Title: Worrying Over Nothing
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Steve McGarrett & past Nick/Greg
Fandom: CSI: Vegas/Hawaii Five-0
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Steve McGarrett, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

"Nick's going to be here next week," Greg said, not looking at Steve.

He could feel his boyfriend's gaze on him; he knew that Steve could hear the uncertainty in his tone, and he knew that there would be questions. Steve would want to know why he didn't want the two of them to meet.

It wasn't that he still had any residual romantic feelings for Nick that he didn't want Steve to see. Any of those emotions were long gone.

But he couldn't help feeling that the two men would circle each other like a couple of jungle cats that could tear each other apart. And since they'd be fighting over him, he would be the one caught in the middle.

That middle ground was exactly where he didn't want to be.
He didn't want to be in the eye of a hurricane, and watch the destruction of his past -- and possibly his present -- take place all around him, which he was sure was what would happen if Steve and Nick spent any time together.

Greg didn't mind the two of them meeting, not at all. He just didn't want them spending a significant amount of time around each other.

He didn't think that the two of them would get along -- and he knew that they were both extremely territorial men. Both of them would stake a claim on him, even though he'd made it clear that he was with Steve now.

Greg just couldn't help feeling that no matter what, this meeting wasn't going to turn out well, and he wanted to avoid it if he could. He felt as though it would be a hurricane that swept through his life with Steve.

He was comfortable with their life together. He liked it the way it was, and he didn't want any memories from the past to make things change.

Nick was going to stir up a hornet's nest; Greg didn't have any doubts about that. He was an easygoing guy, and he wouldn't deliberately try to antagonize Steve, or be obnoxious. But he was going to try to talk Greg into going back to Las Vegas.

Greg's lips thinned at the thought. That was one thing he would never do.

Vegas was over for him. It had been even before he had made the decision to transfer to Hawaii and start a new life here. He could never go back, no matter how much Nick and his friends in the Vegas crime lab might want him to.

He had a life here now, a life that he loved. He had a man who was close to his heart, and he was happier than he'd been in a long time.

He didn't want Nick stirring anything up, or trying to make him feel guilty. He didn't want to feel that he was caught in a vortex, that there was hurricane swirling all around him, one that would threaten to sweep him away.

He had no doubt that would happen, and that he wouldn't be able to escape.

"This really makes you uncomfortable, doesn't it?" Steve asked, his voice very soft. "The idea of me meeting Nick, I mean." His gaze was on Greg, and the younger man sighed softly, finally meeting his boyfriend's eyes.

It's not that I don't want you to meet him," he finally murmured. It's that I .... I .... oh, hell," he muttered. "I just don't you two getting into it over me."

"That's not inevitable, Greg," Steve said, leaning back and crossing his arms, a slight smile playing around the corners of his lips. "I can behave myself, y'know. I'm not going to start anything. I don't have to."

Greg couldn't help smiling at those words.

Steve was right. He didn't have to start anything, because he was the one who Greg chose to be with. He was the man who owned Greg's heart, the one who he was in a relationship with. Nothing more needed to be said.

If Nick wanted him back, then he was doomed to disappointment. Because there was no way that was going to happen, and Steve knew it.

Why was he so worried? Steve wasn't the kind of person to make a public scene -- and really, neither was Nick. The two of them would be able to meet and act like gentlemen for one evening. There was nothing to be concerned over.

And if his former boyfriend did try to convince him that he should be back in Vegas, he would simply say no, and point out all the facts of the life he led now, the life that made him happy and fulfilled.

Nick might not like the fact that he had found a niche here in Hawaii that made him not want to return to his old life, but he would accept it.

Hopefully, they would stay friends. Greg hadn't thought that was possible when they had first called it quits; but then, the hurt had been too raw, too fresh. Now, there was some distance, both in emotions and in actual miles.

He could be friends with Nick, and move on with his life.
There was no need for him to feel that he had to leave his past completely behind him. He could have his memories of the past, and still have the life that he'd created for himself here. Nick wasn't going to alter that.

If he tried to, if he wanted to, then Greg would simply have to tell him, nicely but in no uncertain terms, that nothing was going to change his mind.

He didn't have to feel that he was living in a hurricane, he thought with a smile. He was really worrying about nothing. If the unforeseen happened, with Nick and Steve not getting along, he'd deal with that when and if it came about.
There was no reason for him to stress.

"You were really letting yourself stress out over this, weren't you?" Steve asked him, his bright blue gaze never leaving Greg's face. "Baby, there's no reason to worry. Things are going to work out just fine. Chill."

Greg nodded, feeling the urge to laugh and grasp Steve's hand. He really had been worrying over nothing, for no reason.

He wasn't caught in a hurricane. He wasn't going to let himself be. If Steve and Nick had a problem between them, they would just have to work it out like adults, and not put him in the middle of it. He refused to be in that position.

Now that he'd made that decision, he almost couldn't wait for the meeting to happen.

***