Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Warning: NickGreg slash...not your thing, that's okay. There's plenty of other stories on this site. Language and violence later on.
This story is based on something that happened to a very good friend of mine, who happens to be a huge CSI fan. He asked me to write this for him and post it. You'll see.
Nick sank into the uncomfortable couch in the break room, not caring that springs were digging into his back and legs. It had been a rough double shift, and he was completely exhausted.
Warrick came in shortly after, sitting next to his best friend. "Rough would be an understatement."
Nick nodded in agreement. "Ohhhh yeah." He tried to rub the sleep from his eyes, but didn't succeed to any length.
Greg came bounding in, banging his head to some song playing on the iPod inside his head. He didn't even see the two older CSIs sitting on the couch. He walked straight to the coffeepot, putting in some of his Blue Hawaiian mix and turning it on. He smiled and seemed to have paused the song in his head.
"Hey guys." He said a little too cheerfully. He took the chair that was closest to the couch and stared at Nick and Warrick. "Tired?"
"Mhhm." Nick said simply, not in the mood to form words.
"Awww, cheer up guys." He jumped up when the coffee was done, pouring three cups and bringing two over to the men on the couch. "Here, this works wonders.
Nick and Warrick openly accepted the coffee, each taking a long sip regardless of the fact it was very hot.
Greg returned to his seat with his own cup of coffee and smiled slightly. "You guys look exhausted."
Nick and Warrick glared at Greg for a second, but then their glares turned to small smiles. "Not everyone has the stamina of the Energizer Bunny, Greg." Warrick said before drinking more of his coffee.
"Thank God for that." Nick said. He sighed heavily and downed the rest of his coffee, not caring that his throat was burning from the heat of the liquid. He put his cup into the sink and turned to face his best friend and boyfriend.
"Well, I'm going home and sleeping for at least a day."
"Good plan bro." Warrick said, standing slowly and stretching.
"I'll see you at home Nick, I'm meeting my old friend from college for breakfast." Greg said softly as he stared down into his coffee.
Nick frowned slightly, but shrugged at Greg's odd change in behavior. "Okay, see you later."
He left the break room with Warrick, waiting until he was out of earshot of Greg before he spoke. "Has Greg seemed weird to you?"
Warrick chuckled. "I thought that kid was weird since the day I met him man."
Nick smiled, but shook his head. "I mean other than that. He's been acting a little off lately."
"How do you mean?" Warrick asked as they walked into the locker room.
Nick sat down on the bench and ran his hand through his short black hair. "I don't know…he's fine one minute then gets…"
"Like just now?"
"Yeah. He was all hyper then seemed like…like he was lying or something, ya know?"
Warrick thought about it for a second. "Yeah that was kinda weird. He probably tires himself out."
Nick laughed. "Wouldn't surprise me."
"Don't worry about it too much man, if it seems like it's getting worse, just ask him what's wrong."
"Yeah..." He changed quickly before heading out to his car. He said bye to Warrick and got into his Denali. Loud rock music flooded through the speakers, and Nick couldn't help but smile.
The loud crash of the door slamming against the wall behind it jolted Nick from his sleep. He sat up quickly, taking a few seconds to let the sleepiness drain a little. He threw the covers off and stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes to clear the image in front of him.
He almost instantly wished he hadn't. Greg was slumped against the door. There were a few scratches on his neck and arms, and a cut above his eyebrow. He was very pale and Nick could smell the alcohol from across the room.
He quickly walked over to his boyfriend, catching his just in time as he started to fall to the floor. He carefully brought him over to the couch and sat him down before kneeling in front of him and firmly putting his hands on Greg's knees.
"Greggo…are you okay?" He asked worriedly.
Greg nodded immediately. "Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?" He was clearly drunk out of his mind. His slurred words were almost incoherent.
"Because you're all cut up and wasted." Nick stated simply.
Greg looked down at his arms and smiled slightly. "Oh…I uh, fell down some stairs." He leaned towards Nick and whispered, "I had a couple drinks."
The strong scent of Jack Daniel's poured out of Greg's mouth and filled Nick's nostrils. "A couple?" He said sarcastically. "Why were you drinking so much at 9 in the morning?"
"Lighten up Nicky. Me and Jay went out for a few drinks and I had a few too many. I'm fine, really." He stood up too quickly, consequently falling forwards against Nick.
"Yeah, you're fine." Nick said, rolling his eyes.
Greg slumped against Nick, clearly tired from his busy morning. "I wanna go to sleep." He said sleepily.
"That's where you're going." Nick slowly led Greg into the bedroom, carefully lowering him down onto the bed and throwing the blankets over him. He smiled slightly when he saw that Greg was already asleep. He gently ran his thumb over the cut on his forehead, thankful it wasn't deep and bleeding. He doubted the scratches on his arms and neck were from 'falling down some stairs', but he would get the real story when Greg woke up. If he remembered.
Nick turned his attention away from the uninteresting football game he was sort of watching when he heard Greg slowly coming out of the bedroom. He had both of his hands pressed against his head, trying to make the pounding stop.
"You alright?" Nick asked softly as to not make Greg's headache any worse.
Greg's face suddenly turned bright green and he turned quickly, running into the bathroom. Nick hung his head and got up, following Greg.
He sighed when he saw Greg wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and flush the toilet before sinking back against the cold wall behind him. He closed his eyes and took deep breaths.
Nick walked over and kneeled between Greg and the toilet. He brushed the soft hair from Greg's forehead, causing him to open his eyes and look up at him.
"Just a few too many?"
Greg smiled. "Yeah…I'll be more careful next time."
Nick nodded, but was still doubtful. "You didn't fall down, did you?" He asked.
Greg frowned. "Yeah, I tripped. I'm fine though."
Nick stared at him for a second before nodding again. "Okay, I believe you. I just wanna make sure you're okay." He helped Greg to his feet and led him into the kitchen for some coffee and Advil.
"I'm fine." Greg said, glad Nick was concentrating on making the coffee and couldn't see the fake smile on his face. He hated lying, especially to Nick.