A/N: Chapter four! I also really like this chapter. Usual disclaimer applies. Please read and review!

Chapter 4

"And it's someplace simple where we could live
And it's something only you can give
And that's faith and trust and peace while we're alive"

Ryan woke slowly as the early morning Miami sun filtered through the blinds. He didn't immediately move, instead feeling more comfortable than he had felt in a long time. A smile spread across his face, and he rolled over to look at the reason for his comfort.

Greg was awake, surprisingly enough. In fact, he had propped himself up on one elbow and had obviously been watching Ryan sleep. Ryan felt a blush rise in his cheeks. They had just recently started spending the night together again, and as wonderful as it was, it still felt a bit strange to Ryan. He had just gotten used to sleeping by himself…not that he'd trade it, ever. He loved having Greg back in his life, and he decided to share that love, leaning over and planting a gentle kiss on Greg's lips.

Though Greg kissed him back, he also quickly pushed Ryan away from him. "Morning breath, sorry," he apologized sheepishly, his non-gelled and desperately in need of a haircut hair falling into his eyes, making him look even more irresistible than usual.

"I don't care," said Ryan, raising an eyebrow, "just get over here and kiss me."

Greg's face lit up with a big grin, and he complied with Ryan's order, rolling over so that he was practically on top of him and kissing him as if he didn't need to come up for air. This continued for a few minutes until Ryan finally broke away, laughing. "Alright, alright! I said kiss me, not murder me with your mouth."

Though a glimmer of disappointment glinted in Greg's eyes as Ryan stood up from the bed, clearly heading to take a shower, he disguised it well. "I'll go make us some coffee," he said cheerfully, heading to the kitchen.

Ryan did head to the shower, his own eyes disappointed as well. He knew what was bothering Greg, because it was the same thing that was bothering him, and it was the reason why he would be taking a cold shower that morning, like all the recent mornings before it. He and Greg had not had sex since they had been living together so long ago. In truth, it seemed like a lifetime ago; so much had happened since then.

And it was everything that had happened since then that was stopping them.

More accurately, it was everything that had happened that was stopping Ryan, and he felt guilty about that. He had told Greg that he was over everything, and was looking forward to building their future together, but the lack of trust he still had prevented him from opening himself up that much more, to that level from which there was really no return.

So for now, he and Greg would both have to resign themselves to kissing and cold showers, and though that arrangement was tentative, neither men were willing to break it, especially now that they had taken more steps forward. Greg was staying over, and Ryan had to admit that the part of his heart that he had silenced for so many months was now reveling in the older man's company. When Ryan got to fall asleep in Greg's arms, it truly felt as if everything was right in the world.

Or course, he mused as he finished his shower, everything was obviously not right in the world, or else they wouldn't have to go in to work today. Still, the general stress of being a CSI seemed to have melted away since Greg's return and their subsequent making-up (and making out). There was nothing better than being stressed from a long case and then having your true love and best friend there at your side to give you a shoulder massage or a listening ear or even just to hold you when you cried after seeing the horrors of humanity.

It also helped that every time Greg and Ryan were assigned to the same case, they solved it with more accuracy and speed than any other time in the MDPD. There was just an energy between them, an understanding that had come from hard work, sweat, tears and blood, in some cases. But mostly, it came from a newfound and deep love and respect for each other and their respective abilities. Together, they were Yin and Yang, the Odd Couple or whatever else, but they were also an unstoppable force.

And it felt so good.

It was just right, the way they worked together, the way they interacted. They were on a whole separate wavelength, but they were there together, and that was what mattered.

Like now. Greg knocked on the bathroom door and Ryan hastily wrapped a towel around his waist before opening the door and accepting the steaming hot cup of Blue Hawaiian that Greg held for him. "Thanks," murmured Ryan, drinking deeply. After he swallowed, he said, "Shower's all yours."

"Good," said Greg, pausing to kiss Ryan once on the lips before disappearing into the bathroom.

Ryan grinned dazedly and went to go find clothes to wear. Things were definitely well on their way to how they were meant to be.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Greg and Ryan strolled into work right on time. This was another counterbalance; Greg was always late, and Ryan was always early, so together they arrived on time. It was amazing that they had never discovered that particular secret earlier in their relationship. There again, Ryan thought to himself, his forehead creasing, they had probably been too busy fighting to worry about synching their schedules.

