Title: Showing Love
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: Holiday Non-Bingo, tv_universe
Prompt: 15, Hugs
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.

***

It was amazing how good a mere hug could make him feel.

Greg smiled at that knowledge; a hug from Nick was the best way to start his working day at the lab. Especially when he knew that his boyfriend would be out in the field.

It helped him to get a good start to his day to know that Nick would be thinking of him, that they would both feel that hug even when they spent most of their working hours apart.

His smile faded as he thought back to the days before he'd been with Nick, when he was still Shane's boyfriend, and how he'd felt most of the nights when he'd come to work. He'd had to wear long sleeves all the time, even in the summer, to hide the bruises that Shane had begun to leave on his arms.

Of course, it was usually fairly chilly in the lab, so nobody thought much of him wearing long sleeves. He just had to be careful to remember not to push them up.

He'd always been at that, at hiding what Shane had been doing to him. But now, he didn't have to hide that any more. Shane was out of his life, and he was with Nick.

His. His love. The man who loved him.

The thought was heady, making him smile again. He could still feel the hug that Nick had given him only a few moments ago before he'd left to go to a crime scene.

His body could feel those hugs long after they were given, all the way through to his bones. It was as though every hug went all the way through him, as though Nick could touch every part of him, not just his body. It was as though Nick reached through him and touched his heart with every hug.

Just feeling Nick's arms around him could give him strength, make him feel as though he'd had adrenaline pumped into him to energize every cell in his body.

What was it about those hugs that was so amazing? Greg asked himself, a smile on his face as he made his way through the halls of the building to his small office in the DNA lab.

Maybe those hugs were just so heady and intoxicating because he knew that they were given with love, that Nick's hugs were meant to show him how much he was cherished. He could feel that love every time Nick touched him, or even just smiled at him. It was open and honest, never hidden.

That love shone in Nick's eyes for all the world to see, and it was in every touch between the two of them. They shared something very special that could never be taken away.

Those hugs were just one way of showing that love to each other.

He never doubted Nick's love, though all of the hugs that his boyfriend so freely dispensed to him went a long way to reassuring him that he was indeed loved and cherished.

How could they not? Greg thought, his smile growing wider. When Nick Stokes gave him a bear hug, he had no doubt that there was great emotion behind it.

He always returned those hugs with emotion of his own; he was reluctant to let go of Nick, not wanting his boyfriend to be out of his sight. Of course, he did always let go; even at times like today, when he'd had to watch Nick walk out of the building and head out to a new crime scene.

It was getting easier to let those hugs end now; he always knew that Nick would come back to him. He trusted the man he loved to know how to take care of himself.

Nick would always come back to him, and they would always have this bond between them. The hugs were only a small part of all that they shared.

But those hugs sure did go a long way towards making him feel happy and secure.

Greg went into the DNA lab, picking up his white lab coat and shrugging into it. He had a lot of work to do today, and he needed to focus on that and not on his boyfriend hugging him.

Still, the joy of that warm, loving hug stayed with him for the next several hours, bringing a smile to his face whenever he thought of it -- and whenever he thought of seeing Nick again near the end of their shift.

***