Title: Dumpster Diving
By: postnotice
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: AO
A/N: Wow. I actually used Sara. I'm…kind of amazed. And Nick kind of seems like an ass for a while, but…He gets better.
Summary: There's flirting. There's physical touching. But that doesn't mean that Greg should risk friendship status to know if there's feelings.

He was used to this. Always used to being left behind when no one else was on a case, because he was the level one. It was obvious he should be getting field time, and cases, to advance, but…Grissom almost acted like he was invisible.

As a matter of fact, everyone seemed to act like that lately. Even the lab techs, who always seemed to be on his side. Like yesterday; Greg walked into trace, and Hodges merely told him that Nick was on his way. When Greg pointed out that they were on the case together, Hodges didn't even have the courtesy to acknowledge that he had spoken!

So he sat in the breakroom, a pile of scrap paper next to him (that probably had something to do with Star Trek on them, being that he got them from Archie after told him to leave), making paper footballs and pretending that he had someone to play against.

Occasionally, when someone would come in for coffee, he'd be graced with their presence (and very repetitive questions, he might add) for a few minutes before they'd make up some lame excuse to go back to their comfortable labs.

"I'd rather be going through dumpsters than sitting here…" he grumbled, jumping when someone in the room said "really?" Greg turned around, seeing Sara standing at the coffee maker, pouring herself a cup. "I suggest you savor what you get, that's the last batch for the lab…I'm running low,"

"Hodges didn't make it?"

Greg looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Did you really think that if I was going to be stuck here all day I'd let Hodges make that sludge he calls coffee?"

"Point taken…but if you're being serious about the dumpster thing, Nick and I have one at our scene, you could go through it…" Sara laughed when Greg stood up, rubbing his hands together. "Hey, slow down…We're here to run some DNA and trace before we head back out…"

"Aren't you supposed to collect all at once…?" Greg asked, confused, as he settled back into his seat.

"Well, yeah. If you can. But we've got a ten story building to process. You really think that we'd be able to get all the evidence in one go?" the blonde shrugged, sighing as he kicked at a paper football. "So…you up for the job? You're welcome to help us, too,"

"I thought Nick and you were assigned to a homicide in an old warehouse," Greg asked, spinning in the chair.

"We were, but we had reason to check the office, and there's evidence on every floor…" she shook her head.

"And you're not phased…"

"We're pretty sure it's only one or two people…What's with all the questions?" Sara questioned, looking at the bored CSI in front of her.

"I've had people in here all night, asking me why I'm here. Hodges even cracked a few jokes before I told him he could start drinking his coffee again if he kept it up. I can't even talk to anyone here, all the tech's are swamped with extra work from days," he sighed. "I almost called Grissom to ask if I could go home,"

"We would've taken you, all you had to do was call," Sara replied, cocking her head to the side. "And you look really bored, we could've given you all the crap jobs,"

"You would've if I was there anyway. Why do you guys still do that, it's not like I'm a trainee or anything…I'm a CSI, so what's the deal?"

"Probably because we can get away with it," she winked at him, picking up her pager as it rang. "Nick's ready. Are you?"

Greg stood up, glad he wouldn't have to spend the rest of the night in the lab. "Ready as I'll ever be to dig through other people's half eaten food and used condoms,"

"It's a workplace, Greg!" Sara said, smile on her face.

"So? It's not like I haven't seen a condom or two around here…You and Grissom hooking up during break?" his face paled as he saw his supervisor heading down the hallway, and stuttered out a response when he was looked at oddly. Sara chuckled, shaking her head.

"Sara, I think we've got three victims, maybe four…" Nick's eyes widened when he saw Greg standing next to his coworker. "Greg's with us?" when the blonde smiled widely and nodded, Nick returned it. "Did Grissom okay this?" he turns to Sara, leaving Greg very confused and feeling a little like a child.

"Hey, I can make my own decisions…" he protested, but Nick only held up a hand, waiting for Sara's response.

"No. Grissom doesn't even know. But Greg's been in the lab all night, and I figured…"

"…That he could do the dumpsters…" Nick smiled again, looking at Greg. "Alright," Greg gave him a look before asking where the dumpster was.

"Dumpster?" Nick laughed. "I don't know what Sara told you, man, but there's at least four of 'em," Greg groaned softly, shooting the Texan another look when he started, managing to shut him up. "I can help you, if you-,"

Greg stood up straight and turned back to them, already on his way. "Hey, this is what you guys wanted me for, right?" he tried to ignore the laughter following him as he made his voyage across the parking lot to his "assigned job."

Four hours later and nothing suspicious in the garbage, Greg crawled out of the second to last dumpster and brushed a banana peel from his shoulder, reconsidering his decision. Maybe he'd rather be back at the lab. He thought for a moment before shaking his head. Tough call. Dirty garbage or paper footballs.

"Greg!" he heard, looking up to see Sara above him, leaning out a window. "Find anything?"

"You couldn't just page me?"

"Didn't think you'd get to it quick enough," she said, and even though she was a couple stories above him, Greg was pretty sure she was grinning. "Nick's on his way down,"

Greg looked up at her, trying to shade his eyes from the streetlight above him and not get garbage in his eyes at the same time. "Why's Nick coming down here?" he called back, only to have her shut the window on him. He sighed, looking back around him and shaking his head as he walked towards the last dumpster – finally! – and sighed again as he tried to climb over the edge.

"Hey, thought I might lend a hand," Greg yelped as he lost grip and fell from the dumpster edge, surprised when he didn't hit concrete. He took a deep breathe, taking a risk and opening his eyes to see a concerned and slightly amused Nick standing above him. "You alright?"

"Yeah…f-," he coughed, cleared his throat, and stood up. "I'm fine…" Nick smiled at him and nodded, amused even more as Greg got over his awkward phase. "So why do you think I needed help?"

"Well…to tell you the truth, I knew you could handle it…Sara's just driving me crazy. She's got all these theories…" he sighed, shaking his head. "Want some help in?"

Greg froze, wondering why he was suddenly so robotic. "I did if fine for the others, I think I can do this one,"

"This one's taller than the rest,"

"And you think that you'd be able to help me? I'm taller than you," Greg grumbled, though inside he was wondering how he'd manage to get in it.

Nick chuckled. "By half an inch or so. Come on, Greggo, just let me help before you hurt yourself!"

"Hey, I've been climbing trees since I was nine-," Greg missed the look of slight pain cross Nick's face. "—I think I can handle it,"

"Alright, but don't blame me when you end up in an ambulance because you're too full of pride and dignity to let me help," Greg shot him a look, though he was quite grateful for the offer. But he'd much rather end up showing off than have someone walk up and see two men in a somewhat compromising position.

Greg looked up at the dumpster, rolling his shoulders and getting ready, shooting the Texan another look when he heard him say 'today would be lovely, Greg.' His footing was right, his hands were gripping the top, all he had to do was reach a little higher when he moved his feet…

And he was slipping again, blush already on his face even before Nick had a chance to catch him. Nick grinned, nostrils flaring with held in laughter, as he stared down at the ex-lab tech. "I hate to say I told you so…" Nick didn't let him go, just kind of held him where he was as he watched emotion dance through Greg's eyes.

"I'm sure. So, you gonna help me or not?"

