Dumpsters lined the walls and trash lay discarded on the ground. A phantom image of viscera flashed in his vision. Nick suppressed a gag and felt a shiver run through his body.

"You OK man?" Greg asked as he came up beside him, reaching a concerned hand to his shoulder.

"What? Oh, yeah I'm cool." Nick nodded. He didn't want to bother Greg with his flashbacks. They weren't as bad as they had been at first, and he'd had enough pitying looks from his co-workers to last him a lifetime. Besides, he wasn't alone this time, the alley was surrounded by police and Greg was beside him every step of the way.

"Geez, this reeks." Greg coughed, covering his mouth. "Imagine spending your last moment alive in this place."

"If you two are finished chatting, we've got a crime scene waiting." Brass interjected, coming up in front of them. "The coroner is already here, so lets get a move on, OK?" He turned and walked back the way he'd come.

"Yes Sir." Greg mumbled sarcastically under his breath, just loud enough for Nick to hear. Nick let out a chuckle and followed the detective further into the alley.

"Hey Super." he called over to David the coroner, who was leaning over the body of a female, pulling the long thermometer from her liver. She was tall, slender with long brown hair, a body made for dancing and a face made for breaking hearts. But here she was, cold and stiff in a filthy alleyway, left like yesterday's trash.

"Hi guys." David waved them over. "Liver temp indicates that she's only been dead around 3 hours. Lividity is fixed and rigor is just starting to set in."

"So it's not a body dump." Nick concluded. "She died here. While the party was still going on inside."

"Any ID?" Greg asked, kneeling next to the body.

"Her wallet was in her purse." Brass handed the driver's license to him. "The kitchen worker who found her took it to stop it from being stolen. Surprise, there's still an honest person left in Vegas." he said dryly. "Anyway, our vic is Samantha Parker, 25, from here in Vegas. Money and Credit Cards were still in the wallet, $150 and change. So, it doesn't look like a robbery."

"Signs of sexual assault?" Nick asked, pulling the camera from around his neck and snapping off some shots of the body and the scene.

"Well, her underwear is in a tangle around her legs." Greg pointed. "But her skirt looks as if it's been carefully pulled down so she's not exposed. How many rapists take the time to do that?"

"Points to her attacker knowing her." Nick suggested. "There's no sign of struggle here, the trash on the ground is pretty much undisturbed. Drugged, maybe? Spiked her drink so she wouldn't put up a fight?"

"You thinking date-rape?" Greg asked, pulling on his orange goggles and flicking on his ALS. He swept the blue beam of light over the body. "Definite signs of semen on the skirt here. And on her thigh. I'll swab it, hopefully we can get a DNA match off of it."

They finished processing the body and David took it away to the morgue. Nick stopped what he was doing to watch the black van disappearing around the corner and into the night. No matter how many times he saw that, it didn't make it any easier.

"Hey, I got prints here." Greg called out, dusting the door of the back entrance to the club. Nick walked over to take a look.

"Got a full palm print here." Greg informed him, tape-lifting it. "Small.... Perhaps the vic's?"

"What's that just above it?" Nick asked, pointing to a black smudge of print powder higher up.

"I think it's the smudged remains of the heel of someone's hand. I don‘t think we‘re going to get any details off it." Greg re-enacted the position the hand would have been in, careful not to actually make contact with the door. "Perhaps the suspect slammed her into the door at some point and she put her hands out to save herself?"

"But they both look like left hand prints." Nick said, shaking his head. "And this one is larger." He put his own hand beside it, comparing sizes. "No, I think this could be the print of our suspect. Lift it anyway, we might get something off of it."

