Fic: All the Way To Paris 12/29 (CSI, Nick/Greg, NC17)
More fic, and then I'm going to update the Nick/Greg archive with a link to nekosmuse's great new songvid, which you should check out if you have not yet done so. And if you can't, then it'll be on the archive for easy access whenever you get the chance.
And that's it for me tonight, as the season finale of Survivor starts in half an hour and I am ridiculously addicted for reasons that even I cannot explain.
Nick was halfway across the kitchen before he realized what he was doing, but as soon as he did he stopped himself. It was harder than he expected to keep himself from reaching down to pick up the keys Greg had dropped; it seemed like such a natural thing to do, but something about the look on Greg's face made him stop short. Instead he watched helplessly as Mrs. Sanders put a hand on Greg's shoulder, gently but insistently urging him toward the door.
"You boys go in the living room and catch up," she said, glancing at Nick long enough to smile reassuringly before she turned back to Greg.
He paused long enough to pick up the small stack of CDs he'd left on the kitchen table, then he followed Greg into the living room. When the door swung shut behind them Nick heard the clink of metal as Greg's mother picked up his keys, and he saw the flinch Greg tried to hide. His hands were curled into tight fists at his side, and all Nick wanted to do was reach out and ease his fingers out of their death grip. But Greg still hadn't said a word -- he hadn't even looked at Nick since they left the kitchen -- and Nick had a feeling touching him right now would be disastrous.
It wasn't the first time he'd wondered if this was a bad idea. The look Grissom had given him when he'd asked for time off on short notice was enough to make him doubt his decision, but that wasn't half as awkward as fielding questions from everyone on the night shift about where he was going. Mostly he'd just smiled and changed the subject; he didn't want to lie outright, but it wasn't anybody's business where he was going. Not that any of them needed him to tell them anything -- they'd all guessed exactly where he was going as soon as word got around that he'd put in for leave.
Not even a week of innuendos and weird looks from his coworkers had been as nerve-wracking as the past few minutes, though, and if Greg didn't say something soon Nick was going to do something drastic. He followed Greg up a flight of stairs and down a hall, stopping when they reached what he assumed was Greg's room. There were boxes stacked along one wall, and a single bed under the only window in the room. At first glance it looked like Greg's parents hadn't changed a thing since Greg first moved out, but Nick was too busy watching Greg to worry much about the décor.
"What are you doing here?"
"I told you, you left these behind," Nick answered, but the excuse sounded stupid even to him now that he was actually standing in front of the other man. He held up the stack of CDs, but when Greg didn't move or even relax his death grip on his fingers Nick swallowed a sigh and set the CDs down on the corner of the dresser. "And I knew you weren't going to come back to Vegas."
"So you just show up without even calling? How'd you get my mom to let you in?"
He shrugged at that, a sheepish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I told her who I was and she let me in. She seemed happy to see me."
"Yeah, well, she's never had very discriminating taste."
Nick grinned even more brightly at the insult, because at least if Greg was making jokes it meant he wasn't that upset that Nick had showed up unannounced. And okay, maybe it was a shock to find Nick in his kitchen when he got home from work, but once he got over that Nick knew he'd want to talk. At least he hoped Greg wanted to talk; there was always the chance that Nick had been reading his signals totally wrong, but if he was then Greg had been sending out some pretty weird signals for a long time now.
"She's crazy about you, she's been talking about you non-stop since I got here."
For a second Greg looked down, and if Nick didn't know better he might have thought the other man was blushing. He hadn't realized when he got on the plane that afternoon how hard it was going to be to keep his hands to himself once he was in the same room with Greg again, especially when he found himself in Greg's bedroom. Only they weren't really alone, because Greg's mom was right downstairs, and suddenly Nick felt like a teenager worried about getting busted by his parents.