"Nu-uh, you gotta tell me that I'm always right before you get to get back to work,"

"No way. There's been loads of times you were wrong and I was right,"

"Oh yeah? Like when?" Greg found that the look he gave the Texan when he took Archie out onto the field instead staring back at him, 'prove it' all over.

"Come on, Grissom'll kill me if he finds out I'm on a crime scene and keeping you from your job…"

"Grissom's going to be pissed anyway. And if you're so worried…you could just say it." Nick's smile was still in place, though Greg feigned annoyance.

"Alright, alright, you're always right, and I'm always wrong,"

"And that I'm the best CSI you've ever had the pleasure to meet,"

"You're the best CSI I've ever met,"

"Had the pleasure of meeting,"

"Had the pleasure of meeting," Greg mimicked, rolling his eyes playfully. Nick crouched down farther to the ground and let him fall, getting an 'oomph' from the smaller of the two.

"Wasn't in the script for you to mock me, man," he towered over Greg, eyebrows raised as he kneeled down on top of him, pinning his wrists to the ground. "Come on, say itttt…" he drawled, holding back laughter at the reaction he was getting. Greg was writing under him, laughing silently as he tried his hardest to free his hands.

"No, I already…did!" he gasped, forgetting that Nick was never this physical, ever.

"Say it all, all at once, or I'm never gonna let you go," Nick was unable to keep the grin from spreading across his face, taking his hands from Greg's sides after hearing someone clear their throat from above them.

"If you two are done…looking for evidence…we can head back to the lab," Sara said, eyebrow of her own raised as she carried an armload of bags, keys slung on her right hand. Nick didn't even look down at Greg before standing, offering to help Sara with the evidence.

"I've still got the last dumpster," Greg threw in, a little unsettled that Nick hadn't even said a word since Sara walked down.

"Don't worry about it, we've got the murder weapon and everything else…" Sara said, watching as Greg unzipped the suit around him and sighed, almost mad at Sara for interrupting. "So…what was that about?"

"Nothing," Greg said simply, shaking his head, willing to forget about the entire thing. For now, at least.

***

Secrets were okay. Hell, sometimes secrets were really helpful. Like when he was fooling around with his best friend at sleepovers and telling his parents they were just really close friends. So if you were to say he was a fan of secrets, it wouldn't be a lie.

Lies are okay, too. He's not always supportive of lies, but they're there, and again, they were sometimes really helpful. But in this case, Greg hated them both. He loathed secrets for keeping his feelings to himself, and he loathed lies because he didn't exactly tell Sara what was going on.

Actually, maybe he just loathed Sara. There had been so many times where the two had been in loads of situations Greg would've loved to see through to the end, but then she'd come along and ruin it. And that's probably where his logic for his next idea came from. If he told Sara, that would mean that she'd know, and maybe would stop walking in on them. Which would mean that maybe, if he was lucky, he'd finally get around to admitting something. Or maybe he wouldn't have to, and Nick would stop being so clueless. Or maybe he'd admit it on his own...

"Greg, your phone's ringing," Catherine said, standing up as she sighed. "Greg!"

"Huh?" he asked, lost in his own world. Even the vibration didn't seem to faze him, and it was in his back pocket. "Oh, sorry…" he answered, only to hear a very pissed off Texan on the other end.

"You're switching cases with Warrick," he said; Greg swore he could feel the heat from his sentence over the phone.

"What? Why?" Nick and Warrick seemed to get on all the time, with a few exceptions about feuds over cases, but other than that…

"I'll tell you when you get here. And if Catherine has a problem, tell her I told her to shove it. I'm not in the mood for any more shit today," Greg nodded and stared at his cell after Nick hung up and sighed as he flipped it shut.

"What's up?"

"Warrick and I are switching cases," he said simply, packing up his kit, worried that the sudden shaking of his hands would be obvious. Greg glanced out of the corner of his eye, noticing Catherine putting her hands on her hips with a scoff.

"You're mine,"

"I like to think I'm my own property," he said, though inside he was wishing someone would have the guts to say it. Wished that he could have someone in his life. "I mean, all those lonely nights after shift, I don't see anyone following me home to comfort me,"

"I don't see you looking for someone to play comfort with,"

Greg shrugged, deciding it wasn't worth it. "I like destiny to play out," was that why he hadn't dated in seven years, hadn't really tried in over a decade? He sighed as Catherine started ranting about the lab, standing up and leaving with a wave.

He was barely in his Denali when Warrick's name flashed on his caller ID. He answered it, hardly registering the directions he was given. When he tried to give directions to the scene he was at, Warrick managed an angered, 'Yeah, I know, thanks,' before hanging up. He vaguely wondered what had crawled up everyone's ass – probably the same thing that had plagued Ecklie for years – as he started on his way.

Greg arrived twenty minutes later, the voices of Catherine and Warrick echoing in his head as he wondered who or what they'd be talking about. Or, knowing the sexual tension, if they'd be talking at all.

Still consumed by his own thoughts, he was caught off guard when he saw Nick leaning against his Tahoe, eyes closed, shaking his head. A police officer was standing at the other end of the yard, looking oddly uncomfortable. "Hey!" Greg called, stepping out of his car and onto the pavement, grabbing his kit from the passenger seat. "What's up?"

"You have no idea what this means to me," Nick said gratefully, walking towards Greg with a smile. "Warrick just kind of…"

"Stepped over the line?" Nick nodded helplessly as Greg watched intently, trying to decide what made everyone seem like a bitchy bunch of eighth grade girls. "Everything alright?"

"Now it is," Greg tried not to notice how his breath caught in his throat.

"It better be, Catherine's seething,"

"Everyone seems to be…" Nick muttered with a shake of his head. Greg raised an eyebrow, smiling when the Texan blushed, though he suddenly wanted it to be a week earlier, back at the dumpster.

"Let's hope they get better when we get back, huh?"

To be filled in on the rest of the case, Greg merely had to walk inside the house. There was an obvious smell of sex to the place, not to mention the pile of sex toys and condoms, lubrication…

"Orgy?" Greg asked, almost forming a smile until he remembered that there was a murder and a missing person tied to their case. Nick snorted as he raised his eyebrows. "So wait, what's the deal here? What happened…with Warrick?"

"Warrick said he'd noticed I was acting weird, and uh…" Greg stared as Nick scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Confronted me about it. I got…really…defensive, and he said he'd just leave,"

"Is…everything going to be okay?" Greg asked, truly concerned, even though he thought it was a little stupid to get so worked up over. It fluttered across his mind that maybe Nick wasn't telling him the truth, but he dismissed it when Nick nodded.

"As soon as one of us sets pride aside, yeah…" he sighed and turned to the crime scene. "So…"

"Yeah. I'll take the kitchen," Greg said, turning to leave, only stopping when Nick called out his name. "Hmm?" he said, looking over his shoulder.

"You don't have any witty comment?" Nick asked, amused look on his face. "Nothing to say about sex or lubrication or anything?" Greg smiled pleasantly and shook his head. "Alright…head off into your safe and clean kitchen then,"

"Will do," Greg smiled as he left for the kitchen. "Jeeesus!" he exclaimed, coming face to face with an amount of blood that could cover three of the living rooms. "Nick!"

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen the kitchen?" he pulled on a pair of gloves before he took out his camera, starting to take pictures of it.

