Title: The way you smile
Author: gothikmaus
Fandom: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG-13
Category: ficlet
Summary: Greg just can't focus when Nick's smiling at him like that.
A/N: Inspired by the following prompt by creativepromptsforwriting on Tumblr:
"I have wanted to kiss you every time I've seen you smile."
"Then why haven't you yet?"
The smile I'm referring to is this one. Thanks to panchostokes for the gif.
And of course I'm posting this today in honour of George Eads' birthday.
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and all related characters are property of CBS. I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.
Greg was going crazy. Every time his eyes landed on Nick, the Texan would be smiling. Not his usual half smile, the one that barely curved his lips. Not even his trademark grin, the one that accentuated every single line on his face. Greg could handle those smiles, he had years of experience ignoring the butterflies flapping around in his stomach whenever he saw them on Nick's face.
No, that night his co-worker slash secret crush had dug out the heavy artillery and seemed hell-bent on scraping away every last bit of Greg's self-control by sporting a new kind of smile, one Greg had never seen before: it lit up Nick's whole face, turned his features soft, almost boyish, and made his eyes sparkle. And to make things worse, it seemed to be directed specifically at Greg.
It was driving him insane.
"What's up, Sanders? You're awfully quiet today, you feeling unwell?" Warrick asked, and the whole table turned towards him.
Great.
"Give him a break, Rick. He almost got shot on a scene yesterday," Nick intervened in his defense.
Greg wanted to disappear.
"Oh, he's a big boy, he can handle a few stray bullets. Can't you, Greggo?"
Greg shrugged and took another bite of his burger: with his mouth full, he had an excuse not to answer.
"Nick: 419 in Henderson. Take Sanders with you," Grissom said without preamble as he entered the break room.
"You're stuck babysitting again, buddy," Warrick chuckled and grabbed a handful of fries from the center of the table.
"I'm not-"
"He's not babysitting," Grissom interjected. "He's mentoring a colleague."
Greg didn't know if he should feel grateful or embarrassed at having both Nick and Grissom defend him. He knew there was no malice behind Warrick's words, but the comment still stung.
"Come on, G, let's get going," Nick said as he stood up, patting Greg's shoulder and bringing him back to reality.
Greg threw the burger wrapping into the trash bin and followed Nick out of the room. The car drive was uneventful, and Greg used the time to make a mental checklist of everything he would have to do once they arrived on the scene. He would not mess up this time.
"You are kinda quiet today," Nick commented as they stopped at a traffic light. "You sure you're okay?"
"Yep," Greg replied, looking straight ahead. He saw Nick turn his head towards him out of the corner of his eye.
"Right. But if you ever need to talk-"
"It's green," Greg pointed out, and Nick dropped the subject.
The crime scene looked pretty straightforward even for a newbie like Greg: a broken window, footsteps and a trail of dirt leading up to the victim's body, fingerprints all over the place. Greg kept things extremely professional, following Nick's directions and speaking only when spoken to. Only once did he give in to temptation and glanced at Nick, only to find him looking at him, a fond smile on his face. He looked... Proud. When their eyes met, Nick's smile grew wider, and Greg quickly averted his gaze, feeling his cheeks grow warm.
Once their were done processing the scene, they walked back to the car. Greg couldn't wait to be back in the lab. He would find an excuse to hide somewhere, maybe check in with the new DNA tech to see how they were doing. Anything to get away from Nick.
"Okay, what's up?" Nick asked instead of starting the engine and driving away.
"What do you mean?"
"You've been acting odd all day. At first I thought you were just nervous after what happened yesterday, but it's more like you have a problem with me. Did I do anything?"
"No! Why would you think that?" Greg replied, finally looking at him. He immediately regretted his decision when he saw Nick's hurt expression.
"I don't know, man, you barely talk to me, you won't even look at me. What did I do?"
"You did nothing, Nick, I promise."
"Then what's the problem? Please, let me help," he added, leaning towards him. His hand twitched, and for a moment Greg thought Nick was going to place it on his thigh. The mere idea made his heart beat faster.
Greg was aware Nick wouldn't give up, so he decided to take a risk. If it backfired, he could always say he was joking.
"It's your smile," he said, relishing the look of utter confusion that dawned on Nick's face.
"My smile?"
Greg nodded.
"I've wanted to kiss you every time I've seen you smile today. It's awfully distracting."
Nick stared at him unblinkingly for a few seconds. Just as Greg was about to take pity on him and say he was just messing with him, Nick's lips curved upwards.
"Then why haven't you yet?"
Greg gaped at him. Before he could react, Nick leaned in, closing the distance between them, and pressed his mouth to Greg's. Greg was too shocked to do anything but sit there and try to process the fact that Nick Stokes was kissing him.
When Nick pulled back, his smile quickly turned to worry at the lack of response from Greg.
"Oh, shit, were you joking? I'm sorry, man, I thought-"
Greg didn't let him finish and all but threw himself at him, pressing their lips together in a much more enthusiastic kiss. Nick gently cradled Greg's cheeks in his hands and Greg melted against him, only slightly ashamed of the whimper that escaped him.
When they parted, they were both flushed and out of breath.
"We should've done this sooner," Greg said, eyes wandering all over Nick's face as if trying to memorize every inch of it.
"Yeah," Nick agreed. He slid a hand to the back of Greg's head, making him shiver. "We need to make up for lost time." He leaned in for another quick kiss, then pulled back and sat up straight. "But first, we have a murder to solve," he added, finally starting the engine. "What do you say we continue this at my place after shift?"
Greg grinned at him and sat back in his seat.
"I say you're the best mentor in the world."
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March 2024