Title: Love Is a Place
By: Caroline Crane
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: NC17
Summary: Vegas wedding cliche fic. I wish I were kidding.

Nick woke to the stifling sensation of Greg pressed against him. That was nothing new; they woke up like this almost every day, and Nick had long ago gotten used to the fact that Greg liked to cuddle in his sleep. Something didn't feel right, though, and when he finally woke up completely Nick opened his eyes and slid out from under Greg to sit up.

He glanced around the hotel room, frowning as he tried to remember how they'd ended up here. As soon as he did he realized frowning was a bad idea; a sharp pain shot through his temples, and hazy images of lots of champagne floated into his memory. A wedding – they'd gone to a wedding in the hotel, that much he remembered.


He remembered trying to get out of the wedding too, because work functions weren't really his thing and even though he was happy for David, he didn't really need to see him get married. In fact, he was still having a little trouble wrapping his brain around the whole concept of David in love, and in the end it was Greg who made him put on a suit and dragged him to the hotel.

The part he wished he could remember was what happened after the wedding…or more accurately, after the reception. All he knew for sure was that they'd both obviously had way too much to drink, or they would have ended up in their bed instead of a hotel room. He winced against a fresh wave of pain in his temples and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, praying there was some aspirin somewhere so he wouldn't have to go all the way down to the lobby gift shop.

He was reaching for his boxers where they lay on the floor when he saw it; a thick sheet of white cardstock sitting on the nightstand, the lettering on the front printed in a deep blue script. At first he thought it must be the wedding invitation, but when he picked it up and scanned it his heart sank into his stomach and he looked down at the still prone body in the bed next to him.

"G, wake up," Nick said, shaking the other man none too gently. "Come on, get up."

If Greg heard the panic in Nick's voice he didn't react; he mumbled something unintelligible, but he opened his eyes to squint at the figure looming over him. "Wh-is it checkout time already?"

"No, man, just get up," Nick demanded, the pristine white certificate still clutched in his hand. "We need to talk."

"Talk? About what?" Greg asked, but he sounded more alert as he pushed himself up against the padded headboard and looked up at Nick.

"What do you remember about last night?"

Greg blinked up at him, looking a lot younger than he was with his hair even more rumpled than usual and nothing on but a sheet. "What, you mean the wedding? It was pretty nice, wasn't it? And I've gotta admit, Phillips landed a prettier girl than I expected. Not that he doesn't deserve it, but…"


"I'm talking about this," Nick interrupted impatiently, thrusting the paper into Greg's line of vision. "Where the hell did this come from?"

For a few seconds Greg just stared blankly at the paper, then he blinked again and turned his face up to grin at Nick. "Don't tell me you don't remember."

"Do you?"

"How could I forget? You were so cute when you asked. Although I always kind of figured you for the 'down on one knee' type, but I'm a flexible guy."

All the blood had drained from Nick's face and he knew he must look as bad as he felt when Greg pushed the sheet off his lap and crawled toward the edge of the bed. "Nick? You're not gonna throw up, are you? I told you all that champagne was going to catch up with you."

"I'm okay," Nick answered, but he sat down hard on the edge of the mattress just in case his legs decided to prove him wrong. "We really…? I can't believe…it's just so…so…"

"Vegas?"

"Yeah."


"I know. I always wanted to be a cliché."

Nick glanced over at Greg long enough to see the smug grin, and he let out a low groan and ran his hands over his face. "Can you be serious for a second? I mean this is a pretty big deal, don't you think? Do you want to be…married?"

"To you?"

"Come on, man."

"Sorry," Greg said, although he didn't look sorry at all. He looked more amused than anything, and part of Nick wanted to wipe the smug expression off his face. The rest of him wanted to forget all about weddings and hangovers and crawl back under the covers with Greg until his headache went away, but he knew that had more to do with the fact that they were both naked in a perfectly good hotel room than it did with the marriage certificate on the mattress next to him.

"It depends," Greg added, drawing Nick's attention back to the problem at hand.

"On what?" Nick asked, a defensiveness he couldn't explain creeping into his voice.

"Do you love me?" And there went that mock-innocent expression again, the one that either made Nick want to kill Greg or kiss him. Sometimes both.

"This is stupid," Nick said, ignoring the question completely. "Nevada doesn't even recognize same-sex marriages."


"So you can just blow off a commitment because it won't hold up in court? That's a total cop-out and you know it."

