Title: Truth or Dare
By: bluehawaiianshirts
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Summary: Nick's supposedly perfect dare backfires.

***

Nick was so convinced he'd finally one-upped Greg Sanders. Childish train of thought, granted, but what they were playing was nothing more than a child's game with an adult twist. A game of 'Truth or Dare' that ended the moment another person walked into the break room and continued the moment they left.

Greg had been the unrivalled master at this game, always suggesting things for Nick to do that he would never dream of doing of his own accord – "Nick, I dare you to jerk off underneath the table at our next briefing with Gris," or "Nick, I dare you to walk around pantsless for the rest of the night." Of course, Nick never did a fair number of those dares (he still had his dignity, he reasoned), but there were a few he lowered himself to performing, such as mooning Grissom, if only to prove to Greg that he was just as wild and crazy as the young CSI. But always, Greg would then suggest something more daring which Nick would always refuse to do.

But finally, finally, after weeks of brainstorming and nearly driving himself insane, Nick figured out the perfect dare. Something that even Greg Sanders wouldn't do. See, Greg had limited himself to doing inappropriate things while in the presence of others, perhaps dancing naked around the break room while Catherine and Sara discussed a case, or wearing borrowed lingerie and sitting on Grissom's desk in a rather compromising position. Never had Nick dared him to touch anyone.

They were lucky the Graveyard shift was as forgiving as they were. Their co-workers dismissed the pair's odd behaviour every Friday evening as nothing but horseplay. As long as Ecklie didn't find out about it, nobody cared what happened. Neither Greg nor Nick had done anything to degrade any of the Graveyard staff, only themselves, and it was as amusing as it was – well, confusing.

Nick was elated at Greg's initial reaction to the dare; eyebrows knit, eyes widened, mouth parted deliciously, all in a look of shock.

"Could you repeat that?" the younger CSI asked. "I don't think I heard you properly."

Nick was more than happy to oblige. The verbal repetition of the dare only made it much sweeter. "I dare you, Greg, to kiss the entire Graveyard shift. Not on the cheek, but on the lips."

"I thought so," Greg mumbled in response, looking down at the floor. He appeared deep in thought for a few seconds before looking up at Nick again.

The look on Greg's face almost made Nick wonder if his perfect dare was as perfect as he thought it was. He had run it through his mind dozens of times this past week, and yet he found no loop, no flaw Greg could exploit to his advantage. So why was Greg smiling like he was a kid in a candy store with one hand in a barrel of gummy worms and the other in the cash till?

"Okay," Greg replied, that grin of his even wider. "Just page them to get in here, and I'll take care of the rest."

Nick, though perturbed by Greg's reaction, was also slightly disappointed. Greg's completion of the dare would only prove that perhaps Greg would always be the unmatched champion of their little game, and that Nick still had quite a bit of brainstorming to do before he could finally call himself the victor.

On the other hand, however, Nick would get to see the faces of the others as Greg laid one on them. If anything, he thought that he would be a good-spirited loser.

Nick pulled out his cell phone and sent an identical text message to everyone, reading "Break room, now. Urgent."

He vaguely wondered how irritated Grissom would be upon arrival, perhaps having been pulled away from a case just for a quick kiss from Greg. His question was answered as the door flung open and in came Gil Grissom, looking mildly intrigued and annoyed at the same time. Then Greg came out from behind the door, swung his arms around his supervisor's neck, and pressed a hard kiss to his lips. Gil had been lucky he hadn't started talking, or Greg might have made it an open mouthed kiss.

Nick wondered if Grissom was going to chew him out, but all he did was sit blindly on the couch next to Nick afterwards, a look of confusion on his face.

Catherine wandered in next. "Okay, what's so urgent?" she asked immediately, and Greg turned and planted a fierce kiss on her. Nick was indeed amused, and just a little turned on at Greg's show of passion. Sara walked in and saw Greg with his arms around Catherine.

"Don't mind me," she said amusedly, a quirky smile on her lips.

