Title: Redefining Family (Last Chance Part 7)

Pairing: Greg/Nick

Rating: NC-17

Word Count: ~6300

Summary: What will it take for Greg to reach his limit - or for Nick to free himself from the chains of his fear? (AU) Genre: Angst, Romance

Disclaimer: Don't own, don't sue. Just for fun.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Nick had a new nervous habit.

He would catch himself spinning the platinum band around and around and around on his left ring finger all day long.

No one noticed. Except Greg, of course. And the only reaction Nick ever saw in Greg when he caught him in the act was a big, stupid, shit-eating grin. Which always made Nick blush just a little.

They had been back for a few weeks and not one person mentioned the matching bands they wore - though Sara seemed a bit like the cat that swallowed the canary sometimes.

It was perplexing. Nick had moments when he actually felt a little offended. These were his best friends and no one had even asked him how it went back home.

He thought about it all the time, often to the point of distraction. Which is when he would catch himself twisting the smooth metal band around his finger as if the act alone would calm his racing thoughts. Didn't they even care? Is his need to talk it through with his best friend inappropriate?

"Stokes!"

Warrick's voice seemed to come out of nowhere.

Nick shook off the fog and looked toward the irritated voice of his case partner.

"Where the hell did you go, man? I've been talking to you." Warrick towered above him.

Nick shoved the last of the fingerprint lifts into his vest pocket. "I'm working here, man."

"Uh huh..." Warrick shook his head. "...whatever, Bro. Just get a move on. We need to go with the body."

"Super Dave's been here?"

"Yeah, man. If you would have been here instead of inside your own damn head you'd know that." Warrick turned on his heels and walked away. "Come on."

They had been following the coroner's van for ten minutes and Nick couldn't take it any longer. "What's up, man?"

"What're you talking about?" Warrick's eyes stayed on the road, but his face was tense and he was obviously irritated.

Nick turned a little to look at his friend. "I'm talking about you, 'Rick. You've been giving me the cold shoulder since I got back from vacation."

"I've been what?" Nick watched Warrick's fingers tighten around the steering wheel. "How do you figure?"

"You didn't even ask me how it went. You haven't brought it up at all." Nick hated the whine in his tone.

"You haven't brought it up either!" Warrick was just shy of yelling. "I'm your damn best friend and I have to hear about your family shit from Sara!"

"You didn't even...wait...what?" Nick finally caught up. "I haven't talked to Sara about my family shit."

"She picked Greg up from the airport. She told me to give you some space about it until you were ready to talk." Warrick tried to explain. "You didn't mention the fact that you were doing Sanders for how many years? I just assumed this was just something else you didn't want to..."

Nick heard the angry undertone and interrupted his friend. "I'm sorry Warrick. I should have told you about me and G. I wasn't dealing with it very well for a long time..."

"I get it, man." Warrick instantly calmed down. "You know you can always talk to me though, right? You're my best friend, Nick."

"Look, 'Rick, Greg and I haven't even had much time to talk since we've been back. Between doubles and opposing days off and..." Nick wasn't sure why he was defending himself anyway, because Warrick had a right to be pissed and Nick knew it. The Tahoe came to a stop behind the coroner's van near the open bay in the rear of the lab. Nick knew they both needed to escort the body and all the evidence still clinging to the rotting corpse, so he didn't have time to say all the things he owed to his friend. "You wanna go grab a beer after work?" Maybe he needed a little time to prepare for the conversation anyway.

"Yeah." Warrick nodded with a sly grin. "We cool?"

"We're cool, man." Nick smiled before they both got back to work.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

By the end of shift he was dead on his feet. The only thing he wanted to do was go home, crawl into bed with his boyfriend and sleep for a year.

"Yo, Stokes. You ready to head out, man?" Warrick said while he opened his locker.

Sleep and boyfriend would have to wait. "Yeah. You want to just meet me at Lydel's?"

"Nah." Warrick yanked off his shirt and sniffed it. "Whew. Long fucking shift."

"I thought you liked Lydel's."

"I do, but that place is crawling with NVPD. Let's go someplace where we can talk without a damn audience." Warrick slammed his locker closed after he put on his spare shirt. "You got beer at your place?"

