Title: Sure Know Something
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Zeke Barnes
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas /A Gifted Man
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 Zeke Barnes, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Zeke looked up as Greg entered the living room, holding out his arms. He smiled when Greg quickly sat down beside him; one arm slid around Greg's waist, pulling the younger man close as he bowed his head to press a gentle kiss against his boyfriend's forehead.

Funny how he could already think of Greg as being his boyfriend, even after spending just one night and day together, Zeke mused. It might seem strange to other people how quickly they'd connected, but it didn't feel odd to him. It just felt right.

It was going to be hard to go back to his own apartment tonight when Greg went to work, but he knew that they wouldn't have a choice about that. He only had one more week of working the day shift, and then he would be on the same schedule with his lover.

That would make things so much easier for them, he thought, ruffling Greg's hair. They'd be able to spend every day together, then go off to work at the same time. And if Greg needed to run something by Doc Robbins' office, there was a chance they'd see each other at work, too.

He could already feel his heart beating faster at the thought of seeing Greg unexpectedly when he was at work; just knowing that the man he was rapidly falling in love with was in the same building as he was would make the shift at work seem infinitely brighter.

Oh, he had it bad, Zeke told himself with a smile. He'd been infatuated with people before, even though he couldn't honestly say that he believed in love at first sight. But with Greg, it hadn't just been love -- or lust, either, for that matter. It had been a connection that he couldn't deny.

"What are you smiling about?" Greg asked softly, shifting his position slightly so that he could look up at Zeke without having to raise his head from his boyfriend's shoulder. Zeke smiled again as those dark eyes regarded him, curiosity in Greg's gaze.

"I was thinking about how great it'll be if we get to see each other at work," he said softly, threading his fingers through Greg's hair. "It'll make my day that much better, after I've been dealing with all kinds of patients, to take a look at you and know that I'll see you after work."

"I can make up excuses to bring evidence over to Doc Robbins from the crime lab," Greg said with a soft laugh. "I think some people do that already, just to get away from the lab for a while. It wouldn't be hard to make up an excuse like that at all."

"Just don't do it so much that you get into trouble," Zeke cautioned him, a slight frown appearing between his brows. "The last thing we need is for you to start slacking off at work. We'll have plenty of time to be together when we're not working, Greg. Don't worry about that."

"Trust me, I know how to be careful," Greg said with a laugh, making Zeke's brow crease in a deeper frown. What was that supposed to mean? he asked himself. Had Greg dated other people who he saw when he was at work? Was this some kind of warning?

Greg was looking up at him, his frown mirroring Zeke's. "Zeke, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice very soft and a little unsure. "Did I say something wrong? You look like you're r-really mad." He sat up, moving away from Zeke, his voice noticeably trembling.

Slowly, Zeke nodded, sighing as he did so and avoiding Greg's gaze. "Yeah, there's something wrong," he muttered, hoping that he was wrong and hoping that he was being overly sensitive. He didn't want to think that Greg was the kind of person who was sleeping around indiscriminately.

He had no reason to think that, a voice in the back of his mind admonished him. Greg hadn't seemed like that at all -- not judging from what he had said last night. But the only way to be sure was if he asked -- if he didn't, the seed of doubt would always be there.

"What do you mean, you know how to be careful?" he asked, the words coming out before he could stop them, sounding suspicious and even angry as they tumbled out. "Are there other people you're seeing while you're working? Others I should know about before I jump into this?"

Greg's dark eyes widened; he visibly recoiled, moving away from Zeke to the corner of the couch and wrapping his arms around himself as if he was suddenly cold. He shook his head, but he didn't look over at Zeke, keeping his face turned away as he spoke.

"I'm not seeing anybody else," he whispered, the hurt he was obviously feeling almost palpable in his voice. "I'm not the kind of guy who cheats on the person I'm with. If you think I'd do that, then you don't know me at all, even after last night."

A wave of relief rushed over Zeke; he felt contrite and ashamed of himself. He shouldn't have sounded so accusatory; of course he knew that Greg wasn't the kind of guy who would sleep around. He'd had no right to say that -- or to doubt his lover in any way.

"I'm sorry, Greg," he murmured, wanting to reach out a hand to the younger man, but not daring to do so just yet. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I guess I'm just used to never being the one person in somebody's life. That's my fault, not yours. I hope you can forgive me for what I said."

Greg slowly moved closer to Zeke again, finally reaching out to take his hand and entwine their fingers. "You've been hurt really badly in the past, haven't you?" he asked, his voice soft and compassionate. "I'm sorry about that, Zeke. But you've got to realize that I'm not any of those people."

"I know you're not," Zeke told him, still feeling ashamed of the words he'd uttered. "I might not know all that much about you yet, Greg, but I sure know something. I know that you're the man I want to be with, and I know that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"I hope I will be," Greg answered, his voice very soft and husky. "I hope I can make you forget about the people that hurt you. They're the past, Zeke. You and me are the future. You can't ever see the view from the next mountain if you don't stop looking back at the last one."

"You're right about that," Zeke agreed with a soft sigh. "I know you're not like the other guys I've been with. I guess that I'm just so used to being nothing more than a one-night stand that I kind of tend to assume everybody's going to treat me that way. I'm sorry, babe."

"You're forgiven," Greg said softly, squeezing Zeke's hand gently. "I know what it's like to be used that way, too. But I don't linger on the people who did that. It's their loss, right?" he added, tilting his head to the side and regarding Zeke with a smile.

"Y'know, I think I sure know something else, too," Zeke told him, reaching out to slide an arm around Greg's waist and pull the young man close against the warmth of his body. "I think I've never met anybody else like you. What did I deserve to deserve someone so amazing?"

"I'm not all that great," Greg mumbled, his cheeks flushing with a pink blush that Zeke found adorable. He had never met any man who blushed when he was given a compliment; it was just one more thing that attracted him to Greg so strongly.

"That's a matter of opinion," Zeke said softly, brushing a gentle kiss against Greg's parted lips. "I think you're pretty damn incredible. I wish I'd have met you a long time ago, Greg. But that wouldn't have been possible, with me being in New York and you being here."

"But now you're here -- and we have met," Greg pointed out, the blush slowly fading from his cheeks. "If we hadn't, my life would be a lot lonelier. And a lot less interesting. I've been looking for you my whole life, Zeke. I'm just glad that I've finally found you."

"You're going to have a hard time getting rid of me," Zeke told him with a laugh. "If you ever decided to, I'd show up under your window every night with a guitar and serenade you with love songs. I'd send you a bouquet of flowers every day, and I'd beg you to take me back."

"You'll never have to do that," Greg promised him, his laughter joining Zeke's. "But that sounds romantic. Are you sure you wouldn't do that for me sometime? I'd like to be serenaded with love songs. Nobody's ever done anything like that for me before."

"Baby, if you want to be serenaded, I'll bring my guitar over here tomorrow," Zeke promised, holding Greg close. He rested his cheek against the other man's hair, feeling a sense of contentment that he'd never known before engulf him.

He had no more doubts about his future with Greg -- and no more doubts about the man in his arms. He knew that he had nothing to worry about concerning their relationship; they were both obviously right where they wanted to be, and he was sure that neither of them would stray.

Coming to Vegas had been the best thing he'd ever done for himself, Zeke thought with an inward smile. He hadn't planned on falling in love with anyone so soon after he'd gotten here, but he couldn't have kept himself from loving Greg, no matter how hard he might try.

He might not know much about Vegas yet, but he knew that he was going to be much happier here than he'd been in New York. He had started a whole new life, Zeke told himself as Greg snuggled into his arms. And he knew that his future was looking brighter with each passing moment.

***