Title: Living in Your Heart
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
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.

***

"I love this time of day," Greg said with a soft sigh as he and Ryan strolled past the used bookshop on the corner across from their apartment complex. "It just feels .... I don't know, peaceful, I guess. But I don't think I ever really noticed it until you were in my life."

"I've always liked sundown," Ryan told him, tightening his arm slightly around Greg's waist. Wolfie tugged at the leash that Greg held, barking as though he wanted to add his opinion to theirs. Greg laughed, shaking his head at the puppy's antics.

"I guess you saw a lot of sunsets on the beach when you lived in Miami," Greg murmured, glancing over at Ryan. They had been walking side by side, but when Ryan had slipped an arm around his waist, he hadn't protested, even though he knew that someone could see them.

That shouldn't make them stop being demonstrative in public when they weren't working, Greg told himself firmly. They couldn't hide their relationship forever; sooner or later, it would have to be made public. And he hoped that by then, the rules at work would have changed.

There were people in the New York office, and in the LA one, who were married, he thought resentfully. Why couldn't they have those kind of rules for this place? What made Vegas so different? It wasn't fair that they were denied the rights that other CSIs had.

Ryan had told him that there was no embargo against people who worked on the same shift dating at the crime lab he'd worked at in Miami, either. This seemed to be the only crime lab in the country that had such strict rules about colleagues being able to date.

"Not that many, actually," Ryan answered, bringing Greg's thoughts back to the present. "I was always so busy with work -- or with worrying about something to do with work -- that I never really spent much time on the beach, even though I'd have liked to."

"I can't see you as a beach bum, anyway," Greg said with a laugh. "And if you'd spent a lot of time there, then I would be worried that you had met somebody who captured your heart that you could never quite forget about. Hey, what can I say? I'm paranoid."

"You don't have to be," Ryan said softly, slowing his footsteps, making Greg slow down as well. Slowly, Ryan turned to face him; they were alone on the street, no one else in sight for the moment. Ryan leaned forward to brush his lips against Greg's, the kiss soft and gentle.

"It doesn't matter where I lived in the past, or who I was with," Ryan said softly, his words only meant for Greg's ears. "And it doesn't matter about your past, either. The important thing is that we have each other now. And that I'm living in your heart now, Greg."

Greg blinked back the tears that rose to his eyes at Ryan's words; he hadn't expected such a beautiful sentiment to come from his boyfriend. Somehow, Ryan always seemed to know just what to say to make him feel loved and cherished, when he needed it the most.

"You'll always have a home in my heart," he whispered, swallowing hard to push back the lump that had risen to his throat. "And I hope I'll always be able to live in your heart, too. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else, Ryan. That's where I belong. Where I've always belonged."

"I don't want you to be anywhere else but with me," Ryan told him, sliding both arms around Greg's slim waist and pulling him close. He didn't care who might see them; if anyone they happened to work with drove by, then they would just have to see whatever they saw.

He personally thought the rule that the Vegas crime lab had about their employees dating someone who worked on the same shift with them was stupid. They were all like a family; they would all try to protect each other to the best of their ability, whether they were friends or lovers.

When their lips met, Greg had to resist the urge to melt into Ryan's embrace; even though he was at the point where he didn't care that much if one of their co-workers saw them kissing, he didn't want them to make a public spectacle of themselves.

"I love the way you kiss me," he murmured when they broke away from each other and reluctantly headed back down the street. Wolfie was tugging energetically at the leash; he handed it to Ryan, deciding to let his boyfriend handle the rambunctious puppy for a while.

"I love kissing you," Ryan told him, pulling Greg close to his side again. "I love just being with you, Greg. This is what I was missing when I lived in Miami. The love of my life. Knowing that there was somebody I wanted to spend my life with living in my heart."

"That's what I've been missing all my life," Greg said softly, not looking up at Ryan, just leaning against him slightly as they ambled along. "I've always felt like there was something missing, even when I was dating people in the past."

"I think you were missing being in love with the person you were with," Ryan told him, his voice husky. "I know that's what was missing in my life. I cared about the people I dated here and there -- but I never fell in love with them. I was always waiting for you."

"And now you've got me living in your heart, so that makes everything perfect, right?" Greg asked with a soft laugh. "Well, okay, not perfect. We're going to have our disagreements now and then. And we've already had our first big fight."

Ryan rolled his eyes, shaking his head ruefully. "Don't remind me of that," he said, glancing at Greg. "We don't really need to think about that, do we? I was an ass, and I admit it. I could have lost the most important thing in my life. I'm just glad that I didn't."

"I couldn't have let you go," Greg said, his voice very soft. "I'd have regretted it for the rest of my life if I had, Ryan. If you had tried to walk out of that door, I'd have found a way to stop you. Even if I had to tackle you and we rolled around on the floor for a while."

Ryan couldn't help laughing at his boyfriend's words. "If we had rolled around on the floor for a while, I think I'd have ended up wanting to make love to you and I wouldn't have been able to leave anyway," he said, his arm tightening around Greg's waist. "I didn't really want to, anyway."

Ahead of them, Wolfie barked, turning around to stare at them. The puppy sat down in the middle of the sidewalk, cocking his head to the side and looking up at the two men, making them both laugh. Greg bent down to ruffle the puppy's fur, then glanced back up at Ryan.

"I've got the family that I never thought I would have," he said, his voice pitched low so that only Ryan could hear his words. "I thought that I'd go through my whole life alone, Ryan. I never thought I'd be lucky enough to have somebody like you in my life."

"And I never thought I'd be living in your heart," Ryan told him as Greg straightened up to lean against him. He raised a hand to stroke gentle fingers through his boyfriend's hair, gazing into those dark eyes, never wanting to look away.

"You'll always belong right here in my heart," Ryan said softly, taking Greg's hand and placing it on his chest. He moved his free hand that wasn't holding Wolfie's leash to Greg's chest, placing his palm there and feeling the other man's heart beating.

They stood there for what felt like a very long time, each of them touching the other's chest, their gazes locked. They didn't notice when other people walked past them, casting them curious glances; their silence was only broken when Wolfie yapped and jumped up at Greg.

Greg broke the intense eye contact with Ryan, kneeling to pet the puppy again. "You're getting tired of us interrupting your fun time, aren't you, little fella?" he said with a laugh. He looked up at Ryan again, his smile flashing up at his boyfriend. "Come on. I think he wants to keep moving."

"I think so, too," Ryan agreed, laughing along with Greg. When Greg stood up again, the two of them continued on down the street, keeping an eye on Wolfie, not letting him get too close to the other people who were strolling along the sidewalk.

The two of them joined hands, their fingers twining together almost of their own accord. Neither of them felt the need to start a conversation; they were comfortable just walking along with each other, holding hands, each of them lost in their own thoughts.

But every few moments, they would look at each other and smile, and squeeze each other's hands reassuringly. They were still there, still together, still side by side. Still living in each other's hearts -- the place where both of them wanted to be for the rest of their lives.

***