Title: First Date
By: lin71
Pairing: Nick/Warrick
Rating: FRAO / NC-17
Warnings: Uhm, lemme think, it’s un-beta’d, there’s cursing and there’s pr0n.
Summary: After a drunken revelation from Nick, Warrick decides to take a chance.
Disclaimer: they don’t belong to me, unfortunately, but in my imagination they do belong to each other.
A/N: the whole story is written as one big flash back starting after the first paragraph.

Warrick wasn’t a religious man, despite the efforts of his grandmother, but he almost wished he was so he could thank that god for how insanely happy he felt at this moment. But he didn’t really need to thank a god, if anyone; he needed to thank Catherine for celebrating her birthday three nights ago with enough booze to get everyone plastered enough to join into a game of Truth or Dare. 
If she hadn’t, his life would have looked the same now as it did that night. And it didn’t. Not by a long shot. 
 
** 
 
‘Another round, anyone?’ Catherine asked, holding a bottle of Tequila up in the air. 
 
After filling the glasses, she fell down on her sofa and pointed the half empty bottle to Nick. 
 
‘Okay Nicky, your turn. Truth or Dare?’ 
 
‘Gimme a Truth,’ Nick slurred, lying sprawled across the couch. ‘Cos I’m not getting up for whatever dare you have in mind.’ 
 
An evil grin formed on her lips, evoking an ‘oh-oh’ from Nick. 
 
‘Whatever you want Nicky. Okay, Truth: Did you ever have sex with a man, and if so, did you enjoy it?’ 
 
Warrick drew a sharp breath, immediately trying to cover it up pretending to choke on his shot of tequila. That question was the one Warrick always had been curious about but never wanted to ask. He had been attracted to Nick from the moment he laid eyes on him three years ago, but he didn’t want to take a risk by asking him about his sexual preferences. He could mess up the friendship they had formed quickly after they’d met, not to mention their working relationship, by doing that but the question never left his mind. Especially since Nick was an extremely physical guy who had a habit of laying a hand on his neck or an arm around his shoulder every so often, making it almost impossible for Warrick to think about the case they were working on at that moment. And now his question finally would be answered. That of course could turn out bad, but looking at Nick, Warrick suddenly doubted that. 
 
Because within a second after Catherine’s question Nick’s face turned bright red and he made a useless effort to hide his face in his shot-glass. 
 
‘Well Nick?’ Catherine insisted. ‘You gotta answer it honey, it’s the laaaawwwwww.’  
 
‘Yeah man,’ Greg added, waggling his eyebrows, ‘and there ain’t no escaping from the law with all us officers present.’ 
 
That made Sarah burst into a drunken giggling fit that in turn made everyone else start laughing as well. All but Warrick, who was practically holding his breath while waiting for the answer. But the way things were going, there was a fair chance that Catherine would have forgotten she’d asked a question in the first place by the time they all calmed down. 
 
‘Hey. Hey! Shut up and let the man answer!’ He said, making an effort to keep his tone light.
 
They all calmed down a bit, and Catherine turned to Nick again. ‘Well?’ she asked again. 
 
Nick emptied his shot, then cleared his throat and took a deep breath. 
 
‘Yes, and oh yeah,’ he finally stated, trying to look casual about it, but with his face still red and a somewhat goofy grin on his face. 
 
The somewhat hoarse 'oh yeah' had sent a shiver down Warrick's spine, while images of Nick lying naked under him while whispering 'oh yeah' in that same hoarse voice flashed through his head. He swallowed, unable to look anywhere but at Nick, who was looking rather uncomfortable with his revelation. 
Everyone else started yelling and cheering, but the whole subject seemed forgotten pretty quickly when Grissom took a Dare and had to give Catherine a lap dance. The tequila had made him lose most of his coordination, so his first attempt made him land face first into Brass' lap. The look on Jim's face was enough to start another laughing fit, while Grissom tried to keep what was left of his dignity and finish the dance.
 
The party broke up pretty soon afterwards, while everyone was still somewhat able to walk. While they were on the sidewalk trying to flag a cab, Warrick decided that now was as good a time as any to try to get a bit more information from Nick. Chances were that in his drunken state he’d open up easier than he would when he was sober again.
 
'Wanna share a cab?' he asked Nick, who was leaning against a lamppost in an attempt to stay upright. As on cue, a taxi stopped next to him.
 
Nick just nodded and staggered into the car. Warrick gave the driver their addresses and asked him to drop Nick off first. Both men let their head fall back against the seat, tired and drunk. But before either one could get a chance to nod off, the driver turned in his seat and pointed his finger at them.
 
'Hey guys, stay awake, okay? I don't want no one passing out on my back seat, 'cause it's hell getting you drunks to wake up. Start singing or something, but if you fall asleep I'll smack you awake. And no throwing up either!'
 
Warrick chuckled. 'Well, since you ask so nicely.'
 
He turned his head to face Nick who was looking quite baffled at the sudden outburst of the driver.
 
'Some revelation there, man,' he merely stated.
 
Nick shrugged. 'I'd rather not have told you all, but she asked.'
 
'Could have lied,' Warrick offered.
 
'You can't lie when you play Truth or Dare, Rick,' Nick said, with all the logic of the truly drunken. 'That's the whole point of the game.'
 
'That's why I always take the Dare,' Warrick answered. 
 
'Would have worked better for me too,' Nick agreed. 'I guess I know who's gonna be the talk of the lab tomorrow.'
 
'I highly doubt it,' Warrick assured him. 'Most are too drunk to even remember you said anything.' He snorted. 'And personally I think Grissom made even more of an impression.'
 
Nick chuckled. 'He sure as hell made an impression with Jim.'
 
