Title: Perfect Smile
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Month of November challenge
Prompt: Day 14 - Make one of your characters smile. No, really smile. Not a grin but do something that makes them break into a heart-stopping smile that lights up their eyes.
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, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan leaned back in the chair at his desk, stretching his arms above his head and yawning. It had been a long night, and he was more than ready to clock out and go home. Hopefully, he and Greg would get more sleep tonight than they had the night before.

He could still remember the helpless feeling that had swept over him when Greg had first woken up from the nightmare he'd had; he hated the thought of his boyfriend being in such distress, and knowing that he hadn't been able to do anything to prevent it.

Greg had assured him that he didn't expect to be protected from his nightmares; they'd plagued him so much over the years that he'd learned how to deal with them. He spent sleepless nights here and there, but he had gotten used to the fact that they would always be there.

Ryan hated that idea; he wanted to make all of Greg's nightmares go away for good, to erase the pain that he'd suffered at the hands of the bastard who had raped him so long ago. He wanted to wave a magic wand and male all of his lover's bad memories vanish.

He couldn't do that, and he knew it, Ryan thought with a sigh. All that he could do was to be there for the man he loved whenever the nightmares came to call; he could soothe them away, hold Greg and make him feel safe and protected.

If only he could do more, he told himself, watching his boyfriend as Greg frowned down at the report he was writing. But he had to be satisfied with knowing that he made Greg's life better, even if he couldn't make all of the bad things from the past disappear.

Just knowing that he wasn't alone any more had done wonders for him, Ryan reflected, propping his chin in one hand and continuing to watch his boyfriend as Greg's pen moved rapidly across the paper he was writing on. Maybe it would do the same for the man he loved.

There was something magical about being loved, he thought, smiling as his thoughts went back over the weeks he had already spent with Greg. These last few weeks since he had been in Vegas had already come to mean more to him than his entire life in Miami.

Did Greg feel the same way? He was sure that his boyfriend did; Greg had told him so many times that his life had felt empty before he'd met Ryan. He loved his job, and he had his friends and hobbies, but there was something missing.

He himself had always thought there was a piece missing from his life -- until the first time he had walked into the office he now shared with Greg, and the other man had looked up and smiled at him. That smile had shot an arrow straight into his heart.

The image of Cupid as a child in a diaper, carrying a bow and arrow, was all wrong, Ryan told himself as his lips curved into a smile. Cupid was a tall, thin, sexy guy in an LVPD jacket, a man who had captured his heart from the first moment Ryan had laid eyes on him.

Impulsively, he reached across the expanse of their desks, laying his hand on top of Greg's as the other man's pen stopped moving at the end of a line. "I love you," he whispered, his voice barely a whisper, a soft thread of sound in the quiet room.

At his words, Greg looked up at him, their eyes meeting across the short distance separating them. Ryan almost gasped, his eyes widening. The look on Greg's face took his breath away, made him feel as though he was flying above the clouds.

The smile that spread across Greg's face at Ryan's words blazed out of nowhere, his love for Ryan written in his eyes, in his smile. There was no doubt that he returned those three little words Ryan had spoken, that he meant those words with every fiber of his being.

Ryan could swear that he saw the light of love shining in Greg's eyes, a light that he'd never seen when anyone else had looked at him. Greg's heart was in his eyes, his emotions clear on his face. That look made Ryan's heart skip a beat, brought tears to his eyes.

It didn't seem possible that any human being could smile like that. That perfect smile transformed Greg from a man into an angel in Ryan's eyes. He couldn't speak, almost couldn't breathe. That smile was heart-stopping, wrapping around him and bathing him in love.

"I love you, too," Greg whispered, bringing Ryan's hand to his lips and kissing his fingertips one by one. "I've loved you ever since the first second I saw you. I fell for you in a heartbeat. And I never want to get back up again. Not ever."

"You stole my heart from the first second I saw you," Ryan answered, his fingers tightening on Greg's. "I fell from that second on, and I never want you to give me my heart back. It's yours, Greg. It has been ever since the first time you smiled at me."

The warmth and love in Greg's smile were making him dizzy; if he didn't get out of this office and take his boyfriend somewhere that he could wrap himself around Greg and kiss him until they were both breathless, he was going to end up breaking some of the rules of their job.

It took an effort to keep himself from simply pulling Greg into his arms and kissing him, but Ryan took a deep breath and disentangled his hand from his boyfriend's, standing up to smile down at him. "Come on. Let's turn the reports over to Catherine and get out of here."

Greg stood up at the same time that he did; it was natural for them to move into each other's arms and share a quick hug before they had to break apart, both of them looking towards the door of their office and the open blinds on the window.

Ryan was feeling reckless; he couldn't have cared less if anyone had seen them. But that feeling was only with him for a few seconds as the two of them headed for the door. He knew that if their bosses found out about their personal relationship, their working idyll would be over.

It didn't matter, not when Greg smiled at him like that. He didn't need to touch his boyfriend or hold him to know that he was loved, that Greg wanted to be in his arms. That beautiful smile said it all; the look on Greg's face said it all, with no words needed.

He still had a smile on his own face as they left their office; glancing over at his boyfriend, he saw that Greg did, as well. Their steps were eager as they headed down the hallway, both of them wanting nothing more at the moment than to go home and spend time alone together.

***