Title: All I Want For Christmas Is You
By: Serenity
Summary: It's Christmas! But Nick doesn't feel like celebrating... yet. The word 'goose ' is brought to you courtesy of Snow Wonder. Beta'd by anmani, and thanks to both her and dagdrommer for the info.
Characters: Nick, Greg
Genres: romance
Rating: PG13
Warnings: none

It was Christmas Eve, and the entire graveyard shift were gathered in the break room for their Christmas party. The room had hastily been adorned with fairy lights and tinsel had been thrown over any available space, giving the place a festive, if rather garish appearance. A somewhat pathetic plastic Christmas tree that had seen better days was propped up in one of Grissom's spare specimen jars, it's fibre optic lights changing through the colours of the rainbow.

Nick sat quietly in the corner and watched as his colleagues talked and laughed with eachother, occasionally coming to the table to refill their sodas. There was no alcohol at this Christmas party as they were all beginning their shift in a few hours.

As well as soft drinks, the table was groaning with all sorts of party foods, everyone had been ordered by Catherine to bring at least two different kinds of foodstuff, and by the looks of it, some people had gone a little overboard. There was enough food to feed them for at least a week. Nick figured they'd be eating the leftovers until New Years.

Catherine's daughter Lindsey had also been invited to the party, and had brought her ‘Christmas Karaoke!' DVD, which Archie was helping her to set up in the corner. Nick stifled a laugh at the love-struck looks Lindsey was shooting in the oblivious lab tech's direction.

"Hey, want something to drink?" Greg asked, collapsing unceremoniously on to the seat beside him. Nick shook his head, wincing as the DVD sprang into life just a little too loud.

"Sorry everyone!" Archie called out as Lindsey giggled. He picked up the microphone and waved it in the air. "OK, who's our first victim?"

Everyone turned to Archie with looks of disbelief on their faces. Seeing that no one else was going to take the plunge, Greg raised his eyebrow at Nick and with a cheeky grin jumped off his seat. He grabbed the microphone and began to scroll through the choices. "OK, lets get this party started!" he whooped.

Everyone turned to watch the young CSI as the intro to ‘Santa Baby' filled the room. Greg adopted a sultry tone and began to sing, albeit a little off-key, but everyone was smiling and watching him intently. He changed the lyrics to ‘been an awful good boy' but raised a few laughs when he kept in the line ‘think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed.' Nick tried to tell himself that it was just his over active imagination that Greg had looked straight at him when he sang that line, that was just wishful thinking on his part.

As Greg finished the song and took a bow, the entire team broke into applause, cheering and whistling. "I've started you off, lets see who's next?" Greg grinned, holding the microphone into the crowd. Everyone was surprised when Grissom stepped forward and began to sing ‘Oh Holy Night' in a deep, rich voice.

Nick moved to the table and grabbed another soda, his throat suddenly dry after watching the performance. Greg joined him, taking a huge gulp of his own drink. "You going to sing anything?" he asked the Texan.

Nick almost choked on his soda, Greg slapping him on the back a few times to help him catch his breath. "Woah! Take it easy there Nicky!" he grimaced. "I only asked you if you were going to sing."

Nick stopped coughing. "I don't sing in public." he spluttered.

Greg poked him good naturedly in the ribs. "Come on, it is Christmas after all. I think you'd do a good ‘Let it Snow' personally." he grinned in that gorgeous way that never failed to make Nick's heart stop dead.

Nick vehemently shook his head, and Greg shrugged. He turned away again and wandered out of the break room and down the corridor, disappearing around the corner.

Warrick came over and joined Nick by the table, grabbing a handful of peanuts and tossing them in his mouth. "You OK bro?" he asked as he chewed. "You seem a little out of it."

Nick tried to muster up a smile for his friend. "I'm cool ‘Rick. It's just.. Christmas, you know? You've got Tina to go home to tomorrow morning, all I've got is an empty house and a microwave Turkey and potatoes for one. Doesn't exactly put me in the festive mood."

Warrick laid a friendly hand on his shoulder. "I'll talk to Tina, I'm sure she won't mind if you come over and have dinner with us."

Nick shook his head. "Thanks, but it's your first Christmas together, and I know she was working all day today. You need this time together, you don't want me intruding. I'll be fine. It won't be the first time, hey? I'm used to it by now."

Warrick nodded, turning as he heard Sara call his name. "Looks like I'm doing a duet." he rolled his eyes and groaned as Sara smiled at him, clutching the microphone and waving him over.

Nick forced a laugh and clapped a heavy hand on his back, pushing him forwards. "Better you than me, buddy!"

Suddenly Greg appeared again, wearing some sort of home-made halo, fashioned out of what looked like a wire coat hanger with red tinsel wrapped all the way around. Another wire was protruding from the front, and attached to this was a sprig of mistletoe.

He made a beeline for Catherine and grabbed her with one hand around her waist and the other cradling her shoulders. He swung her dramatically and leaned down, kissing her fully on the lips as everyone cheered. He swung her back up to standing again and released her. Catherine opened her mouth to speak, but Greg pointed at the mistletoe. "Tradition." he claimed smugly. "You can't deny tradition."

