Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot!
Note: This fic was inspired by the episode it was named after, despite having nothing to do with it.
It wasn't devastating, but it managed to give them all quite a scare. Especially since it was just like three years ago and it just had to be him that it happened to. Their only consolation was that he hadn't been hurt barring a few minor scrapes and bruises. But still, it shook them all right down to the ground, bringing up awful memories of the last time something like this had happened.
The scene had been cleared and declared safe, and the building had looked mundane enough. They had even been in the room for over an hour before anything had happened. The small office building had only two stories, but they were working on the ground floor. A triple homicide had taken place here, two bodies near the front of the building, and one upstairs. Grissom was working the top floor with the two girls, and Greg, Nick, and Warrick were processing the downstairs. The three boys had spread out, all of them trusting each other to do the job right.
Things happened so fast that at first no one really knew what was happening. Nick was bent over the male body against the back wall, swabbing at a blood pool. Warrick was standing over a desk along the left side of the room, photographing some oddly misplaced papers. Greg was standing by the front wall in front of the large decorative window, photographing the female victim. The young blonde stopped in his work when he noticed a funny smell coming from somewhere to his right. His noise of confusion drew the attention of his two coworkers, who looked up to watch him curiously step closer to one of the myriad desks.
Suddenly there was a noise like thunder contained in a small space as a flash of white lightening temporarily lit the room and Greg was flying through the air, crashing backwards through the window and half skidding half rolling across the street outside. The two others were knocked off their feet by the suddenly blast, but otherwise fine, except for the echo in their ears. As soon as they hit the ground they were right back up, charging towards the window and leaping through the now pane-less frame. The people on the street outside were milling about, some screaming, some crying, all of them confused. A news crew nearby that had been talking about the murders had their camera trained on Greg's still form, directly in the middle of the street.
Nick and Warrick ran straight for their friend, relieved to see that he was conscious and didn't appear to have any obvious injuries. He lay perfectly still on his back, staring up at the sky with a dazed expression, like he couldn't accept that that had just happened. They called to him softly at first, and then yelled his name, but it took a while to get through to him. They figured it to be the trauma of experiencing that two times in one life. He simply stared up at the sky with his eyes and mouth wide open, his body spread eagle on the pavement.
The two older men called for paramedics to be sent over. When Greg finally acknowledged them it was simply to blink up at them with such surprise on his face that he looked lost. The paramedics took very little time to arrive, and when they did they checked him over for injuries. Their quick field examination was fine but they sent him off to the hospital to treat his shock and to check for further damage. Greg was back at the lab working the next night, and he seemed to have no lasting injuries other than an odd tendency to blink overly often. The incident was forgotten about, mostly at Greg's insistence. Until today, that is, when Nick showed up unexpectedly at the younger man's home.
Nick knew Greg was home, he was just getting over a cold. He wouldn't have gone anywhere when there was an opportunity for much needed rest. So the Texan didn't really know why his friend wasn't answering his door. With a shrug he stretched up and wiggled his fingers over the top of the door jam. When they brushed against cold metal he smiled and pulled the spare key down to let himself in to Greg's house, as he had done many times in the past. The inside of the house was quiet compared to most of the other times he had been inside, but he could hear the TV playing in the living room and decided to follow the noise. After he carefully kicked off his shoes and pulled his jacket off, he strolled down the hall and turned in to the den.
And there was Greg, fast asleep on the couch and wrapped in blankets. Nick chuckled to himself and shook his head as he got closer, then he stopped. As endearing as the blonde looked when he was in slumber, that's not what Nick's concentration was drawn to. It was caught on the trim red wire frames perched on the bridge of Greg's nose, a little crooked on his face from him pressed his cheek in to his own shoulder. Nick stepped closer with a look of wonder and bent down to inspect the frames closer. That was when Greg decided to wake up. Nick jumped back as the blonde shifted and groaned, tossing his arms out in a huge stretch.
"Hey G, morning." He called, trying to minimalize the scare he might cause. Greg jumped a little, but opened his eyes slowly and stared up at him groggily, not completely awake. Eventually he slowly sat up with a grin, but halfway off the couch he gasped and snatched the frames from his face and tossed them behind his back. He looked up with a little bit of panic in his face, but Nick just grinned evilly.
"Uh…hey…" Greg replied a little hesitantly. "What's up?" Nick chuckled and shook his head in amusement.
"Oh no way, no way man. I saw them, you can't hide them." He laughed outright at the defeated sigh that emanated from his buddy. "Since when do you wear glasses?" he asked in genuine curiosity. Greg's face flushed a lovely shade of red that matched the blanket that was draped around his shoulders. He flustered about for a moment, trying to find some way to trick Nick in to forgetting about what he'd seen. But Nick was having none of it. Without a warning he leaned forward and stuck his face right in front of Greg's. The blonde was so startled he didn't realize the real plan until it was too late. Nick's arms were behind him and snatching the glasses away before he could vocalize a single protest. He did cry out though when he saw them being lifted away, and made a grab to get them back. Nick just laughed and made tsking noises.
