nickngreg | Fic: Conversations on the Kitchen Table

Title: Conversations on the Kitchen Table
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG, if that.
Disclaimer: So not mine.
Summary: Apparently people were looking for fluff. Just a small ficlet with visual aids.
My apologies for those getting this twice.

~*~

This was officially the longest shift of his life.

Okay, maybe not as long as the shift that landed him in the hospital after Catherine accidentally blew up the lab, but it was a close second. Ten days. Ten days of only catching glimpses of Nick. Ten days of sleeping alone. Ten days of communicating through paper and the occasionally phone call. Ten days of hell and the end of the day couldn't come fast enough.

He hated this. Not just because he never got to see Nick anymore, but because the entire lab felt different. And not just because of the new additions or the new arrangement. And not just because he was finally getting out into the field. But because all those things combined together in a way that almost made Greg wish he could go back to working in the lab. Hell, if it meant getting transferred onto the swing shift, he'd do it in a heartbeat, his career be damned.

He told himself not to think about it. Because in just under an hour he'd be heading home. Pulling into the driveway of his and Nick's home and then he'd have Nick all to himself for a straight twenty-four hours. Twenty-four hours that he intended to take complete advantage of and Greg sighed as Sara paged him back out to the crime scene.

A crime scene, that by all intents and purposes, they'd cleared three hours ago.

He was not staying late.

~*~

He knew the second he said it he should have taken it back. Because, as it stood, he'd ended up spending an extra two hours reprocessing evidence and by the time he finally, finally pulled into the driveway, he'd already used up an hour and forty-three (and yes he was counting) minutes of his precious twenty-four hours.

"Honey, I'm home," Greg declared as he pushed through the front doors, the scent of coffee thick in the air and Greg smiled before dropping his coat and shoes in the front hall.

"Nick?"

No answer.

"Nick?"

Still no answer and Greg sighed before running a shaking hand through his hair. And this was great, just fucking great and of course Nick wouldn't be home. Hell, he probably got called into work and the coffee maker was probably still on the automatic timer and...

"Fuck," Greg swore to the empty air.

And really, it was just his luck. Because of course just as things were getting good they'd turn around and get bad again. Sometimes Greg swore he was cursed.

He shook the thought off, padding down the hall toward the bedroom and, at the very least, he could catch up on some sleep. He made it as far as the doorway, blinking once, once more before a smile broke out over his face. There, lying in the centre of the bed, hogging all the blankets (like usual) was Nick, snoring softly and Greg couldn't remember the last time he'd heard a sweeter sound.

"You son of a bitch," Greg said, breaking out into a run and it wasn't until he was soaring through the air, about to land directly on top of Nick, that he began to question the logistics of his plan.

It didn't matter, though, because Greg landed hard, knocking the air out of his lungs in the process, but at least Nick woke up. Screaming. And flailing. And leaving Greg with several bruises in the process and...

"Nick, Nick, it's me," Greg cried from beneath Nick's death grip. And who knew Nick could fight so soon after waking up.

"G?" Nick asked, voice still thick with sleep, but he let up, shifting off Greg and finally letting Greg get his breath back.

"Who else was it going to be?" Greg asked, rubbing his bruised ribs and scowling at Nick like he was thinking about killing him.

"Sorry... I just... What they hell were you thinking?" Nick asked, sounding almost pissed off and Greg offered him an innocent smile.

"Surprise?" he tried, laughing nervously.

Eventually Nick caved, chuckling just under his breath before grabbing a hold of Greg's waist, re-pinning him on the bed, his eyes flashing in a way Greg could only describe as predatory.

"And this, after I go to all that trouble to buy you skim milk. Which, by the way, you never finish drinking before the expiration date and I end up having to throw out," Nick finally said, his words serious, but the corners of his mouth twitched, telling Greg he was teasing.

"Well, you know, if you'd just stop drinking that whole crap, we wouldn't have that problem," Greg retorted, smirking at Nick's exasperated sigh.

Nick didn't answer, instead shaking his head before settling down on top of Greg, laughing softly as he pressed their lips together, eliciting a groan and thrust and suddenly Greg was very glad he'd woken Nick up instead of letting him sleep.

"So, about that day in bed?" Greg asked as they broke apart, earning yet another laugh and something that sounded suspiciously like sounds good to me before Nick was kissing him again, making him forget all about the last ten days.

Besides, they still had twenty-one hours and fifty-two minutes left before Greg had to worry about arguing over milk again.

Fin