Title: Throw It All Away
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Mike Keppler
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: 5_prompts, Three Days Only challenge
Prompt: 46:4, Throw it all away
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 Mike Keppler, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Mike looked down at the letter in his hand, wishing that he didn't have to do what he planned to do. It would seal his fate, and it might destroy his relationship with Greg. But he had no choice; this had been far too long in coming to light.

He still had a while, he told himself, closing his eyes. At least another couple of weeks, maybe a month at most before he set the wheels in motion. He still had some time with Greg. He didn't have to give up the love of his life just yet.

He didn't want to lose Greg. They were building something that he'd never thought he could have in his life again, and he didn't want throw it all away. But he couldn't keep going under the conditions that he was enduring now. He had to make things change.

Greg might hate him when the truth came out, but he'd just have to accept that if it happened, Mike told himself. He would hate himself for disillusioning Greg, for pushing him away. But again, he had no choice. This was something that had to be done.

He had to expose the evil of a man who he'd once called his friend and partner. He couldn't keep the knowledge that he had of his former partner a secret, not any longer. He had to let the truth come out -- along with his part in it.

Mike hoped that exposing that truth wouldn't destroy his relationship with Greg. His young lover was the best thing that had ever happened to him; Greg was his lifeline, his sanity, his peace of mind. If Greg disappeared from his life, he might as well be dead.

If he ended up going to jail because of what he'd done in the past, he could only hope that Greg would still be there for him. He wasn't going to count on it, but he could always hope. And hold on to his dreams of what their future could be.

He was sure that they could have a future, if only he could get past this bump in the road. But he couldn't be with Greg when all of this was hanging over his head; he wanted to come clean, so that the two of them could live their lives freely and openly.

Maybe he should tell Greg about everything that had happened in the past before he put his plan in motion. But if he did that, there was always the chance that Greg would walk away from him -- and he knew that his heart couldn't deal with that.

Mike took a deep breath, sliding the letter into the desk in the hotel room that he was staying in, knowing that it would be well hidden there. He wasn't going to throw it all away, he told himself firmly. He was going to clear the past away, and make room for the future.

***