Title: Birds and Bugs
By: Caster
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
A/N: It took a rerun of Compulsion to catch onto the conversation between Greg and Officer Akers, but I've always been a bit slow on the uptake. I'm just letting CBS writers know that I finally caught on; you guys can't get anything past me, especially Nick/Greg subtext! -grins-
Warnings: Short and pointless; plus, there are slight spoilers for Compulsion within. If you can ignore all that, then enjoy!
Disclaimer: Not mine. If it were, the subtext would be replaced by oh-so-real text.
Summary: Officer Akers' bird watching metaphor wasn't just any random comment. Spoilers for Compulsion.

***

Greg was bored.

He hadn't wanted to say anything because he knew this was all part of the job, but it didn't quell the fact by any stretch of the imagination. He was still bored and his lower extremities were starting to numb themselves, making him wonder whether he had a bum anymore or if it had fallen off and rolled down the street while he had been watching Jesse Acheson drink coffee for the past hour.

"Kind of like bird watching, ain't it?"

Greg's wandering thoughts ceased as he tried to fight his smile. It seemed as if Officer Akers was too perceptive for his own good; he had obviously been doing this for a long time or else he wouldn't have noticed Greg's boredom-induced habits, such as crossing and re-crossing legs, humming, or drumming on his knee. And if the Officer's slightly suggestive tone was an indication, he hadn't meant bird watching as just any old allegory.

"I wouldn't know," Greg replied, grinning. Akers scoffed and rolled his eyes at the blatant lie.

"You bored?" he asked, his expression both amused and understanding. Greg wanted to deny it, tell him he was having the time of his life, but he had been pretending to read a newspaper for the last hour and was too tired to really lie about it. He sighed.

"I'm bored," he confirmed, turning to face Akers. Akers gave a small chuckle and nodded, sympathetic to Greg's disinterest with this specific aspect of the job.

"That bird watching metaphor was meant to be a conversation prompt, you know. Feel free to run with it."

Greg laughed and glanced back at Acheson, making sure he didn't wander away without them getting the details of his parting. "Nick's still a bird geek, if that's what you're asking."

"That's not really what I'm asking."

"I didn't think so." Greg couldn't help his full-blow grin at Akers's obviously unsatisfied curiosity. "We're doing pretty good considering the odds," the CSI supplied. "The shifts aren't helping much."

"But you guys are still tight?"

"We are," he confirmed. "We won't give it up."

"That's either stupid or true love."

"I like to think it's the latter, thank you very much."

"Just making an observation." Akers exhaled and leaned back against the bench, his own wandering attention becoming evident. "Not that I hang around the lab much, but from what I've heard, you two used to dance around each other a lot."

"Until I made my fearless move."

"Right. Fearless."

"So there was a little bit of fear, but I'm only human."

Akers glanced towards the table where Acheson was folding up his magazine and putting on his sunglasses; he nodded his head towards the criminal's departing back.

"Litterbug," Akers muttered. Then again, this was what they had been hoping for.

Greg grinned. "CSIs don't mind the bugs," he informed, walking towards the previously occupied table and quickly bagging Acheson's paper cup. "If the DNA on this cup matches the seminal DNA, Grissom won't need a warrant. We'll be making an arrest."

"Sounds like sweet victory."

"It is, my friend. Shall we?"

The cup now in their possession, they began towards the car, intent on heading back to the lab and pestering Mia into putting his evidence on the top of the pile. It felt good to walk and stretch, his body unaccustomed to long periods of sloth.

"Y'know," Akers said, unlocking the car doors with a press of a button. "I only brought Nick up because I've met him before. He's a real good guy. I'm glad you two found each other."

Found each other.

"Not nearly as glad as I am," Greg replied, his smile making him glow. Akers's expression was knowing as he inserted the key and turned the ignition, each man ready to get back to work. They had a cup to examine, a suspect to catch, and a murder to solve. After which, of course, Greg was going home with Nick, because he had no intention whatsoever of wasting the fact that they had indeed found each other.

After all, finding your soul mate was so rare.

FIN.