Title: Fighting Evil With Good 2
By: nancy
Pairing: Gil/Warrick
Rating: NC-17
Series: Fighting Evil With Good
Summary: Warrick brings Gil to someone who can help put his mind at ease.

The mark refused to go away and Gil stared at the reflection of it balefully.  It was still a vivid red against his pale skin and he had the feeling that nothing he did, no salve he used, would get rid of it.

“Gris, you okay in there?”

Turning from the mirror, Gil left the bathroom and found Warrick on the other side of the door. “Better, now.”

Warrick smiled and tugged him close, kissing him deeply before pulling back to say, “I’ve got someone I want you to meet today.”

Resting his head against Warrick’s shoulder, he asked, “Who?”

“I’m just gonna wait until you get there.”

“Warrick…”

“Hey, I don’t want to prejudice the outcome,” Warrick teased.

Gil snorted and pointed out, “What about Catherine’s advice to just make me tired enough to sleep another day? I’m up for that.”

“I think that’s going to have to wait,” Warrick answered, regret clear in his voice. “Come on. Let’s get the day started.”

Frowning, Gil followed Warrick outside and into the SUV, climbing in the passenger’s side without protest. Truth be told, he was still a little over-tired and shaken from the encounter with Darian. It was nice to let someone else be in charge for a while.

The drive was long and Gil fell asleep somewhere in the middle, listening to Warrick hum along with the radio. The gentle massage of his lover’s hand on his shoulder helped soothe the way. He didn’t wake again until the vehicle stopped, and even then had to be woken by a gentle kiss and, “Wake up, Gil, we’re here,” from Warrick.

Rubbing his eyes blearily, Gil found that they were in the desert and frowned. Climbing out of the SUV, he was instantly hit with a blast of heat that staggered him, even in the winter months. He looked around and discovered a small home on the other side of the truck and walked around it to join Warrick. “Where are we?”

“Friend of mine’s home. I think you’ll like her,” Warrick answered, taking his hand and leading him towards the house.

The white and yellow stone walls reflected the heat, and the roof was made from pottery to deflect rain and windstorms. There were totems hanging from the edge of the roof and carvings in the walls that Gil didn’t recognize. Inside was oddly cool, despite the lack of apparent electricity, and he relaxed almost instantly, not even sure why he did so.

“I’ve been expecting you for over an hour young man,” an old woman’s voice announced.

Jumping a little at the announcement, Gil turned towards what had to be the oldest woman he’d ever seen in his life standing a short distance away. She leaned on a sturdy cane, but her back was unbowed, and her white hair stood out all the more against ebony skin. Realizing that she’d been talking to him, not Warrick, Gil apologized, “Ah, I’m sorry.”

She smiled to reveal an unnaturally perfect set of teeth and pointed the cane at him. “Sit young man, sit. I’ll be with you shortly. Warrick, come on into the kitchen and help me with some refreshments.”

Warrick grinned at Gil, kissing him on the forehead before doing as he was told.

Bemused, Gil looked around the small home and found pictures ranging from black and white ones yellowed with age, to brand new color photos. They were all over the place, filling the walls and lining up space on tables and shelves. Men, women, and children from all races and ages, so far as he could tell.

The furniture was old, but well cared for and comfortable. There were nick-knacks and artifacts interspersed with bone carvings and intricately stitched wall hangings. He sat almost gingerly on the larger of the two sofas, opposite what was clearly the old woman’s recliner. It was surrounded by books and a large notepad with a quill pen, of all things.

Warrick returned bearing a tray of glasses and sat beside him, putting the tray on the coffee table. Gil stood up as the old woman returned, but she waved him into sitting back down.

“No need to stand on ceremony when you’re as old as I am,” she informed him, smiling broadly. “I could keel over at any second.”

Not knowing what to say to that, Gil looked helplessly at Warrick, who grinned and introduced, “Granny, this is Gil Grissom. Gil, this is Granny.”

“Are you two related?” Gil asked, knowing that she was far too old to be Warrick’s real grandmother.