He quickly turned serious again though. 'But it doesn't bother you?'
 
'What? That Grissom took a dive into Jim's groin?' 
 
Nick gave him a shove. 'No asshole, my so-called 'revelation'.'
 
Warrick looked at Nick for a moment and noticed the somewhat insecure look in his friend’s eyes. The idea that Nick would think he was some kind of bigot didn’t sit very well with him, especially since it was as far from the truth as possible. Suddenly it seemed unfair that Nick was the only one baring his soul tonight, and he quickly decided there was no time like the present.
 
'No, it didn't. It doesn’t. It did make me wonder about a few things though.'
 
Nick looked at him questioning. 'About what?'
 
'Well,' Warrick hesitated for a second, searching for the right words. 'It made me wonder if it was a one time thing, or something you've done more. It made me wonder if you are seeing someone right now that we don't know about. And if not, if you want to go out with me some time.'
 
At first Nick looked shocked, but by the time he heard the last of Warrick's questions, he relaxed again.
 
'Those are a whole lotto 'Truth' questions there Warrick,’ he said with a smile. ‘I just might come up with a few of my own later. Or think of a good Dare.'
 
He let his head fall back again and closed his eyes. And just when Warrick thought Nick had passed out, he started talking.
 
'It wasn't a one time thing. That would be rather pathetic at my age, since I’m gay. As for your next question: I'm not seeing anyone right now. The last relationship I had with a guy ended three years ago and that break-up was the reason I wanted to move to another state. It ended..... well, let's just say it wasn't very civil in the end.'  
 
He became silent, sad look on his face, obviously lost in his thoughts.
 
'Jesus Nick, 'Warrick whispered, 'I'm sorry I asked man.'
 
Nick shrugged. 'Not your fault. You weren't the one he was having sex with when I came home unexpected. Not unless you used to be a white woman anyway.'
 
Warrick grinned, despite himself. 'No, can't say that I have.'
 
Nick nodded. 'I kinda figured that. I’ve had a few one night stands since I got to Vegas, you know, but that was just about sex and nothing serious. It took me a long time to get over my ex and feel ready to start dating someone else again. To be honest I haven't been dating much since the break up.’
 
He shrugged again. ‘I guess I'm not someone who dates a lot just for the hell of it. I really need to feel something for someone before I take any chances.' 
 
‘And dating a co-worker probably isn't the best idea anyway,' Warrick said, offering Nick an easy escape route while hoping Nick wouldn’t take it.
 
He didn't expect the sudden shy smile on Nick's face. 'Probably not. But since I thought you were pretty hot since the day I met you, I’d like to try it anyhow.'
 
 Before Warrick had the time to say something, the taxi came to a halt. As if nothing had been said seconds before, Nick reached for his wallet and after paying the driver, he turned to Warrick again.
 
‘Okay, this is me,’ he said, one hand on the door handle. ‘See you at work tonight?’
 
‘Yeah,’ Warrick answered, still a bit baffled by Nick’s sudden admission. ‘Night Nick.’
 
‘Sleep well,’ Nick looked a bit hesitant for a moment, then quickly moved to Warrick and gave him a kiss on his cheek. He was out of the car before Warrick knew what hit him, and he spent the rest of the drive sitting quiet with a goofy grin on his face, his cheek tingling where he’d felt Nick’s lips.
 
**
 
Despite the amount of booze he had in his system, sleep didn’t come easy for Warrick. He could hardly believe what had happened, although their talk in the taxi played in his head over and over again. If he had heard it right, Nick told him he only dated someone if he was interested in getting into a relationship with that person. And that was seconds before he said he wanted to go out with Warrick and thought he was ‘pretty hot’. 
 
Warrick only hoped that Nick wouldn’t wake up hung over and sober, regretting what he had said and pretending nothing had happened. Or decide that getting involved with a co-worker wasn’t a very good idea after all, because it would be awful to keep working together after a nasty break-up. He’d been there himself, although he was just a kid working on the weekends at the time, and he didn’t feel the need to repeat that scenario.
But he sure as hell hoped that Nick would give it a chance, because he was pretty sure they could work out. They already knew each other so well. He suddenly grinned. Well, obviously not as well as they thought, but they knew and trusted each other. It would only add another kind of physical activity to their relationship, hopefully.

**
 
When Warrick entered the lab that evening, he immediately noticed Nick in the break room. He was sitting there, head leaning in one hand and staring in his coffee as if it was going to talk to him any second now.
 
‘Hey,’ he greeted Nick. ‘How’re you feeling?’
 
Nick looked up at him with somewhat bloodshot eyes in a face that was at least two shades paler than usual. Warrick winced in sympathy.
 
‘That bad huh?’
 
Nick carefully nodded, then stated: ‘You should see Grissom though, I think he died and hasn’t fully realized it yet.’
 
‘And no one has bothered you about, you know?’ 
 
Nick chuckled, gripping his head to prevent it from moving too much. ‘No, everyone is just surviving for now. I think their brains aren’t fully functioning yet.’
 
He looked at Warrick, who didn’t show any signs of decay. ‘How come you’re this upbeat? It’s kinda annoying, you know?’
 
‘A bottle of water and two aspirins before I conked out did the trick,’ Warrick answered. ‘I feel a bit woozy, but nothing too bad.’
 
He sat down next to Nick. ‘Besides, I don’t have time to feel bad, since I’ve got this big date to plan.’
 
He looked at Nick, trying to gauge his reaction. ‘Unless you regret anything you said to me, of course.’
 
A small smile crept around Nick’s lips. ‘Depends on what you’re planning, I guess, but other than that, no, no regrets.’

He closed his eyes again, pressing the palms of his hands against his eyelids to find some kind of relief for the pounding inside his skull.