Now Greg was the one who sounded a little defensive; that was an interesting development, and Nick turned on the mattress so they were face to face. He frowned at the other man for a few seconds, trying to decide if Greg was serious or if he was just yanking Nick's chain because he could. "So you do want to go through with this."

"We already did," Greg pointed out, rolling his eyes and gesturing toward the marriage certificate Nick had dropped on the mattress. "You've got the proof right there. Besides, it seemed like you thought it was a pretty good idea last night when you came up with it."

Nick's head was spinning from a combination of too much champagne and the confusing conversation, and all he really wanted to do was close his eyes and stay asleep until this weird dream was over. Only his head hurt way too much to convince himself that he was dreaming, and the look on Greg's face made him want to take back everything he'd said in the last ten minutes. More than anything he wished he could remember last night beyond a few hazy images of the reception. "Look, G, it's not that I don't want…you know how I feel. I just wish I could remember what happened last night."

He let out a heavy sigh and ran his hands over his face again, wincing against the steady thrumming in his temples. He heard the sheets rustle again but didn't look up, and a few seconds later warm hands landed on his neck and began kneading the tense muscles at the top of his spine. One of Greg's many hidden talents, and Nick had learned to appreciate having it all to himself on the nights when their shifts felt endless. The heat of Greg's chest warmed his back as expert hands worked on his neck, and when Greg leaned forward and pressed his mouth to Nick's ear he leaned back into the touch and let his eyes fall closed.

"I was a little worried you were just caught up in the whole wedding fever thing," Greg murmured against his ear, warm breath hitting Nick's skin and making blood rush to all sorts of interesting places, "but you said you didn't want to have to hide anymore. So we ditched the reception and went over to the Little White Chapel. They had an opening, so we took the plunge. You grabbed more champagne from the bar on the way up here. I told you you were going to regret it."

And this was officially the craziest thing that had ever happened to him, but Greg was wrong about one thing; Nick didn't regret it. Not really, because even though it didn't technically mean anything in the eyes of the law, it still meant something to them. They'd been together long enough to know that they wanted to stay together, so in a way it was natural to make it official. "I don't," he said, the words ending on a low groan as Greg found a stubborn knot in his neck, "regret it, I mean. If you're sure about this…"

"I meant you were going to regret the second bottle of champagne," Greg answered, the amusement back in his voice again as he let his hands slide down Nick's back. "But there is one thing I regret."


"What?" Nick asked, some of the tension creeping back into his shoulders as he turned to face Greg.

"Well I was kind of looking forward to our wedding night, but you passed out almost as soon as you got your clothes off. You sort of left me hanging, you know. But I'll let you make it up to me."

Nick swallowed a sigh of relief and pressed one hand to Greg's shoulder, stroking his fingers along smooth skin for a second before he pushed Greg back toward the mattress. A second later he caught Greg around the waist and pulled him back up, ignoring the other man's startled protest as he reached behind Greg and picked up the marriage certificate. "Sorry," Nick murmured, pulling Greg forward for a placating kiss. "I thought we might want to hang on to this."

"Something to show the grandkids?"

Nick rolled his eyes and let go of Greg long enough to set the certificate down on the nightstand. "Funny. Don't push your…" He trailed off when he turned around and looked at Greg again, his throat suddenly dry as he took in the sight of Greg on his back, one arm tucked under his head while his free hand lazily stroked his cock. For awhile he just watched, his headache all but forgotten. Watching Greg had always been one of his favorite pastimes; one of the first things that had attracted Nick to him was his openness, and watching him do something so intimate for Nick's benefit was one of the biggest turn-ons he could think of.

"You coming over here or do I have to do everything myself?" Greg asked, a grin lighting up his features when Nick tore himself away from the sight of Greg thrusting into his own hand long enough to meet his gaze.

Nick smiled and crawled over the other man, knees braced on either side of Greg as he leaned forward for a kiss. "I like watching you," Nick murmured against Greg's mouth, planting soft kisses on Greg's lips between each word.

Greg's hands slid across his back, pulling Nick's full weight down on top of him. Nick moaned when Greg's legs parted underneath him, their cocks sliding together as Nick settled even closer. And they'd done this so many times he couldn't count anymore, but something about knowing they'd promised to spend the rest of their lives together made it seem that much more intense. The reality of what they'd done struck him suddenly, and he pulled back with a sharp gasp to look down at Greg.

"What?" Greg asked, his voice thick and his eyelids heavy as he ground their hips together.


