Title: Grasp
By: Caroline Crane
Pairing: Nick/Greg
Rating: NC-17
Summary: Greg likes to watch.

"Where'd you get that thing, anyway?"

"I borrowed it from this guy I know."

"What guy?"

The edge in Nick's voice makes him smile – it's not that he wants Nick to be jealous, but it's nice to know he cares. "Mark Barnes. He used to work days in the A/V lab before he took a job at the Flamingo."

"Well you can take it right back to him, because I'm not doing it."

"Come on," Greg pleads, turning on the smile he knows gets to Nick every time.

"No way, G. Look, I'll do whatever you want, but you're not filming it. Stuff like that ends up on the internet and then we'll both lose our jobs."

Greg lowers the camera long enough to let out an exasperated sigh, taking in the sight of Nick stretched out on the bed, towel still around his waist and his glasses on. "You really think I'd do that to you?"

"No, but stuff like that has a way of getting out," Nick answers, his frown making his forehead crease and it would be cute if he wasn't being so stubborn. "You put the wrong tape in a box and return it to a video store or something, and the next thing you know you're amateur night on Pay-Per-View. Forget it."

"So we'll erase it after we watch it. You can even break the tape if you want." He grins a little more brightly, and when Nick rolls his eyes and tries not to smile Greg knows he's about to cave. "Please?"

"Why do you want to tape me doing that anyway?"

Greg's not sure he can answer that. He could say it's because Nick's hot – that's true, at least – but that doesn't really explain it. Or he could tell Nick that he likes watching him slowly peel back the layers of his control, focusing only on his own pleasure until finally he's so far gone he just…lets go. But he has a feeling Nick won't get that, and saying it will just make him self-conscious. So Greg just grins and picks up the camera again, focusing on Nick as his hands slide down to the knot in the front of his towel.

"I like to watch."

When he found Nick in bed he was settling in to read some boring article on the lifecycle of the Osprey or something like that, but when he tugs his towel open Nick's already hard, so either he's got kinks Greg doesn't want to know about or he's not as opposed to this idea as he pretends. Greg grins behind the camera and moves a little closer, readjusting his focus until Nick's hand comes into view. He's stroking his stomach absently, eyes already half-closed as he pushes the towel off his legs and spreads them a little further.

"What are you thinking about?"

"Tom Cruise."

"Really?" Greg asks, looking out from behind the camera long enough to gauge Nick's expression.

"No," Nick answers, laughing a little breathlessly as his hand dips lower. "Greg, I can't do this and talk at the same time."

Greg bites back a joke about Nick's talents and ducks back behind the camera, following Nick's hand with the lens until it closes around his cock. "Okay, no talking. I can work with that."

Nick laughs again, low in his throat as he shifts a little on the mattress. "So what, you're a director now?"

"I thought you weren't talking."

"Just trying to find out what my motivation is. This would be easier if you weren't wearing so many clothes."

Greg grins and shakes one arm out of his shirt, then switches the camera to his other hand and lets the shirt slide off his other arm. When he's down to a t-shirt and his jeans he refocuses the camera, moving a step or two closer to the bed. "Better?"

"Funny," Nick answers, but he's still stroking slowly and when his eyelids flutter he sighs and closes his eyes. Greg inches closer to the bed, making as little noise as possible so Nick won't hear him and stop. When he reaches the bed he rests one knee on it, moving forward just enough to bring his other knee up onto the mattress.

Nick's back is arched, neck elongated and Greg wants to run his tongue over all that perfect skin. But he wants to catch all this on tape, the way Nick's hand moves in slow, even strokes and the little moans he can't quite suppress. He wants to capture the way Nick's hips thrust up to meet each stroke, and that moment of almost-pain just before he comes. He's already got every second memorized, but he likes the idea of being able to rewind it and watch it play back, to watch Nick get turned on by watching himself.

A moan escapes Nick's throat as he adjusts his grip just a little, free hand roaming restlessly over his chest. It makes Greg wonder what Nick wants to do, if he'd do it if he were alone or if he's uptight enough that he can't even bring himself to give in to what he wants when nobody's watching. He wonders if Nick's ever fingered himself, if he likes it or if even that makes him feel too vulnerable.

His legs are splayed wide, muscles tense and he's almost arching off the bed, straining into his own grip and if Greg hadn't seen him sleep he'd never believe Nick was capable of relaxing. That's the only time Greg's ever seen him totally relaxed – when he's asleep, or in those moments after sex when he's sort of half-awake and too exhausted to remember to be self-conscious.

Or maybe this is just as relaxed as Nick gets, because the camera's not holding him back and it's all Greg can do not to reach out and touch when Nick's leg shifts dangerously close to him. He pans the camera back up Nick's torso, watching his face as his expression twists into one of intense concentration, eyes shut tight behind his glasses and God, Greg's never going to forget that look. In fact, he's pretty sure it's going to feature in every one of his fantasies from now on, and when Nick lets out a soft grunt and comes he has to remind himself that he's still filming.

He pans away from Nick's face in time to catch the last lazy strokes before he lets go, chest heaving with the effort to catch his breath and when he opens his eyes he smiles right at the camera. "Are you gonna put that thing down and come over here now?"

And Greg can take a hint, so he grins and scrambles off the bed long enough to balance the camera on the dresser before he pulls his clothes off and climbs back onto the mattress. Before he has time to say so much as 'God, that was hot' Nick's pulling him close, pulling his glasses off to drop them on the nightstand before he leans up for a kiss. He hasn't even seen the tape yet and Greg knows there's no way he's going to erase it – he has no idea how he's going to convince Nick, but when a hand slides between them to circle his cock Greg decides there will be plenty of time to think of something later.

~

He's not sure how long he's been passed out on the bed when the sound of the TV wakes him. It's still dark, which means it's still officially their day off, but when he reaches for the side of the bed where Nick's supposed to be he finds it empty. Greg frowns at the feel of cool sheets and sits up, running a hand through his hair and pushing himself off the bed to pad across the room to the bathroom.

Once he washes up a little he wanders into the living room, body pleasantly achy from earlier and he can still feel Nick inside him if he shifts a certain way. He loves that – loves the reminder of how much Nick wants him and he grins at the memory of everything they did before they both passed out. When he reaches the living room he stops short next to the couch, memories flooding back even more vividly when he finds himself watching them on the television screen.

He manages to tear his gaze away from the image on the screen long enough to glance toward the couch, cock twitching at the sight of Nick in just a pair of boxers, watching the screen as though he's never seen anything quite like it before. Greg grins and slides onto the couch next to him, the leather cool against his bare skin and when he slides a hand over Nick's thigh the other man's legs part automatically.

"We can't erase this," Nick says, voice low and smoky as Greg's knuckles graze his cock through his boxers. He arches up into the touch almost absently, seeking more pressure and Greg's more than happy to oblige.

"I thought you were worried about somebody breaking in and stealing it to post all over the internet."

"So we'll lock it up with my gun. We're not erasing it." Nick turns to face him as he says it, eyes bright in the soft blue light from the television and Greg's heart skips a beat at his expression.

"Hey, you're not going to get an argument from me," he says, grinning when Nick flashes that crooked smile and leans in for a kiss. He's not sure he'll ever talk Nick into making another tape, but he doesn't have to come up with an excuse to keep this one, and that's good enough for now.