Title: I'll Be There
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Month of November challenge
Prompt: Day 24 - I'll always be around
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 Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Nick came into the living room from the kitchen after he'd put the dinner dishes away, noting immediately that Greg was curled up at one side of the couch, his eyes closed. He had been quiet throughout dinner; Nick had the feeling that something was on his boyfriend's mind.

Sitting down, he slid over towards Greg, wrapping his arms around the younger man's waist and pulling him close. "Greg, what is it?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle. "And don't tell me it's nothing. I know you well enough to be able to tell when you're down in the dumps."

Greg shook his head, sighing and resting his forehead against Nick's shoulder for a moment. When he looked up again, his dark eyes were serious, troubled. "Nicky, do you think we're forever?" he murmured, his tone hesitant, as though he didn't want to ask the question.

Nick was taken aback by those words; he didn't know what to say for a few moments. Of course he thought they were forever. It wasn't something that he'd really thought about; he had just assumed that now they were together, they would stay that way.

Could Greg possibly have doubts about them? The idea sent a chill down his spine; he didn't want to believe that the man he loved could think that they might split up sometime in the future -- or that they could somehow he taken away from each other.

"What makes you ask that, baby?" he whispered, raising a hand to stroke Greg's hair. "You know I think we're forever. Nothing's going to make me leave you, Greg. Not now, not ever. Let Shane try to do his worst. You're with me now, and I'll keep you safe."

"Shane said that to me too, at first," Greg whispered, his voice very small and almost inaudible. "He said that we were forever, and that he'd always be there beside me. That he would protect me. And look how that turned out. It's hard to believe those words any more."

"But you're forgetting one thing, babe." Nick placed a finger under Greg's chin, lifting the other man's face until they were gazing into each other's eyes. "I'm not Shane, Greg. I'd never hurt you the way he did. You can't seriously think I'd ever be like him."

Greg shook his head, looking shamefaced. "No, I don't," he admitted, taking a deep breath. "But don't you see what I mean, Nicky? Saying that you're going to be there .... that's just words. Anybody can say the words. It comes down to knowing that you'll be there if I need you."

Personally, Nick thought that Greg should change that phrase to when he was needed, not if. He was sure that Shane was going to pop back up again at some point; he was in the wind now; but the bastard would come around sooner or later. He just knew it.

Greg was a prize that no one in his right mind would want to give up. Shane would come back looking for him -- and when he did, Nick intended to be there to apprehend him, to arrest him for what he'd done to Greg, and to be sure that he went away for a long time.

But that was for the future; he didn't want to think about Shane now. He needed to comfort Greg, to make him feel that the words he was hearing were true. They were, Nick told himself firmly. He would always be here for Greg. No matter what.

"Whenver you need me, I'll be there," he whispered, closing his eyes as his fingers stroked through the silken softness of Greg's hair. "They're not just words, Greggo. I mean them. I mean them with all my heart. You are my heart, baby. For always."

Greg rested his forehead against Nick's shoulder again, not moving for several long moments. Finally, his arms slid around Nick's waist, clinging to him as though he wanted no barriers between their bodies -- just as there were none between their hearts and souls.

"I'll always be there for you, too," Greg told him, his tone hushed, the words so soft that Nick had to strain to hear them. "I can't imagine you ever needing me to protect you -- but if you do, I'll be there. I'd do anything for you, Nicky. I always would have."

"I know that, baby," Nick whispered, brushing his lips across Greg's hair. "I don't know why it took us so long to tell each other how we felt. We should have just been able to man up and confess what we were feeling when we first met. It'd have saved us a lot of heartache."

"If we would have said how we felt from the beginning, then I'd never have started dating Shane," Greg said, his voice quiet. "But that's not your fault, Nicky. I should have let you know how I felt. I should have made the first move. And I was an idiot to be with him."

"He was good at pretending to be something he wasn't," Nick told him, shaking his head. "Being with him wasn't your fault, Greg. You thought he cared about you. It's not the first time somebody's been wrong about another person's feelings."

"I know that I'm not wrong about yours," Greg whispered, burying his face against Nick's shoulder. "I trust you like I've never trusted anybody else. I know you'll always be there for me, Nick. All I have to do is call you. I've always known that, even before you said you loved me."

"I'll be there whenever you need me, baby," Nick whispered, a lump rising in his throat. "I'll always be there. Any time you call me, Greg. I've always been there, y'know. Even before we were together, I would have done anything for you. All you had to do was ask."

"I've got a feeling that I wouldn't even have needed to ask," Greg murmured, raising his head to look into Nick's eyes again. "I think you'd have known if I needed you -- and you would have helped me even if I didn't say anything. I know you would have."

"I should have done something back when I first thought things were going sour between you and Shane," Nick sighed, holding Greg closer. "But I didn't, and I'm sorry for that. I'm here now though, Greg. I'll be there, whenever you call. Never doubt that for a second."

"I won't," Greg answered, his voice soft and husky. "I love you, Nicky. I've loved you for so long that I don't think it'd ever be possible for me to love anybody else. Not like this." He rested his forehead against Nick's, his slim body relaxing in the other man's arms.

"I love you too, Greg," Nick whispered, closing his eyes and luxuriating in the feeling of having Greg here, safe in his arms, held close to his heart -- where he would always be. "I always will, babe. And I'll always be here." That was a firm promise -- one that he intended to keep.

***