AN: Don't own 'em, just love 'em.
Nick opened his eyes and looked over at the man sitting next to him and gave a sigh of contentment. The past seven months since meeting the young Californian had been the happiest of his entire life and that was saying something. Nick had experienced a childhood many could only dream of. He had loving, caring parents and siblings, and an extended family that welcomed him into their arms whenever he traveled back to Texas. His college and early professional years had been fun and exciting, with very little drama or heartache to consider. But the last seven months, with the exception of a few moments, had been joyous, the kind of days you relieve on your darkest nights, hoping to recapture the feelings, if only fleetingly.
Earlier in the week, both he and Greg had been offered contracts for the upcoming school year. Although the two men had not discussed the possibility of their school district not extending their current contracts, Nick had suffered some trepidation that perhaps the remarks made by Donovan Leahy had not been sufficient enough warning for Superintendent Ecklie and the school board to look past the rantings of the drunken man last December.
Watching Greg, as he sat with his ear buds in, gazing out of the airplane window, Nick experienced a momentary feeling of fear that maybe everything was going too well. Perhaps, the state championship, his relationship with Greg, and his seemingly perfect life at this point were all a dream. A dream that upon waking would make his life a nightmare. He stretched out a hand to touch the arm beside him, needing the tactile reassurance that only touching Greg would give him.
Greg felt Nick's touch and turned to his lover with a smile, removing his ear buds with his unfettered hand. "Hey, Nicky. Did you get any sleep?" At the older man's denial, Greg shifted in his seat, leaning into the man beside him and resting his head close to Nick's. "Me either. We'll have to catch a nap when we get to Mom and Dad's. This leaving in the middle of the night stuff was crazy."
Nick chuckled and agreed. "I didn't want to waste a minute of our Spring break, but I think I'm getting too old for all-nighters, they never used to bother me in college."
"You're getting to be an old man now, Nicky," Greg teased. "When we get back to Vegas, we better make an appointment to get you set up with hearing aids and a walker."
"Old man! Hey, I can keep up with you on even your best nights, G. Seems to me you were the one asking me to let you rest last weekend." Nick smiled at the incredulous look on Greg's face, seeing he was getting ready to refute the statement. Before the young man could voice his response, Nick leaned in to capture his lips. "I may be older, G, but that just means that I been around longer and know what I want out of life."
Greg looked deeply into the Texan's eyes and asked, "What do you want, Nicky?" He was hoping the answer to his question wasn't a what, but a who.
Nick reached up to caress a soft cheek in front of him. "Just you, G. All I want or need is you."
Greg sighed and leaned into Nick's touch. "I may not be as old as you, Nicky, but I know you're all I need or want, too."
His welcome upon exiting the airplane in San Francisco this time was much different than the one three months ago. In December Greg's mother had been hesitant and cold around him, but now after the initial embrace of her only son, Nick was being enfolded in her arms for hug that told him she was glad he had come to visit his boyfriend's family again. Nick looked up to see Greg watching the encounter with a goofy smile on his face and returned the grin, glad that this hello was so much less tension-filled than the one at Christmas.
As Karoline released Nick, he moved to take Jim Sander's hand and saw the older man smiling at the moment that had passed between his wife and his son's partner. "Glad to have you back with us, Nick," Jim said without reservation.
"Glad to be here, Jim. Didn't Karl and Ingrid come with you this morning?" he asked looking around the terminal for Greg's maternal grandparents.
Karoline smiled at the boys and answered for her husband, "Mom wanted to stay and make sure that when you got home there would be a hot breakfast waiting. I believe she was asking Greg's grandfather to get the waffle maker out of the pantry when we left."
Greg smiled and linked an arm with his mother's. "Just warning you, Mom. Neither Nick or I got any sleep on the plane or before we left last night, so we'll probably need to catch a few winks after we eat."
"That's okay, honey. I'll just be glad to have you both in the house again." She looked at her husband and he smiled. Jim liked it when his wife was happy, and she was never happier than when her family was all together under her roof.
True to Karoline's words, Ingrid had been undertaking the preparation of a breakfast that rivaled the one they had eaten on Christmas morning. In addition to the waffles that had been mentioned earlier, Greg's Nana Olaf had made a scrambled egg casserole with bacon, cut up a large bowl of fresh fruit and baked a large pan of sticky buns.
