Work Text:
Nick stood at the entrance nervously, trying hard to talk himself into knocking on the Door. He took a deep breath. Why was he doing this? He couldn't tell Greg about these things he was feeling. Greg would never want to speak to him again. Or, even worse, he would laugh at him, mock the way he was feeling because Nick was...well... he had a rep of being a Ladies man.
But Greg was his best friend, and in all the time he had known the greenhorn CSI he hadn't seemed exactly straight, even if he did go out of his way to talk to all of the women.
So Nick Stokes gathered his courage and knocked on the front door.
He heard a faint 'just a minute' and waited, shifting from foot to foot anxiously.
The door opened slightly, big enough to see his spiked blonde head. His body was hidden behind the thick door, and Nick once again looked to the ground.
"Greg. Uh...hi..."
"Hey ya Nick! Wasup?"
"Um...nothing...can I come in?"
"Well..." Greg looked at Nick for a second, and then glanced around the room he was standing in.
"Please?" Nick was pleading now. He desperately needed to tell his friend. After all, he had nothing to lose now.
"Nick are you ok?"
"Please Greg? I really need this."
Greg opened the door to reveal himself wearing nothing but a pair of boxers and a T-shirt, and Nick found himself swallowing hard and looking to the floor. He walked into the house and was quite surprised by the cleanliness of the place.
Greg shut the door with a snap and walked over to the couch, gesturing for his friend to sit. Nick did as asked.
"Want something to drink?"
"Um...ya...what you got?"
"Coke, Sprite, Beer, Milk and water."
"Beer's good, thanks."
Greg left and returned a few minutes later with a beer and a Coke, His eyes scanning Nick's face as he set the bottle before the unusually still man.
Nick grabbed the neck and took a long swig, smiling when the cool liquid ran down his throat.
"What's wrong Nick? You wouldn't be so insistent if everything was ok... Is someone hurt? Did something happen?"
Nick smiled softly.
"This is a personal problem Greg."
"I see."
There was silence for a moment.
"You gonna enlighten me on what kind?"
"........."
Greg sighed.
"You can tell me anything you know."
Nick nodded.
"I.... it's just I...I'm getting.... GOD DAMMIT!" He stood and started to pace around the room, trying to put his jumbled thoughts into words.
Greg stood slowly and walked in front of Nick, taking him by the shoulders and leading him to the sofa. He sat beside him.
"Nick, calm down and take your time."
Nick took a deep breath and inwardly wished he had just turned around and walked away when he had the chance.
"I'm...feeling something for someone...at the lab..."
"So?"
"So they're... not my usual type..."
"Meaning?"
"They're...well.... A guy."
There was no response from Greg, and Nick looked over to see his usually hyper friend staring at him with a look that was calm and collected.
"Is that it?"
"What?"
"Well Nick, maybe you haven't noticed, but I'm not really a straight nail."
"I.... I didn't mean..."
"Nick don't worry about it! I'm ok dude." Greg smiled and shook his head.
"Bet your kinda scared huh?"
Nick nodded.
"Well bud, you wanna tell the guy then...Practice on me. I won't take anything seriously." Greg stood and walked around the coffee table making it look like he was doing something that could be important. "Just walk over, take me aside and say what you feel."
Nick did so, walking over and feeling like his tongue had just expanded by two times its normal size. He cleared his throat and Greg turned his head as if he was surprised. He really was a great actor.
"Hey."
"Hey Nick wasup?"
"Oh nothing much... can I uh... talk to you? In private...If your not to busy that is."
"Sure. I'm not to busy that I can't talk to a good friend."
They moved about three steps away from their original spot.
"So? What'd you want to talk to me about?"
"Well... I wanted to know if you were busy tonight...er.... today. Figured we could get a coffee...and.... talk.... about things. You know...ummm...maybe just before shift?"
"Cool with me."
"Ok. I'll... see you then."
Greg looked at Nick.
"Procrastination is not a good thing Nick."
"You'd rather I tell y-.... him at work where everyone can hear?"
"Point well made. Were you going to say a name? I won't tell him."
Nick shook his head again.
"Ok. If that's what you want." He walked into the kitchen, and Nick followed, worried that Greg was mad at him. 'Please don't be mad, please don't be mad' He thought.
When he got into the kitchen, he saw the young man sitting at a small white table with a mug of coffee in front of him, and one on the other side of the table.
"Hey Nick. What took you so long?" The spiky haired man said, his brown eyes trained on Nick's face.
"Oh um, traffic. Sorry."
"Is ok.... So how's life?"
"Good I guess."
"That's good."
"How are you?"
"Well, had a bit of a bad Day yesterday, but otherwise, I'm ok."
"Tell me?"
"Well first Grissom yelled at me cause I didn't get his samples on time, then Cath didn't like what I was telling her about the vic and took it out on me..."
"Sounds like you had a rough time..."
"Ya..."
There was an uncomfortable silence.
"I'm assuming that you didn't call me here just to talk about bad days."
"I wanted to tell you something..."
"Shoot."
"Um...I think that...I'm starting to um...kinda like you."
He chuckled.
"Thanks Nick. And here I thought you wanted to give me a promotion."
"No I mean I really, really like you."
He forced a surprised look on his face, and then smiled.
"Ok Nick, from there, 1 of two things can happen. #1 they could reject you so badly that you'll never want to fall in love...ever."
"That's reassuring."
"Or he could say that he's interested and ask for a second date."
There was more silence, and then Nick spoke.
"Hey Greg?"
"Ya?"
"You wanna go for a coffee after work?"