"Come on man," Greg whined, "just leave it be!" He crossed his arms and pouted from his spot on the couch, aware that he looked very much like a dissatisfied child. He couldn't have cared less though. Nick laughed out loud and shook his head. He squatted down on the balls of his feet and unfolded the pair of glasses before reaching up and carefully settling them back on to Greg's face where he'd first seen them. Greg blinked to readjust his eyes, but didn't move otherwise. Nick sat back on his heels, resting his elbows on his knees, and surveyed how different his friend looked. After a long moment of silence, Greg fidgeted uncomfortably and scowled, making Nick grin.
"What? They don't look horrible on you or anything," he assured the younger man. Greg scowled deeper and huddled his shoulders inwards in a deep pout.
"Easy for you to say, at least you look cute in yours," he growled. As soon as the words were past his lips he gaped widely and clapped both hands over his mouth in shock, unable to believe he'd said what he had really been thinking. For a few seconds both men just stared at each other in complete surprise, until Nick cleared his throat and his grin reappeared.
"You think I look cute in my glasses?" he asked. Greg closed his eyes and groaned in to his hands in complete embarrassment. He reopened them when he felt Nick's hands pulling his away from his face. He allowed the Texan to pry them away and dropped them in to his lap, completely unsuspecting. Nick's face had been taken over by a gently serious smile. "You look absolutely adorable in yours," he heard. Then Nick's hands were cupping his face and he gasped just before Nick's face rose to meet his. Their lips touched and he swallowed his breath. His heart stopped beating.
The world around them was on fire, burning away anything that existed except the perfect sensation of that first kiss. Greg's hands wound their way around Nick's shoulders and Nick held on to the younger man's face tenderly, anchoring each other to the world. The Texan found himself drawn forward by some force he wasn't going to bother denying, and soon their bodies were pressed as close together as they could get with him kneeling on the floor between Greg's knees. Their lips moved together without hesitation, perfectly in harmony, and for a moment it was as if they had been doing this every day of their lives. When they separated for air they were both panting for breath. More from the exhilaration than from the exertion.
"How long have you been wearing glasses?" Nick asked in a hushed voice, opening his eyes. His forehead was still pressed against Greg's, not wanting to lose any skin contact. His hands were still softly caressing the soft skin of Greg's cheeks. The blonde made a humming noise of thought before actually answering.
"Since the bomb went off in my face during the Ryman case," he answered without opening his eyes, his voice also hushed. Nick's eyes widened in surprise. Finally Greg peeked at him and smiled at his expression. "The flash burned my retinas. They're almost healed now though. I have to wear contacts at work." His explanation only mostly took away the look of surprise on Nick's face. He wiped the rest away by leaning forward and melding their mouths together again, this time for even longer than before. When they did break apart it was because they moaned in harmony and it made them both laugh.
"Is it totally wrong of me to wish that they wouldn't heal?" Nick asked. "You make quite the sight in those things. Pretty hot." His eyes smoldered, making Greg lose his breath a little. After a couple unsuccessful gasps he gave up, grabbing Nick by the collar and wrenching the older man closer. Nick went willingly, raising himself up on to his feet without breaking contact and lowering himself back down to straddle Greg, pressing him in to the back of the couch. Greg was having trouble letting go of Nick's collar, finding it much too convenient to pull him closer, but he shivered as large warm hands roamed the expanse of his arched back. Nick's weight forced him down in to the cushions at the same time that it pushed their erections together. They both moaned at the contact, Greg finally unclenching his hands and entangling one of them in soft brown hair while using the other to grasp at a strong hip.
Their bodies moved together like something out of an erotic dream; the feelings were almost too delicious to be true. Their hips rocked in sync with each other, sending sparks down spines and tingles through fingertips. As their movements grew more frantic and their breathing sped up, they both realized that it wasn't going to last much longer if they kept this up. As hard as it was, Nick managed to pry himself off of Greg, only to pull the younger man up in to his chest and steer them both down the hallway. As they crashed in to the bedroom doorway Greg felt Nick's hands leave his body and his moaned his disappointment. Then his eyes opened and he moaned again in want. Nick grinned and winked behind the glasses he had just slipped on.
"I'll wear mine if you wear yours," he murmured in a husky, needy voice that turned had Greg weak at the knees. The blonde man grinned too then, suddenly not minding at all the weight of the fames still adorning his face. He bent in for another kiss and dragged Nick towards the bed, swearing in the vaults of his mind to buy fake glasses for when his eyes were completely healed. He had a feeling he was going to want to wear them.