She laughed and shook her head, dark eyes bright with humor as she replied, “No, Mr. Grissom, we’re not related. Not through blood, least-ways. Young Warrick here showed up one day and I took him in, like I do a lot of strays. He’d gotten himself lost in the desert on some trip with his folks. Now then, sit up straight so I can take a look at the man Warrick’s gone and fallen in love with.”

Gil straightened automatically when she thumped her cane towards him, a little surprised at her ready acceptance of them. Most people from that generation, well, whichever generation it was, would be horrified, not accepting.

“Hmm. Not bad, Warrick, not bad at all,” Granny approved. “He’s got some learnin’ to do, but I think you two will be just fine for the long haul.”

Warrick smiled and slid his arm around Gil’s waist, saying, “Thanks, Granny. What about what we talked about last night?”

Last night? When had Warrick had time to call her, and how? It didn’t even look like there was a phone line nearby, let alone a cell tower.

“I have an antennae in the back yard, Mr. Know It All,” Granny said, clearly in response to his unspoken words. There was no malice in her tone, though, it was indulgent, if anything.

Peering at him closely, she stood and walked over to him. A gnarled hand tugged his collar out of the way so she could inspect the mark on his throat. She hummed in apparent disapproval and shook her head, brushing her fingers over it.

Gil jerked in shock at the touch, something cool and soothing running through him, as if he were lying in some shaded glen, relaxing on soft earth.

She smiled brightly and said, “I should’ve known you were an earthy type. You got the smell of bedrock to you, young man. Warrick, you need to take this man of yours on a trip to Ireland in the spring. The wet rain and smell of growing things will do him a world of good.”

“I will, Granny,” Warrick promised without hesitation.

“Good, good. For now though…”

Gil watched, fascinated, as the woman named Granny walked away from him and started hunting through the nick-knacks in the room. She came back a few minutes later, holding a pendant in her hand. It was a black stone on a heavy copper chain. “Put that on.”

Taking it, he hesitantly put it over his head, wincing as the metal came in contact with the mark.

“Hold your lover’s hands, Mr. Grissom, he’s going to see you through this,” Granny warned.

Gil had just enough time to think, See me through what? before fire lanced through him, starting at the mark. He cried out in pain, struggling to get free, but Warrick held him down, onto the cushion. He vaguely heard Granny speaking in a low, firm tone, her voice melodic but menacing as she used a language he was unfamiliar with.

Feeling the hands around his throat again, knowing that Darian was somehow there and trying to kill him again, Gil pushed violently against Warrick. Granny’s voice rose sharply and then just stopped without warning. The choking sensation vanished as well and he lay gasping and shuddering in Warrick’s arms, both of them panting from the sudden exertion.

Soft hands brushed through his hair and Gil looked up to find the old woman staring down at him with sympathy and understanding. “It’s a hard thing, staring into that kind of Evil, especially for the first time, but you did well, Mr. Grissom, very well. You faced him down and won.”

Confused, Gil demanded, “Faced who down? How?”

“Always questioning, aren’t you, young man?” she replied, smiling in amusement. “The one you just sent back to Hell. The demon who’s been plaguing you for the last three days. Go look in the mirror. The mark’s almost gone now.”

Gil frowned and looked at Warrick.

The black man gave him a shaky smile and nodded, confirming, “It’s just barely visible.”

Standing from Warrick, Gil walked to the mirror on the wall and saw that they were both telling the truth. The hideously vivid red mark was just about gone, the faded pink outline vanishing even as he watched. Shivering, Gil turned and asked plaintively, “Would someone please tell me what’s going on?”

*  *  *  *

Warrick was surprised that Gil took it so well. He’d been expecting some kind of skepticism since Granny had banished Darian. Or, rather, since she’d helped Gil do it. She didn’t interfere directly, after all, just showed people how to use their own strengths. It had taken him a long time to understand that, but he did now. He listened as Granny explained the situation to Gil, that Evil did indeed have him in its sights, and probably had for a long time now. This had been a test to see if they could make Gil back down.

