Title: What Kind of Fool
By: Ericalynn
Fandom/Pairing: CSI: Vegas - Nick/Warrick
Rating: NC-17
Prompt: #13-Fool on my table
Warnings: m/m sex, crazy moods, and lots of foul language
Disclaimer: I don't own them, just having my fun.
Summary: So maybe Nick wasn't ready to deal with all of this yet. Once again his instinct was telling him to run, run far and fast and never look back. Last part in my mini-series, please read What We Must Live With first.

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It was early, he knew that. He was also well aware of the fact that he was most likely being ignored. But it didn't alleviate his growing agitation. Warrick pounded on Nick's door again with his right hand while his left dialed Nick's cell.

"Come on, man. Pick up!" After the call rang and went to voicemail for the fifth time, Warrick slammed his phone shut and shoved it back into his jacket pocket.

He'd told Tina he would be out of the apartment before his shift, meaning to pack up some of shit and throw it in the Jeep as he left. But once she had left for work he found he couldn't sleep. After a restless hour of tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling and bitching up a storm, he finally dragged himself out of bed and started packing up his stuff. Favorite CDs, books, pictures, and anything he could need for work was stuffed into bags and boxes and meticulously stacked in his Jeep. The movers, used to fast paced style of Vegas, had come and taken his larger pieces of furniture like his TV and stereo, his piano and his guitars, and his computer to a storage facility.

Then he was alone in the near empty apartment. He had about two hours before shift. Not tired enough to catch a quick nap, he decided to shower and head in. Nothing wrong with catching up on paperwork off the clock, right? At least that had been the plan until he mysteriously found himself pulling up to the curb outside Nick's house.

Knocking again, Warrick hoped that this time words wouldn't fail him when he tried to explain yet another fuck up away. He was stupid. He should have waited, let things simmer down between them, ended things with Tina, then made his move. But no, the always suave Mr. Brown had gone in half-cocked, knowing Nick was stilled riled and completely vulnerable. And it had seriously back-fired.

Growling under his breath, Warrick checked his watch. He'd been standing here for about twenty minutes, pondering his current situation and pounding the door in front of him. Nick wouldn't ignore him for this long; he would have at least come to the door and told him to fuck off. Maybe he was sleeping? No. Nick wasn't that heavy of a sleeper. Shower? No, even if Warrick had come when the man was in the bathroom, Nick would be out by now. Suddenly feeling as if something was dreadfully wrong, Warrick pounded again.

"Nick! Open up man!" Stone cold silence was his answer.

Okay, calm down man. Think rationally. Think like Nicky. Warrick glanced back towards the driveway. Maybe Nick had gone for a drive? No, the black Denali was still sitting there. What about a nice long run? He'd never know Nick to run this late in the day. And even though it was an entirely plausible scenario, Warrick once again felt the tendrils of panic creeping around his heart.

"Fuck it," Warrick muttered as he quickly descended the steps of Nick's porch and made quick work of hopping the half fence that encircled the yard. As he moved through the side-yard towards the backdoor, his eyes scanned for any sign that something was wrong; a potted plant out of place, drag marks in the grass, a footprint, something, anything to banish or prove his theory. He spared a glance at the windows, but all the blinds were drawn.

Shaking his head, Warrick pulled up the seventh rock that made up the tiny wall around Nick's flowerbed and fetched the spare key. Jamming it in the lock, Warrick opened the back door and immediately paused. There were no sounds of life in the dark house. Only the hum of the air conditioner as it kicked on once again. Warrick took a tentative step inside. Then another, slowly inching his way into laundry room, edging along the wall so as not to trip over anything, until he finally reached the light switch.

Sighing once light flood the room, Warrick did another scan of the visible house but still saw no signs of life. He tread carefully and quietly through the house, not wanting to startle his friend. But as he made his way from room to room, his anxiousness and concern were becoming overwhelming. Finally, he reached the bedroom and cracked the door open an inch. The first thing to become visible was a lump on top of the bed that he quickly made out to be Nick sprawled. He was about to close the door and head out when something on the nightstand caught his eye. An empty beer bottle and an empty pill container.