Well that was just confusing as hell. "Um...Greg...he's probably sleeping...I thought you wanted to talk to me?" Nick wasn't sure if that came out pissy or whiney or just this side of jealous. "What I mean is..."

"I get you, man. And believe me, I would like some face time with my bud without his man around." Warrick nodded toward the open locker room door. "Greg's here, so your place should be a boyfriend free zone. I would suggest my pad, but Tina's off today, so..."

"Greg's here?" Nick watched Warrick's eyes roll playfully. "What?"

"I just can't believe I never figured it out before that day in the hospital. You act like a old married couple." Warrick teased. "I just saw him in layout room 3."

"He's supposed to be off today." There was no denying the whine in his tone this time. "We were finally going to have a day off together...we haven't seen much of each other since we got back."

"Well, looks like your plans for a little afternoon delight have changed." Warrick dangled his keys from his finger in front of Nick's face. "You ready to head out."

Damn it. Warrick was way off. Nick and Greg have had plenty of delight over the last few weeks, they just haven't had any time to talk. They work and fuck and eat and sleep - then they do it all over again. But what they really needed was a few solid hours to just talk. And they had a lot to talk about - what happened in Texas, what matching bands really mean - Nick needed reassurances from his lover because he's pretty sure he no longer had a family.

And they haven't had more than three hours in a row together with their eyes open in almost three weeks. And yeah, sex was reassuring and on a few occasions quite comforting - but it didn't help either of them stay awake long enough to start a conversation.

And finally it was here - they had a date - they had both been looking forward to it, too. Dinner at six - at a restaurant - nowhere near the distraction of a bed, couch, kitchen counter...or any other vertical or horizontal flat surface for that matter - they just couldn't seem to resist each other since the morning Nick got home from Texas.

"Hey, Rick..." Nick took his house key from his ring and handed it to his friend. "...let yourself in, I'll meet you there. Help yourself to whatever - I just need to check in with Greg real quick."

He found Greg right where Warrick said he would - leaning over a table full of shredded lilac bush in layout room 3. When Greg heard the door swoosh open he looked up and immediately beamed when he saw who walked in.

"Hey." His voice was thick with longing. "I tried to find you when I got here..."

"You did?" Nick asked insecurely.

Greg nodded and smiled fondly at the man he missed so much despite the fact that they saw each other every day. "Of course. I wanted to let you know I might be a little late for date night."

"So you're not working a double?" Nick asked after he leaned himself onto the table next to Greg.

Greg turned to face his boyfriend. They mirrored each other - leaning on an elbow, chest to chest. "We can only hold the guy for ten more hours before we have to cut him loose. That's why Grissom called me in. So I either get this done quick or I face the wrath of the Bugman."

"Need any help?" Nicked asked while he fiddled with one of the buttons on Greg's lab coat.

"I think I'm almost there." Greg moved fraction of an inch closer. "Thanks for the offer though."

"Did you intend for that to sound so...dirty?" Nick chuckled, a low rumble that caused Greg to shiver.

"Get out of here before I do something we could both get fired for..." Greg leaned in as if he were going to kiss Nick but stopped before impact. "...I'll save that debauchery for date night."

"I think I'll do the debauching tonight." Nick backed up until he was no longer in the cloud of Greg-smell. "After we go out for a nice dinner. We have a few things to talk about."

"We do." Greg agreed before he trailed the tips of his fingers across the back of Nick's hand. "But if you're not ready to get into all of that, it's okay."

"I'm ready. I've been ready. It's just been so crazy since we got back." Nick grabbed Greg's hand and squeezed. "I'm not avoiding it - talking about everything, I mean - I have a lot I want to say to you and I want to hear how you're feeling about...everything."

Greg smiled sympathetically. "Okay, Babe. Maybe by tonight you'll be able to say 'family' and 'Texas' without throwing up."

Nick was a bit thrown by that at first. He was still unnerved by how well Greg knew him - understood him - that he was often left a little speechless. He couldn't think of a come back that wouldn't sound flippant or snippy - and he was feeling neither at the moment, so he just shifted gears. "Warrick's coming over for a few beers - he's probably there already. Apparently I have a lot to talk through with him too."

