Title: Unconditional
By: ullman
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not Mine
A/N: for eledhwenlin

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He hears his mother's voice, and instantly, the little annoyance he felt earlier at hearing the phone ring just as he was about to show Nick how much he missed him this past weekend, is gone.

"How are you, sweetie?"

Greg smiles. "I'm fine."

"And how's Nick?"

He glances over to the other side of the room where Nick's sitting on the couch and he finds Nick staring at him. "He's fine too."

His mother laughs a little and Greg winks at Nick. Nick laughs at him and shakes his head before going back to reading the magazine he was reading earlier.

"Are you boys planning to visit us this summer?" She tries to sound casual but Greg can tell she's really hoping they'll drop by again.

"No, we're planning a trip to Europe." Well, he's planning it, and Nick's pretty much agreeing to whatever he's saying, which kind of surprises Greg because even though it's nice to be trusted, he's not sure he should be trusted when it comes to planning something like this.

"Europe?" His mother sounds excited, almost like she's the one going there and he loves that about her, loves how she can be happy for him.

Greg laughs softly and listens to his mother's suggestions on which places to go to and he looks at Nick again, who's still pretending to read the magazine. He hasn't turned a single page since he started reading and there's a preoccupied frown on his face that Greg's seen before on a couple of occasions. At work, but mostly when Nick's on the phone with his own mother.

"Mom?" He asks, interrupting her mid-sentence, knowing she won't mind.

"Yes, Greg?"

"We're probably going to drop by after we get back, is that okay?"

His mother chuckles and he can almost see her shaking her head at his question. "Of course it is."

They didn't talk about going to California, they barely have enough time to visit all the places Greg wants to visit but as he watches Nick he knows that this is the right thing to do. Sure, they're not Nick's parents, but they love him like he's their own son and Greg just wants to make Nick realize that. He can't change the way Nick's parents are, he knows that, but that doesn't mean he can't show Nick that it doesn't have to be like that.

"Great," he says, more to himself than to his mother, and when Nick looks up he's pleasantly surprised by the smile on the other man's face. He loves seeing Nick smile, can't get enough of that smile, especially when the smile is directed at him. And as he returns the smile he notices the look on Nick's face, a familiar look that tells Greg it's time to end his conversation.


~


He watches Greg talk on the phone from across the room, he's talking to his mother, not that Nick's able to hear the actual conversation but he can tell by the look on Greg's face. The way his eyes light up the minute he recognizes the voice on the other end and the sweet smile that follows as he answers his mother's questions. Nick guesses that this is exactly how Greg must have looked when he was a little kid, big eyes and an even bigger smile and he can't help but smile too. He continues to stare at Greg, not even pretending to read his magazine anymore and after a few minutes their eyes meet and Greg winks.

Nick chuckles, shakes his head as he, again, pretends to focus on reading the magazine, and when he hears soft laughter coming from the other side of the room he finds himself thinking about how different these talks are from the ones he has with his mother. Not that he talks to his mother all that often, the whole reason for getting caller i.d. was avoiding her calls and now he only talks to her like once a month. Greg on the other hand doesn't have caller i.d., doesn't want it because he says he wants to be surprised when he picks up the phone.

That's the thing he likes about Greg, the joy he seems to get from the smallest things like an unexpected phone call from his mom and Nick wishes he could feel that kind of joy again. He faintly remembers feeling it when he was still a kid, before he started to try to live up to other people's expectations. Greg never does that, and Nick always wondered how he could do that, but when he met Greg's parents he knew. Knew they'd support their son no matter what.

It's how it should be, that's what Greg keeps telling him over and over again, knowing how stubborn Nick can be. And there's a part of Nick that wants to believe he's not the perpetual screw-up his parents think he is. But as he sits there, watching Greg engage in small talk with his mother, he realizes it's not that important. Not anymore.

And when he looks up from his magazine and meets Greg's eyes again he sees concern in the other man's eyes and Nick smiles, a genuine smile, because he knows. Knows Greg doesn't think he's a screw-up and knows that no matter what he says, or does, Greg'll be there for him. He's thankful for that, but doesn't say it, because Greg doesn't want him to thank him for something that goes without saying. Which is fine by Nick, he's never been that good with words any way and now he just finds other ways to show his appreciation. His love. And if only Greg would get off the phone he'd show him right now.

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