First part of - One Year, Two Mismatched Men and Three Million Dollars.
"One week down, only another fifty-one to go!" Greg hummed to himself merrily as he waited patiently for Nick to open the door. Friday was Greg's day to go out clubbing and unwind from the week of work; even if he was married he was still planning on doing it as it was his ritual. He was looking forward to it this week, knowing that after the week he'd had he was entitled to having some time to go and dance, drink and generally have fun. Nick said he wouldn't mind, Greg could go out and do his own thing as long as he didn't end up getting married to someone else this week. Greg had laughed at that idea, but then again he would have probably laughed at it last week if Archie had said it to him.
Greg banged on the door again, getting impatient as Nick still hadn't opened up. He desperately needed his own set of keys, fed up of having to rely on Nick to open the door- the previous night he'd been stuck outside for twenty minutes whilst Nick had a shower, oblivious to Greg standing waiting. Today he had the feeling Nick had done the same, or was working out with some country music on that completely drowned him out.
"Nick! Open up Nick!"
"Already been thrown out? What a shame…"
The sleazy voice made Greg jump and whirl around to face the person; the slimy blonde mop unmistakably Minister Adam Evenapple's- a person that Greg had already learnt to loath. His crooked smile had a sinister look to it, instead of the charming manner Greg supposed he was supposed to see in it. The Minister stood there on the landing, leaning against the banner, his black suit pressed and tidy for the special occasion. Greg wondered how it was he didn't seem shocked that he was standing outside 'his' door waiting for entry, maybe he thought they had been tipped off and Greg had rushed to try and make it seem as though they were married.
"No! Of course I haven't been thrown out." Greg said hurriedly, trying to think of a reasonable excuse as to why he couldn't get into his home. "Forgot my keys this morning." He laughed forcibly, "Self locking door… Means we're safer, but it also means I have to rely on Nick."
"I see." The Minister had a way of talking in a perfectly calm manner that had a creepy undertone to them; everything he said seemed to put Greg on the edge. "Well, for both our sakes I hope he hurries up and opens the door."
Was that a threat?
Greg smiled weakly at the man, wondering if he could sense the nerves and was feeding himself off of them, although that was extremely like a predator and Greg doubted he was preying of him… Or was he? Greg had to suppress a shudder.
"Nick! Open up! Nick it's me- Greg! And Minister Adam Evenapple is here to see us!"
Greg pounded against the wooden door, hoping that Nick would finally answer him because the Minister was becoming very sceptical, very quickly.
"He's probably working out." Greg said to buy them both time. "He normally puts his country music up so loud that he wouldn't hear us… The other day he left Warrick standing out here for twenty minutes!" Greg feigned a laugh, but the Minister didn't even look slightly amused at it.
Greg thumped at the door once more, almost smacking Nick straight in the chest. Greg squeaked when he realised, jumping backwards slightly as if he had been burnt, which again seemed to raise the Ministers suspicions that this couple weren't as legitimate as they claimed to be.
"Sorry, I didn't hear the door going." Nick explained, mopping his face with the towel that hung about his neck. "Come on in." He said, falsely cheerful for the sake of Evenapple.
The Minister strode into the apartment, analysing the scene slowly and painstakingly in the sake of finding some suspicious material that might prove the charade. Something didn't seem right about the two men, there was something odd about the pair of them, something he didn't like and he was determined not to allow them to win his money. He didn't see couples like them stroll through his Chapel doors; that's why he suspected something underhanded… Perhaps they were in cahoots with someone to win the sum of money and the Chapel! He wasn't going to allow anyone to con him out of his livelihood.
Greg hung back, deciding it was best for Nick to handle the Minister because he probably wasn't intimidated by his presence. On the other hand, he really did intimidate Greg- or at least give him a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach- something Greg didn't like experiencing. If he was put under pressure by the Minister he'd probably say something that would completely ruin the charade they were crafting to win the money, he couldn't be trusted around that guy.
"I'm glad I both caught you here together. I wanted to check how my favourite couple were coping with everything." He said smoothly, his gaze settling upon Nick and Greg. "Marriage is a big commitment and some people don't adjust well to it."
"We're adjusting just fine."
Greg nodded, sensing it was his time to chip in and back up anything Nick was going to say. Evenapple looked surprised for a moment, but slowly smiled, his eyes narrowed slightly.
"I see."
Greg immediately knew that he was suspicious of them, but Nick remained oblivious- assuming the Minister was just being friendly. He supposed it was because Nick didn't really know how to read people's expressions and their body language whereas Greg had become an expert at it. Nick wouldn't know how to tactfully answer some of the questions to convince the Adam that they were genuine. Greg swallowed his fear, knowing that as long as Nick was here, Evenapple wouldn't touch him.
"I suppose there haven't been any fights then."
"Of course n-"
"Of course there have been." Greg cut over Nick, knowing that to say they hadn't fought would definitely look suspicious. Nick stood glaring at Greg, wondering why he was trying to raise doubts in the Ministers mind- not realising that Greg was actually doing the opposite. "It's been a stressful week: contacting parents, telling friends, splitting the utilities and changing life policies. There have been a few heated words, but nothing unexpected."
"Understandable, many people find those fights most detrimental to their relationship."
"As Greg said, they weren't unexpected. We work around them."
Nick smiled at his partner, proud he'd saved them both from making a fatal error. Greg smiled back, glad that his effort had been recognised, knowing that the Minister was beginning to doubt whether they were faking it. Of course, Greg knew, this was just going to be the first of many tests like this and he'd have to coach Nick on how to answer them with a tactical approach that would fluster the Minister. But as of now, he'd have to handle it despite the fact that Evenapple was making his hands shake.
"I'm glad to hear that." He examined pictures on the units closely. "I notice that there are plenty pictures of your family," He said, pointing to Nick. "But none of yours… Why is that?"
"Don't have many." Greg answered, "The only ones I do have are still in the boxes."
"You haven't unpacked?"
"Busy week." Nick said instantly, an answer that was too quick for the Ministers liking.
"Yes, busy, so you keep saying." Evenapple didn't look convinced, pursing his lips in thought. Greg guessed he was trying to think of a good question to catch them out, or a way to separate the pair so he could get Nick alone which would be disastrous. "I'm feeling rather parched, could you fetch me a glass of water?" He directed it towards Greg- but Greg didn't acknowledge it, instead waiting for Nick to spring to the order.
Nick, realising that Greg wasn't going to respond, did exactly what Greg knew he'd do; he bounded towards the kitchen to fetch him a drink. Nick eyed Greg as he exited the room, wondering if it was wise to leave the pair alone, worried that if Greg was intimidated he would simply cave in- but he knew by standing here the Minister would not be impressed.
However the Minister frowned, making a move to follow Nick.
"There's no need to do that, Nick will bring it in."
"Very well." He looked displeased that his idea had backfired on him, but didn't make a move to correct his mistake. "I suppose that when you've unpacked this house will become much more you."
"Not really." Greg responded, knowing that Nick would be rummaging for a while trying to find the ice-cubes. "Nick's décor is fine for me; I'm not intending to change a thing about it."
"Well," He turned to study Greg, his blue eyes travelling over him, wondering how he'd be able to catch him out. "I suppose the pair of you will be intending to renew your marriage once you've surpassed the year."
"We're intending to. Almost a redo, we didn't do it right first time around, got to do it right the second time."
"Are you suggesting that at my Chapel isn't right?" He looked offended, and Greg nodded at him. "Very well then if that is your belief."
"Of course, we wanted something with both families present, all our friends and a meal… Not a cheap, pink affair with only a few witnesses."
There was silence between them, the only sound coming from Nick in the kitchen as he rummaged around the freezer. The Minister was glaring at Greg, probably to intimidate him and Greg glared back to show the point he wasn't actually phased by it.
"I suppose I should be going." The Minister finally said, starting towards the door- never breaking his stare.
"It was nice to see you again." Greg said sweetly, too sweetly and Minister Adam Evenapple picked up that he was being sarcastic. "I guess we'll be seeing you again soon."
"Yes undoubtedly we will."
"Good, wouldn't want to miss that!"
The Minister stalked back towards the door, retreating whilst he still could. He'd taken casualties this evening and had little to show for his efforts. Undoubtedly his colleague would be pleased to prove him wrong and the two were either extremely clever or genuine… He still had the feeling that it was the first.
"Oh, whilst you're here could you do me a favour? Nick and I would like a copy of the wedding proceedings for the beginning of our family videos."
"Yes, of course. I'll have it sent to you straight away." He said curtly, "Goodbye and I will see you soon."
Greg waited until the door had banged closed before releasing a breath he didn't even realise he'd been holding. He'd won; he'd beaten the Minister for now. He'd be back, Greg had no doubt about that, but they'd be ready for him next time. Nick emerged from the kitchen as soon as he heard the door clatter shut; frowning when he found only Greg stood there.
"What did you do?" Nick yelled, surprising both himself and Greg. He hadn't intended for it to come out so forcefully and so angry, he just really didn't want to fail already… "You better not have screwed this up for us!"
"Screwed it up? Me? You do realise I saved it, you were the one that was going to screw it up." Greg said, taken aback- wasn't it a few moments ago that Nick was applauding his quick thinking and clever story? Now he was angry, and blaming him for everything!
"How do you figure that? He didn't storm out when I was talking to him."
Greg rolled his eyes at Nick's stupidity; did he not see that he only remained there because Nick was confirming his suspicions?
"He left because I won! I outsmarted him Nick; you on the other hand were making us look like we were faking this."
"He stayed because he wanted to check up on us. You gave us away, that's why he left."
"Yes, of course Nick. He was just being friendly, checking up on us. He doesn't want us to succeed on getting his money so he's keeping an eye on us to see if anything is slightly suspicious."