"No doubt." Was Greg's answer.

"He'll be gone before you get home." Nick continued, a little curious by Greg's nonchalant response. Nick himself felt remnants of old guilt licking at his insides. There was a day when Warrick stopping by after work would mean Greg needed to find somewhere else to be.

Greg acted like there was nothing about it that would pick at the scabs of old wounds. "It's okay if he's still there. I'll need a nap before our big night out, anyway. I'll stay out of your way."

"Do you know how much I want to kiss you right now?" Nick had a feeling Greg did know.

"Hold that thought for later." Greg winked. "Have fun with your work-wife."

Nick laughed because Greg was funny and Greg was all his. "Work-wife, G? Don't you mean work-husband?"

"He's too pretty - he's definitely your work-wife." Greg teased.

Nick started backing away, but kept his eyes on his man. "So does that make Sara your work-husband?"

"Oh yeah." Greg chuckled as he answered. "Absolutely!"

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

When Nick walked through his front door, he found Warrick sprawled on his couch watching..."Ice skating? Dude, that's gayer than me."

"Fuck you man." Warrick scowled half heartedly. "It's the only thing on ESPN this early on a weekday."

"I have the final four on Tivo." Nick talked as he toed off his shoes and headed for the kitchen.

"Seen them already." Warrick responded. "Grab me another while you're in there."

Nick handed off a bottle while he sat next to Warrick. They both sipped and watched as gracefully athletic pairs performed impossible feats on Nick and Greg's large screen. After a few moments Nick cleared his throat. "You ever fucked an ice skater? Or maybe a gymnast? I bet either would be pretty fucking flexible."

Warrick laughed and took a swig of beer before responding. They were both still looking at the TV instead of each other. "Guy or girl?"

That got Nick to look with a cliched double-take. His eyes were wide with shock. "You've done guys?"

"I didn't say that." Warrick tried not to sound defensive. "I was asking you. I've never done a guy. I've never done an ice skater. I did a gymnast in college but she wasn't that good."

"At gymnastics or at sex?" Nick asked with a smirk.

"Both." Warick took another sip. "Your turn."

Nick thought about it for a minute. "Does hockey count?"

"Nah, man. That's like fucking a football player - doesn't speak to the flexibility factor."

After a few second pause, they both started laughing.

"Want another beer?" Warrick asked after the giggles died down. He was already in the open fridge when Nick answered from the other room.

"Yeah. Grab some chips from the cupboard next to the stove, too."

Once they were both settled back onto the couch, Warrick opened up the can of worms. "So how long, Nick?"

Nick adjusted himself so he could look at his friend. "I've been gay for as long as I can remember. I've been in love with Greg since I met him, but we didn't start sleeping together until a few months later."

"Love at first sight?" Warrick teased. "Sounds like something Greg would say."

"Yeah...well...it took me a few years to admit I loved him at all." Nick avoided Warrick's eyes as he finished his thought. "I was a son-of-a-bitch. I treated him like shit."

"So the hooker was..."

Nick interrupted. "We were on a break at the time."

"Greg helped save your ass, if I recall right." Warrick held Nick's feet to the fire, as usual.

"Yeah. He's always been way too good to me." Nick grinned grimly. "He never took the same kind of 'breaks' I did, anyway."

"He loves you." Warrick said it as if it explained the universe.

"Yeah." That one put a genuine smile on Nick's face. He finally made eye contact with his friend again while he continued with his confessions. "The first time he said that to me was on Valentine's Day the first year we were messing around."

"Messing around?" Warrick asked with one raise brow.

Nick nodded. "That's what I called it. There was no way I was admitting that I was dating a guy. Greg left a red rose in my locker. I stormed into the DNA lab with the damn thing crammed into my front pocket. I pulled it out and slammed it onto his work station. It was really just a wad of red and green by that point. I asked him what the hell he was thinking. I said he was lucky no one saw him and demanded to know why the hell he would take such a risk at work. He just looked at me. God. He just looked at me and said it was Valentine's Day and he was just trying to let me know he loved me...something about a red rose symbolizing true love or something. I threw the pieces of that rose right in his face and told him love had nothing to do with what we had going on. I swear to god 'Rick - at that point in my life I had never seen anyone look so fucking shattered."