"You're the boss." Greg grinned and set about lifting the smudged print. Nick pushed away the image of ordering Greg onto his knees in front of him. This wasn't the time or the place for that type of thoughts. Still, he made a mental note to revisit that thought in the privacy of his own home.

~~~

A few hours later they met up with Doc Robbins in the morgue. He'd just finished the autopsy on their dead female.

"What have you got for us Doc?" Nick asked as the pathologist pulled the sheet down to reveal the head and shoulders of the body. Nick could just see the tips of an expertly sewn-up Y incision.

"Well, she's in very good health." he replied. "Other than being dead." Pathologist humour. "I have to say death by asphyxiation. Petechia suggests she suffocated, hypoxia occurred. But I could find no signs of strangulation, airway is clear, no fibres in or around the mouth and nose....." he shrugged.

"So... what the hell killed her then?" Greg asked what Nick was already thinking.

"All signs point to her being crushed to death, but I would have expected there to be some rib fractures. I couldn't find any. There is this though."

He pulled the sheet lower to reveal a long, thin line of bruising just under her breasts. "It developed post-mortem, so it's likely to have occurred at the time of her death. Was there anything at the scene that could have caused this injury? A pipe, or something like that?"

Nick shook his head. "Not that I can think of. Greg?"

Greg also shook his head. "Anything else Doc, any Rohypnol or similar in her blood?"

Doc discreetly covered the body up again. "No date-rape drugs. Tox screen came back showing high levels of alcohol in her system, and a small amount of cocaine. I also found some cocaine crusted in her nasal passage. But it's doubtful that it contributed to her death."

"Well, she was out clubbing. What about sexual assault?" Nick asked.

"Definite signs of sexual activity, semen deep in the vagina indicates full penetration. But there are no signs of trauma, no injuries or tears. I can't rule it out, of course, but if I was pushed, I'd say the sex was probably consensual." Doc Robbins explained.

"Well, the semen is with Wendy in DNA," Greg sighed, "so we'll see if the suspect is in CODIS. Thanks Doc."

The pathologist waved them off as they left the morgue. Just then Nick's pager vibrated. He read the display. "It's Mandy, she has our prints."

"Cool, let's go." Greg grinned, putting his hand on the small of Nick's back to steer him in the right direction. Nick tried to ignore the heat that seemed to penetrate his entire body. When Greg dropped the hand again, Nick missed it desperately.

"Mandy, please be handy." Greg quipped as they entered the print lab. "Give us something dandy."

Nick snickered at the look on Mandy's face. "Please?" he offered, trying to placate the very ticked-off lab tech.

Mandy turned her attention to Nick, ignoring Greg the best she could. "Palm print was a match to the vic. Nice sweaty palms make great prints."

"What about the other one? Useless, right?" Greg asked.

"Actually no." Mandy smiled. "You underestimate my vast skills. I can't get a match in AIFIS but if you can find me a suspect to compare it to, I can probably give you a match."

"Huh. Cool." Greg conceded. "Nice work Mands."

"Now we've just got to wait for DNA." Nick mused. "Hopefully that will turn up something."

~~~

"Sorry guys." Wendy shook her head sympathetically. "The suspect just isn't in CODIS."

"Dammit. So, where does that leave us?" Greg asked, obviously disappointed. Nick fought the urge to squeeze his shoulder.

"With nothing." he sighed, instead using the hand to run through his own hair, just to keep it occupied.

They stood in silence for a few minutes, both contemplating the frustrating lack of evidence.

"Come on," Greg rallied. "Let's go and take a look at the photos of the scene again, see if we can work out what could have caused that bruising on her chest."

"Deal." Nick nodded. "But let's get some coffee first. We're not exactly against the clock now."

"Sounds good to me." Greg shot him a smile that made his stomach flip. "Look, man, we'll get there. OK?"

