AN: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.
Greg finished the guest room with a contented sigh. He had piled several bags and boxes of clothing along a wall, intending with Nick's permission, of course, to help deliver them to Goodwill. A stack of clothing that, although too big right now, he could wear if needed, was piled on the end of the bed. Various sporting goods had been taken into the garage and placed on shelves, or had been hung up on hooks that he supposed had been intended to hold them initially.
Walking to the kitchen to get a snack, Greg passed by the sacks on the living room floor that contained the spoils of his shopping spree with Mandy. He'd wait to find out where Nick would like him to keep his things, but until then the bags of clothing could now be put on the cleared off bed in the guest room. Making a note to look for hangers, Greg continued on into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator door. They definitely needed groceries, he grinned, selecting the last apple from the crisper drawer. It was either go grocery shopping, or Nick was going to experience the companion training diet.
Greg bit down into the piece of fruit with enjoyment, realizing it was the first item in a year that he had totally selected on his own without someone telling him he could or should eat. He faltered and struggled to swallow the first bite, staring at the piece of fruit in his hand for several minutes. Nick, he told himself, wanted Greg to lose the inhibitions of companionship. He wanted him to react as if he were not a piece of property. Greg raised the apple to his mouth and took another bite, eating all the crisp flesh, until only the core remained. It was the best apple he could ever remember having eaten.
Catherine left the Rampart with the paperwork in her possession. She began to realize how terribly hurt Nick would have been if Grissom hadn't taken it upon himself to educate himself on the sales or gifting of companions. Catherine had no illusions about Sam. She knew he would have recovered Greg and put him to work in the casino sometime in the near future.
The fact that Sam had wanted to keep the young man, saying he was the most expensive in the group, led Catherine to believe that Greg had been trained as a true pleasure companion. She pulled the papers from her pocket and flipped on the dome light in her car. Yep, pleasure companion, in black and white. No wonder Nick had come to work the last couple of days in such a good mood. Catherine turned off the overhead light, placed the papers back in her jacket pocket, and buckled her seatbelt. Her thoughts strayed to the paperwork stating her as Greg's new owner. She owned a pleasure companion, at least on paper. It was too bad that she'd never get to experience the education he'd received during his training.
Catherine reached back into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. As she waited for an answer on the other end she looked at herself in the rearview mirror, realizing she wasn't ready to settle for a pleasure companion. She still hoped to find the love of her life somewhere out here on the streets of Las Vegas. Achieving a connection, she quickly reached her free hand up to realign her mirror for driving and spoke, "Got it taken care of Gris. Where do you want me?"
Nick entered his house, but before he could even close the door, Greg was there, his body close and tense. The Texan could almost hear the unspoken words coming from the young man in front of him, 'touch me'. Pushing the door closed with his foot, Nick pulled the slight body in tightly and whispered against his cheek, "Missed you."
"Me too," Greg whispered in response, raising his hands to Nick's back. "I ate an apple," he added quietly.
Nick pulled away gently and looked him in the eyes. "Is that all you ate tonight? You need to eat more. Whenever I hold you I'm afraid I'll break you."
Greg smiled and shook his head. "I ate an apple. No one told me I could, or I should. I just did, all on my own. I chose it and it tasted so good."
The dark-haired CSI stared into the face of the man before him suddenly realizing the import of those four words. "I'm proud of you, sweetheart. I want you to be able to make choices on your own, be your own person, and eat your own damn apple if you want one." His words made Greg's smile even broader.
"I did something else tonight, too," he said running his fingers up and down Nick's back.
"Well, are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess?" Nick asked, enjoying the little game they were playing.
Greg stepped back from Nick's body and took his hand, pulling him towards the hallway leading to the bedrooms. The older man smiled, thinking about how eager his new lover was to jump back into bed, when their forward momentum stopped outside of the guest room. Greg opened the door and stood back to the side to allow Nick to enter before him.
Nick looked at the cleaned room and at the bags from Greg and Mandy's shopping expedition piled on the bed and stopped cold. Greg, who couldn't see Nick's face, stepped up behind his owner and wrapped his arms around Nick's waist, resting his head on the broad back in front of him. "You won't have to spend your day off cleaning this room, Nick. I hope I did a good enough job."
