Thanks for the reviews! And also, many thanks to ktattoo for beta-ing again

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They were definitely together, which threw Hodges off a bit. Maybe he could've gotten them to date, but to actually admit it was something completely different. He'd never have a chance now…

Well, Sara's life-threatening situation got Grissom to admit his true feelings, maybe he...? No, too dangerous, and besides, he didn't want to risk his job just to get them to say something. He spun in his chair as he thought of a plan before realizing a flaw. Greg constantly talked about the hot dates he got, but he had recently spoken of his committed relationship. And for once, Nick didn't seem sad. Was there a mutual understanding that they didn't say a word? Or had they realized that Hodges had a plan and were just doing it to screw with his head?

No, it had to be that Greg was dating, not involved - just that night he had heard that he went on another date with a hot redhead….So were the two CSI's involved, or was there some sort of strange, not-really-a-relationship going on?

He was broken from his thoughts when one of the CSI's in question entered the lab, dropping off a bag of evidence before trying to leave. David yelled out a 'hey,' before the CSI made it to the door, and he looked at him for a long moment. Maybe if he just spat it out…

"Are you dating Nick?" It didn't even throw the younger male off guard. With a raised eyebrow, he scoffed.

"Is that a rhetorical question?"

"I'm serious,"

"I'm not dating Nick." Hodges sighed, his plan completely derailed again. What the hell was with them? Now he wanted to know just to know, he could care less if they were happy!

"Then what's with the physical contact? The looks?" His anger only flared more when Greg laughed.

"Most normal people touch, Hodges, and they also look at each other. If you want a book on how regular people act, I've got one at home."

When he didn't get the answer he wanted, he pressed further. "The flirting?" He wasn't surprised when Greg continued laughing, though he was getting angrier.

"I flirt with everyone, Hodges, even with you." Greg gave a quizzical look to him before sighing. "Damn. Are we that obvious?"

David's hopes shot back up. "So you have been dating?" Greg's lips twitched, sliding back into a grin when it dawned on the lab tech. "You know; you don't have to be such an ass about it!"

"Hey, who just accused who of being gay and falling into bed with Nick Stokes?" Greg pointed out, crossing his arms as the smile twisted into a frown. "Oh, I do believe that would be you."

Hodges glared for a few moments, before he thought of another point. "The eye sex."

That did it. He smirked as Greg paled noticeably, and felt quite smug when he realized he had hit close to home with that one. "I, uh…Eye sex? I don't follow."

"Come on, you see Catherine and Warrick do it all the time. Have you not noticed when Nick's undressing you with his eyes?" He sustained his laughter as Greg seemed more worried. "No one else has noticed, in case you were worried," David lied, absolutely loving how the conversation was turning Greg into a nice, easily workable putty.

"We're not dating,"

"Oh really? Then please, explain to me why not because it's not only me who thinks that you two just need to get it over with and screw," he winced at the sound of the sentence and shook his head.

"I, uh…Haven't…ever…Told him?" Greg's sentence was hopeful, almost as though Hodges would do the dirty work for him. There was a strange twinkle in the CSI's eyes, but he decided that it was just because he was talking about Nick Stokes with Hodges rather than trying to screw him over.

"And why not?"

Greg was silent. "I…don't know." the trace technician growled with frustration, dragging the level one from the room in a fit of absolute disgust - not from the overall look of the situation, just because he had kept his mouth shut. For seven years.

He pushed open the door to an almost-empty lab room, and shoved him in. The Texan in said lab raised an eyebrow at Hodges but nodded in acknowledgement to Greg. "I'll make sure that you don't leave this room until something's discussed," he warned Greg turning on his heel and walking from the lab room, leaning against the opposite wall and watching, trying to figure out exactly what was going on between them.

There was always the possibility that they had a 'friends-with-benefits' relationship, though neither of them really wanted it - they just took it because that's all they thought they could get. David snorted - they must really be dense, because it was so damn obvious to the rest of the lab that they were in love, so why not them?

Curiosity began to eat at him, and he looked back at the lab room - empty. Either they had left in a fit of contained laughter or had found a more private place in the building.

Hodges sighed, frustration growing when he realized he was completely off break ten minutes ago…Which meant that there wasn't any time to search for them. Maybe he'd find out next shift, or the shift after that, or the shift after that. It was truly an endless cycle, and if he wasn't so curious to know what really happened, he would've just let it go.

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The couple in question didn't visit him - alone or otherwise - for the rest of the night, and though it was visibly obvious he was looking for them, no one commented on it. Occasionally, he'd see one of them talking to a lab tech, laughing and gesturing to his lab…Under normal circumstances, it would've sent up a flag in his mind, but he was too busy trying to read lips to really care that they were talking about him.

Flat out admittance had failed again, though he hadn't tried getting something from Nick, though knowing the Texan, he'd probably just laugh it off or get really angry…Neither of which were reactions that David wanted.

Instead he decided he'd wait it out…For a while, at least.