Title: The Little Things
Author: Jaxson K.
Characters: Nick, Gil, OMC
Rating: R

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Nick walked into his house drained. He made his way to the bedroom and lay down across the bed. The hurt and embarrassment he felt hadn't eased much on the ride home, and he knew that those feelings probably wouldn't go away any time soon. He'd had such high hopes about tonight, but all of that was dashed to the ground, and Nick needed to try and pick up the pieces.

When Grissom first came to Nick and expressed an interest in him, Nick was thrilled. He's had fantasies about Gil for a long time, but couldn't seem to get up the nerve to say anything. The two agreed to have drinks and talk about the situation. The date went fine, and the two agreed to keep things quiet for the time being. Gil approached Nick one morning and asked if he'd like to go to dinner that night . Nick agreed.

After dinner, they arrived back at Gil's place, and Nick was nervous. Gil began kissing Nick and they made their way upstairs. As they got undressed, Nick kept his back to Gil and pulled the covers up when he got into bed. They began with slow, deep kisses and began to go from there. When Gil reached under the cover, Nick held his breath. When Nick felt Gil's hand brush his cock, he began to get uncomfortable.

Gil threw back the covers, looked down between Nick's legs and began to laugh. It was at that point Nick's heart broke. The laughter was bad enough, but Gil went too far by making the comment about how he thought everything was bigger in Texas , but he had just been proved wrong. Nick quietly dressed, cheeks burning with embarrassment and left Gil's house.

Once Gil calmed down, he felt disappointed. He'd hoped that Nick would live up to his fantasies, but he hadn't. Of course, it didn't help that Gil was a "size queen". Gil knew he was wrong for what he'd done to Nick, but he thought it only fair because Nick had disappointed him. It didn't occur to him that he'd done some serious damage. He just figured he would give Nick a half-hearted apology, and that would be that. Little did he know that would be easier said than done.

As time moved on, Gil kept trying to find ways to talk to Nick to see if they could put what happened behind them. Nick was having none of it, and kept his conversations strictly work related. Gil wasn't too surprised when Nick's request to transfer to day shift came across his desk. He asked Nick to come to his office regarding the transfer. Nick showed up at the assigned time, and Gil asked him to close the door.....

"I see you wish to transfer to days....."

"That's right."

"May I ask why?"

"You know the answer to that, Gil....."

"Please enlighten me, Nick....."

"You keep trying to find ways to get me alone because you are operating under the delusion that I want to discuss what happened, and I really don't. If I'm working days I won't have to worry about you continually bothering me......"

"I just wanted a chance to explain....."

"There's nothing to explain, Gil. I literally did not measure up to what you were wanting, and I refuse to keep trying to find ways to make you leave me alone....."

"Nick, I....."

"No, Gil! There's nothing left to be said. Now are you going to sign the transfer or not?"

Gil signed the papers and handed them to Nick. Nick thanked him and left his office. Gil sighed as he watched Nick walk down the hall. He realized that he would never get the chance to explain to Nick that he still had feelings for him, and was willing to try to work around what he considered to be Nick's deficiency. He knew that he had no one to blame but himself.

Weeks went by and Gil still missed Nick terribly. He mentally kicked himself every day. He kept tabs on Nick's progress, and really wasn't surprised to find that Nick was doing excellent work. One day, Gil had to stay for a meeting with Conrad and the under sheriff. As he was going into the break room for coffee, he overheard Nick and one of the other CSIs comparing notes about their new partners. The other guy, Mick Wells, was telling Nick about how lucky he was to have his partner. Nick commented that he knew exactly how Mick felt. He went on to say that he felt especially lucky to have his partner, Jared. When Mick asked why, Nick looked directly at Gil and said, "Jared especially knows how to appreciate the little things....."

END

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