Title: That Old Black Magic
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: Horror, mission_insane
Prompt: 8, Ouija Board
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.

***

"You don't really believe in stuff like that, do you?" Ryan asked Greg as they exited the magic shop where they'd been asking a few questions. The cops had found a body in an alley near the place a few days ago, and they were following up with anyone who might have seen something.

"Sometimes I don't, sometimes I do," Greg answered, shaking his head as he glanced back at the front window of the place. "My grandma had a gift for that kind of thing. She could see the future -- sometimes. It didn't work all the time, but often enough to be pretty eerie."

"I've never believed in it," Ryan told him, frowning. "I think people make their own fate. Destiny isn't written in stone -- it can be circumvented if we know the pitfalls that are waiting for us." He shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. "I just have a hard time believing in stuff like that."

"Grandma Olaf said that I had the gift," Greg told him, his voice very quiet and a little hesitant. "She said that I could see the future if I tried hard enough. She always wanted me to try to develop that gift, but I never did. I think I was a little scared of seeing what the future might have in store for me."

"Do you think your ouija board would have predicted us?" Ryan asked softly, curious to know just how far Greg took his belief in magic. If his boyfriend believed in such things, he wasn't going to laugh at them, even though he himself didn't believe. He wouldn't make fun of any of Greg's convictions.

"I don't know." Greg sounded more serious than Ryan had expected him to; he shot his boyfriend a look as they walked along the sidewalk towards the car they'd come here in. "I've thought ever since we met that it was a twist of fate that brought us together."

Ryan nodded thoughtfully, mulling over Greg's words. "You could be right about that," he mused, his thoughts going over the way they had met. "It must have been fate, because nothing has ever hit me that hard before. I've never fallen for anybody that hard and that fast."

"Neither have I," Greg said softly, turning to smile at him. His voice was very soft when he spoke again, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear his words -- which he more than likely didn't. "I fell in love with you at first sight, Ryan. I never thought anything like that would ever happen to me."

Ryan could only nod, his throat tightening at Greg's words. He'd fallen in love at first sight, too -- and he would never forget how it had felt. He had fallen head over heels, his senses soaring, his heart feeling as though it would burst right out of his chest to land at Greg's feet.

And those feelings had only gotten stronger as time went on. Greg was a part of him now -- a part that he would never give up. He couldn't imagine his life without having this man by his side, in his arms, and in his heart. Greg was everything to him. Everything.

"Do you believe in magic of any kind?" Greg asked him, pulling Ryan out of his reverie. "That's a subject we've never really discussed." He opened the passenger side door, raising his brows in question as the two of them settled into the car. "Maybe we should."

Ryan shrugged, unsure of just what to say. He'd seen some strange things in the course of his life -- but he wasn't sure if he wanted to ascribe them to supernatural happenings. He was more grounded than that, more realistic. But still .... he had seen some awfully bizarre sights.

"What would you do if a ouija board spelled out my name and said something awful was going to happen to me?" Greg asked, his tone curious. "Not that I'm saying it will, because we generally to avoid things like ouija boards. But just in case, how would you react?"

"What would I do?" Ryan pretended to consider the question as he fastened his seat belt and then started the car, then shook his head as he pulled it out of the parking space. "I don't even have to think about it. I'd do the best I could to protect you in every way possible."

"And I'd do the same for you," Greg told him, his voice very soft. "But nothing's going to happen to either one of us, Ryan. Even though I have a kind of belief in magic, I guess I'm like you. I feel like we make our own fate. Our destiny isn't preordained. It can be changed by our actions."

"Then that means that the best action I ever took was coming here and finding you," Ryan told him, looking over at his boyfriend as he waited for the traffic to slow down so he could pull out onto the road. "I've never had a single regret about being with you. And I never will."

He reached over to squeeze Greg's knee, then turned his attention to the road. But the question still stuck in his head: What would he do if something like a ouija board gave them the impression that Greg was in danger? Would he ignore the warning -- or try to do something about it?

Of course he'd protect his boyfriend, he told himself firmly. It didn't matter that he didn't usually believe in that kind of magic; any warning that Greg might be threatened was enough to make him cautious and protective o the man he loved. He wouldn't take any chances with Greg's safety.

"I don't believe in certain kinds of magic," he said, braking and slowing down for a red light. "But there's one kind of magic I definitely believe in. In fact, I think I'm under its spell right now. I have been since the day we met. Ever since the first time I looked at you."

"And what kind of magic is that?" Greg asked, raising an eyebrow in question. The expectant smile on his face melted Ryan's heart; right now, he wanted nothing more than to put the car in park, right here in the middle of the road, so he could reach over and pull Greg into his arms.

"That old black magic, of course," he whispered, wishing that he could kiss Greg right here and now. But he was behind the wheel of a car, stopped at a traffic light, and there were people all around them. He would have to wait until they were at home, behind closed doors.

All he could do at the moment was to squeeze Greg's knee again; that simple touch had to be enough. He could feel a thrill of desire run down his spine when he touched Greg; suddenly, he wanted it to be time for them to go home, so he could take his boyfriend to bed.

"I can't wait to get home so we can work some of that old black magic," he said softly, knowing that Greg would agree with what he was saying. He could feel the current of desire that flowed between the two of them, drawing them towards each other.

"Not too much longer now," Greg told him, sounding a little breathless. "Just a couple more hours, and we'll be able to go home and have the rest of the day to ourselves. And we've got tomorrow off -- so I've got the feeling there'll be a lot of that old black magic going on."

"You're working magic on me right now, gorgeous," Ryan said, his deep green eyes sparkling with laughter. "I won't need a ouija board to tell me what's going to happen when I get you home. I hope you're prepared to spend all night in the bedroom -- and then some."

"I think I can predict exactly what's going to happen," Greg answered, his laughter ringing out. "And I'm looking forward to every second of it. Y'know, ever since I met you, the bedroom is my favorite place to be. But only if you're in there with me. And we're naked."

"Now that sounds like the kind of magic I can believe in," Ryan said with a laugh, feeling his pulse leap at Greg's words. If only it was already time for them to go home! He didn't want to spend another second at work; he wanted to be in bed, with Greg wrapped in his arms.

"Then let's hurry and get the rest of this day over with, so we can work some of that old black magic when we get home," Greg said with a laugh. Ryan nodded as he pressed his foot on the gas, eager to get back to work so the time when they could be together would come all the more quickly.

***