"And us fighting is perfectly normal, isn't it?"
"Yes! Couples fight when they're put under stress. This week would have been highly stressful for any couple, but least of all us, that means that if we haven't fought it's weird."
"You're deluded Sanders." Nick mumbled, heading back into his bedroom to finish his work out.
"It's Sanders-Stokes to you!" Greg yelled at his back, suddenly cautious about whether the Minister had been outside and listening to the whole debacle. If he had, they'd be over already- and Greg intended to make it to at least week five.
He moved towards the door and opened it ever-so-slightly and was faced with an empty hallway. He sighed, thankful they'd got away with it this time. But he'd have to be more cautious now, knowing that the Minister was going to be keeping an excruciatingly close eye on the pair of them. They really had to get their act together if they wanted to get their three million dollars…
Greg had a bad feeling it wasn't going to be as easy as they had first thought.
***
"We need photos." Greg mused whilst surveying the frames on the walls. "We're supposed to be married, but there's not even one shot of me and you together."
Nick grunted from the sofa, too busy focusing on the football game to even process what Greg was saying. He wasn't all that happy though, Warrick had cancelled their Sports Afternoon because Catherine had decided they were going to spend a day at Lake Mead.
"In fact, there aren't any of you recently either." He pointed towards the seemingly most recent photograph that was dated 3 years ago. "How come?" He asked, flopping down into the seat next to him, careful not to invade Nick's personal space.
"Don't do photos." Nick responded sharply, groaning when the opposition (the team Warrick had backed) received another penalty… If it continued this way he was going to have to fork out $20 to Warrick.
"Oh." He paused for a few moments. "We're going to have to get photographs done though."
"No we're not."
Greg frowned at Nick, who was giving Greg a glare in return and they were both focusing so much that Nick didn't notice his team conceding another touchdown.
"Married couples have photos of them plastered everywhere."
"My parents don't." Nick said, unblinking and frowning further. "So that means we don't have to."
"Your parents have the rest of the clan to take up their walls; with your extended family they don't have space for photographs of them. My parents' walls are littered with photographs of the three of us."
"Just three?" Nick's frown softened as he found more out about his 'life-partner'. "Your family is that small?"
"Mum, Dad and I made tre."
"You mean three." Nick said, happy to deflect the conversation away from couple photographs.
"That's what tre means, three." He leant for the nachos that were supposed to be shared between Nick and Warrick- but had remained untouched... And Greg had decided to take advantage of the platter just sat there. "It's Norwegian." He said through a mouthful.
Nick sighed, no matter how many times he'd pointed out Greg's eating habits, Greg actually hadn't even attempted to stop talking with his mouth full. Nick was beginning to find food chunks everywhere and starting to get the feeling what it'd be like to look after a toddler.
"Anyway, that's not the point. We need photographs."
"No."
"Yeah, I've got us an appointment with a professional." Greg said, bringing out the card he'd acquired by chance and throwing it in Nick's direction. "We turn up, she does some shots, we pay him for them and then we take them home and make this look authentic."
"Can't we do that without photographs?" Nick asked hopefully, hating the idea of having evidence of what was supposed to be going on between them. A photograph would capture the moment forever, whereas without a photograph he could completely deny the existence of the year.
"We can," Greg paused and Nick looked hopeful. "But, it'd be harder to convince people and I, for one, want to make this as easy as possible."
Nick held his head in his hands, wishing that he hadn't agreed to any of this… Especially now he owed Warrick twenty dollars for his teams defeat as well as having to have reminders of this nightmare-ish year.
When Greg had said professional, Nick hadn't quite envisioned one of the best photographers perched on one of the busiest streets in Vegas. In fact, Nick had envisioned some college freshman with a little booth in his parents' house. It seemed that Greg was pulling out all the stops when it came to these shots; and it was making him feel a little edgy. The pair sat in the waiting area, opposite many other people that had gathered to have their photographs taken. The rest of them were probably there to preserve the memories; whereas Nick and Greg were just there to make their marriage look authentic.
Or in Greg's case; to preserve the memories of the zaniest year of his life.
"How on earth did you get us an appointment in here?" Nick whispered, looking at the couple who were trying to straighten their young sons tie. "It looks very, very exclusive."
"I pulled a favour." Greg said, grinning as the boy started trying to strangle himself with the tie- much to the horror of his parents. "Coda owes me a few."
The glass doors at the other side of the room flew open before Nick had chance to say anything more; a young brunette stepped out, with a camera hanging pride of place around her neck- her blue eyes bright. She attracted almost all the male attention in the room; but she didn't seem interested- instead focusing her attention upon Greg.
"Greggie!" She cried happily, striding towards them with an air of grace and she swept Greg up into a tight embrace.
"Hey Coda," Greg wheezed, as he tried to alter his position so he wasn't having an elbow wedged into his ribs. "How are you?"
"Same old, same old." She mumbled, making Nick wonder what personal issues she was dealing with- almost everyone Greg knew had some issue. "Anyway, you're here for my business." She said, brightening up instantly.
"You sure you're willing to do this?" Greg asked, struggling to catch his breath.
"Of course." She smiled, releasing him from her grip when she realised he was uncomfortable. "I owe you, right?" She added cheekily.
Nick laughed slightly, realising those words had been the exact words Greg had said a few moments ago and had obviously been the words Greg had used to get Coda to do this in the first place.
"And who is this?" Coda asked, almost shoving Greg to one side to peer at Nick (who felt rather uncomfortable under her gaze). Greg didn't seem at all phased by her actions; he'd probably been on the receiving end of this many-a-time before and knew this was her normal behaviour. Nick on the other hand, didn't like anyone trying to analyse him with their eyes- even if they were good looking.
"Nick Stokes ma'am." He said, his accent turning thicker as it always did when he was trying to impress someone. Okay, so technically he was married but it wouldn't stop him flirting.
"A Texan!" She clapped her hands in glee. "Where did you get him so I can go out and get one?"
"They sell them at all good Wal-Marts," Greg quipped lightly before Nick had chance to say he wasn't actually Greg's and ruin the whole chirade just for a quick date. "But seriously, are you sure you're okay to do this?"
"Of course I'm fine; it's not everyday I get one of my drinking buddies asking if I can do shots of him and his partner after they've gotten married without telling me." She said without a breath, her face turning rather pink in the process. "And before you say am I okay with the whole gay thing- I've had some more flamboyant men through here and I was fine."
Greg closed his mouth and nodded, deciding it was best not to argue with the professional. Nick would admit he wouldn't like to argue with her either; women these days were getting more vicious.
Without another word she sauntered off into her domain; and Nick and Greg followed close behind.
"So, do you want them to look professional or candid?" She asked, setting up her camera in the centre of the wide oak panelled room, where numerous examples of her work hung pride of place. The centre of the room was occupied with a complicated set-up of lights, cameras and numerous background. She pointed them forward to the canvass, waiting for them to arrange themselves in the pose they wanted to take.
But neither did.
"Either?" Greg suggested, unsure as to what the real difference was. All he wanted was some shots that could convince the Minister that they were a perfectly functioning couple- which was proving harder and harder considering Nick was currently checking out Coda.
"Hey," Greg hissed, shoving Nick to get his attention. "Supposed to be married here, not ogling my friend."
"Do you guys have a PDA rule or something?" She asked looking up from behind her lens towards the couple that were currently over a metre away from one another. "I really don't actually care if you two touch each other. I've seen a lot weirder things..."
Nick shook his head, refusing to move from the spot he'd planted himself on, a good distance away from Greg who was currently sulking. There was no way he was getting any nearer to the other man; there was no force in heaven or on earth that would make him even touch Greg in an overly familiar way.
He didn't want to have to disinfect himself later.
"Seriously guys, these shots do not say happily married, they say divorce in a month." She said, trying to coax the pair together without resorting to violence.
"Thanks," Greg said sighing. "I don't think we're really into this photo thing after all."
"Excuse me?" Coda snapped, "I'm sorry, I do not take time out from paying customers to take photos of my friend and end up producing a roll of duds!"
"Well it's not my fault."
"It's the pair of you. Come on, I want proper shots of two guys that are in love. That's what you need hanging on your wall when times get tough and that's what I want to see!" She left her position from behind the camera to drag Greg over to where Nick was stood, shoving him forcefully into the Texans side. "Don't make me bang your heads together." She threatened, glaring at the pair of bewildered men, even though she was a head shorter, she still managed to intimidate them
"We're going to have to do this." Greg mumbled, "Otherwise she seriously will bang our heads together."
"But that means, touching each other." Nick whined, shuddering violently.
"Don't worry, I won't give you cooties."
"Is there a problem over there?" Coda asked, realising the pair still were hovering around each other, too awkward to touch the other. "Seriously, you guys are worse than the teenagers I get through here. Some of them are not at all shy, I've had some very frisky kids I can tell you."
Nick closed his eyes, trying to ignore the headache that was currently making his head feel as if it was about to implode. It had done that a lot since he'd met Greg, and he was beginning to wonder if he was actually allergic to him.
"Let's get this over with."
"So you've finally decided to try and be photographed huh?" Coda smirked, leaning against her tripod. "Seriously, it's the 21st century; displays of affection are accepted these days. Especially between married couples."
"Funny." He rolled his eyes at his friend, aware that this whole situation was making Nick rather edgy and it wasn't exactly doing wonders for him either. "You take charge." Greg hissed, "That way you're not going to be too uncomfortable, okay?"
Nick nodded, speech failing him at that particular moment as he felt as if he was going to pass out at any moment. In his mind, this whole marriage ordeal had been a lot simpler than it was turning out to be… Actually in his mind he never even imagined having to touch Greg.