After Nick and Greg had hugged the older couple and said their hellos, the group sat down for a leisurely meal. Both the travelers cleaned their plates and although denying seconds of the food, drank multiple cups of coffee trying to fight the growing sleepiness that was overcoming them.
Nana Olaf sat quietly watching the interplay at the table, casting her eyes between the two men sitting across from her. Greg caught her glance and grinned at his grandmother. "You're quiet, Nana Olaf. What are you thinking?" he asked.
She looked at him and then at Nick before looking back to Greg, saying in Norwegian, "Du er to glad."
"Yeah, Nana. We are happy." Greg turned to smile at Nick, who nodded in agreement. "Very, very happy."
The older woman nodded and replied, "Glemm ikke denne følelsen, Greg."
"I won't, Nana Olaf. I'll never forget this feeling." He reached over to take Nick's hand, watching as the Texan struggled to cover a yawn. Greg turned to his family and began to push back on his chair to rise. "Time for us to catch some shut-eye, or we'll be dropping here soon."
Nick rose and thanked Greg's grandparents for the meal and allowed his lover to lead him up the stairs to the room they were sharing. He paused inside the door as Greg began unbuttoning his shirt for him, placing a kiss on his jaw line.
"Greg, I don't think I …," he began before he was cut off.
"Shh, Nicky. I'm not starting anything. I just need to…." He kissed Nick's neck and pulled the shirt off his shoulders. "I just need to …."
"It's okay, G. I understand." He stilled the young man's hands and pulled him in close, wrapping his arms around Greg's back. "I feel the same way, sweetheart." He rested his chin on the shoulder in front of him and ran his hands up and down Greg's back. "We need to get some sleep."
Greg sighed and leaned back to look Nick in the eyes. "I love you, Nicky, but the last one in bed has to snuggle with Einstein tonight." He pulled back and quickly began to work the buttons on his own shirt with a manic smirk on his face.
Nick grinned in response and lowered his hands to the snap on his own jeans. "You're on, G. Of course, I'd rather hold you in my arms."
At his words Greg faltered in his disrobing, allowing Nick to make quicker progress. The young man smiled and caught Nick's hands, stopping his movements. "How about if it's a tie, Einstein has to sleep downstairs?"
Nick nodded and moved his hands to the snap on Greg's pants instead. "I like the way you think, G."
Nick awoke and looked at the young man still sleeping in his arms. He gently disengaged himself and moved slowly from the bed, allowing Greg to continue sleeping. Grabbing his clothing from the floor, he quietly slipped them on before exiting the bedroom and walking downstairs.
The lower level was quiet and Nick kept his eyes open for anyone that might be in the silent rooms. When he came to the kitchen, he saw Nana Olaf sitting at the kitchen table snapping fresh green beans, a large bowl setting on her lap.
"Hello, Ingrid," he said upon moving into the room, his eyes settling on the coffee pot on the counter. "Do you mind if I get a cup of coffee?" Greg's grandmother nodded and smiled.
Nick filled a cup and moved to the table. "Where did everyone else go?" he asked, sitting down with the older woman and lifting the cup to his lips. Ingrid nodded her head towards the backyard and Nick acknowledged her movement with a smile.
After a few moments he began to fidget in his seat. "Greg tells me you're psychic. Is that right, Ingrid?" he inquired softly. The woman sitting across from him gave him a half smile and shrugged her shoulders. "Ja."
Nick set the cup on the table and laced his fingers together, resting his lower arms on the surface in front of him. He looked up at Ingrid and saw that she had halted her food preparation and was watching him intently, waiting for his next words.
"Ingrid, do you see a future for Greg and me? A long term future, I mean." He almost stumbled on the words, afraid of a negative response from Greg's grandmother.
She smiled and nodded her head, "Ja. Jeg ser et hus og barn."
Nick looked at her puzzled, "I'm sorry. I don't understand."
Nana Olaf set the bowl on the table and rising, crossed the room to pull a tablet and pencil from a drawer. She came back and sitting down in her chair, began to draw. Nick leaned forward to watch her movements. He saw as she drew a pencil outline of a house. "Hus," she said pointing at the drawing.
Nick nodded. "Hus, house," he repeated, understanding her meaning.
Ingrid smiled and proceeded to draw two stick figures beside the house. She pointed to one and said, "Greg." Then pointed to the other one and pointed to Nick.
