Fic: Two on the Couch, Chapter 3/4 (CSI, Nick Stokes/ Greg Sanders)
Title: Two on the Couch 3/4
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Nick Stokes / Greg Sanders
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc
Feedback: Makes the World Turn
Chapter 1/4
Chapter 2/4
Nick was leaning against the desk at the reception when Greg walked to the lobby.
“Nicky?”
“Hey. I called to your lab and some guy said you were going to leave around five.”
“Yeah, Mike said somebody called, but couldn’t remember a name. What are
you doing here?”
“Well… I was gonna drop by and ask if you wanted to go for a dinner and
a movie? With me? Today?”
“Dinner and a movie?” Greg tilted his head to the side and looked at Nick for
a long time. Then he suddenly started giggling. “I should have guessed you
would go for something totally conventional.”
“You think it’s boring, don’t you…?”
“Normally yes. But when you do it, it’s actually pretty adorable.”
“So, is that a yes?”
“It is. Let’s go.”
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Nick opened his eyes and blinked few times, trying to adjust to the dark
surroundings. A warm body sensed his movements and snuggled closer, burying
a mess of soft hair against Nick’s shoulder. Nick wrapped his arm around Greg
and let his thoughts wander.
It had been two weeks since he run into Greg in Red Line. This was the third
night he slept in the same bed with Greg. A third night in long time that he hadn’t
woken up because of nightmares. He hadn’t had any of them.
“Nick, it’s your night off.” Greg mumbled against Nick’s chest. “Sleep
when you can.”
“I thought you were asleep.”
“How can I sleep when my pillow starts moving in the middle of the night…”
Greg’s voice was quickly turning into sleepy murmur, and it was followed
by a soft snore.
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“If your gonna make pancakes every time I spend the night here, I think I’ll
move in.” Greg grinned and started emptying his plate. Nick sat down on the
opposite side of the table and looked at him.
“Is there something on my face?”
“No, just looking.”
“I gotta warn you. For the first month the staring thing can be sweet, then it
turns to creepy.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nick smirked and took a sip from his coffee. When
Greg first came to visit his place, he had brought his own coffee with him,
and made it very clear that coffee was one of the few things in life he never
negotiated. Nick had to admit that after a good sleep, Greg’s coffee was like
the icing on the cake. Especially, since they didn’t have that many opportu-
nities to wake up together and spend the morning without one of
them rushing to work.
“You got plans for Saturday?” Nick asked.
“No. You got Saturday night off, right.”
“Yeah. The gang from the lab’s having a game night at Warrick’s.
Watch the Match, have some beer, stuff like that.”
“So?”
“So, you wanna go?”
“Why? I wasn’t invited when I worked in the lab, why would I go there now?”
“Because it’s a game night, and guys would be happy to see you.”
“Nicky..” Greg put down his fork. “Did you ever consider, that maybe I don’t
want to meet them? I’ve been in Vegas for three months. Don’t you think I
would have already contacted them if I wanted to meet them?”
“I…I mean…”Nick stammered. “I just don’t get it.”
“Nick, Warrick was always your friend, but not mine. If you want to spend
the night there, then go ahead. I don’t mind. But I don’t want to go there
with you.”
“But Warrick was your friend too.”
“No he wasn’t. Tell me one friend thing that me and Warrick did.”
“Friend thing?”
“Something that friends do together. Outside of work. You and Warrick
have game nights and going to a bar for couple of beers. What did I
have with him?”
Nick thought about it, but couldn’t come up with anything.
“That’s exactly what I mean. I never even saw him outside of the lab. And
when we were in the lab, he was anything but friendly.”
“It wasn’t like that! It was just teasing! Guys do that.”
“No it wasn’t! Every time I told him about my results he had that look
on his face.”
“What look?”
“That look, when he looked liked I was a poodle who just pissed on the carpet
and was expecting to get a treat for that. I think he would like to insert his
samples into a machine that just prints out the results and he wouldn’t need to
deal with an actual human being.”
“Okay, maybe he was a bit rough on you, but the job takes it’s toll and everyone
has to deal with it.”
“And to deal with it it’s normal to use co-workers as a mental punching bag?
You know full well I was damn good at my job. But for some reason nobody
cared about that!”
“G, your exaggerating-”
“I’m not! And Sara and Catherine were just the same as Warrick. I did my job
well, I did everything I could to please all of them, and it was all for nothing.
At least Grissom is honest about it. He’s rude to people and doesn’t pretend to
be something he isn’t. Those three… I think they really think they are nice
people!”
Nick looked helpless and Greg’s tone turned softer. “I just got more than
enough of pleasing people. In Red Line people like me. Honestly, they do.
And I didn’t need to change anything about myself to reach that.”
“I believe that, G.” Nick said soothingly.
“And it makes me think, why people in the lab didn’t.”
“They liked you.”
“Who knows. But it definitely didn’t feel like that.” Greg smiled a little. “And
don’t look like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like that. We just had a tiny, little argument, we`re not breaking up.”
“Can’t help it. I sometimes get that weird fear.”
“What fear?”
“Fear that one day you’ll just leave again.”
Greg reached across the table and grabbed Nick’s hand.
“Nicky, I’m not going anywhere. And more importantly…”
“What?”
“Are you gonna eat those pancakes or can I have them?”
TBC