"Yeah, well, that was really harsh, man." Warrick said with a great amount of compassion.

He could feel his eyes getting hot and wet, but he refused to break eye contact with his best friend. "Yeah, but it didn't stop me from doing that to him again and again and again. I spent years pulling him close only to kick him in the gut. I wouldn't give myself to him but I wouldn't let him go, either."

"Sanders is either a patient man or really stupid."

"Don't insult my boyfriend." Nick teased.

Warrick chuckled. "We both know Sanders is far from stupid, so it wasn't really an insult, Bro."

"After the rose incident, I didn't speak to him for weeks. He ended up knocking on my door in the middle of the day and actually apologized to me for saying he loved me." The shame was spilling over and rolling down his face. "Can you believe that. I could see it in his eyes - he was lying through his teeth - but he did it anyway. Said he was sorry - 'I'm sorry for rushing things.' - that's what he said." Nick explained as if he were living it all over again.

"What'd you say?" Warrick prompted him to continue.

"That's the thing. I did what I always did back then, and continued to do, for too many fucking years." Nick's face contorted into a painful grimace. His voice shook as he barely made it through his answer. "I let him take the fall for my shit. I told him to just never let it happen again and I took him to bed. I'm surprised he could even walk the next day."

"TMI, Man."

Nick appreciated the moment of lightness. He made a half-hearted attempt to smile. "Sorry, Bro."

"So what changed?" Warrick asked.

"I did." Nick admitted. "Fast forward through seven years of the same shit, different day and I finally pulled my head out of my ass and realized what the hell I was doing to him. To us. I finally got it. The man deserved better - he knew it and I knew it - and I finally got my shit together to try to be exactly who he deserves. I have so much to make up for with him. Then I had to go and expose him to...god, 'Rick...it was awful."

"Texas?" Warrick asked.

Nick nodded. "They were horrible. I didn't even recognized them...they...they were beyond mean and Greg never once...he just took it. He did that for me."

"Sara said he wouldn't tell her what went down. He just said he messed up and had to leave." Warrick explained what he had started earlier in the day. "She told me he asked her not to say anything. So she asked me not to mention anything to you until you brought it up."

"He didn't mess up. I did." Nick wanted to clear that up. "I should have nipped it in the bud within the first five minutes of being there. But as usual I just let Greg take it on. I let him make it easy on me."

"Greg's a good guy, Nick." Warrick stated the obvious.

"Yeah, he is." Nick nodded. "Now it's up to me to be just as good."

Warrick reached to grip Nick by the back of the neck. He squeezed supportively. "Nicky. Bro. You already are a good man. Why the hell would Sander's stick with you through all these years if you weren't inherently good?" Warrick forced Nick to look at him again. "Here's some advice from your best friend. You're a good man with some fucking scary demons and you're getting them under control now. Don't waste time trying to make up for old shit. Just start from right here and right now and be the man Greg's always known you to be."

Nick took a deep breath and allowed Warrick's words to settle in. He held up his left hand and wiggled his fingers in front of Warrick's face. "I guess that's why he gave me this."

Warrcik smirked blatantly. "Yeah. Sara told me about that too."

"Fucking hell - is there anything Sara doesn't already know?" Nick feigned irritation, but his grin gave him away.

"He showed them to her before you guys left. Happy anniversary, Man."

"Well hell." Nick huffed. "I guess she is his damn work-husband."

"Work-husband?" Warrick barked.

"Yeah, man." Nick laughed. It felt good to be out from under the heavy conversation. "Don't be jealous though, according to G, you're my work-wife."

"Why am I the damn wife?" Warrick sounded appropriately offended.

Nick laughed and slapped his friend on the back in a friendly way. "You're just too damn pretty. At least Greg thinks so."

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Nick felt Greg snuggling up behind him. When he felt familiar hands skim around his chest he leaned into the warmth of his lover. He was barely awake. "Hey, Babe."

Greg nuzzled the back of Nick's neck. "Shhhh - sleep."