"Not yet…Why?" Nick peeked around the corner and let out a low whistle. "Damn…"

"This has officially ruined it for me," Greg stated, shaking his head sadly. Nick gave him a confused look. Greg looked at him, keeping a straight face. "The sex parties. Oh come on, you can't tell me you haven't heard of them," Nick only raised his eyebrows. "Man…do they tell you anything in Texas?"

"I've heard of them, yeah. I'm just a little surprised,"

"That I have? Hey, gimme some credit…Just because I didn't get laid until I was 22 doesn't mean I don't know anything,"

"No, a little surprised that that's you're scene. I always thought you'd be one of those guys who, uh…didn't do the casual sex thing," Nick seemed a little disappointed, but Greg merely shrugged it off.

"Not anymore. But that seems to be the only thing the people I date want,"

"Maybe you should up your age, Greggo," Nick added, shaking his head as he walked back into the living room. He heard Greg snort as he went back to work.

"They wouldn't believe me, I already look younger than my age,"

"Oh, who told you that?"

"My mother did,"

"Awww," Nick smiled, slightly teasing him, though he had to give credit for Greg being so close to his mother. Sure, he talked to his parents and went home for the holidays, but other than that, Nick only saw his parents if he was willing to go to Texas.

"Hey, shut up, you'd be close to your mother too if your dad was at work nearly 24/7 and you were an only child," Greg protested, clicking pictures of the blood around him, almost wondering how he could continue talking as though there wasn't buckets of human blood around him.

"Yeah, yeah…And I didn't mean your age, I meant the ages of the people you date," Nick replied, immersing himself on trying to decide if any of the blood was real or not. High-quality stuff they've got if it's fake, he thought.

"What do you mean, start dating people older than me?" Greg sounded a little amused, and Nick wondered how he could flirt with Sara or Catherine with a relationship in mind if he was laughing at the fact of older women. Or maybe his mind was clouded with promises for sex. "Maybe I'll start with Mr. 'I have an accent and I'm damn sex-," he didn't get to finish his sentence, his phone blaring the ring tone loudly. "Shit." He said, paling automatically.

"What?" Nick asked from the other room, having not heard the last half of the younger's sentence, too involved in the scene.

"It's Grissom,"

"So? Answer it. It's my ass on the line, not yours," Greg nodded, knowing full well that Nick wouldn't be able to see him, and answered his phone.

"Sanders,"

"Greg, have Nick and Warrick put anything dead in your locker lately?" the question caught him off guard, and he almost dropped the camera in his hands.

"I don't think so…why?"

"I've gotten a few complaints. When was the last time you cleaned it out?" Greg swore under his breath when he realized that he had forgotten his dinner for the past few weeks, since the case he worked with Sara went over into his break. "A while ago,"

"I want you to clean it when you get back to the lab, I don't care if you're off the clock. It's really starting to smell," and the line went dead. Greg checked his phone and with a startling yelp, realized it was dead.

"What'd he want?" Nick asked from the living room, seeming to have forgotten about the conversation moments before.

"There's rotten food in my locker," Greg sighed, looking around the room.

"So at least he's not pissed, right?"

"Right," he couldn't help but get a familiar worry feeling in his stomach. "But he's going to think I hung up on him,"

"Why?" the Texan seemed curious, and as humiliating as it was, Greg decided to tell him.

"Because my phone went dead," he rubbed his eyes. "He's going to kill me,"

"Don't provoke him anymore, and you'll be fine. If worst comes to worse, I'll come to your rescue," Greg smiled at the promise.

"Ah, I always knew my Prince Charming would come one day," he sighed with slight happiness as Nick shouted that it wasn't real blood from the other room.

***

They weren't on a case together this week, partially because Nick hadn't been assigned to a case and Greg was stuck in the lab, working on backlog while CSI three's came and went. Nick had only been in a few times, though he spent the majority of his shift reading the newspaper in the break room, drinking coffee.

Greg finally caught up with Sara, on her cell phone, smiling widely. The blonde handed over a piece of paper, raising his eyebrows as she said goodbye and closed her phone. "So it was her…" she said thoughtfully, walking farther down the hallway to the break room.

"Who were you talking to?"

"None of your business,"

"Come on, Sara, we're friends! What'd he say?"

"Not telling you," they had entered the now empty break room, Greg still tailing her.

"Please?" he begged, smiling, hoping to get an answer. Sara only smiled back before leaving. Greg groaned before sticking his head out of the door and yelled, "You can't resist it forever!"

"Resist what?" a voice to his left asked. Greg smiled at the accent and turned around to face the Texan.

"The Sanders' Charm," he said, feeling like he'd melt at Nick's smile. He followed the Texan back into his temporary sanctuary, waiting for his response. "Irresistible, right?" he spun around at Nick's laughter, smile growing as he did so.

"Nah, I know a few people who've managed, Greggo," the older of the two winked, making Greg blush slightly at the gesture and the nickname.

"Yeah? I mean, not that I really care or anything, but…who?" the ex-lab tech stepped forward to grab his own coffee, skin brushing against skin, being that Nick was leaning against the counter. And not moving.

"Well, Sara, for one…" Nick started watching people as they walked through the hallway. Greg sighed, setting his head on the counter…which in turn kind of made his ass stick out. He chuckled slightly as Nick added Catherine to the list.

"Anyone else?" he turned to Nick and watched as he looked away from the blonde, face slightly red, and if he wasn't so close, he wouldn't have noticed.

"Oh yeah," the Texan's voice was slightly raspy, kind of like that of what Greg's previous partners had, though…that was really more of a 'bedroom voice.' He wondered what could possibly bring Nick to such a state.

"So are you going to tell me?" he finally said, taking a drink from the cup in his hands, suppressing a gag when he discovered that Hodges had made it again.

"Tell you what?" Nick asked, brought out of whatever fantasy he was having by Greg's question, who bit his lip, trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

"Who else has resisted my charm?" Nick gave a smile to Greg before shaking his head. "No one else, huh?" the Texan only smiled knowingly, watching the CSI 1 walk out of the lab. He caught up with him, casually dropping an arm around his friends' shoulder, unaware that the physical touch made Greg shiver. The blonde turned red at the looks he was getting from a few people in the lab, and pulled away as soon as he could. "There's no chance that I can, uh…help you out, is there?"

"What do you mean?" Greg asked, glancing up at him, shimmer of hope in his eyes. Nick shrugged, looking around the lab. "You mean you'd rather hang out here?" the question was spoken with disbelief, and the level three's head snapped back to face Greg.

"Well, yeah…" Greg wondered if there was anything else to the sentence, but when Nick looked away without adding a word, he sighed.

"There's not really anything to do…but I suppose you could stay and keep me company,"

They said nothing for the first few moments, and the blonde had the slight urge to bring up Nick's fight with Warrick, but finally his companion said something.

"So why are you in the lab today anyway?" he asked, ruffling through a stack of papers, probably trying to find something to do. Greg continued working, trying to put is words together before he stuttered out something stupid. He had been known for that occasionally, and humiliation never really struck unless Nick was in the room.

