Fic: The Devil On the Stairs (CSI, Nick/Greg, R)
Tonight, in a very special edition of the Subtext Report, I bring you:
CSI Subtext Theater presents "The Devil on the Stairs" -- A Missing Scene from
Episode 3.06: The Execution of Catherine Willows
Greg let himself into the house and dropped his keys on the table near the door. He had no idea where Nick was; usually they saw each other at the end of shift, but tonight Nick hadn't come into the lab and by the time Greg finished all his work the rest of the night shift was long gone. He didn't expect Nick to wait around for him, but it kind of hurt to be blown off completely.
He heard a loud bang from the end of the hall and headed toward the sound, stopping in the bathroom door to watch Nick fumbling with the bottles lined up on top of the medicine cabinet.
"Hey."
Nick glanced over his shoulder and nodded before turning his back on Greg again. "Hey. Where've you been?"
"Working." Greg tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Nick had barely glanced at him before going back to cleaning the bathroom. "Catherine was on a rampage tonight, I've been totally swamped. I mean it was a heavy case and all, but she didn't have to be such a bitch." He paused and waited for Nick to look up, but the other man didn't even seem to be listening. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"Needs to be done, right?" Nick did glance up at him then, letting out a heavy sigh when he registered Greg's expression. "Sorry. Guess everybody had a rough shift. I just...that house, you know? I can't get clean."
He shuddered at the memory and Greg instantly forgot all about Catherine and his own workload. He pushed himself off the doorframe and reached for the rag Nick was holding, dropping it on the sink before he reached for the hem of Nick's shirt.
He knew enough about what went on in the field to know there were some nights when Nick couldn't just leave the case at work. Sometimes -- most of the time -- he could shake it off, but every once in awhile he had a hard time letting go. There was no way to know what would set any of them off, but Greg knew what he could do to help now.
Nick let Greg pull his shirt off, then leaned back against the sink as Greg turned on the shower. "I already tried that, G. It didn't help."
"Humor me." Greg grinned as cheerfully as he could as he pulled his own shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. The next minute or so was spent in silence, Greg methodically removing their clothes while Nick stood patiently and let him. And he knew Nick was having a rough night if he was letting Greg do all the work; generally he was a take-charge kind of guy, and if Greg wanted the upper hand he usually had to fight for it. So he felt a little bad about the thrill he got when Nick just stood there and let him do whatever he wanted, but it was nice to know the other man trusted him this much.
When they were both undressed Greg herded Nick into the shower, turning his back long enough to reach for the soap. He smiled when he felt a strong hand slide down his back, the skin of Nick's palm rough from hard work and the chemicals they used at work. He suppressed a shiver at the touch and turned around again, gently pushing Nick's hands away when the other man reached for him.
"Shower. Soap. Clean. Remember?" Greg grinned and smoothed the bar of soap over Nick's damp chest, working it into a lather before he moved on to first the left arm, then the right. When he reached Nick's hands he lifted each one carefully, placing a kiss in the center of each palm before he scrubbed it too. "You've gotta be more careful in the lab. Your skin's a little discolored right here."
He traced the slight yellowing on the heel of Nick's hand with a fingertip before glancing up at the other man. It was the first time he'd let himself look at Nick's face since he'd started the process of cleaning him, and his heart skipped a beat when he registered the other man's expression. They didn't spend a lot of time talking about feelings -- they didn't really spend a lot of time talking at all -- but he thought he knew how Nick felt about him. He was pretty sure Nick felt the same way he did, even if they'd never get around to saying it.
There were times when he had his doubts, though, when he wondered if maybe he needed Nick a little more than Nick needed him. But looking at Nick now he could see the gratitude in the other man's eyes, he could see affection too and something else that he didn't dare put a name to. Nick looked tired; there were lines around his eyes and even though they weren't even close to done with their shower Greg had the sudden urge to dry him off and put him to bed. Instead he reached out and touched Nick's forehead, smoothing out worry lines with his thumb. "Feeling any better yet?"
"Yeah," Nick answered, and even though Greg could tell he was lying he didn't argue. There was nothing that could really erase the worst cases except time, and four dead girls was a lot to forget, even if three of them had died fifteen years ago. But he was willing to try, and whatever Nick wanted Greg would give him. He let himself be pulled forward for a long, slow kiss, the kind that made his toes curl and didn't happen nearly often enough for his taste. When they finally parted he was breathing heavily and he knew his face was probably flushed, but he just smiled and slid out of Nick's embrace.