"Nothing." Nick reached up and pushed a few stray strands of hair away from Greg's forehead, letting his fingers trail along the line of Greg's cheek. "I love you."

That was something he didn't say nearly enough; he knew that wasn't going to change just because they'd stood in front of some mail-order minister and exchanged a few vows, and God, he hoped the guy hadn't been dressed like Elvis. A surprised laugh escaped his throat, and he pressed his forehead against Greg's shoulder and pressed a kiss to the bare skin closest to his mouth.

"What?" Greg repeated, his hand stroking through Nick's hair this time.

"Elvis wasn't there, was he?"

"No," Greg answered, and Nick didn't have to look to catch the amusement in his voice. "I wish. Talk about a Vegas cliché."

Nick shook his head against Greg's shoulder, smiling against warm skin as he pictured the two of them exchanging slightly drunken vows. It would be nice if he could remember at least some of it, but champagne had always had that affect on him. It was his own fault for drinking it in the first place, but that didn't mean he didn't regret it.

"Hey, Nick?"

He lifted his head to look down at Greg again; Greg's smile was sweet in a way that tugged at Nick's heart, and he'd always thought that was just an expression. "Yeah?"


"You're not gonna leave me hanging again, are you?"

Greg shifted under him, his erection pressing against Nick's thigh. Nick groaned and caught Greg's mouth against his own, teasing Greg's lips apart as he rocked against the other man. His pulse pounded against his temples but he barely noticed the pain anymore, because Greg was hot and hard under him and Nick wasn't going to let him down again. He knew Greg would understand if he did, but he wasn't planning to let Greg down ever again if he could help it. They made a promise last night, and even if he couldn't remember making it Nick was going to hold up his end of the bargain.

He lifted his weight off Greg to push the other man's knees apart, swallowing a moan when Greg bent his knees to give Nick better access. And he hadn't been kidding about watching Greg; he wished he had a camera just so he could capture this moment forever, and the crazy thing was that he knew Greg would let him. Greg was up for pretty much anything – including a few things that made Nick blush hot and dark just to think about – and part of Nick was surprised he hadn't actually suggested a camera yet.

For now, though, he was content to press a soft kiss to the inside of each of Greg's knees as he positioned himself over the other man, angling Greg's hips just a little before he slid inside. He paused when he was halfway in, his breath catching in his throat as Greg moaned and arched into Nick's thrust. He caught one of Greg's hands in his own, threading their fingers together and pressing their hands against the mattress as he sank as deep inside Greg as he could.

Slowly he began moving, setting a rhythm meant to make this last as long as possible. He wanted everything at once; to open his mouth against the column of Greg's throat, to close his mouth around Greg's cock, to taste the sweetness of Greg's tongue when he came. All of that would mean giving up what he already had, though, and he was pretty sure he couldn't stop even if he tried. He shifted just a little as he picked up speed, and when Greg gasped and squeezed Nick's hand hard Nick knew he'd found what he was looking for.

He angled his hips again, hitting Greg's prostate over and over until Greg was panting and pleading with Nick to let him come. He lifted their still entwined hands and wrapped Greg's fist around his own cock, then closed his hand over Greg's and stroked in time to his thrusts. Greg arched up even harder against him, rocking between their hands and Nick's cock until he finally came with a sharp gasp.

Nick waited until Greg stopped shuddering to pull their hands away, lifting Greg's wet fingers to his mouth and sucking each one in turn. He let Greg's index finger slip out of his mouth as Greg opened his eyes, smiling that sweet smile again just before he hooked his legs around Nick's waist and forced him even further inside. A surprised gasp escaped Nick's throat, white sparks going off behind his eyes as his orgasm rocked his whole body.

It took him a few seconds just to recover his vision, but when he finally came back to himself he was draped across Greg's chest and familiar hands were tracing random patterns across his back. "You okay?" Greg asked, his voice laced with amusement and just a little concern.

"Yeah," Nick answered, but when he tried to push himself up he discovered that the muscles in his arms had dissolved at some point while he was passed out.


"Good," Greg murmured against Nick's shoulder, his mouth working its way toward Nick's collarbone. "Hate to think I killed you less than a day into our marriage. Then I'd have to call the cops and Brass would probably show up, and that would be embarrassing."

Nick laughed and summoned up enough strength to slip out of Greg, rolling onto his side to look at the other man. "You're insane."

"That's why you love me," Greg said, and Nick didn't bother to argue because they both knew it was at least part of the truth.