Title: Adopting Major Arcana
Author: Buddy
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Pairing: pre-slash Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not my characters, I'm only playing with them.
Summary: The Chariot -- Triumph, victory, overcoming obstacles. Conflict that forces change.
Beta reader: Love and smoochies to cloudsurfing. Can I dance with you?
Dedication: Written for carolinecrane's birthday. Heaven knows where this came from; I'm fairly certain I merely channelled this but I'll just thank the universe and hope you like it as much as I do. Happy birthday.

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Greg raised his hands against the glare of the sun but he knew where Nick was before his vision adjusted. It was like some kind of internal homing device that he had perfected over the last four years, and he didn't so much see Nick as sense him behind a neat row of Tahoes that looked like they had been parked with mathematical precision. Leaning with his back to the wall, Nick managed to make it look as though it was draped around him and offered comfort despite the rigid set of his shoulders. Greg felt the familiar sense of yearning that told him he would gladly swap himself for bricks and mortar.

It felt odd being outside when he should be in the lab and he had cases backed up to the hilt but Nick was … Greg had thought he was pissed at first and then he'd seen the look on his face and realised he was shattered. He doubted anyone else had seen him look that naked but then no one watched Nick like Greg did. It was only fleeting but the whole set of his face had just crumpled and Greg's insides had hit the floor. He'd felt nauseated and the ensuing anger caused him to throw a look of disgust at Grissom that was totally wasted on him, as was the tirade of sarcasm that made Warrick wince and Sara put her head in her hands.

Catherine's hand on Grissom's arm provoked the surprise in Grissom that Greg's reaction to his decision failed to, and it effectively stopped him from following Greg when he stalked away. It was like Greg could see everything in slow mo as he turned his back on all of them and followed Nick outside. Everyone had stared at his uncharacteristic outburst and he knew that all the time he'd spent trying to keep how he felt under wraps was probably wasted.

Nick looked away the moment he caught sight of him but before Greg had a chance to feel like he'd made himself look foolish for nothing, Nick looked back. And smiled.

"I expected Warrick. Maybe Sara."

Greg shrugged his shoulders and flipped Nick a lopsided grin before he settled next to him. The wall was warm from the late afternoon sun and he could understand why Nick had found comfort here. Light flickered off passing chrome and a heat shimmer rose off the asphalt leaving Greg with no illusions about exactly where they were. There were times he hated the heat and the dust but for as long as Nick lived here it was home.

"You have very low expectations. Not that there's anything wrong with Sara or Warrick but they can't make you feel better."

Nick raised both eyebrows and laughed. "But you can?"

Greg could have been insulted but it was his arrival that had put the smile on Nick's face and dispelled the look that he never wanted to see on it again.

"Yes, if you'll let me."

"Why do you even care?"

"Grissom's terrifying. We have to stick together."

Nick tilted his head sideways and looked at Greg seriously. "What really scares you, Greg?"

"I just told you."

"Forget Grissom. What else?"

"You."

"What? Why?"

Greg felt sweat trickle between the spikes of his hair down to his hairline and wished fervently that AC was available in the parking lot. He was a firm believer that opportunity never arose when it was convenient and that if you didn't answer the second it knocked then the chances were you'd blow it. Which was why he couldn't just let this moment go.

"When you first we first met, I didn't think I was going to like you that much and you knew it."

"And that lasted for a whole five minutes."

"Two days."

Nick smiled again and Greg's belly twisted into a complicated knot that made him want to pace back and forth, but he managed to keep still and returned the smile. He knew it was one of his best; he only pulled it out when he wanted to prove a point with Catherine or when Nick was in receiving range.

"And now?"

"Now I love you so much I can't see straight."

Greg reached over and clasped Nick's hand stilling the surprised denial that sprang to Nick's lips. He looked at Greg bewildered, as though he thought he'd misheard or worse was suffering from auditory hallucinations. He stared at his hand in Greg's for a moment and then his eyes seemed to fly to Greg's face as he searched it for signs of the joke he must be playing or some indication that Greg worried about his sanity too.

"What?" he said finally and his voice fractured and managed to make the word sound multi-syllabic.

"You heard me. But I don't mind saying it again. Despite my heart being in my mouth, it's surprisingly easy to get words around it. I love you and I can't stand not to say it any more."

A faint flush suffused Nick's face as he tried to work his mouth. Nothing came out at first and he cleared his throat with a nervous cough and tried again. "You don't really know me."

"I know you like your coffee strong enough to strip the insides off of lesser beings and that means you don't really taste it, but that's ok; I can re-educate your palate. I know that being around Catherine and Sara makes you feel like you should be hooking up with girls simply because they're hot and it's expected, and that you really considered asking Sara out on date because of it. I know you have a hero complex that rivals Clark Kent's, although thankfully you stop short of his sanctimonious bullshit, and I know that the one thing that really holds you back in your job is the fact that you're such a nice guy."

Nick looked over at the lab worriedly and tried to pull his hand away but Greg held on.

"I know that you'll never get the approval you want from Grissom in the way you expect to because he isn't wired like the rest of us, and I also know that you feel something for me but you're too scared to do anything about it. Running won't help you know." Greg took a deep breath. "So that's why Grissom actually did us a favour when he refused to even consider your transfer request, although he could have been more diplomatic about it."

Nick dropped his head and looked at the floor for so long that Greg almost believed that there was something down there worth staring at. Like maybe a cue card or an escape route, but Nick didn't try to take his hand away again nor did he protest when Greg tightened his hold on it.

"Nick?"

"Greg."

The word was simple but the moan that accompanied it was tortured and Greg thought maybe if he ran quickly enough he could turn back time and forget he'd ever put his heart and his job on the line because of a hunch. But then Nick's fingers were actively participating in the hand holding and his lips were firm against Greg's. At first Greg was too stunned to do anything; until he felt the slide of warmth up the back of his neck and the curl of fingers in his hair. Nick shifted until they were comfortably facing one another and then he crushed Greg's body closer to his, his other hand pressing between Greg's shoulder blades as he brushed his lips with the tip of his tongue. Greg parted them with a soft sigh and tried to remember if he'd hit his head on the way out here because if he had and this wasn't real, he might have to try it again sometime soon.

Nick urged him to part his lips further and sucked gently on his bottom lip before slipping his tongue inside so he could explore the warm interior. And it felt so right that Greg had to think hard to make sure that they hadn't always done this. Nick finally let him up for air with a shaky laugh but he kept Greg in the circle of his arms until the distant sound of voices got considerable closer.

"Nice guy, huh?"

"Yeah," Greg said breathlessly. "Nice guy. Not that it could hold you back forever."

"No, but this might. Or maybe Grissom will reconsider my request and wrap it in a pink slip.""

"Not if we handle it right. Your brains, my charm and good looks."

The sound of Nick's laugh and the tender way he discreetly linked his fingers with Greg's was a heady combination that made Greg feel giddy. It was far from unpleasant and he could feel a goofy grin spreading over his face that he couldn't stop if he wanted to.

"So about that coffee then. How about we meet for breakfast after shift ends?"

"It's a date."

"A date."

Greg's grin changed to a lazy smile that seemed to build momentum from his toes before it reached his mouth. Now he couldn't keep still and Nick looked at him indulgently as he started to bounce on the balls of his feet.

"Ok, G, but if I run into you before then I can't promise I won't want to find out just what kind of coffee you've been drinking in the meantime."

"I should probably warn you it doesn't taste the same second hand."

Fin

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