Title: Holidays: Independence Day
Summary: Holidays sometimes help and sometimes hurt, but they're always different.
Pairing: Nick/Hodges
Rating: PG
David Hodges' relationship with Nick Stokes was certainly an unconventional one, but that was to be expected, considering the people involved. On one hand, there was the slightly embittered, kind-of-an-ass lab tech who not many people liked or even tolerated, and on the other hand, there was the gorgeous, charming, wonderful CSI whom everyone loved and liked to be around. It was an odd match, to be sure, though somehow it worked.
Though David couldn't let go of wondering why, exactly, it worked. He could not, for the life of him, figure out the reason that Nick Stokes had chosen him, David Hodges, to give his love and devotion to. "Just because" was not a good enough reason for him and really, it didn't make any sense.
David's relentless curiosity on this subject sometimes instigated fights between them, because David's low self-esteem and surety that Nick would one day come to his senses and leave him sometimes got a bit too much for Nick to handle.
But today was Independence Day and David had vowed to not bring up the touchy subject. He was packing for the picnic they would be having that night as they watched the fireworks. David had secured the night off, but Nick was on call, leaving David fervently hoping that just this once the bad guys would have a slow night.
He wanted to make up the last week to Nick, where he had been particularly morose after some waitress had blatantly flirted with Nick and then had the gall to ask him out as they were in the middle of a date. Nick had awkwardly pointed out that he was with someone and had no use for her or her overpriced perfume (or maybe he had politely said he was on a date and that part had been just David's wishful thinking). The woman had apologized, embarrassed, and fled. David thought with only a minimal bit of guilt that it served her right.
But it had also brought up the insecurities. Nick would always have beautiful people hitting on him. How long would it be before Nick tired of David and his average looks, and moved on?
David sighed and tried to push the thoughts from his mind.
X
Independence Day was supposed to be inspiring. David might not have known what people were talking about before, but he finally thought he had figured it out.
Here he and Nick were, on a blanket, out in the desert, watching fireworks. It was ridiculous and maudlin and romantic and David was not-so-secretly loving every minute of it.
When Nick pulled him closer, he smiled, trying not to sigh, doing his best to keep all his doubts at bay. But really, what hope did he possibly have of keeping such a wonderful creature interested in him for any real length of time?
Nick seemed to know what he was thinking because he tugged a bit harder so David was looking into lovely brown eyes that conveyed warmth, tenderness, and most of all, happiness.
And when they kissed under the fireworks like they were in some cheesy B-grade romantic comedy, David thought that he finally understood what Nick had been trying to tell him for months: he loved him, and the reason didn't matter one bit.
TBC.