Title: Dream World
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan leaned back on the couch, stretching out and getting more comfortable. It was a good thing they'd decided to get a big couch with enough room for the two of them when they'd gone furniture shopping, he thought with a smile. This was almost like a bed.

They were staying in his apartment today; they'd decided that they would spend one day in Greg's place, the next day in this one. So far, it was working out well, and the police protection that Brass had insisted would drive by to keep an eye on them didn't seem to think it was odd.

Everyone seemed to think that it was a good idea for him and Ryan to spend their time together away from work -- the team apparently looked at it as a good way for them to ensure that they were protected, to watch each other's back outside of their working hours.

Only Nick seemed to have any clue that the two of them were together, but Ryan didn't think that the other man would betray them. He seemed to be glad that Greg was happy, in a way that Ryan didn't think anyone else on the team would be.

Was Nick in love with Greg? Ryan had wondered that more than once since he'd come here; if he wasn't, then he was definitely a good friend. And if he did have deeper feelings for Greg than friendship, then he had already lost his chance, Ryan told himself firmly.

Greg belonged to him, just as he belonged to Greg. Heart, body, and soul, with every fiber of his being. How could he have ever thought, when they'd had that stupid misunderstanding over the slut in the lab, that he could have left this man? He had been a fool.

Sometimes it felt like everything that he'd done in Miami, everything that had happened in his life up until the moment he'd met Greg, was a dream that he'd merely sat back and watched. He'd been a spectator in his life, not an active participant.

The nail in his eye, his kidnapping and torture by both the Russian and Cuban mobs .... It all seemed like a nightmare, or like a film that wound out before his eyes, things that had happened to somebody else. Those events didn't seem quite real now.

But they had been real, Ryan reminded himself grimly. He and Greg had to be twice as careful now than they usually were; they had to look over their shoulders and watch each other's backs. They had to be sure that they weren't made into targets.

That wasn't something that he wanted to think about, but he had no choice. Sooner or later, his thoughts always returned to the fact that his boyfriend could be in danger because of being with him; the man he loved could be hurt, or killed, and it would be his fault.

Ryan wished that part of his life was like a dream -- or better yet, that it was a dream, something that he could write off and leave out in the cold, slam a door on and pretend didn't exist. But it wasn't; the threat to himself and to the man he loved was all too real.

Still, he couldn't let it intrude on his life with Greg. The two of them couldn't feel as though they had to look over their shoulders every second of every day; they had to be able to take time to enjoy themselves, to simply enjoy being together.

He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. There was no reason for him to feel any kind of nervousness at the moment; they were here together, in their home, safely behind closed doors. No one could surprise them in any way, not here.

Of course, they were keeping an eye on Greg's place next door, too. They would probably have dinner there after they took Wolfie for his walk, before heading off to work tonight. And there would be patrols keeping an eye on both places while they were working.

The life that he had been leading since he'd met Greg felt like a dream come true at times, a fairy-tale story that was constantly unfolding before him. Maybe this was one of the tests that the prince had to face before he could claim the person he loved.

If that was the case, then he wanted the confrontation to happen, and he wanted to wield his sword as bravely as any prince in a long-ago enchanted forest, cutting down the enemies that threatened him and emerging as the conquering hero.

Was it possible to live in a dream world, to become so lost in that dream that reality seemed completely turned around? Ryan sighed at the idea, wishing that he could make the threat that was hanging over them be part of a dream, rather than their real life.

"What was the sigh for?" Greg asked him, frowning as he shifted in Ryan's embrace. "Are you thinking about depressing stuff again? Stop it, Ry. Stop it right now. This is our private time, and I don't want anything messing that up."

Ryan couldn't help but smile at the note of command in Greg's voice; he didn't hear that often, but when his boyfriend sounded like that, he knew that Greg meant business. Besides, he didn't want to think about depressing things, either. He just couldn't help it at times.

"I was just thinking that sometimes our life feels like we're living in a dream world," Ryan said slowly, not wanting Greg to think he was being too fanciful. "Sometimes I feel like this is a dream, and the life I left behind me was reality. And sometimes it feels like it's the other way around."

"Yeah, there are times when I feel like we're living in a kind of dream world, too," Greg concluded, sitting up a little and resting his head against Ryan's shoulder. "But we're not, Ryan. This is our life, and for the most part, it's a pretty good one."

"Pretty good?" I think it's a great life," Ryan said softly, raising a hand to ruffle Greg's hair. "The only thing I would change about it is that I'd wish my past hadn't followed me here. That it wasn't putting you in the line of fire right along with me. I feel guilty about that."

"Don't," Greg said softly, shaking his head and raising a hand to place his fingers against Ryan's lips. "There's nothing for you to feel guilty about, Ry. Even dreams have little snags in them sometimes. And I'm just happy to be living in this dream world with you."

"I just wish I could make that world perfect," Ryan told him, tightening his arms around his boyfriend's waist to pull Greg closer against him as they snuggled together. "I know everything has imperfections, but I wish that our dream world didn't."

"Nothing is ever perfect," Greg pointed out, his tone matter-of-fact. "And I'd rather live in an imperfect world with you than live in a perfect one where we weren't together. For me, no world is complete without you in it, whether it's a dream world or the real one."

Ryan bowed his head to brush his lips against his boyfriend's forehead, smiling as Greg raised his face for a kiss. When their lips met, he could feel the familiar rush of desire course through him; his pulse raced, his breathing quickened, his body tightened.

"My dream world is right here in my arms," he said, knowing that every word he spoke was true. "There's nowhere I'd rather be than right here, Greg. It doesn't matter that our world isn't perfect. As long as we've got each other, then nothing else really matters."

Greg nodded, looking serious. "Does our life really seem like a dream to you?" he asked softly, sounding a little worried. "I don't want you to feel that way, Ryan. I want you to know that we're real, and that we'll go on forever. Not that we're some dream that's going to fade away."

"I'd never think that," he replied, hoping that both his words and his tone would reassure his boyfriend. "It's not a bad thing to live in a dream world, babe. It's just that sometimes, when I think about how dangerous reality can be for us, I'd like to stay there."

"He's just part of a bad dream that's trying to take over our world," Greg whispered, his arms sliding around Ryan's waist to hold him close. "It won't last, Ryan. I'm sure it won't. In dreams, good always wins over evil. I know we'll come out on top in the end. I know it."

Ryan nodded, hugging his boyfriend close against him, hoping that Greg's words were true. He had seen the bad guys win far too many times in the past, and he hoped that their dream world wouldn't come crashing to the ground with no warning.

He wasn't prepared for that, and he didn't think that Greg was, either. But as long as they had each other, they would keep their dream world intact. They might have to emerge from it once in a while, but it would always be there for them to run to whenever it was needed.

***