"Fuck!" Warrick threw on the lights and ran to the bed. He grabbed Nick the shoulders and gave him a good shake. Nick would never- he couldn't finish the thought. Nick just wouldn't. But Nick wasn't moving; his breathing slow, his muscles slack. "No! Come on, Nicky. Don't do this to me. Please!"

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Nick tried desperately to slow his breathing as he swiped angrily at the tears. He had no one to be pissed at but himself. He'd let Warrick get to him once again. Let the man crawl under his skin, allowed him to flow through his veins like an addictive drug, slowly squeezing the life out of his heart while telling his brain he needed more. It was his fault but it would never happen again, Nick swore. He would make sure of it.

Rolling over, he caught sight of the beer and his sleeping pills still sitting on his nightstand. When he'd come in before, he hadn't been sure which would be the cure all, but now he knew. Snagging up the beer, Nick pressed the bottle to his lips and down a swig of the cool amber liquid. He leaned back against the headboard and allowed the feeling of the liquid sliding down his throat consume him. But as he raised the bottle for another go, he recalled his promise to himself and Rick all those years ago. He'd never ease the pain by crawling into a bottle. His daddy had done it and where had it gotten him? No where. He still recalled his old man's words after he cleaned himself up: "Nicky, there are no answers at the bottom of a bottle that you can't find when you're sober".

Sighing to himself, Nick hauled his body out of bed, snagging the pills in one hand as he headed off towards the bathroom. He dropped both bottles on either side of counter and hunched over the sink. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up the beer and dumped it, watching its contents splash and swirl around the porcelain bowl before sliding down the drain. Relief washed over him as he rinsed out the bottle before filling it partway with water.

He sat down heavily on the toilet lid as he snagged the pill bottle, dumping the contents all over the counter. Frustration welled up in his chest, but instead of picking up each pill, he snagged two off the counter and down them with his water. He knew they would probably knock him out completely, but at the moment he could careless. Snatching up the empty bottles, he made his way back into the bedroom and flopped on his bed, his eyes already bobbing and heavy with sleep.

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"Nicky! Come on man. Wake up. Please." Warrick once again shook his friend in desperation. The man was still showing no signs of consciousness and Warrick knew that every minute was of the essence. But he was torn. Should he call an ambulance and risk the wait? Or should he just drag Nick out to his car and drive him to the ER himself?

But before he could make a decision, the body he was cradling started to move. Warrick watched as Nick slowly swatted away his hands and tried to roll over. A laugh of relief bubbled from his lips as he held Nick still.

"Nicky, can you hear me man? Open your eyes."

Slowly, brown hazy eyes cracked open, squinting against the bright lights. They blinked a few times before they could truly focus. "Rick?" Nick slowly rubbed his eyes, his sluggish brain trying to connect why Warrick was cradling him, tears of relief filling those emerald depths. But before he could connect the dots, Warrick was pulling him up and off the bed.

"Come on Nicky, we gotta get you to a hospital man. Don't now what all ya took, how much you drank. What the fuck were you thinking, huh?" His words were muttered as he worked to pull the dead weight that was Nick's body up.

"Hospital? What the- What the fuck Rick?!" Nick, his brain finally pulled from his medically induced sleep, yanked his arm away from Warrick. His eyes glared daggers at the man as unsteadily sat back down on the bed, dizzy from being woken up suddenly and jerked around. "What the fuck are you doing here man?"

"Now's not the time, Nicky. We gotta go. You-" Warrick trailed off seeing the confusion in his man's eyes. Suddenly he was feeling very foolish.

"What are you yammering about? Why'd you wake me up man?!" Nick glared hard at the man before him, watching as embarrassment suddenly flooded the previously relieved depths.