 ‘Can’t say the same thing about last night though. Or rather this morning. I can only hope I don’t have to do any dumpster diving or investigating something severely decomposed today, ‘cause I really don’t feel up for it.’
 
‘I doubt the others are feeling any better,’ Warrick said. ‘I think it’s going to be a long night for most of us.’
 
He laid one hand on Nick’s shoulder, gently squeezing it and stroking the back of his neck with his thumb. ‘You think you’ve recuperated tomorrow?’
 
‘God, I hope so,’ Nick groaned, leaning in to Warrick’s touch. ‘Why?’
 
‘Cos we both have two days off after this shift, and that means that if I take you out tomorrow,  we could just stay in bed the next day.’
 
Nick shot him a puzzled look, which made Warrick chuckle.
 
‘Okay, bad choice of words. I meant it won’t be that big a deal if you drink a bit too much when we go out, since you don’t have to get to work the next day so you can stay in bed if you feel like it.’
 
Nick slowly nodded, smiling. ‘Sure, tomorrow’s fine with me.’
 
He got out of his chair. ‘I’m with Sara, I think, so I guess I better go look where she is.’
 
Warrick pointed in the direction of the hall. ‘Over there, by the looks of it she’s feeling just as well as you do.’
 
Before Nick left the break room, he called him once more. ‘Hey Nick?’
 
Nick turned around again. ‘Yeah?’
 
‘Just in case I won’t see you anymore tonight; I’ll pick you up around 7 p.m. tomorrow, okay?’
 
‘Okay,’ Nick answered. ‘Nothing too fancy, please.’
 
Warrick snorted. ‘Damn, and I wanted to go all out of my way and rent a limo and get my tux dry-cleaned for the occasion.’
 
Nick only huffed and turned to leave the break room, but before he left he looked back at Warrick one more time.
 
‘Hey Rick?’
 
Warrick looked at him questioning. ‘Yeah?’
 
‘I’m really looking forward to our date.’
 
A warm feeling spread through Warrick’s chest. ‘Me too Nicky.’
 
**
 
About 24 hours later Warrick was on his way to Nick and the warm feeling he’d felt earlier was replaced by nervous anticipation. In fact he was feeling more nervous than he had been in a long time when it came to picking up a date. Somehow this felt so much more important. And it was, of course.
After all, Nick had told him he didn’t date anyone without at least having the idea that it was someone he’d want to start a relationship with. Which made this more than just a date, at least in Warrick’s book it did.
Not to mention he had been hoping this would happen ever since they’d met, three years ago.
 
For tonight, he had made reservations at a restaurant that specialized in tapas and was owned by a childhood friend of him. Warrick loved the food, and he was pretty sure Nick would too. The main reason however, that he had chosen this particular restaurant tonight, was that they had an open mike night where musicians could perform and the guests could dance if they wanted to. He had been to several of those nights, and in contrary to a lot of those nights in other clubs, the quality of the musicians was usually very good. Of course every night had the occasional singer that thought he was really good but couldn’t hold a note to save his life, but that only enhanced the fun. That, and dancing with Nick sounded great too.
 
He even made a bigger effort than usual in looking his personal best, almost feeling like some kind of girl, trying out all kinds of different shirts to find the one that made him look his best. And he had succeeded, if he said so himself. His dark-blue silk shirt brought out his eyes more, and according to former boy- and/or girlfriends they were his best feature, while his jeans looked worn and hugged him in all the right places.
 
But despite all preparations, he couldn’t shake the feeling that it felt slightly odd that he was on his way to a date with his best friend. Nick was the guy he went out with as a friend, played games with, shot hoops with or just hung out with. And all that time he had wanted for something like this night to happen, had wanted them to be more than just friends. Hell, he had fought off the urge to pin Nick to the nearest wall and kiss him senseless more times than he could remember, but now that it was about to get real, it twisted his stomach into knots.
Which was odd enough as it was, because he never got nervous about a first date.
 
With his heart rate slightly higher than usual, he parked his car in front of Nick’s house and got out. The door swung open before he’d rung the bell, and Nick stood in front of him, looking about as nervous as Warrick felt.
 
‘Hey,’ he said to Warrick. ‘Wanna come in for a sec before we go?’
 
Warrick nodded and followed Nick inside. They sat down on the couch in silence for a moment, before Nick let out a nervous chuckle.
 
‘This feels kinda strange,’ he said.
 
Warrick let out a relieved sigh. ‘I thought it was just me thinking that.’
 
Nick shook his head. ‘Definitely not. And the thing is, I don’t know why it feels so awkward. You’re not exactly the first guy I date or the first guy I’m attracted to.’
 
The knot in Warrick’s stomach loosened at that last sentence.

 ‘I think it’s because we’ve been good friends over the past years and that friendship is about to change now. That’s something that could potentially risk not only that friendship, but also our working relation,’ he offered.
 
Nick nodded. ‘You got a point there.’
 
Both men were silent for a moment again, not knowing what to say. Thousand thoughts were running through Warrick’s head at this point, all of them excuses not to go through with this, offering Nick an easy way out. None of them were thoughts he wanted to share, afraid that Nick would call this whole thing off. So instead, he decided to push aside his nervousness and just take chance. It’s what he was known for anyway.
 
‘You know,’ he said, scooting over to Nick, ‘there’s a way to find out for sure if this is a good idea or not.’
 
And before Nick had time to come up with an answer, Warrick inched closer and brought his hand up to Nick’s cheek, caressing it with his thumb, before letting his lips touch Nick’s for the first time. He tried to keep his touch light, but it felt even better than he had hoped for and when Nick’s hand came up behind him, tangling his fingers in Warrick’s hair and drawing him closer, he deepened their kiss.
The moment he felt Nick’s lips open under his’, inviting him in, he drew back a little.
 