He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Greg was still staying with his folks; part of him wanted to believe that it meant Greg wasn't putting down roots, that maybe there was a chance he wasn't in California to stay. But Greg had a job now, and Nick didn't want to get his hopes up about something that might not happen. So far he hadn't even been able to talk Greg into coming back to Vegas for a visit, and whenever he brought up the subject Greg either changed it or got defensive.
"So you came all the way out here to bring me some CDs," Greg said, taking a few steps toward the dresser. When he was close enough to touch Nick caught his breath and held it, fighting the urge to reach out as he watched Greg tilt his head to read the titles of the CDs. "Where'd you find these?"
"Melted inside a drawer," Nick admitted, smiling self-consciously when Greg glanced up at him. "I figured the lab replaced everything else, these should be replaced too."
"You got Grissom to approve that?" For a second Greg forgot about his tremor and reached out to pick up one of the CDs, but as soon as he caught sight of his shaking fingers he pulled his hand back again. Nick's heart sank when he realized Greg was embarrassed, but he knew anything he said would just make it worse.
"Not exactly." Nick's shoulders fell as he let out a defeated sigh, his smile turning sheepish. "Maybe it was a dumb excuse, but I wanted to see you. I miss you."
It was the first time he'd actually said the words, and when Greg looked up sharply he wished he could take them back. Neither of them had ever said anything about what they were doing; the whole point of this trip was to figure that out, but suddenly he wasn't so sure Greg was ready for that. He'd been through a lot of changes in the past few months, changes that would be hard enough for most people to deal with. For someone like Greg it had to be even harder to adjust to limitations he'd never dealt with before, and Nick was only starting to realize what those limitations were.
"Look, G..."
"So how long are you staying?" Greg interrupted, and Nick found himself almost grateful. He'd had no idea what he was going to say, and he'd already put his foot in his mouth more than once since Greg got home.
"My flight's on Sunday morning. I tried to get Sunday night off too but Gris didn't go for it. Listen, if this is bad timing..."
"No," Greg said a little too quickly, and this time Nick was sure he was blushing. It was the first sign he'd gotten that this wasn't a huge mistake, and before he even realized what he was doing he was moving forward. When Greg didn't move away Nick took a chance and reached up, resting one hand on Greg's shoulder right at the juncture of his neck. They'd been this close a hundred times before in the lab, and Nick had never really thought that much about it. He'd never let himself think about it, anyway, and now that it was all he could think about he could have kicked himself for wasting so much time.
He knew he should say something else; he'd worked out a whole speech on the plane, but now that Greg was standing right in front of him he couldn't remember any of the words that had seemed so important a few hours ago. All he could think about was the muscles twitching under his fingers and the warmth radiating off Greg through his clothes. He wanted to feel more of that, to slide his hands under Greg's shirt and touch his skin. He wanted Greg to touch him too, but his hands were still clenched at his sides and Nick knew it was because he was trying not to tremble.
He wasn't sure which of them moved first, but suddenly Greg was even closer and when Nick breathed in he caught the familiar scent of cologne mingled with chemicals. It was comforting, in a strange way, and distracting enough that he didn't hear Greg's mother calling for them until after Greg tensed and pulled back. He wanted to ignore the interruption, to reach out and haul Greg forward by the front of his shirt just so he could breathe in that scent again, but before he got the chance Greg pulled out of his grip and took a few steps toward the door.
"Are you staying for dinner?"
"Your mom asked me to." Less than a second ago he could have sworn Greg wanted Nick to kiss him, but just like that all the awkwardness was back and suddenly Nick felt guilty for accepting the dinner invitation without waiting to find out if it was okay with Greg. "But if that's not cool I can head back to the hotel and give you a call in the morning."
Greg was shaking his head before Nick even finished. The force of Nick's relief took him by surprise, and he didn't bother fighting the grin that lit up his features. "She'll never let you out of here without feeding you first."