“Because,” she continued. “If you backed down from something relatively benign as that young demon, well, they don’t really need to worry about you.”

“But I don’t understand. Was Darian just here? Really here? If so, how did I beat him, as you’ve said that I did,” Gil demanded.

She smiled, the dentures looking as out of place now as the first time Warrick had laid eyes on her, twenty years ago. “That creature was here, yes, and you fought him off as you do other things; with your courage and determination.”

“It didn’t feel like I was fighting,” Gil confessed, looking away. “I felt just as scared as when he first attacked me.”

Granny leaned forward to pat his knee and comforted, “Fear’s a good thing, it keeps you on your toes and helps you stay sharp. You don’t let it overwhelm you, which is the key. You were fighting, fighting hard to get that thing away from you, and you did it. I just arranged the meeting, so to speak.”

Shaking his head, Gil said, “I’ll have to take your word for it, since I still don’t understand how all this is possible. I do feel…lighter, better, and for that I thank you.”

He started to take off the pendant, but Granny waved a hand at him, ordering, “Keep it. It’s bound to you now. Wear it when you think something’s not right.”

“Will it…protect me?”

“It will help you see things you might not otherwise see, so I suppose that’s a kind of protection. But Mr. Grissom, the only protection you truly have against Evil is your desire to do Good. As long as you hold fast to that, you’ll be as safe as any of us.”

“Well, thank you,” Gil replied.

“Warrick honey, give your parents a kiss for me. I’m feeling a little tuckered out, so I’m just going to head off to bed,” Granny announced standing and leaning on her cane.

A little worried, he asked, “You all right, Granny?”

She beamed up at him and answered, “Right as rain, Warrick, right as rain. Go on and tuck your man into bed. He could use some…comforting, if you know what I mean.”

Warrick’s eyes rolled but he kissed her on the cheek and agreed, “I know what you mean, Granny. And thanks, for everything.”

Granny motioned Gil to come over and joined their hands together when he did. Looking between the both of them, she said, “It’s a long row to hoe, but the two of you will make it, so long as you trust and love one another. There’s little enough of both in this world, but I know that you’ll find what you need in each other’s arms. Be good to each other and remember that patience is not a virtue, it’s a necessity when you live with someone for a long time.

“Right now, everything’s new and exciting, but in ten years from now, it’ll be the friendship that keeps the love alive. Friendship and respect and tolerance of each other’s weaknesses. Be good to each other and you’ll have a long, happy life.”

Feeling like they’d just been blessed and/or married, which maybe they had, Warrick bent down to kiss her cheek, a little surprised when Gil did the same thing. He grinned at the other man and kissed him swiftly on the lips. “Come on, Gris, let’s go home.”

*  *  *  *

Gil groaned and thought, If this is comforting, I won’t survive the loving.

Even with his mouth full of Gil’s cock, Warrick managed a sloppy grin, as if knowing exactly what he was thinking. Arching into the renewed sucking, Gil tried to thrust but couldn’t with Warrick’s arm over his hips. It had been a long time since he’d felt this kind of loving from anyone, maybe never, and Gil was desperate for more. He wanted to be buried inside Warrick, as deep as he could go, feeling that kind of connection.

Again, as if sensing his thoughts, Warrick pulled off and gasped, “Lube?”

Panting, Gil nodded and rolled towards the bedside table. He grabbed it and the condoms and found Warrick looking at him hungrily. Hesitant, he asked, “Can I...how do you want to do this?”

Warrick smiled and straddled him, answering, “Face to face. Just like this.”

Well. That was easy enough. They’d talk about long-term preferences later, when neither of them were inflicted with erections. Relieved, Gil took his mouth in another kiss, tasting himself on Warrick’s tongue, and squeezed some lube on his fingers. The kiss seemed to go on forever as Gil pushed his fingers in and out of Warrick’s hole, acclimatizing him to the invasion. Nimble fingers tweaked Gil’s nipples, accenting the pleasure with just a little pain, and it wasn’t long before he had three fingers pumping slowly in Warrick.