He nodded, even though he didn't really believe it. He hated when they hit a brick wall with the evidence. But sometimes the answer just wasn't there, no matter how hard they looked.

~~~

Refreshed on coffee and donuts they made their way to one of the evidence rooms with everything they'd gathered from the case. They laid out all the photographs on the table, hung up the vic's clothing and set out her shoes and purse, everything she'd been wearing.

"Could something have been tied around her to immobilise her?" Greg wondered aloud. "A rope, or something like that?"

Nick looked at the photographs of Samantha taken at the post-mortem, showing the bruising on her chest. "Hmmmm..... Then her arms should be bruised too."

Greg came up and stood looking over Nick's shoulder, checking the photo for himself. "Yeah, you're right. Stupid thought."

Nick turned his head. "Hey G', there's no such thing, all ideas are valid. Especially at this point when we have nothing."

"Thanks man." Greg grinned, a smile that lit up his tired eyes. He cast his eye over the other photos from the scene. "Hey..... What if she was leaning over the dumpster?"

Nick looked at the photo of the bruise, then at the photo of the dumpster, excitement bubbling in his stomach. "How tall was the vic?" he asked.

Greg checked the file. "5:9." He picked up the evidence bag containing the victim's shoes. "But check out these heels, they've got to add another 3 inches on at least."

"OK, let's see....." Nick got out a measuring tape and made a mark on the wall to match the height of the dumpster. "Greggo, come over here and stand beside this for me, will you? You're around 6 foot, right?"

"Yeah, give or take." Greg nodded and stood beside the mark. It was somewhere around his shoulders. Close, but no match. Another dead end.

Nick felt the hope drain out of him. He threw the piece of chalk he'd used to mark the wall across the room in frustration. "Shit!"

"Nick...." Greg began.

"No, aren't we ever going to catch a break?" he fumed. "Someone killed this girl and if we can't get anywhere with the evidence then they're going to get away with it!"

"Hey, listen. We'll get there, OK?" Greg soothed. Nick dropped his head in his hands, shivering as he felt the other man's hand run through the hair at the nape of his neck. But as soon as he'd felt it, it was gone again, leaving him wondering if he'd imagined it.

~~~

Nick had stared at the photographs for so long that he was starting to get double vision. But still nothing came to light. Greg was checking Samantha's clothing yet again, even though they both knew that there was no more evidence to be found on them. But neither of them wanted to give up. Every so often they caught each other's eye, nodding in an understanding that they had to keep trying.

A knock on the door caused them both to look up from their work. Archie stood in the doorway, his laptop in his hand.

"Hey Arch." Greg called over. Archie waved at him and set the laptop on the table.

"Thought you might want to hear this." Archie grinned, tapping the keyboard a few times. "It came in an hour ago." He pressed 'enter' and a 911 recording started to play.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"Oh my God, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Please Sir, calm down and tell me what's happened."

"Oh God, she just went limp. We were... she wanted to. I swear. But when I finished and I let go.... Oh God."

"Who went limp Sir?"

"The girl. The girl at Splinter. I just.... I didn't know what to do. I ran. I'm so sorry."

"Sir, can you give me your name? Sir? Are you still there?"

The recording ended, the man having hung up.

"I've traced the call to a payphone outside a hotel about 10 miles from the club where your DB was found." Archie confirmed. "Do you think it's related?"

"Archie I could kiss you." Greg grinned.

Nick ignored the stab of jealousy. It was just a figure of speech. "Can you do anything more with this?" he asked instead.

"Leave it with me." Archie nodded, gathering the laptop up again. "I'll get back to you."

"Thanks man!" Greg called out as the AV tech left the room. Then he turned to Nick. "So it was an accident? She died during sex somehow?"

"We've only got his word for that." Nick shook his head. "We need to work out how it happened, see if our evidence supports his account. OK, you be Samantha Parker and I'll be the suspect."

"You trying to tell me something?" Greg pouted.

"Just get over here." Nick rolled his eyes. "OK, so if Samantha had her back against the wall...." he placed Greg in position, "and the suspect was having sex with her...." he stood in front of Greg, very careful not to touch. He could feel the heat coming off of Greg's body, they were close enough for him to smell the coffee on Greg's breath. He deliberately avoided making eye contact, instead he busied himself arranging their bodies into the right position.

"So you think he leaned his weight on her or something?" Greg asked. "But that doesn't explain the bruise."

Nick looked up and did the one thing he was trying to avoid. He looked straight into Greg's eyes.

Something flashed between the two men, some spark of unspoken electricity.