Catherine's face softened and she began to laugh. "I guess, it being Christmas and all." she giggled, forgiving him. Doc Robbins was standing beside the Co-Supervisor, and Greg gave him a huge wet kiss on his forehead, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a bright red Santa hat, popping it on Doc's head.

Everyone cheered at the passable figure of Santa that the Pathologist made, with his round face and snowy white beard. Greg laughed and moved on to Sara, who had now finished her duet of ‘Baby it's cold outside' with Warrick. He bowed before her, then straightened up and leaned forwards, softly pressing his lips to hers. Nick turned away, feeling his stomach twist with jealousy.

Greg had moved on to Warrick, kissing him quickly on both cheeks. Nick watched as everyone laughed at Greg's antics. If he hadn't known that Greg was working later, he'd have sworn that the young man had been drinking. But then again, this was probably just Greg's enthusiasm for Christmas coming through in his actions.

It wasn't until Greg gave Grissom a quick peck on the lips did Nick realise that Greg obviously intended to kiss everyone in the room.... including him. His breathing quickened along with his pulse, he could feel the thump thump of his heart beating against his ribcage as Greg began to approach him, a wicked glint in his eyes.

Nick felt his mouth go dry for the second time that night. He resisted the urge to lick his lips, in case the action was misconstrued by the watching crowd. Greg continued to approach, and was almost by Nick's side when Ecklie entered the party. Greg quickly pulled off the makeshift halo and hid it behind his back, as everyone laughed.

Nick felt the disappointment shear through him like a hot arrow in his gut, but he covered it by laughing along with the rest of the group.

Ecklie dropped a file into the middle of the table, with an apologetic look on his face. "I'm sorry to break up the party, but we've had a multiple shooting over on Wilson, and both day shift and swing shift are too busy to handle it. I'm afraid I'm going to need Graveyard to cover this one."

Grissom walked over and took a look at the file, as everyone else groaned and began to gather their things together, Catherine promising Lindsey that her Grandmother would be over to pick her up in an hour. Greg tossed the mistletoe halo on to the chair beside Nick, shooting him a shrug and a crooked smile.