Nick swallowed heavily. Greg had cleaned the room that Nick had told him would be his own, however, that was before Nick had had the opportunity to hold the young man in his arms and experience how satisfying sharing a bed with him would be. Now Greg had the promised room, and had even brought in his new things to be unpacked.
"You've been busy," Nick managed to choke out. "Got your room cleaned out, just have to unpack now. Do you need help cleaning out the drawers and closet, or did you already manage to do that, too?"
Nick felt Greg's arms slowly slip from his body and the warmth of his chest leave his back. He turned to see the young man appear to wilt in front of his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Mas….Nick. I shouldn't have taken it upon myself to go through your things. I was only trying to help." Nick couldn't see Greg's eyes beneath their lowered lids, but he could see a single tear slip past the long lashes to roll down a sharp cheekbone.
Nick reached out to wipe the tear away and cupping Greg's cheek, stroked the soft skin under the watery eye. "I'm not mad, Greg. I'm just a bit disappointed. Now you have the room I promised you and …. Well I guess I'm going to miss you in my bed."
Greg quickly raised his eyes and met Nick's. "I didn't clean the room to get out of your bed, Master Nick. I did it to help you and stay busy. Please," he swallowed, "don't make me sleep in here."
With a groan, Nick pulled Greg tightly to his body and rested his forehead on that of the younger man. "Thank god," he murmured.
"No," Greg said quietly, "Thank Mistress Catherine."
Nick couldn't wipe the stupid grin off of his face as he watched Greg in the grocery store. The two men had finally wandered in after dumping off a truckload of discarded clothing at the second-hand store and stopping for breakfast sandwiches at a fast food restaurant.
"Twinkies and Ho Ho's," he heard Greg sigh. "I haven't seen these in over a year." Nick reached forward and dropped a box of each into their cart to join the exploding pile of prepackaged foods Greg had missed since leaving his prior life, grinning at the look he received from the skinny young man in front of him.
"You do realize, don't you, that if all you eat now is this garbage, you won't just fill out, you'll blow up like a balloon? We do need to purchase some unprocessed food, too. How about we hit the outside edge of the store for awhile." He pointed off into various directions. "Dairy, produce, meat department."
Greg nodded. "Yeah, I want to be able to cook you some nice meals." He took a few steps and turned around, biting his lip slightly. "Nick?"
The older man shook his head with a smile. "Go ahead and put it in the cart, Greg," he said, believing that the man had found another snack food he needed to re-experience.
"It's not that." Greg looked at him nervously. "I do want to cook you nice meals, but I…well I…." Nick waited for him to continue. "We might need to buy a cookbook, Nick. I didn't do much cooking before, well, you know." He gave a small smile. "And the trainers, well…. cooking wasn't one of the skills they felt I needed to learn."
Nick felt the stupid grin return to his face as he pushed the cart forward and stopped beside Greg, reaching out and catching his hand within his own. "Given the alternative, sweetheart, I think I could learn to live on Twinkies and Ho Ho's." The recently trained companion looked around the aisle and realizing that they weren't alone, resisted the urge to kiss his new master, instead he ran his thumb over the hand holding his. Nick nodded at the gesture. "Guess we'll stop by the bookstore when we go shopping for those running shoes, huh Greg?" He was rewarded with a nod and started pushing the cart again. "Let's get this chore over with and get back home. That okay with you?"
The young man fell into step with Nick. "Yeah. Oh, and Nick? We can't forget the cereal and frozen waffles."
"Breakfasts of champions, huh? Or at least the breakfasts of the extremely satisfied." Nick chuckled.
Greg smiled and bumped Nick's shoulder gently with his own. "One of these days you will wake up to a proper breakfast, Nick. I'll make sure of that."
Nick stopped the cart and pulled the slender man into his arms, not caring who was in the aisle with them. "Don't worry about it, Greg. I'm beginning to prefer my breakfasts in bed." He leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss on the lips in front of him. "Let's get a move on. Ten minutes and we're out of here." He began to push the cart with a vengeance, Greg trailing behind him with a huge grin on his face.
