Disclaimer: The characters of CSI belong to CBS and I'm only doing this for fun. No money is involved in this posting.
A/N: I am a Nick and Greg slasher. If you don't like that kind of thinking consider yourself warned. English (the UK version) is my second language, so any grammatical errors are simply lack of knowledge on my side. This is the first fic I ever wrote and I've had it posted elsewhere. For those of you who also ready read it, there is going to be a few changes. Most are simply grammatical but also the occasional lost word.
It was his second night in Las Vegas; he had gotten up at sundown showered shaved and eaten Fruit Loops before going out into the evening to get to work. Was it really that easy to change the day around or would it hit hard some time tonight he wondered. He bought real coffee beans on his way, no way his was going to drink that crap he had last night again if he could do anything to help it.
The receptionist gave him his new ID card now complete with name and picture when he arrived at the lab. He smiled his biggest smile at her and bounced down the hallway; 'this is so fucking great!' He felt like screaming it out loud to let the whole world know his excitement, but he checked himself and just did a spin with an imaginary dance partner.
Armed with hot coffee and a couple of CD's he headed towards the DNA-lab. There was another tech in there looking tired an irritated.
"Hi I'm Greg Sanders. I started here last night."
"So I heard" grunted the other.
"Dayshift left a shit load for us to process. Get it done so it'll be ready for them in the morning. Goodnight!" He said leaving the lab in very messy state.
Not exactly the kind of start he had imagined for the night. Armed with coffee and music in his ears he started testing the various samples. Greg was so absorbed in his work and his dancing to the music that when Warrick came in tapping his shoulder he jumped spilling the solution he'd just carefully measured up.
"Give me a chance here!" Pulling his earplugs out looking quite startled.
"Just came to get the results." Warrick said headshaking.
"Maybe you should keep the volume down so you can hear what is happening around you." A smile spread across Warrick's face.
"So you want to know what I have found out regarding your sample." Greg clearly pronounced every single word dragging the suspense out. This immediately gave the other a deep frown. Greg had already yesterday discovered Warrick's lack of interest in long explanations but he just couldn't help himself. A knock on the doorframe from Grissom led to the fast explanation and the two CSI's left satisfied with what they had learned.
When the shift ended he had caught up with the work leftover from the dayshift and he could leave a clean desk behind.
On his way out Nick caught up with.
"Do you need a lift?"
"Nick you don't have to I'm fine with the bus."
"Come on, have you seen the Strip yet?"
"No. Can't say that I have." Greg halted debating with himself over what was more important; fun or painting.
"Listen I can help you with the painting, we'll just drive down the Strip get some chow and then go to your place." He thought he heard a slight pleading in the Nick's voice.
"Ok. Since you're offering." Greg resigned and decided that Nick might just be lonely.
He should have suspected that Nick was a health freak, with his perfect body. Still the salad takeout was a surprise. A least Nick had bought some with meat in them. The drive through town had been exhilarating to say the least even at this early hour the city was full of life. Nick pointed the various casinos and hotels out for him as they drove down the Strip adding a few comments on the crimes they had dealt with in those places. Greg felt like a kid in the Disney World for the very first time, it was so overwhelming he had to force himself to blink and breathe.
"Do you need any shopping done?"
Nick's question yanked his mind out of its trance over dazzling Vegas.
"Eh? I…eh, maybe."
"That's useful. Paint, butter, screws or coffee?" Nick asked teasingly.
"Hey give me a break here. I just had all my senses bombarded."
"Something to drink other than water. So I guess a supermarket would be a good idea." His mind back to the present.
"Ok. Anyone you prefer or just the nearest."
"Just the nearest, remember I'm new in town." Flashing a big smile to Nick.
Somehow the few bottles of soda he had in mind turned into a half full shopping cart in no time. Back at his apartment he unpacked while Nick got changed into the work clothes he had brought with. They ate their salads standing at the kitchen counter. 'Got to get some furniture soon and why had he working clothes with him? What am I missing here?' He wondered if he would ever figure out what Nick was up to.