Cautiously he put a hand on Greg's shoulder, expecting some violent reaction because he was touching his husband, but it never came. In fact, if Nick was pressed to explain, he'd say it felt completely normal as if he were touching anyone and not Greg. He could feel that the younger had tensed underneath the touch, probably just as terrified as he was being touched by Nick. They were a right pair.
"That's better!" Coda beamed, taking her position behind the camera watching as the two finally displayed some affection towards one another. Up until this moment she was actually considering telling Greg to escape the marriage as fast as he could, because they were obviously not made for one another- but now… She wasn't so sure.
Greg sighed, relaxing and leaning into the touch instinctively. Nick, instead of jumping and pushing Greg away, accepted the fact that this was going to make the photographs look authentic (even if it was giving him the creeps).
"You know," Greg whispered into his ear, something that made him bristle instantly because that was a little too intimate for him. "I might go into acting after this."
"No chance." Nick said, laughing at the stupid idea, "Stick to the day job."
Only after Coda clapped her hands together did they both realise that she'd finished her work and they'd somehow managed to survive the time. Nick wondered how it was that something that should have been so painful was made a lot less painful just by having Greg there... Was he actually enjoying Greg's company?
"Finally I've got some good shots." She said, "And they look perfect! Your parents are going to love them."
Nick jerked his hand suddenly away from Greg; remembering that he was only meant to be posing for the photographs not forgetting (even for a split-second) that this was all a charade. He looked over at Greg, who didn't look at all phased by the mention of his parents.
In fact, they hadn't mentioned what they were going to do about them.
"Thanks." Nick mumbled, the sick feeling returning to his stomach, wondering what would happen if his parents ever did see the photographs that were taken today.
"You're going to have to wait about twenty minutes before you're able to get hold of the tasters from reception. That isn't a problem is it?"
They both shook their heads.
"Good, now skedaddle, I have other clients waiting for me." She snapped, but the grin on her face gave her away. "I'll see you soon."
"That wasn't so bad was it?" Greg said as the glass doors shut behind the next family that were off to get their portraits done. Nick shrugged in response, not actually sure whether it was okay or terrible depending on how he looked at it.
When Catherine Willows had booked an appointment at Coda K's Photography she'd never expected to have seen anyone she worked with there; let alone photo-phobic Nick Stokes with someone (probably his wife from yoga class). Maybe the marriage was benificial for Nick, especially if she was managing to get him to do things he'd refused outright to everyone else.
"Nick!" Catherine said as she entered the reception area, noticing that Nick froze in place immediately looking completely horrified. "What are you doing here?"
She knew that was a stupid question really, anyone that came here was obviously there for photographs, but it was a way of making small talk as Lindsey had decided to quickly stop at the store across the street. Plus, drop the idea of a double date to his wife (because if she went through Nick and Warrick they'd refuse).
"Cath, what a surprise." He was grimacing, no doubt about that in Catherine's mind. "Didn't think I'd bump into you here."
"Neither did I," She laughed slightly, trying desperately to see if it was the brunette from her class that was currently hiding behind Nick. It didn't occur to her that his wife wouldn't hide away from her. "But it's time for Lindsey's yearly portrait."
Someone snorted from behind Nick; yeah that sounded like the woman from her yoga class, she had a habit of snorting at everything Catherine said.
"Who have you got back there?" She asked innocently, leaning slightly to one side to catch a glimpse of whoever it was hiding. "Someone you shouldn't?"
"No." He said, a little too hastily for Catherine's liking just helping her to to come to the conclusion that Nick could actually be cheating on his wife already... After all, Mandy was a persistent woman. "I was just getting some photographs done for my folks."
She didn't buy it.
"Mommy, why is that man hiding behind that other man?" A child said rather loudly, pointing towards Nick. And Nick swore underneath his breath; wishing children learnt manners from an early age.
Another man?
"Hmm, sure." Catherine rolled her eyes at his pathetic attempt at lying; he really needed pointers- because his honesty kept him from spinning a convincing tale. "So, that guy you're hiding is really a cousin?"
"We're busted." Nick said and his friend emerged from behind him- mumbling something like an apology towards Nick.
"Oh Nicky, I thought you were better than that." She shook her head solemnly. "I never knew you'd cheat on your wife."
The younger man started to giggle, and then outright burst into laughter in Catherine's face, finding something about cheating highly hilarious. Nick seemed to also, as he was biting the inside of his cheek to stop his laughter. Catherine glared disapprovingly at her friend.
"There's nothing funny about it. Just wait until I tell her." She threatened.
"Tell Sara?" The other man snorted. "She wouldn't care."
Of course she'd care! What woman wouldn't actually care?
"I never thought you'd be capable of something so… Devious." She shook her head, glad that she had Warrick now and was no longer subjected to men that seemed to be perfect and yet were all so damaged. "If you didn't feel for her, there was no need to get married to her."
Nick looked at the younger man, who was clutching his sides and his eyes were watering. He couldn't look at Catherine without bursting into another bout of laughter; and she wasn't amused.
"Catherine, you've got this all mixed up. I'm not married to that woman you met."
"Oh." She looked from the other man to Nick and back again, the pieces slowly falling into place. "You two?"
"Yeah." Nick admitted quietly, looking down at the floor.
"Awwww…" Catherine crooned, her voice three pitches higher than it had ever reached before. "Our Nicky's gay and married."
That's just plain weird. How come I never knew that? I have a good gaydar.
"Uhh, thanks?" He replied, quickly turning beetroot as the little boy started asking his parents questions about what gay meant- there went his whole 'never subject young children to homosexuality' rule.
"So aren't you going to introduce me?" Catherine prompted, looking at the younger man curiously.
"Sorry, Catherine this is Greg. Greg, Catherine."
"Hey," Greg offered weakly, looking just as uncomfortable as Nick was. Possibly because they were stood in the middle of a waiting area proclaiming they were in a gay marriage- but as Catherine said you had to be out and proud. "I better go see if our tasters are ready." He said, skittering off before she had chance to say anything else.
"Why didn't you tell any of us? You know we would have supported you." Catherine said softly, taking her mothering tact. "Warrick will want to know."
"Yeah, guess so." Nick said, avoiding looking at Catherine (or anyone for that matter.) When Catherine found out that Nick had told Warrick and he'd sworn not to tell Catherine- they were both going to be in a lot of touble.
"We're going to have to arrange a double date sometime." Catherine said smiling, which caused Nick to blush even further. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to your partner. I have to go find Lindsey." And try and figure out how come I was so wrong about you.
"I don't know, do you think it would be better here," He pointed to a spot on the wall beside the newly organised photos of both their families. "Or there?"
Since the Ministers last visit they'd taken into account everything that look suspicious, rearranging the trophies to have some of Greg's awards in there, brought out some of Greg's photographs to put onto the mantle and merged their CD's together (although Nick refused to let Greg play them).
"I don't know, it's a photo, you just put it somewhere and it'll be good enough for me."
"This is supposed to be a joint decision."
"How is hanging a photo a joint decision?"
"I don't know." Greg shrugged. "I was trying to get you involved here."
"I am involved; I'm the one with the hammer and the nail. You point out where to hang it and I'll do it. Teamwork eh?"
"Still can't believe we saw Catherine there. What are the odds on that?" Greg said, finally choosing his spot on the wall- and marking it with a pencil X.
"She hasn't left me alone since, she wants us to double date with her and Warrick." Nick said, frowning at the picture that actually made them both look madly in love and actually truthful. "I want to know how Coda managed to make it look like we weren't arguing."
"She works her miracles." Greg said, stepping back to look at the photograph, grinning to himself at his good idea. They did look happy, Nick laughing whilst he whispered something into his ear with a smirk on his face. "But I think that's good enough for everyone."
"My hand still hasn't recovered though." Neither has my mind, I think I'm going to be scarred for life.
"Shut up."
***
To Greg, Las Vegas had always seemed like such a large city with plenty of crevices for people to hide away in… But right at this moment, Greg seriously thought it was a little too small for his liking. The Royal Flush was one of those bars that tourists didn't know about and instead only the real Vegas inhabitants knew its whereabouts. That's what made it a gem in Vegas; well that and the fact that alcohol wasn't extortionately priced.
Although, when he collided with Archie's back, he suddenly thought it was a diamond still caught in the rough.
He'd actually never expected anyone he knew to be there that night; in fact he didn't expect to see anyone there ever. Just somehow Archie had not only ended up there, but was grinning at Greg whilst parading his recent catch to the rest of the club.
"It's nice to see you here." Archie said a sly grin on his face. "I wouldn't think with a man at home he'd allow you to club crawl."
Well, technically Nick hadn't said he could come but then again he'd never expressed that Greg had to stay at home. Actually, Nick hadn't said anything particularly useful when he'd mentioned his Friday night club-crawl, just 'you better not end up drunk and marry another guy- I draw the line at threesomes.' At that moment Greg had rolled his eyes and simply said that he wasn't that irresponsible… But then again, he had been once before.
"I get a free reign." He said, eyeing up the latest attachment Archie had claimed as his. "I don't have to perch myself on his arm twenty-four hours a day."
The new blonde stared blankly at Greg, pretty much confirming Greg's suspicions that he was being replaced by some air-head that had the looks of a male-model, but about as much intelligence as a box of lucky charms. Archie, on the other hand, managed to process that Greg was insulting his new boyfriend and smirked.
"You may not have to, but we all know you want to."
Greg frowned, not sure which of the two he'd rather glare at. He could glare at Archie because he was insulting him or he could glare at the blonde because some one like that was replacing him… There went his irreplaceable theory.
"No, with Nicky I'm pretty happy just being in his company. We're okay not conjoining ourselves because we know we're each others."