Greg noticed the wrinkle in Ryan's forehead and he asked concernedly, "What's wrong?"

Ryan's forehead smoothed out as he smiled up at Greg. "Nothing," he said quickly, then, in an effort to be more honest, "I was just thinking about the past."

Though Greg's eyes hardened for a second, he still smiled and leaned over to kiss Ryan on the forehead where the crease had been. "Let the past stay in the past," he whispered, resting his forehead on Ryan's.

A low whistle came from across the lobby of the crime lab, and Greg and Ryan looked up to see Calleigh standing there, smirking, with her arms crossed. "Get a room, would you?" she called to them, still grinning wickedly.

Greg and Ryan just looked at each other, smiling. Since their talk after Ryan and Calleigh's girls' night, Calleigh had decided that it was her single-handed efforts that brought Greg and Ryan together again. Unfortunately, this had the result of Calleigh being even more insufferable than usual, especially when she caught the two of them together.

Still, Greg and Ryan were undeterred as they made their way into the lab. They kissed quickly in the locker room before Greg headed out to a crime scene with Eric and Ryan went with Calleigh to work on a computer they had picked up from a suspect the day before.

Ryan hadn't even gotten all the way into the AV-lab before Calleigh had pounced on him, grinning like a cat that had gotten to the cream. "You've moved in together, haven't you?" she demanded, her eyes gleaming.

"What? Of course not," Ryan said, thrown off by her question. There were many conclusions that could be drawn about Ryan and Greg's relationship, but that was not one of them.

Calleigh looked disappointed for an instant, but she recovered quickly. "Are you sure?" she insisted, leaning against the counter and giving him her best Calleigh-death-stare of truth.

Ryan would've laughed out loud at the insinuation that he wouldn't know if they had moved in together or not, but his own curiosity got in the way. "I'm positive. Why in the world would you assume that we were living together again?"

This time, Calleigh's smug expression had a definite I-know-something-you-don't-know undertone, and she flipped her blonde hair, smiling. "Well, for starters," she began, clearly relishing this moment. "I'm fairly certain that you don't own a Marilyn Manson t-shirt."

Ryan looked down at his shirt, appalled not only at the fact that he was wearing Greg's shirt but at the fact that he was wearing a Marilyn Manson shirt! He must've been more distracted than usual if he hadn't noticed what clothes he was putting on. Though he felt himself flushing slightly, he said calmly, "Well, Greg's been talking for a long time about expanding my music taste, so he got me this t-shirt."

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Still, Calleigh's smug expression didn't even flicker with this new (albeit false) information. If anything, her smile got wider. "That very well may be," she allowed, though doubt colored her tone, "but you won't be able to explain away Greg's wardrobe so easily."

"Why, what is Greg wearing that's so damning?" demanded Ryan.

Calleigh smirked at him. "One of your shirts."

Ryan snorted at this. This was one thing that Calleigh would never be able to prove. "Calleigh, my wardrobe consists of solid color t-shirts," he said calmly. "Anyone could have the same t-shirts, even Greg."

"He could," Calleigh agreed, "but in your wardrobe, you happen to have to one green shirt that has a lighter green dragon emblem on it, and Greg just happens to be wearing that exact shirt."

Ryan just stared at her. "How in the Hell do you know what I have in my wardrobe?" he spluttered, utterly amazed.

Her smile was wicked as she answered simply, "I got that shirt for you for your birthday."

Though Ryan wanted to groan out loud, he settled for letting out a deep sigh. "Ok, so Greg spent the night last night," he finally divulged. "But we definitely haven't moved back in together yet." He broke off, something close to raw panic gripping his heart as he whispered, "I don't know if I'm ready for us to live together yet."

Calleigh reached out and touched his hand, all traces of smugness gone, replaced by concern. "Ryan…" she started, but then she trailed off, a sudden knowing look in her eyes. Backtracking, she asked, "Was this the first time Greg's slept over since he's come back?"

"No," Ryan answered shortly, not wanting to give away more information.

Sighing, Calleigh pushed further. "Well, how many nights in the past seven days has he slept over at your place?"

Ryan blushed scarlet and looked down at his feet as he answered quietly, "Seven."

"Ok, so you've spent every night of the past week together, and then today you come into work wearing each other's clothes?" Calleigh's eyes glowed as she summarized it. "I think it's pretty clear that you're ready to move in together again."

