Title: Some Assembly Required
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Series: 1) Domestic, 2) Domestic II, 3) Domestic III
Summary: So last night while I was chatting with carleton97 and ruggerdavey about the benefits of good porn, I happened to mention that I should probably write some Nick/Greg fluff. We kicked around a few ideas and curtain fic was mentioned at some point, but I'm having a little trouble visualizing a proper curtain fic for Nick and Greg. So this is sort of CurtainFic-by-proxy. It'll make sense if you read it. It's also almost a Christmas fic.

It still felt a little weird, letting himself into Nick's -- no, their -- place. He'd had a few weeks to get used to it, but it was still a little strange to slide his key into the door and let himself in like he belonged there. Not that he missed the apartment he'd been living in since he moved to Vegas; it had always been a little too small, but it was more or less just a place to sleep and change clothes between shifts at the lab and nights on the town, so he'd never bothered looking for someplace bigger.

Nick's house felt more like home than his apartment ever had, but Greg was smart enough to know that had more to do with Nick himself than with the architecture. He shut the door behind him and walked into the living room, feeling just a little like he was intruding when he found Nick on his knees in the center of the room. He was surrounded on three sides by gears and brightly colored pieces of metal, and judging by his expression he wasn't having a very good time.

"Hey."

Nick glanced up at the sound of his voice, his startled expression making Greg feel even more like he was intruding. But a second later his features softened, and he glanced past Greg at the clock on the VCR. "Hey. Didn't realize it was so late."

"Early, you mean," Greg said, dropping his backpack on the couch before he turned back to the mess on the floor. "What are you doing?"

"Cath needed a favor," Nick answered, glancing down at the pile of gears and metal that Greg finally realized was meant to be a bike. "Lindsey's Christmas present. She needed someplace to keep it."

"Let me guess...you decided to take it apart to see how it works." Greg grinned when Nick scowled disapprovingly and reached for what Greg guessed was part of the handlebars.

"I offered to put it together. When they say 'some assembly required' I think what they mean is you won't actually have to weld anything."

Greg laughed and crossed the room, dropping onto his knees next to Nick. "I thought this kind of thing was Warrick's job now."

"I don't think they've gotten that far yet," Nick answered, glancing sideways at Greg long enough to smirk at him. "Besides, can you see Warrick doing this?"

"Warrick loves kids."

"Sure, he loves kids. He loves teaching Lindsey to shoot a three pointer and helping her with her homework, but I'm guessing this isn't exactly his idea of a good time." Nick grinned and reached around Greg, a strong arm pressing into his back for a second before he straightened up again. "You, on the other hand…"

And he should have seen it coming, but he still let out a surprised laugh when he caught Nick's hopeful expression. "So I do all the work and you score all the points with Catherine?"

"I'll tell her you helped." Nick leaned in again, his breath hot against Greg's neck as he brushed his lips across the other man's skin. One hand swept down his back, fingers dipping just under the waistband of Greg's jeans. "And I'll make it worth your while."

"Yeah?" Greg said, craning his neck to give Nick better access to the tender spot just below his ear. "Can I get that in writing?"

Nick chuckled against his skin, low and rich and Greg's body vibrated with the sound. He wanted to climb into Nick's lap and push him back onto the carpet, to make him forget all about Lindsey's bike and the promise he'd made to Catherine. But the sooner they got the bike assembled the sooner he'd have Nick's undivided attention, and it was worth not getting any sleep before their next shift started if this was what he had to look forward to.

"What, my word's not good enough for you?" Nick asked, but he took all the sting out of the words with one last kiss against Greg's neck. When he pulled back he was smiling that amused, indulgent smile of his, the one Greg knew meant he could have anything he asked for.

"Just looking out for my investment." Greg smiled at the sound of Nick's surprised laughter and set to work, fitting pieces of metal together with an efficiency most people wouldn't have expected from him. But that was the nice thing about Nick -- he never underestimated Greg, at least not anymore. It had taken awhile for him to stop looking at Greg as a hyperactive, overgrown kid, but once he did he'd treated Greg with a respect Greg didn't always get from the other CSIs. It was one of the things that made Greg fall in love with him, and it was the reason Greg didn't really mind helping him with Lindsey's Christmas present.

They worked in silence for awhile, but when they had the frame assembled Nick cleared his throat and glanced over at Greg again. All the amusement was gone from his features, and Greg couldn't help picking up a little of his nervousness. "Cath mentioned something about Christmas dinner. I don't think Gris'll be there, but Warrick will, and maybe Sara if she doesn't go home. If you'd rather just hang around here..."

Greg shrugged and looked down at the bike chain he was holding, his heart in his throat at the thought of their first Christmas spent with Catherine and Warrick. Their first Christmas...he hadn't really let himself think much about it; they'd both worked on Thanksgiving, so they'd more or less managed to avoid the major holiday discussion until now. Catherine and Warrick both knew they were seeing each other, but knowing about it and actually seeing it were two totally different things.

"Do you want to go?" he finally asked, glancing up at Nick to find the other man watching him.

As soon as their eyes met Nick grinned, and somehow that was enough to force all the tension back out of Greg. "Well we've gotta eat, and it's not like either of us can cook. But we could spend the whole day in bed and I'd be happy."

And Greg had to admit that idea was a lot more appealing than anything else he could think of, but he knew Catherine could cook and a real live Christmas dinner at her house sounded a lot better than leftover takeout or frozen burritos. "So we spend most of the day in bed, and we get to Catherine's place just in time for dinner."

"Sounds like a plan." Nick reached out, his hand resting on the back of Greg's neck just long enough to warm Greg's skin before he pulled it away again. "If you want to crash I can finish this."

"It'll go faster if we work together," Greg answered, and when Nick smiled and reached for one of the pedals Greg knew he understood. He didn't want to go to bed alone, not when he didn't have to.