Title: Untitled
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG

Greg's not stupid.  He's not desperate, either, contrary to what some people in the lab might think.  He's not naïve and he's not married to his job and he's not going home at night to watch TV and wish for the right guy to come along and make his life complete.  He's got a career he likes and good friends and plenty of prospects.  So the last thing he needs is to come home and find Nick standing on his doorstep looking…well, like Nick.

He didn't need it the last time either, and he definitely didn't need it the time before that.  But that first time is what got him into all this trouble to begin with, because if he'd never slept with Nick in the first place he wouldn't know what he was missing.

So he doesn't even bother asking what Nick's doing there, doesn't try to tell himself he's not going to let Nick in.  Because he's not desperate, but he knows his limits, and saying no to Nick is one of those skills he's just never quite mastered.

"What are you doing here?" he asks, like he doesn't already know the answer.  But he knows this game all too well by now, knows that Nick needs Greg to convince him that it was somehow Greg's idea for him to show up at Greg's door at noon when they're both on tonight.

For a second Nick doesn't answer, but he's blushing and Greg knows where this is going.  Suddenly he's way too tired to deal with this, because tonight's his first night back on after they finally let him out of the hospital, and he's already jumpy enough without worrying about Nick on top of everything else.

Not that he's surprised; the first time they got back together it was because Nick almost died and he was freaked out and needed something to hold onto.  But it didn't work out that time either, because they work together and Nick's still so busy worrying about what everyone thinks of him that he can't let himself just live his life.  And there's no way Greg's going through that again, so he's not sure why he's standing in his living room waiting for Nick to answer him.

"I was worried," Nick says, and Greg doesn't bother to check the urge to roll his eyes.  Because he's heard this speech before too, and they both know it's just an excuse.

"So worried you forgot how to dial a phone?" he asks, turning away just in case his own worry shows on his face.  Because it's natural to be a little jumpy after what happened, but that isn't going to stop him from getting on with his life. 

"Okay, so the truth is I miss you."

Greg doesn't have to look to see the sheepish grin on Nick's face, the one that always makes him look like he's trying not to show exactly how sure he is that he's about to get his way.  Because it's annoying, but it's cute too, and if Greg looks he knows he's going to cave.  He already knows how this ends, lived through it twice and promised himself both times that he wouldn't do this anymore.  But no matter how many times he tells himself that, his heart never listens, so he knows better than to look.

"Forget it," he says instead, focusing all his attention on the floor in front of him.  "I told you last time, I'm not sneaking around anymore.  It's not worth it."

A lie, and the words actually taste a little sour in his mouth.  But he doesn't take them back, and when he forces himself to look up he sees that they had the exact affect he was going for.  Nick looks stung, like Greg hit him instead of just telling him the truth.  His ego's his own problem, though – at least that's what Greg keeps telling himself – and he's not taking it back.

He's not falling for that Texan charm, either, not the grin that makes Nick's eyes crinkle or the way he drawls his words when he's trying to get his way.  He knows all Nick's tricks by now, but then again, that's the whole problem.  Because he knows all that stuff and he loves Nick anyway, can't quite seem to stop no matter how hard he tries.  But that doesn't mean he's going to give in, and he starts toward the door to kick Nick out when that voice stops him.

"I don't want to sneak around anymore."

And he hates that voice, hates it as much as he loves it because he knows exactly what it sounds like whispering in his ear late at night.  The memory alone keeps him awake more often than he'd ever admit, and he hates himself for letting it get to him.  And that voice has promised him a lot of things, but it's never promised him that.  The one thing he can say for Nick is he's always been honest about his limitations, how far he's willing to go to keep Greg in his life and it's never been enough.

"What?"

"I'm serious, G.  I'll tell Grissom tonight, I swear.  I'll do whatever it takes to get you back."

This time Greg does look, because he's not sure anymore that it's Nick standing in the middle of his living room sounding empty and kind of scared and God, Greg really wants it to be him.  Because it's not like he ever stopped loving Nick, and if he's finally ready…well, Greg's never been all that proud when it comes to love, so he's not going to pretend it's too late and run the risk of blowing it for good.

"What about Warrick?"

"Whatever it takes.  I mean it."

He thinks about asking what changed Nick's mind, but he already knows the answer.  Because it was one thing when Nick almost died; after that he needed to feel alive again, so of course he turned to Greg.  But that didn't stop him from being scared about what people were going to think, and when he started getting jumpy whenever other people were around Greg just cut his losses. 

But this time Greg's the one who could have died, and he's not sure how he feels about having to get himself beaten up to make Nick see they're worth fighting for, but he's not going to worry about it right now.  Instead he lets Nick cross the room and stop in front of him, lets him lean in and brush his mouth across Greg's.  Lets him pull back to grin that charming grin of his, then surge forward to kiss him hard.

He could stop Nick and make him talk this whole thing out – he said whatever it took, after all – but he doesn't want to talk about it.  He knows everything he needs to already, and even if Nick hadn't just promised him the one thing he's been waiting three years to hear, he probably would have given in eventually anyway.  Because he's not stupid, but he's never been more glad that he's not all that proud.