‘Don’t you think we should go out first?’ he whispered, lips still close to Nick’s.
 
Nick slowly nodded. ‘Yeah,’ he answered, sounding a bit breathless. ‘Although staying in and ordering some food suddenly sounds like great plan too.’
 
He closed the distance between them again, his hand still in Warrick’s hair. 
 
‘After all, we’ve been going out together since forever, we know how to do that,’ he grinned, lips almost touching Warrick’s. ‘But I’d say we’ve got some catching up to do when it comes to getting to know each other physically.’
 
Warrick chuckled and, after one more lingering kiss, gently removed Nick’s hand and got up from the couch. 
 
‘Good things come to those who wait Nick. C’mon, I’ve made a reservation at 7.30, so if we get a move on we can make it in time.’
 
**
 
It was a short drive to the restaurant and upon entering Nick looked around and nodded his approval.
 
‘Nice place you’ve found here.’
 
Before Warrick could answer, an elderly waitress approached them.
 
‘Hi Warrick, honey, how nice to see you again. Come down a bit, so I can give you a proper greeting.’
 
Warrick obediently lowered his head a little to let the waitress kiss him on both cheeks.
 
‘Hi Janey,’ he answered. ‘Which one is our table?’
 
She pointed to a table in the left corner.
 
‘There honey. You asked for a bit of privacy, and that’s the most private you can get.’
 
She looked at Nick for a moment and whispered in a conspiring voice. ‘And looking at your date I can totally understand the need for privacy. If only I was 30 years younger and a man…’
 
Warrick heard Nick chuckle close behind him and stepped to the side a bit. ‘Let me introduce you,’ he said, wrapping and arm around Nick’s waist. ‘Janey, this is Nick Stokes. Nick, this here is Janey Wilson, mother of the owner of this place, who happens to be a close friend of mine since about the time we were born.’
 
He turned to Janey again. ‘Could you just ask Rob to surprise us with a selection of his tapas tonight? We’ll holler if we’ve had enough.’
 
She nodded. ‘Will do sweetie. Are you gonna play something for us tonight?’
 
Warrick shook his head. ‘Not tonight. I don’t wanna chase Nick away on our first date. Now if you’ll excuse me, we’ll get to our table.’
 
‘Of course boys. Have fun and keep it decent please,’ she winked, ‘I’ll bring you a bottle of red wine in a minute.’
 
She trotted off towards the bar, while Warrick and Nick walked over to their table. It was set in a corner and had a love seat instead of two separate chairs. Warrick had been worried that it would be a little too obvious, but as soon as they sat down, Nick leaned against him, obviously enjoying the feel of being this close. 
 
They could see Janey busying herself behind the bar, and after a few moments Nick looked at Warrick with a bemused look on his face.
 
‘She part of the entertainment for tonight?’ he asked.
 
‘God no, please not,’ Warrick snickered, wrapping his arm around Nick’s shoulder, pulling him a bit closer. ‘Janey is a sweetheart, she’s known me from the day I was born. And ever since my mother died she took it upon her to start mothering me whenever she saw me. Or in her case, smothering me. I kinda had hoped she wouldn’t be here tonight, since she doesn’t work here that often anymore, but I’m afraid Rob has told her I’d be here.’
 
And then, after a few seconds. ‘If it bothers you, we can go somewhere else.’
 
Nick looked at him incredulously. ‘You think one nosy woman scares me off?’
 
He chuckled. ‘Man, Rick, I was raised in a household with not only a mother, but 4 older sisters. One nosy granny type of lady doesn’t scare me in the least.’
 
As on cue, the granny type of lady herself brought them their wine. ‘Here you go boys, enjoy! I won’t bother you anymore, since my shift is over. But have a pleasant evening you both!’
 
‘Thanks Janey,’ both men answered, while Warrick almost sighed in relief.
 
He raised his glass to Nick. ‘Here’s to a night with good company and without further unwanted interruptions.’
 
‘I’ll drink to that,’ Nick answered, raising his glass as well before taking a sip. Then suddenly something dawned on him.
 
‘By the way, how come she wasn’t surprised that I was your date?’
 
‘I was wondering when you’d ask that.’ Warrick grinned at him. ‘Nobody at work may know, but I’ve never made a secret of my personal life amongst my friends and family, so most of them have known for years that I’m bisexual. Janey had already figured it out before I realized it myself. Talk about a fully-functioning gaydar.’ 
 
He turned his head a little to nuzzle Nick’s ear, before he murmured. ‘But can we stop talking about her now? I’d rather talk about other things.’
 
Nick’s breath hitched when Warrick’s breath caressed the sensitive skin of his ear. 
‘But you do realize that we don’t exactly need to get to know each other,’ he said. ‘We already know each other pretty well man, so this whole obligatory ‘what’s your favorite whatever-stuff’ can be skipped as far as I’m concerned.’
 
‘Oh yeah?’ Warrick answered, stroking Nick’s upper arm with his fingertips. ‘I bet I can come up with some questions about stuff I don’t know about you just yet.’
 
Nick quirked an eyebrow. ‘Like what? You feel the need to ask me about the name of the dog I had as a kid? Or do you wanna know my shoe-size.’
 
 ‘The dog’s name was Dash and you’re a size 10,’ Warrick answered. ‘I know those!’
 
He let his voice drop an octave. ‘I was more thinking along the lines of, I don’t know, something like..do you like this?’
 
