Title: Stolen Kisses
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Fluff, mission_insane
Prompt: 7, Stolen Kisses
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 Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Nick glanced over at Greg, smiling as he watched the young man bend over a microscope and to intently study whatever was beneath the lens. He loved watching Greg work; his boyfriend was a master of what he did, and Nick was impressed with Greg's knowledge.

Everyone might make fun of his boyfriend at times, and treat him like a kid -- but that was only because Greg was so young, he mused. The entire lab had a lot of respect for Greg's intelligence and abilities, and their good-natured teasing wasn't meant in a hurtful way.

He wished that he could show Greg how he felt about him by sweeping into the lab, moving behind the table and taking Greg into his arms, pulling him close, and pressing a passionate kiss against those tempting lips. But he knew better than to even think about it.

Or did he? Nick asked himself with an inward smile. After all, he was already thinking about it; it was only one step from there to actually doing what was in his thoughts. He'd always been a man of action, not words, and it would be so satisfying to claim Greg as his ....

But if he did that, then they would both be in trouble with Ecklie, and one of them would be moved to a different shift, he cautioned himself, taking a deep breath. He couldn't let anyone know that Greg was more to him than a colleague and a roommate. They had to be seen as "just friends."

Even though that rule still stood, he'd taken a few stolen kisses in the lab when no one was looking. Greg had been hesitant about it, which was unlike his usual devil-may-care, happy-go-lucky approach to life -- though Nick couldn't understand his boyfriend's reluctance.

Greg had worked hard to get to where he was at such a young age. If they were caught expressing those kinds of feelings here in the lab, Greg wouldn't lose his job, but he'd lose a lot of the respect he'd gained -- and Nick would never want to do that to his lover.

Greg's job was important to him, and Nick could understand that. He liked his own job, he thought with a wry smile. He wouldn't want to put either of them in jeopardy -- and he definitely didn't want to be moved to day shift and be unable to work with the team he was used to.

Besides, if he was on day shift, he wouldn't be able to work with Greg any longer, and he'd worry about his boyfriend. Even though Greg wasn't out in the field as a CSI, there were still a lot of things that could happen to him, even in the relative safety of the lab.

The explosion had proven that. Nick's skin prickled as he thought of how those burns had looked; the scars were still there, thin white lines crisscrossing the upper part of Greg's back, splashed across his shoulders. They were mute testimony that even the lab wasn't completely safe.

Nick knew those scars would be removed someday; Greg had talked about having that done, and Nick knew that he was saving the money for the surgery. Personally, he didn't mind the scars; to him, they were just remnants of a battle, one that Greg had fought and survived.

But if his boyfriend wanted them gone, then he had no objections to that. Whatever made Greg happy would make him happy, too -- even though he didn't think that the scars were that bad, Greg probably thought very differently, since they were on his body.

All he wanted to do at the moment was to walk into that lab on the other side of the glass where Greg was working, take his boyfriend into his arms, and steal a few kisses, to show Greg that he was loved and desired and that those scars didn't matter in the least ....

Nick looked around surreptitiously, surprised that there was so little activity in the lab. The only CSIs here were himself and Warrick; they'd come back from a case with their evidence, and Warrick was processing some trace in another lab. He and Greg appeared to be the only ones here.

Of course, that could change at any moment, he reminded himself. If he was going to get any stolen kisses, he would have to be very circumspect, and he would have to achieve his goal quickly. Still, there was no reason why he couldn't go for it, since it was so quiet.

Moving slowly, he went into the lab, heading for the table where Greg was working. His boyfriend was still squinting into the microscope, though he was sure that at any moment, Greg would realize that he was here and look up with his usual bright, sunny smile.

When Greg finally looked up from what he was doing, Nick didn't hesitate for a moment. Wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's slim waist, he pulled Greg close, brushing his lips across the other man's mouth softly at first, then with a rising passion that he couldn't control.

Greg always made him feel this way. Their kisses and embraces might start out gentle, but they shared a passion for each other that couldn't be denied. Nick knew that they couldn't sate that passion now, but at least he could steal a few kisses.

After a few moments, they pulled away from each other, both of them panting slightly. Greg looked around, then heaved a sigh of relief as he looked at Nick. "Nobody's here now, but that isn't a safe thing to do every day, Nicky," he cautioned, shaking his head. "We don't want to be seen."

Reluctantly, Nick nodded, wishing that Greg's words weren't true. "One day, that stupid rule is going to be gone, and we won't have to worry about hiding how we feel about each other when we're at work," he said softly, hoping that he was right. "I can't wait for that day."

"Neither can I," Greg said softly, smiling as he moved to the other side of the table and picked up another slide to put under the microscope. "Until then, we're going to have to be satisfied with stolen kisses -- well, when we're at work, anyway. But it's a different matter at home."

"It sure is," Nick agreed with a laugh. "Now that I've been kissing you here at work, I hope you realize that you're going to be taken directly to bed when we get home in the morning. I don't think I could hold myself back any longer once we're safe behind closed doors."

"Is that a promise?" Greg queried, raising an eyebrow. "I hope so, because if you didn't intend to take me to bed, I'd probably beg you to do it anyway." He grinned, making a shooing motion with his hand. "Now get out of here, loverboy. We've both got a lot of work to do tonight."

Nick moved away from the table, watching Greg as he did so. He never tired of watching his boyfriend work, but Greg was right -- he did have a lot to do. He needed to get to the trace lab and help Warrick, but he wanted to linger here with Greg for a few moments longer.

He wanted to take Greg into his arms again for a few more stolen kisses, but he'd been lucky already that he'd gotten away with doing that when no one else was around. He wasn't going to push his luck, even though he wanted to have Greg in his arms now more than ever.

No, he wasn't going to take that chance. There would be plenty of time for kisses later, when their shift was over and they were back at home. And there would be so much more than kisses then -- they would be cuddling in bed, making love, and falling asleep in each other's arms.

Nick's heartbeat quickened at the thought; all he wanted right now was for their shift to be done, and for them to be at home, removing each other's clothes, kissing as they did so. He hoped that the rest of the night would go by as quickly as possible.

"See you later, babe," he said, waving as he left the lab. He looked back to see Greg's smile as his lover waved back at hime before he bent down to his work again, a smile that made his spirits soar. He couldn't wait for this night to be over so that he could have Greg in his arms again.

***