Title: Happy Together
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Carlos Moreno
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 52_challenge
Prompt: 12, Jealousy
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Carlos Moreno, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"This was really nice," Greg said softly, raising his glass of wine in a toast. Carlos did the same, clinking their glasses together and smiling across the table at his boyfriend. This evening couldn't have gone better if it had been a dream where everything was perfect.

They'd had a lovely dinner, and their conversation had covered everything from how they felt about their jobs to how they felt about each other. Carlos still felt as though he was on cloud nine after hearing Greg say "I love you" more than once.

The only thing that could make this night more perfect, he told himself as he watched his boyfriend, was going home and making love to Greg for the rest of the night -- then waking up beside him in the morning and making love to him yet again.

He couldn't think of anything that would be better than that, he thought with an inward smile. Just being with Greg made his life seem perfect; he'd never known anyone who fit into his life so well, or who made him feel the way that Greg Sanders did.

Maybe it was soon to say that he was in love, but the words had already come out more than once. He wasn't going to deny them; he'd meant them when he said them, and he was sure that he would mean them more each day, every time they left his lips.

Carlos was sure that he'd never been in love before -- not like this. Every other relationship he'd ever been in paled in comparison to what he felt for Greg; this wasn't just desire masquerading as love, this was the real thing. This was what he'd searched for all of his life.

Just as that thought coalesced into his mind, he happened to look towards the front door -- and saw the one thing that could possibly put a damper on his night. He couldn't believe that she was here -- but then, he'd never brought her to this particular restaurant.

Fin was walking through the door on the arm of some guy he'd never seen before. He didn't feel anything at the sight of her; it as as though his brief relationship with her had never happened. She no longer had the power to stir his senses; she seemed like a stranger.

He didn't feel anything for her any longer, not even real friendship. When they met during the performance of their jobs, he would be civil to her, and he'd work with her if he had to. But any personal feeling between them was long gone, and he didn't miss it at all.

Still, he didn't know how she would feel about seeing him here -- especially seeing him with one of her colleagues at the crime lab. Maybe she had already heard that he and Greg were dating; after all, neither of them had really tried to keep it a secret.

Greg was staring at him, a slight frown on his handsome features. "Carlos, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone worried. "Did I say something to upset you?" He reached out to place his hand over Carlos', the frown growing more pronounced. "If I did, I take it back."

Carlos brought himself back to the moment, shaking his head and giving Greg a slight smile. "No, baby, you didn't do anything wrong," he said with a soft sigh. "But trouble just walked in. Don't turn around, but Fin's here. I wouldn't be surprised if she throws a fit."

"Why?" Greg asked, sounding somewhat belligerent. "She's the one who gave you up. She doesn't have any right to be jealous of me, or pissed off that you've found somebody who'll be better for you than she ever could have been. It's her own fault for losing you."

Carlos almost wanted to smile at Greg's words, and at the tone of his voice. It was good to be with someone who defended him in the way that Greg did, someone who cared for him so much. Fin's feelings for him had never gone that deep; she would never have leaped to his defense.

But then, all she had ever wanted from him was his body. His cock, to be specific. She hadn't cared anything about who he was, his hopes, his fears, his dreams. They had never really talked, never shared themselves in any way other than in the physical sense.

Greg was right, he told himself firmly. She had no reason to be jealous; after all, she was the one who had broken their relationship off. If she regretted doing that, then she had no one to blame but herself. There was nothing for him to feel apprehensive about.

Well, yes, there was, he thought with another sigh. If she threw a jealous fit here in the restaurant, it would be unpleasant, and it would draw attention to Greg and himself. There was no telling what a bitch like Fin would say -- and she'd made sure that everyone heard it.

"We'd better get out of here and get this over with," Greg said with a sigh, not turning his head to look in Fin's direction, but obviously aware of her. "I think I can already feel her staring a hole in my back. If looks could kill, I bet I'd be six feet under right now."

"More like twenty," Carlos muttered under his breath. He signaled to their waiter, indicating that they wanted to pay their bill. He handed the young man his credit card, casting another look at the table where Fin was now seated across from the man she was with.

She was staring at him with narrowed eyes, obviously aware of who he was with. He didn't envy Greg the kind of confrontation he'd most likely have to deal with when he went back to work -- and he wouldn't put it past Fin to try and discredit Greg at work in some way.

That was the kind of person she was -- and it was one of the main reasons that he was glad his relationship with her hadn't gone further than it had, and gotten emotionally involved. If that had happened, she would have cheerfully broken his heart, and laughed while doing it.

When the waiter brought his credit card back, Carlos tried to smile at him, but it was hard to do with that bitch across the room staring daggers at Greg's back. He didn't want to stay here any longer; her obvious jealousy would bring down a wonderful evening, and he wouldn't allow that.

He and Greg got to their feet, heading for the door unhurriedly, without looking in Fin's direction. Carlos almost wanted her to make a scene, just to let everyone here know what a bitch she was. But she didn't say a word, and he didn't look towards her as they left.

Before they reached the door, he took Greg's hand in his, twining their fingers together. That was one thing he'd never done with Fin; they had never held hands in public, or really showed any kind of affection. He hadn't felt free to do that, and she hadn't wanted it.

All she had wanted was his body, which was sad. She had never bothered to get to know him -- and now, she would never have that chance. She'd thrown him away like a used tissue, and Carlos was glad of it. If she hadn't, then he wouldn't be with Greg now.

He was happy with the life he had, and he would never choose to go back. If she wanted to act like a jealous bitch, that was her problem; he only hoped that she wouldn't give Greg a hard time at work. It remained to be seen what would happen there.

There would more than likely be some fallout that he and Greg both would have to deal with, but he wasn't going to back away from it. He wasn't ashamed of his relationship with Greg; if anything, he wanted to shout from the rooftops that he was in love.

Carlos didn't look back as he and Greg walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. He didn't care about Fin or her jealousy, or what she might think of them being a couple. He was happy, and Greg was happy. They were happy together. And to him, that was really the only thing that mattered.

***