That was the truth because $1.5 million was enough to keep their eyes solely focused on one another and no wondering inhibitions; although Greg did wonder what would happen when they began to get sexually frustrated- that was bound to happen sooner rather than later.
Greg took a gulp of his neon green drink, deciding that alcohol would numb the pain of this experience because standing around on the dance floor with your ex-boyfriend and his latest attachment wasn't exactly the most thrilling of evenings. When Greg had decided to come out tonight, he'd really planned on getting drunk and toasting lasting almost a whole month without giving their game away- standing awkwardly wasn't really on the cards.
"I don't think you two have been introduced." Archie said suddenly to break the silence (well, silence excluding the loud music that was pounding from the speakers) "Greg, this is my boyfriend of two months, Alex."
The blood slowly drained from Greg's face as he heard the two part; because he certainly hadn't been married to Nick for eight weeks. In fact, they were only just approaching the four week mark! That's when he realised that Archie had been seeing Alex whilst he was supposedly meant to be in a serious (and a committed) relationship with Greg. But then again, Archie did think that Greg had been 'dating' Nick for well over two months- so it was only fair.
Even if Greg had been lying.
"Good for you." Greg said, taking another large swig of the odd coloured liquid- more than happy that it was burning as it went down the back of his throat. He knew that if he kept it up he might end up not remembering the night at all, but to Greg that was a price to pay if he wanted to block out the smirk that was currently fixated on Archie's face. Once upon a time he'd have loved to be on the receiving end of that look, but now it was making him feel rather uncomfortable and a little disheartened.
All he'd come here for was some good music and an atmosphere that no where else could beat… He'd never expected for the music to sound rather vicious nor would he have thought he'd feel rather cold there.
He guessed that was Archie's effect.
"How's the cohabitation going?" Archie asked calmly, his steady gaze never breaking of Greg, not even for a second to look at his apparent new boyfriend. "As brilliant as you always made it sound?"
He nodded, swallowing thickly, trying to get rid of the bile that was collecting in the back of his throat from the sickening way Archie was oh-so-casually bringing up all the issues that had driven them apart in the first place. It was bringing back all those bitter moments that he didn't want to remember as well as those good times that made his head ache from the pressure of the charade.
"I'm glad to hear it. Alex and I are very much enjoying the perks."
He really wanted the ground to swallow him now, not only was Archie seeing this guy whilst supposedly in a relationship with Greg but he was also living with the empty airhead- and that was something Archie had always refused to do whilst they had been dating.
"I'll get us all drinks." The blonde said from beside Archie, making Greg realise that he was openly glaring and his hands were shaking and making the liquid slop all over the place. "I'll be right back."
Alex tottered off in the direction of the bar, obviously relieved to get away from the awkward tension that was currently flitting in the air between Archie and himself. Greg had found it awkward in the corridor every time he'd bumped into Archie, it had been as if they'd suddenly become complete strangers- not a pair that had shared intimate moments once upon a time and Greg had made a habit of taking Sara with him at all times.
"So where did you find that one?" Greg asked, pointing to Alex who was currently working his charm on the bartender. "And how did you afford it?"
"Same place I hired you from." Archie retorted, knowing how spiteful jealous Greg could be- and he'd practically run through this scenario in his mind before he'd come out especially do Greg's favourite haunt. "Same place I think you got your Texan from."
"At least Nick came with personality."
When Greg actually stopped to think about it; Alex did look a lot like Nick in many ways. The same broad shoulders, the same athletic build with perfect features (not that Greg thought any of those things, he just noticed such things) and actually in the way they presented themselves… They were pretty much each others doppelgangers.
Maybe that's why Archie had decided to bring Alex along; just to show he could go out and get someone just as good as Nick was.
"Look Greg," Archie said, his voice dropping to a level that was barely audible over the music meaning that Greg had to lean in to hear him. "I didn't mean for this to happen tonight."
Greg nodded, looking Archie in the face and immediately realising that he was lying. He'd been around him long enough to learn the traits, to learn the habits and the little tell-tale signs he had… But even Archie sometimes didn't realise just how well Greg knew him, otherwise he wouldn't try this lie now.
"I know, it must be tough when you see that I've moved on. I guess you thought I'd wait around for you huh?"
He shook his head, even though he was lying; he always knew Archie could never tell whether he was being truthful or not. Archie's hand brushed against his arm ever-so-slightly; something that in the past he'd have found reassuring but now it made warning bells go off in the back of his mind because the touch was something he missed.
And he couldn't be lured by it because he really couldn't ruin the bid for money just for this one night.
"It was hard for me, I'll admit it." Archie said softly, and Greg diverted his gaze to the bar to watch the other people as they came and went. "I couldn't stand to see you with him. I couldn't stand to see him near you, looking at you like that, making me realise that you weren't mine anymore."
"I was never yours."
He said it before he even had chance to put his brain-to-mouth filter up and he realised that it was true. He never was actually Archie's… In some ways he was willing to be, but never dedicated himself wholly because in the back of his mind it was never going to be complete. There was always going to be some element in there that wasn't right, that wasn't complete.
"Anyway, I realised then how much I loved you, how much I need you… How much I want you."
Something inside of Greg snapped upon hearing those words. They were the words he'd been seeking from the beginning, but they'd never come until they were too late… Until they could do nothing but fall upon deaf ears that truly couldn't allow them to break down this armour he'd started to build.
"I need to go-" Greg mumbled, pulling away, but Archie's hand grabbed his wrist before he could fully break away.
"You know that I do Greg, I always will."
He pulled away, Archie not fighting to keep his grasp, instead just watching as the other made his way through the crowd in a desperate bid to get away.
Archie grinned…
Mission accomplished.
Greg made his way to the back exit of the club, the fresh air making his head spin and his ears were still ringing. His stomach was twisting into all sorts of odd shapes, causing his throat to burn furiously with contents that was threatening to find their way back up. He slumped against the opposite wall, looking up to the night sky above, blinking back the tears.
He'd always wanted to hear those words uttered from Archie's lips, always wanted to hear the 'I love you' that meant so much to him… Just he didn't want to hear them now when it was too late…
Greg felt the hot tears streak down his face despite telling himself not to be weak and not to cry over Archie; there was the opportunity of something new here, the opportunity of something that could be so much better and yet he wanted the old things back again. He slid down the grimy brickwork onto the floor, finding that his body really didn't want to work in tandem with his mind anymore- and it was just giving up.
He sighed heavily, pressing his hands to his face and rubbing the salty tears away. He didn't want Archie to get the better of him, but suddenly he didn't feel as joyous as he had done before and all he wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed.
He fished his cell from within his pocket, wandering whether to call Nick or a cab.
"'Lo?"
Greg froze, unsure why it was he'd phoned Nick in this moment of potential crisis. It wasn't a very wise thing to admit to Nick he needed his help, because by now he was probably wondering how vulnerable Greg was and how he seemed to be turning out to be more and more in need.
"Greg?"
"Shit." Greg cursed, realising that there was such thing as caller ID these days. "Sorry to wake you."
"No problems."
Silence for a few minutes then…
"Is there a reason you've woken me up?"
"Uh, well…" Greg pondered what to tell Nick and what not to. "Archie's here."
"Huh?"
Greg sighed, realising that Nick's sleep-addled mind probably wouldn't piece two and two together for a while. He realised that he'd have to spell it out word by word for his benefit.
"At the club. Archie's at the club."
"Ah." Nick paused for a minute and Greg could hear shuffling on the end of the line. "I see."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have phoned."
"Don't you even think of hanging up." Nick snapped, making Greg freeze in his tracks. "Where are you?"
"The Royal Flush, but Nick you don't have to…"
"You called me, what did you expect me to do? Make you walk?"
"Thanks Nick." Greg said smiling ever-so-slightly. "I owe you."
Nick pulled up in the lot of The Royal Flush twenty minutes after Greg's call. He'd never even heard of this place before and when Greg had mentioned where he was, Nick was a little clueless. But instead of just telling him to call a cab, he'd heard the sadness in Greg's voice and found himself dragging himself half way across Vegas to find him.
Warrick had done it for Nick, Nick had done it for Warrick… And now Nick was doing it for Greg; did that actually mean he considered Greg to be a friend? He mentally kicked himself for the slip-up, allowing himself to befriend Greg was certainly not a wise thing to do; a friendship meant that he was becoming attached to this new part of his life and he couldn't be doing with a friendship!
Nick frowned at the neon sign that paraded over the bar, casting sickly neon shadows across the pavement. That's probably why he hated places such as this; they always looked commercial and tacky and they ruined the natural beauty of the desert. Places like this were the reason Nick was slowly contemplating moving.
Well, he couldn't move for at least a year.
And that was about 11 months too many.
He scanned the area, looking for the person that had roused him from his sleep and somehow triggered him into his hero complex. Nick spotted the younger over the far side of the lot, casually leant against one of the walls with his eyes to the floor- somehow it didn't seem right to Nick that his one night of relaxation and unwinding was to be spent moping because his ex-boyfriend decided to crash the party… It seemed unfair that it'd happened to Greg, because he'd had enough turbulence over the past month without Archie adding to it.
"It's nice out here huh?" Nick asked, leaning against the wall next to his partner. "Calmer atmosphere and all."
"I thought it'd be fun coming out here tonight," Greg commented dryly. "Didn't think I'd run into anyone."
"How can you find this type of thing fun? Getting drunk and not remembering anything the next day is not fun. It's what got us here in the first place."
"I guess so." Greg shrugged. "Can we just go home? I don't feel much like fighting out here."
"C'mon." Nick said, pushing himself off the wall, "We've got beer and music back at ours and if it makes you feel better I think I have glow sticks hidden somewhere."
Greg laughed, moving away from the wall and heading back towards Nick's car.
"Greg!"