Warrick didn't answer, but rather let his gaze slide over to the table and the incriminating evidence on display. It only took a moment for the quick minded Texan to figure out what had happened, what Warrick thought had happened. Growling in frustration, Nick stood up, his hands fisting in his hair as he paced for a moment before turning back to Warrick. "Are you kidding me?" he ground out in exasperation. "Why would you- Don't flatter yourself man! I took a sleeping pill, that's all!"

"But it's empty." Warrick swallowed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"The rest are scattered on the bathroom counter. I dropped the bottle and was too damn tired to pick the rest up." Nick tried to tamp down his anger and talk through this. The only way to talk through it quickly was calmly and rationally. And the sooner it was settled, the sooner Warrick was out of his bedroom.

"But the beer-" Warrick bit down on his tongue, stopping the rest of his statement before he could dig himself in deeper. Instinct told him to just hightail it out of there before Nick got to riled. But his heart told him to stay. Nick was being cool about it so far, maybe they could talk through this whole thing and put it behind them.

"I took a sip before I chucked it. Man, you're the one I told about my dad's problem. I promised you I'd never end up there." Nick sighed, flopping heavily on the bed as he ran his hands over his face a few times, trying desperately to get rid of the last vestiges of sleep and recollect himself. "What are you doing here, man?"

Warrick swallowed as Nick finally looked up and met his eyes. "I, uh- I got worried when you didn't answer the door so I used the spare key from your garden. I really need to talk to you, Nick. I know the last few times haven't gone so well, but I really-"

Nick cut him off as he abruptly stood and walked out of the room. Dumbfounded, Warrick hastily followed Nick into the kitchen where the man was slamming cabinets and banging glass around. So maybe Nick wasn't ready to deal with all of this yet. Once again his instinct was telling him to run, run far and fast and never look back. But when he started to hold his hands up in surrender something caught his eye. Or rather it was what didn't catch his eye. No ring. He'd placed it on Tina's nightstand before he'd walked out of the apartment for the last time. A smile tugged at his lips.

No, he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

He walked up behind Nick and placed his hands on the angry man's shoulders. "Come on, man. Just hear me out, okay? Five minutes to explain it all. Then I'll up and leave if that's what you want, okay?" He felt the tense muscles under his hands and started to gently knead them. When he didn't get a response, Warrick gently placed a kiss at the nape of Nick's neck before he started to speak.

"I'll admit. What happened before was pretty shitty. I hadn't planned on it going like that. I'm sorry."

"Oh yeah? What, you planned on getting a little ass before breaking the news that you and Tina were staying together?" Nick pulled away from Warrick and moved off to the refrigerator, feigning a search for food while Warrick continued on with his explanation.

"No. What I said to you before was the truth. At least it was mostly true." He flinched at the reaction to his words. Nick slammed the fridge door and spun around on his heel.

"You're not making this any better! Say what you have to say then get the hell out of my house!" Nick walked over to the counter, perching himself on a stool while Warrick fumbled to recollect his thoughts.

"Okay, that sounded bad. What I meant was that I chose you, I just hadn't ended it with Tina yet. I wanted so badly to let you know that I didn't think about how it would go over. Nor did I think about that fact that she'd been callin' me all day and I had been ignoring her. She's the last thing I'm thinkin' about when I'm with you, Nicky. I want you and just you. Tina's history."

Silence. Nick's face was blank but behind the neutral expression Warrick could see the wheels turning. Should Nick believe him and risk his heart again? Or should he play it safe, staying with anger and not falling in love again? Finally after what seemed an eternity, Nick slid off the stool and started to advance on Warrick, an unidentifiable spark in his eyes. "Why the fuck should I believe you?" Nick's finger slammed into Warrick's chest as he backed the taller man up a few steps. "You've lied to me, manipulated me, and hurt me before. How can I believe you now? Why should I believe you?!"

Warrick grabbed Nick's wrist not intending damage but hard enough to let Nick know he was serious. "Because it's really over this time man. I gave her the apartment and everything. We're done. The only thing left is the divorce papers. She's the past. I want you to be the future."

