Title: Days of Wine and Roses
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: Romance, mission_insane
Prompt: 3, Wine
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"Here to the year past, and to the next one coming up ahead of us," Ryan said softly, lifting his wineglass to Greg in a toast. "I hope the next year will be as good for us as the last one was. And that we'll be even happier together in the year to come."

"I'll drink to that," Greg said with a soft laugh, clinking his wineglass against Ryan's before lifting it to his lips and drinking, his gaze never leaving Ryan's over the rim of the glass. Those deep, dark brown eyes seemed to hold a promise for the future, one that Ryan was sure would be kept.

Greg was the kind of man who always kept his promise, Ryan told himself. Whatever he read in those eyes, he could be sure that it would come to the surface later -- and he knew that he would be happy with it. Anything that Greg did was guaranteed to make him happy.

There were times when he still couldn't believe that he'd gotten so lucky as to find someone like Greg, when he had been so sure that he would stay single for a long time after coming to Vegas. He'd been disappointed in love for so long that he'd almost given up on ever finding it.

And then, when he hadn't even been looking -- love had found him and taken him completely by surprise. He had been thankful for whatever fate had brought him here to Las Vegas ever since the day that he and Greg had met, and he'd continue to feel that way for all of his life.

Sipping his wine, he stole a glance at his boyfriend across the table. The two of them had chosen not to go out for New Year's Eve; they had both preferred to stay home and make dinner, then share a quiet, romantic evening together, rather than braving the cold.

Besides, he could never get enough time alone with Greg. They'd been more than usually busy at the crime lab lately, and he was thankful for any time that they could have together away from work -- it felt as though they were always working these days.

Being here with Greg on New Year's Eve, alone in their home, away from the prying eyes of the world, was a gift. One that he hadn't expected to have, given the fact that their job seemed to get crazier at the holidays. This time together was a gift that he intended to make the most of.

"I'm just glad we have this part of the holiday away from work," Greg told him, echoing his thoughts. "It's been nuts lately -- why is it that people seem to commit crimes more around the holidays than at any other time? This is supposed to be the season of good will, not criminal activity."

"I don't know, babe," Ryan said, shaking his head as he lifted his glass to drain the last of the red wine in it. "I'm just hoping the crime rate slows down a little after the holidays. We've been working so much lately that I think we deserve a little more time off."

Ryan nodded, smiling a little as the thought crossed his mind that Greg always seemed to be able to divine what he was thinking. It was amazing how their minds seemed to run along the same track so often, almost as though they could read each other's thoughts.

"I wish this day would last forever," he said softly, reaching for the wine bottle and pouring himself another glass of the sparkling liquid, then topping off Greg's glass. "It'd be nice to just be able to stop time and stay here with you forever."

He closed his eyes, inhaling the fresh, sweet scent of the roses that adorned the center of the table. Greg had given them to him for New Year's Eve, insisting that he had to give the man he loved a rose for each of the twelve days of Christmas. Ryan thought it was incredibly romantic.

They had spent the evening eating Greg's homemade spaghetti, drinking wine, and slow dancing to romantic jazz music in their living room. It had been a wonderful New Year's Eve, and he was sure that the coming year would bring the two of them even closer.

"I wish every day could be a day of wine and roses," Greg said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair and sipping at his wine. "But y'know, if we had days like this all the time, then we wouldn't appreciate them so much when we got them."

Ryan nodded in agreement, realizing that Greg was right. Days like this were few and far between for them, but the fact that they didn't have such relaxing, romantic times often made them mean all the more when they did have them. They were a treasure to cherish forever.

Just having time alone with Greg was a treasure for him -- one that he never intended to lose. They might not be able to spend all of their time together, but they were lucky enough to be able to share both their personal and professional lives, and Ryan was grateful for that.

"If I could stay here with you forever, that'd be a dream come true for me," Greg said, his voice cutting into Ryan's thoughts. "But y'know, I think we'd both eventually get tired of not having anything to do but be with each other. We both want more in our lives."

"I'd never get tired of being with you," Ryan objected, shaking his head. "But yeah, we do need more in our lives than just being together. I think we're both way too dedicated to our work, and to finding justice for people. I'm just glad that we both want the same thing."

"If we didn't, I don't think we'd have been so attracted to each other from the first," Greg pointed out. "When we first met, I thought you were gorgeous -- but it was more than that. I could see something in you that went way beyond the surface impression."

Ryan nodded, about to add that he'd noticed the same thing about Greg when they'd first met, when the strains of the song that had begun playing on the cd changer caught his attention. He stood up, holding out his hand to Greg with a smile.

"Dance with me," he said softly, gesturing towards the living room with his other hand. "I've always loved this song." He started to hum along with the music, singing the words softly under his breath. "'There was a boy ... A very strange, enchanted boy ...'"

Greg smiled as he got up from the table to take Ryan's hand, leading him to the living room. As they moved into each other's arms, swaying in time to the music, Ryan closed his eyes, feeling that this holiday couldn't possibly get any better than it was at this moment.

He had the man he loved in his arms, and they had a future to build together that stretched out tantalizingly in front of them. He had so much more than he had ever dreamed he could have, so much more than what he'd ever felt that he could possibly deserve.

He never wanted these days of wine and roses to end, but unfortunately, they would have to. At the moment, he and Greg were living in an enchanted wonderland that was all their own; but all too soon, they would have to go back to work and return to reality.

But as long as they had this time together, he intended to make the most of it, Ryan told himself with an inward smile. He tightened his hold on Greg, pulling his boyfriend closer against him. He was sure they'd be in the bedroom before too long -- and he couldn't wait to get there.

***