He let his tongue trace the outline of Nick’s ear, enjoying the shiver it sent through Nick. He loved the feeling of holding Nick so close that he could feel every change in his breathing, could almost feel the heart beat of the other man speed up. The way Nick responded to the lightest of touches raised his anticipation of what it would be like when he would be able to touch all of him. The mere thought was enough for his own temperature to rise and for his cock to take an interest as well.
Bravely ignoring that for now, he focused on Nick again.
 
‘Okay, so that’s a yes,’ he stated. ‘But there are more things I don’t know. Like what other parts of you are just as sensitive, or if you like to make out in public, or if you like to have sex in the shower when you’ve just woken up as much as I do.’
 
Nick groaned. ‘Cut it out Rick.’
 
Nick’s flushed face and his somewhat labored breathing were a pretty good indication that Warrick’s voice and the type of his questions were turning him on pretty fast, but pretending not to notice it he asked. ‘Why? Because I know I can think of some more.’
 
Nick took a deep breath and shifted in his seat so he’d face Warrick.
 
‘You know what,’ he said. ‘This isn’t working. At all.’
 
Warrick looked at him with somewhat of a shocked expression, afraid he’d wanted too much too soon.
 
‘What? What do you mean?’
 
Nick chuckled. ‘Not like that! I meant I feel stupid sitting here with you, finally able to enjoy feeling you close to me, touching me and getting me all worked up and I have to keep some kind of distance because we’re in a freakin’ restaurant while all I really want to do is crawl into bed with you.’
 
Warrick always took pride in the fact that there wasn’t a lot that could throw him, but Nick’s last remark almost made his jaw drop. Because how in the world could a man look so goddamn innocent while proposing something like that?
 
Nick’s fingers were tracing patterns on Warrick’s thigh, trailing a little higher every time, as he continued: ‘Can’t we just go home? Enjoy our first date another time? I’d say we can think of a few other firsts we need to explore.’
 
The semi-casual way Nick was touching him already sent shivers of want through his entire body, and Warrick could no longer block out the images of how it would be if they were both naked and in his huge king-size bed. Suddenly the whole point of going out on a date seemed stupid. They didn’t need this, they’d done all that before as friends. Quickly making his decision, he grabbed hold of the hand slowly stroking his thigh, rubbing his thumb over the knuckles.
 
‘Yeah,’ he said with a sly smile, ‘now that you mention it: there’s always take out when we get hungry.’
 
He took a breath and stood up. ‘Gimme a minute to say goodbye to Rob, and we’re out of here. I’ll tell him something important came up and we have to go.’
 
Nick briefly glanced at his groin and snorted. ‘You’re not even lying that much with that story.’
 
Warrick walked through the restaurant and made his way around the bar to get into the kitchen. About 20 seconds later Nick heard a loud yell followed by an excessive amount of cursing in a very familiar voice coming from the kitchen and shortly after one of the waiters, a kid that was looking awfully pale, ran into the restaurant.
 
‘Which one of you is Nick Stokes?’
 
Nick immediately shot into a standing position, all kinds of disasters that could have occurred flashing before his eyes, and hurried over to the bar.
 
‘I’m Nick Stokes, what’s going on here?’
 
The waiter gasped for breath, trying to talk but seemingly unable to come up with words. It couldn’t have taken more than about 5 seconds, but Nick had to fight the urge to smack the kid to his senses.
 
‘I’m so sorry,’ he finally stammered. ‘I-I really didn’t mean to… .but I didn’t look and…… oh my God!’
 
Realizing he wouldn’t get a coherent answer from the boy, Nick pushed him aside and got over to the kitchen, bracing himself inwardly for whatever he might find.


The first thing he saw was a group of people standing around someone that was half sitting/half lying on the floor. He couldn’t see the face of the person on the floor, but by the look of the jeans-clad legs sticking out from between the legs of the people standing around him, it had to be Warrick.
Nick grabbed the person nearest to him and shoved him out of the way. Half a second later he was kneeling down next to Warrick, whose arm and chest were covered in blood.
 
‘Jesus Rick,’ he whispered. ‘What the hell happened here?’
 
Warrick tried to smile, but a grimace of pain was the only thing visible on his face.
 
‘Asshole over there almost cut my arm off,’ he gritted out, pointing his other arm at the young waiter, who had called out for Nick a minute ago. ‘Obviously no one ever explained to him that walking around carrying a set of sharp knives without looking where you’re going isn’t the smartest thing to do.’
 
‘You sure he only stabbed your arm?’ Nick asked, unbuttoning Warrick’s shirt to examine the damage himself. 
 
‘I’m okay Nick, it’s only my arm,’ Warrick scoffed. ‘You didn’t need to undress me for that, I could have told you that myself. And I just know I’m gonna need stitches, which means a trip to the hospital and some doctor cutting my favorite shirt to pieces.’
 
Nick grinned. ‘Glad to see you still got your priorities straight man. Losing your arm isn’t half as bad as losing a shirt, which is already cut by that knife anyway, of course.’
 
‘O, shut up,’ Warrick muttered. ‘Just get me a towel and help me up.’
 
One of the cooks handed Nick a clean towel and he pressed it against Warrick’s arm.
 
‘Goddamnit,’ Warrick continued, ignoring the fact that they were still surrounded by the kitchen staff, ‘I can’t believe it. Two minutes ago I was well on my way to having a hot and steamy night with you, and now we’re gonna spend the night in the ER hoping someone will help me before I’m dying from severe loss of blood.’
 
‘Bro, you’re way too pissed off to be dying just yet,’ Nick retorted, barely able to hold the grin off his face. ‘So quit being such a drama queen and get up already. I’ll drive you to the ER, we’ll flash our badges to make some extra impression and get some help quickly and we’ll be outta there in no time.’
 
He pulled Warrick up from the floor by his good arm and immediately wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him in case he needed it. He guided him to the emergency exit, so they wouldn't scare any other guests in the restaurant or make them lose their appetite.
 
