Title: Untitled
Author: Kez
Character(s): David Hodges/Nick Stokes, Gil Grissom, Warrick Brown, Greg Sanders, et al.
Rating: FRT
Category: Pre-slash
Summary: When a helpful Nick gets a glimpse of David's personal life, he wants to see more and David may just be willing to let him.
Disclaimer: I don't own them, I never ever will ( mores the pity ). I am making no money from this. ( mores the pity ;) )
Notes: Candy Kisses to anyone who can give me a title for this.

It was like that horrible dream everyone seems to have at least once in high school, where you're in class in your underwear and you don't quite know why, but it hardly matters when you're skinny and pale and even the other geeks are laughing at you. Except of course, this wasn't a dream and it wasn't high school.

Being in your underwear in the middle of the lab, was in fact much worse, because however cruel teenagers could be, at least you could rationalise that they didn't know better, when adults, your peers, sniggered behind your back, or worse to your face, you know they did know better and that stings.

David Hodges had never *been* in his underwear in the middle of a high school history class, actually he'd managed to avoid it in every class, even in gym, he'd managed to keep himself hidden away. Okay that in itself had gotten him teased, but at least it was a more general, they had no idea *what* was under his t-shirt, so what they said didn't matter anyway, type of teasing.

Now here he was, a man, an adult, being hosed down with freezing cold water, in the middle of the lab, because some incompetent idiot Ecklie had allowed in for training as part of some sort of 'cooperation' nonsense, with the local education board, had spilled acid on his clothes. It was a wonder he wasn't on his way to A&E with chemical burns, but even that, he was beginning to think might be a blessing, compared to this.

While Warrick doused him with the hose, Grissom, Greg and Nick seemed to be attempting at least to keep people away, but it wasn't exactly every day that the labs trace tech was in his boxers in the middle of the lab and that tended to attract attention that even all three of them working together couldn't quite field of. David swore he'd seen the flash of a camera, but then the water had hit him in the face and he'd been forced to close his eyes and his mouth, before he could call anyone on it. He would *never* live this down.

"If he ain't clean now, never will be," Warrick announced, turning of the water. David shivered, relieved.

"Here," Nick offered him a towel, which did nothing to cover him, but at least allowed him to dry his hair and face, so he could see properly.

"Do you have a change of clothes in your locker?" Grissom asked.

"That was my change, I've been working fourteen straight hours," David said, irritable and cold making him less than polite.

"I have some stuff he can borrow," Nick offered.

"Fine. Go get him dressed, then I suggest you home," Grissom said.

"I have work still running, I'm fine," David insisted, which he suspected would have worked better, if he hadn't been mostly naked and shivering.

"I'll make sure he gets home," Nick volunteered.

David scowled. "Thank you Mr. Helpful, I'm perfectly capable of getting myself home, if I needed to, which I don't."

Grissom shook his head. "Home. Someone else can finish whatever you were doing."

David scowled some more, but of course it didn't have much of an effect on Grissom when he was fully clothed and even less now as Greg helpfully offered his jacket to protect David's dignity on the way to the locker room. Like there was any hope of that now.

Nick pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that looked like it had seen better days, with its once black, faded lettering and muted colours that were once no doubt a vibrant representation of a parrot. It was not a t-shirt David would have associated with Nick, but it was warm, comfortable and soothing against his still chilled, but mercifully dry skin.

"Here... put this on too," Nick offered the sweater that looked like it would bury David and Nick both. David raised a questioning eyebrow, but Nick didn't seem inclined to answer, so David shrugged and pulled it on. It was blissfully warm.

"Home Jeeves?" Nick said with a grin.

David growled. Not because he was particularly annoyed at Nick exactly, but because he didn't like *anyone* escorting him home. He was a big boy; he could take care of himself. He and Nick's clothes could manage perfectly well on their own, to drive to his apartment and David told Nick as much. Apparently, this did not matter, Nick had told Grissom he'd see David home and he planned to. David considered arguing the point, but really, why bother; he supposed, if nothing else, it meant he could change as soon as he got home and give Nick his clothes back right away, it would get him out of having to wash them.

~~~~~

Nick had never been to David's apartment. It was clean, but not neat, books, journals, CD's, DVD's, photos and mementos covered every surface. It was perhaps the exact opposite of what Nick had ever imagined. Nick had thought, at least when he'd allowed himself to think, that David's apartment would be a lot like Grissom's house, orderly and sparkly clean, except probably without the bugs because Nick didn't think David liked bugs much. But this place was homey and comfortable, intimate even, he felt like he was getting to look inside David's soul, not just his apartment.

He looked around almost guiltily, because after all he was here only at David's hesitant request and only then because David had insisted on returning his clothes. Actually if Nick was honest, he really didn't mind if David kept the clothes, but he could see why he wouldn't want to. They were old and worn, clothes Nick only kept for those days when he'd finished a too long shift and wanted nothing more than comfort and home.

"Do you want coffee?" David asked, surprising him and he suspected that maybe David had also surprised himself with the question. Nick considered saying no, he knew David probably hadn't really meant to ask and only did so out of some sense of hospitality that many a lab-rat get together had instilled in him - or as Nick thought more likely, Jacqui had beat into him, but the idea of having permission, reason, to remain longer was too appealing, so he said yes and accepted the offer of a seat, while David went to make the coffee.

He sat on the sofa, which was dark green, large and comfy; he relaxed into it almost as soon as he sat down. The coffee table, which Nick would swear was real mahogany - and just where did a lab-tech find the money for real mahogany? - had green coasters half covered by magazines and several remotes on it.

"Here, it's Blue Hawaiian, apparently Greg deemed me worthy of some for Christmas," David set down a tray with two cups of coffee, milk, sugar and cookies. Nick smiled. Jacqui must had worked really hard to teach David manners like this.

"My grandmother taught me to be hospitable when you invite someone into your home," David said, making Nick realise he'd spoken out loud.

"Sorry..." he muttered, as he felt himself turn painfully red.

"She was from Texas, a good southern woman," David added.

"Texas? Really? I didn't know you had family there," Nick said.

"I don't anymore. My grandparents are dead, my parents moved to San Francisco when I was five," David told him.

Nick felt unaccountably touched, honoured, joyous that David shared this information with him, willingly even, Nick hadn't had to press or pester, David had even been the one to bring it up... it made Nick's insides flutter in a way he thought they really shouldn't over a man like David Hodges. Except Nick was beginning to think maybe he didn't know David as well as he'd thought he did and the idea of learning more excited him.

"I should get changed, let you go," David said, after a few moments of silence.

"I'm not in a hurry," Nick said, hoping David would invite him to stay longer, that maybe David would share some other nugget of information that would give Nick that same fluttery feeling just because... well, it did.

"I could... make some breakfast," David offered, his face colouring in a way that Nick found bizarrely adorable.

"I could... help," Nick said, smiling disarmingly, until David nodded slowly.

Nick's smile continued to grow and turned into a full blown grin, as they began making breakfast and David began talking again. "My grandmother use to make breakfast for the whole family every morning when I was little, we lived three doors down, but we'd go up there every morning, there were pancakes and waffles, bacon and eggs... enough food to feed the whole neighbourhood..."