CSI: The Fighter: vignette #1
A/N: This is a heartbreaking story told through a series of ten vignettes. I'd been looking for a story based on Simon and Garfunkel's song "The Boxer" for a long time when this idea hit me last week. I hope you enjoy it.
"In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains."
-Simon and Garfunkel "The Boxer"
July 2013
Greg walked hand in hand with Nick down the strip, the sun just beginning to set behind them. Neither one was saying anything, but they didn't have to. After everything they'd been through together their silence was easy and comfortable. Greg was happiest when he was in Nick's presence, simply holding hands, letting their fingers intertwine, connecting them.
"Oh my God, would you look at that?" a young male voice gossiped nearby, loud enough for Greg to hear. "That's a hot guy!"
"Ooohh, he sure is! But look at the ugly hag on his arm. Such a waste of a beautiful man."
He knew who they were talking about. At their voices Greg was conscious of his jagged nose as well as the visible scars on his hands and face, never mind the uglier ones they couldn't see beneath his shirt. He wasn't ashamed of his appearance anymore. Nick had seen to that years ago. He was comfortable with who he was, positively sure Nick loved him even with all of his deformities.
"Mmmm... I could jump him right now, he's so hot!"
Greg's head shot to the side at this last comment and he saw three guys in tight jeans and t-shirts watching them pass by, all of their eyes glued to Nick as if they were starving lions and he was a piece of meat. His calm comfort was gone in an instant as he lunged for the three men, intent on taking them out. It wasn't long ago when someone else had said something similar, when Greg had been forced to fight for his love. The memories and the scars, both mental and physical, would stay with him forever, as would the instincts he'd gathered. These boys would never understand what he'd been through, what he had with Nick.
The three men were lucky Nick caught his arm just in time and pulled him back flush against his chest, wrapping his arms around him for a moment to calm him down without saying a word.
"Looks like you've got a handful there," one of the men suggested to Nick. "Wanna upgrade?"
Greg felt the anger burning inside him begin to deflate with the older man's strong arms around him, though he was still struggling to get at them, to be able to make them understand. His anger would never completely dissipate and only Nick fully understood and accepted it. "G, come on. Let it go, it's ok," Nick finally spoke low in Greg's ear so no one else could hear him.
Nick steered him away from the men, keeping an arm around Greg's shoulders.
"You sure you don't wanna upgrade? I can treat you real well in my bed!"
Nick only flashed them his left hand, letting them see the silver band on his third finger. The three of them fell silent as he and Greg walked on.
The younger man had left the ring years ago... but the fighter still remained.
