Title: Kiss the Cook
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Carlos Moreno
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Places, mission_insane
Prompt: 4, Kitchen
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 Carlos Moreno, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Carlos awakened slowly, smiling to himself as he reached out for the man he knew would be lying beside him. Last night had been wonderful, more incredible than he could have ever imagined. He had finally found the man he'd been searching for all of his life.

He didn't open his eyes as he rolled over onto his side, sure that Greg would be there, ready to be pulled into his arms for a wake-up kiss. But when he reached towards the other side of the bed, his hand encountered nothing but smooth, cool sheets and pillows.

His eyes flew open, a frown replacing the smile on his face. Where was Greg? They were at the other man's apartment; surely Greg couldn't have had second thoughts and decided to leave? That would be silly, since they were at his home.

Carlos sat up in bed, the smile returning as he took in the scents that permeated the air. He could smell coffee, and he was sure that he could hear the sizzle of something on the stove. From what he could tell, it seemed that Greg was cooking breakfast.

No one had ever done that for him before, not even the women he'd been involved with in the past. They had all seemed to think that it was either up to him to make breakfast -- or to take them out somewhere in the morning, instead of them doing anything themselves.

Should he stay here in bed, and wait to see if Greg intended for them to have breakfast here? he wondered. Or should he get dressed -- at least partially -- and go into the kitchen, to watch the other man's cooking prowess and possibly help if he was needed?

He sat there for a few moments, weighing the decision, before swinging his long legs out of bed and reaching for the jeans he'd been wearing the day before. He'd have to bring some of his clothes over here so he would have clean clothes to wear in the mornings, he told himself.

Somehow, that thought made him smile. He liked the idea of having some of his belongings here -- it would make him feel closer to Greg to know that he had a definite place in Greg's home, as well as his heart. And he knew that Greg would keep some things at his place, too.

This was moving much more quickly than he'd thought it would, but he liked it. Strangely, he didn't feel rushed, or feel that he needed to pull back and move more slowly. He only wanted to be closer to Greg, to make their relationship move forward even more quickly.

Carlos made his way down the hall, stopping at the kitchen door and leaning against it as he watched Greg in the kitchen. He certainly seemed to know what he was doing around a stove, Carlos thought with a smile. He had obviously spent time learning how to cook.

Watching Greg at work was like watching a ballet. Carlos had never seen anyone move so gracefully; he was convinced that Greg must have studied dance at some point, because it seemed that every move he made contained the grace of a dancer, one fluid movement leading into another.

Did he just think that because he'd fallen so hard for Greg? Carlos asked himself. No, it was the truth. Greg had an innate grace that couldn't be learned; it had to be there within the person. It was just one more thing about Greg that he'd already come to love.

Greg definitely knew his way around a kitchen just as well as he did around the crime lab -- and a crime scene, Carlos told himself, a smile curving his lips. Really, was there anything this man he'd fallen for couldn't do? At the moment, he didn't think so.

He wanted to stand here and watch Greg all day, enthralled by his boyfriend's movements, taking in the sight of him as he moved around the kitchen. But sooner or later, Greg would turn around and see him, and then the spell would be broken.

His boyfriend. That thought made Carlos' smile grow even wider. He had already begun to think of Greg as his boyfriend -- and it didn't feel awkward, didn't feel as though it was too soon. No, it felt perfect. It felt right to think of them as a couple.

Greg was so much more than a one-night stand, more than a brief fling, more than any relationship he'd ever had in the past. Everyone else he had ever been with paled in comparison; no one had ever been as perfect for him as Greg was. They were destined for each other.

It didn't feel odd to think of spending the rest of his life with Greg; in fact, he was looking forward to it. Before, with anyone else, the idea of being with them for the rest of his days had made him feel restricted, had made fear rise within him, a need to get away.

He felt none of that with Greg. He wanted to be with this man for the rest of their lives, to let this new relationship grow, to find out everything about Greg and let Greg know everything about him. He wanted them to share all of the different aspects of himself, all that made him who he was.

He'd never wanted to be that close to any lover; everything that he felt for Greg was so much stronger than any emotion he'd ever known before. He didn't want to call it love quite yet, but Carlos already knew that he'd fallen in love with Greg. There was no turning back now.

He straightened up from his slouching posture against the door frame, intending to walk into the kitchen, when Greg turned around from the stove and saw him. Carlos knew that he wasn't imagining that sparkle in Greg's eyes, the happiness that seemed to radiate from him.

How could anyone be so utterly beautiful? He wanted to stand here and simply look at Greg forever; he was sure that he'd never seen anything as enticing as that gorgeous smile and sparkling dark eyes. Just looking at Greg made the desire in him rise again, sharp and strong.

"Hey," Greg said softly, tilting his head to the side and spreading his arms wide, as though inviting Carlos to come into that ready embrace. "I didn't think you'd be up for a while. But since you are, then you have the right to kiss the cook. It's kind of a morning tradition."

Carlos moved forward to slide his arms around Greg's waist and pull the other man close against him, bowing his head to brush his lips gently across Greg's. "Hi, beautiful," he whispered, feeling desire rise in him again. "I didn't know you were so great in the kitchen."

"I'm a pretty good cook," Greg answered, his voice sounding breathy. Carlos smiled to himself; he was fairly sure that Greg's desire matched his own. "My grandma taught me. It comes in handy, knowing how to cook when you're a single guy. But it's no fun cooking for one."

"You won't have to do that again," Carlos murmured, brushing another kiss across Greg's parted lips before kissing his cheek, then moving back to his mouth again. It was impossible to stop kissing Greg; all he wanted to do was touch this man, kiss him, hold him.

It didn't matter that they were in the kitchen, and that his stomach had actually been growling just a few seconds before. He wanted Greg again, here and now -- immediately, if not sooner. He couldn't remember ever being this aroused by anyone.

"Carlos, the pancakes are going to burn if I don't go flip them over," Greg murmured. Carlos reluctantly let his boyfriend go, following Greg over to the stove and standing behind him, watching as he expertly flipped the pancakes and then turned to crack eggs into a frying pan.

"You're spoiling me," he said with a smile. "I've never had a boyfriend -- or a girlfriend, either -- who was so good in the kitchen. I think I'm going to have to spend more time at the gym. I'm obviously going to gain a ton of weight from your cooking."

"We can always exercise some of that weight off in bed," Greg told him, turning his head to glance at Carlos over his shoulder. "I read somewhere that you can burn off a lot of calories by having sex. That means we'll have to spend a lot of time in bed today."

"I don't have a problem with that," Carlos answered, unable to hold back a soft laugh. He slid his arms around Greg's slender waist again, resting his chin on his boyfriend's shoulder. "In fact, that's kind o what I already had planned for the day. If you agree, that is."

"Oh, I agree," Greg murmured, his voice a seductive whisper. "I agree a lot." He flashed Carlos another of his brilliant smiles before turning his attention back to his cooking, reaching to fill their plates with pancakes, then turning back to the stove to scramble the eggs.

Carlos watched him, that small smile still hovering on his lips. He was looking forward to having breakfast with Greg -- but even more so to what they'd be doing after they had breakfast. He had the feeling that they would be spending all day in bed -- and he didn't mind that at all.

***