Title: Bumper-Sticker Existentialism
By: assette
Pairing: one-sided Gil/Nick
Rating: G
Summary: Just a shameless excuse to use a Peanuts quote.

***

Grissom was sitting in the break room staring at a jar of peanut butter.

He'd just come off a double shift and he was edgy and tired. He had forgotten to eat again and Catherine had given him another lecture about not taking care of himself. She had taken the edge out of her nagging though, by scavenging this peanut butter from the fridge. She is sitting across from him now, clearly waiting form him to dig in. He knows better than to think that he ever had any choice in the matter. He takes a spoonful of it and makes a show of eating it just to be obnoxious. Catherine just raises her eyebrow and he knows he's been beaten; Linsey surely did a much better job at petulant.

He sees Nick lean in through the open door, "Greggo has our DNA results." It isn't fair that the man looked so good running around on too little sleep and in wrinkled clothes. Catherine stands and heads for door giving him a final parting glare. He tries to return fire but it's hard to look authoritative when your tongue is glued to the roof of your mouth. His eyes track her to the door but the look on Nick's face distracts him and she ends up winning the unspoken staring contest.

He takes another bite of peanut butter and the look on Nick's face shifts from morbid curiosity to disgust. He cocks his head questioningly and Nick has the decentcy to look chagrined.

"Sorry man, its just... I hate that stuff." Nick ducks back out of the room and moves to catch up with Catherine. He pulls the spoon out of his mouth and thinks sourly, right again Charlie Brown. Nothing does take the taste out of peanut butter quite like unrequited love.

***