"Day shift has backlog, which swing is trying to fix, which means that graveyard has piles from swing…" Greg sighed. "And since the lab techs on nights seem to like to stay on top of things, Grissom told me that I was here tonight," he sat down hard in his chair and groaned. "I'm sick of being treated like I'm not good enough to be a CSI,"

"Griss only does it because he knows how well you do in the lab, Greg," came his response, Greg barely hearing it. He looked up, taken aback at the compliment. He blinked a few times, then said,

"Is that what Grissom thinks or what you think?" he didn't mean for it to sound so painful or hurtful, but that's how it came out.

"I think you're a wonderful lab tech," Nick said, trying to keep the offhanded tone of the conversation in play.

"And what about being a CSI,"

"I think one you get used to what you see on the job, you'll be great at that, too," Greg wasn't sure if it was a compliment this time or not, but Nick said, softer than before, "I really enjoy working with you, you know,"

Greg smiled down at the DNA he was working on and nodded. "I know."

***

Nick didn't get jealous. Nick never got jealous. So when he saw Greg talking - no, flirting - with Sara, he wasn't jealous.

"Greg, come on, stop flirting and get over here, we've got a scene waiting for us," Greg waved goodbye to Sara as he ran to catch up with Nick, taken aback that the Texan seemed so angry.

"Oooh, somebody's jealous," there was that damn word again, and he glared back at Greg.

"I don't get jealous," he said, climbing into his car and unlocking the passengers side for the blonde. "But I do get pissed off when my partner decides he's going to flirt with someone rather than process a scene,"

Greg glanced at him, afraid to provoke but unable to hold back. "So we're partners now? I think it's kind of a leap, I mean, we aren't even dating,"

"You know what I mean," the older male snapped. Greg's eyes widened slightly when he saw that Nick's knuckles were white on the steering wheel. He sat in silence for a few minutes, only broke out of it when Nick apologized. "I'm sorry...I'm just..." jealous, Nick thought to himself. "...having a rough night and I shouldn't be taking it out on you,"

"Which reminds me, what was the fight with you and Warrick about? You two seem to be okay now, but at the time it seemed pretty serious," Greg asked, then realized it might be too much, and backtracked. "But you don't have to tell me, I know we're not that close, and-,"

The level three chuckled, tension easing from the car, making Greg sigh quietly with relief. Maybe now his hands would stop shaking. "Would you relax? And I don't know about you, but I think you're one of my best friends, so whatever's been going on in your head is...completely wrong,"

The younger CSI tried not to let his disappointment show. Friends? That's all they were, just friends? Well damn him if he'd be trying to get a relationship out of this "friendship" anymore. Obviously, he wasn't very good at hiding his emotions, because Nick pointed out that his hands were shaking seconds after he finished the thought.

"They're not shaking, I'm fine," he shoved his hands under his knees, set on not letting Nick see his eyes, not letting him see the anger or whatever the hell it was in his eyes.

"Greg, come on, you can tell me what's-,"

"I'm fine," he spat, wincing when awkward silence settled in the car. "Oh, God, I'm sorry...I just...I..."

"Maybe we should just pretend that the last ten minutes didn't happen," Nick suggested, looking at Greg, raising an eyebrow when he made eye contact. "Alright, now I'm really worried. What's wrong?" There was something about the look in Greg's eyes, the obvious...disappointment?

Greg swallowed, glancing at the red stoplight before turning back to Nick. "I, uh...I guess I'm just kind of on edge, because lately there's been some serious-," he closed his eyes, trying not to groan in frustration when Nick's phone went off. He opened them just in time to see an apologetic look on his face before he answered his phone.

"Stokes," Greg rolled his eyes at the sudden professional tone, when just the other day he was fantasizing about his "bedroom voice." He looked out the window as he continued thinking about that, broken out of his thoughts just before his daydreaming took a turn for the worst…well, in this situation, at least.

"Grissom said Brass already has the suspect in custody, said he confessed, so we're supposed to go back to the lab before we go to the scene," Nick threw his phone back down, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel when he turned back to Greg. "What were you saying?"

The blonde continued to stare out his window, voice void of emotion when he answered him. "Nothing important," he lied, except that it was.

He was slightly angry. Angry because Grissom had interrupted his perfect 'I'm in love with you' scene, angry because he was pulled from the lab to go to a scene that he wasn't even going to process (which confused the hell out of him, therefore making him even more angry), and he was now sitting in a room with a suspect who was flirting with him madly. He could practically see the veins popping from Nick's head.

And he said he wasn't jealous. Jealous of what, Greg wasn't sure, but what he did know is that Nick's jealousy was…kind of funny to him.

"You know, you have a beautiful laugh," the woman complimented, and Greg was sure that if she didn't have on handcuffs, she'd be touching him right now.

"Uh, thanks?" Being that he wasn't too used to compliments, he shied away from the words, going back to the (very small) pile of papers in front of him, even though all they had on the woman was that she had confessed. She was silent, as was Greg. "Look, you could just make this easier for all of us...and play out what happened,"

"Are you involved with anyone?" she asked, leaning forward onto her hands, not blinking as she kept eye contact with him.

"I don't get into relationships with suspects, sorry," he smiled, then grimaced - Nick was a suspect once, when he slept with that one woman. So really, he shouldn't even be really thinking about it...a relationship, that is. The Texan's obviously interested in women...but then why was his jaw set, glaring at the woman as she smiled sweetly - ha! - at Greg? The level one looked between the two of them for a moment before turning back to the suspect.

"You know, we can just go to the scene and get evidence to prove it," he ignored Nick's comment about going anyway. "But you could save us some time if you just...play it through," he knew the woman heard him, but she seemed intent on getting a date rather than helping him.

"You're very handsome, you know," she said, cocking her head to the side. Greg just fell back in his seat, defeated, intent on believing that the slight growl/groan from Nick was because the woman was hard to work with.

He smiled at the woman, nodded to the policemen, and left without acknowledgement to Nick. He hadn't thought about it, but looking back, the tension in the room was much too thick for him to even think.

"Greg!" he didn't even bother turning around, but he did stop - he figured he was already acting enough like a complete ass, and when Nick caught up to him, he knew it was going to be hard enough to not just unload onto him.

The weird thing was...there was nothing wrong. Greg only wanted to end the touching, end the hint of 'I want you,' end the suggestive tones, and if he couldn't have the damn bedroom voice to himself, he didn't really want it. "Yeah?"

Nick just looked at him, and if Greg wasn't completely convinced that they were strictly friends, he'd say that was even more than concern in his eyes. "Are you alright?" The blonde only swallowed, continuing on his way. "Greg!"

"Yeah, you want to know, right? You're concerned because that's who you are!" He was quite aware of the eyes on him as he shouted, and so walked closer to Nick, now barely a foot away. He sighed at the hurt in Nick's eyes and continued. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing, I'm just saying that not everyone's always in tune with what their problem is, and other times, they don't want to talk about it," Greg was seconds away from pulling his hair out and the Texan continued to look hurt. "And again, not that big of a problem, unless you're on the end where you don't want people to know,"

"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about,"

"Good. That's the point. But, if you want to know, it's-,"

"Aren't you two supposed to be at the scene if you're not with the suspect?" Grissom stopped dead in his tracks to look at the arguing CSI's, not taking long to realize that Greg was the one with the problem. He raised an eyebrow as Greg turned on his heel and walked outside. "You may want to find out what's wrong with him,"

"I've been trying," Nick replied softly, walking after the angry level one without trying to hurry.