Nick growled low in his throat as he tugged his arm free of Warrick's grip, rubbing at the red marks there. He gave Warrick one hard look before he turned on his heel and stalked out of the kitchen. He didn't know where he was headed but got to the front door and had it unlocked before Warrick was even out of the kitchen. Ignoring the other man's protests, Nick hauled open the front door but froze in his tracks.

There sitting in front of his house was Warrick's Jeep packed with boxes and bags. Even the front passenger seat was occupied by what Nick knew as Warrick's work duffle and his laptop. He shook his head slightly, his jaw hanging open, his heart beating heavily in his chest at the prospect that maybe this time Warrick was telling the truth. Before he could turn around he felt two arms slide around his bare waist, a back pressed up against him, and warm breath tickling his ear. He tried to turn around to meet Warrick face to face, but he was held tight against the other man.

"Shhh. No more words, Nicky. They're what got us here in the first place. Trust you instincts. Just …" Warrick ran his hands up and down Nick's sides, "feel."

Nick gave into the urge and leaned back into the touch. He closed his eyes, drew in a deep breath and … felt. He felt Warrick's heart beating between his shoulder blades; felt his abs flex with each inhale and exhale; felt that breath puff out over his neck sending shivers up and down his spine; he felt Warrick's hands as they trailed up and down his sides, rubbing over his chest and down his stomach before starting the cycle again. But it was what he didn't feel that made the difference.

His eyes snapped open as he quickly turned around in Warrick's arms. He didn't say anything, just stared up into that smiling face, into those eyes that couldn't lie. His lips moved and air rushed out of his lungs, but no words came forth. Only tears as he grabbed Warrick's left hand and brought it close. No more ring. No more cold accusing gleam. No more wishful thinking. No more Tina.

A laughed bubbled from his lips as Warrick's left thumb brushed over his cheeks, wiping away the tears. "I'm sorry Nicky. I know I've been a fool these passed few days. I've jerked you around so much, I know why you didn't believe me. But hear me now babe and know I'm tellin' ya the truth. I love you. And you're the one I wanna be with. Will ya have me?" Warrick smiled but inside he was anxious. Though he knew he shouldn't be by the look on Nick's face.

"Damn straight I will." Nick muttered, but his words were cut off mid-sentence as Warrick's lips descended on his. And that was all he was aware of suddenly. Not the fact that they were standing in his open doorway, or the fact that they were moving through the house, bumping into furniture along the way. No he was only aware of the lips on his, the tongue sliding against his, and the deliciously slow friction against his already straining erection.

At least that was all he was aware of until the bed bumped the back of his legs. Then he was falling back onto the soft mattress, his sweatpants and boxers mysteriously stayed on the floor though. He couldn't help the laugh the emerged when Warrick all but pounced on him, his clothes shed somewhere along the way. Then Warrick's lips were on his neck, suckling and worrying ever so slightly with his teeth while his fingers ran up and down Nick's ribs, tickling and teasing as they went. Nick gasped out a laugh even as strained up into Warrick's touch.

"Please, Rick." He dug his fingers in Warrick's hair and pulled him back up for a kiss. The man's fingers ceased their tickling in favor of running up and down Nick's thighs, each time moving a little further inward until they were spreading Nick's legs apart. Warrick's lips moved down as well, butterflying kisses over his chest and stomach, nuzzling the fold of muscle down the tantalizing trail from his hip down to his groin. Placing a soft kiss at the end of one trail, he moved away to follow the other.

"Oh god. Rick, come on! Please. Do something." Nick urged his hips closer to Warrick's touch and was nearly screaming in relief when Warrick didn't pull away, but rather wrapped one hand around the straining erection. Nick moaned, enjoying the needed friction, but he wanted more. He wanted Warrick inside him. Fuck the foreplay, the passed two days had been more torturous than anything else he'd endured. He needed Rick and he needed him now. Hard and fast.

"Fuck, Warrick. If you don't … get inside me right … now," Nick's threat was cut off by two lips encircling his cock. A long, low hiss escaped as Warrick took all of him in, humming softly to himself as he went. And while one hand held Nick's hips down to the bed, the other was already lubed and seeking entrance. He was just getting started with two fingers when Nick pulled his head up.

