The Importance of Familiarity

Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Words: 1273
Summary: Since it really all came down to the simple things.

***

"Morning," Greg said somewhat groggily after entering the room, not surprised to see Nick still in bed. A position he would like to be in right now. Though, he wasn't sure that being in bed equated to sleep when he knew Nick might have to leave, soon.

Nick, not too coherent himself, blinked wearily; not quite able to open his eyes fully. Light was peeking through the window in the corner of their room and he turned his head, away from Greg and against the pillow in a poor attempt to protect his eyes from the sun.

"Morning," he said, deliberately closing his eyes once more. He moved his mouth from the soft material of the pillowcase, finally beginning to wake up as he turned to watch Greg.

Sitting on the bed, Greg took his shoes off languidly, not worrying about sleeping with his clothes on as he tried to convene what little energy he had left to lay himself down on the bed. He closed his eyes for a moment, a part of him wanting to crawl under the comforter despite the fact that his body was protesting any kind of movement.

"Tired?" Nick asked unnecessarily, gaze still on the other man as the sun continued to rise, light covering one side of Greg's face and leaving the other in the shadows. He had a feeling that Greg being tired was more of an emotional consequence rather than actual physical exhaustion.

After a lapse of silence Greg turned his head to look at Nick. "…yeah."

"It's not the end of the world, you know."

Greg was quiet again, slightly narrowing his eyes as he regarded Nick carefully. "Did you fail because of something stupid?"

Nick knew it was a rhetorical question, but he choose to answer it, anyway. "No."

"Did you fail your first time, period?"

Nick didn't answer. Instead, he wrapped one arm around Greg, pulling the other man closer to him. He wanted to say that everything would be okay and he would do better next time, but Nick knew Greg didn't deserve something as demeaning as that.

However, the moment was quickly ruined when Nick removed his arm, forehead creasing as he looked at Greg warily.

"Since when do you drink cinnamon flavoured coffee?"

"…I don't," Greg said slowly, making a face at the other man. "I just brushed my teeth."

"How much coffee have you been drinking lately?" As much as Greg liked coffee, surprisingly, he didn't drink it that often. Nick wondered if the sudden increase of Greg's intake of coffee had anything to do with the other man failing his proficiency. It would help explain Greg's restlessness and recent inability to sleep well.

"Obviously not enough," Greg said tiredly, fighting not to close his eyes, again.

"It must be more than not enough if I can't even tell you brushed your teeth."

"Maybe a couple more than usual," Greg answered, pressing his head against the pillow an attempt to cover his yawn.

"Come here," Nick said resignedly, opening his arms to pull Greg on top of him. He grunted when the other man, who evidently still had enough energy to move, settled on his body, pressing the side of his face into Nick's chest.

"You going to make my case of lethargy suddenly disappear?" Greg asked, now comfortably sprawled over Nick and giving the other man no opportunity to move.

Nick smirked, but his expression again became serious. "You can't keep beating yourself over this, man."

Greg lifted his head, looking at Nick intently. "I'm not. It's just that this works…even if it is a really bad habit."

Nick made a noise in agreement, not able to do much else with Greg on top of him. "If you mean falling asleep on me…then, yeah. But you'd think you'd be immune to caffeine by now."

"Maybe..." Greg said distractedly, putting his head back down on Nick's chest. "Too much sugar, I guess."

Nick frowned when Greg didn't respond to the taunt like he normally would. "Or maybe it's all just in your mind," he suggested cautiously, not wanting to force Greg into a conversation he wasn't ready to have.

"Okay...I'm not ruling it out, but it makes me feel better if I don't think I'm completely dependent on you to get anything that even closely resembles sleep."

"So...it's my fault, now?"

"I didn't say that."

"That's what you're implying."

"...no comment."

Nick snorted at the response, making a sound that sent vibrations to his chest and made Greg smile against his skin. "But you know that wasn't what I was talking about."

Greg bit his lip as he lifted his head. "I know," he said, engaging Nick in a chaste kiss.

Watching the unwavering face of man above him, Nick withheld from sighing. "Aside from the cinnamon, it still doesn't smell like one of your usual blends, though."

"Does knowing my favourite blends of coffee say more about you or me?" Greg asked, raising his eyebrows in question. "And more importantly, should I be disturbed, here?"

"I'm being serious."

"Me, too."

Nick sucked his teeth, rolling his eyes for good measure.

"Sara gave it to me," Greg answered, blinking away moisture gathering at the corner of his eyes.

"Sara gave you coffee?" Nick asked, not bothering to disguise the aversion in his voice.

"I didn't know my choice in coffee had that much of an effect on you," Greg said dryly.

"Not really, but I'm just used to your coffee," Nick said, lifting an arm to run his hand through Greg's hair. "You spoiled me." He smiled softly when Greg looked away, happy the other man seemed to be in a better mood.

Greg continued, choosing not to comment on Nick's remark as he placed his head on the other man's chest, again. "Apparently, it was important to celebrate the fact that I lost my virginity."

Nick's hand stilled momentarily, his other reaching over Greg to the other side of the bed. "Um...isn't she kind of late?"

Greg closed his eyes as he felt part of the comforter being draped over his body. "For my first autopsy...no."

"That doesn't sound like...Sara," Nick said hesitantly.

"I personally think it's something she bought on the way to work but didn't want at the last minute." Greg scrunched his nose in thought. "I tasted soymilk in there."

"You actually drank it?" Nick asked suspiciously, placing his hand within reach of Greg's.

"Coffee is coffee, Nick." Greg paused, letting another yawn escape him before speaking again; his hand unconsciously searching for Nick's and finding it easily. "...sometimes."

"What kind was it?"

It was a while before Greg answered, and Nick almost thought Greg wasn't going to say anything until he heard a soft voice say, "...coffee."

Though, it took only a few seconds more before Nick noticed the other man's quiet breathing, chest rising and falling slowly. Greg's mouth was open and Nick felt himself relax when he felt the tingle of warm air on his skin. Drifting away, Nick found himself fighting against the urge to sleep; already used to doing so in the familiar position.

But Nick was jolted awake when he heard a brief tune and vibrations from his cell phone, the sounds ridiculously loud in his ears. Reaching over to the nightstand, he answered the phone, realising it was a message and not a call. When he was done reading it, Nick closed the phone with an audible snap and placed it back on the table.

Sighing heavily, Nick closed his eyes as Greg continued to sleep; knowing that when he left, Greg would inevitably wake up.