Title: Cruel
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Un-themed 7, mission_insane
Prompt: 9, Cruel
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Nick looked over at Greg as his boyfriend put the last of the dishes into the dishwasher and added the detergent, moaning softly as he straightened up and putting a hand to the small of his back. He didn't like thinking that Greg was in pain, even for one moment.

Maybe they shouldn't be so vigorous in bed for the next few days, he told himself, getting up from his chair at the kitchen table and moving across the room to slide his arms around Greg's slender waist and pull his boyfriend close, nuzzling his cheek against Greg's hair.

"What's the matter, baby?" he whispered into Greg's ear. "Backache? I can always give you a massage to help with that. Or we can take a nice long bubble bath. A soak in the tub might help both of us feel better and get rid of some tension."

Greg laughed softly, smiling as he turned his head to let Nick brush a kiss against his parted lips. "That sounds pretty awesome, but I'll be okay, Nicky. I just ...." He trailed off, shaking his head as he leaned back into Nick's arms. "I've had backaches for a long time."

"Since the explosion, right?" Nick asked softly, knowing that the answer would be an affirmative one. He hated to think that the scars across Greg's back and shoulders caused him any pain, but he knew that they did, even though they didn't look bad any more.

Those scars were just thin white lines now; they barely showed on Greg's skin unless Nick was looking for them. He knew that Greg hated them and wanted to have them removed; that was something they'd have to get done in the near future.

But Greg hadn't been reaching for his upper back; his hand had gone to the small of his back, as though there was a twinge there. Nick recalled seeing him so that quite often in the lab before the explosion had happened; that pain couldn't have come from his scars.

Greg shook his head, disentangling himself from Nick's embrace and turning to look at him. "No, not from the explosion," he said, his voice very soft. "Remember how I told you that Shane used to .... to beat me?" His voice trembled slightly, the words hesitant.

Nick nodded, swallowing hard. He should have known that any kind of pain Greg was experiencing would have something to do with how Shane had treated him; that bastard still had so much to answer for, and Nick intended to make him pay for every second that he'd made Greg suffer.

But they had to catch him before they could do that, Nick thought with an inward sigh. And it didn't look as though that was going to happen any time soon. Shane had gone to ground and hidden his tracks well; there hadn't been any sighting of him for weeks.

It was impossible to get Shane out of their minds for long, even though Nick wanted to push him away as though he'd never existed. He wanted the man behind bars and out of Greg's life for good; he wanted justice to be served as quickly as possible.

"I remember," he managed to say, not wanting to hear what Greg was going to tell him, but knowing that he had to listen. If Greg needed to talk about the pain he'd suffered in his past, his boyfriend was the person who should be there to listen to what he had to say.

"He .... he was into bondage. And whips," Greg whispered, a shudder going through his slim body. "He knew that he couldn't hit me or beat me anywhere that it'd show, so he got off on whipping me. And my back was one of the more sensitive places he concentrated on."

"That bastard deserves to die," Nick gritted out, clenching his teeth in anger. Just thinking about what Greg must have suffered at Shane's hands made his blood boil; more than ever, he wanted to make that psycho pay for what he'd done to Greg.

Nick moved forward to take Greg into his arms again, holding him close, moving a soothing hand up and down his back. "He's never going to hurt you again," he whispered as his hand moved up to stroke Greg's hair. "I wont let him touch you, Greg. Not ever."

Greg nodded, gulping, his arms sliding around Nick's waist and clinging to him. Nick held him closer, his eyes brimming with tears at the thought of all that Greg had been through, the cruelty that he'd survived. No one should have to deal with that.

He couldn't bear the thought of anyone being cruel to Greg; the idea of his boyfriend being deliberately hurt broke his heart. How could anyone want to hurt a beauty like Greg? And how could anyone try to tear down the spirit that was equally as beautiful as his face and body?

Shane had to be crazy, Nick told himself, feeling even more disgusted by the other man. Anyone who could hurt Greg in any way was not only psychotic, they were evil to the core. What Shane had done to Greg defied understanding. There was no excuse for it.

That kind of cruelty went beyond Nick's understanding. It made no sense to him that one human being could want to hurt another -- especially when they were involved in a sexual relationship with the person they were hurting and supposedly cared about them.

Treating someone else like that wasn't caring, Nick told himself. A little light bondage could be fun, if the two people involved were both consenting, and if it didn't cross a line into pain. But causing someone pain just to see them hurting? He would never understand the concept.

"Baby, I'm so sorry you had to go through something like that," Nick whispered, wishing with all of his heart that he could take away all the pain that Greg had ever suffered. He hated to think that such pain was still with Greg, that he would be forever haunted by those experiences.

"I'm just glad I don't ever have to see him or let him touch me again," Greg answered, a sob in his voice. "I still have nightmares about the things he did to me. Especially when h-he kidnapped me from the hospital ...." Greg's voice trailed off, his body trembling in Nick's arms.

"Shhh, baby, it's okay." Nick tried to soothe his boyfriend, starting to feel that he should never have brought up the subject. If he had known that this was the reason for Greg's backache, he would never have asked what was wrong.

Greg shook his head, slowly straightening up and raising a hand to his face to wipe away the few tears that had trickled down his cheeks. "I'll be okay, Nicky. I can't let him rule my life forever, can I? I've got to work through everything that happened and put it behind me."

"You will, Greg," Nick said softly, reaching out to cup Greg's cheek. "You'll be okay, babe. And you'll always have me here to help you get past it -- and to watch your back." His thumb gently caressed the soft curve of Greg's lower lip, smiling as he did so.

Greg returned his smile, even though it seemed strained and forced. At least he could still smile, even when he was obviously so troubled. Nick was glad of that; it was good to know that the cruelty Greg had suffered through hadn't completely destroyed who he was.

He would find a way to put Shane behind bars, if it was the last thing he did, Nick vowed to himself. If he didn't, then Greg wouldn't be the only young man to suffer. Shane would find someone else to be cruel to -- and next time, that person might not be lucky enough to escape.

Thank goodness Greg was safe with him. He would never have to deal with anyone being cruel to him again -- and of all the things he could offer his boyfriend, Nick thought with an inward smile, that had to rank pretty high on the list.

***