"Now!" And Warrick wasn't about to protest. He never wanted to hurt Nick, but he knew how much his man could take. And right now they both wanted it all.

With a condom on, Warrick slid home in one long, slow thrust. He could feel Nick's impatience, but he could also feel Nick's discomfort so he was content to wait a moment. Once the tight passage around him relaxed a bit and he felt confident Nick wasn't in pain, Warrick gripped the man's hips and only gave a quick warning smile before he pulled out and plunged back in.

"Fuck," was the only coherent thing Nick muttered before the word tapered off into a low moan. Nick's head slammed back into the pillows, his eyes closed. The cords of his neck, the way his forearms bulged from gripping the sheets, the ripple and play of his abs and quads as they moved in one, it was all intoxicating to Warrick. And he wanted so badly to reached down and taste them, to feel the power beneath that tanned skin, but he knew it would be his undoing. And he wasn't content to let go just yet.

Nick was barely aware of anything but the man inside him and the pleasure induced fireworks erupting behind his eyes. Each stroke caused another set to burst. He gasped for breath, but soon realized that oxygen was secondary at the moment. His primary focus was on his straining, leaking cock that begged for attention. But try as he might, he couldn't release his grip on the sheets. He was on sensory overload, feeling like he was a second away from explosion but the clock was ticking too slowly.

And then it happened. Warrick's strong hand released its death-grip on Nick's hip and slowly curled around Nick's cock. One pull and Nick was screaming over the edge in mind-numbing release. His body tightened, his muscles pulled taught like a cord about to snap, his toes curling. Warrick was afraid Nick would break in two but that fear was short lived as a moment later, he plummeted over his peak and into darkness.

When he cracked open his eyes, he was lying sprawled out across a totally limp and sated Nick. He felt like jelly, his legs just regaining feeling from the aftershocks. And judging by the state of Nick beneath him, eyes nearly rolled back in his head, Warrick didn't think he'd be moving anytime too soon. So he gently pulled out, grabbed the nearest article of clothing and gently cleaned them off before he pulled Nick in his arms and under the covers. The last thing he was aware of before he fell into the welcoming darkness was Nick's hand entwining with his own.

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Nick slowly awoke, burying his face in the pillow with a smile on his face. With as relaxed as his body was, he thought it might be near impossible to move. He chuckled and rolled over only to find an empty bed. For a moment he thought he might have imagined what had happened, but judging by the way certain parts of his anatomy were feeling, he knew it wasn't just a fantasy. It had been real and Warrick had played him again.

He was about to go on a rampage when he heard a muffled voice coming from outside his closed door. Curiosity peaked, Nick pulled the covers back and crept to the door, opening it only enough for him to peek out. There, standing in his living room was a naked Warrick, pacing back and forth behind the couch on his cell phone. For a moment, Nick was mad that his lover was out of bed and on the phone. That was until he heard the next words out of his lover's mouth.

"Yeah, Griss. Both me and Nick will be out sick today. Must've been something we ate at the diner…Yeah, I came to check on him cause I knew he wasn't feelin' to hot all day… Stomach bug or food poisoning, not sure right now … Tomorrow? Uh, yeah probably… Yeah, okay. I'll pass it along…Uh-huh. You got it. Later." Warrick ended the call and turned to see Nick standing in the doorway, a huge ass grin plastered on his face.

"Stomach bug, huh?" Nick grinned cheekily as Warrick pulled him close and down onto the bed.

"Yeah, well it was either that, or I tell him I just fucked your brains out and we're both incapable of higher-level functions." Warrick kissed Nick's neck, nuzzling the soft skin before letting out a deep sigh. There were things they needed to sort out and lost time to make up for, but at the moment Warrick was just content to lay in bed, his arms wrapped tightly around Nick, their hands intertwined, and just breathe.

"Love ya, Rick" Nick muttered sleepily.

"Love ya too, Nicky."

FIN