"You joining me?" Nick grabbed Greg's hand and wove their fingers together on his chest.

"I'm going to try. I'm still wound up from the case - it was a dramatic ending to say the least."

Nick could feel Greg's energy through his fidgeting. "Would a blow job help?" He couldn't help smirking when he heard the little squeak from the man behind him followed by the sensation of Greg's wide smile against the skin of his neck.

"Thought so." Nick rolled over and pushed Greg onto his back. He was happy to find his boyfriend naked already. He wasted no time, taking Greg's half-hard dick deep into his throat and sucking hard. It wasn't about romance - it was about lulling Greg into an orgasm induced mini-coma.

It took six minutes. Greg could thank him later.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Greg hadn't felt this rested in weeks. He had a solid five hours of sleep followed by a hot shower with his boyfriend and now he was sitting across a table from said boyfriend waiting for a bottle of Spanish red wine that Nick pronounced perfectly.

"Sorry we missed our reservation at Le Cirque." Greg still felt bad for over-sleeping.

"I'm kinda glad." Nick reached across the table with one hand and wove his fingers through Greg's. "We didn't have to fight the traffic on the Strip or the parking at the Bellagio. This is much nicer - smaller - intimate."

"But you went through a lot of trouble..."

"It all worked out, G." Nick interrupted. "No more apologies. You needed to sleep and I needed to suck you off in the shower." Nick grinned wickedly. "We're both at fault."

"How'd you hear about this little place, anyway?" Greg gestured around with his free hand. It was a quaint little tapas place in a strip mall a few miles from their apartment. He never even noticed it before. It didn't look like much on the outside, but once they walked through the door it was like being transported to Spain. Vibrant colors, delicious aromas, and hot little waiters with thick Spanish accents. He was pretty sure their waiter was interested in Nick. Greg didn't mind though because Nick was so obviously into all things Sanders tonight. It was...nice.

"I came here with my parents the last time they were in town." Nick threw out the ice breaker. He watched Greg wince a little at the mention of his folks. "Of course I didn't have the private table in the romance-nook back then."

"It's nice to have a little privacy." Greg admitted and hoped they could avoid mentioning the Stokes again. "Maybe I'll..."

"Ribera del Duero Tempranillo, sir." The waiter, Raul, held a bottle of wine in front of Nick. Once Nick nodded the waiter poured a tiny sip into a Bordeaux wine glass. Nick picked the glass up with the hand that wasn't tangled with Greg's, swirled the dark red liquid around the glass, checked the legs, sniffed the aroma, and finally tasted.

Greg was always turned on when he watched Nick select his wine.

"Perfect, thank you." Nick placed his glass on the table and waited for the waiter to pour a glass for both of them. Greg watch as Raul tried to catch Nick's attention. It was cute the way Nick didn't even notice.

It was hot the way Nick only had eyes for Greg.

Once Raul left them alone, Nick held his glass up for a toast. Greg accommodated by raising his own and nearly dropped his glass when he heard what Nick had to say.

"To what we were, what we are, and what we will become. To you, Greg Sanders, and your unlimited capacity for forgiveness and to me and my promise to never repeat the mistakes of the past. To our love and our forever." Nick's eyes were shimmering with emotion and sincerity and so much genuine love.

Greg almost cried as their glasses clinked together.

They sipped and looked at each other over the rim of their glasses. "That was...amazing."

"I love you." Nick placed his glass on the table and took Greg's from his hand before he grabbed that hand too. He was looking intense and gripping both of Greg's hands tightly. "I've always loved you."

Greg swallowed hard. "I love you, too."

"I know. You're good at letting me know." Nick smiled. Greg thought he looked a little sad. "I'm sorry I wasn't as good at it for so long." Nick brought Greg's hands to his lips and kissed each finger. "I've loved you since the second we met. I was a foolish coward to try to deny it."

Greg hated how sad his beautiful boyfriend looked. "Nick, it's okay. I know and I get it and we're looking forward, not behind. None of that matters now."

"I want to talk about what happened in Texas." Nick just decided to get it over with. "I want to know what happened before you left."