Breaking off, Warrick ordered, “Hold still, Gris.”

Gil opened his mouth to protest that he didn’t have the condom on, but Warrick beat him out, sitting slowly on his cock. Groaning in thwarted need, Gil pointed out, “I didn’t have the condom on yet.”

“No, really?” Warrick teased, though his face showed the strain of taking Gil, even incrementally. “I don’t want nothin’ between us, Gil, not even latex.”

Profoundly moved by the declaration, Gil cupped Warrick’s face in his hands and answered, “Same here, Warrick, same here.”

They kissed again, this time interrupted by a dual groan when Warrick was finally seated all the way on Gil. Foreheads touching as they both tried to breathe and prolong the encounter, Gil had to think about all sorts of disgusting things to bring himself back from the brink of coming.

“God, Gil, you feel so good in me,” Warrick groaned, shifting a bit on him.

Gil choked off a groan of his own at the action and warned, “You need to wait until I can control myself, ‘Rick. I’m too close.”

Going still obediently, Warrick whispered, “I love you, Gris.”

Everything crystallized for Gil at that soft, simple statement and he wrapped his arms as tight around Warrick as he could. Burying his face against the warm flesh of his lover’s throat, Gil didn’t respond right away. It had been a couple of decades since anyone had said that to him, and the last time, it had been followed with a ‘but...’ that had left him heartbroken. This time, though, he knew with utter clarity that it was for good. That Warrick wasn’t going to treat him like that, that the black man would be by his side for as long as he could.

Taking a firm grip on his wildly veering emotions, Gil finally pulled back and stared into the gray eyes. He didn’t say anything at first, just taking in the serious, slightly apprehensive expression, as if Warrick wasn’t sure he hadn’t scared Gil away with his words. A tentative smile surfaced on his face and Gil echoed, “I love you, Warrick. I probably won’t say that as often as I should, but I do. And I trust you...with everything. All of me.”

A brilliant smile blossomed on Warrick’s face and he seized Gil’s mouth in a deep, wet kiss, tongues sliding together and pushed up onto his knees only to slam down on Gil’s cock. Gasping in shocked lust, Gil was barely able to hang on as Warrick rode him hard and fast, milking his erection with every pass. He returned the desperate kiss with his own need and allowed the control to stay with Warrick, no matter how much he wanted to flip them over and take his pleasure in the willing body.

This was about love, not lust, and Gil had no intention of screwing it up on the first try. Whatever Warrick wanted, that was what he’d get, if it was within Gil’s power.

And then, suddenly, Warrick rolled them so that Gil was on top. Grinning fiercely, Warrick demanded, “Fuck me, Gil, do it, baby, do it hard!”

Moaning, Gil took his mouth in a fast as he started thrusting in and out of Warrick’s body, pressing the long legs up and to the side. They locked around his waist, freeing Gil’s hands, which he used for better leverage, and it was over pretty fast once he found Warrick’s prostate. A few hard slams against the sensitive nub and Warrick shouted in pleasure, coming between them. Gil rabbitted into his lover’s body before coming as well, grinding as deep as he could into Warrick as he came.

Still panting, Gil was going to pull out and resettle more comfortably when Warrick gasped, “Don’t leave me!”

Gil met the needy look with a tender one of his own and cupped Warrick’s face, kissing him softly before saying, “I won’t. Just thought I was a little heavy.”

“You’re perfect,” Warrick countered, keeping one leg hooked over Gil’s hip and his arms around his shoulders.

Smiling, Gil sighed in deep contentment and relaxed onto Warrick’s chest, still lodged deep in the other man’s body. Long fingers combed gently through his hair and he murmured, “We’re going to get stuck together.”

“Don’t even care.”

Gil chuckled and closed his eyes. He felt good, better than he had in a long, long time, because he knew he was loved.

Next story in the series - Fighting Evil With Good 3