Ecklie popped his head into Grissom's partially opened door. "What are you still doing here, Gil? Rough case last night?"
Grissom looked up at his superior and shook his head. "No Conrad, I was just going over this pile of applications for interns for the lab. Hodges approached me about the possibility of adding one to the shift. With all the double and triple shifts coming through here these days, I thought a little extra help might not be amiss."
Conrad smirked. "And you thought, if you could present me with your choice, it would make it easier for me to say go for it?"
The graveyard shift supervisor gave a small grin and shrugged one shoulder. "Thought it couldn't hurt, Conrad."
The man standing in front of the desk acknowledged the maneuver and smiled. "I wondered what you were up to. Frieda said you'd asked for some past applications." He nodded toward the stack of papers on Gil's desk. "See anyone there you like?"
"There's a couple I'd like to follow up on, that is, if you agree." Grissom knew how to play the game as well as Ecklie did.
"We could always use a good intern that could step up and become a full time tech if the aptitude is there," Conrad agreed. "Go ahead, Gil, but the budget is tight this year. Make it a maximum of forty hours a week at minimum wage."
"Can I offer insurance?" Gil asked, trying to make Greg's deal as good as possible.
"I suppose so." Ecklie chuckled and shrugged his shoulders, adding, "If he or she looks healthy."
Grissom stood and held out his hand to Ecklie. "Thanks, Conrad. I'll start making a few phone calls to see if any of these candidates are still interested and get back to you."
"Just keep me in the loop." He said walking to the door. "Oh and Gil?"
The other man looked up from the pile of papers he was pretending to read. "Yes?"
"Go home. That doesn't have to be done right now. Get some sleep, and that's an order."
Gil nodded, placing the papers on his desk and moved to follow Ecklie. "Sounds good, Conrad. I've finished everything I wanted to accomplish tonight anyway."
"What if he doesn't like me?" Greg asked quietly, as he shredded the corner of his paper napkin. The two men were just finishing up a breakfast of frozen waffles, precooked breakfast sausage, and fresh fruit.
Nick tried to reassure the distressed young man, "Grissom just wants to meet you and talk to you a bit."
It had surprised the experienced CSI when Grissom had called a little less than an hour ago, just as Nick had been pulling Greg into the shower behind him. Grissom asking to stop by his house before shift had been as effective as a cold shower, and Nick had pushed Greg into the cubicle alone, waiting until the young man was done, before entering the stall to take his own solitary shower.
Nick had tried to stay as calm as possible, knowing that Greg was already nervous. "It's going to be fine. Gil stops by all the time," he lied, crossing his fingers under the table.
Greg rose and took his dishes to the sink, returning and taking Nick's as well. He began to fill the sink with water and turned to Nick. "What would you like for me to do tonight?"
"You could unpack your new clothes. Oh, and the sheets could stand with spending some time in the laundry, I suppose," Nick blushed, causing Greg to grin.
"I had already planned on washing the sheets. I'll get the rest of the laundry, too. Any special requests for your delicates?" Greg teased. Nick shook his head and raised his coffee cup to finish the last dregs from the bottom.
"Is there anywhere special I should put my things, Nick?" Greg asked, turning back to the sink.
"Just shove my stuff over for right now," he mused. "Maybe Warrick could stop over and help me move the spare dresser in the guest room into our bedroom for your stuff."
Greg turned and gave a defiant pose. "I could help move that dresser, Nick. I'm stronger than I look."
"Okay, sweetheart, we'll move that dresser when I get home in the morning. Just empty out the drawers onto the guest bed. I'll go through whatever I had stored in there when I get a chance."
Greg smiled and shook his head. "What?" Nick demanded, with a smile.
"Now I know why the guest room was so…..lived in," Greg replied with a chuckle.
Nick raised his eyebrows at the young man and stood, advancing toward him with a decidedly suggestive look on his face. He stepped in close to Greg's body and reaching around him, rested his hands on the countertop. "You shouldn't tease me, Greg. It makes me want to remind you who the master is in this relationship."
