A/N: a little somethingset in the CSI:VEGAS Universe, featuring Josh Folsom- just because. :)

"So… do you want to hear a funny story?" As soon a she heard Josh clearing his throat, his girlfriend turned off the faucet and, wiping her hands on her old jeans, she turned around to look at him. She was smirking, an eyebrow lifted quizzically, her eyes glistening with mirth.

"Oh, don't tell me- you were on a case, and the culprit put the moves on you and you got scared?" She chuckled. She wouldn't have been surprised – more than one lady (and man) made eyes to Josh, and she couldn't blame them: he was easy on the eyes, and with a charming personality.

"Eh, no." He cleared his throat once again. Biting his lips, he made a small pause, scratching lazily the back of his neck, his eyes firmly on the floor in linoleum. "It's… your daughter. She asked me if I'm actually courting you or if I'm just the weird coworker slash uncle slash lonely friend probably gay coming over way to often for dinner."

"Oh please don't tell me those were her actual words…" She squeezed her eyes, and took a big breath, and, chuckling, he nodded. She groaned, barely resisting the temptation to bang her head against the wall.

Of course her thirteen years old daughter had used those exact words. She was a teenager, after all, and even as a child, she hadn't known any filter brain-mouth whatsoever.

"C'mon babe, she isn't a kid any longer. I've been around a lot lately, and something like that, it was bound to happen." He tried to make her feel better, squeezing her shoulder in earnest, rubbing his thumb on the hot skin of her neck, over her pulse point, his intense gaze never faltering. Any other day she would have remained rooted on the spot, lost in his blue eyes, but not now. Not today. Not after the bombshell he had just dropped over her.

Besides, Josh had just gone and done the unthinkable – he had dared to call her babe.

She hated when he called her babe.

"Do you really have to?" She put some distance between them, turning her attention back to the dirty dishes, and groaned, rolling her eyes and pouting at the same time. It was Josh's turn to lift an eyebrow, although he was just pretending not to know what her point was. "You know that I hate it when you call me babe. It's like…"

"What? Like I'm making fun of you because you are- the horror! – actually a little older than me?" He chuckled. He picked with his finger some foam from the sink, and he placed it on her nose. After, he left a butterfly kiss on the creases of her forehead, knowing all too well that it was only because of that pout that they were there to begin with. "I'll tell you a little secret, I've always had a thing for sugars."

She elbowed him on the side, and together they started laughing. They fell in a comfortable silence, as they started making the dishes- together- working like a well-oiled machine, just like when they happened to share the field on a case.

"It's not like I don't want to tell her that we are together," she suddenly told him, looking at the white porcelain cup in her hands. Her voice was low, barely a whisper, and almost… broken. Sad. Josh just looked at her, and didn't say a world- he knew that, were he to ruin the moment, she would have probably changed topic, and it was a discussion they needed to have. Not only because her daughter was starting to make assumptions and asking questions, but because they needed to decide where they stood.

"My last boyfriend conquered her before making me fall for him, and when he dumped me, she was more devastated than me. I don't want for her to go through the same thing again." She explained. She turned, and met the hard gaze of Josh. He was clenching his teeth, looking hurt. "I'm not saying that you are like that. You are a good man, Josh, but I have to be realistic: how can I be sure that you aren't seeing this like some kind of challenge?"

"A challenge? You think this is how I see you?" He hissed, keeping his voice low. He nervously waved his right hand between their bodies, never stopping to search for her eyes. "How I see this?"

"Let's be honest, Josh: I'm a widowed single mother of forty-four who divides her time between work, home and my daughter's school and I had the brilliant idea of not only dating within the job – because where else could I meet people? – but I went and choose a younger man! Do you have any idea how hard it is? I'm practically living with my make-up bag and last week I had a nervous breakdown because I found a grey hair!" She sighed, waving her soapy hands in the air. "I mean, what's the appeal?"

"Ok, first, I am graying. Right here." He indicated his right temple, stepping closer to her, rubbing his nose against hers in a tenderly sweet gesture. "Second, the appeal is that I like you because you are strong, dedicated, smart and sassy, and not because I thought that a forty-something single mum all job and home would be easier to get in bed."

"Are you really in this for the long haul? Even if I'm a little neurotic and over-protective? And basically an old maid?" She asked. But her smile was back.

He had always loved her smile, ever since day one of their partnership. They way her eyes shone when she had an epiphany about a case.

"I am into this, but I need to know that you are, too. Not in six months, one year, two- now. I don't want to run in circles. I want you, but I need to know that…"

She stopped him before he could finish up the sentence; foamy hands whose fingertips lazily scratched at his scalp, she left a kiss on his lips.

"I just kissed you on the lips, in my kitchen, while my daughter is in the next room. Do you think that we could start with this?" She chuckled, and breathed in his scent, his unique cologne that never failed to make her feel at ease.

Josh held her tightly, sinking his nose into her soft hair, so tightly it felt like he didn't want to let her go anymore. He lifted her into the air, setting her down on the kitchen cabinet, right beside the sink.

"Yes," he told her, never taking his nose off the delicate, vanilla scented skin. "Yes, I think I can work with this."