He froze in his tracks, as did Nick, both spinning to face the entrance where Archie was currently emerging from- obviously coming to taunt Greg some more. Greg slunk back to Nick's side, finding some protection in the shadow of the other. Archie sprinted towards the pair, his face morphing almost to a snarl upon seeing Nick firmly planted beside his intended target.
"You off already?" He asked, "I guess the other half put a curfew on you."
"Actually," Nick said, stepping in, "I was just getting here, we were thinking about moving off to a different bar. Greg said the company here wasn't too good."
"That's a shame. I was hoping to get a little insight into the world of the married man."
"It's good, thanks for asking. Now if you'd excuse us, we have some time to spend together." Nick said, turning on his heel and guiding Greg along with a hand placed in the small of his back, he'd seen many a person do that and hoped it wouldn't look too suspicious. "It was nice seeing you again."
"Likewise I'm sure." Archie mumbled, skulking back towards the club.
Once within the safety of the car, Greg released a breath he didn't even realise that he'd been holding and burst out into laughter.
"It wasn't that funny." Nick said, starting the engine up. "He deserved it for spoiling your evening out."
"Yeah, but did you see the look on his face? Priceless!"
***
Warrick didn't understand why Catherine found it so important that Nick and Greg had to come out to dinner with them but she'd been pressing the idea for weeks. Finally Warrick couldn't take anymore and extended the invite to Nick- who had outright laughed in his face.
But as soon as he'd realised that it was no twisted joke, Nick had just refused claiming that neither of them did formal nor did they like the whole idea of a romantic evening out. Warrick had the slight feeling that his friend still felt uncomfortable with showing he was gay in public- or even showing Greg off to the rest of the world.
Catherine being the way she was wasn't going to give up the idea that easily and eventually got Nick to agree to see what Greg wanted to do. The next day when Nick mentioned that his partner really didn't want to go, she'd straight out told Nick there were reservations at La Cuisine for the following Friday.
And enforced the idea he was not going to let them down.
That's why both Nick and Greg were stood in the waiting area of the restaurant in their best (and in Greg's case non-neon) shirts and dress trousers whilst Catherine and Warrick stood watching their unease.
"Come on boys, it's nothing to be ashamed of." Catherine said, subtly shoving Greg into Nick's side. "You're here and you're queer."
Nick cringed at the term and was already thinking of ways to escape from the torture that was bound to ensue. Greg had been right when he'd said that it wasn't going to be an easy night for either of them and Nick was beginning to wish he'd just let Greg to pretend to be ill and that'd mean that neither could make it… Just he'd been honest and wasn't about to let his friends down.
Although, now he was beginning to wish he hadn't been that way inclined.
"Could you not say that word when we're in public?" Nick asked weakly, wondering how many people in the restaurant were staring at the pair of them now.
"Of course I won't Nicky," Catherine patted his arm reassuringly. "I just don't see why it's such a big deal to you."
"Maybe they just don't want to attract attention to themselves?" Warrick answered on his friends behalf, feeling bad that his girlfriend couldn't quite see that Nick was still coming to terms with it himself. "How about we just keep that sort of thing on the down-low for tonight and just have ourselves a nice meal?"
"Sounds good to me," Greg said using his voice for the first time of the evening. "I'm starving."
Nick shook his head at his 'partner' who seemed to be permanently hungry. Greg so far had cost Nick over double his normal shopping bills because Greg just ate him out of everything and anything that seemed to be in the least bit edible. Nick was already beginning to see tonight's tab in figures neither of them really could afford at that moment in time.
The restaurant looked as if it was going to be costly, Nick could tell from the elegant gold and red patterns that ran throughout that it was one of the places that prided itself with a perfectly manicured image that went along with the food… After all, the restaurants Nick normally booked were places you could walk into and be seated immediately rather than waiting for the table to open up.
He actually didn't know many restaurants that offered delicately sculpted leather and mahogany seats for their guests, or offered waiters and waitresses that looked like penguins or that hung oil paintings on their walls. Nick was beginning to feel a little under-dressed.
"Relax, you look like you're about to snap in two."
"I don't think I'm going to be able to last this evening out. I'm beginning to see why you thought this was a bad idea."
"We're here now and I'm hungry, so we're not going back without eating something."
"Do you even like French food?" Nick asked sceptically, knowing that the answer would be yes because Greg wasn't particularly fussy.
"Of course, since when can you not like a type of food?"
"For you it seems to be never."
Catherine looked at the pair of them from the corner of her eye, only keeping part of her mind on what Warrick was currently telling her. She was awfully suspicious of the pair of them, because she didn't understand how she could have missed Nick being gay all the years she'd known him. She was trying to observe how the pair of them interacted to see if there was some way they were around each other to give her the vital clue she's never found.
That was the honest reason she'd invited them to dinner.
Well, that and the excuse to wear her new dress.
"You're not listening to me are you?" Warrick asked, realising that Catherine had just been nodding along and not even paying the slightest bit of attention to what he was actually saying.
"Huh?" Catherine asked turning her attention back to Warrick and taking it away from the exchange between her co-worker and his husband. "I'm sorry; I've got a lot of other things on my mind."
"Like Nick and Greg?"
"Well, yes and no." Catherine admitted, dropping her voice even further than it currently was. "I want to know how I didn't know Nicky was gay. I'm so good at reading people that I should have known!"
"I didn't know either, but what's to say he's gay? He's been out with enough women in his time."
"That's repression." Catherine answered simply, "He must have known for a long time but was just trying to deny that he was."
Warrick shuddered, finding it uncomfortable that they were straying into his best-friends sexual preferences. It didn't bother him if he was gay or not, it just bothered him that Catherine was so interested in finding out all about it and that in a way this whole dinner was her idea of an interrogation.
"Can you just leave them alone? I'm sure Nick'll tell you when he's ready."
Well, he wasn't sure and he doubted that Nick would actually disclose something that private… But it was a way of keeping Catherine off their case for a while. He could already see Nick's discomfort and he hated seeing it- especially when Warrick had promised he's keep Catherine from questioning them.
"I'm sure everyone else wonders the same. I only overheard Jacqui talking about it yesterday; she was wondering the same thing."
Before Warrick could ask why it was Nick was coffee room gossip, their waitress bounded over, stopping the private interactions that were currently going on between Catherine and Warrick as well as Nick and Greg.
"Good evening and welcome to La Cuisine, I'm Ronnie and I'll be your waitress for this evening." She said whilst flicking her hair over her shoulder. "Unfortunately, we've had a bit of a mix up with reservations this evening…"
"What sort of mix up?"
Ronnie turned her attention towards Nick and smiled sweetly, obviously using her charm offensive. Greg (along with Catherine) scowled at her.
"It seems the only table we have free now is for a six. And we have both a party for four and a party for two booked to use this table."
"So divide them into two then."
"Unfortunately that is against our policy." She said in an unusually upbeat tone. "We are offering that the table be shared between the two parties, and both get a significant discount from their meal. Or you can choose not to dine with us."
"We'll take the discount!" Nick and Greg both yelled at the same time before bursting into laughter from their seemingly synchronisation.
"That's settled then." Warrick said, "Who are we sharing with?"
"A reservation made under the name of Grissom." She said, fiddling about to find them menus. "A father and daughter I assume, they won't give you any hassle."
"I've changed my mind! I don't want to share, let's just go." Greg said suddenly, heading towards the exit, but was stopped by Nick grabbing the back of his collar.
"You were the one who said you're not going home without eating." Nick reminded him. "So we're going to eat, drink and be merry."
The waitress ushered them through the restaurant towards the patio section, where they were to be seated. If Greg wasn't there with Nick he'd find it highly romantic as the pagoda was laced with ivy and fairy-lights that cast a soothing glow upon the ground.
"Why were you in such a rush to get out of here?" Nick asked, feeling the very same way as Greg- the romantic atmosphere clinging to every surface with the perfect ambiance and delicate sense helping to sooth their edgy nerves.
"I have a very bad feeling that we're about to bump into my boss and Sara." Greg admitted, "He's Grissom and Sara's young enough to be his daughter."
And as they arrived at the table, Greg's biggest fears were confirmed as none other than his boss and his colleague were sat there looking at the people that were coming to join their romantic evening. Sara frowned upon seeing them both there, probably realising that her meal and romance were about to be spoilt because Grissom was still believing that no one knew about them.
"Greg, Nick, how nice of you to join us." She said dryly, ignoring the glare Catherine was sending her direction possibly still annoyed that Sara had led her to believe that she was the wife.
"Small world, huh?" Greg grimaced as Nick and Catherine both volunteered him to sit in the seat next to Sara.
"Yes, very."
"So what brings you to La Cuisine?" Grissom asked, removing his hand from where it had been on the table, obviously to cast the illusion this was strictly just two co-workers socialising rather than being out on a romantic date… Not that it really bothered Greg, he already knew, but if Ecklie knew? All hell would break loose.
"We're just on an evening out between friends." Catherine said, settling into the chair beside Nick. "I'm Catherine Willows and this is my partner Warrick Brown. Of course you already know Greg and his husband."
Greg saw Nick tense up and kicked him subtly underneath the table, glaring so that Nick got the point not to freak-out every time Catherine mentioned them being together after all, that was the elaborate tale they were all spinning.
"Actually, I don't." Grissom said, eyeing Nick up before turning his attention back to Sara, who nodded. "The Nick I've been hearing much about?"
"Yeah." Nick croaked, picking up his menu and taking refuge behind it. "That's me."
"Very well then," Ronnie said clapping her hands together to get the table's attention back upon her. "Drink orders?"
Nick knew that he'd need a lot of it, and judging from the way Greg was glaring at his spoon, he was going to need volumes of it too.