Quickly he took a step back, creating a little breathing room between them. His heart was thumping so hard he was sure Greg must hear it.

"Wait......" Greg whispered, more to himself than to Nick. He turned his body so that he was facing the wall. "Come here." he ordered Nick and reached out behind him.

Nick moved forward and Greg grabbed his left arm, planting his hand on the wall. "The suspect's hand was here." Then he placed his own left hand slightly below Nick's. "And the victim's hand was here....." He turned his head slightly. "Come on, work with me here."

Nick felt his face burn in a flush, but moved closer, his crotch nestled perfectly in the cleft of Greg's buttocks. Greg reached around with his right hand and grabbed Nick's right arm, circling it around his chest. "What if they were having sex like this, from behind? What if.... he was holding her so hard, in his excitement, that she couldn't breathe?"

"You mean squeezing her like this?" Nick asked, pressing harder into Greg from the back and pulling him tight with his right arm. "Do you think it's even possible to hold someone that hard?"

"OK, let's go through it. Right, so they're both drunk, we know she was on drugs, so he was too, most likely.... They come out into the alley for sex, it gets frantic." Greg mused. "He's pressed into her from behind, holding her like this... her ribcage has no room to expand, the lungs can't inflate... she can't breathe, can't speak to warn him.... She suffocates."

"She died in his arms and he didn't notice until he finished." Nick agreed. "He accidentally crushed her. The bruise is from where his arm was wrapped around her."

He ran the scenario over in his head. The evidence seemed to fit.

"Um.... Nick?" Greg said softly. "You know, usually I insist on at least dinner first."

Nick snapped back to the real world just in time to notice that he was still holding Greg tight and he'd been subconsciously grinding his crotch into the other man's ass as he'd been thinking. And Christ, he was half-hard. Fuck.

He jumped backwards as if he'd had an electric shock. "Sorry..." he stammered, blushing wildly. "I didn't mean..."

Greg moved away from the wall and smiled awkwardly at him. "It's cool, don't worry. Just.... another 30 seconds and I'd have been lighting a cigarette, ya know?" He picked up the case file and started for the door. "I'll.... um... get the report typed up.

"Yeah. OK." Nick nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, dying of shame. "You do that."

After Greg left, Nick sank into one of the chairs, mortified. "Oh God." he groaned, laying his head on his arms.

"If he answers, let me know, I've got a couple of things to ask him myself." came a gruff voice from the doorway. Nick looked up to see Brass standing there.

"Brass. Sorry, long night, what can I do for you?" Nick sighed, thankful that the detective hadn't arrived a few minutes earlier.

"We got lucky. There's a guy in PD waiting to talk to us about our party girl. He turned himself in. Do you want to grab Sanders?" Brass asked.

