Title: Hold Me
Author: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 3, csi50
Prompt: 5, Hold me
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan blinked in the dimness of the bedroom, wondering just what had awakened him. There was no sound from within the apartment; no one was knocking at the front door, and he hadn't had a nightmare. Neither had Greg; his boyfriend was sleeping peacefully beside him.

Whatever had dragged him out of the realm of sleep, he couldn't help but be a bit annoyed about it. He didn't like to be awakened by something out of the blue, something that he couldn't quite put his finger on. But at least he couldn't sense any danger around them.

Sighing, he lay back down, turning to spoon behind Greg and slide his arms around his boyfriend, pulling him close. He wasn't going to worry about whatever had woken him up. He was just going to lie here and enjoying holding the man he loved.

The gentle pressure of his arms must have awakened Greg; within seconds, he could feel his boyfriend stirring, raising a hand to wipe the sleep from his eyes. "Ry?" he asked, his voice slurred with sleep. "Why are you awake? It's not anywhere near time to get up, is it?"

"No, baby, it's not," Ryan said softly, stroking a hand down Greg's side to rest on his bare hip. "Go back to sleep. I didn't mean to wake you up -- I don't know what woke me up, either. I was just going to lie here and hold you until I fell asleep again."

Greg nodded, turning over and snuggling close to Ryan, his own arms slipping around his lover's waist. "I was dreaming about us," he murmured, resting his head against Ryan's shoulder. "We were out in the park with Wolfe. Just laughing and playing and having fun."

"That sounds like a great dream, babe," Ryan whispered, pressing soft lips against Greg's forehead. "I'm sorry I woke you up from it. Go back to sleep, sweetheart. I'll still be here holding you when you wake up. I promise. I'm always going to be here."

Greg nodded, raising his head for a moment to look up into Ryan's face. Ryan almost let out a gasp; he was staggered by the love he saw in Greg's eyes. He knew that Greg loved him, of course, but he'd never seen that kind of devotion written on anyone's face before.

"I want you to hold me for the rest of our lives," Greg murmured, dropping his head to Ryan's shoulder again. "I want you to hold me for eternity. I don't ever want you to let me go, Ryan. And I'll never let you go, either. I'll hold you forever and a day. However long that might be."

"I know you will, baby," Ryan managed to say. A lump had formed in his throat; it was hard for him to speak, but those words came out without even thinking about them. He knew that Greg would always be there for him. Greg was the most loyal person he'd ever known.

All he wanted to do was lie here with Greg in his arms; he wanted to hold this man forever, to keep Greg close to him, to never let him go. Whatever happened in their future, he would never leave this man. He'd spend his lifetime holding Greg, loving him.

Holding Greg soothed his soul in a way that nothing else ever could. Just being with his lover made his soul soar and his heart sing; there was a comfort and tranquility to having Greg in his arms that nothing else could ever replace.

Greg's presence in his life had changed so many things for him. Greg had given him someone to hold on to, someone to live for. Greg had given him a reason to get up in the mornings other than his work; he was a light in what had, at one time, seemed to be a never-ending darkness.

When he had first come to Vegas, he hadn't thought he would find anyone to love. He hadn't planned on it, hadn't even been thinking of it. But when he had first seen Greg, his heart and soul had known that this was his other half, the man he was meant to be with.

Even when he had almost left Greg, he'd known in his heart that he didn't want to do it. He had felt that he would be half a person from that moment on, without Greg by his side. And he hadn't been able to bear the thought of never holding Greg in his arms again.

What would he have done if he'd been stupid enough to actually leave? Would Greg have taken him back if he'd come to his senses and asked to be forgiven? Ryan shut his eyes tight, pushing that thought away, not wanting it to enter his mind.

If he'd been so stupid as to leave when he'd said he would, he wouldn't have the comfort of being with Greg now. He probably wouldn't even be in Las Vegas; he'd have found some excuse to leave his new job and go somewhere else, somewhere far away from Greg.

And he would have regretted that decision all of his life. He knew that now. He had been foolish to think that he could ever leave this man; that would be like ripping out his own heart. Greg was his other half, the man he was meant to be with. Leaving wasn't an option.

His arms tightened around Greg, pulling his boyfriend's slim body closer against his own. Greg had already fallen asleep again, nestled into the safety of Ryan's embrace. His slow, even breathing soothed Ryan, his own breaths slowing to match his lover's.

Holding Greg made him feel safe and secure in a way that he never had before. Even when he'd held other lovers, they'd never felt the way that Greg did in his arms. No one else had ever completed him this way; no one else had ever been a part of his heart and soul.

He was never going to give Greg up. He would never give up the feeling of holding the man he loved close to him, the feeling of knowing that Greg loved him just as much in return. That was too precious to ever let go; he would hold onto that feeling forever.

Greg snuggled closer to him, murmuring in his sleep. "Hold me," he whispered, pressing his body close to Ryan's. "Hold me, Ry. Don't ever let me go." His own slender arms tightened around Ryan, as though to pull him as close as possible even as he slept.

"I'll always be here to hold you, baby," he whispered, knowing that Greg couldn't hear him, but wanting to say the words nonetheless. Saying those words aloud made his love for Greg even more real, more alive, and made him more certain that it would never end.

Ryan closed his eyes, tightening his arms around Greg and letting himself relax. He would hold this man forever, both in his arms and in his heart. For now, it was enough to hold him while they slept, and know that he would awaken with the man he loved safe in his embrace.

***