Greg felt his gut clench. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Texas. He had hoped they were going to just leave it be and move on. It had been over three weeks. They had been getting along so well and having lots of sex. Nick was really embracing his new found appreciation for bottoming and Greg couldn't be happier about it.

Nick said 'I love you' every single day - at least once.

Why the hell do they have to dredge up all the shit from before? As far as Greg was concerned Texas and everything that happened there was the dividing line between then and now. He just wanted to stay planted firmly in the now. Because now was pretty fucking awesome.

"Nick..."

"Seared scallops, chorizo stuffed mushrooms, and shrimp ceviche." Raul announced as he placed the first of their tapas on the table. Raul poured more wine for Nick, leaving Greg's glass untouched.

Greg didn't even care because Raul's timing was perfect. He tried to take advantage of the interruption to distract Nick from the current path into the danger zone. "He's into you."

"Who?"

"Raul. The waiter. He totally wants you." Greg did his best to turn the tables. "He's kinda hot, too."

"Is he?" Nick played along. "I didn't notice."

"How could you not notice a hot waiter falling all over you?" Greg chuckled so Nick would know he was teasing.

Nick scooted his chair around the small table until he was sitting close to Greg. He leaned himself into Greg and wrapped an arm around his shoulder. "It's hard to notice the hot waiter when you're sitting over here distracting me." Nick purred against Greg's ear before he pulled back just enough to kiss him.

After the sweetest kiss Greg can ever remember Nick pulled back and traced along the shell of Greg's ear with one finger. "I still want to talk about it, G."

Fuck. "Nick. I know you're dealing with a lot. I'm really sorry for getting between you and your family - I never intended for it to be like this. They love you though, I know they'll come around eventually and you'll work it out..."

He found himself suddenly silenced with Nick's lips pressed firmly against his. "Hush." Nick said before another kiss. "That's not what I want to talk about."

"I'm a little confused." Greg was trying not to be distracted by Nick's face still being so close. "I thought you wanted to talk about Texas."

"I do." Nick sat back just enough to make it about talking instead of kissing. "Greg. Look..."

Greg could see the struggle written all over Nick's face. He was obviously trying to get it right. Greg thought it was endearing.

Nick took a deep breath and tried to get Greg to understand. "I grew up with a lot of love. I have a huge family and I was the baby, so it was like I was the center of the Stokes' Universe. It was really great and really suffocating. But for all of the negative - I always knew I was loved. There was comfort in that and I was terrified of losing it. My whole life I tried to be what I thought I needed to be to make sure I never lost them."

Greg felt like the biggest asshole in the world. Nick spent a lifetime protecting his family connection and Greg managed to implode it in the matter of two days. "I'm sorry, Nick. I never meant to..."

"Greg." Nick said sternly. "I never want to hear you apologize for...fuck, G. You can apologize for getting pissy when you're too hungry or for leaving your socks on the kitchen table or...whatever...but..." Nick was struggling to put his thoughts together again. "I'm not doing this very well."

"You're doing just fine." And Greg meant it. He could tell that whatever Nick was trying to say was going to make Greg very, very happy regardless of how clumsily he articulated it.

"There is nothing you have to apologize for when it comes to my family. If anything I should be begging for forgiveness. The way they treated you was...it's still so hard to believe that those people are the same people I grew up with. I've been thinking about it since we got home and it still seems so unreal." Nick's words were flowing free now. It almost seemed like a stream of consciousness.

So Greg just grabbed Nick's hand and held on.

Nick relaxed when he felt Greg's gentle reassurances. "I realized that it wasn't as shocking as I wanted to believe, though. I think that's why I feel so fucking guilty about dragging you out there. I mean...think about it, G...my whole life I've been avoiding it. Until you, I never really got close to anyone because I didn't want to have to...I just didn't want them to know that part of me. So I had lots of sex with lots of people but that's all it was. Then you came along and I knew you were trouble."

"Trouble?" Greg tried to make Nick smile.

"The best kind of trouble." Nick chuckled and squeezed Greg's hand. "I have so many regrets when it comes to you - so much I wish I could do differently. I've hurt you and I've taken you for granted and I've pushed you away and held you captive at the same time and I'm so so sorry because I sacrificed you for the sake of a family who I knew wouldn't love me if they knew who I really was. I knew - deep in my soul - I knew they would be exactly the way they were and I took you there anyway."

