Title: Shadows in the Moonlight
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: Romance, mission_insane
Prompt: 5, Moonlight
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Ryan awakened with a start, sitting up and pressing a hand against his chest. His heart was beating wildly, as though he'd just run a marathon; he didn't know what had woken him up so precipitately, but he was sure that he'd had a nightmare he didn't remember.

He reached for Greg, his eyes opening wide when his hand met the sheet and then the pillow rather than his boyfriend's warm skin. Greg wasn't in bed beside him, for the first time since they'd been together. That was odd; his boyfriend wasn't given to getting up after they'd gone to bed.

Maybe he'd only had to go to the bathroom, Ryan told himself, turning over onto his side and slipping one hand beneath his pillow. Yes, that could be it. He didn't have to freak out any time he woke up and Greg wasn't here; his boyfriend would never leave the apartment without telling him.

But after Greg hadn't come back to their bed within a few moments, Ryan sat up, feeling worried. It might seem overprotective, but he needed to know where Greg was, needed to reassure himself that his lover was here in their home, safe and protected.

He didn't bother to put on any clothes; he was used to sleeping naked now that he always slept with Greg by his side, and he didn't feel the need to cover himself up. After all, the curtains were drawn in the living room and kitchen, and no one outside would see him.

Ryan padded down the hallway, moving silently past the open bathroom door. So Greg wasn't in there, but maybe he was in the living room. He was sure that Greg just hadn't been able to sleep, and he'd gotten out of bed rather than wake him up.

They had the weekend off, and their sleep schedules were starting to get a little confused, so maybe that was part of the reason Greg was awake in the middle of the night, Ryan told himself. It would be easy enough to get to that point, what with being used to working the night shift.

He stopped when he reached the end of the hallway, looking across the living room at the window that overlooked the parking lot. Greg was standing there with the curtains partially opened, moonlight illumining the upper half of his body while shadows obscured the rest of him.

Ryan had no idea just why his boyfriend was standing there gazing out at the parking lot -- especially when he was stark naked. There was obviously something on Greg's mind, but he didn't want to break the spell that the moonlight and shadows seemed to have cast.

Greg looked like some otherworldly creature, standing so still and quiet, his gaze seemingly focused on what was outside. Ryan was sure that he wasn't concentrating on what he was looking at; Greg's mind was probably miles away from here, wandering in some private world of his own.

Ryan didn't want to move from the spot he was rooted to; he wanted to simply stand here and look at Greg, to drink in the beauty of the man he loved. Greg was as still as a statue; it seemed as though he was carved out of marble, immobile in the silvery light.

If he moved, then he would break the spell that they were under, the spell cast by the moon and shadows. He wanted to hold his breath, to stay as still as Greg was. Moving would shatter the tableau, and he didn't want to disturb it -- at least not for another few minutes.

But the spell was broken when Greg turned to him, his dark eyes widening. "I didn't mean to wake you up," he murmured, blinking at Ryan across the room. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come in here and read. But I couldn't get into a book, so I just .... looked out of the window."

"It's a good thing you didn't just open the curtains wide," Ryan said with a soft smile as he moved across the room to Greg, sliding his arms around his boyfriend's waist to pull him close. "You're a gorgeous man, Greg, but I don't want the neighbors getting an eyeful."

Greg's soft laughter joined his own before hie boyfriend turned in his arms, to look out of the window again. "It's beautiful at night, isn't it? Especially when the moon is out, and it's casting shadows and light over the whole world. Everything looks like it's coated in silver."

Ryan nodded as he followed Greg's gaze out of the window, taking in everything within range of his vision. It was a beautiful night, not too hot even in the summer, a slight breeze blowing the curtains that Greg was still clutching in one hand to keep himself half-hidden in shadow.

Everything outside looked as though it was covered in icing; it was all limned in silver, and even the view of the parking lot looked peaceful. The park across the street almost seemed to beckon to them, but Ryan knew that they wouldn't leave the apartment.

He almost wanted to go outside, to get Wolfie's leash and take the puppy for a late-night walk. But given the time, he didn't think that would be a good idea; even though he and Greg could take care of themselves, he didn't like the idea of aimlessly wandering around this late at night.

Besides, he liked standing here with Greg in his arms; it felt slightly naughty to be standing just behind the curtains stark naked, knowing that at any moment, any person who might happen to walk by could look into the window and see them. It felt .... well, a little decadent.

The shadows in the room seemed to lengthen towards the lighted parking lot; somehow, they didn't look menacing, as they might have if he felt that the two of them had something to be on the lookout for. Instead, they seemed mysterious, and strangely inviting.

A part of him wanted to take Greg's hand and lead him outside, naked as they were, to lose themselves in the shadows and become part of them. He wanted to go dancing with his lover through the shadows in the moonlight, defying convention and feeling free.

But that wasn't something they should do, and he knew it. He could just see the headlines when the next day's papers came out -- two members of the crime lab CSI team arrested for indecent exposure! That would definitely get people talking -- and be the end of their jobs.

So they would stay inside, and simply looked out of the window, watching the world around them while they melted into the shadows. The combination of moonlight and shadows was romantic, Ryan thought with an inward smile. It was making him have thoughts that he normally wouldn't entertain.

Right now, all he wanted to do was taking his boyfriend back to bed, tumble Greg into the sheets and make love to him all night, until the sun began to come up. Or he might just move Greg over to the couch and take him right here in the living room .... now that was an idea.

He wanted to ease Greg away from the window, back into the shadows, away from the light. He wanted to turn the other man around in his arms and kiss him breathless, then make their way as one to the couch and fall upon it, their hands roaming each other's bodies ....

Instead, he leaned forward to whisper in Greg's ear, his words soft and seductive. "What do you say we go over to the couch? I might be able to make it back to the bedroom, but the way I'm feeling right now, it's only about a fifty-fifty chance, so I wouldn't bet on it."

Greg laughed softly, letting go of the curtains and turning around in Ryan's arms until they were face to face, their lips so close that Ryan could feel the soft susurrus of Greg's breath against his skin. "I think that's a great idea. Good thing we've got a nice comfy couch."

Ryan's soft laughter joined Greg's as he began walking backwards, letting his boyfriend guide him to the couch. The shadows in the moonlight seemed to fade away when their lips met, the world they had been in disappearing as they slipped into a world where only the two of them existed.

***