"So Nick is this your normal welcome to new people at the lab?" Nick flushed bright red at Greg's question.
"No eh I…"
"Not that I mind I'm just curious." He stated when Nick didn't continue.
"Well I'm kinda new here too and just thought that you might like it if someone helped you to settle in. I know I would've." Nick stared intently in his salad while forcing the words out. Greg gave him a light pad on the back.
"I appreciate what you're doing and thank you." He was trying to make Nick feel at ease again.
Soon after they started working on the master bedroom. Greg had decided to change the wallpaper in there as well. They worked in companionable silence until they had stripped about half of the walls.
"Maybe it's because you know."
Greg who was lost in thoughts about extracting DNA from teeth only managed a questioning sound.
"You know… about the gay-club." Nick hesitated.
"Oh. But I told you already that I'm not gonna tell anyone about that. So you helping out are just to ensure that I keep quiet?" Greg couldn't help but wonder.
"NO!"
"Take it easy. I'm just trying to understand. Ok?"
"Ok. Maybe it's because I don't have to hide it from you. I don't know. It was just nice yesterday working and you know talking without thinking about hiding."
"Oh man. You're in trouble if that's how you think."
Nick had stopped his attack on the wallpaper and he seemed so utterly lost, that Greg felt a sting in his heart.
"I don't even know if I'm a 100 gay or not. I mean I've been with a lot of women but never anything serious. I just don't know. I have never discussed it with my family. I know my momma just goes: Don't you worry Nicky-boy there's a nice little lady out there for you and you'll find her in due time." The words came stumbling out.
"Well technically I'm bi, but I prefer to say that if it is legal and consensual I'm game." Greg flashed a big grin at Nick hoping that it would comfort him somehow.
"Did you tell them when you applied for the job?"
"Nah it only said marital status, so I checked the single box."
"What would you've said if they'd asked you?"
"Probably what I just told you. I can't hide something like that. It's not a way that can live with Nick." Stopping his work and seeking eye contact with him.
Nick let out a noticeable sigh and returned to work.
"No offense man. I'm just from a different place and family. Just because I couldn't doesn't mean that I don't respect your choice."
"It just scares the living daylights out of me when I start to think about coming out. You know?" It seemed like Nick was telling it to some spot on the wall. Greg could feel a remark about nightshift and daylight on it's way and kept his mouth shut. It wouldn't go down well at the moment and he really didn't want Nick panicking. Now that he was finally talking.
"I guess it would be like me telling my parents that I joined the Ku Klux Klan or something like that."
"I know quite a lot of parents in Texas that would burst with pride if junior came home and announced something like that." Nick began to loosen up again.
It started a discussion about racism throughout time and the rest of wallpaper surrendered. Once Greg started preparing for the new wallpaper to go up Nick went into the other bedroom to wash the nicotine stained pink ceiling so it would be ready for some white paint.
A little after noon they started quizzing each other on the periodic table just to have something to keep them going. An hour later Nick announced that he needed to go home and get some shuteye. Greg had lost the bounce in his movement by then and couldn't have agreed more.
He walked to work and the night went with testing and flirting with almost anyone who dared enter his lab. 'Yep this is definitely what I want.' He mused as a puzzled Archie left him to his coffee and samples. Nick stopped by a few times more than necessary talking about the weather and baseball. Greg had only been interested in the weather when he could go surfing and baseball wasn't really his thing, he preferred men in better fitting clothing when it came to sports.
When the shift ended Nick again offered him a ride and help. Greg took it insisting on paying the takeout and that it be Thai. They painted the walls and ceilings in the two bedrooms that day. The conversation of the day was mostly about how to analyze different kinds of evidence and Greg just absorbed all the knowledge Nick had worked up over his first few years.