I think I just did. Nick thought to himself, but shook his head. "I'll go by myself, Greg's typing up the report. No need to disturb him." The last thing he needed was to have to face Greg right now.

~~~

The suspect turned out to be Daniel Brooke, a 29 year old 6 foot 2 bodybuilder from Queens on holiday in Vegas for a week. DNA and prints, which the suspect had given voluntarily, were a perfect match to the samples found at the scene. The incident had gone down just as Greg had described, the guy had accidentally crushed her as they'd had sex. He was more than strong enough to do it. He was devastated and had fled the scene through sheer fear and confusion.

Nick felt proud of Greg for interpreting the evidence to the correct conclusion. But he was too embarrassed to find Greg to tell him, instead asking Brass to do it.

He knew he couldn't avoid his colleague for long, but if he could just get through the rest of the shift without seeing him, at least he'd have some time to think up a decent excuse for what had happened in the evidence room.

The avoidance tactic worked well until Nick discovered Greg waiting by his SUV as he was about to leave for home.

"You're here." he said stupidly.

"Yup." Greg answered, giving nothing away.

"Did Brass tell you we got the guy?" he asked, unlocking the car. "It happened just like you said."

"Yup." Greg repeated, climbing into the passenger seat.

"Greg, what are you doing?" Nick asked as he climbed into the driver's seat.

"Well, as I didn't get dinner, I thought you could at least buy me breakfast." Greg said nervously. "I thought maybe we needed to talk.... Away from work."

Nick felt his heart sink. Was Greg really pissed at him? He started the car and pulled carefully out of the lot.

After an embarrassed silence, he spoke up. "Look, about before... I'm sorry that it happened, I wasn't thinking. I don't know what came over me. It was just a subconscious reaction to being so close to another person. It's...um.... It's been a while." he admitted.

"So it wasn't about me in particular." It wasn't a question. He could see Greg shift in his seat so he could look out of the window better. "Listen, forget breakfast, my place isn't that far away, just drop me home. I can get my car later."

"Greg...." Nick began. He was confused. Greg was sounding.... disappointed? Could it be possible that the one thing he'd been sure of, that Greg could never be interested in him, was actually wrong? He had to find out one way or another without admitting his own feelings first. Time to do some fishing.

They pulled up outside Greg's apartment a few minutes later, and Greg jumped out without looking at Nick. "Thanks." he mumbled as he slammed the door shut.

Nick shut off the engine and followed Greg into the apartment building. Greg noticed he was being followed, and stopped to let Nick catch up with him, realizing that the other man obviously intended on coming up with him. He pressed the button for the elevator and the doors opened with a ping. Nick looked at the enclosed space before him and felt the cold prickle of sweat down his back. His feet felt like lead, they wouldn't move no matter how much he willed them. His chest felt tight, as if he couldn't breathe.

"I can't." he stammered as Greg stepped into the elevator. Greg pressed the button to keep the doors open.

"Are you OK Nick? You don't look so good." he asked, his face lined with concern. He stepped out of the elevator again, forgetting the awkwardness that had existed between them only a few moments before. "Come on, we'll take the stairs." he decided, hooking his arm around Nick's waist.

They hobbled up the two flights of stairs, Greg never letting his grip on Nick's waist falter once. Nick leaned into the warm body beside him, wishing that he could just tell Greg how he felt.

And that's when he had his epiphany. What was stopping him? Right now all the excuses he'd used in the past, like them working together, seemed redundant. There was still that chance that his worst fear could come true, that Greg could freak out and never speak to him again, but in all the years they'd been friends he'd never known the younger man to bear any grudges. There may be some strangeness at first, but at least it would all be out in the open. Better than how it was now, always wishing, always wondering. And perhaps... just perhaps... Greg felt the same. The more he thought about it, the more it felt right. Greg's disappointed face as he'd stepped from the car replayed in his head. Why else would the other man have that reaction if he didn't have feelings for Nick?

Greg opened the door of his apartment and manoeuvred them both to the couch. The supportive arm was still firmly wrapped around him, warm and safe. Their faces were only inches away from each other, Greg‘s eyes were dark with concern. Nick decided to take the chance.

"Listen Greg, I might be about to make the biggest mistake of my life here, but....." He reached his hand up and gently caressed the curve of Greg's jaw, before leaning forward just enough to close the small gap between them. He could hear Greg's breath hitch in the last second before their lips met.

