Title: Under the Radar
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Ryan Wolfe
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/CSI: Miami
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1, 52_challenge
Prompt: 50, Under the radar
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 Ryan Wolfe, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Greg sighed as he watched Ryan walk out of the lab, wishing that his boyfriend could work alongside him. It was good that they were partners and could work together at crime scenes, but here in the lab, they had to watch their backs and be careful.

It was starting to get to him; the strain of not being able to tell anyone that Ryan was his boyfriend was making him feel resentful and angry when he was at work. It was ridiculous that such an arbitrary rule about co-workers dating was still in existence.

That rule should have been done away with ages ago, Greg thought as he slammed a cup down on the table in front of him. He looked up quickly, hoping that there was no one around to see or heart his little display of temper. If there was, then he'd have to explain it.

That was what he hated most about this situation -- always having to watch what he did and said, feeling that he and Ryan were sneaking around. He hated having to fly under the radar; he wanted to be open and honest about their relationship.

It didn't make sense to him that the two of them were forced to keep their feelings for each other a secret. It was obvious that everyone on the team was close, that they all cared about each other -- well, most of them, he amended -- so why shouldn't they be allowed to date?

Of course, if a couple broke up and had a lot of emotional baggage, it could affect the team adversely as far as those people being able to work well together, he admitted. But that wasn't going to happen with him and Ryan. Their relationship would go the distance.

It was just so frustrating to have to fly under the radar the way they were doing, when other people in the crime lab could be open about their relationships. Fin was dating a cop who worked closely with the crime lab, and nobody seemed to have a problem with that.

Besides, it was starting to get awkward when people asked him about his boyfriend, Greg thought with a soft sigh. He'd made the mistake of telling everyone that he was taken, that he was in a serious relationship -- and now everybody at work wanted to meet the guy.

What a surprise they would get if they knew that his boyfriend was also his partner! Greg almost laughed as he thought about the looks on their faces -- then sobered immediately as he pictured himself and Ryan being fired, both of them walking out of the crime lab for good.

No, he couldn't tell the people he worked with, the people who were his closest friends, about his relationship with the man he loved. He couldn't cost Ryan his job -- and he didn't want to lose his own, either. He loved his job, and leaving here would break his heart.

Being fired was a worst-case scenario, he told himself firmly. Ecklie wouldn't fire them; he would more than likely simply break them up as a team at work, and make one of them work on a different shift. But in his eyes, that would be nearly as bad.

If they worked different shifts, then they would barely see each other, even though they lived together. They'd be on different schedules, and it would become more and more of a struggle to make the relationship work. It might even break them up for good, eventually.

That wasn't a chance he was willing to take. He wouldn't even contemplate sacrificing his relationship for his job -- which meant that he and Ryan had to keep quiet about their personal lives at work, and continue flying under the radar as long as they worked for thee crime lab.

He was almost positive that Nick knew, but he was sure that no one else did. For all of his intelligence and his eagle eye, Russell wasn't looking for a relationship between him and Ryan, so he wouldn't see one. He would assume that they obeyed the rules.

He would have assumed wrong, but Greg wasn't about to tell him that. He liked Russell; he was a good man, and a good person to run the crime lab. But Greg didn't trust him with their secret; he was too much of a stickler for following the rules and going by the book.

Russell wouldn't disapprove of he and Ryan being a couple -- but he would insist that they couldn't be working partners if they were partners in a different way in their personal lives. As much as he liked his boss, Greg knew that he wasn't someone to completely open up to.

No, they had to be circumspect and keep flying under the radar, not letting anyone in. It wasn't the way he would choose to live, but really, they had no choice -- not if they wanted to keep the jobs they loved and to continue working together as a team.

Nick was the only person who they might be able to let in, but Greg wasn't even sure of that. Nick wasn't a person who always went by the book, but he might not approve of this relationship. He wasn't homophobic, but Greg still wasn't sure of just what his reaction would be.

Sighing softly, he rested his elbows on the table, propping his chin in his hands. As much as he enjoyed his job, it wasn't the same without Ryan right there by his side. When they were at the lab, they were often working in different areas, not seeing each other for hours.

It was different when they were out in the field at a crime scene, literally working side by side. They couldn't always show their affection for each other, because a lot of the time they weren't alone at those crime scenes -- but they were still together, and that made all the difference.

That was really the most important thing, wasn't it? Greg asked himself with a surge of optimism. As long as he and Ryan could be together, it didn't matter if they had to fly under the radar at work. What mattered most was that in the end, they had each other.

He didn't like having to hide their relationship from their colleagues, but if that was what it took for them to be able to work together, then he would do it. There were worse things than having to sneak around, even though he didn't like the necessity of doing so.

Still, if that was the price that they had to pay to be together, then he would pay it gladly. Nothing would ever make him give Ryan up -- even if they had to be circumspect with their work colleagues for the rest of their lives, or however long they both worked at the crime lab.

He'd figure out a way to deal with things, and not complain about it, Greg thought as he looked at the evidence from the case they were working on spread out in front of him. In the end, flying under the radar was a small price to pay for having Ryan in his life.

***