When Greg smiled Nick's stomach did a little flip, and he was glad he hadn't eaten anything yet. He hadn't planned for dinner with Greg's parents on his first visit, but as long as Greg wasn't kicking him out he wasn't going to complain.
And that's it for me tonight, as the season finale of Survivor starts in half an hour and I am ridiculously addicted for reasons that even I cannot explain.
Nick was halfway across the kitchen before he realized what he was doing, but as soon as he did he stopped himself. It was harder than he expected to keep himself from reaching down to pick up the keys Greg had dropped; it seemed like such a natural thing to do, but something about the look on Greg's face made him stop short. Instead he watched helplessly as Mrs. Sanders put a hand on Greg's shoulder, gently but insistently urging him toward the door.
"You boys go in the living room and catch up," she said, glancing at Nick long enough to smile reassuringly before she turned back to Greg.
He paused long enough to pick up the small stack of CDs he'd left on the kitchen table, then he followed Greg into the living room. When the door swung shut behind them Nick heard the clink of metal as Greg's mother picked up his keys, and he saw the flinch Greg tried to hide. His hands were curled into tight fists at his side, and all Nick wanted to do was reach out and ease his fingers out of their death grip. But Greg still hadn't said a word -- he hadn't even looked at Nick since they left the kitchen -- and Nick had a feeling touching him right now would be disastrous.
It wasn't the first time he'd wondered if this was a bad idea. The look Grissom had given him when he'd asked for time off on short notice was enough to make him doubt his decision, but that wasn't half as awkward as fielding questions from everyone on the night shift about where he was going. Mostly he'd just smiled and changed the subject; he didn't want to lie outright, but it wasn't anybody's business where he was going. Not that any of them needed him to tell them anything -- they'd all guessed exactly where he was going as soon as word got around that he'd put in for leave.
Not even a week of innuendos and weird looks from his coworkers had been as nerve-wracking as the past few minutes, though, and if Greg didn't say something soon Nick was going to do something drastic. He followed Greg up a flight of stairs and down a hall, stopping when they reached what he assumed was Greg's room. There were boxes stacked along one wall, and a single bed under the only window in the room. At first glance it looked like Greg's parents hadn't changed a thing since Greg first moved out, but Nick was too busy watching Greg to worry much about the décor.
"What are you doing here?"
"I told you, you left these behind," Nick answered, but the excuse sounded stupid even to him now that he was actually standing in front of the other man. He held up the stack of CDs, but when Greg didn't move or even relax his death grip on his fingers Nick swallowed a sigh and set the CDs down on the corner of the dresser. "And I knew you weren't going to come back to Vegas."
"So you just show up without even calling? How'd you get my mom to let you in?"
He shrugged at that, a sheepish grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I told her who I was and she let me in. She seemed happy to see me."
"Yeah, well, she's never had very discriminating taste."
Nick grinned even more brightly at the insult, because at least if Greg was making jokes it meant he wasn't that upset that Nick had showed up unannounced. And okay, maybe it was a shock to find Nick in his kitchen when he got home from work, but once he got over that Nick knew he'd want to talk. At least he hoped Greg wanted to talk; there was always the chance that Nick had been reading his signals totally wrong, but if he was then Greg had been sending out some pretty weird signals for a long time now.
"She's crazy about you, she's been talking about you non-stop since I got here."
For a second Greg looked down, and if Nick didn't know better he might have thought the other man was blushing. He hadn't realized when he got on the plane that afternoon how hard it was going to be to keep his hands to himself once he was in the same room with Greg again, especially when he found himself in Greg's bedroom. Only they weren't really alone, because Greg's mom was right downstairs, and suddenly Nick felt like a teenager worried about getting busted by his parents.
He wasn't sure what to make of the fact that Greg was still staying with his folks; part of him wanted to believe that it meant Greg wasn't putting down roots, that maybe there was a chance he wasn't in California to stay. But Greg had a job now, and Nick didn't want to get his hopes up about something that might not happen. So far he hadn't even been able to talk Greg into coming back to Vegas for a visit, and whenever he brought up the subject Greg either changed it or got defensive.
