Title: Do It For Love
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Month of November challenge
Prompt: Day 9 - Do it for love
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan looked down at the man sleeping peacefully in his arms, wondering if he should wake Greg and insist that they move into the bedroom, rather than sleeping here on the couch. But he hated to wake Greg up; his boyfriend had been so tired when they got home.

They hadn't even had breakfast; they had both just collapsed on the couch, and Greg had burrowed into Ryan's arms to fall asleep almost immediately. He had seemed so comfortable, so relaxed, that Ryan didn't have the heart to awaken him.

If only he himself could manage to fall asleep so quickly and easily, he thought with a soft sigh. But he had too much on his mind, too many problems crowding into his head, too many worries to allow him the release of such ready slumber.

Besides, he was almost afraid to sleep, after the dreams that he'd been having lately. He didn't want to have to see the same kind of dream that he'd had last night in his mind's eye -- Greg being shot, his body riddled with bullets. He couldn't deal with that dream again.

If he lost Greg, then he wouldn't have any reason to keep on living. It wouldn't matter if the man who had followed him here from Miami managed to take him hostage again -- because without Greg, he wouldn't care what happened to him.

Ryan swallowed hard, tears coming to his eyes as he contemplated a future without the man he loved by his side. The pain that tore through him almost brought a gasp to his throat; just thinking of losing Greg made him feel as though he couldn't breathe.

What he should do was leave here, go far away from Greg until this danger was past and he knew that his boyfriend would be safe. He should distance himself from Greg, insist that he partner with someone else at work, and not live right next door to his lover.

A hell of a lot of good that would do, he snorted inwardly. He was sure that his enemy already knew about Greg's presence in his life; it was far too late to step away. That man had probably been observing them for weeks now.

Even as he told himself that it might be a good thing for him to back away from Greg, at least until his nemesis was behind bars, he knew that he couldn't do it. It was going to be hard enough to move into his own apartment, to feel that they didn't live together any more.

Of course, as far as they were concerned, it would only be an extension of the home they shared here. They would have two bathrooms, two kitchens, two bedrooms, and two separate entrances to their home. That was the only difference it would make.

Should he back away more fully? Would he be able to do it for love, for the sake of keeping Greg as safe as he possibly could? Even as Ryan asked himself the question, he knew in his heart that the answer would be no. He couldn't distance himself from the man he loved.

If he wasn't with Greg all the time, at home and at work, then he would worry constantly about what might happen to his boyfriend. He wouldn't feel that he was fulfilling his promise to keep Greg safe, to always be there for him. The guilt would bury him alive.

Even if he convinced himself to stay away from Greg until his enemy was caught, he woudln't be happy -- and neither would his boyfriend. It might be the right thing to do, or at least the safest thing to do -- but Ryan knew that he could never do it.

Even if he told himself that he was doing it for love, to be sure that Greg was safe, it still wouldn't work. They wouldn't be able to keep themselves away from each other; he was sure of that. He and Greg would be determined to stay together, no matter what might happen.

It was one thing to want to keep Greg safe with all of his heart and soul, and to be willing to sacrifice his own life for his lover's. It was quite another to stay away from Greg, even if that might be exactly what kept his boyfriend as safe as he could possibly be.

And it wouldn't help anyway, if this man already knew about the two of them, Ryan told himself. He more than likely had already seen them together during their time off; being away from Greg now would probably only put him in more danger.

He would be a more vulnerable target if Ryan wasn't with him, watching his back. He had to stay close to Greg; others might try to protect him, but none of them would watch out for him in the same way that Ryan would. He couldn't leave now.

Even if it might be a good idea for him to distance himself so that his nemesis would focus on him rather than on Greg, Ryan was sure that it was already too late for that. They were in too deep; that man had the element of surprise on his side, catching them unawares.

Ryan wished that he knew why he was being followed; he had thought that after what happened in Miami, the Cuban mob would be done with him. But maybe they had wanted to finish him off, rather than letting him go -- and this man was here to get the job done.

Well, they'd have a much harder time doing that than they might have expected, he told himself, his lips set in a firm line. He had a lot more to live for now than he had when they had kidnapped and tortured him, and he wasn't giving up that life without putting up the biggest fight he could.

He would stay here with Greg, and they would face this man together. With the rest of the CSI team behind them, they would catch this bastard as quickly as possible, with minimal risk to Greg, himself, or to anyone else. At least, that was what he hoped.

Something told Ryan that it wasn't going to be as easy as he was hoping it would be to catch someone who had appeared so suddenly, out of nowhere, as though he was part of a bad dream that had sprung to life from his memories.

But even though it was probably going to prove difficult to catch his nemesis, Ryan was determined to stand by Greg through whatever was coming, to protect his boyfriend as thoroughly as he possibly could. He wasn't going to give his enemies a chance to use Greg against him.

Shifting his position slightly so that he was more comfortable, Ryan pulled Greg more closely into his embrace, settling down against the pillow and closing his eyes. He'd never been so glad that the couch was so comfortable, he thought hazily as he began to drift off to sleep.

***