Title: Vartann Knows Best
Author: csi_niteowl
Pairing: David/Nick, David/Vartann friendship
Rating: PG
Warning: slash
Spoilers: None
Summary: Tony helps David admit the truth.
Disclaimer: I don’t own CSI or its characters. If I did there’d be much more Nick, David and Greg screen time.
A/N: This is a birthday present for pabzi. Hope you’re having the best day ever.
A/N 2: This is my first attempt at writing Vartann so I’m not sure how IC he is. Also, I searched but couldn’t find any place where thy listed his first name so I deferred to the birthday girl’s stories on the name. As always, comments are greatly appreciated.

Most people would find the close friendship between Tony Vartann and David Hodges odd, to say the least. After all the two men seemed as different as night and day. Tony was a well respected homicide detective and a decent, likeable man. David, on the other hand, was a sarcastic, snarky trace technician who seriously lacked social skills and was merely tolerated by most. What most people didn’t know however was that the two men had been friends since the Vartann family moved across the street from the Hodges when the boys were both six. They’d been friends ever since. The fact that David lived there was actually the deciding factor in Tony’s decision to move to Vegas.

 

“There you are, Davey. I thought maybe you stood me up.” Tony greeted his friend.

 

“How many times must I tell you not to call me that, Anthony?” David let out a put upon sigh. “I realize this is a hard concept to grasp but I was working.”

 

“Excuse me? Who deals directly with dangerous criminals everyday and who runs tests in a sterile lab?”

 

“Well, without us lab rats your cases wouldn’t get closed.”

 

“Without us cops there would be no evidence for said lab rats to analyze.”

 

“Uh, hello, CSIs?” David snickered. “Exactly what is it you do anyway?”

 

“Shut up and drink your beer before I decide to arrest you.”

 

“What for?”

 

“Harassing a police officer.”

 

“You do know if you do that I’ll lose my job, which means I’ll lose my income and I’ll have to move in with you.”


“Now I can add threatening a police officer too.”

 

David wadded up a napkin and threw it at the detective. “Add assault, while you’re at it.”

 

“Just what makes you think you can mooch off me anyway?”

 

David gave his friend a look that clearly said ‘duh’. “ July 26, 1983, need I say more?”

 

“God, I hate you.” Tony glared.

 

“Most people do.” David shrugged.

 

Tony frowned.  “Nobody hates you, Dave.”

 

“Name someone other than you and my mom.” David muttered before taking a sip of his beer.

 

Tony grinned. “Nick.”

 

“Nick? God, Tony don’t even start.”

 

“Why? You know you love him.” Tony teased.

 

“No, I don’t. I’ve told you a hundred times I’m not interested in him.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Really!”

 

“Hmm. Then you wouldn’t mind if I ask him out?”

 

“You’re not serious?”

 

“Sure am. The man is awfully cute.”

 

“Wait. What about your ‘no dating colleagues’  policy?”

 

Tony shrugged. “I could definitely make an exception for him.”

 

David stared down at the table. He felt sick. His best friend was going to ask out the man he loved. How could he do that? He wanted Tony and Nick to be happy but if they were together he wouldn’t be able to watch it, he’d lose them both, not that he’d ever had Nick.

 

“Hey.” Tony smiled. “Before you have us married with kids, tell me again how you don’t love Nick.”


“You- you asshole!” David sputtered.

 

Tony shook his head. “Did you really think I’d do that to you?”

 

“You were pretty convincing.”

 

“Look, even if you won’t admit it, I know you’re crazy about the guy. I just don’t understand why you won’t do something about it. What’s the worse that could happen?”

 

“Geez, I don’t know, he could laugh or freak out. He could tell everyone or he could beat the shit out of me.”

 

“Dave, you know Nick’s not like that.”

 

“Why are you being so damn pushy about this?”

 

“Because I hate to see both of you pining away, to afraid to do anything about it.”

 

David laughed bitterly. “How many beers did you have before I got here?”

 

Tony wanted to reach across the table and shake him. “To be so damn good at your job you’re blind as a bat. How can you possibly not see the way he looks at you?”

 

“Tony, I know you’re trying to help but you’re not.”

 

Tony groaned. “Listen to me, idiot! I ran into Nick yesterday after shift. Dave, we talked about fifteen minutes and for at least ten of those minutes you were all we talked about, you, not cases or sports or politics, you. Get it? He is interested.”

 

“He was probably being polite since he knows we’re friends.”

 

Tony’s head hit the table in frustration.  “You can’t be that stupid.”

 

“Real nice, Tony.”

 

Tony looked up. “Davey, I only want you to be happy. Do you honestly think I’d be saying any of this if I didn’t believe it? I’d never set you up to be hurt like that.”

 

“I know you wouldn’t.” David admitted. “But if he cares about me why hasn’t he made a move?”

 

Tony suddenly found his glass of beer extremely interesting. “He, um, might think we’re together.”

