Title: Make Believe
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Written in the Stars challenge
Prompt: L8, These events are not what you expect
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 Gil Grissom, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.
Series: 1) Welcome To Hell, 2) Live Through This, 3) Racing Against Time, 4) Rip Him To Shreds, 5) Killing Lies, 6) Never Give Up, 7) Just When I Needed You Most, 8) First in Line, 9) No Words Needed

***

Gil sank back into the cushions of his couch, trying to make himself relax. Greg had gone to take a shower; he hadn't wanted to disturb the young man's privacy in any way, so he had merely told him where things were, and left him to his own devices.

He needed some time to think about everything that had happened in the past couple of days. Events hadn't turned out in the way that he'd envisioned them when he'd made the decision to go to the lab and talk to Greg about what their future might hold.

Nothing had happened as he'd thought it would. He had been guilty of building his own little world around him, imagining what Greg's reaction would be to being told of his feelings, thinking that everything would work itself out with very little effort from either of them.

He should know well enough by now that only fairy tales had the happily-ever-after ending that he had foolishly thought this would be, Gil told himself wryly. Yes, he and Greg could have a happy ending -- but that wasn't going to come about without some work.

Now wasn't the time to talk about what had happened, but he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that Greg had been badly traumatized by what he'd been through, both physically and emotionally. It might take a very long time for him to heal from that trauma.

Gil was willing to wait. Not for anything in the world would he try to rush Greg into anything he didn't want; the relationship that he wanted to have with the young man he'd fallen in love with so long ago wasn't so much born of sexual desire as of a deep, enduring love.

He'd been surprised to discover just how deep and strong that love was. He might have been able to tell himself that it was only affection at one point -- but he had long since accepted the fact that he was in love with Greg Sanders. Completely, irrevocably, hopelessly in love.

No one had ever meant as much to him as this young man did, and no one else ever would. He had only married Sara because he had thought that he could never have Greg -- and at the time, he had been willing to settle for a far inferior second best.

He had wasted too much time that he and Greg could have spent together, loving each other, because he hadn't been willing to believe in happy ever after. He had thought that it was all relegated to a land of make believe, a land that he had left far behind with his childhood.

But it had been forcibly brought home to him that he and Greg stood a chance; he'd found out, much to his surprise, that Greg had always harbored feelings for him. He hadn't expected that. Events weren't turning out anything like he had thought they would.

It had been a long time since he'd allowed himself to believe in happy-ever-afters, in that world of make believe that he'd left so far behind. He was a scientist; he always relied on cold, hard facts, and tried not to pay much attention to the more emotional side of life.

He had thought that he could keep doing that for the rest of his life, and convince himself that he was happy. But that had been impossible, and he should have known that it would be. He should have known that he would never be able to simply forget about Greg.

And he had come back at exactly the right time, Gil told himself with a sigh. Greg was right; he always managed to show up just when he was most needed. Only this time, he wasn't needed in the lab, but by the person who had always owned his heart -- and always would.

There weren't words to describe his horror when he was told that Greg had been kidnapped. The first image that had come into his mind was Greg's body lying cold and lifeless somewhere; that Greg had died without knowing how much he was loved.

If that had been the case, then he would have spent the rest of his life mourning what could have been. He would have still divorced Sara, and he would have blamed himself for wasting all of that time when he could have been loving Greg honestly and openly.

Gil closed his eyes, a shudder sweeping over his body. Thank goodness that hadn't happened, he thought fervently. There had been no tragedy; they had found Greg and brought him home safely. Yes, he would be traumatized, but he wasn't dead.

That was the important thing to remember. He still had Greg by his side -- and now, Greg knew how he felt. The world of make believe had collided with his real world -- and somehow, the two of them had been combined. Fantasy had melded into reality.

They would have a happy ever after. He would make sure of that. No matter how long it took, he would help Greg get past what had been done to him; they would take things one step at a time, one day at a time. They had the rest of their lives ahead of them.

Maybe other people would say that he was crazy to think that he and Greg could work. Maybe everyone would look askance at them, thinking that he was far too old for Greg, and that he would have been much happier if he had simply stayed where he was.

But he couldn't have done that. He hadn't been happy; he had spent far too long trying to convince himself that he was, and he was certain that if he had done so for much longer, he would have lost any chance of being with Greg. He would have spent the rest of life wallowing in regrets.

Thankfully, events hadn't turned out as he might have expected when he had first heard of Greg's abduction. He didn't want to think about those nightmare hours; they should be relegated to that land of make believe, never to see the light of reality again.

No, that wouldn't work, Gil thought, sighing aloud as he glanced towards the hallway. He couldn't simply sweep what had been done to Greg under the carpet. That wasn't healthy, not for either of them -- and it wouldn't help Greg deal with what had happened and move on.

He had to be Greg's anchor; he had to be the steady rock that the younger man could cling to. And he was only too happy to do that for the man he loved. He was here to be whatever Greg might need, to help in whatever capacity he possibly could.

No, events hadn't been at all what he'd expected, Gil thought as he heard the door of the bathroom open and knew that Greg was out of the shower. But maybe those events, as odd as they might seem now, would work out for the best in the end.

Was he living in a world of make believe to think that he and Greg could have a future together? There were pitfalls for them; he could see them all so clearly. But he wanted with all of his heart to believe that they could find a way around those problems and find happiness with each other.

After all, Greg was here, in his home -- and he would stay here for a while. Gil didn't want him to be on his own, not now when he was so vulnerable. And maybe, just maybe, he could convince Greg to stay here and help Gil turn his fairy tale world of make believe into reality for them both.

***

Next story in series - Heart and Shoulder.