Title: New Years ficlet
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: PG
Prompt: New Mexico; smirk

The clock on the car radio flashes 11:56 as they cross the border into New Mexico. The highway's deserted, and for once he's grateful for the desolation, because it's not the best night of the year to be on the road. And they still have a long way to go before they reach Nick's parents' place, but they're used to the night shift, so driving overnight makes sense.

And yeah, it's not exactly the most exciting New Year's he's ever had, but he's with Nick and they're both in one piece, and this year that's the best reason he can think of to celebrate.

He pulls off the highway into the breakdown lane as the clock flashes 11:58, shuts the engine off and turns on the reading light on the rearview mirror so he can see Nick's face.

"What's the matter?" Nick asks, immediately tensing and Greg wishes he didn't worry so much, but he gets why. Can't even blame Nick for being so uptight, really, so he doesn't hassle Nick about it.

"Nothing," he says instead, unbuckling his seatbelt and sliding out from behind the wheel and yeah, he's glad they took Nick's truck instead of his compact. Because his car gets better gas mileage and it would have been cheaper to drive it, but it doesn't have a bench seat up front and that means he wouldn't have been able to slide across the seat and kiss Nick at midnight.

Which he does, hand sliding behind Nick's neck to drag him forward and even though Nick still looks confused, he doesn't argue. And Nick can be as tense as he wants about stupid stuff like car trouble and paying bills on time, as long as he keeps trusting Greg when it comes to stuff like this.

Nick's kissing him back, hands on Greg's shoulders to pull him closer until they're both crammed into the passenger seat, and Greg knows if a state trooper comes along right now they're in serious trouble. Their Clark County I.D.s won't do them much good if they get caught making out on the side of the highway in the middle of the night, even on New Year's Eve.

It's worth the risk, though, and when Nick finally lets go Greg glances at the clock and smirks. "Happy New Year."

Nick follows his gaze, grinning at the '12:01' glowing green on the radio and leaning in for another soft kiss. "Happy New Year."

He slides back behind the wheel and turns the engine back on, checking to make sure the highway's still deserted before he pulls back onto the road. And maybe it's not the most exciting way to spend New Year's, driving all the way to Texas for a belated Christmas celebration with Nick's entire family, but Nick invited him to come along, and Greg knows exactly how much that means, so he'll take it.