"Turn around and I'll do your back," he said, grinning at the soft laugh Nick let out before he turned and braced his hands against the wall.
Greg sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before him, doing his best to ignore the stirring in his cock and focus on the task at hand. After all, he knew Nick was worth the wait.
fin
So first it was making out in the front seat of the Tahoe, now it's bathrooms. I go through fetishes quickly. And don't go expecting this every time there's a subtext-light episode. I was feeling particularly inspired is all.
Without a Trace episode 1.04: "Between the Cracks"
So I hope everyone caught the fact that by this episode Danny and Martin are living together, because that's about all the subtext you're getting out of this episode, aside from the boytouching as Martin leaves the conference area, and if you blink you miss that scene. However, he does it in front of the entire team, so that's telling. As I said in my preview, the writers got wise to us by this episode and started a) pushing the Sam/Martin, and b) inserting a third party into almost all of Martin and Danny's interaction.
But they cannot fool us, because we all caught the fact that Martin has been staying at Danny's place in Queens, and obviously driving Danny a little crazy complaining about the commute from the old neighborhood. He's a Fitzgerald, after all, so he's used to better. That means Manhattan, and Danny doesn't want to move to Manhattan and waste all that money on rent when they have a perfectly nice place in Queens. With the bathtub in the bathroom and everything.
Perhaps there will be bathtub fic in the offing. Or possibly apartment hunting fic. But I'm not promising anything, I'm just feeling guilty for the lackluster quality of tonight's subtext report. Tomorrow will be better.
It was nice to see Danny lose his cool a little, though. That Goran guy was a complete creep, of course, so it was satisfying to see Danny and his head bump in action. Although what was up with his three-piece pinstriped suit? It was so horribly ill-fitting, and he looked like he was going to a jazz club, not working a case. Then again, Martin was sporting the checkered shirt again tonight, so perhaps the wardrobe department just has it in for both of them. Or maybe the wardrobe department is in desperate need of a visit from Wayne and Stacy of "What Not To Wear". I'm just saying. Wayne would never have let Danny out in that three-piece monstrosity.
And also, GIP. I felt since "High and Low" will be on tomorrow that an episode-related icon was in order. Jealousy looks good on Greg.
CSI Subtext Theater presents "The Devil on the Stairs" -- A Missing Scene from
Episode 3.06: The Execution of Catherine Willows
Greg let himself into the house and dropped his keys on the table near the door. He had no idea where Nick was; usually they saw each other at the end of shift, but tonight Nick hadn't come into the lab and by the time Greg finished all his work the rest of the night shift was long gone. He didn't expect Nick to wait around for him, but it kind of hurt to be blown off completely.
He heard a loud bang from the end of the hall and headed toward the sound, stopping in the bathroom door to watch Nick fumbling with the bottles lined up on top of the medicine cabinet.
"Hey."
Nick glanced over his shoulder and nodded before turning his back on Greg again. "Hey. Where've you been?"
"Working." Greg tried to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but it was hard to ignore the fact that Nick had barely glanced at him before going back to cleaning the bathroom. "Catherine was on a rampage tonight, I've been totally swamped. I mean it was a heavy case and all, but she didn't have to be such a bitch." He paused and waited for Nick to look up, but the other man didn't even seem to be listening. "What are you doing, anyway?"
"Needs to be done, right?" Nick did glance up at him then, letting out a heavy sigh when he registered Greg's expression. "Sorry. Guess everybody had a rough shift. I just...that house, you know? I can't get clean."
He shuddered at the memory and Greg instantly forgot all about Catherine and his own workload. He pushed himself off the doorframe and reached for the rag Nick was holding, dropping it on the sink before he reached for the hem of Nick's shirt.
He knew enough about what went on in the field to know there were some nights when Nick couldn't just leave the case at work. Sometimes -- most of the time -- he could shake it off, but every once in awhile he had a hard time letting go. There was no way to know what would set any of them off, but Greg knew what he could do to help now.
Nick let Greg pull his shirt off, then leaned back against the sink as Greg turned on the shower. "I already tried that, G. It didn't help."
"Humor me." Greg grinned as cheerfully as he could as he pulled his own shirt over his head and dropped it on the floor. The next minute or so was spent in silence, Greg methodically removing their clothes while Nick stood patiently and let him. And he knew Nick was having a rough night if he was letting Greg do all the work; generally he was a take-charge kind of guy, and if Greg wanted the upper hand he usually had to fight for it. So he felt a little bad about the thrill he got when Nick just stood there and let him do whatever he wanted, but it was nice to know the other man trusted him this much.