Greg pulled away from Catherine and immediately latched himself to Sara, who could almost taste Catherine's cherry lip balm on her mouth as it connected with Greg's. Her arms flailed for a couple of seconds, and she felt like she was going to lose her balance, but then Greg released her and she followed Catherine to the other couch perpendicular to Nick and Grissom.

Nick was in hysterics as the women sat down, and he ignored the ugly looks they sent him. It was Friday evening; they were absolutely sure he had something to do with Greg Sanders' kissing spree.

Warrick came into the room, lastly, and saw Nick laughing his Texan ass off, but before he could ask any questions, he felt a pair of lips on his own. He was quite surprised by the softness of the lips, and the general intimacy in a room full of people. Then he realized who was kissing him, and he managed to push the offending body away from him. Greg stumbled backwards, an odd smile on his face.

"That's not right," Warrick said, looking annoyed. "I come down here for something that's supposed to be urgent, and all I get is Sanders' lips. What's up with that?"

"Sorry, Warrick," Nick managed between gasps of laughter. "I dared him to kiss the Graveyard shift."

"It's Friday, isn't it?"

Grissom wore an expression of mixed irritation and amusement that gave Warrick silent affirmation.

"Greg, man, you did an awesome job," Nick grinned, clapping half-heartedly. "I will never forget the looks on their faces."

Greg turned to face Nick. "But I'm not done yet," he said with a wide smile. "I haven't kissed the entire Graveyard shift."

Nick looked confused. "What?" Then it hit him. The loophole was him. Nick was part of the Graveyard shift too. He'd been so excited at the thought of Greg Sanders trying to complete his dare that he'd completely forgotten to exclude himself.

He bolted up from the couch. "Whoa, Greg, that's enough now... I think we've had enough of this game for one night."

Greg advanced on him in pure predatory fashion.

"No, seriously," Nick said, darting around behind the couch and making his way to the door. "Quit it."

Sara raised an eyebrow, her sour mood lifted at the prospect of a terrified Nick. "No, I don't think he should," she offered, her voice lightly singsong. "I mean, it's your fault you forgot to tell him, 'Kiss everyone but me'. Now, you must pay the price. Go for it, Greg!"

Catherine couldn't help but smile as well.

Warrick blocked Nick from escaping the room altogether, and when Nick turned around, he came face to face with the young CSI. Greg leaned forward just as Nick closed his eyes, and then he felt a pair of warm, moist lips on his own, moving gently. A tongue slithered out and lightly prodded his lips, and he wasn't sure if he opened them involuntarily or voluntarily, all he knew was that he opened them.

Hands grasped either side of Nick's face and pulled him in closer. Nick felt the tongue inside his mouth, and in no time he pushed back with his own tongue, silently fighting for control of the situation. His hands tentatively reached up and grasped the back of Greg's neck to hold him in position.

After a few seconds, Greg pulled back and Nick felt himself lean forward as if to fill the space that had been recently vacated. He opened his eyes and saw Greg staring at him with a mischievous smile. Grissom, Catherine, Sara, and Warrick appeared to be in shock, and there was no sign of any of them moving.

Nick cleared his throat and looked away, his face as red as a freshly spanked bottom. "Uh, show's over folks, nothing more to see," he offered, his voice wavering as if he was going through puberty for a second time. How awkward, he thought, to have been kissed with such passion in front of all of his co-workers.

As they filed out of the room one-by-one, Nick thought he could hear Catherine whispering, 'you dog you' in his ear as she passed, but he couldn't be certain. The throbbing of his heartbeat in his ears was too loud.

Soon, they were alone again in the break room.

"So, how was that?" Greg asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

Nick couldn't stop blushing. He was both embarrassed and furious. "How could you do that?" he demanded.

"You did it to yourself," Greg retorted. "If you hadn't secretly wanted me to kiss you, you would have made sure to leave yourself out."

If Greg hadn't been so right, Nick would have said something in his defence. But all he could manage was a lousy, "I forgot, okay?" After a split second, he added, "And besides, if I wanted you to kiss me, it wouldn't have been in front of everybody else."

Greg surveyed the emptiness of the room, then turned back to Nick with a smile. "Nobody's here now," he observed with raised eyebrows. "Want to go for round two?"

***