Summary: Nick finds Greg puddle-jumping. Slash but kinda more pre-slash.
AN: I just wrote this one and it doesn't go with the other Nick/Greg story's I have but I think these ones gonna have a second chapter so stay tuned for that. Takes place after Grave-Danger. Might be a little sucky and watch out for mistakes, I spell checked but I always miss something. I think there will be more chapters to this although I do much better writing stand-alone because I have commitment issues, lol, but still stay tuned. Plus I'm writing more stand-alone follow-ups to my other Greg/Nick stories.
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Rain was rare in Vegas and Nick had spent all night listening to his co-workers curse mother nature and complain about the unexpected downpour. He didn't really have an opinion though because really, it was only rain and he'd stopped getting upset with silly things like that since he nearly died in an underground grave. They were too busy smothering him with kindness to ask his opinion on anything though.
He stood under the small roof that jutted out over the front door of the station while fishing his keys from his pocket and popping open his umbrella. He liked the sound of rain. Liked how the heavy drops slapping against the pavement and the hoods of cars sounded and realized it was a sound he never stopped to appreciate before. He'd been doing a lot of that lately, stopping to appreciate things that had always just been there. Just as he stepped out from beneath the roof and the raindrops began to ricochet off the top of his umbrella something caught his attention. A person, in the middle of the parking lot with his hands outstretched towards the skies.
They'd all noticed the change in Greg. All wondered if they changed like that too after passing their proficiency tests. It was different with Greg though. Because the old Greg was the one they looked to when things got too hard. When they had a murdered child on their hands or a missing mother Greg was there and somehow always managed to get a smile on their faces. At least he was always able to get a smile on Nick's face. Because the old Greg was wacky and zany, innocent and wide eyed, eager, enthusiastic, brilliant and full of faith in life and in people. The new Greg was more like them, more willing to except the bad in people, the new Greg smiled less. But he was still eager, still brilliant, and still beautiful. Nick shook his head. Where had that come from?
But Greg did look pretty beautiful right now. His khaki's were drenched to the knee and his shirt was clinging to his body like a second skin. Just the smallest hint of flesh peaked out between the waist of his pants and the bottom of his t-shirt from stretching his arms like that, like he was trying to touch the sky. This seemed like something the old Greg would do. Maybe Greg wasn't gone at all; maybe it just took a rare thunderstorm to bring him out.
"You're going to catch your death", Greg's eyes slid open and he dropped his hands to his sides, used one hand to slick back his hair and grinned at Nick.
"Thanks Mama-Stokes". Nick felt silly all the sudden, silly for being the one with the umbrella. Silly for being practical. "I'm puddle jumping" Greg explained like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Pass-time I perfected when I was a kid in New York, it doesn't rain nearly enough out here". This was strange; they were holding a conversation in the middle of a rainstorm, Nick under the safety of his underused umbrella and Greg with water cascading off of him like it was nothing.
"I thought you grew up in California", and that was all he could think to say? Greg shrugged.
"Summers in Cali with dad and grandpa, winters in New York with mom and the evil step-father", and then Greg was spinning, flapping his arms like wings and Nick wondered when he was going to fall over in dizziness. But he never did fall and suddenly he was running, sneakers pounding against the pavement, launching himself into the air and landing feet first in a pothole overflowing with water. The splash was big and Greg looked satisfied. Child-like giggles escaped from between his lips and Nick felt something weird in his stomach, and his heart. And then Greg was walking towards him, grabbing his umbrella and throwing it over his head, letting the wind pick it up and then drop it some feet away. Nick felt the water bounce against his skin and it felt good. It was freeing and calming and he wanted to spin and jump in puddles and suddenly Greg Sanders mind wasn't such a foreign planet. He felt the smile on his face, the first real smile in a while and Greg grinned in triumph.
"It's fun right?" Greg asked and Nick nodded. It had been a while since he'd had fun, since anyone had wanted him to have fun. They mostly wanted him to sit down, to talk about how he was feeling. They mostly expected him to be broken and wanted to fix him. Not Greg though Nick realized. Greg had been the first one not to treat him like a package stamped 'fragile', the first one to treat him normally. There was a long moment of staring, the rain pounding down hard around them. In any good chick flick this would be the part where they would kiss Nick realized. As tempting as Greg's lips looked right now, as much as he felt like it would be the right thing this was all to confusing. Five minutes ago all he had been thinking about was going home, now he was in love with Greg? Suddenly the sky was illuminated, a thick lightening bolt crashed across the sky and Nick watched the light bounce off Greg's face.
"We should get out of here Greg… don't wanna get struck by lightening".
The younger man just smiled though. "The best part of puddle-jumping is hot chocolate afterwards, there aren't many opportunities to drink hot chocolate in Vegas Nicky and I say we take this one… ya wanna come over? I make a mean hot-chocolate". Nick took a deep breath,
"That sounds great". As they were walking towards their cars Nick decided to make a list of things he was beginning to appreciate, things he had never realized were so important to him until now.
What do you guys think? I love feedback, good or not, good is appreciated, lol.