By the end of starters, both Nick and Greg were beginning to regret every decision they had made so far that night. They were regretting deciding to come, they were regretting deciding to say and they were regretting allowing the two couples to make their own conversations.
Greg hadn't really touched the soup he had ordered and was contemplating the idea of drowning himself in it to stop the painful torture he was enduring. Nick was contemplating a similar course of action, but his was more along the lines of finding himself some gum to stick in his ears to drown out their voices. None of the members of the table looked particularly happy, in some way they all seemed a little uncomfortable and a lot disgruntled. But their waitress seemed oblivious to the atmosphere of the table- and instead kept reappearing with her over enthusiasm and her over-talkative-ity that was beginning to make them all feel more irate at the 'amazing customer service'.
Catherine and Sara had not once stopped glaring at one another, neither quite forgiving their past history. Greg suspected that Sara was angrier because Catherine was sat next to her man and was stopping them from having a romantic evening. Catherine hadn't quite forgiven the misleading and devious 'criminal' that had let her make a fool of herself. Warrick remained silent, only chipping in when Catherine decided his opinion was needed to back up her statements and he was beginning to look bored. Grissom was being talked at, rather than to, and was beginning to look as though he wished he was still deaf.
"Is everybody finished?" Ronnie asked bouncing over to their table, to break up the current argument going on between Catherine and Sara whether yoga actually promoted relaxation or was just a con. "I'll clear."
Greg whined as his escape plan was dragged away from him and he'd eaten none of it for that specific reason and so he remained starving hungry. In the process of trying to remove Sara's salad from the table- Ronnie almost got stabbed by the fork that Sara had been quite happily trying to murder the lettuce with- but Sara didn't look particularly apologetic. It seemed that Grissom was the only one the seemed even remotely polite to the waitress; thanking her for her service whilst the rest glared at her back.
The evening was turning into a disaster and they still had two courses left.
And Greg was thinking that he'd much rather have eaten at 'Burger Barn' after all the hassle. In fact, he was beginning to consider his next escape route through the men's bathroom window and making a run for freedom. He hadn't felt this stressed and uncomfortable since he'd bumped into Archie a few weeks before.
"How can you honestly say that you find keeping yourself looking youthful, a waste of time?"
"It is; there are more important things in the world." Sara said, smiling slightly when Grissom nodded in agreement.
"Like what?"
"Enjoying yourself?"
"My teenage daughter would disagree there. You can't enjoy yourself without looking good."
Greg's head hit the table with a loud thump halting the 'friendly discussion' before it could even get into the real swing of things.
"You shouldn't do that you know," Grissom said, smirking slightly at his employee's creativity (or was it because he liked seeing Greg suffer for ruining his romantic evening? One could never be sure.)
"Would you guys quit arguing?" Greg whined, lifting his head from the surface and rubbing it tentatively. "This was meant to be a relaxing meal out, not a debate team meeting."
Nick snorted at the geeky reference Greg had decided to use, but didn't interrupt. Greg was the only person thus far, to be able to halt their incessant arguments.
"It's not an ideal situation, I know, but at least we aren't complete strangers. So let's just eat our meal and be happy okay? I didn't come here to receive a headache or a burst eardrum, I came to eat."
Before anyone could agree to what Greg said, Ronnie began to set the food in front of them in hope that they could stop disturbing the peace and let the other patrons eat their meals in the romantic ambiance La Cuisine was known for. Who knew putting complete strangers next to each other would create so much conflict?
Soon though, the clatter and clang of cutlery filled the air from the disruptive table, and Ronnie grinned at her success story; another case of food solving all problems. It finally looked as though the three separate couples were going to get along and rather than yell at one another, just create small talk that no one particularly cared about.
Dessert was when Nick and Greg began to feel extremely awkward though; the time when the other two couples felt content with their meals and were busy romancing over various sweet treats. Even Sara and Grissom were gushing and indulging in sharing spoonfuls of ice-cream. Greg blanched, feeling rather nauseous at the sight of his best friend feeding the father figure a spoonful of strawberry ice-cream, whilst Nick was feeling rather queasy at the idea that was how Greg and him were meant to be acting over their dessert.
He didn't want to loose the enjoyable steak because of Greg, and by the look of his friend, he didn't want to either.
"I don't feel much like this." Nick said, shoving it further towards the younger (who was bound to still be hungry because he normally consumed a lot more than the measly portions given by the chef here). "You can have it all Greg."
"You sure?" Greg asked tentatively, knowing that scarping it down without the proper 'consent' would either make them look highly dysfunctional or liars- either way it wouldn't be good with the eagle eyes of Catherine hovering about. "You positive?"
"Knock yourself out."
He smiled brightly before shovelling his way though the mountains of ice-cream that was designed for two and Nick laughed, knowing that later on Greg would be suffering from chronic brain-freeze. Catherine looked at the two, seeing no romantic connection at all and wondering if her radar was off, or if there was nothing going on between the pair of them… Somehow, they just didn't seem right around one another.
Sara, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to those feelings Catherine was having and was instead finding the pair somehow, quite cute, even though this was like her kid-brother dating someone else. But as she looked at the pair laughing and enjoying themselves, she didn't get the sudden urge to protect Greg like she had with Archie.
"Can you get me an aspirin?" Greg asked, from his room, where he was burying himself below the covers. "They've given me a headache from hell."
"You sure it's not just the ice-cream?" Nick remarked, entering Greg's room with the items. "You ate an ice-cream built for two before the others had even managed to get half way through it."
"I think it was to soothe the already building headache." Greg said dramatically, swallowing the tablets down with a loud over exaggerated gulp. "I told you it was going to be a nightmare."
"But how was I to know we were going to bump into Sara and your boss on a date? Unfortunately I'm not clairvoyant."
"I know." He sighed, "I had the bad feeling though when she said Grissom. That's why I wanted to scarper."
"Hey, it's over now. Let's rest assured that Catherine will never invite us out on a double date again."
"No, that's true… She'll make it a triple."
Nick laughed loudly on his exit, hearing the groan from his friend and his ice-cream headache. He padded to his own room, knowing that the night had been a disaster from beginning to end and normally that would have bothered him but this time it didn't. He had fun that was all that mattered and that's what made the night successful.
Maybe Greg was having an impact on his life after all.
***
Thunk
Nick looked up from behind his paper and raised a questioning brow at Greg, the younger shrugged before dashing from his seat towards the hallway where the noise had come from. Nick rolled his eyes at the energy of his partner despite it being a Monday morning, which in Nick's eyes were not for enthusiasm (no, those privileges were reserved for Fridays) but more for a subdued approach. Apparently Greg didn't have the same memo.
He turned his attention back to the sports pages, totalling up his winnings from Warrick this week when Greg bounded back in and dumped something on the table causing another resounding thump.
"You know what this is?" Greg asked, gesturing to the square parcel upon the table. He opened his mouth to speak but Greg cut him off, apparently not posing Nick an actual question. "It's our wedding video."
Nick shuddered hearing 'our' and 'wedding' in the same sentence. He'd began to adjust to the fact that he had to share the year with the younger, exuberant male but he'd still refused to accept he was married and supposedly gay… As much as he knew it was true, in some ways he didn't want it to be true.
That's right, Nick was in denial.
"This way we get to see just what our wedding night was like." Greg continued, either oblivious or ignoring Nick's discomfort (Nick guessed it was the latter). "And I can show it to all the grandchildren one day."
Nick paled, the talk of grandchildren making his breakfast swirl irritably within his stomach. He didn't want to think of children and Greg because that was beyond comprehension, after all Greg was a bisexual and so those children could end up with two Daddies.
And what was even more disturbing was Nick had seen him and Greg.
That, of course, was wrong.
"Or I could send it into one of those clip-shows where the weirdest things happen. Yeah, that way other people can share in the hilarity of the situation."
It amazed him how Greg could completely hold a conversation without even the slightest bit of acknowledgement from Nick. In fact, he was talking on without a care if Nick was listening or not. How on earth were you meant to quieten something that really was oblivious to you listening or not? The Texan had yet to perfect a method of doing so.
"Nick?"
"Huhn?" He realised he'd been off in his own world because Greg had actually stopped talking and was looking at him with curiosity dancing within his eyes. "Sorry, just totalling up how much Warrick owes me."
"Suuuuureee" Greg rolled his eyes picking up the package. "Are we going to watch it now or not?"
Nick's throat closed up at that moment, realising that the video meant that he'd have to face the reality that he'd gotten married. His stomach growled at him, protesting the idea of watching it and the rest of his colour drained quickly. To say he was a little nervous about watching it was the understatement of the century; because Nick really didn't want to see his wedding day on tape.
Ever.
No exceptions.
Nick shook his head dumbly, stumbling from his seat and clearing up his half-uneaten breakfast quickly.
"Look at the time," he said grabbing his car-keys from the side. "Gotta get to work."
Before Greg could even argue, Nick sprinted for the door and quickly made his way from the building. In the apartment Greg sighed, deciding it was best to hide the tape away from Nick's clutches as he tried to figure out a way to lull Nick into watching what Greg would consider, one of the highlights of his life.
In the car-park, Nick tried to calm himself in the comfort of his car (with the doors locked) whilst trying to convince himself the video wouldn't be that bad.
Well, it won't be that bad, it'll be horrific.
"What's up man? You've been jittery all day." Warrick said, concerned for his the well-being of his friend. Normally Nick was calm and collected but today he'd jumped when anyone had approached him, in fact when anyone had spoken to him! Warrick hadn't seen his friend so jittery since he'd found out Nigel Crane had started following stalking him after Nick had refused to train him any further. But after the restraining order, Nick had eased up…
But today Nick had jumped every single time someone unexpected had appeared, first he'd almost elbowed Catherine in the face, then it had been Brass and now it was him. Warrick shook his head and patted Nick's shoulder before sliding into the seat opposite.
