Title: Whatever It Takes
By: it-glitters
Pairing: Greg/Nick
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Series: 1) And Across Town, 2) Rough Start, 3) Simply, Words Stall, 4) Out to lunch, 5) It Ain't Pretty, 6) Crash, 7) A Man to Look After, 8) Sleep to Dream
Summary: The truth can hurt more than the silence.

***

Nick heard the bathroom door slam. He stood there, holding his throbbing cock in his hand as he put his head against the tile. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" He moaned.

He couldn't just run after Greg in his current condition, and he was no longer in the mindset to finish what he had started. He turned the hot water knob completely off and braced himself for the shock.

....

Greg searched for his shoes, only to remember that he had left them in the bedroom before his shower – and there was no way that he was going back in there. He unlocked the door and realized that now he was outside, in his sweats, without keys, and no way to get to... where was he going? He put his face in his hands and leaned against the wall. What was he running from? Obviously, Nick found him sexually appealing, but he had been down that road. Despite being a late bloomer, by thirty he had had his share of sexual adventures – mainly women, but a few men... so what was he so afraid of? He let himself sink to the floor. A few weeks ago he would have been thrilled to know that Nick thought of him when he jerked off. But now... now he was sitting on the floor.

....

Nick waited a bit in the cold water for his arousal to subside before leaving the shower and wrapping himself in a towel. He went into the bedroom to find it empty. He grabbed boxers, sweats, and a shirt from their respective drawers and dressed himself before venturing into the living room. Greg wasn't there either.

'Shit,' he thought. He must have scared Greg off more than he ever imagined possible. He pulled a pair of flip-flops from the closet and grabbed his keys before making it to the unlocked door. He was certain that he had locked it before he and Greg had gone to bed. Greg must have left, but couldn't have gotten far since his shoes were still in the bedroom. Nick opened the door to find Greg sitting on the stoop with his head in his hands.

"G?" The older man said tentatively.

Greg looked up, tears running down his face. "I needed to go to the bathroom. I didn't mean anything."

"C'mon, come inside. The bathroom's free now." A shitty half-hearted attempt at a joke.

Greg started to right his self, but it was obvious that he was in pain.

"Here, let me help you." Warm hands aided Greg into a standing position.

"I have to... uh..."

"Yeah. Go ahead."

....

Nick sat on the couch and waited for Greg to return from the bathroom – or as he liked to think of it now – the place where his life ended.

"So." Greg had returned.

"Yeah."

"You think of me... like that?" Greg wouldn't get any closer to Nick.

"Sometimes..." Silence. "No. Often." More silence. "And more."
Nick prayed for a response. Anything. He wanted Greg to breach the gap that sat between them. He wanted the earth to stand still as they kissed. He wanted to run his hands through the long hair. He wanted to kiss every bruise and make them better. He just needed Greg to speak.

Nothing.

It felt like forever had passed, and neither of them had broken eye contact. Greg's eyes were bloodshot from crying. Nick knew that there was something that he just couldn't understand, something in Greg's life that he had missed, and something that he desperately needed to know.

"You need to take me home."

"Greg, wait, I'm sorry. I can go out. You can stay here, we just need to talk."

"No. I need to go home. Right now. My bag is packed, so either you can take me or I can call a cab."

"I'll call you a cab." There was no way that he could drive him home now – he could barely breathe in the same room as him, let alone a car.

....

The cab came for Greg about a half-hour later and they hadn't spoken a word to each other. Nick helped Greg with his bag and opened the door for him.

"Tell me one thing before you go."

"Fine."

"Do you feel the same?"

Greg looked away, but Nick could see the tears beginning to run down his face.

***

Next story in series - A Man Going Down.