> Title: Life Begins With You
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: Romance, mission_insane
Prompt: 7, Forever
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.

***

Ryan lay back against the soft pillows of the bed he shared with Greg, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. Every time they made love, it seemed to get better, he mused. What was it about Greg that could inspire him to such amazing heights?

Love, he told himself with a soft smile. It was because he loved Greg so much, because this man was a part of him as no one else had ever been. It was love that made their lovemaking more intense every time they touched, love that filled them with such desire.

Before Greg, he'd never been in love. Oh, he's thought that he was a few times, but he had always come to the conclusion that what he'd thought was a broken heart had only been the death of an infatuation that wouldn't have lasted past the first flush of discovery.

With Greg, his feelings were real. They'd had a few fights, a few misunderstandings, and those little bumps in the road had only made them stronger as a couple. He wanted to be with this man forever, to spend all of his life and beyond with Greg in his arms.

Forever had always seemed like such a long time to him whenever he'd thought of the word -- but now, lying here with Greg in his arms, forever didn't seem nearly long enough for him to be with the man he loved. There would never be enough time to be with Greg as much as he wanted to be.

He would take all the time that he could get, Ryan told himself firmly. He would take every moment that he had with his lover, and be thankful for every second that they could spend together. After all, he could so easily have never met Greg or been with him.

Forever would never be long enough for him to get his fill of being with Greg. No matter how long he had with this man, he would always want more time. He could happily hold Greg in his arms for the rest of eternity, and still want more time when the end of the world was upon them.

Greg was everything to him, and always would be. He had never expected to feel this way about anyone; he'd always thought that this kind of love only existed in romance novels and fairy tales. But now that he'd found that kind of love, he wanted to hold onto it.

"What are you thinking about?" Greg asked, his tone sated and sleepy. His boyfriend snuggled closer into Ryan's arms, resting his head on Ryan's shoulder. "When you don't talk for a long time after we make love, I always feel like you're either really tired, or thinking really hard."

"I'm thinking about us," Ryan said softly, raising a hand to run his fingers through Greg's hair. "About you, and about how much I love you. I've never really believed in love that lasted forever, Greg. I never thought it could exist. But now that I've found you, I know it does."

"I didn't think I'd ever find anybody who could love me," Greg said, his words coming out slowly, as though he was weighing them before he spoke. "I always felt like I'd been tainted, and that nobody would be able to get past that. But you broke those walls down."

"You're an amazing guy, Greg," Ryan said softly, bowing his head to brush a gentle kiss across his lover's hair. "Anybody who could blame you for what somebody else did to you a long time ago is nuts. If they can't see past that, then they never deserved to be with you."

"I thought I'd be alone forever," Greg whispered, a shudder going through his body. "I kept telling myself that it didn't matter, that some people are better off alone and doing their own thing, and that I'm one of them. But I've never wanted to be alone. If I hadn't found you ...."

His voice trailed off as he buried his face against Ryan's shoulder; Ryan hugged his boyfriend closer, wishing that he could take away all of those bad memories and make Greg's life completely happy. But he couldn't change the past; all he could do was make his lover happy now.

And in the future, too, he reminded himself. He would do everything in his power to make their future together as perfect as it could be -- forever. Even though they were sure to have other arguments and disagreements, Ryan was confident that they could work through those rough patches.

He and Greg belonged together. He'd never believed anything as much as he believed that; with every day that went by, their bond seemed to strengthen. He didn't know how he could survive without Greg in his life, now that he knew what it was like to have him here.

"You'll never have to be alone again, baby." Ryan's voice was very soft and a little choked as he spoke the words; the lump that had formed in his throat made it hard to speak for a few moments. "I'll always be right here with you. Forever, Greg. For the rest of eternity."

"Forever is a really long time, Ry." Greg looked up at him, a slight frown marring his brow. "Are you sure that you can deal with me for that long? You might get tired of being with one person and start looking around for somebody better. I've got a lot of baggage, y'know."

"No more than I do," Ryan murmured, brushing Greg's hair back from his forehead. "And no, I won't ever get tired of you. I couldn't. You're stuck with me, Greg Sanders. You're just going to have to resign yourself to having me around until the end of time."

"Forever isn't long enough for me to be with you," Greg told him, his own voice just as choked as Ryan's had been a moment ago. "I could have a million forevers with you, and it still wouldn't be enough. My life didn't start until I met you, and I have to make up for a lot of lost time."

"My life begins and ends with you," Ryan answered, the words suddenly tumbling out as though he couldn't say them quickly enough. "I don't think I ever knew what it was to really live until the day I met you. I'd just been existing up until then. You made me live, Greg. You always will."

Ryan pulled Greg against him, wishing that the two of them could melt into each other, become one person, be as close as two people could possibly be. If he could hold Greg like this for the rest of their lives, he'd be the happiest person in the world.

"I don't think I was ever fully alive until I met you," Greg whispered, his arms wrapping around Ryan's waist to hold him close. "I was just going through the motions and thinking I was living. My life began the day I met you. The first time I saw you smile."

Ryan managed a laugh, though Greg's words brought tears -- happy tears, but tears nonetheless -- to his eyes. "You're going to make me cry if you keep that up," he said with a soft laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "But I feel the same way, Greg. My life began when we met."

"And we'll be together for the rest of our lives," Greg said, snuggling more comfortably into Ryan's arms. "I know it sounds kind of cheesy, but I've never been happier in my life than I've been since we found each other. I never thought I'd be this happy."

"Neither did I," Ryan admitted, kissing Greg's cheek. "Not just happy, but completely satisfied in every way. My life couldn't get any better, Greg. We might not always agree on everything, and we might not always think our relationship is perfect, but we'll always work things out."

Greg nodded, smiling up at him. "Forever sounds like a long time, but I've got a feeling that for us, it's going to go by in the blink of an eye." He moved a hand down Ryan's body, stroking his boyfriend's soft skin. "What do you say that we get started on forever right now?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Ryan teased, even though he knew exactly what Greg was thinking. He bowed his head to capture his lover's lips in a heady kiss that took his breath away, and a few moments later, all he could think of was Greg's kiss, his touch, and their two bodies melding into one.

***