"What's Greg done to get you so riled?"
Nick didn't look up from his plate of pasta that was just being poked at, rather than being consumed. Instead, he focused on completely destroying the shells of pasta that were still whole. Even though he was extremely hungry, he didn't feel much like eating because every few seconds the videotape flashed across his mind and made him feel queasy.
"Are you actually going to eat that?" Warrick asked, eyeing the plate, realising that even if Nick wasn't hungry, he was. Nick shook his head and pushed the plate across the table, replacing the stabbing motions with ripping a napkin to shreds.
The waitress passed by giving them both a disapproving glance; and Warrick couldn't do anything but offer her a sweet smile in way of an apology. In all honesty, he was glad Nick had decided to dissect the napkin rather than taking his frustrations out on the punch-bag as usual.
Nick remained silent, even though he knew Warrick was waiting for him to start telling his story as to why he was so avoidant and constantly jumpy. He kept thinking that at any moment Greg was going to leap out of the shadows and force him to watch their wedding and completely destroy Nick's last shreds of humility. Then when he'd realised Greg wasn't going to jump out, he got the odd feeling that if either Catherine or Warrick found out his avoidance they'd force him too.
"So, what's he done?"
"Nothing," Nick answered, going for nonchalant but it sounded suspicious. He'd yet to perfect his lying mechanism.
"Riiight, and Catherine was a pole-dancer before she joined us." He paused waiting for Nick to begin but when he realised that his buddy wasn't going to talk he pulled out his cell-phone. "You going to tell me, or am I going to have to get your better half to explain it all to me?"
Nick still refused to say a word, calling Warrick's bluff because why exactly would he have Greg's number? Before Warrick could pry any further Nick took off out of the resturant, leaving Warrick to finish his pasta.
"Wait up Greg!" Wendy called, bounding down the hallway towards her colleague. Since he'd been reminded earlier it was their all you can eat Chinese trip, Greg had been keen to disappear at every opportunity- and now it was lunch time Greg had pulled another getaway and had took off down the corridors before anyone had chance to even register his disappearance. Sara had just shrugged; Hodges had immediately refused to go after Sanders (or whatever he was called these days) and Wendy hadn't even bothered to ask Grissom… Instead taking her leave and heading after Greg.
Who was proving he could evade capture pretty well.
Greg heard his fellow lab-tech approaching and had sped up, rounding the corridors of the facility at lightening pace, trying to figure out the best way to loose her and escape the building altogether. He didn't understand why Conrad Ecklie wanted the labs to go out on the meals, although Greg guessed it was all politically motivated to get ahead in the company. Right now, Greg couldn't hate him more for it.
Greg was so lost in his musings that he didn't see the large crowd of lab 39 waltzing in his direction, nor did he notice the very mouse-like Henry Andrews until he'd collided with the other and sent them both to the ground. Greg cursed miserably as everyone laughed at his misfortune and poor Henry looked a little confused and horrified.
"Sorry," Greg offered weakly, getting to his feet and offering Henry a hand up. "Guess I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Too right Sanders," one of the group said, chortling to himself as the laughter of the others slowly died down.
"Greg!"
He groaned knowing there was no way he was going to avoid the meal now Wendy had caught him up.
"Whoops, the missus doesn't look too happy." Another one of the technicians mumbled, signalling to Wendy who was trying to muster a death-glare in Greg's direction (but failing miserably). "We better get going."
With that the cluster of lab 39 technicians continued making their way towards the reception, dragging the bemused Andrews' along with them. Greg wished they could drag him along too, just so he could slip out at one point, but no such luck. Instead he was stranded in a corridor with Wendy at his side, giving him a disapproving glance.
"You're not ducking out on this one." Wendy said firmly, hooking her arm through Gregs' and he saw any possibility of escape slowly vanishing before his eyes. "If you miss this Ecklie's going to have your ass." They both knew she was thinking something else, but neither made a move to broach the topic, Greg more out of avoidance and Wendy out of concern for her friend. "And it's all on the company's expense- what's better than that?"
Greg shook his head weakly, trailing along beside his friend admitting defeat. He just really hoped he didn't bump into Archie there, without Nick as his back-up he wasn't sure how he'd handle the smirk that seemed permanently on his face. Although Greg had a few ideas on how to get rid of it…but he was sure none of them were legal.
"Have you got any clue what is wrong with Nick?" Warrick asked and Catherine frowned whilst trying to recapture his lips. Even though Catherine was trying to take his mind off the situation by softly massaging his bottom lip, he still couldn't take his mind off of Nick's current jitters. "Seriously Cath, I can't concentrate whilst he's in a mess."
Catherine pouted, taking a step away from Warrick and the lockers whilst straightening herself out.
"Why do you need to concentrate when I'm doing all the work?" She asked, completely bemused. "And why are you concerned about Nick whilst we are enjoying ourselves."
Warrick laughed throatily, his green eyes glinting in amusement, but it didn't soothe Catherine who was feeling a little irate Warrick had cut short their intimacy to focus on his friend, not that she was completely selfish, just some things were not to be interrupted in her eyes… And this was one of them.
"Well, you've got my attention, explain."
Warrick partly wished he hadn't said anything because Catherine was giving her cool, calculative gaze which always meant she was just purely there on business and he'd lost his opportunity of a tension reliever. Warrick rubbed a weary hand across his face and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I think Greg's done something."
Catherine laughed not even a slight chuckle or a giggle, a fit of loud, bubbling laughs as she almost doubled over at Warrick's suggestion and the concern upon his face. Warrick didn't seem amused by Catherine's blatant disregard for his well founded fears.
"Like what?" Catherine panted between her bouts of laughter. "Greg couldn't do anything to Nicky if he tried."
"What if he's cheated on Nick?"
"Cheated?"
"Yeah, I mean, when we were at the restaurant did you see the way he looked at that waitress Ronnie?"
Catherine's eyes went wide and she ran a hand through her hair as she thought about it.
"Oh my god, I think you're right."
"Come on Greg, it's being paid by the department and you haven't touched anything." Sara said, shoving a plate of noodles towards him. "You've got to eat something."
"Not hungry." He responded, shoving the noodles away from him and into the lap of Hodges, who didn't hesitate on eating them- after all David Hodges did not pass up free food. "Just give my share to Hodges."
"Yeah, just give them to me." Hodges mumbled hopefully, whilst chomping down the noodles intended for Greg.
"Grissom, tell him he has to eat." Sara said, poking her boss in the ribs so his attention was taken away from the Chinese herbal tea he was intensely focused on. Grissom raised his brow at her, peering over the rim of his glasses at his team of technicians.
"I can't force him to eat."
"Tell him to eat," Sara growled, folding her arms across her chest whilst glaring at her partner.
"You better do what the missus says." Hodges snorted from across the table, mumbling something about 'Surly Sidle having all the power in the relationship' and he was rather thankful they were at a work still otherwise he was pretty sure Sara would have leapt across the table and began to maul him.
"You should eat Greg." Grissom said, relenting for the sake of after work specials because he didn't want those privileges revoked. Sara grinned at him before turning her attention back to Greg and forcing him to eat something.
"Here, have some of mine." Wendy offered her plate to Greg, who pulled a face at it and returned to moping.
"I'll have some Simms." Hodges crooned hopefully, but Wendy simply scowled and protected her assets of the last remaining spring-rolls. "Fine, if you want to be selfish then go ahead."
Grissom chose to ignore the stabbing motions of Wendy and her chopsticks, he smirked to himself because Hodges did deserve it after all, pointing out Sara as his missus within earshot of Conrad? Not acceptable. Wendy getting even with chopsticks? Acceptable.
"I'm going up for more." Sara suddenly chirped, getting to her feet and grabbing her plate, "Anyone else?" The rest of the table shook their heads, "Grissom?"
He shook his head, but when Sara subtly grabbed him by the scruff of his neck he got the hint that Sara really hadn't been asking, she'd been telling. Hey, Grissom didn't get signals or subtle hints- only when he was given proof would he actually pay any attention or understand exactly what someone meant; that was just a Grissom trait.
Sara dragged him over to the noodle bar so they didn't look too conspicuous and began to pile various varieties of vegetarian noodles upon her plate and Grissom wasn't sure exactly why he'd been dragged up there but heaped noodles onto his plate anyway whilst keeping an eye on Wendy and Hodges, just in case the scrap got out of hand.
"Do you think Nick's done something to Greg?" Grissom raised his eyebrows again, them disappearing somewhere into his hairline waiting for Sara to continue. "I mean, since he's been married he's really had attitude shifts and he's been bubbling for the last few weeks, but today he's really down."
That was true, Greg had been his normal self right up until that morning when suddenly his attitude had completely changed and taken a nose dive. Grissom did have concern for his employee- but with Ecklie hovering about he couldn't exactly express that concern because around Conrad everything was strictly political and tactical.
"You don't think that maybe Nick's cheating on Greg?"
"That's ludicrous." Grissom said, dismissing such a ridiculous theory. "What makes you say that?"
"Did you see the way he looked at Ronnie, he's got a wandering eye and Greg knows it."
"I think you might actually be onto something."
***
Nick ducked back inside his apartment earlier than normal in the hope that he could destroy the tape. All day he'd been jittery and a little worried as to what the video would show and he'd come to the conclusion that he didn't want to see it… And he was quite confident that he wasn't going to now.
He'd taken a shortened lunch because there was no need to eat when his stomach was twisted horribly and Warrick wanted to know what was wrong. How could you tell your friend that you're afraid to watch your wedding day? So, he'd just excused himself and disappeared back into the building to work straight through the remains so he could get home early. He'd just told Brass of a dental appointment and here he was, alone in his apartment with Greg not due back for another hour.