Nick wasn't the problem. He was never the problem. It was his complete obliviousness that bothered the hell out of him, and even though he hated how friendly and innocent his touches were, he still couldn't begin to tell Nick to stop. In a way, it was one of the things that brought him to work…Other than the job itself, of course.

But after years and years of obvious flirting - to him, at least - he thought he should've been praised somehow, some way for all the years of flirting that had gone to waste.

He ignored the knock on the window, only unlocked the doors and started the car, staring ahead when the person entered the vehicle. "Please tell me why we did things backwards,"

"I wouldn't know...but, I do know that-,"

He cut the Texan off. "I don't want to talk about it, so can-,"

'Too bad." The firm tone Nick had shut up the blonde immediately. "Look, you've got a problem with...something, and it's obviously making it impossible to work well with me..." Obvious? What the hell was he on? "But you might as well get it off your chest...and..."

It took a lot for Greg to tune people out when he was angry, and even more when he was pissed at Nick. But he wouldn't stop pushing, wouldn't just leave him the hell alone!

"Greg?" He ignored it, hoping that Nick would let off if he didn't get a reaction, and that's when it hit him. He wouldn't be able to wake up and go to work tomorrow night - he wouldn't be able to forget. "Come on, you'll feel-,"

"Better?" He almost couldn't stop the bitterness in his voice, and even though cutting Nick off - when did he start to do that on a regular basis, anyway? - he let a little slip in anyway. He laughed sarcastically, wishing he could go back in time and keep himself from being the complete asshole he's being right now. "Yeah, I'm sure I'll feel better," he sighed, looking at Nick. "You never told me what your fight was about,"

"My fight?" the Texan seemed confused, and Greg rolled his eyes.

"With Warrick..." He had only told him millions of times. His stomach churned as he realized that the only way he'd be able to find out (why he was trying so hard to get it out of the level three was beyond him - it's not like it would be about him or anything...right?) why Nick was fighting with Warrick would be to tell him. And as much as he wanted a relationship, he wanted to keep his dignity more.

"I, uh..."

"Don't want to talk about it, I know. Now you know what it feels like," he raised an eyebrow at Nick, surprised when he smiled.

"Sorry...I..."

"You're the complete opposite of Sara, you like to sympathize and get to know people. I know...I've noticed," he took a deep breath and held it. Subtlety wasn't the best way to go about things, but maybe if he drew him out slowly...

"Guess you pay more attention than I thought," Nick finally added, a few seconds later. Greg glanced at him out of the corner of his eye. Could he really be talking about...Greg took another deep breath, and Nick looked at him. "You okay?" Greg nodded, smiling, not pissed at him for asking for the first time since he said the 'we're friends' thing.

"I, uh...yeah, actually. For the most part," he took another deep breath, goosebumps dotting his skin when he felt Nick's hand on his arm. Suddenly the car was a lot smaller than he remembered.

"I can drive if you need me to," his voice had taken on his accent, and Greg wasn't sure if he could contain his secret for much longer...He damned his mind when he remembered the Bedroom Voice, which had recently attained capitalization.

"No, I just...I'm..." He took another deep breath and opened the window, hoping that fresh air would clear his mind. Thankfully, after the first few inhales of the fresh air, he was normal again. Maybe this would actually work...and be okay. "I'll tell you what's been bothering me if you tell me what your fight was about," he glanced at Nick, who smiled, looking out his window.

"I kept something pretty big from him...And it takes...a lot...to get him pissed off if it doesn't involve a case." Greg nodded in understanding.

"What'd you keep from him?" He couldn't help but pry, but he wasn't completely sure why he was doing it. Maybe the curiosity you get when you fall in love. Er...except he wasn't. Only he was...

"Hey, come on, I held up my end of the deal." Nick looked at him accusingly and waited. "Come on. Spill."

Greg swallowed, parking in the nearest place and sighing, hands shaking again. His nerves. They'd always give him away, his hands. This time was no different. "Okay, Greg...you going to tell me? This silence it..."

"I'm not...I don't want to be your friend," he tried, wincing when he realized how painful it sounded - and it had that exact effect on him.

"But...seven years, G, what..."

"No, Nicky, I don't want to be your friend," Greg suddenly worried about his guts coming out his mouth. He couldn't look at Nick, partly out of fear (he could take the admission badly, and Greg might end up with a broken nose), and partly because he knew he wouldn't be able to make eye contact with him anyway.

Nick was silent, though, probably busy figuring out what Greg meant by that, when he suddenly laughed. "I hate to disagree with you, but...it's not really that funny, you know," came Greg's slightly defeated voice. He had expected hate, anger, rejection...but never laughter.

"I'm not laughing at you, G. Really, I'm not...I just...I can't believe that I was so...oblivious. Though, for the record, you seemed to be too."

Greg's head snapped up. "I was not!"

Nick's pager suddenly went off, and Greg had the strong urge to rip it out of his hands and throw it out the window. But he valued his job, and after a moment's consideration, realized that wouldn't be such a good idea.

 

***

He'd done it. He'd really done it. He had told Nick, and nothing bad had come of it. Well, other than that since his pager had gone off they hadn't had time to discuss anything further, due to the case. Greg rightfully blamed Grissom, but then realized if his mood hadn't been so sour earlier, Nick wouldn't have ever been enlightened with how he felt.

"Hey Greg?"

He turned around, Nick holding up an evidence bag, a large, bloody butcher knife sealed inside. His lips twisted into a grin, and he let out a grateful laugh. "So…That's it?" He sighed as Nick nodded, hand dropping to his side. Greg bit his lip as he pulled off his gloves. Finally. Maybe they could get some talking done.

As he opened his mouth, Nick's cell rang. "Good Lord, do they know when I'm about to say something vital or what?"

Nick only smiled as he picked his phone from his pocket, answering with a firm sounding "Stokes," to whoever called. "Yeah, I just finished. But, uh…I'm in the middle of something, Griss, so could you…? Oh," Greg tried not to eavesdrop, but he could see Nick's face reddening and the grin came back. "Okay, yeah. Bye," he hung up and nodded. "Let's go,"

Greg rushed after him - the Texan had a good fifteen feet on him, after all. When he saw that the blush still hadn't faded, he couldn't help himself. "What'd Grissom want?" he grinned when Nick's blush deepened.

"Wanted to know if we were done," he waved to the officer, signaling they were done with the scene .Greg nudged him, raising an eyebrow when he didn't continue. "He…Also told me not to make out with you when we were working,"

Greg smiled again. "Awesome." Nick finally made eye contact, though the blonde hadn't even noticed there was any avoidance going on.

"What?"

"Well, we haven't even kissed, or dated, for that matter, and he thinks we're using free time to shack up," he laughed. The heavy weight of the talk they were eventually going to have seemed lighter when Nick smiled along with him. "You know, we haven't really gotten a chance to talk…"

"About us?" Greg nodded. "Yeah. I know, and…I wondered if you'd want to come over after shift? It'd be less public and we'd have less interruptions…" Greg blushed and the Texan's eyes widened, shaking his head quickly. "No, I didn't mean…ah…I mean, that…just…You know, we wouldn't be pausing every five minutes because someone decided they had to tell or ask us something unimportant." Greg smiled at the obvious nervousness rushing through his companions' body, but didn't mention it. Nick seemed a little freaked out at the thought of them "doing it" already, he wasn't about to make some joke only to have the level three crawl back into his hole of denial.