"So you came all the way out here to bring me some CDs," Greg said, taking a few steps toward the dresser. When he was close enough to touch Nick caught his breath and held it, fighting the urge to reach out as he watched Greg tilt his head to read the titles of the CDs. "Where'd you find these?"
"Melted inside a drawer," Nick admitted, smiling self-consciously when Greg glanced up at him. "I figured the lab replaced everything else, these should be replaced too."
"You got Grissom to approve that?" For a second Greg forgot about his tremor and reached out to pick up one of the CDs, but as soon as he caught sight of his shaking fingers he pulled his hand back again. Nick's heart sank when he realized Greg was embarrassed, but he knew anything he said would just make it worse.
"Not exactly." Nick's shoulders fell as he let out a defeated sigh, his smile turning sheepish. "Maybe it was a dumb excuse, but I wanted to see you. I miss you."
It was the first time he'd actually said the words, and when Greg looked up sharply he wished he could take them back. Neither of them had ever said anything about what they were doing; the whole point of this trip was to figure that out, but suddenly he wasn't so sure Greg was ready for that. He'd been through a lot of changes in the past few months, changes that would be hard enough for most people to deal with. For someone like Greg it had to be even harder to adjust to limitations he'd never dealt with before, and Nick was only starting to realize what those limitations were.
"Look, G..."
"So how long are you staying?" Greg interrupted, and Nick found himself almost grateful. He'd had no idea what he was going to say, and he'd already put his foot in his mouth more than once since Greg got home.
"My flight's on Sunday morning. I tried to get Sunday night off too but Gris didn't go for it. Listen, if this is bad timing..."
"No," Greg said a little too quickly, and this time Nick was sure he was blushing. It was the first sign he'd gotten that this wasn't a huge mistake, and before he even realized what he was doing he was moving forward. When Greg didn't move away Nick took a chance and reached up, resting one hand on Greg's shoulder right at the juncture of his neck. They'd been this close a hundred times before in the lab, and Nick had never really thought that much about it. He'd never let himself think about it, anyway, and now that it was all he could think about he could have kicked himself for wasting so much time.
He knew he should say something else; he'd worked out a whole speech on the plane, but now that Greg was standing right in front of him he couldn't remember any of the words that had seemed so important a few hours ago. All he could think about was the muscles twitching under his fingers and the warmth radiating off Greg through his clothes. He wanted to feel more of that, to slide his hands under Greg's shirt and touch his skin. He wanted Greg to touch him too, but his hands were still clenched at his sides and Nick knew it was because he was trying not to tremble.
He wasn't sure which of them moved first, but suddenly Greg was even closer and when Nick breathed in he caught the familiar scent of cologne mingled with chemicals. It was comforting, in a strange way, and distracting enough that he didn't hear Greg's mother calling for them until after Greg tensed and pulled back. He wanted to ignore the interruption, to reach out and haul Greg forward by the front of his shirt just so he could breathe in that scent again, but before he got the chance Greg pulled out of his grip and took a few steps toward the door.
"Are you staying for dinner?"
"Your mom asked me to." Less than a second ago he could have sworn Greg wanted Nick to kiss him, but just like that all the awkwardness was back and suddenly Nick felt guilty for accepting the dinner invitation without waiting to find out if it was okay with Greg. "But if that's not cool I can head back to the hotel and give you a call in the morning."
Greg was shaking his head before Nick even finished. The force of Nick's relief took him by surprise, and he didn't bother fighting the grin that lit up his features. "She'll never let you out of here without feeding you first."
When Greg smiled Nick's stomach did a little flip, and he was glad he hadn't eaten anything yet. He hadn't planned for dinner with Greg's parents on his first visit, but as long as Greg wasn't kicking him out he wasn't going to complain.