Ficlet: Unbeating

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Title: Unbeating

Author: Bloodstar

Rating: G

Genre: Angst.

Pairing: Nick and Greg

Author’s Note: Okay, this was supposed to the Buffy/CSI crossover from xkacie’s wishlist, but the fic went where it wanted to go, so I don’t think the Buffy part entirely translated.

 

Greg sighed as he stumbled through the front door, eyes barely cracked open, head nodding forward as the need for sleep threatened to upend him where he stood and land him flat on his face on the welcome mat that had already been ceremoniously moved from the front stoop to the front hall for the night.

 

The door swung quickly shut behind him and locked with a satisfying double-click, automatically, because he rarely had the energy required to lock it himself when he finally did make it home after a long shift at the Crime Lab, but Greg barely heard it as he let the CSI outer vest that he’d worked so hard for drop carelessly off his shoulders, landing heavily on the ground with more of a wooden clank than bindles and gloves could make.

 

A small black tube rolled out of the top pocket, shaker clicking plaintively as it made its slow trip across the room, and bumped against the wall. He stared at it blankly knowing that he should pick it up, seeing as the holy water mace was about his second-most useful defence against the usual suspects at the scene, but not really having the will to stop his sleepy momentum, lest he never make it to bed.

 

By the time he reached the living room, he’d shucked off his holster and almost completely useless gun just in time to dump it alongside a few perpetually dusty tomes on the ugly coffee table that Nick had dragged over from his old apartment, and kicked his shoes into a corner alongside Nick’s blood-caked boots.

 

Tired feet and sore legs dragged him the final length of the hallway, his body’s in-built autopilot straining to do much more than sway him in the right direction as the night’s aftermath threatened to wear him down into a pile of aching scars and over-exerted muscles.

 

The bedroom door opened before he even knew he was turning the knob, and the sight of the half-occupied bed was almost enough to make him cry, but the power to his tear ducts had long ago been redirected to the quickly-hardening muscles in his legs, and all he could do was feel the burn of need as he slid between the sheets.

 

The body in the bed shifted and turned, smooth as butter, and leaned over him with the gracefulness of the undead, soulless eyes, with somehow-lingering memories of a past life, peering down at him through darkness that hung over the room like a thick fog, the outline of teeth somehow managing to glint in the scant light from under the door, air whooshing into unbreathing lungs, savouring an undetected scent that lingered in the air around him.

 

“Missed you,” a drawling voice that was everything familiar, everything he loved, but, sadly, reminded him of everything he hated about the new Vegas, whispered through the air. Unneeded breath puffed against his neck. Sharpened canines scraped gently against his skin, never biting through, always teasing with the prospect of eternity.

 

And this time Greg did feel the hot salt of tears kiss his cheek as Nick’s cold arms wrapped around him and drew him closer to a chest that no longer moved.

 

“I know,” he murmured, tracing the skin over his unbeating heart with a trembling finger. “I love you, too.”

 

Fine

 

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/_slytherin_girl/]

That was cool! I want back story!!

[minotaurs.livejournal.com]

Interesting - I'd have gone the other way, with Greg as Vamp, but interesting. Makes me wonder *how* Nick got vamped.

[(Anonymous)]

It'd be lovely to do a prequel/backstory thing for this, or even continue it as a series. Quite the different crossover. I like it.

[jupiterlullaby.livejournal.com]

You. Totally. Rock. Nick as a vampire gives me a whole different love for both shows. This is awesome, and I'm interested to find out how Nick got sired. Cool.

[akire-yta.livejournal.com]

*wail*

Buffy/CSI!! I want more

ANd I also want someone to write me a Greg-used-to-be-known-as-Andrew fic, cos dammit they look sooooo scarily alike!

*adds her vote to the 'more please' tally*

[loozy.livejournal.com]

More!!! More!!! Mooooooooooooore!!!

[xxdrugcandyxx.livejournal.com]

Oh....I like it. You should most definitly continue this.

[swordpoker.livejournal.com]

Omg! Heh, I would so read/write that. So funny, I never thought of that but I totally see it. XP

[akire-yta.livejournal.com]

i didn't watch Buffy the first time around, but my housemate is a huge fan. I was walking past the TV and it was the scene where Xander has Andrew tied up. I did a full-on doubletake and went "WTF? Young Eric was in Buffy?" Then learnt it was season seven and another actor entirely.


STILL think it looks like lab!rat greg though. I even has this annoying plotbunny of Andrew deciding to make a clean break after Buffy, changing his name, going back to college, and becoming a chemist/dna specialist...and getting pissed when stuff from when he was Andrew begin to affect him now he's Greg ;)

[stinkymonz.livejournal.com]

Heheh... reading this gave me an idea...

[dine.livejournal.com]

dude! this is such a fantastic premise - I join the chorus wanting more; more backstory, more explanation of how Vegas changed to the Buffyverse, of what happened to each of the CSI members.

you know, if you decided to build on this, there would be *no* complaints from this quarter.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

A backstory?? *eyes plotbunny*
*eyes unfinished pile*
*eyes plotbunny again*
*bites lip*

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Thanks, dude. I'm wondering how Nick got vamped, too. Probably should have thought of that...

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Dude, *you* rock for giving me the plotbunny...or suck for piling another one on but thanks. Glad you liked it.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Glad to be of service.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

I take that to mean you like? Thanks.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Cool.

I had an idea for a backwards kinda version of that...except it was Mutant X instead of Buffy...and not much the same except for the last part...

But yeah, it would explain why the college he says he went to on the show is different from the one it lists on the website.

You should write it. 'Cause I'd totally read it.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Grazie.

[superslothic.livejournal.com]

Thank you muchly.

I guess I could try to build, but it'll probably take ages 'cause I'm slower than a glacier at writing.

[akire-yta.livejournal.com]

thing is, I don't really know the Buffy-verse all that well. I'd love to write it, but I don't think I'd do it justice.


But if anyone else out there wants to adopt a bunny (only slightly feral), then please, by all means, TAKE IT!!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_slytherin_girl/]

Screw the unfinished pile and pet the plot bunny nicely!!

[allhoneyboo.livejournal.com]

Whoa. That was a shocker. And kinda creepy. I never thought about a crossover between Buffy and CSI.

[birkentree.livejournal.com]

I'm liking this already. I was apprehensive at first. Fantasymeetsrealistic fic often gets my goat, and then does horrible degraded things to it. But you're hitting a pleasant tone with this. Backstory..please? *vampirepuppyface*

What happened to the rest of the team? Does Cath's daughter fall victim? How do the forensicyscience geeks of CSI come to the realisation of vampires, and how do they deal with it?

And why can I see Gil holed up in a small underground lab researching the vampires?

Of course you could just turf the Buffy angle, and take it from a more Blade-like perspective. Vampirism is a virus, humans helping vampires, it could fit the CSI feel better....
ARGHH..there's a zombie plotbunny eating my mind.

*sits back and pops pocorn*

Please, continue...

[shrift.livejournal.com]

Greg and I would love to chat, but I must distance myself from his work.

[ladypanther03.livejournal.com]

Also I think it works as a standalone, I would absolutely adore a prequel/sequel kind of thing.

I completely ignored the title and didn't think too much about the thing about CSI/BtVS X-Over it was supposed to be, so it came as complete shock at the end. Only then did I look at the title and the BtVS part is clear too. *shakes head at myself* Yeah, I really hope there's going to be more to this.