There was a brief moment of silence before Greg shrugged before saying "Okay," he climbed in the passengers' side of the Tahoe and waited, almost impatiently, for shift to end.

They returned to the lab, the younger of the two having contracted a fear about the upcoming conversation. The conversation shouldn't have had such an affect - he had wanted Nick for years, and was willing to give pretty much anything for him, but he was still worried about the damn talk.

It wasn't that he wanted a relationship with no strings attached. He looked at it - it being the relationship - as a chance at a lifelong commitment. The job didn't really allow him to date, neither did the fact that he was a part of the graveyard shift. He would be dating, if he had a life outside of work and did anything that involved people he didn't already kind of know, but…there was always someone he didn't want to miss out on by dating someone else, that person normally having been Nick.

Sure, there was Sara, too, but…after the first rejection, he knew it wouldn't actually happen. With Nick he had a bigger chance - especially how he was currently waiting for what seemed to be what he had been holding out for his entire life. Okay, so maybe not his entire life, but still.

The Texan smiled as he walked into the locker room, making eye contact with the blonde as he opened his locker. "My car or yours?"

"Are we coming back here to get the car we're leaving?" Nick nodded. "Yours, then,"

"Where are you guys going?" a female voice asked as she entered. Nick and Greg barely exchanged glances before Sara continued talking. "Drinks? If you let me go, they're on me."

As Greg groaned softly, Grissom stuck his head into the locker room. "You three all have tomorrow night off, but that doesn't necessarily mean I don't need you. If you get a call, I expect you to come in, alright?" He walked from sight before any of the three had a chance to answer.

"Drinks," Nick said in answer to Sara's question. He shrugged helplessly to Greg as she invited herself with them. They trooped out to the parking lot, Sara saying something about how she should drive herself so she was even less likely to drink, and at that moment, Greg found himself letting out a sigh of relief.

The woman was the first to notice. "What's up?" Luckily for him, they had just left the lab - he used the 'happy to have tomorrow off' excuse rather than lying some other way (he wasn't really lying, anyway) and making it seem that much more fake.

He entered Nick's Tahoe again, waiting for the owner to stop talking to Sara so they could get on their way. When Sara was secure inside her car and Nick had successfully started his own, he let out a breathy "Finally,"

Greg smiled slightly when Nick laughed. "What?"

"I thought she'd want to ride with us." The dark-haired male raised an eyebrow at him.

"I was under the impression that you liked Sara." Greg stuttered to save himself.

"I do, I love Sara, just…not when she's interrupting what might become one of the most important nights of my life," he blushed as Nick nodded, smile growing on both their faces. "You do…want to talk about it, right?"

Nick nodded. "Oh yeah, of course…It just might be…delayed a little. Sorry,"

"Oh, no, it's okay…I mean, what are you supposed to do? It's not like you could tell her it was guys only, she would've asked where Warrick was." he shook his head at Nick's doubtful expression. "Look, you did what you had to. And as long as it happens, I can hold out. I've waited seven years; I can wait a little longer,"

"Alright. I'm still really sorry, though, G,"

"I know,"

It was hours before they made it to Nick's house to talk since Sara wanted to stay for hours, just to unwind. It was obvious that Greg was drunk, but he no longer cared. All he could think about was how he desperately needed to go to bed, tired and slightly angry, and…drunk.

"Do you just want to crash here;" Nick asked, proud that he was still sober. He had stuck to one drink, and that had been right away. From then on out, he kept to soda. But Greg didn't hold back. When called on it, Greg said he didn't drink often, but when the time came, he wouldn't hold back.

Greg smiled a little too widely but neither seemed to really care. "Yeah, alright." The Texan brought him upstairs, pushing him onto the bed, getting the younger to giggle.

"Mmm, you do this to all your lovers? Bet you're reaaaaaaaal dominant, aren't you?" Greg giggled again when Nick raised an eyebrow in question.

"Yeah, you're drinkin' some water before you got to sleep." He left for the kitchen, shaking his head at Greg's loud protests.

"Come on, cowboy, come back!" When he returned, Greg almost seemed a little less drunk, though that could've been just because he was a lot less talkative and more giggly. He held out the glass to Greg and watched as he downed it, Nick barely gripping it before the blonde let go.

"Why d'you have to be drunk?" he asked with another shake of his head, Greg giggling louder yet when he pulled off his shoes and socks. "Alright, come on, one side of the bed," he turned down the light, deciding it was a bad idea when Greg giggled again. He shut it off after flipping the nightstand light on, falling onto the right side of the bed, Greg having decided he wanted the left.

It might've been a couple hours later, but Nick woke up automatically when Greg shifted closer, lying his head on Nick's chest and draping an arm across his waist. He may've been drunk, but he knew that the younger male knew exactly what he was doing.

***

Never again, Greg thought with a groan. Never again, especially not when there are promises of relationship talk…with Nick Stokes. He tried the whole eyes opening bit, but when he noticed the light, he groaned again, throwing an arm to cover his eyes.

"Ah, sorry…Should've warned you." Wait; was that really who he thought it was? What exactly happened after he got wasted?

"Nick?" He peeked out from under his arm and opened his eyes fully when he didn't have pain shooting through his brain from the light. "What the hell?"

"Good morning to you to. Do you want anything?" The bed sunk next to him, and he turned to look at the Texan, who was smiling – slightly from concern, slightly from amusement.

"Uh…coffee…and my migraine meds," Greg closed his eyes and sighed, trying to sit up as Nick left the room. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry about what?" Nick called from what Greg could only assume was the kitchen.

"Getting drunk and passing out on you. At least, I'm sure that's what happened. I really didn't mean for it to happen, I just…I guess I was kind of pissed about Sara overhearing us and interrupting our plans by coming with." He dug through his jacket for his pills and cussed under his breath upon finding none.

"Do you have any of your meds with you?"

The level one shook his head as he stood shakily from the bed and made way to the bedroom door. "No. Where are you? I don't know how to get around your house."

"Hold on." Seconds later, the Texan rounded the corner and smiled as he took Greg by the arm. "I've got some of my meds left from the…thing." Nick grimaced when he finished. The "thing?" Greg eyed him curiously but nodded in understanding as he breathed in the coffee smell wafting throughout the house. He guessed that the "thing" was his burial, but would meds really be safe after this long?

"What kid of coffee?" Greg questioned as they entered the kitchen, spotting the coffee pot on the counter.

He barely caught Nick's smile. "I don't really know, my parents send it to me in bags. Maybe they know some people. It's not as good as the stuff you make—," Greg smiled at the offhanded compliment, "—but it's better than the crap Hodges calls coffee." He handed a cup to Greg, smile growing, and set his at his own place before excusing himself from the room, probably to get the meds.

By the time he returned, Greg had already emptied the mug. Nick traded the empty cup for the meds, instructing him as he refilled it. "Take one, unless it's serious pain, then you're welcome to take two, but it's got some side effects,"

"Side effects?" The ex-lab rat asked, dumping two out into his hand and swallowing the first one with a mouthful of coffee from Nick's mug. "Like what?" He was about to take the other one when the warning was given.

