Title: Hot and Bothered
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Zeke Barnes
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/A Gifted Man
Rating: PG-13
Table: Weather, mission_insane
Prompt: 10, Heat Wave
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 Zeke Barnes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"I can't believe how hot it is here," Zeke commented as he made his way out to Greg's car. Now that he was working the graveyard shift at the hospital, Greg usually picked him up in the mornings, and today had been no exception. "One step outside, and I feel like I'm melting."

"It's always really hot here in the summer," Greg agreed, pushing his damp hair back with one hand. "But we're having a really bad heat wave this year. It hasn't happened in a while -- there was one year when we had temperatures up to nearly a hundred and fifteen."

Zeke raised his eyebrows, looking surprised. "We had some really hot summers in New York, too, but I don't think it ever got that bad," he said, opening the car door and getting in. "You've had the air conditioning on in here. I can still feel the remnants of it."

Greg laughed as he got into the driver's seat and put the key in the ignition, turning it so that the air came back on. "I couldn't live without good air conditioning in the car -- and in my apartment -- in the summer. And equally good heating in the winter. It can get cold here, too."

"I wouldn't have thought Vegas could be that cold," Zeke commented, resting his head against the back of the seat and closing his eyes. "Just walking out here from the front door of the hospital made me feel like I'm drained. This heat really takes a lot out of me."

"I feel the same way," Greg told him, shaking his head. "We had to go to a crime scene last night where the house didn't have any air conditioning -- just fans all around the place. And they only had three. So it was a pretty muggy night. I'm surprised I don't stink."

Zeke sniffed the air experimentally, then laughed, shaking his head in tandem with Greg. "No, baby, you don't stink," he said, sounding amused. "But if you did, I'd tell you that we needed to get in the shower first thing when we get to your place."

"Does that mean that we don't get to have fun in the shower?" Greg asked with a laugh, looking over at Zeke quickly with a disappointed expression on his face. "I was kind of looking forward to that. Being all wet and soapy .... using that slippery body wash ...."

Zeke mock-groaned, turning his head to look at Greg. "You're going to have me all hot and bothered before we even get home if you keep that up," he objected, raising a hand to wipe sweat away from his brow. "I'm already hot enough, Greg. Don't make it worse!"

Greg couldn't help chuckling as he looked over at his boyfriend, slowing the car to stop at a red light. "I'm getting myself all hot and bothered, too," he said softly, reaching over to place a hand on Zeke's knee. "I can't wait to be in the shower naked with you."

"We haven't taken a shower together before," Zeke murmured, his pulse leaping as he spoke. "That's going to be interesting. Wonder which one of us is going to get more aggressive?" He grinned, raising his brows in question as he glanced at Greg again. "I'm betting it'll be you."

"Now why would you think that?" Greg asked as he pressed the gas again, concentrating on the early-morning traffic. "So far, you've been the one to take the lead. Why would you think that's going to change all of a sudden, when I haven't done it before?"

"Because you've said that you wanted to --" Zeke broke off, shaking his head. "It's not important, Greg. If you're not ready to be the more dominant partner, I'm not going to push you into it. I'm happy with the way things are between us. I can wait until you're ready for more."

"I'm just teasing, Zeke," Greg said softly, reaching over to take Zeke's hand in his. "I'm not usually the one who's more dominant in a relationship. Not that I've been in a lot," he said, sounding almost wistful. "I'm not all that experienced, really. I just talk a good game."

Zeke raised Greg's hand to his lips, kissing his knuckles. "Greg, as far as I'm concerned, you're perfect," he said softly, meaning every word. "Maybe not perfect in every way, but you're perfect for me. And that's really all that matters, isn't it? That we're perfect for each other?"

Greg nodded, gently removing his hand from Zeke's, as he needed both hands on the steering wheel to turn a corner. "We are," he said softly, his voice husky with emotion. "And it's not that I don't want to be more dominant sometimes, Zeke. It'll happen when it feels right, I promise."

"I know it will, babe." Zeke reached over to turn the air conditioner up higher, leaning back and sighing after he did. "I hope that's not too cold for you, but I feel like I'm melting. I'll never get used to really hot weather. I've spent too many years in New York."

Greg laughed softly, nodding. "I spent a few years there myself, when I was training to work in a crime lab," he said, his voice reminiscent. "I had a good time there, but I never really felt like I fit in, y'know? I'm a lot more comfortable here in Vegas. I found my niche when I came here."

"I was comfortable in New York," Zeke told him. "I grew up there, and I still love the city. But it was time for a change -- and even though they needed me in the clinic I worked in there, I couldn't stay. There were too many personal issues that I had a hard time dealing with."

"I'm not going to push you to tell me about those," Greg said softly, glancing over at him. "But one day, I hope you'll be able to. I want us to share everything about ourselves, Zeke. Besides, whatever you dealt with there is in the past. It isn't going to affect us, or our future together."

"We'll talk about it one day," Zeke promised, this time reaching out to place a hand on Greg's knee and squeeze gently. "But this isn't the time, Greg. That's something we should talk about when we're feeling more quiet and settled. Not when we're both about to expire from the heat."

"That won't last for too much longer," Greg said with a laugh as he pulled the car into the parking lot of his apartment building. "In a few minutes, we'll be in a nice cool shower. Unless you want to just sit on the couch for a few minutes with the air conditioning turned up first."

"That sounds good to me," Zeke said gratefully, making a face as Greg turned off the car engine and the air began to grow warmer again almost immediately. "I don't even want to go out in that muggy air just to walk to the front door. It's way too hot."

"Come on," Greg told him with another soft laugh. "It's only a few feet across the parking lot. And I've got some cold sodas in the fridge, so I'll be able to offer you a cold drink, as well as a cold shower and good air conditioning. What else could a guy want on a hot day?"

"To make love to a gorgeous man in a nice cool shower?" Zeke asked, laughing as he opened the door and got out of the car. The heat of the day seemed to envelop him the moment he was on his feet; he couldn't wait to get inside into the coolness of Greg's air-conditioned apartment.

He waited for his boyfriend to catch up to him, then slid an arm around Greg's waist as they made their way to the front door. Once they were inside the apartment, Zeke let out a breath, closing his eyes as the cold air washed over him. "Damn, that feels good."

"Taking a shower together is going to feel even better," Greg murmured, pressing a kiss to Zeke's cheek, then letting his soft lips roam down the other man's throat, trailing fire as they went. "And I've got a feeling that neither one of us wants to wait too long for that."

"I sure don't," Zeke agreed, laughing as he watched Greg head down the hallway towards the bathroom. Within a few moments, he was following his boyfriend, stripping off his clothes along the way. He knew that despite the coolness of the water, they'd be making steam within just a few minutes.

***