'Okay, show's over,' he announced to all persons present. 'I'm sure we'll be back some other time to enjoy the food and the music, but probably not tonight. Have a pleasant evening y'all.'
 
When they got to the car, Nick opened the door and helped Warrick inside. He walked around the car and quickly took place in the driver's seat.
 
'Honestly, how bad is it?' he asked, concern genuine when he saw Warrick wincing from the pain in his arm as he tried to reach for his seatbelt.
 
Warrick shrugged with one shoulder. 'The kid stabbed me in my bicep. Hurts like a motherfucker, but I think it scared him more than it did me. It bled pretty fierce for a while though. For a minute I thought he'd hit an artery, but I'm pretty sure he didn't. Bleeding has almost stopped, I think.'
 
Nick nodded. 'We're going to the hospital anyway Rick.'
 
'Great way to end a first date,' Warrick groused. 'I'll make it up to you, I promise.'
 
Nick started the car and pulled out of the parking lot. 'You wanna call this the end of our first date? While we're going to spend some quality time in the hospital and I'm going to have to drive you back home?'
 
He turned on the radio and searched for a channel to his liking. Without looking at Warrick, he added: 'And I'm sure we can think of something to do at your place that doesn't involve you using two arms.'
 
Warrick's head snapped up. 'What?'
 
Nick looked at him from under his lashes. 'You heard me. You've started it Rick, by trying to get me all worked up in the restaurant just minutes ago. Unless of course your sorry ass just needs someone to pamper you until you’re all healed again.'
 
'Ain't nothing sorry about my ass, Stokes,' Warrick muttered, trying not to grin. 'Don't knock it till you've tried it.'
 
'Yeah yeah,' Nick retorted, focusing on the road again. 'I'll be the judge of that if you don't mind.'
 
 
**
 
It turned out that flashing their badges indeed had the desired effect, because within half an hour after they reached Desert View Hospital, they were on the way to Warrick’s apartment. Warrick had been stitched up and the doctor had put his arm in a sling in order not to get too much strain on the freshly stitched wound.
On arrival, Nick shut down the engine and turned to Warrick.
 
'Pretty eventful date so far,' he stated.
 
Warrick nodded. 'Gotta admit I know how to make an impression.'
 
Nick snorted. 'Lemme see, a nosy substitute-mother, almost having something to eat, almost getting to listen to the music you promised, and just when things started to get interesting you got stabbed in the arm. Yeah, I'm pretty sure I won't forget this one soon.'
 
Then, more serious. 'But you took a nasty cut there, man. That's going to hurt when the anesthetic wears off. So it's your call. I mean, do you want me to come up? Or would you rather just go lie down or something?.
 
Without saying a word, Warrick grabbed the front of Nick's shirt and yanked him close, kissing him hard. Nick's lips opened under the sudden assault, and the moment their tongues touched for the first time both men let out a soft moan. All anticipation that had been built up earlier in the evening came rushing back with vigor. Trying to deepen the kiss even more, Nick slid an arm around Warrick's shoulder, pressing him as close as possible without hurting him.
 
‘I’ve waited three fucking years for this moment, Stokes,’ Warrick said when he finally pulled back, his voice barely more than a hoarse whisper. ‘So you better get your scrawny ass out of the car and come with me, or I’m not the only one ending up hurt tonight.’
 
‘I sure do know how to pick sweet-talking men,’ Nick muttered, trying to keep a straight face, while he complied with Warrick’s request and got out of the car.
 
The moment he walked around the car to make his way to the entrance of the apartment building, Warrick grabbed him by the arm and pressed him up against the hood of the car.
 
‘You ain’t gonna hear a lot of sweet-talking from me Nicky,’ he purred, before claiming Nick’s mouth again in a passionate kiss. He knew they’d better take this inside before it was getting out of hand right there, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go of the warm, muscular body that fitted so perfectly against him. When Nick shifted a bit to make sure he didn’t put too much pressure on Warrick’s injured arm, Warrick took the opportunity of press one leg between Nick’s. It took him about 2 milliseconds to realize Nick was just as hard as he was, and he couldn’t resist twisting his hips to grind their erections together. It elicited a moan from Nick that seemed to reverberate through his entire body.
 
Warrick’s arm came around Nick’s back, pulling the hem of his shirt out of his jeans to finally feel some skin, feel the muscles move under Nick’s skin and feel small goose bumps come up all over Nick’s back the moment his caresses were merely ghosting the skin.
Nick’s arms came up around him, one hand trailing up his back, the other finding his way into one of Warrick’s back pockets, trying to get him even closer and increase the friction between them.
 
‘C’mon,’ he whispered, keeping his arm around Nick’s waist, not wanting to lose contact to the bare skin he was feeling under his hand. ‘Let’s go inside before we get arrested for indecent exposure or something.’
 
Nick looked a bit dumbfounded, as if he only now became aware of his surroundings again.
‘Ehm, yeah,’ he answered hoarsely. ‘That may be a good idea.’
 
Arms still around each other, they staggered towards the door and to the elevator. The moment the elevator door closed behind them, Warrick grabbed both Nick’s hands in one hand and pinned them above his head and against the wall of the elevator.
Nick immediately let his head fall back against the wall and closed his eyes in surrender, waiting for the onslaught.
 
‘God, Nick, I can’t believe how hot you look like this,’ Warrick murmured, before diving in for another searing kiss. ‘It’s too bad we’ve only got a few floors to go.’
 
‘You could stop the elevator,’ Nick suggested, mischievous glint in his eyes, ‘but looking at the amount of dirt of the floor I’d rather wait a few seconds.’
 