"They love you Nicky." Greg wanted to take the pain from Nick's eyes.

Nick just shook his head and kissed Greg again. "No they don't. People who love me could never...god..." He kissed Greg again, long and deep. "You love me. Despite all of my obvious flaws - you love me. You see me - even when I can't see myself - and you love me. Your folks love me. Warrick loves me. And Cath and Sara. Grissom...he's like a father to me."

"I think you've got a pretty solid lab rat fan club, too." Greg put his free hand on Nick's thigh.

Nick kissed Greg again. "Good to know."

"Nick, I'm sure they'll come around." Greg hated the thought of his sweet man feeling like he had lost so much.

"You're not hearing me, G." A single tear trickled down Nick's cheek. "They can come around all they want - it's not about that for me anymore. I don't want anyone in my life who could treat you the way they treated you. None of that is your fault. You're perfect, Greg. All they had to do was give you a chance and they would have been able to share in this gift I've been given. I'm so fucking happy and it's because of you. They'll never see me happy, Greg - and they don't even care."

"Damn it, Nicky." Greg gently wiped away a few tears from Nick's face with his thumb. "I hate seeing you cry. If you're so happy why do you look so sad?"

"Not because I'm grieving the loss, if that's what you think. I've had enough time to do that over the last few weeks." Nick pulled Greg a little closer.

"Then why?" Greg asked, still brushing his thumb against Nick's face.

"I'm not sad. Just grateful that you're here, because I surely don't deserve you." Nick explained. "But I'm going to make it up to you. If it takes me the rest of my life, I promise you - I'm going to make it up to you."

"You already have." Greg meant it, too.

Nick pulled Greg into another kiss and this time he didn't stop with a chaste, sweet lip-to-lip contact. Nick pulled Greg toward him until their chests were pressed together, knees scissored with each other as much as dining room chairs would allow. He grabbed a handful of Greg's hair to angle his head enough to deepen the kiss.

Greg could taste the wine on Nick's tongue.

"Parma stuffed artichokes and jamon with melon." Raul placed the plates on the crowded table with the yet to be touched tapas he had brought earlier. "Should I cancel the rest of your order, sir?"

Nick's lips were red and puffy and he looked like he couldn't quite put his thoughts together, so Greg answered Raul and enjoyed the disappointment in his eyes when he failed to get Nick's attention. "Just slow it down a little. This man's going to need all the calories he can get later."

That got Nick's attention. He laughed and Greg watched the last little bit of sad fade away from his dark chocolate eyes. "So are you, G."

Raul turned away with a hint of attitude.

"I think Raul might hate me for taking his dream date." Greg teased before he kissed Nick again. "Do you have any idea how much I want you right now?"

Nick placed one of Greg's hands on the bulge in his crotch. "This much?"

"Fuck." Greg literally groaned. "How am I supposed to get through dinner now? Let's just go home and fuck."

"We'll do that later." Nick kissed Greg one last time before he scooted a little farther away. "For now we're going to enjoy a nice meal, good wine, and quiet conversation."

"You're distracting me with your hotness." Greg pouted and hoped it would work.

"Maybe planning our anniversary party will help get your mind off of thinking about how many ways I'm going to fuck you when I get you home." Nick said as he casually took a sip of wine.

"Oh that's just mean...wait...what anniversary party?"

Nick grinned. "The party we deserve after eight years together. Not to mention these." Nick held up his left hand and flashed his band proudly. "We need to celebrate with the people we love, The people who love us. Our chosen family."

Greg could feel himself welling up. "I love that plan."

"I thought you would." Nick gripped Greg's hand again and it took all of Greg's self control not to straddle Nick right there in the restaurant. "I thought we could do it in four weeks when we both have a weekend off. It will give your parents time to book a flight, too."

"Yeah. Okay. That's...perfect." Greg stabbed a scallop with his fork and held it up to Nick's lips. "Eat, Babe. Store up some energy. You're going to get quite a workout when I get your hot ass home."

TBC