It was a soft, gentle, closed-mouth kiss. Tentative, hesitant and shorter than Nick would have liked as Greg pulled away and let out a long, deep sigh. "We shouldn't do this." he shook his head.

"Why not?"

"You've been through so much recently, your brain has got to be fried by it all. I saw the look on your face when you thought you had to get into that elevator."

"Yeah, I've got some stuff to work through, I'll give you that. But that's got nothing to do with how I feel about you Greg." Nick replied, daring to cup his hand around the back of Greg‘s head. "I was hoping you might feel the same. You do, don‘t you?"

"Yeah. I do." Greg admitted. "But... I don't want to be some sort of catharsis for you, then you toss me aside once you‘re back to your old self."

"That's not what this is about." Nick swore. "Greg, I've wanted to kiss you for so long, way before all this stuff with Walter Gordon. I just never had the nerve. But now.... Well, I‘m come to realise that there‘s much worse stuff in life than rejection. Although it still feels pretty shit." he admitted as he let the hand drop.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Nick wondering if Greg would be able to move past this and retain the friendship they'd once had. It was what he'd been counting on.

"Since when." Greg said suddenly.

"When what?"

"Since when have you wanted to kiss me?"

Nick blushed a deep red. "Your... um... first day in the lab."

"Seriously?" Greg's eyes were wide in wonder.

Nick nodded, dropping his head in sheer embarrassment. "It's etched in my memory, G‘. I was running late and as I turned to go into the locker room I bashed into you. I was in a foul mood, and I snapped something at you about watching where you were going, but then I looked up.... and there you were. And I remember thinking that you had the most kissable mouth I‘d ever seen. And man, your eyes...."

"I remember thinking that you were an asshat." Greg laughed. "A very hot asshat, but an asshat all the same."

"Did I ever apologise to you for that?" Nick asked.

"You definitely didn't." Greg confirmed. "Hence the asshattiness of you. Took me a while to see that you were actually an OK guy. I thought you were going to be one of those Texan jocks who think they‘re the shit and don‘t need to talk to scrawny geeks like me." He got up off the couch and walked over to his CD player. "Any preference?"

"Something that doesn't sound like an industrial estate." Nick smiled, coming up behind him. "And you are not a geek. And definitely not scrawny."

"It's cool. Geeks are the shizzle now anyway." Greg smiled as he chose a Goo Goo Dolls CD and popped it in the player.

"The shizzle? What does that even mean?" Nick grinned.

"To be honest, I have no idea." Greg admitted with a laugh as music filled the small room.

Nick chuckled and placed his hand on Greg's shoulder, gently turning him so they were face to face. "Hey." he smiled as Greg's large brown eyes locked in on his own.

"Hey yourself." Greg just had time to reply before Nick stole the words from his lips, drawing him into a warm, open-mouthed kiss. The CD cover fell to the floor with a clatter, but neither of them noticed as they lost themselves in each other.

The kiss soon deepened as they lost themselves in each other's touch. The music became a background din as Nick found himself able to think of nothing other than the man in front of him.

Greg whimpered as Nick nibbled his bottom lip, then swiped his tongue over the tingling skin. He wrapped his right leg around Nick and pulled their bodies closer together, his back pressed up against the wall of the apartment.

Nick rocked into him as they kissed, his hands scrabbling to try and pull Greg's T-shirt over his head without breaking the kiss for too long. He took a moment to admire Greg's lean physique, the dusky pink nipples hardening under his gaze, and the smattering of dark hair that ran from below his navel and disappeared temptingly into waistband of his jeans.

Desperate to feel his skin against Greg's he tore his own shirt off and tossed it behind him somewhere, pressing himself against the other man‘s chest. Greg dragged his fingertips across Nick's smooth back, making him shiver at the touch.

The heat between them grew wildly, Nick could feel Greg's erection grinding into his hip and they moved together, trying to find enough friction to gain some relief.

Silently, Nick pulled at the buckle of Greg's belt, slipping it completely through the belt loops on his jeans and tossing it to the floor. At the same time Greg was grappling at Nick's button fly, having difficulty as the straining erection left little room for manoeuvre. Finally they popped open, releasing some of the pressure.

Nick groaned as he mouthed his way along Greg's jaw line, one hand buried in the other man's hair, the other shucking Greg's jeans and boxers down. Greg's cock got trapped in the fabric as it was pulled down, then bounced up and hit his stomach with a slap.

