Title: CSI100Fics Prompt Challenge No. 3 - Ends
Author: Dee
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 878
Pairing: Gil/Nick
Characters: Gil Grissom and Nick Stokes
Warnings: V.fluffy and AU.
Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: In my dreams they are like, totally mine!
Beta: podga, so the remaining mistakes are all mine!
A/N: This is the third, and last, part of a trilogy with prompts 1 and 2 – Beginnings and Middles.

In the end it was Nick.

 

He was so frustrated by their inertia that he decided to do something.

 

Of course he then had the problem of deciding exactly what to do.  When to do it?  Where to do it?  How to do it?

 

He was angry with himself and decided, once and for all, he would do something.

 

He was just going to wait for the right moment.  But, crucially, he now thought that he would recognise that moment when it arrived.

 

So, to a certain extent he calmed down, but remained vigilant waiting for the moment.

 

Gil decided to wait it out.  Just see what happened.  They had beers together, they had breakfasts together…  They were friends and if that was all, then it was better than nothing.  That’s what he told himself and to a certain extent he, too, was calmer for having made some kind of decision.

 

As they drove back to Las Vegas downwards, towards the valley, the dawn sky lay in front of them with pinks and oranges gradually pushing aside the black of night.

 

Nick was driving his truck and Gil was his passenger.

 

As they approached a bend Nick slowed down, but as he came out of the bend he didn’t speed up again, because he’d just remembered something.

 

They saw it at the same time, in the beginnings of the bright light of the day.

 

A huge tree at the side of the road.  Still standing proudly, but cleft for about half of its trunk.  And burned and barren.  But it was their tree.  Neither man had any doubt.

 

Nick didn’t stop as Gil had expected.  “I thought you’d stop, for old time’s sake.”

 

“Nah; I've got some sandwiches and soda in the back, I thought I’d stop at that picnic site and we can have a break.  We haven’t had a break all night.”

 

“No, we haven’t.  It was where you wanted to picnic the night of the storm.”

 

“That was a joke.”

 

“Oh yes, I remember now.”  Gil smirked and Nick saw him out of the corner of his eye.

 

About a mile along the road they saw the sign for the site and Nick slowed down and drove into the small parking area and stopped the truck.  There were wooded picnic tables and benches scattered around.   The views were spectacular…the mountains one way and the city the other, with some of the lights still twinkling as night gave way to day.

 

“We should stop and look at the sites more often.  Despite the city we do live in an area of outstanding beauty.”

 

“Yep.”  But Nick wasn’t looking outside of the truck.  “You hungry?”

 

“Not really.  You?”

 

“No…no…”

 

“Can’t you make up your mind?”

 

“Yes.  Yes, I can.  I am hungry, just not…just not…”

 

“Just not, what?”

 

“Not for food.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So…”

 

“…I’m hungry for you.  I want you.”  Nick was quite impressed with himself.  He’d said it and hadn’t been struck by a bolt of lightning.  He decided to push on.  “I want this.”

 

He stretched his arm across the divide, hindered by the console, but his hand made contact with Gil's shoulder (still no lightning).  Gil's head was turned towards him so he moved his hand up a little and stroked Gil’s neck with his thumb.

 

Nick was absolutely certain, beyond any doubt, that Gil Grissom moved his head, just a little, into the touch.   Nick leaned forward and at the same time used the hand on Gil’s neck to tug Gil closer to him and, still hindered by the console, their lips met.

 

In truth it was only a glancing kiss because Nick just couldn’t get any closer to Gil (the console), than Gil could to him (also the console).

 

“I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you.”  Gil confessed in a quiet voice.

 

“What?  Why didn’t you say, why didn’t you do something?  Man, I can’t believe you.”

 

“I don’t know; because I was unsure, because I’m your boss?”

 

“It’s been years, Gris, years and you never gave me a sign.  All you ever did was get on my case.”

 

“Are we fighting?  Is this going to be over before it begins?”

 

“What?  NO!  I haven’t waited all this time to give up that easily, you’re gonna have to shoot me first.”

 

“Not gonna shoot you.  I promise.”

 

“That’s okay then.  Look, could we just get out of the truck for a few minutes so we can, you know, kiss…in comfort?”

 

“We’re still on the clock, Nick.”

 

“Oh yeah…”

 

“…but I don’t think we should let that get in the way of a quick…kiss.”

 

“You’re the boss.”

 

“But you’re the one brave enough to break the stalemate.”

 

“I guess I am…yeah.  I didn’t feel very brave though.”

 

“Maybe if we kiss we’ll both get braver?”

 

“Yeah, come on.”

 

They both jumped out of the truck and made their way to the front of the vehicle.  The night had all but gone.  They stood looking at one another and then Gil took hold of Nick’s shoulders and moved in, and they kissed.

 

So the men had some solid evidence.  Their expectations were the same as were their intentions.  So, in the end, all the ends were neatly tied together.

 

The End