Title: Soothing Silence
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Gil Grissom
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 24, Silence
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.

***

It was so quiet in the house with both Greg and Aghra asleep.

Gil couldn't help but smile as he thought of the day just past; he could still hear Aghra's excited barking and Greg's happy laughter clearly in his mind.

Greg had spent most of the afternoon throwing sticks for the puppy to chase in the back yard, then they'd had dinner and taken Aghra for her evening walk. It had been peaceful just walking around the neighborhood, the two of them together, feeling that all was right with the world.

He'd noticed that Greg no longer gasped and whirled around at every little sound; he was learning to relax more when they were out in a public place.

Nick had said that he no longer did that at work, either.

So that was a very good thing, Gil told himself as he looked out at their back yard, the grass and tress silvered by the glow of the moon. Greg was finally recovering.

But he knew that his boyfriend wouldn't have a full recovery until they managed to catch the men who had kidnapped and assaulted him, and they were behind bars. Gil didn't doubt for a moment that Greg would finally be able to put it all behind him once that happened.

That black cloud that always hung over Greg would dissipate then, and the silence around him wouldn't feel so charged, Gil thought to himself. It would be a true silence, a comfortable one. It wouldn't feel as though the world was holding its breath, just waiting to let it out in a sigh of relief.

Things were getting better now, a little at a time. But still, he wanted to find the men who had hurt the man he loved, and punish them for what they'd done.

Yes, it was revenge. But it was also justice.

There would be a silence that would speak more of peace than of mere quiet once Greg was able to put everything that he'd dealt with in the past. And Gil was eagerly waiting for that day.

He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, turning away from the moon-washed back yard to go down the hallway towards the bedroom that he shared with Greg. He knew that his boyfriend would be curled up in bed asleep, with the faithful Aghra in her basket by the bed.

He would relish the silence that permeated the room, the quiet of his lover's breathing as he slept. It was a silence that he enjoyed, one that soothed his soul.

Gil just hoped that at some point, Greg could find that silence as soothing as he did.

***