Living In Secret
Summary: Nick lets Greg know he isn't living in secret. NickGreg.
A.N.: Shift split does not exist in this fiction story, but Greg is still a CSI Level 1. I'm not making sense to myself today so ignore me and read. P.S. Thanks Jeff for the idea :)
"I'm sick of living in secret!" Greg screamed at Nick from across 'their' living room. He only called it 'their' living room because they seemed to spend more time there than at his house or out in public where according to Nick 'anyone could see them'.
"We aren't, Greg!" Nick shouted back.
"We're not exactly telling the truth either. Remember last shift when Warrick joked that you hadn't gotten laid in so long that you may as well be gay, you went red and started to ramble," he flopped down onto the couch, suddenly exhausted, "But you didn't tell him you were, you just stayed quiet and let him believe you were just in a dry patch. And I'm tired of being a secret you carry around with you."
Nick took a seat next to Greg, close enough that he could reach over and hold his hand if he was allowed to, and far enough that Greg could still have his own personal space and not feel stifled by him.
"I'm sorry," Nick said softly, looking at the space between them and not at Greg, "I've just never been comfortable with people knowing about my private life," he shrugged at the end, finally looking up at Greg's face, seeing tears in his eyes. He reached over and threaded his fingers with Greg's.
Greg squeezed Nick's hand before pulling his hand away and standing up to leave, turning his back to Nick. "Nick, I'm as much a part of your private life and your work life, and both always bleed into each other. So if you don't want people to know about us, we can't be together anymore," he looked over his shoulder to judge Nick's reaction - which was as expected - and left Nick's house, part of his heart staying behind too.
.-
"We're all together tonight," was the first thing Grissom said as he walked through the door into the break room.
"Hello to you too," Cath said, smirking when Grissom winked at her.
"Hi…anyway, I've just received a call about a triple homicide in a hotel room at the Bellagio and was told that we were requested by the officers on the scene. When we get there, Brass is updating us on victims' known bios and who found the bodies then Warrick, Cath and Sara, I want you to process the scene. Be thorough, look for anything and everything…"
"…Grissom, we know the drill," Sara said, smiling when Cath grinned at her interruption.
"Yes, you do, I'm sorry," he turned to Nick and Greg who'd been quiet through briefing so far, something which he'd noticed as soon as he'd walked in, which is why he regretted sticking them together, "…Nick and Greg, I want you to process the bodies on scene. Fibres, fingerprints, blood samples, photos, the full works," he smiled apologetically at them before leaving the room, Cath, Warrick and Sara hot on his heels.
Greg polished off the cold coffee he'd made before Grissom had arrived and went to leave but stopped when Nick said his name quietly.
"Greg."
Greg turned to face him, hand still on the door, and looked at him, before walking through the door and off to the crime scene.
.-
Together they'd processed two of the three bodies, only talking about the case and not the thing Nick was afraid of happening. Nick kept looking lovingly and apologetically at Greg whilst Greg was pretending to ignore him and not focus on the fast-paced beating of his heart.
"Greg?" Nick whispered to him over Brian Timmins' body, "Can we talk after shift?"
Greg shook his head, "No, I'm going home to sleep because I didn't last night, or the night before, or the night before that."
Nick sighed, "You can't avoid me forever."
"Just you watch…Hey Sara!" Greg said brightly to Sara who was standing over Nick's shoulder, "What can we do for you?"
She eyed Greg warily before saying, "Grissom wants us all to take a fifteen minute break. I was wondering if you both wouldn't mind going to get coffee for us," she pointed over her shoulder to Warrick, Cath and Grissom who were theorising on the case.
"Not at all," Nick said, flashing Sara a bright smile and standing up, hooking Greg's elbow and leading him out of the hotel room and down to Nick's waiting Denali, "We're going to talk whether you like it or not!" he hissed before opening the door for Greg and almost pushing him in. When they pulled up in front of the local Starbucks, Nick turned the ignition off and locked the doors when Greg went to escape, "You're not going anywhere."
"This is kidnap!" he exclaimed, "And you're stupid." Greg opened the door from the inside and went into the café.
.-
By the time they got back to the crime scene, both Nick and Greg were tense and frustrated; something which the other CSI's didn't miss. Rather than say anything though and elevate their moods; Sara, Warrick and Cath - Grissom was too busy to notice - stayed quiet, just looking between them, and trying to silently figure out what was going on.
They all finished processing the room at the same time as Grissom walked in and declared that a suspect had been seen fleeing the hotel and was being detained at the Monaco casino for theft. Sara and Cath groaned.
"So we did this for nothing?" Warrick said, snapping off his gloves and packing up his kit, like everyone else.
"Well, we still have to tie the perp to the scene, so no, you didn't, but you can take all this back to the lab and let a rookie log it in before going home for the rest of the night," Grissom said sweetly, leaving Sara and Cath fuming in his wake.
Sara and Cath left Nick, Greg and Warrick, still grumbling about Grissom's declaration as they made their way out of the hotel room and down the corridor. Warrick shook his head in amusement and soon followed them, several evidence bags under one arm and resting on top of his case.
Greg picked up a few more bags before leaving Nick standing in the hotel room, thinking of a way to make it up to Greg.
.-
Greg sat at a large table in a layout room, going over the crime scene photos he'd take and developed as soon as he'd arrived back at the lab. Something didn't look right, and something hadn't looked right at the scene, but he didn't know what and Grissom had told him never to base decisions on instincts. He started taping the notepad in front of him with his pen, absentmindedly looking at the photos whilst really thinking about Nick and their situation.
"Greg?"
Greg looked up and sighed when he saw Nick…again.
"What is it Nick? I'm busy!" Greg said, gesturing to the photos and paper strewn across the table in front of him.
"I want to tell you something," Nick said to him, slowly coming around the table to stand next to Greg. He put one hand around the back of Greg's neck and the other on the table to hold him steady before leaning down and whispering, "I'm not living in secret," just before his lips connected with Greg's, drawing him for a long, slow, passionate kiss…in the middle of the lab.
When this registered in Greg's subconscious, Greg smiled against Nick's lips before dropping his pen, gripping Nick's hand on the corner of the table and grabbing fistfuls of Nick's shirt in the other hand.
Outside, in the corridors of the lab, people stopped to take in this show of affection and love between the two guys before smiling and going about their work, not sniggering or gossiping about them, not really saying anything at all.
END - goodbye :)
