Title: This Far Before
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Steve McGarrett
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Hawaii Five-0
Rating: PG-13
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 Steve McGarrett, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Steve awakened slowly, moving up out of the depths of sleep as though he was underwater. He opened his eyes, blinking at the bright sun, wondering for just a moment exactly where he was. Then memory came back, bringing a smile to his face.

He was at Greg's apartment. He had spent the night here, and he had made love with Greg. He'd had so many dreams, so many fantasies, about what that would be like -- and the actuality had surpassed any dream that he could possibly have had.

They weren't working today, unless they were called in on a case. Which meant that he could spend the entire day here in bed, with Greg wrapped in his arms, making love to him over and over again. Or they could go out and do something, spend time getting to know each other.

No, he didn't want to do that. He knew Greg, from the inside out. He knew what was most important to him -- that he loved Greg, and that Greg loved him. Nothing else really meant much to him; everything else he needed to know about his lover, he could learn later.

He had never fallen this hard and fast for anyone, Steve thought as he propped himself up on one elbow and looked down at the man who was sleeping peacefully next to him. But then, he'd never met anyone like Greg. No one else had ever stolen his heart like this.

Just looking at Greg, watching him sleep, took Steve's breath away. The way his lips parted ever so slightly, the slight flush of his skin, the way his long dark lashes curved across his cheeks -- everything about Greg mesmerized him.

Could he manage to stay here in bed all day? Of course he could, Steve told himself with a smile. As long as Greg was here beside him, he could stay anywhere. He could be happy doing anything, when he had the person he loved near him. It didn't matter where they were.

He didn't doubt that Greg felt the same. After their lovemaking last night, he knew that their feelings were a perfect match, that they had held nothing back. They might still have things to tell each other that might come as a bit of a surprise, but that didn't matter.

He didn't care about Greg's past, how many other lovers he might have had, or anything of the sort that other people might insist he keep in mind. The only thing that mattered was the two of them in the here and now -- and in the future that they would build together.

Nothing else mattered to him but Greg. This man was more important than his job, or anything else in his life. All he wanted was for the two of them to have that future together, build a life that made them both happier than they had ever thought they could be.

He'd never fallen this far before, Steve told himself as he reached out to smooth Greg's hair back from his face. Either this far, or this fast. He would never have thought that he could fall this hard for anyone -- but that was before he had met Greg.

Greg Sanders was the most incredible man he'd ever known. He was not only smart and beautiful, but he was brave and selfless, the kind of man that Steve tried to be. Greg was the kind of person anyone would be proud to be with. And this man belonged to him.

Greg stirred beside him, opening his eyes and looking up at Steve with a smile curving his lips. "How long have you been awake?" he asked, his voice rough and groggy with sleep. "I hope I wasn't snoring. If I was, I'm sorry. I didn't think I did."

"You weren't," Steve told him, his voice soft and husky. He bowed his head to press a gentle kiss to Greg's lips, murmuring softly as he did so. "I was just watching you sleep and thinking about how I've never fallen this far before. You're one of a kind, Greg."

Greg yawned, then blushed and hid his face against Steve's chest. "I'm not used to getting compliments so early in the morning," he protested, his voice muffled. "I'm not really used to getting compliments at all. Most people used to act like I was the plague."

"Then people in Vegas have no taste, and no sense," Steve retorted, raising Greg's face so he could gaze into those beautiful dark eyes. "If they didn't appreciate you, then I'm glad you left and came to Hawaii. I'm not going to let them have you back, y'know."

"I don't want to go back." Greg stretched luxuriously in Steve's arms, then curled up beside his lover again, sliding his arms around Steve's waist. "I want to stay right here with you. I don't think I ever want to get out of this bed again. Unless it's to go to your place and go back to bed."

"Greg ...." An idea had just leaped into Steve's mind, something that had danced around the edges of his consciousness before, but hadn't leaped into full-blown being until a few seconds ago. "If I asked you to move in with me, what would you do?"

"Move in with you?" Greg raised his head, his dark eyes wide, looking a bit shocked by Steve's words. "I just signed a lease on this place. I'm here for a year, unless I can find somebody to sublet the place. And I don't know enough people in Hawaii for that to happen."

"Yes, you do." Steve couldn't hold back the smile that spread across his face. "Danny's looking for a new place, and I think he'd like this one. You've got two bedrooms, so he'd have a place for his daughter when she's with him. This would be perfect for him."

"You think so?" Greg's smile was infectious; Steve couldn't help smiling right along with him. "Then it's all his. I'd rather be living with you. I want to wake up with you every morning, and fall asleep with you holding me every night. That'd be kind of hard to do, living in two different places."

"I've never fallen this far before with anybody, and I've never asked any person I was involved with to live with me before," Steve murmured, his voice husky with emotion. "What have you done to me, Greg Sanders? You're changing everything in my life. And I like it."

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Steve?" Greg asked, his voice soft and a little uncertain. "I don't want to disrupt your whole life. I've never lived with anybody before, but I know from what some of my friends have told me that it can take some adjusting."

"I don't think it's going to be hard at all for me to adjust to having you around," Steve whispered, brushing his lips against Greg's again. "I'll be able to make love to you any time I want, and like you said, I can fall asleep with you every night and wake up with you every morning."

"I could move in tomorrow, if you're sure that Danny would want to take over the lease on this place," Greg told him, sounding as eager as Steve felt. "This isn't too quick for you, is it? It feels like everything's moving so fast that I can't keep up."

"If it's too fast for you, then we can slow things down," Steve said, propping himself up on one elbow and looking down at Greg with a concerned expression. "But to be honest, I want it to move fast. I want you in my life, Greg. Not just at work. I want you there all the time."

"Even if we weren't living together, I'd still be a part of your life and I'd still love you," Greg pointed out with a smile. "But I want to move in with you. Yeah, it's fast, but that's okay with me. I firmly believe that you have to take your happiness where you can find it."

Steve was sure that he saw a flicker of shadow move across Greg's features as he spoke; he made a mental note to ask his boyfriend just who and what had hurt him badly enough to cause that. But they'd talk about that later. Now wasn't the right time.

Now was a time for them, to lie here and revel in each other, to discover more than they already had. Now was the time for them to talk about their future, to share their hopes and dreams, and to solidify their feelings. This wasn't the time to bring up the past.

There was plenty of time for that later, when they were well settled into their relationship. He knew that Greg would eventually want to discuss the past; his boyfriend wasn't the kind of man who would keep any secrets from the person he loved. He was far too honest for that.

And so was he, Steve reflected. There was no need to keep his past locked away from his lover; Greg had a right to know anything about him that he wanted to know. He was determined to be an open book, to never keep anything from Greg that he might be curious about.

He'd never fallen for anyone like this before, so hard and so fast. But he didn't feel uncomfortable with it at all. It felt more right than anything in his life had felt for a long time. Greg was meant for him; he was more sure of that than he'd ever been of anything.

He had always been afraid of giving his heart too quickly and easily. But with Greg, that fear had vanished -- in fact, it seemed silly now. He trusted this man to keep his heart safe and protected -- and he intended to do the same with Greg's heart, to hold it safe and cherish it forever.

"Come on," he said softly, sitting up and throwing the covers back. "Let's take a shower and go out to get some breakfast." And then, he told himself as he stood up and stretched, they could talk to Danny about subletting this place so their life together could get started.

***