Warrick grinned while the elevator came to a halt and the door opened. ‘You don’t have to worry about that. We’re here.’
 
They practically raced each other to Warrick’s front door, the need for each other scorching through them. To Warrick it almost felt as if all three years before were needed to built up some sort of giant anticipation that had to unload right this second. And judging by the look of blatant desire in Nick’s eyes, he felt about the same.
 
‘How you wanna do this,’ he asked Nick, not even sure what it was he was asking.
 
‘Right here against the wall sounds good to me, ‘Nick said in a lustful tone. ‘But there’s no way you can put weight on that arm Rick, so I suggest you just lie down and let me have my way with you.’
 
Warrick swallowed visibly. ‘Yeah, that may be best,’ he said, trying to keep his voice steady but failing miserably. He had no idea how Nick suddenly gained the upper hand, but it turned him on like nothing else.
 
Nick only nodded, then grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the bedroom. Warrick just managed to toe his shoes off on the way to his bed, before Nick pushed him on his back on the mattress.
 
‘Make yourself comfortable Rick,’ he said, ‘cos you’re not going anywhere for a while.’
 
Warrick scrambled across the bed until his head lay on his pillow, his good arm under his head and the injured one carefully placed across his chest.
The moment he lay still, Nick got over to the bed, standing still at the foot of the bed, intense gaze focused on Warrick’s face.
 
‘You’re not the only one that has wanted this for some time, Rick,’ Nick said. Never lifting his gaze from Warrick, he started unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his near perfect chest and stomach a little more with every move of his hand.
 
The moment Nick tossed his shirt somewhere beside the bed, Warrick, much to his amusement, saw a blush creeping up Nick’s face. But whatever inner inhibitions Nick was battling right now that made him blush, he didn’t show any of them.
After quickly getting out of his shoes and socks, he loosened his belt and pulled it out of the belt loops.
 
Warrick almost moaned at the thought of Nick standing naked in front of him in a few moments, but Nick only opened two buttons of his jeans he left it at that. Just enough for Warrick to get a view of his boxer-clad erection.
 
‘C’mere baby,’ Warrick pleaded, getting his hand out from under his head and holding it out to Nick. ‘Don’t leave me lying here Nicky, all alone and hard and waiting for you.’
 
Nick didn’t take his hand, but instead placed his hands on next to Warrick’s legs and slowly crawled his way up until his face was above Warrick’s and his knees were touching Warrick’s hips. Resting his weight on one hand, careful not to touch Warrick’s injured arm, he leaned down to kiss Warrick. The moment mouths lips touched, Warrick opened his lips to let Nick’s tongue slip in.
Never breaking the kiss, Warrick felt Nick open his shirt and a warm hand gently pushed the fabric aside to expose as much skin as possible without actually moving. He couldn’t help but arching up to Nick, wanting to feel more of him, all of him. He felt Nick smile into their kiss and opened his eyes to look at him.
 
‘You fucking tease,’ he murmured, eliciting a grin from Nick.
 
‘If you want something Rick, all you gotta do is ask,’ Nick answered, his hand traveling down Warrick’s stomach and abs and stopping at his waistband. ‘Only thing I can’t do right now is lie down, because that would probably damage the stitches.’
 
He lowered his head again, mouth close to Warrick’s ear, and whispered. ‘I guess I’m just gonna have to be a bit more creative, don’t I?’
 
Warrick couldn’t repress the shudder that went through him. He looked up in Nick’s eyes again and saw they were dilated with lust, probably much like his own.
 
‘I wanna see all of you Nicky,’ he said. ‘Take off your clothes baby, show me how fucking gorgeous you are.’
 
Nick slowly slid down on the bed, sucking and nipping at the exposed skin of Warrick’s chest and stomach, before getting up to quickly dispose of his jeans and boxers.
Never taking his eyes off of Nick, Warrick fumbled with his belt one-handedly in an attempt to get rid of his own jeans. His failing attempts only seemed to increase his need to get his clothes off, so after three attempts he grumbled:
 
‘Goddamnit, gimme a hand will ya.’
 
Nick took pity on him and yanked his pants off by the legs. Warrick managed to get rid of his boxers himself and when he looked up he saw Nick standing still at the foot of the bed, intense gaze fixed on Warrick.
 
‘God, I want you so bad,’ he groaned, slowly stroking his own cock. Warrick couldn’t help but moan in response. Nick standing there naked, seemingly unable to refrain from touching himself, was like a wet dream come true.
 
Warrick pushed himself up and reached over to grab Nick’s other hand to pull him back onto the bed with him. Within seconds Nick was straddling his hips, their cocks lightly touching.
Warrick tried to push his hips up, to get more friction somehow, but Nick had him effectively trapped between his thighs.
 
Warrick felt himself getting harder, without Nick even so much as touching him. He brought his hand up and tangled it in Nick’s hair, pulling him down on top of him. Injured arm be damned, he needed to feel all of Nick and he needed it right now. Crashing Nick’s mouth onto his, he felt one of Nick’s arms come up around his neck to get even closer. His own arm had moved to Nick’s ass, grabbing hold of whatever part he could reach that would cause Nick to move, to grind his hips against Warrick’s, anything.
 
But the moment Nick started to actually grind against him, his state of immense pleasure suddenly was wrecked by a bolt of pain coursing through his arm.
 
‘Fuck!’ he yelled.
 
Startled, Nick immediately shot back into a sitting position.
 
‘God, I’m so sorry Rick,’ he started to apologize.
 
Warrick shook his head. ‘Not your fault. If anyone should get the blame, it should be that stupid kid in the restaurant. But I’m afraid it’s not gonna happen like this baby.’
 
He hadn’t expected the mischievous smirk on Nick’s face.
 