By now Greg had released Nick from the confines of his jeans and had shoved the denim down until it was trapped around his thighs. The both stopped for a second, regaining eye contact. A silent agreement passed between them. They both knew what they wanted. To touch.

Slowly they wrapped their hands around each other's cocks, Nick sighing at the feeling of Greg finally touching him after fantasising about it for so long. He held Nick expertly, using just the right amount of pressure. It felt like heaven.

Greg's cock was long, thick and burning hot, and filled his fist nicely. Nick wondered what it would be like to taste it, especially when he felt his hand dampen with pre-cum. But hopefully there would be another chance for that. He carefully jerked Greg off, using some of the techniques he liked to use on himself.

Sweat broke on his brow as he concentrated on keeping a good rhythm and not letting himself go too quickly. Greg pulled him back into another kiss, twisting his tongue around the inside of Nick's mouth, moaning into him. Nick tasted the sweet saltiness of sweat on Greg's skin.

"I'm close..." he mumbled against Nick's lips. "Oh God."

Nick felt the familiar white heat building in the base of his spine, his own release was fighting its way past his attempts to hold it back.

"Jesus, Greg." he groaned as Greg's hand sped up, the other hand gripping at his naked ass, digging blunt fingernails into the tender flesh. Suddenly he was cumming, spilling into Greg's hand like hot milk bubbling over in a saucepan.

Greg looked down in wonder, watching Nick's release. Then he gave an involuntary shudder, groaned huskily and came, his ejaculation forcefully hitting Nick right on the chin, like a cork popping out of a champagne bottle.

They stood there for a few moments, getting their breath back. Nick felt the cum dripping slowly down his neck, thick and cooling. His hand was still wrapped around Greg's softening cock, jeans around his thighs trapping him in place and holding Greg against the wall so he couldn‘t move either.

"Shit, I'm so sorry." Greg gulped, embarrassed, trying to wipe the mess off him with his free hand, the other still holding Nick‘s cock, cum pooled precariously in the gap between his hand and Nick, the way a moat surrounds a castle.

Nick did the only thing he could do in that situation. He began to laugh.

After a few seconds of looking mortified, Greg joined in the laughter, the whole thing was just so ridiculous. "What do we do?" Greg asked in between wheezing giggles. "I can't move."

"Neither can I." Nick laughed so hard he began to cough. "You've really trapped me in these jeans."

Greg managed to reach his T-shirt, which has ended up slung over the lampshade, and wiped both of them off. Between the two of them they managed to push Nick's jeans the rest of the way to the floor and he stepped out of them, slipping off his shoes and freeing Greg from being pressed into the wall. It wasn't until he heard a soft ‘wow' from Greg that he realised he was now completely naked.

"I should... put these on again." Nick picked up his jeans, blushing. But Greg grabbed them out of his hands, eyeing him lustfully. He pulled his own jeans off the rest of the way and stepped out of them. Nick couldn't suppress his own gasp of admiration at Greg's body, he'd had no idea that the other man worked out so much. Strong thighs led to a trim waist, then up to the lightly muscled chest that he'd already lusted over.

"Come here." Greg said softly, reaching a hand out. Nick took it and followed Greg into the tiny bedroom. Greg climbed in to the bed, patting the mattress beside him, no hint of nerves or awkwardness at what they'd just done. Nick slipped between the cool covers.

"So.... What just happened out there?" Greg asked, throwing his arm across Nick and snuggling into him. Nick leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "I mean, I'm not complaining, but as amazing as it was.... It was also unexpected."

"I don't know." Nick admitted. "But give me 20 minutes and we can do it again."

Greg snickered and pulled the covers tighter around them.

"Hey, great work on that case today." Nick smiled, playing with a lock of Greg's soft hair, twirling it between a thumb and forefinger. "You nailed it. You've got exactly what it takes to be a great CSI, you know that?"

"Thanks." Greg bit his lip nervously. "So, with that handy segue....about work.... I guess you probably want to keep this quiet huh? It's OK, I understand, I won‘t push you or anything."

"The hell I do." Nick exclaimed, turning so they were face to face. "I want everyone to know that I'm dating the hottest lab-rat turned CSI in the building."

"Nick, I'm the only lab-rat turned CSI in the building." Greg laughed, leaning in for a kiss.

"Did I say 20 minutes before?" Nick asked, rolling Greg over until he was lying on top of him, feeling the warm, willing body squirming beneath him. He pressed his already-hardening cock into Greg‘s stomach. "Make that 20 seconds."