"So, Greg and I have a house together, Ingrid?" he asked with a smile.
"Ja," she said raising the pencil one more time. Nick watched as she continued to draw. This time she drew two more stick figures, however these stick figures were smaller than the first two. "Barn, to."
She raised her eyes to Nick's and saw they were glistening with unshed tears. "Two children, Ingrid?" he asked with a choked voice.
"Ja, Nicky. To." She set down the pencil and carefully tore the paper from the tablet and handed it over to Nick, who took it reverently.
"Thank you, Nana," he said quietly, staring at the paper. He felt her touch on his arm and looked back up at Greg's grandmother. "I love him so much."
She nodded at Nick and smiled. "Det er god, Nicky." She patted his hand and then reached for her bowl to return to her task. Nick stood and walked out of the kitchen headed for the stairs and Greg.
Entering the bedroom he slipped the drawing carefully into his suitcase being vigilant not to crease the paper, before removing his outer clothing and crawling back into bed. He reached out for Greg and smiled as the young man snuggled into his body unconsciously in his sleep.
A couple of days later the two men sat on Ocean Beach and watched the sun set into the waves, Greg nestled between Nick's legs, his back against Nick chest. "That was beautiful, G. Thanks for bringing me here to see it." Nick rubbed his cheek against the young man's soft hair as darkness fell around them.
"I love sharing it with you, Nicky. Growing up this was my favorite place to be. I solved many a world's problem on this beach." Greg turned his head to place a kiss on the dark-haired man's face.
Nick lifted one of Greg's hands and brought it up to his lips to place a kiss on the soft palm. "Where's your favorite place now that you're all grown up, G?"
"That's easy, Nicky. It's anywhere you are," he said without hesitation.
Nick lowered his forehead to Greg's shoulder and groaned, "Hell Greg, do you realize what you're saying that does to me?" He placed one hand on the young man's torso and the other on a leg to pivot Greg slightly, enabling him to capture the other man's lips.
Greg wrapped his arms around Nick and pulled him close. "Love you so much, Nicky," he whispered as the older man's lips drifted to the crease of skin where Greg's neck and shoulder met.
"Let's come back this summer, G. We'll drive out. That way when we go back to Vegas we can take your dog back with us." Nick continued to kiss the young man, talking softly as he moved his lips across the creamy skin of his lover.
"I'd love to come back here with you this summer, Nicky, but I can't take Einstein back to Vegas with me, my apartment doesn't accept pets. Maybe I can find another one though; my lease is up the end of July."
Nick brought his hands up to cradle Greg's head and murmured against his lips. "Don't renew that lease, G. Pack up all those cds and bottles of hair product and move in with me." He latched onto Greg's soft lips and suckled gently.
"Nicky?" the young man gasped when he was allowed to breathe again. "What…."
"I'll put up a fence so that Einstein can have the run of the backyard. I'll even put in a doggy door if you think we need one." Nick returned his lips to Greg's mouth stilling the questions the young man was attempting to form.
"Move in with me, Greg. Share my life. Please." He continued to hold Greg's head in his hands, stroking his thumbs across sunburned cheeks, as he leaned back far enough to look at the chemistry teacher's expression.
Greg looked back at Nick with eyes glazed with wonder and need. "Nicky, are you sure?"
"Been thinking about it for a long time now, G. I really want you to move in with me. I want to share everything with you. Do you want that too?"
"God yes, Nicky. I'd love to move in with you. I love you so much."
Nick caught Greg's lips and after a chaste kiss, pulled him in close, wrapping his arms around the young man as tightly as possible. "I love you, too, Greg, more than I thought possible."
After a short while, Nick and Greg stood, and linking hands walked down the beach towards the parking lot. They both knew that there would be many more trips to this spot. It was now another place where they had made a memory and as such it would always be cherished.
As they reached the car, Nick turned Greg's body so that they were both looking back at the dark of the ocean. "We'll bring our children here one day, G." Greg looked at Nick with an incredulous expression. Nick merely smiled, "Since meeting you, Greg, I've begun to believe in psychics."
The End….
Thanks for sticking with me everyone. I've appreciated the support and reviews enormously. If at anytime I decide to continue in this AU, I'll add another chapter at the end to let anyone who has a story alert know about its presence. ;0)