When they were both undressed Greg herded Nick into the shower, turning his back long enough to reach for the soap. He smiled when he felt a strong hand slide down his back, the skin of Nick's palm rough from hard work and the chemicals they used at work. He suppressed a shiver at the touch and turned around again, gently pushing Nick's hands away when the other man reached for him.
"Shower. Soap. Clean. Remember?" Greg grinned and smoothed the bar of soap over Nick's damp chest, working it into a lather before he moved on to first the left arm, then the right. When he reached Nick's hands he lifted each one carefully, placing a kiss in the center of each palm before he scrubbed it too. "You've gotta be more careful in the lab. Your skin's a little discolored right here."
He traced the slight yellowing on the heel of Nick's hand with a fingertip before glancing up at the other man. It was the first time he'd let himself look at Nick's face since he'd started the process of cleaning him, and his heart skipped a beat when he registered the other man's expression. They didn't spend a lot of time talking about feelings -- they didn't really spend a lot of time talking at all -- but he thought he knew how Nick felt about him. He was pretty sure Nick felt the same way he did, even if they'd never get around to saying it.
There were times when he had his doubts, though, when he wondered if maybe he needed Nick a little more than Nick needed him. But looking at Nick now he could see the gratitude in the other man's eyes, he could see affection too and something else that he didn't dare put a name to. Nick looked tired; there were lines around his eyes and even though they weren't even close to done with their shower Greg had the sudden urge to dry him off and put him to bed. Instead he reached out and touched Nick's forehead, smoothing out worry lines with his thumb. "Feeling any better yet?"
"Yeah," Nick answered, and even though Greg could tell he was lying he didn't argue. There was nothing that could really erase the worst cases except time, and four dead girls was a lot to forget, even if three of them had died fifteen years ago. But he was willing to try, and whatever Nick wanted Greg would give him. He let himself be pulled forward for a long, slow kiss, the kind that made his toes curl and didn't happen nearly often enough for his taste. When they finally parted he was breathing heavily and he knew his face was probably flushed, but he just smiled and slid out of Nick's embrace.
"Turn around and I'll do your back," he said, grinning at the soft laugh Nick let out before he turned and braced his hands against the wall.
Greg sucked in a sharp breath at the sight before him, doing his best to ignore the stirring in his cock and focus on the task at hand. After all, he knew Nick was worth the wait.
fin
So first it was making out in the front seat of the Tahoe, now it's bathrooms. I go through fetishes quickly. And don't go expecting this every time there's a subtext-light episode. I was feeling particularly inspired is all.
Without a Trace episode 1.04: "Between the Cracks"
So I hope everyone caught the fact that by this episode Danny and Martin are living together, because that's about all the subtext you're getting out of this episode, aside from the boytouching as Martin leaves the conference area, and if you blink you miss that scene. However, he does it in front of the entire team, so that's telling. As I said in my preview, the writers got wise to us by this episode and started a) pushing the Sam/Martin, and b) inserting a third party into almost all of Martin and Danny's interaction.
But they cannot fool us, because we all caught the fact that Martin has been staying at Danny's place in Queens, and obviously driving Danny a little crazy complaining about the commute from the old neighborhood. He's a Fitzgerald, after all, so he's used to better. That means Manhattan, and Danny doesn't want to move to Manhattan and waste all that money on rent when they have a perfectly nice place in Queens. With the bathtub in the bathroom and everything.
Perhaps there will be bathtub fic in the offing. Or possibly apartment hunting fic. But I'm not promising anything, I'm just feeling guilty for the lackluster quality of tonight's subtext report. Tomorrow will be better.
It was nice to see Danny lose his cool a little, though. That Goran guy was a complete creep, of course, so it was satisfying to see Danny and his head bump in action. Although what was up with his three-piece pinstriped suit? It was so horribly ill-fitting, and he looked like he was going to a jazz club, not working a case. Then again, Martin was sporting the checkered shirt again tonight, so perhaps the wardrobe department just has it in for both of them. Or maybe the wardrobe department is in desperate need of a visit from Wayne and Stacy of "What Not To Wear". I'm just saying. Wayne would never have let Danny out in that three-piece monstrosity.
And also, GIP. I felt since "High and Low" will be on tomorrow that an episode-related icon was in order. Jealousy looks good on Greg.