Title: Walk Out To Winter
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Greg Sanders/Zeke Barnes
Fandom: CSI: Las Vegas/A Gifted Man
Rating: PG-13
Table: Weather, mission_insane
Prompt: 3, Snow
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.

***

"You know one of the things I miss most about New York?" Zeke asked as he and Greg strolled through the park near Greg's apartment. It was a beautiful sunny day, and they both had the weekend off. Greg couldn't think of anything that could be better than this.

"What's that?" he asked, his tone soft and indulgent. Zeke rarely ever talked about this time in New York, other than to relate humorous anecdotes from when he'd played in a band, and stories about some of the things that had happened in the clinic that he'd worked for.

"I miss snow." Zeke stopped in his tracks, looking around them and then waving a hand at the scene that was presenting itself. There were a lot of people walking in the park, kids playing, dogs barking -- it was a happy, friendly scene, one that Greg was glad to be a part of.

"But it's summer," Greg pointed out. "Even if you were in New York, it wouldn't be snowing for a while. What brought this on, anyway? You're not thinking of going back, are you?" He couldn't keep the apprehension from his voice; what would he do if Zeke decided to leave Las Vegas?

But Zeke shook his head, reaching for Greg's hand and twining their fingers together. "No, baby, I'm not going to leave, so don't worry," he said softly, giving Greg's hand a reassuring squeeze. "I was just pointing out that as much as I love Vegas, there are some things that I miss."

"I never even saw snow until I moved to New York," Greg mused, looking around him with new eyes. What would it look like to see a park here in Vegas covered with a white blanket of pristine, glistening snow? It would be different, that was for sure.

"How long did you live there?" Zeke's question came out of the blue, making Greg swallow hard. He didn't like to talk about his time in New York; it had been both exhilarating and heartbreaking, and it wasn't something he wanted to look back on at this stage of his life.

"Two years," he said softly, hoping that Zeke wouldn't take the questions any further. "Long enough to have lived through a couple of snows -- and love them. I grew up in California, y'know. We don't exactly see a lot of snow there -- even less then we get here in Vegas."

Zeke nodded, changing the subject as though he could sense that Greg didn't want to talk about the past. "I grew up in New York, so I got pretty used to seeing a lot of snow," he said, obviously trying to turn their minds away from Greg's time in that city. "Christmas without it is going to feel weird."

"Around here, it gets cold in the winter -- but we rarely have any snow," Greg told him, glad that they weren't talking about his past any longer. He loved Zeke, but there were some things that were too painful to talk about -- and anyway, the past was over and done with.

He'd left that past far behind him when he'd come to Vegas. He had started a new life here, and even though it had been hard at first, leaving the person he'd thought would be the love of his life behind him, he was happy with the life he'd built in Vegas. He wouldn't want to change it.

"Do you ever think about going back to New York one day?" Zeke asked, another question fired from out of nowhere. Greg's eyes widened at the words; he'd thought they were off that subject, but apparently Zeke had more questions that he wasn't sure he could answer.

"I-I don't know." Greg's voice was very soft, making Zeke look over at him with a worried expression. He didn't speak much louder than a whisper, though he kept talking. "I left that part of my life behind me a long time ago. I don't think I'd ever want to pick it up again."

"I just wondered .... if I ever ended up going back to New York .... if you might come with me," Zeke said, his voice just as soft as Greg's. "I know you've got a life here, and a career. And I don't want to leave Vegas -- at least not any time soon. But if I did have to go back --"

"I'd go with you," Greg answered immediately, turning his head to look into Zeke's eyes. "Yeah, I'd go with you. There's no way I'd give you up, Zeke. It'd be easier to transfer to New York than it would be to give you up and try to find another person I could love. So I'd be right by your side."

"So you'd go back if I did -- but if it was you on your own, you wouldn't?" Zeke sounded a little puzzled; it was obvious that Greg's words confused him. "I'm not going to pry into your past, Greg. I just wonder what it is that you're avoiding -- or running away from."

"I guess I'm running away from some emotions I left behind that I don't want to think about again," Greg admitted, not wanting to say the words, but feeling that he owed his boyfriend an explanation. "I'd rather not have to dig them up again. They're buried -- I want them to stay that way."

"I don't have to be worried about anybody from your past popping up and shoving me out of the way, do I?" Zeke asked, his voice trembling slightly. The worried tone of his words made Greg stop walking and turn to him, taking both of Zeke's hands in his own and holding them tightly.

"Nothing is ever going to make me leave you," he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper, but his words strong and firm. "I love you, Zeke. Yes, I cared about people who were in my life before I met you, but none of them were the love of my life. You don't have to worry about anything."

Zeke's sigh of relief was audible; Greg closed his eyes as his boyfriend pulled him into those strong arms, holding him close. His own arms slid around Zeke's waist, not caring who might see them, or what anyone would think of them embracing here in full view of the world.

"If we moved back to New York, then we could have a snowball fight in the winter," Zeke said softly, whispering into his ear. "Or we could walk through the snow in Central Park. But you know something? I'd rather be here, making a new life in a new place with you."

"So would I," Greg agreed, pressing a gentle kiss against Zeke's cheek. "New York has some great things, and I've got to admit, I miss some of them. Especially snow in the winter. But as long as I"m with you, then I'm happy, and I'm right where I want to be, no matter where we are."

"My home is with you," Zeke murmured, reluctantly loosening his hold on Greg and stepping back a little. "But if we end up moving somewhere else besides Vegas, I just want to be sure that you're okay with it. I want anything we do together to be what we both want."

"It will be," Greg said, his voice ringing out with confidence. "We can always talk over anything that we decide to do, Zeke. Neither one of us is going to make some big decision without us talking it over. I know I won't, and I hope you feel the same way."

"I do," Zeke told him, turning to walk slowly down the path through the park again, not letting go of Greg's hand. "I just thought that it might be nice to end up back in New York one day, since it's where I grew up and it'll always feel like home to me. But I'd never go back without you."

"I don't know if I'd ever want to move back there -- but I don't know what the future might hold," Greg admitted with a shrug. "Who knows? Maybe I'll want to go back there to live one day. And I've got to agree with you -- I do miss things like snowball fights. Sometimes."

"If we ever go back to New York, even for a visit, I promise we'll walk out to winter and have a snowball fight," Zeke said, laughing and squeezing his boyfriend's hand. "And afterwards, we'll curl up in front of a fireplace with hot chocolate -- and make love all night."

"Sounds great to me," Greg said with an answering laugh. They walked on down the path, side by side, each of them lost in their own thoughts -- though if they had known it, they were both thinking of the same thing, and wondering if they would be able to take a vacation in New York this winter.

***