Title: Soothe
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Nick Stokes
Fandom: CSI: Vegas
Rating: PG-13
Table: The Body, mission_insane
Prompt: 5, Hair
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.

***

Greg sighed softly as Nick ran a hand through his hair, cuddling closer into his boyfriend's embrace. "I love when you do that," he said softly, tilting his head back to look up at Nick with a smile. "Your hands always feel so good. Soothing. Comforting, I guess is the word."

Nick returned the smile, bowing his head to brush a gentle kiss across Greg's forehead. "I'm glad I make you feel that way, sweetheart," he said, his voice soft and husky. "I always want you to feel comfortable in my arms. If my touch is soothing, then so much the better."

"Kind of reminds me of the first guy I ever dated," Greg said, closing his eyes and relaxing into Nick's arms. "He always used to hold me and stroke my hair whenever I was upset about anything, or if I had a nightmare. Ever since then, I've liked the feeling of somebody touching my hair."

"I love your hair," Nick murmured, pressing another kiss to the top of Greg's head. "I love how soft it is, and how it feels to run my fingers through it." He demonstrated just how much he liked that feeling by moving his fingers through Greg's hair, closing his eyes as he did so.

"Shane always hated it when I dyed my hair," Greg murmured, his voice catching slightly on the last words. "So I did it a lot, just because I knew he hated it. I guess it was the only way I could rebel and actually get away with it, because he couldn't stop me."

Nick's heart went out to Greg as he listened to his boyfriend talk; he didn't understand how Greg could have ever thought that someone who treated him as badly as Shane had could actually care for him. But it wasn't his place to judge, only to be here for Greg now, in every way he could.

"I love your crazy hair dye," Nick said softly, running his fingers slowly through Greg's hair again. "I think it's sexy. Some looks I like better than others, but you wouldn't be who you are if you weren't always coloring your hair and experimenting. It's one of your unique traits."

"I don't think Shane liked me to be unique," Greg said after a short pause. "He just wanted me to he what he thought I should be -- a sex toy for him to do whatever he wanted with. He didn't want somebody with a brain and personality of their own."

"Then he shouldn't have chosen you," Nick said firmly, wishing that he could get Greg's mind off the subject of his abusive ex-boyfriend. "I wouldn't change a thing about you, Greg. I love you exactly the way you are, and I want to you to be as unique as you want to be."

"Really?" Greg blinked, looking up at Nick again. "I've always though I could be kind of annoying and that most people wanted me to just shut up sometimes. That's kind of the feeling I get around the lab, like people wish I would just do my job and be quiet."

Nick frowned at Greg's words, wishing that his boyfriend didn't feel that way. "Greg, nobody thinks about you like that," he hastened to reassure the younger man. "Everybody gets annoyed with everybody else at work once in a while. Everybody at the lab loves you. You know that."

Greg nodded, closing his eyes and sighing softly. "I know everybody there cares about everybody else. I saw the way everybody worried about me after the explosion in the lab. But sometimes I get the feeling that they wish I wasn't so .... well, outspoken."

"Don't feel like that, babe." Nick kept his voice soft, but strong and firm at the same time. "Nobody thinks that way about you. Yeah, people might get annoyed with some of your antics sometime, but they get annoyed with everybody once in a while. Don't worry about it so much."

"I don't know what I'd do without everybody at the lab," Greg said, his voice breaking. "They've all been so good to me ever since ...." His voice trailed off, and he shook his head. "I don't want to think about it any more. It's in the past, anyway. I need to move on."

"Yeah, you do," Nick agreed, tightening his arm around Greg's waist and stroking his boyfriend's hair with his other hand. "I know he's still out there, but we'll keep you safe, Greg. And we'll catch him eventually. He's going to screw up and make a mistake sooner or later."

"And then we'll have him," Greg finished for him, nodding. "I hope you're right, Nicky. I don't like to think that he's had all this time to make plans about what he'll do if he gets his hands on me again. I-I don't know if I'd survive another encounter with him."

"You won't have to face him again, baby." Nick buried his face against the softness of Greg's hair, hoping that he was telling the truth. He never wanted Greg to be anywhere near Shane again; he'd be damned if he'd let that bastard touch the man he loved.

He would fight to his last breath to protect Greg; if anyone was going to face off with Shane, it would be him. Greg didn't deserve to have been through all that he'd dealt with, and Nick wasn't going to let Shane into Greg's life again in any way. He'd make sure of that.

Greg turned his head so that his warm breath fanned across Nick's throat; Nick could feel his body tighten in response, desire rising within him. He wanted Greg more than he could put into words, but this wasn't the time to let that desire show. He would wait for Greg to make the first move.

He was resigned to the fact that it might be a very long time before Greg was ready to get more physical with him. He could understand the reasons for his boyfriend's hesitation, and he didn't blame Greg at all. It was enough for him just to be with Greg, to be allowed to love him.

Just sitting here on the couch, cuddling with Greg, running his fingers through his boyfriend's hair, holding him, being close to him, gave Nick more satisfaction than being physically intimate with anyone else would have. He was with the man he loved, right where be belonged.

"What would you think of me dyeing my hair blond?" Greg asked, a playful edge to his voice. It was obvious that he wanted to change the subject just as much as Nick did; Nick smiled and nodded, glad for a chance to lighten the atmosphere between them a bit.

"I think you'd look great as a blondie, babe," he said, his voice slightly teasing. "Or a redhead, or with jet black hair -- hell, you could even have purple or blue or pink hair and you'd look fantastic. But I draw the line at green. That just isn't your best color."

Greg laughed at those words, the first genuine, sincere laugh that Nick had heard from him since they'd begun talking. It was good to hear Greg laugh like this; he had been worried that his boyfriend was starting to sink into depression again. It was a relief to see the opposite.

"Then I'd better start looking for a good shade of blond," he told Nick, opening his eyes to look up at his boyfriend. Nick could see the sparkle returning to his eyes; this was the happy-go-lucky Greg he loved, who seemed to be coming back to him slowly but surely.

It might take a while, but the Greg he'd first met, the irreverent boy who was always doing something that seemed a little bit crazy, would come back. The sparkle would come back to his eyes, and that insouciant joie de vivre would be front and center again.

"But not right now," Nick murmured, sliding both arms around Greg's waist to pull him close. He was enjoying this time together, cuddling on the couch, feeling that some barriers were being knocked down and that Greg was getting closer to him than ever before.

"Definitely not now," Greg whispered, snuggling into Nick's embrace. Nick smiled as he ran and hand through his boyfriend's hair again, closing his eyes and letting himself relax. He didn't know how long they would be here, but he was hoping that they wouldn't get up for quite a while.

***