Title: Home With You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: Un-themed 4, mission_insane
Prompt: 10, Home
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.

***

Greg stretched out on the couch with a soft sigh of contentment, hiding a yawn behind his hand as he did so. He and Ryan had just gotten up; it was late afternoon, and they'd slept for most of the day, as was their usual routine when they had to go in to work.

They might not be able to relax at home all night, but they still had a few hours before they had to start getting ready for work, and Greg meant to take advantage of that time. They didn't have to leave home to head to work until after eleven o'clock, and that worked well for him.

It was so hard not to want to take home into work with him, he thought with another sigh. He wished that he didn't have to hide his feelings for Ryan from everyone he worked with; life would be so much easier if they could be together openly, at work as well as at home.

But that wasn't going to happen for a long time to come; he was sure of it. As long as Ecklie was in charge, no one who worked on the same shift, whether as a CSI or as a lab rat, would be able to date. Maybe it was a good way to keep emotions in check, but it could be uncomfortable.

At least it had kept people away from him who he didn't want to be involved with, he told himself, making a face at the thought of Ecklie's daughter. She had finally seemed to accept the fact that he was gay and not interested in her in any way; he just hoped she would leave him alone from now on.

Thank goodness she hadn't found out where he lived, or taken the trouble to show up at his home. She probably knew that he would go to Ecklie about it if she did -- and she didn't want to jeopardize her job, or her good standing with their colleagues, by being so obvious.

Greg firmly pushed those thoughts out of his mind, refusing to let her ruin his evening. He had a few hours ahead to spend time with Ryan before they had to be at work, and he didn't want any less-than-pleasant thoughts to intrude on that private time.

He looked around the apartment with a smile, letting his gaze settle on first the bookcase, then the picture on the wall beside it. He and Ryan had fixed this second home up in a way that reflected both of their tastes, and it felt even more like home than his own long-time apartment.

Of course, that place had changed a lot since the advent of Ryan in his life, too. There were more movies and music on his bookshelves -- as well as a lot of different books. There were more clothes in his closet, new pictures on the walls, and furniture had been rearranged.

He had always thought that it would be difficult to learn to share his personal space with anyone he might happen to get involved with -- if any relationship ever evolved to the point of them moving in with him. But with Ryan, living together had happened naturally.

He would never have expected anyone to move so seamlessly into his life; he'd never really seriously thought about living with anyone. He had always thought that if he ever did have a boyfriend, they would each maintain their own separate residences.

That wouldn't have been possible with Ryan, he thought with a smile. The two of them had a hard time being away from each other when they had to work in different parts of the lab for a couple of hours at a time, much less living in separate apartments that might have been miles apart.

He couldn't stand being separated from Ryan, he thought, shivering a little. Being away from his boyfriend for any length of time, especially if he didn't know just when he would see Ryan again, would be a fate worse than death for him. He depended on Ryan.

Maybe some people would call that being codependent, but he didn't, Greg told himself. He called it being in love, so much in love that he wanted to spend all of the time he could with the person who owned his heart. And there was nothing wrong with feeling that way.

"What are you looking so serious about?" Ryan asked as he joined Greg on the couch, handing him a mug of steaming hot tea. Greg took it from him, smiling as his boyfriend sat down next to him. Trust Ryan to cut right to what he was thinking about without beating around the bush.

"I was thinking about how much I love living with you," he said softly, raising the mug and taking a cautious sip of the hot tea. It was sweetened just enough, exactly the way he liked it. He was still amazed at how well Ryan knew his preferences -- in everything.

"I love living with you, too," Ryan said softly, the tone of his voice almost a caress. "If we didn't live together, I'd be more lonely than I can put into words. I might not have moved here looking for the love of my life, but I'm more happy than I can say that I found him."

Greg's throat seemed to close up at Ryan's words; any time his boyfriend said things like that, he could feel unbidden tears rising behind his eyes. How was it that Ryan always seemed to know exactly the right thing to say to completely melt his heart?

"Do you have any plans for tonight before we have to go to work?" he murmured, taking another sip of tea. He didn't particularly want to change the subject, but he wanted a little time to get his emotions under some kind of control, so he didn't seem like a blubbering fool.

Ryan shook his head, raising an eyebrow as he looked over at Greg. "Not a thing. I thought we could go out to dinner, if you wanted to -- or we could order in an just watch a movie. We've got to talk Wolfie for a walk, too. Can't forget about him. He'd be upset if we did."

Greg couldn't help laughing even as he nodded, agreeing with Ryan's words. "He' the most important member of our little family -- well, in his eyes, anyway," he said, glancing at the door into the kitchen. He was sure that the puppy was asleep on his blanket, waiting to go for his walk.

"Did you ever think that you'd have a makeshift family like what we've got now at this point in your life?" Ryan asked him, curling up on the couch cushions and turning slightly so that he was facing Greg. "I didn't. But now that I've got it, I couldn't be happier."

"Neither could I," Greg answered, his voice soft and husky. "I've never been as happy in my life as I've been since I found you, Ry. And I think we're only going to keep being happier in the future. We've just got to keep on moving forward, and let the past stay where it belongs."

Ryan nodded, smiling as he reached out to take Greg's hand and twine their fingers together. "I feel more at home with you than I ever did when I had my own place and lived alone," he said, all the love he felt for Greg obvious in the tone of his voice. "I'm right where I belong now. Home with you."

"My home is always going to be with you," Greg answered, squeezing Ryan's hand gently. As far as he was concerned, his home was anywhere that Ryan was, whether it was here in Vegas or in some other place. Where his boyfriend went, he would follow.

Moving closer to Ryan on the couch, Greg rested his head against his boyfriend's shoulder, sipping at his tea and feeling contented. His home was right here next to him, he thought as a soft smile curved his lips. As long as Ryan was by his side, he, too, was exactly where he belonged.

***