Title: Love Is All Around
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Greg Sanders or Nick Stokes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

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Greg opened his eyes, feeling disoriented and confused for just a moment. He quickly regained his equilibrium, realizing after just a few seconds that he was in bed with Nick, the other man's arms locked protectively around his waist.

When they had first started sleeping together, he'd had a hard time getting used to having Nick's warm body spooned behind him; he had never liked having anyone sleep like that, especially after all that he'd been through with Shane. It brought back too many bad memories.

He tried to push those memories as far away as he could; he didn't need to have them in his head, not now. That part of his life was over and done. Shane might still be out there, but that bastard would never be in his life again. Nick would make sure of that.

There was nothing for him to be afraid of any more, not with Nick by his side. It seemed impossible that he was finally with Nick, that he had everything in his life that he'd wanted for so long. It felt like a fairy tale, a dream that had unexpectedly come true.

How long had he wanted to be with Nick and thought that he never would be? Greg had no idea how many nights he'd spent longing for Nick, wanting to be with the other man, but he'd felt that way for a long time. He couldn't help but wonder how long Nick had felt the same.

He'd loved Nick from the first time they'd met. All it had taken was one look into those sparkling dark eyes, and he'd fallen head over heels. He'd expected it to be an infatuation that would die off, but it had only grown stronger over time.

Did Nick feel the same? Had his feelings grown stronger in the time that they'd been together? Greg was sure that they had; there was no way that Nick couldn't feel the same things that he did. They were so close that sometimes it seemed as if they were one person.

He'd never felt that way with anybody else he'd been with. Not that he'd been with a lot of people, he thought with a sigh. A couple of girls, and two other guys before Shane. He wasn't really all that sexually experienced, no matter what impression he might try to give.

Nick was the first person he'd ever really been in love with. He'd waited to lose his virginity until he'd fallen in love -- and his first lover had been a man. But that had been no more than an infatuation, one that had quickly died when he'd found out that his feelings weren't returned.

After that, he'd told himself that he didn't want to be with another man, and he'd tried to pretend that he was interested in women. He'd even slept with a couple, but the experience had left him cold. It hadn't taken him long to realize that he was gay.

When he'd met Shane, he was still smarting over the last man he'd been with -- someone who he'd wanted to spend the rest of his life with, but who had only looked at him as a pretty boy who was only good for a one-night stand. He'd been hurt, confused, and lonely.

Shane had played on those feelings. He knew that now. He should have been more guarded, more careful, realized that Shane hadn't been sincere. But at the time, he had wanted -- and needed -- to believe that he was in love, and that someone loved him.

How could he have thought that a predator like Shane was capable of loving anybody? He should have been able to see through that facade, but he'd been too busy convincing himself that he had finally found a relationship that would last.

He'd been far too easy a target, he thought ruefully. Shane had zeroed in on him, known exactly how to manipulate him right from the start. And by the time he'd finally come to senses and realized what Shane was, he'd been in too deep to get himself out of the situation.

If it hadn't been for the explosion in the lab that had caused his burns, he might never have been able to break away from that abusive relationship. Shane could have ended up maiming him for life, and then dumping him -- or his ex-boyfriend could have easily killed him.

Greg couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought; of all the ways he could die, he wouldn't have wanted his death to come at Shane's hands, playing one of his perverted games. Especially since Shane would have made it seem like his death had been his own fault.

Even when he had tried to convince himself that he was completely happy with Shane, at the beginning of their relationship, there had always been something about the other man that had made Greg feel uneasy. He'd never felt completely safe and happy, even when he'd thought he should be.

There was nothing like that with Nick. Whenever Nick looked at him, he could almost feel his heart start to melt in his chest; just thinking about Nick gave him a feeling of peace and security that he'd never had with anyone else. Nick made him feel loved.

With Nick, love was all around him, wrapping around him as though he was safely bundled into a warm, fuzzy blanket. He felt cocooned, safe in the knowledge that Nick loved him and would protect him in every possible way. He'd never felt that with Shane.

He'd never felt that with anyone, Greg thought wryly. Well, he'd felt that kind of protective love from his parents -- but they hadn't known when to let him stand on his own two feet, the way that Nick did. They had tried to love and protect him too much.

Of course, the love that Nick felt for him was different, but the concept was the same. Only Nick knew that he had to take a few steps back, that he couldn't wrap Greg in cotton wool and protect him from the world. His parents had never figured that out.

What would they think when he told them about the explosion in the lab? He hadn't been able to bring himself to let them know about that yet -- especially not his mother. She would have thrown a fit, and tried to insist that he stop working in the crime lab.

That wasn't the kind of love he wanted or needed, Greg thought with an inward sigh. He appreciated the fact that his mother wanted to take care of him, but he didn't want to be smothered. It was one of the reasons he'd moved to Vegas -- to get away from that.

But Nick's love was different. His boyfriend's love was all around him, but not in a way that made him feel smothered or overprotective. Nick respected his ability to take care of himself -- but the man he loved was there to help him when he needed help.

He'd been startled to find out that Nick had loved him since they'd first met; he hadn't thought that the other man's emotions had extended past them being close friends. But he'd underestimated Nick; he seemed to have a tendency to do that far too often.

He never would again, Greg told himself. All that Nick had done to find him when Shane had kidnapped him from the hospital, and everything that had happened between them since then, proved that Nick loved him. He would never underestimate his lover's emotions again.

He could literally feel Nick's love surrounding him when they were lying here like this, even when his lover wasn't awake. Even in his dreams, the love that he and Nick shared surrounded him, keeping him safe and protected no matter what might befall him.

What would it feel like far into the future, after they'd been together for a long time? Would he still feel this love all around him? Would Nick still love him just as much, and still want to keep him protected and safe through all the troubles they might face?

Of course he would, Greg told himself with a smile. The love that he and Nick shared wasn't something that was going to fade away; it would just keep getting stronger all the time. He would always love Nick -- and he had no doubt that Nick would always return that love.

Greg sighed contentedly, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. Within moments, he had fallen asleep again, snuggling closer to Nick as he let himself drift off, feeling his boyfriend's love all around, surrounding him even when they were each lost in their own private dreams.

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