Title: Diamonds Are Forever
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: G
Summary: It was when Nick was asleep that Greg found his mind wandering most.

***

At least that's what Greg heard.

He didn't even know if there was such a thing as forever, no matter how much he wanted to believe in it. That was something that adults enforced in children; raising them to believe in something they knew rarely existed in the real world.

Greg sat on the bed with his legs crossed. Soft breathing filled the silence in the room, another figure lying down beside him and hidden beneath the blanket. A chest was slowly rising up and down, the motion caught in the dim light of the lamp.

Nick hadn't given him a ring or anything like that and Greg hadn't even thought of the sentiment. He knew the older man was traditional and that even though their relationship wasn't seen as such, he wanted to associate the two worlds with one another.

Consequently, they settled on matching bands. Greg would have been more than content with the fact that they owned a house together, but Nick wouldn't let the idea go. It was one of the many compromises they found themselves making.

So, once Nick asked him about what kind of band he wanted, Greg didn't think he would be able to be productive when it came to the selection process.

When the other man initially brought up the idea, Greg wasn't sure how to respond. And while he wasn't expecting a diamond, it was still something he automatically associated with the kind of commitment he shared with Nick. He blamed it on all those jewellery commercials spreading subliminal messages about what could have essentially been coal.

He wouldn't describe himself as a cynic or "anti-tradition" as Sara claimed to be, but he often took a more modern, almost minimalistic view of certain practices. Though, not to say that Nick hadn't opened Greg's eyes to a world of things he'd never experienced before.

He looked at the photograph of himself and Nick on the dresser. It was taken a couple months after they first moved in to their house, when they'd gotten their new couch. His lips were slightly upturned at the sight of the grin on Nick's face. The other man was lounging on the piece of furniture happily.

Nick had been complaining about the couch the first time he saw it in Greg's apartment all those years ago and was a little more than ecstatic when it finally broke. Greg sighed at the memory.

It was amazing how a couple of years could feel like an eternity.

And at the same time, the next few would make it seem like forever wouldn't be enough.

Greg wasn't sure if diamonds actually lived up to what he'd heard, but if they did, he knew his relationship with Nick would last, too.