The following week passed in mostly the same way. Greg's stuff didn't arrive on time, no surprise really but annoying since he had started to miss a few things. He had bought bookcases for the study and a small table for the kitchen with two chairs to go along.
Any other furniture would have to wait until his first paycheck. The carpet changing had drained far heavier on his savings than anticipated. Somehow he didn't mind, getting this place right was far more important than getting everything at once.
Even though he had spent so much time with Nick he was still very clueless about the other man. It didn't seem to be intimacy that Nick came for because only work related touches had happened in the past week. He knew that Nick had said it was because he didn't have to hide but still was that all?
Greg was very aware of how he felt himself; of slowly falling for those dark brown eyes that big smile and the flush in the Texans cheeks.
He also knew it was a road to nowhere, Nick would never return his feelings at least not in public and living in secrecy was not an option. He knew he would blow such a secret by accident eventually. He knew his own mouth well enough to know that someday he would just blurt it out without thinking.
Nothing to worry about though Nick would never dare enter into a romance with him. Would he?
"Penny for them?"
Catherine jolted his mind back to the present.
"Sorry, just lost in planning for tomorrow. My stuff is finally coming only three days late."
"Yeah that'd be right. Nothing gets delivered on time unless you pay real good money for it. By the way Greg you do get real good money so where is my sample?"
"Coming up just give the machine a chance." He said pulling the freshly printed sheet for her flashing his best smile at her. For the rest of the shift he kept his mind on work and luckily Nick was out to a scene for the most of the night.
"Do you want a hand when your stuff arrives?" The question came as expected and Greg happily accepted remembering how heavy some of the boxes were and it would give Nick the opportunity to be the perfect gentleman.
Greg's stomach had by now gotten used to the reversal of schedule and the hot Texas chili pot went down without problems. Nick scolded him for drinking coffee with it, but each man has his own favorite poison and for Greg coffee had become essential a long time ago.
It was nearly 10 am before the delivery truck arrived. The driver unloaded the four pallets with Greg's boxes left them on the pavement and drove off. It took them more than an hour to get all the boxes inside and the pallets into the back of Nick's SUV.
"Ok let's find box number 7 and 8."
"Why are they only numbered?"
"Hey loading it onto a truck and not knowing who's to handle my stuff, no way I would write on them what they contain."
"So what's in 7 and 8?"
"Find them and you'll see."
"Hah I've got 7 here." Nick started to dig into the box and retrieved a dark blue bean bag.
"Is this your idea of furniture?" Nick was now sporting his big smile, the one that would make anyone cave into full confession.
"There's more. And don't make fun of my bean bags. Grandpa Olaf gave them to me for my tenth birthday."
"Aha a PlayStation I should've known. What games have you got? You wouldn't happen to have a TV in one those." Nick was quickly scanning the other boxes to see if any of them would give him the answer.
Greg triumphantly held up a small TV and a few games. It didn't take them long to set up the PlayStation and soon they were slumped in a bean bag each racing against each other.
When Greg had outrun Nick for the fifth time he decided to call it quits.
"I don't know how to repay you for all your help. I guess I owe you big time man."
"Hey no worries, my pleasure."
"Listen Nick not to be rude or anything, but I would kind of like to do the unpacking myself. You know just so I know where I put everything." Greg tried not to sound dismissive.
"G. I understand. My momma helped me unpack. It took me ages to figure out where my can opener was." Nick didn't sound put off and Greg felt oddly relieved.
"The pallets were to go back to the freight company right?"
"Oh yeah. I had forgotten about them." Greg sighed he was really far too exhausted to do more that day.
"Why don't I drop them off on the way home? It's no big detour for me."
"Nick you are way too good to me you know that?"
"But I'll really appreciate you dropping them off; I'm busted for the day."
"No problem. See you tonight Greggo."
Greg went for box number 11 which had his pillows and sheets. He quickly arranged them in the small bedroom shoving the sleeping bag into a corner. The image of Nick naked except for the cowboy hat left a wide smile on his face as he drifted of to sleep.