Grissom was splitting the team into pairs, Greg was with Warrick and he was paired with Sara. They made their way to the parking lot and got into their respective trucks, planning to regroup at the crime scene and get their assignments.

~~~

The night was busy, Christmas seeming to elevate the suicide and domestic homicide rates to crazy proportions. Nick was exhausted and fell into bed as soon as he got home, not caring what day of the year it was. He'd not bothered to put up any decorations, and his gifts from family were still unopened on the coffee table.

He woke up at midday, feeling that his body could do with another few hours sleep, but his restless mind refusing to give it to him. He got up wearily from the bed, stretched his tight muscles and padded naked to the shower, turning it on to the hottest his skin could stand, rinsing off the grime and sweat from a hard night that he'd rather forget.

He stepped out of the shower and wound a fluffy dark blue towel around his waist, shaking the droplets of water from his hair and rubbing over his body with a smaller towel. He dressed for comfort in an oversized grey t-shirt and sweatpants, leaving his feet bare.

He was lying on his couch half-watching yet another re-run of ‘It's a wonderful life' when his doorbell rang unexpectedly, making him jump. He got up and walked to the door, checking the peephole. He was surprised to see Greg standing there.

"Merry Christmas." he said softly as Nick opened the door. "You busy?"

Nick shook his head and stood aside to let Greg enter. He noticed that Greg had a small but beautifully wrapped package in his hands, which he set on the coffee table along with the other unopened gifts.

"You haven't put your tree up..." he mused, looking around the room. "Where is it?"

Nick shrugged. "It's still in the closet. I just didn't feel like putting it up. It's not as if anyone would be here to see it anyway."

"I'm here." Greg shrugged. "Nothing to say we can't put it up now."

Nick looked puzzled. "You want to put my Christmas tree up for me?"

"I'm not going to put it up for you, we're going to put it up together." He pulled off his jacket and tossed it onto the sofa. "Well, go get it!" he shooed Nick out of the living room.

Nick returned a few minutes later with the fake tree and a box of decorations. "You don't have a real one?" Greg asked. Nick shook his head and Greg shrugged, pulling off the plastic wrap. It took them a few minutes to get the tree to sit straight as it had a habit of leaning to one side, before they could start putting the decorations on.

As they worked, Greg told Nick about the traditional Norwegian Christmas he spent with his Grandparents when he was younger. "We didn't put the tree up until the 23rd, which is known as lille juleaften." On seeing Nick's puzzled look, he translated. "Little Christmas Eve." He stretched to hang some tinsel on the top of the tree, Nick trying not to look at the pale expanse of skin exposed beneath the hem of his shirt as he moved. Greg was still talking. "They have the big celebration on the 24th, it was so much fun. I'll never forget that Christmas." Greg had taken on a wistful appearance as he remembered.

Nick smiled at the happy expression on Greg's face as he continued talking, telling Nick all about the food his grandmother served for the Christmas meal. "We had sausages and roasted pork for the main course, then for dessert there was riskrem, which is rice porridge with whipped cream and chopped almonds."

"It sounds delicious." Nick's stomach growled slightly at the thought of food. Greg grinned, seemingly pleased that Nick was taking such an interest.

"Of course, the best part of the night is when the cookies are served. My Grandmother bakes them herself. She still sends me a care package of pepperkaker cookies every year, they were always my favourite."

"That sounds really great." Nick sighed, the talk of family Christmases making him feel suddenly homesick, something he didn‘t feel often. He looked across at the gifts on the table, realising that he was actually looking forward to opening them now. With his friend beside him, and the tree taking shape, it was beginning to feel like Christmas.

Greg reached into the box and pulled out the shimmering gold star for the top of the tree. He handed it to Nick with a smile. "It's your tree. You get to do the honours."

Nick took the star, his hand brushing against Greg's, sending a definite shiver through his body. He reached up and carefully placed the star at the top, both standing back to admire their handiwork.

"Looks good." Greg nodded, placing a casual hand on Nick's shoulder. "And now to the reason I'm here." He turned and picked the wrapped package up and placed it in Nick's hands. "Merry Christmas Nick."

Nick looked down at the gift, then back up to meet Greg's eyes. "You already gave me your gift yesterday."

Greg snickered. "I gave you a $5 pen! You didn't really think that was a real gift, did you?"

Nick shrugged, also laughing. "I needed a new pen. I was happy with it."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Just..... open it, OK? Don't leave me hanging here. This is hard enough as it is."

Nick pulled off the shiny red wrapping paper and opened the box. His eyes widened in surprise. "An iPod? You got me an iPod? Greg, this is too much, honestly."

Greg smiled shyly. "Well, you're always carrying that damn CD player everywhere you go, so I thought someone needed to help you get with the times. There's already a few albums on it, I took a peek at your collection last time I was here, and I took a guess at the others. Plus I added a few classics that everyone should listen to."

Nick pulled the iPod out of the box, noticing something else stuck in the bottom. "What's this?" he wondered, pulling it out to reveal a sprig of mistletoe.

Greg's cheeks took on a red flush. "Oh... yeah, well, yesterday.... I was giving everyone their Christmas kiss and you got left out, what with Ecklie coming in and breaking up the party. I didn't want to leave you out. Tradition, you know?" He lifted the sprig of mistletoe and held it above them, leaning in and giving Nick an incredibly quick peck on the cheek. Nick could feel the heat radiating from his blush.

"That's all I get?" he asked, his heart beating wildly. Greg wanted to kiss him! He decided to let Greg know that it was OK to continue, because the young man was obviously nervous. "I still feel a little left out, I mean... that hardly counts." he pouted.

Greg giggled nervously and leaned forwards again for a second attempt. He caught Nick's lips this time, and brushed softly against them. Nick brought his free hand up to cup Greg's cheek, not letting him break the kiss this time. Greg opened his mouth and Nick mirrored the movement. The kiss was soft and sweet, warm and wet, tender and delicious.

"Wow." Greg murmured when they finally pulled apart. "That's not how I expected this to go."

Nick smiled at him. "Well, my Christmas day has turned out very different from how I expected as well." He looked down at the gift Greg had brought him. "I'm sorry that I didn't get you anything other than the leather wallet I gave you at the party." he said, his voice full of regret. "I just thought you needed a proper one instead of that worn-out fabric thing you always use."

Greg tossed the mistletoe onto the table, not needing the excuse to kiss him now. He brought Nick's face towards his again, and in the last second before their lips met, he whispered. "You've just given me the one thing I've always wanted. Merry Christmas Nick."

"Merry Christmas Greg." Nick grinned as they broke their union. "So, can you stick around, or do you have to get back?"

"I've nothing else planned, so if you want, we can hang out here." Greg untangled himself from Nick's hold, "or, we can go back to my place and have something to eat? I've bought a goose....."

Nick burst into a peal of laughter at the thought. "Have you ever cooked a goose before in your life?"

Greg grinned and shook his head. "But it can't be that hard, especially between the two of us. You game?"

"Sure." he smiled, pulling Greg close again. "But you have to tell me one thing. Why today? What made you come over?"

Greg squirmed a little in his grasp, but answered truthfully. "A few things.... I'd already bought the gift for you, but I hadn't worked up the courage to give it to you. But then last night at the party, you looked almost....disappointed when I didn't get to kiss you, so I thought that maybe, just maybe, you liked me too. And then at the crime scene, Warrick told me that he was worried about you. He said you seemed a little bummed about being alone today. So it seemed like the fates were telling me to go for it. And so.... Here I am."

Nick traced a fingertip across Greg's jaw line, following the path with soft kisses. "Remind me to buy ‘Rick a beer next time we're out." he murmured against Greg's hot skin. Greg groaned in response, shifting against him.

"You know what I'm thinking right now?" he moaned breathlessly as Nick's hands began to wander over the small of his back, one reaching down to clasp the roundness of his backside, pulling him closer.

"What.. Are.. You.. Thinking?" His words were punctuated with hot wet kisses.

"I'm thinking screw the goose."