Still looking down, Ryan just shook his head. "I don't know," he muttered, the back of his neck still red. "On one hand, I am ready. But on the other…it's so official, you know?"

Calleigh nodded sympathetically. "I do know," she said quietly. "And that makes it really scary. But Ryan, you have to take a step sooner or later, and this is a perfect opportunity for you to make your new future together one hundred percent official."

Ryan finally looked up, even smiling slightly. "That sounds really nice," he said weakly. "But how do I go about broaching the topic with Greg?"

Looking thoughtful for a moment, Calleigh's wicked smile returned, as did the smugness. "I have the perfect idea, and it will definitely make things official…"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Later that evening, Ryan sat at home, nervously awaiting Greg's return. His palms were sweating and his heart was pounding, all over something that was so stupid. He shouldn't be nervous about this. He shouldn't.

Too bad no one bothered telling his heart that.

He jumped about a foot in the air when the front door opened, and Greg looked at him curiously as he walked in, stooping to kiss him on the top of his head. "Jumpy much?" Greg quipped as he took his shoes off and stretched before heading straight for the couch, which he laid down, face-first, on, stretching out to his full length. "What's got you so wound up?"

Ryan swallowed nervously. "Um," he started, but it came out in a squeak more suited for dog's ears. Clearing his throat. "Um, well, I just…I wanted to talk to you."

"Is this bad?" asked Greg, not lifting his face from the couch, so his voice was muffled. "Because if it's bad, I don't want to know. We can talk about it tomorrow."

Ryan shook his head quickly, even though Greg couldn't see. "No, it's not bad," he assured him. "In fact…well, I think it's really good."

Greg rolled over just enough so that he could open one eye to look at Ryan suspiciously. "This sounds like it's the part of the story where you tell me you're pregnant," he said warily. "But I know better than that…I hope."

Rolling his eyes, Ryan sat up straighter. "No, I'm not pregnant. I am, however, trying to have a serious moment here, which is rather difficult to do when you're making jokes about pregnancy with half of your face smooshed into the couch."

Now it was Greg's turn to roll his eyes, but he sat up, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Alright, I'm serious," he said, frowning. "Now would you just spit it out already?"

Ryan swallowed, hard, then reached for the manila file folder on the coffee table. "I have a form for you to fill out," he said quietly, handing the folder to Greg, who didn't look at it. "It's for the department."

"You got this worked up over a departmental form?" Greg griped as he opened the folder. "Honestly, I could've done this later…Oh."

His "oh" about summed it up. It wasn't really surprise, or shock, nor even happiness or anger. It just…was. Then a grin spread across Greg's face, leaping into his eyes, making them glow with genuine happiness, a happiness that Ryan doubted a change of address form for the PD had ever caused before. "Are you serious?" he breathed.

Ryan grinned as well, his just slightly more tentative than Greg's. "Yes," he confirmed, his own eyes shining with joy. "I am very, very serious. I want you to officially move in with me. And for good, this time."

"Of course," affirmed Greg, leaning over to wrap Ryan in a huge hug. "Once I'm in here, you're never going to be able to get rid of me."

Laughing, Ryan allowed Greg to pull him over to the couch, even lying down next to Greg, loving the feel of Greg's arms around him. "Don't worry," he whispered, kissing Greg once. "I will never want to get rid of you."

Greg grinned, kissing Ryan as well. After a minute, Ryan asked out of curiosity, "I'm just wondering…you seemed surprised by this. So…what did you think I wanted tonight?"

To Ryan's surprise, Greg blushed deeply. "Nothing," he muttered, but Ryan elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch, that was unnecessary, Wolfe," he growled, but after massaging his ribs, he elaborated. "I thought…it's really stupid, I know…but for a moment, I thought you were going to propose."

Ryan blanched, his eyes wide. "Marriage?" he gulped, scrambling for words. "I don't think I'm ready for that particular step yet."

"Really?" Greg asked in his ear. "Because I am."

Rolling over to look in Greg's eyes, Ryan asked, "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

Greg smiled. "Very, very serious. No worries, Mr. Wolfe. I'll make an honest man out of you yet. We won't be living in sin forever."

Ryan just raised his eyebrows. "We'll see about that," he muttered, laying his head against Greg's chest. "But for now, this is perfect."

"Yes," Greg agreed, kissing the top of Ryan's head. "Perfect."