Title: Rediscovering You
By: mickeylover303
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Words: 1386
Summary: Nick was under the persuasian that Greg had the most unbelievable brown eyes, but it was Greg's mouth that brought them a little closer together.

Nick let himself fall on the couch with a definable thud, a heavy sigh, and a raised eyebrow at the sight of Greg’s puffed cheeks and the various specks of something brown on his lips Nick was finding it hard to tear his gaze away from. They stared at each other, Greg with his eyes wide like he’d been caught doing something wrong, and Nick trying to remember the last time he’d seen the other man so still.

 

Sleeping didn’t count.

 

And even then it was as if some part of Greg was still moving, slight vibrations shifting a body that always seemed constantly in motion Nick internally denied ever paying that much attention to.

 

Common sense told Nick he shouldn’t want to know. Fully aware how of how bored lab techs tended to pass their time on particularly slow days, it was better not to know, but the guilty look on Greg’s face did little to diminish Nick’s curiosity.

 

They stared at each other for a little longer, and Nick wasn’t sure he wanted to break the tense silence that surrounded them in the break room. He was going to wait for Greg to crack first and already knew he wouldn’t have to wait long.

 

Finally, Greg swallowed whatever it was in his mouth, cheeks deflating as he ran his tongue over his teeth in a satisfied gesture. There was a loud smack of his lips coming together, and Nick found his gaze wandering to the unidentified brown substance on Greg’s mouth once more, occasionally travelling back to Greg’s eyes.

 

“Did Hodges send you here?” Greg asked warily, still not quite relaxed.

 

Nick shook his head, curious at Greg’s obvious sigh of relief that followed. Hodges was the new tech for trace. He transferred from California and started a couple of days ago. That was as much as Nick could remember, but he could vaguely piece together the man’s face.

 

“Jacqui likes chocolate,” Greg said easily, as if that was explanation enough, which, unfortunately for Nick, really wasn’t. Fortunately, though, Nick didn’t have to prod Greg to explain further. “And uh, Archie picked up a cake from that upscale bakery downtown, and we all pitched in to buy something – a really, really, nice chocolate cake, with uh, chocolate icing. It’s the Big 4-0, so we kind of went all out on this one.”

 

“Okay…” It explained the brown stuff on Greg’s mouth, almost as if he took a dive face first into the cake and forgot to wipe everything off. Today was Jacqui’s birthday. That much Nick knew. And while he wished her a happy birthday, he wasn’t aware there was some kind of party that involved a cake worth more than the already overpriced ones in the grocery stores. Or at least that was what he was assuming.

 

Then again, he personally thought it was better to remain oblivious.

 

“And maybe, just maybe,” Greg continued, although noticeably hesitant, “I ate a piece.”

 

Nick looked at Greg in confusion, not really sure what eating a piece of cake had to do with Greg feeling nervous. “Which means…?”

 

“Which means that maybe, just maybe it was the one I was going to give to you.”

 

“You ate the piece of cake you were going to give to me?” It wasn’t a big deal. Not really because it was just a piece of a cake, and Greg did stuff like this for him all the time. What bothered Nick was why Greg was making such a big deal out of it.

 

“Okay, well, technically, I didn’t eat the whole thing; I saved half of it for you. But it wasn’t my fault in the first place, you know. Point blank, let’s just say that me, Hodges, flat surfaces, and chocolate cake – we definitely don’t mix.”

 

It didn’t sound right aloud, and Nick thought it sounded even worse in his head, where his imagination got a hold of it. Was he being paranoid? He didn’t think so, but his relationship with Greg, the aspects that weren’t solely based on sex, was rocky at best, and it wouldn’t hurt to pay more attention to the newer people roaming the halls.

 

“…really, now,” Nick said slowly, trying not to let thoughts of Greg, Hodges, and flat surfaces cloud his mind.

 

“Yeah, and one sugar induced causality later, I didn’t have anything. Hodges called it an accident. But I’m calling sabotage because he knew that was the last piece, and we haven’t been hitting it off since we first met. Mandy wouldn’t share because she caught me taking two, and Archie ate his piece before I even had a chance to get mine.”

 

Nick nodded, once again grateful he had nothing to do with lab tech politics…or whatever happened between the same group of people confined in a single space for the majority of the day.

 

“Nick, um…what are you…” Greg bit his bottom nervously, drawing Nick’s attention to back Greg’s mouth. It was a darker shade of pink with the smudges of brown Nick now knew was from the cake. He wasn’t a big chocolate person, but once in a while he had a craving.

 

“Huh?” Nick said absently, only partially unaware of what Greg was saying.

 

 With his head, Greg motioned to Nick’s arm. It was stretched out, resting over the back of the couch and precariously close for any passerby to think Nick was wrapping said arm around Greg.

 

“Oh.”

 

Self-conscious, Nick eased away slowly, moving his arm off the back of the couch and placing a comfortable amount of space between them. It took him by surprise, how close he and Greg were, noticing that they started at opposite ends of the couch, and Greg wasn’t the one who moved. Though, in all honestly, Nick wasn’t sure when he did.

 

“And you were staring,” Greg added quickly, almost as if he didn’t want to call Nick on it.

 

“Really?”

 

“…yeah.”

 

“It’s just that you still have…”

 

“Yes?”

 

“You still have, uh, chocolate on your lips.”

 

Greg opened his mouth in comprehension, closing it and pursing his lips together. Nick caught a flicker of Greg’s tongue, moving from one corner of his mouth the other. It only served to smear the crumbs and icing further.

 

“Is it gone now?” Greg said softly, almost too softly for Nick to hear.

 

Nick suppressed a shudder. He was uncomfortably warm despite the feel of the cold air from the vent above brushing against his skin. It made the hair on his arms stand on edge, and he tried to name the sensation.

 

Moist was the word he was looking for. Like the kind of ambiance after waking up in Greg’s bed, tangled in the sheets with Greg’s body sticky and practically draped over his. Or the feel of Greg’s lips right now, wet and dark pink, still coloured with that last smudge of chocolate Greg hadn’t quite been able to get to.

 

“You still have something right…” Nick reached out with his thumb, gently wiping it across the side of Greg’s mouth. Taking no longer than a couple of seconds, probably even less than that, but sometimes that one moment was enough. And it was only after he took in Greg’s shocked expression that Nick found himself mirroring the same surprise.

 

Because it didn’t comply with the boundaries they established. They had certain rules: like not sitting too close to one another, not spending too much time around one another – for both work and anything outside of their apartments. They were the only ones who knew about their relationship, and it was a precaution neither of them took lightly.

 

Usually.

 

“There,” Nick finished lamely.

 

 Greg stared at Nick with raised eyebrows. “Um, you…you touched—”

 

Nick covered his mouth, forcing himself to cough in an attempt to hide his more than slight discomfort.   “It’s not a big deal, you know.” Quickly, before Greg had a chance to respond, he added, “The cake, I mean. The piece you saved me.”

 

“…Nick?”

 

“As long as you don’t mind sharing it with me.”

 

Greg swallowed visibly, and Nick had to force down the large lump in his own throat when Greg licked his lips again, his tongue lingering over the area where Nick wiped off the excess chocolate.

 

“…after my shift?”

 

“Is that…?”

 

“Yeah.”