‘Got any lube nearby?’ was all Nick asked.
 
Warrick could only nod. Pain forgotten instantaneously and completely replaced by anticipation. He gestured in the general direction of his nightstand and Nick crawled over there to get it.
 
As soon as he retrieved it, he got back to straddling Warrick.
 
‘Now will you please just lie still?’ Nick asked. And then, with a smirk, ‘Or at least as still as you can manage?’
 
‘What are you gonna do Nick?’ Warrick asked hoarsely.
 
Nick didn’t answer, instead he opened the bottle of lube and slicked up two fingers. Never lifting his gaze from Warrick’s face, he brought his hand down behind him and pushed one finger in his ass, quickly followed by the second.
Looking at Nick, fucking himself without any restraint, head thrown back a little but his eyes still locked on his, Warrick mused that it was a good thing that the pain in his arm had made his erection fade a bit. If not, he would have combusted by now.
 
The moment Nick added a third finger, Warrick could tell he was close to his orgasm. No longer able to keep his eyes open, Nick had let his head fall back. His movements had sped up and became more and more irregular. Warrick quickly propped both pillows in his bed under his head to get into a more upright position so he could at least reach far enough to touch Nick. Starting at his inner thigh, he lightly moved his hand up until his fingers curled around Nick’s cock.
Nick eyes flew open immediately.
 
‘No, no Rick, please don’t,’ he begged. ‘I don’t want it to end just yet.’
 
Warrick understood and let go. Nick took a deep breath, stopping all his movements.
 
‘Just gimme a minute,’ he panted, withdrawing his fingers and firmly gripping the base of his cock.
 
Warrick stayed totally quiet until Nick finally opened his eyes again.
 
‘God,’ he said, still panting, a drop of sweat trickling down his temple. ‘That was close.’
 
Another deep breath. A beat.
 
‘Okay,’ he said after a short moment, huffing out a laugh. ‘Sorry for the delay.’
 
Warrick looked at him. ‘I wouldn’t have minded, you know, if you just needed to get off. We can always continue this later, when I can actually move.’
 
Nick reached over to the nightstand, guessing that’s where the condoms were stashed as well, and grabbed one before straddling Warrick again.
 
‘You only get one shot at a first time Rick, so it better be good,’ he said as casually as possible, while he ripped open the foil and rolled the condom on Warrick’s erection after giving it a few tugs. ‘Pull up your knees a little.’
 
Warrick obliged, clueing in on what Nick was about to do. Placing his hands on Warrick’s thighs for leverage, Nick lifted himself up and slowly impaled himself on Warrick’s cock.
 
The moment his cock was completely buried inside Nick, Warrick was sure he was about to die, because no one could live through something this intense, this good. The pleasure was all-consuming, and the moment Nick started to move, intentionally squeezing his cock every time he moved up, he felt like every synapse in his entire body was connected to his groin. Bolts of pleasure shot through him and he knew he wouldn’t last long. He didn’t even want to try, all he wanted was lose himself in a blissful orgasm and do it all over again later.
 
He pried his eyes open to look at Nick, whose movements were becoming more erratic again, and this time he didn’t object when Warrick closed his hand around his leaking cock and started jerking him in a pace that matched his own.
 
Warrick couldn’t tell which one of them was the first to reach his orgasm, but they couldn’t have been to far apart. All he remembered was the way Nick went totally quiet, as he if was so focused on what he was feeling that he didn’t even have the time or energy to moan or cry. Warrick himself had to close his eyes because of the intensity when he came, a string of moans leaving his throat and white stars appearing behind his eyelids.
 
The moment he opened his eyes again, he noticed that Nick somehow had had the presence of mind not to collapse on top of him but had rolled himself half beside and half on top of Warrick and was looking at him with a shy smile.
 
How someone could transform to his somewhat shy self this quickly after letting himself so completely was beyond Warrick, but he added it up to the long list of endearing qualities in Nick. Wrapping his arm around Nick, he lazily drew circles on his back.
 
‘So,’ he said. ‘What do you think? Is this first date worth going on a second one?’
 
Nick rested his head in the crook of Warrick’s neck. ‘I’d say the evening ended pretty well,’ he murmured.
 
That evoked a full belly laugh from Warrick. ‘Pretty well?’ He said incredulously. ‘I almost died minutes ago, that’s how good it was. You might wanna look out when you get off the bed, because I’m pretty sure you fucked my brain out. It might be lying on the floor somewhere.’
 
Nick playfully smacked him over the head. ‘Shut up,’ he answered. And then, blushing: ‘But yeah, I’d say it was pretty darn good.’
 
‘And you haven’t seen me in action when I have both arms available,’ Warrick added.
 
Nick raised his head. ‘There only one thing missing in this whole first date,’ he said, looking serious.
 
Warrick quirked an eyebrow. ‘What?’
 
Nick chuckled. ‘Food man, I’m starving.’
 
He rolled off of Warrick. ‘Whaddaya say I’ll drive to that Thai around the corner and order something? It’s quicker than ordering in, since that guy never seems to find your apartment in one attempt.’
 
As on cue, Warrick stomach rumbled. Nick pushed himself up and off the bed, and reached for his clothes. He quickly got dressed before leaning over Warrick again for a kiss.
 
‘I’ll be back as soon as I can Rick,’ he said. ‘We’ll eat something and then maybe do it all over again.’
 
He walked to the door and turned before he left the room. ‘Unless you’re not up for round two, being injured and all.’
 
Warrick threw a pillow to his head, missing him by a yard. He heard Nick’s chuckle until he had closed the front door behind him.
 
‘Just get your ass back in here as soon as you can Nicky,’ he murmured to himself. ‘Cos I don’t think I want to live without this for too long.’