Perfection.
Nick headed straight for the kitchen table where he'd last seen the video and almost screamed when he saw that it wasn't there. The wrapping was discarded on the floor but the cassette was no longer there, or actually anywhere within sight.
Maybe Greg has already seen it. Nick thought rather panicked, heading towards the living room in hope to pull it out of the recorder and destroy it before he was forced to watch it. He was almost sprinting by the time he reached the room and he just missed tumbling over the coffee table in his bid to get rid of any evidence of his wedding because to some that would be a beautifully romantic memento but to Nick it was a horror movie in disguise.
He pressed eject on the recorder but nothing happened, just the dull whirring of the video player trying to eject something that isn't there. Nick screeched in frustration, running his hands through his hair and tugging on it slightly as he realised that Greg was one step ahead of him. Damn him with his genius IQ. He thought bitterly, trying to calculate his next move because he really wasn't going to be settled until he watched the plastic melt away into a murky black puddle.
If I was to hide a tape away, where would I put it? He asked himself, trying to think back to when he had to stash all sorts of things out of the way of his family- and he immediately realised he'd have to ransack Greg's room. He felt bad about even considering invading his privacy like that but that thought soon cleared when he realised that Greg would force him to watch the video whether he wanted to or not and he'd go to any extreme to prevent that, including turning his room upside-down and inside-out to get hold of the home movie that should never be shown.
"Guys, seriously, I just want to go home." Greg whined as his work colleagues pushed him towards the door of a bar he didn't want to go to. "I don't feel in the mood."
"Married life has taken all the fun out of you Sanders." Hodges said giving his friend one last shove through the door and into the smoky atmosphere where the stale scent of too much alcohol and smoke clung to every surface and couldn't be removed despite all the scrubbing. "Just take it easy for once."
Greg sighed, deciding there was no point fighting against his friends because they weren't relenting and they weren't going to leave him get away without drinking anything. Greg just wished they had chosen a bar he'd never been to before because he hated people beginning to view him as a 'regular' because that made him sound like he rolled about in a drunken stupor all the time.
"Come on Greg, since when do you pass up a free drink?" Sara said, smiling at him but sending a worried glance in the direction of her partner. "I'm sure Nick'll be fine by himself."
Greg believed that, but he wondered whether his room would be safe by itself. He had the bad feeling that he'd go back and find his room turned upside-down and the majority of the apartment in a state of disarray- the joys of cohabitation.
"Fine," Greg huffed, throwing his hands up in defeat. "One drink and I'm out of here."
"That's the spirit!" Wendy clapped her hands together. "Drinks on me!"
"Where the hell has he hidden it?" Nick growled to an empty room as he fumbled under the bed to try and uncover the missing object. "Why the hell did he hide it in the first place?"
So you wouldn't shred it. His subconscious immediately answered, ignoring the fact that Nick didn't need to hear it, just pretending his motivations were innocent made him feel a little better. He'd already turned out most of the drawers and found nothing except a disarray of unpaired socks and rolled up clothes, but nothing else interesting. He'd also rifled through the numerous DVD and video cases just in case and hadn't found the wedding video there (although he had found Die Hard 4.0 and had decided that was going to be his nights viewing).
He pulled out another book and threw it aside into the mess that currently was Greg's room, it had surprised him the amount of things Greg had managed to cram into the room Nick had always considered his box-room. If he didn't find the video soon, he was beginning to think it'd be his spare room again.
Greg tapped the tape against the palm of his hand, whilst looking at the clock anxiously. One drink had progressively turned into three and now he was waiting for a cab to take him back home. His work colleagues were scattered about the bar, leaving Greg to mind their coats. After all, Hodges and Wendy had both gone out on the prowl (though Greg wished they'd see the obvious compatibility between them and shack up) whilst Sara and Grissom both made their excuses and had headed off in a 'cab-share'.
So Greg was left at the table with no one to come and occupy his mind, instead he was running over all the scenarios that could be happening back at his home. It was unfortunate that his mind couldn't even come up with one depiction that didn't involve something of his being broken and a pissed off Texan glowering at him.
"Is this seat taken?"
Greg looked up from his study of the cassette and into the smiling face of the waitress from the restaurant, Ronnie, hovering by his booth. He shook his head and tucked the tap back away in his jacket pocket, grateful for the distraction.
"Thanks," Ronnie said, sliding into the booth and allowing her foot to brush against Greg's leg. "You looked a little lonely, thought you were in need of some good company."
Oh shit, she's flirting. Greg thought, resisting the urge to slap his forehead at his misfortune. Nick had mentioned that she was giving him the eye all night, unfortunately he'd been right and Greg was now wishing he'd just high-tailed it right out of there.
"How come you're all alone? A guy like you shouldn't be sat here alone."
"Just waiting for my cab." Greg explained sending a desperate plea for it to hurry up. "So I can head on home."
She nodded, not taking that as a hint of dismissal and remained smiling shyly at him across the table whilst twirling a curl absent-mindedly about her finger. Greg inwardly groaned, his day was just getting progressively worse.
Over the other side of the bar Hodges sighed as another woman stalked away from him after shouting some obscenities his direction. Similarly Wendy's luck was a little below par as her last target introduced his boyfriend to the 'delightfully friendly scientist.'
"Do you think we have a sign on our back's saying 'desperate nerdy scientists looking for a lay'?"
Wendy scoffed at the idea, knowing that perhaps Hodges had one of those signs on her back but hers would most definitely say 'single, picky woman looking for a long-term relationship' which was probably why everyone was turning around and disappearing off into the smoky haze.
"I hate these places." He decided, gulping down the scant remnants of his drink and frowning as he saw Greg. "And I hate Sanders."
Wendy looked up and was stunned at the fact that sat across from Greg was a beautiful young woman and Greg hadn't even had to try to get her.
"Look at him, she's almost throwing herself at him and Greg's not doing anything about it! He's married! He could at least throw her my direction."
"Go on over and introduce yourself. I'm sure Greg won't mind." Wendy suggested, wondering why it was Greg wasn't sending her away- was he already having second thoughts about his blissful union? "And send Greg over my way." She added, shoving Hodges in their direction before he could even protest about it.
Hodges cursed under his breath, wondering why it was Wendy had some control over him but shunted that idea to the back of his mind when he heard her laughter ringing out at something Greg had said. If Hodges knew any better he'd actually think that Greg was desperate for an escape- though he doubted it. After all, even a married man could see that she was certainly a good looking woman and turning her away was a sin.
"Greg," Hodges called, approaching the table whilst flashing his most charming smile at Ronnie. "Wendy would like a word with you."
"Ronnie, this is Hodg- I mean David. If you'll excuse me, duty calls." He said, grabbing the coat off the back of his chair and heading over towards the other side of the room with a spring in his step.
"Hey," Hodges said, taking over Greg's place opposite the young woman. "Welcome to the David Hodges experience."
Wendy observed the interactions and watched as the woman's eyes glazed over the minute Hodges began talking and how she subtly followed Greg across the room towards her. Wendy scowled at that fact and made sure Greg realised that the scowl was focussing in his general direction, he did seem to notice as the spring dissolved along with his smile.
"Hodges said you want to talk to me," he scuffed his shoe against the floor, diverting his attention to anything but her.
"Care to explain her?"
"What?"
"Don't play dumb Greg; you're always quick enough to tell us you're a genius."
"There's nothing to explain."
"Oh really? From what I could see you were flirting." Wendy clarified, "What about your partner?"
"Look, nothing's going on. End of story."
"Where the hell is it?"
Greg barely had time to make it through the door before Nick had appeared, ranting right in his face. He hadn't expected much less considering exactly what they were talking about, but he'd held some hope that he'd have been able to check the state of his room- but as Greg glimpsed at the rest of the apartment he knew exactly what his room would be like.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Greg said, side-stepping the red-faced Texan and shrugging his jacket off onto the back of a chair.
"The tape." Nick answered simply, "You've taken the tape and hidden it. I want it back now."
"It's not yours." Greg growled fed up with the verbal abuse he was encountering at every angle that night because he deserved none of it. "I'm keeping it safe."
"You have no right to do that." He stalked over to Greg, using his larger frame to try and intimidate the younger. It was rather unfortunate that Greg wasn't having any of it and puffed out his chest and glared at his partner.
"You have no right to destroy my room, but you still do it."
"I-"
"So I'm keeping the tape away from you. Now if you don't mind, I'm not in the mood." He stalked off, making sure he slammed his door rather loudly as he barricaded himself inside. His sanctum was completely ruined and in a state of disarray from where Nick had just decided to rip it apart in search of the missing video- Greg was rather glad he had it on him otherwise he had little doubt it would have been burnt.
He sighed, slumping down against the door in complete defeat. Things were getting more and more turbulent as the time went on and he really wasn't sure whether it was worth it anymore especially if he couldn't even escape at work- it was too demanding a charade.
Greg didn't know how long he'd been re-organising his room when Nick had gently tapped on his door and popped his head around. Greg didn't look up from his spot on the floor where he was trying to salvage his CD collection and in the process putting them all back in the right cases (which he swore they'd never actually been since he first bought them).
"I'm phoning in some pizza, you have any preferences?" He asked softly and received nothing but the cold shoulder in return. Nick sighed and made his way over to some of the destruction and where Greg was sat. "I'm sorry." He offered weakly, making a move to tidy some of the music away. "You were right, I shouldn't have done this."
Greg looked up at this, but didn't interrupt; he was quite enjoying the way it was going.
"I just really don't want to see that video, it makes everything so much more real. I thought if I got rid of it that would be that. I suppose I just went a little too far."
And Greg smiled.
***
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