"You pass out." Greg brought his hand back down from his mouth and tossed it back into the bottle. "Just put the other back, didn't you?" There was a hint of a smile in Nick's voice, Greg noticed, and smiled when Nick turned around to show said smile, already full-blown.

"I'm not going to risk another replay of last night, alright? I'm already pissed off enough that I got too drunk to talk about…well, us." Nick's silence would've made the younger man squirm if it weren't for the content expression on his face. He gratefully accepted the new coffee, watching as he sat down. Nick cleared his throat and reached for his coffee. "I…We are going to talk about us, right?"

Nick's head snapped back up. "Of course...if you're still interested." His attempt at trying to be nonchalant was lost when the blush crept onto his face.

Greg smiled at him, taking a long drink from his mug. Now faced with the situation, he didn't really know what to say. Or what to ask, for that matter, and it was driving him a little crazy.

"Sorry it took so long." It came from them both at the same time. Then, "For what?" followed by, "To say something."

"I really meant to talk to you about it, especially after your kidnapping." Pain flashed across Nick's face and Greg automatically felt bad for bringing it up. "And Nigel Crane, too, but…I was always too worried that you'd…kick my ass, or something."

Every ounce of tension faded from his body at Nick's renewed smile. "I never would've kicked your ass, Greggo."

"Well, I know that now don't I?" A smile that very well could've matched Nick's was plastered across the blondes face. "I was scared, and…They never seemed like good times…Even though you had near-death experiences with both of them."

"It was the same for me, you know." Greg looked up in surprise. "Well, except for the ass-kicking…I knew I could take you." The grin fell from his face as he ventured into serious territory. "After the lab exploded, and after you…" The level one nodded solemnly as he realized what Nick was talking about – his beating. Under any other circumstances, he would've wondered why Nick couldn't bring himself to say it. "I kept telling myself to do it, but every time I'd get myself ready, you'd either fall back asleep or someone would walk in…" Nick sighed as he stared into the black coffee.

"…I'll bet that anyone who's realized that we were falling for each other is wondering how we made it as CSIs," Greg laughed with a shake of his head. "I can't believe I've waited seven years just to get this far, and people in the lab probably think we're already dating."

"Bobby brought it up to me once…And Grissom thought so, remember?" Nick chuckled right along with him. Their laughter died down after a moment or two, and the blonde finally met the older man's eyes.

"We're really doing this, aren't we?"

"Doing what?"

"This…this 'us' thing…" The Texan raised an eyebrow. "I mean…it's for real, right? I'm not going to wake up tomorrow, go to work, and you're not going to flip out at me for thinking it?" He swore his heart stopped beating when Nick reached across the table to take Greg's hands in his own.

"No, it's real. I promise." Greg bashfully looked to his coffee, grin on his face. "But…I never really thought this was going to happen. I always thought I'd keep it to myself…" The younger of the two waited for the rest before he spoke from his own viewpoint. "You're really the only guy I've ever…wanted to…"

"Wanted to…?" Greg pushed, smile on his face though he was being slightly curious. He'd never gotten the attention of one guy completely before. Nick beamed back at him before continuing.

"…Only guy I've ever wanted…in my life." Greg's face flared red from Nick's admittance, and nodded. The warmth from Nick's hands was making his own extremely sweaty, and the thought of that made his hands shake, which in turn made him even more nervous. He nodded again when realization hit that Nick was rubbing his thumbs over his knuckles. The gesture sent shivers down his spine. This was real.

He almost stuttered out a thank you but vouched for his other option instead. 'I…I'm…kind of nervous,"

"I know,"

"How?" Nick nodded at Greg's hands. "Oh. It's that obvious, huh?"

"You're making me shake, G," their grip on each other's hands tightened. "Why are you nervous?"

"I've waited so long, I'm waiting for it to end in a blaze of fiery un-glory." Greg glanced up at Nick after finishing his sentence. Un-glory definitely wasn't a word, but Nick didn't seem to notice.

"I'm not going to walk out." The emotion in the Texan's eyes was almost too much for him.

"You shouldn't, it's your house," Greg shot back playfully, to which his soon-to-be boyfriend smiled. Their coffee sat, forgotten, in front of them. "I, uh…" He wasn't sure what he was going to say, so when Nick interrupted him, he was more glad than not.

"If I tell you something, promise you won't bolt?" Greg shook his head.

"I'm not going to bolt, not after this long." He watched with interest as Nick nodded and took a deep breath. His confession. Greg was surprised that he wasn't the one to say something first, and also that their wasn't a phone ringing somewhere, telling them that they were needed, or Nick's mother calling to tell him something, or…

"I…I love you,"

Silence was not what he planned on for a reaction. Definitely not right. And obviously, it was making Nick panic, and Greg could almost hear the voice inside his head saying 'why'd you have to say it, now he's going crazy and he's going to think you're crazy, and dammit, you should've just waited a few months, maybe even a few weeks!' because it was going through his head as well…except not quite with the same speech.

"You don't have to say anything back, I just…felt like you needed to know." Greg was pretty sure that he could hear his cell phone going off, but he didn't rush to get it, even though he knew that if it was Grissom, he'd get hell for it later.

"I love you, too," he whispered back, yelping with surprise when he was no longer across the table from Nick, but wrapped in an awkward hug over the table. "I, uh…ow?" Greg breathed, air being crushed from his lungs. Not that he was complaining. The entire confession scene had ended up a lot better than he had thought it would – neither Nick nor him had run screaming from the room, there hadn't been any interruptions – well, none that they didn't ignore, at least – and they were still talking. To each other, which was more than either man could have ever asked for.

When Nick finally let go, Greg took a deep inhale of the oxygen around him and smiled. "I should go see who called my cell." Nick's eyebrows shot up.

"Someone called?" The blonde laughed at his obliviousness and left the room to check, coming back a few moments later, pulling his jacket on and throwing Nick's watch and cell at him.

"Grissom isn't happy that I didn't answer…We're supposed to go in." He smiled at Nick, completely content, probably more than he should be, given that Grissom was definitely pissed at him.

Nick smiled back at him, grabbing his own coat from a hook next to his door, taking his keys from his pocket. "What about your headache?"

"It's gone."

"It's gone?" He repeated incredulously, wide-eyed expression on his face. Greg nodded, unable to wipe the smile from his face once again.

"Yeah. Because of you and your medication." He shoved his feet into his shoes and waited for Nick to finish getting ready. "When did you get that, anyway?" The question seemed to hit a nerve, because the Texan's shoulders tensed and Greg was suddenly worried everything that was just confessed would be undone.

"Your, your beating." Greg was sure that if he said it any quieter, there wouldn't have been any noise coming from his mouth. He was so surprised he couldn't contain his utter confusion.

"Me? Why'd you have headache pills for when I was beaten?"

"I, I couldn't sleep, and when I don't sleep, I…get migraines." He smiled sheepishly up at Greg, who only threw his arms around the level three's waist.

He stuttered over a few sentences before finding one he liked. "I didn't know you cared that much."

"I didn't care, Greg, I loved you."

"Even then, when I was bloody, and…bruised, and…?" The detailed memories brought tears to his eyes and Nick pulled away to smile and wipe away what few tears had fallen.

