Title: Keep It Confidential
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 7, 12_stories
Prompt: 11, Questions
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Ryan Wolfe, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"So when are you going to tell us the big secret, Greg?" Nick asked, gesturing to Greg's hand. Greg looked down at the promise ring sparkling on his finger; he couldn't help smiling at the thought of the man who had put it there, the man he had given his heart to.

He couldn't tell Nick that, of course; even though he was fairly sure that Nick had already guessed about him and Ryan, he wasn't going to reveal their secret. It wasn't for anybody to know other than the two of them -- and besides, he didn't want to risk their jobs.

So many people had been asking him about the ring that he had thought of making up some glib story, but he didn't want to do that, either. It seemed somehow wrong to have to lie about something that was so precious to him; he couldn't just make up a tale.

What would it hurt to let people know a little of the truth? Greg asked himself. Not that he was with Ryan, of course; that was too much of the truth, and something that neither of them wanted to reveal. But he could surprise his colleagues with a fact they wouldn't expect.

He shrugged, feigning nonchalance and not looking at Nick. "It's not really a big secret," he said, his voice softening as he continued to speak. "I've been with this guy for a while, and we decided that it was time for us to get serious about our relationship and our future."

"You've been with -- what?" Nick sounded incredulous, his jaw dropping open almost comically. "You're dating a guy? When did you start playing for the pink team, Greggo? Or have you always been into guys and just never told anybody?"

Greg shrugged, laughing at the expression on Nick's face. "Close your mouth, Nicky. You'll be catching flies in there in a second." He shrugged again, feeling more than a little mischievous now that he'd seen Nick's reaction to finding out one of his secrets. "Yeah, I like guys."

"But you like girls too, right?" Nick was regarding him rather anxiously, Greg thought with an inward grin. It was as though he couldn't bear to give up his image of Greg as a skirt-chasing kid who didn't think about much more than getting laid when he wasn't working.

"The only person I like in that way is the guy I'm with," Greg told him, straightening up from where he'd been bent over a microscope looking at a sample. "I'm in love with him, Nicky. He means the world to me. There isn't anybody else I want -- and I've never loved anybody like this before."

"Morgan isn't going to be happy when she finds out you're promised to a guy," Nick said with a laugh, shaking his head. "Did you know she's been telling people that she's going to find out who you're with and do anything she can to get them away from you?"

"That slut has already caused enough trouble," Greg muttered, wishing that he'd kept his big mouth shut when Nick raised an eyebrow, looking as though he wanted to question that statement. "She tried to kiss me in the lab," Greg told him. "Make me really uncomfortable."

"Tell her that I'm more your type than she is, then maybe she'll back off," Nick told him. "Either that, or she'll start thinking she can 'change' you. Or hell, tell her that your partner is your type. That ought to get the message across to her. Ryan's a pretty masculine guy."

If only you knew, Greg thought, forcing himself to hold back a laugh, though his lips were twitching uncontrollably. He couldn't help smiling, hoping that Nick wouldn't notice that and find some reason to comment on it -- or be suspicious.

"Maybe Ryan and I should stroll in here arm in arm one day," he said, trying to sound casual. "If we did that, though, people would start thinking things they shouldn't. I wouldn't want to lose my partner over some stupid joke. Even though I've got to say that he's a lot like my guy."

"So when do we get to meet your prince?" Nick asked, raising his brows in question again. "C'mon, Greg, you know we've all got to get a good look at him. We've all got to talk to him, too -- just to make sure that he's good enough for you and that he's treating you right."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Greg said with a laugh. "He's definitely treating me right. Every night, in fact," he added with a wink, hoping that the sexual allusion would deflate Nick's questions. He really didn't want to talk about his personal life. It was too dangerous.

If anybody even guessed about him and Ryan being lovers, one of them would be moved to another shift -- and they wouldn't be able to look out for each other at work. The days would be long and empty, and he knew that he would no longer enjoy his job the way he did now.

Ryan becoming his partner, in work as well as in life, had changed everything. His job meant more to him now that he had his lover by his side; he couldn't see himself working as a CSI any longer if he didn't have Ryan right here with him. It wouldn't feel right.

Nick looked down, clearing his throat and sounding embarrassed. "Well, I'm happy for you, Greggo," he said when he raised his gaze to look at Greg again."It doesn't matter to me if you love a man or a woman, as long as the person treats you right and loves you back."

"He does, Nick," Greg said softly, smiling as he thought of his lover. "He loves me more than anybody ever has. More than I deserve, really. And I love him more than I thought I could ever love anybody. He's been the best thing that's ever happened to my life."

"Everybody's going to have questions about your guy now that you've let the cat out of the bag, y'know," Nick told him, winking at Greg as he headed for the door. "I can guarantee you that by this time tomorrow, you'll be bombarded with questions about him."

"I don't doubt it!" Greg laughed, agreeing with Nick. "I might answer some of them. But everybody's got to have a little mystery about their lives and their relationships, don't they?" Especially me, he added to himself. Only Nick couldn't know that.

Nick was right, Greg thought to himself with a small sigh. Everybody would have questions about who he was seeing -- and sooner or later, they would start demanding to meet his significant other. That was when things could start getting very sticky for him.

All of his colleagues would think he was hiding something if he refused to let them meet his boyfriend. But it wasn't as though he could do that -- especially when his boyfriend was a man who they worked with every day, and who they already knew as a friend and co-worker.

That was a situation that he had to keep confidential. He couldn't tell anyone who they worked with that Ryan was his boyfriend, the person who had made him so happy and changed his life for the better. Their questions would have to go unanswered.

Maybe one day they would both be able to proudly answer whatever questions their friends and colleagues had about the two of them, Greg thought wistfully. Maybe the rules would change, and they'd be able to openly love each other, without always having to hide.

At least they had their own place, somewhere that they could be together behind closed doors, Greg told himself. They didn't have to steal away and grab what moments they could; they had their time together away from work. It was only here that they had to be so careful.

Sooner or later, their secret would be exposed. He was sure of that. No secret could be hidden away forever; there would always be questions, and people who would try to find the answers to them, no matter what they had to do and who they might hurt in the process.

He was fairly sure that Morgan would do just that; she would more than likely be the one to find out their secret and expose them to her father, out of sheer spite. She would probably do anything to see him and Ryan wrenched apart, thinking that then she could pounce on him.

As if, Greg thought, his lip curling in distaste at the thought of her. She was repulsive in every way; she wasn't the kind of person he would want to date, even if he was footloose and fancy free. He didn't even want to work with her, but he had no choice in that matter.

That slut would never be able to tear him away from Ryan, Greg told himself firmly. The misunderstanding that had already happened between them had sprung from her, but Ryan now knew in no uncertain terms that Greg wasn't interested in anyone but him. That wouldn't happen again.

But there would still be questions. People would want to know about his boyfriend, who this mysterious guy was who Greg was obviously smitten with. Maybe showing off the promise ring hadn't been such a great idea, but he hadn't wanted to hide his happiness.

He would just have to field the questions, keep his colleagues guessing, and come up with explanations as to why he didn't want to show off his boyfriend to them, Greg told himself. All the while knowing that the man he loved was right here, working right alongside all of them.

Until they could be open about their relationship, he would just have to keep the people he worked with guessing, Greg thought with a smile. Keeping it confidential might not be easy for him and Ryan -- but it wouldn't be a secret forever. At least, he hoped not.

***