Greg licked his lips and tilted his head, offering his jaw line and neck to Nick in submission. "You're my master. I belong to you."
"I wish we had time….," Nick was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Grissom's here," he acknowledged, stepping away from the man who was falling into companion-mode. "Shit," he said, realizing that Grissom would not want to see the young man in this manner; he was hoping to see someone who could work with authority in the lab.
"Greg, I'm going to get the door. No more companion, master talk. Get it together, sweetie." He dropped a quick kiss on Greg's forehead and walked out of the room, leaving the young man to take a deep breath and try to regain a semblance of self-confidence.
The meeting with Grissom was going well. Greg had managed to keep himself out of companion-mode, primarily by not looking at Nick. He could feel his presence, but realized that the times he felt most vulnerable to his status, included times with Nick in close proximity, or when he felt he'd done something wrong.
Grissom had chatted with both men, watching their interactions and noting that Greg was much more self-assured than he'd even hoped was possible after watching him fall to his knees so readily earlier in the week. He could see how Greg was aware of Nick and how his body language softened when Nick was in his line of vision, but when he was focused elsewhere, he was matter-of-fact and trying hard to say what he thought was expected.
It didn't surprise Gil that Greg was trying so hard to please, not only would that have been part of his training, but this was an interview, per se, albeit an informal interview. Both Nick and Greg had to have realized that when he had called and asked to visit.
"Would you be interested in interning at the lab, Greg?" he asked, watching for the reaction of the young man in front of him. He was pleased to see his eyes sparkle and the hopeful look that crossed his features.
"I would like that very much, Mr. Grissom. Nick had mentioned that it might be a possibility, but I was afraid to get my hopes up."
"Well, I've gotten my supervisor to agree to hire an intern, but it is important that your relationship with Nick be kept private, at least for the time being, or he might nix your hiring, or place you on a different shift than Nick."
"I'll do my best to make both you and Nick proud of me," Greg vowed. He looked at Gil and bit his lip. "If I should be moved to a different shift, I would have to quit, Mr. Grissom. Although I want to work in your lab, my first responsibility is to my…Nick."
"I understand, Greg. Everyone on the team knows that your relationship with Nick is to be kept quiet, but your interactions with him will be noted by others." Greg nodded in understanding. "Also, you must appear self-confident, and not appear vulnerable in front of others. It would be best if you did not appear as a companion on the job, especially not a pleasure companion. I have complete trust in everyone working in our lab, but we have many visitors over the course of the day that I cannot vouch for. Do you understand?"
Greg nodded. He did understand, all too well. A companion, especially a pleasure companion, might be viewed as fair game by some people. There were laws against violating or maiming someone else's property, but it was, more often than not, unenforced.
"I would like to take my chances, Mr. Grissom. As long as Nick approves, of course."
"Good enough," the graying-haired man replied. "I don't want to have you start at least for another week. You and Nick still need time to yourselves and you need to have more experiences outside of this house where you are not expected to be in companion-mode. Also, I need to take this slow from my end; I don't want Ecklie to realize that I played him quite so hard this morning." Nick chuckled at his words and Grissom smiled in response.
Gil stood and looked at both men. "It was nice to meet you, Greg. I'll look forward to working with you. I'll see you at work, Nick, in about," he glanced at his watch, "thirty minutes."
Greg rose to shake Grissom's hand. "Thank you for what you are doing, sir."
He was rewarded with a smile. "This has been the most pleasant thing I've done at work all week," the young man was assured as Grissom stepped out the door,
Greg turned to Nick and rushed into his arms. "Thank you, Nick. You've made everything possible." He placed his palms on Nick's cheeks and leaned in for a kiss.
Nick demurred, "No, Greg. I didn't do anything special. Everyone is responding to you and you're innate integrity, I'm just along for the ride."
"If you didn't have to go to work, I'd…..," Greg captured Nick's lips more confidently.
"Heaven knows I'd let you," Nick murmured against his neck. "Hold that thought for a couple of hours." Greg nodded and walked beside Nick to the front door, giving him a tight hug before sending him off to work.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
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