'Hey, don't get teary on me now…And yeah, I did…" Greg smiled, nodding when Nick shot him a slightly warning glance. "You good?"

"Oh yeah. But, one more thing?" Nick nodded. "And no cheating your way out. What's up with—"

"The fight Warrick and I had? I don't really understand your obsession, but it was over me not telling him about how I felt…And not even that, really, just that I kept it all from him." Nick opened the door for Greg and waved him through, locking it behind him. Greg smiled devilishly. "What?"

"I was right, then. It was about me." Nick chuckled as he unlocked his car, waiting for Greg to get in the passenger side before he started it. Greg looked down at his shoes, biting his lip to keep from smiling even more. The results had definitely been worth the wait.

***

He knew that every relationship was different. People had different values and beliefs. Maybe Nick was one of those people who didn't have sex until he was sure there was a chance. Even with Kristy Hopkins, he called her back. Granted, it didn't matter, she was dead, but still.

As a side note, Greg had really enjoyed looking at Nick's semen when she was murdered.

But it was six months into their relationship and Nick still refused anything more than hand jobs, which meant they still hadn't had sex.

It wasn't like he needed sex – it was just an added bonus. And with Nick, he knew it'd be good.

The fact that Nick had given Greg a key to his house last month nearly reduced the level one to a sobbing-with-joy pile of mush. He'd managed to keep his emotions in check, though he couldn't say the same for his boyfriend when Greg had given Nick the spare to his own apartment.

Greg didn't really expect sex. He never did. It was just that he wanted to belong to Nick. He wanted to know what it was like to know someone would be with you. Well, he'd had sex before, but it had been a while since gay sex.

"You're not at home, huh?" Greg smiled when he saw the door to Nick's bedroom open, squinting his eyes to see against the light from outside the bedroom.

"Nah, decided I'd wait here for you," he peeked at the clock and yawned. Three hours past the normal time he fell asleep.

"You could've went to sleep," Greg propped himself p on his elbows as Nick shut the door and fell onto the bed next to the blonde, kicking off his shoes.

"It's okay, I don't mind," he snuggled close as Nick undid his jeans.

"Mmm…So sweet of you,"

"Yeah, how you gonna repay me?" Greg was slightly disappointed as he felt Nick shifting away. "I didn't mean-," he took a shaky breath as the Texan tugged at Greg's pants. "I, uh…"

"Shh…" Greg was pretty sure he stopped breathing when the Texan pressed a kiss to Greg's hip. "I don't plan to go all the way, just..." Nick rested his head on Greg's stomach, and as often as disappointment hit him, the blonde didn't absolutely hate now Nick was refusing. At least, not now. "I love you," he sighed, drawing out a smile from the younger man.

"Love you too," Greg fell back against the mattress. "Hey Nicky?"

"Mmhmm…?" the lack of real words told Greg that the level three was close to falling asleep.

Greg sighed and closed his eyes. "Nothing. G'night,"

"G'night," Nick pulled himself up to the pillows and smiled when Greg curled up to his side. He was still awake when Nick's light snores met his ears. There had to be a reason for the no-sex, and he knew he'd be able to respect it more if he knew the reason.

Greg having the day off did nothing for him when Nick had to work, and he didn't know the neighborhood. Other than Nick and the old lady across the street, he didn't know anyone. And besides, he was pretty sure that everyone knew about their relationship, and absolutely hated how he had stolen the straight-laced-but-not-so-straight Texan of the market.

It wasn't that he didn't like being with Nick; he loved their relationship. But sometimes, the looks he got when he left Nick's house scared him. It was the beating all over again in his head, and he wasn't into the 'I'm going to kill you looks' as much as one might have thought. When he was with Nick, it was a whole different matter.

That was the beauty of being hidden at work – no rude comments or looks like the ones from Nick's neighbors. Just lovely, stolen looks and touches in the lab and on the field, and no one knew. What really got Greg, though, was the secret make out sessions during their breaks that no one seemed to ever know about. And he knew that with those, they were being obvious. The CSIs just weren't too in-tune with what went on in the lives around them.

Not that they were self-centered or anything.

His cell ringing brought him from his thoughts. "Sanders,"

"I managed an hour and a half break for dinner, so be ready when I get home, Grssom's got me working a double,"

Greg scratched his head and sighed. "Uh, ready?" he fumbled through memories of conversations to try to remember.

"Come on, G, it's not that hard…" the tone of Nick's voice went straight to Greg's groin.

"I, um…Yeah, okay," sex? But wouldn't it be more meaningful if they could set aside an entire night, just the two of hem and time to waste? Just learning about new territory with each other was Greg's only real wish.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah, yeah," Greg shoo his head to clear his thoughts. "I'll see you when you get home, then," the blonde winced. He had called Nick's place home. Hopefully his boyfriend wouldn't catch up on that slip up.

"Yeah. Oh, Greg?"

"Yeah?"

"Love you,"

Greg smiled. "Love you, too,"

It wasn't what he expected. It's never what he expects. Nick's either planning something special, doesn't want anal sex, or doesn't think they're ready to go past hands and mouths.

Still, though, Greg couldn't stand the hints and sidestepping. If this was how he was going to keep it up, he'd take the subtle/not-so-subtle flirting over the hints of sex any day.

It goes without saying that Greg loves Nick and wouldn't push him, but he was getting antsy.

"G?" Greg jumped, scared at Nick's sudden raspy voice; he had thought his boyfriend was asleep.

"Uh, yeah?"

"Everything okay?" Nick cleared his throat and sat up in bed. "You haven't been sleeping much at all for nearly a month," the blonde sighed.

"You've noticed, huh?" a hand came to rest of Greg's shoulder, massaging gently.

"You can tell me," Greg swallowed and licked his lips. What if Nick had something special planned? "Come on, G, I just want to know if you're okay,"

Here goes nothing. Greg took a deep breath, laughed nervously, and readied himself. "So, we've…been dating about six months…And, uh...I mean, I don't want to push you or anything, and I love you, and I'm not an addict, but…" he looked to Nick in the darkness. "Is sex ever something I'll get to experience with you?" He expected a lot of reactions, but chuckling definitely wasn't one of them. "Oh…I…I'll just go."

"No, Greg, come on…It's actually kind of funny…I was thinking the same thing, really." Greg blinked, sitting up a little more.

"You…Wanted me to make the first move?" Soft touches to his face was his only answer.

-

Finally, lying in a very sticky mess, they slowly fell from their climax, Greg desperately clinging to Nick as though he was life support. Nick's breathing was nearly back to normal, though the blonde was still high from the intense orgasm, almost forgetting to breathe. "Good God…" he breathed, closing his eyes as he rested his head on Nick's chest. "I've never…Hot damn."

He could tell from the sound of his voice that Nick was tired. "You liked it?"

"Shit, Nick, I loved it. I can't believe we've gone this long," he yawned, amazed that his breathing was returning to normal; he had been under the impression that it never would. "How about you?"

"You make everything amazing," Nick said, pressing a kiss to the tip of Greg's nose. "I love you." Greg looked at the mess the sheets were covered in.

"I love you, too." He poked Nick's chest, wondering if it was worth reaching for the comforter. "Should we clean up?" His question fell on deaf ears – Nick was already asleep.