 

“That’s just gross. I mean, no offense but you’re like a brother to me. The thought of having sex with you is just well, disgusting.”


“Thanks for the ego boost.”

 

David rolled his eyes. “Why would he think that anyway?”

 

“I might have, um, led him to believe it.” Tony mumbled.

 

“You might have?”

 

“Okay, I did.”

 

“Anthony Vartann! What the hell did you do that for?”  David yelled, causing everyone in the bar to stare at them.

 

“Can you lower your voice, please?”

 

“Explain, now!” David demanded.

 

“Remember that guy, um, Paul, that computer geek that keep bothering you. I could tell he was creeping you out so I had um, a little chat with him.”

 

“What did you do?” David had always wondered why Paul had suddenly left him alone.

 

 “I simply told him you weren’t interested and if he kept bugging you he would regret it.”

 

“Get to the telling Nick we’re lovers part.”

 

“Yeah, um, Paul asked if we were together and well, I thought if he knew you had a cop for a boyfriend he’d be more inclined to stop.”

 

“So you said we were?”

 

Tony nodded and laughed nervously. “I was pretty pissed when I confronted him. I didn’t even notice who else was in the room.”

 

“Nick?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Jesus Tony, why are you just now telling me about this?”

 

“I knew you’d be angry. Not only did I go behind your back and do it, I outed you too, right in front of Nick.”

 

David could understand that. They had had more then one disagreement over Tony fighting his battles for him.

 

“I didn’t know how you felt about Nick then.” Tony continued. “He looked really upset. I thought he was pissed because he found out  we’re gay but now I think he was so upset because he cared about you, even back then.”

 

It was David’s turn to bang his head on the table. It had been almost a year since Paul had stopped hitting on him. If Tony was right, that was a whole year wasted.

 

**********

 

Nick stared at the text message from David.

 

Meet me on the roof

 

He frowned in confusion. He’d been expecting to hear from David about his results but what was he  doing on the roof? He shook his head in amusement. The tech was probably preparing a demonstration of some sort. The man was becoming more like Greg Sanders every day. He decided it would be best not to mention that to David. After all, it was a long way to the pavement from the roof.

 

************

 

It had been five days since Tony convinced him that Nick might be interested. David had tried on several occasions to talk to the CSI but every time he managed to get him alone one of their cells would ring or someone would breeze right into the room. Some people were just plain rude. Couldn’t they see he was trying to get a date? David hoped he’d solved part of his problem by having Nick meet him on the roof. Surely they would have privacy here.

 

David was getting anxious. What if Tony was wrong? He’d kill him, that’s what he’d do, to hell with their thirty plus years of friendship. He was making a mental list of chemicals he’d need when the door to the roof opened.

 

“David?” Nick poked his head around the door.

 

“Yeah, over here.” David’s heart was beating so loud he was sure Nick could hear it, even though he was on the other side of the roof.

 

“Care to explain why we’re up here?” Nick asked as he got closer. “Does this have anything to do with my results?”

 

Results? Crap! He’d forgotten about the results. He cringed at the idea that Nick could have brought Warrick with him or worse, sent Warrick by himself. “No, I haven’t gotten to them yet.”

 

“Okay so why am I here?” Nick was suddenly irritated.  He didn’t want to be alone with David, especially not this alone. It made him want to do things he knew he couldn’t.

 

Great, he's mad. Why the hell didn’t you think this through? Of course, he’d think this was about his results and you haven’t even done them.

 

“David?”

 

It’s now or never. David took a deep breathe. “I love you.” Whoa! So not what he was going to say.

 

Nick’s eyes widened and a smile briefly appeared on his face before it was replaced by a look of sadness.

 

“I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that. Hell, I didn’t mean to say it at all. I just wanted to ask you out. God, Tony’s right, I am an idiot!”

 

Nick groaned at the man’s name. “I - I can’t do this. I’m sorry.” He started backing towards the door.

 

“Nick, wait please!”

 

“Tony’s a friend. I could never do this to him. I’m sorry.”

 

“Would you stop saying you’re sorry and just listen to me?”

 

“There’s nothing you can say, David. I won’t come between the two of you and I won’t be the other man.”

 

Tony was definitely a dead man. “I know what you think but it’s not true. Tony and I are not lovers and we’ve never been.”

 

“But Tony said…”

 

“Yeah, yeah, I know what Tony said but it was a lie, Nick.”

 

“Why?”

 

“He was trying to protect me. That creep Paul wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

 

“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”


“No and he stopped after Tony told him too.” David smiled reassuringly, touched by Nick's concern.

 

“But I don’t understand. You and Tony seem so close.”

 

“That what comes of knowing someone for thirty some years.”

 

“Thirty years?”

 

“We grew up across the street from each other.”

 

“So the two of you aren’t involved.”

 

“Please, the man is like a brother to me.”

 

“Good to know.” Nick smiled before moving closer and kissing him.

 

“David.”

 

“Mm”

 

“I love you too.”

 

Okay, maybe he’d let Tony live, after all.