"Love is Not a Crime"

Disclaimer: I do now own CSI: unfortunately. Any characters you don't recognize directly will most likely be of my creation. Thank you, and enjoy.

AN: This is a Nick/Greg slash fic. If such relationships between men make you uncomfortable, this story is not for you.

Chapter One: Another Interesting Day

Date: October 30, 2004

Nick Stokes awoke to a usual and most familiar smell. The smell was not strong, but it wasn't weak. It was a mixture of oranges, and cranberries. His dark eyes squinted at the alarm next to the bed. It read 5:45. He let out a groan, and pulled his groggy body out from under the comforter. He let out a shiver, as he walked over to the opposite side of the room, and closed the apartment window. He sighed, and let out a curse word. It was a cold morning, even for Las Vegas.

He opened the bedroom closet, and pulled out a hoodie sweatshirt and threw it on over his L.A. Dodger's tee shirt. After he was warm, he opened the door to the bedroom, and walked down the hallway to use the bathroom.

The bathroom door was shut, and steam was coming through the crack at the bottom of the door. He opened the door, and steam came out at him, the water hitting the shower doo,r as raindrops hit the pavement.

A blood curdling singing voice could be heard over the shower water and the fan, which was failing at its job to collect the steam.

"Sweetheart, singing isn't your best quality." said Nick, as he wiped steam off the mirror, and pulled a razor and a canister shaving cream out from under the sink.

"Hey, I don' t talk about your snoring, so don't talk about my singing." came the voice from the shower.

"I do not snore. Plus, you want to hurry up in there? I start my shift at seven." said Nick, as he drew the razor over his lathered face.

"Sorry." said the voice, as the water turned off, and the shower door slid open.

Nick turned around and looked at his lover...Greg Sanders.

"You want to pass me the towel?" he asked as he stood there shivering, his athletic body covered in goose bumps.

"Sure." smiled Nick as he handed over the towel and leaned in for a kiss. Greg graciously accepted both. Nick laughed at the transfer of shaving cream onto Greg's face.

"I'll make breakfast, after I'm dressed." said Greg as he exited the bathroom, and shut the door.

Nick continued shaving until his face was smooth once again. He slid his clothing off, and turned the shower on, and hopped into the hot waterfall.

He stood under the water for five luxurious minutes before indulging himself with Greg's orange-cranberry body wash.

Everything in his life felt right, and normal for the first time in months. Greg was the first guy, he'd ever been with sexually. He smiles at the mere thought of his boyfriend, of almost four months. No one at the Crime Lab knew about their relationship, except Catherine, who Nick regarded as one of his best friends.

Nick pulled into his usual parking place at the Crime Lab. Greg followed behind him. The two lovers decided they weren't ready to tell people such as Grissom, Brass and Warrick that they were in fact having a relationship.

"Good morning, Nick." said Greg casually as a group of rookie CSIs passed.

"Morning." Nick smiled back at the younger man as they walked into the building.

"Dinner tonight, your place?" suggested Greg as they both scanned their ID cards in the electronic scanner to let them in the building.

"That's fine. If I'm not out on a scene, I'll stop by your lab, and we can do lunch or something." smiled Nick, as Nick went towards the CSI locker room, and Greg went in the other direction towards his DNA lab.

Nick entered the conference room five minutes after a meeting had already started.

"Sorry, Gris. I didn't know we had a meeting planned today." said Nick apologetically.

"I left a message on your answering machine." said Gris in his stoic expression.

"I'm sorry. I guess I forgot to check them." lied Nick, who hasn't been home since the previous morning.

"As I was saying. Warrick, you are flying solo, a teenage girl was found dead in the woods outside town. Sara, you and I will be working on a car verus house incident, leaving six dead. Nicky, you and Catherine will be heading over to the high school, a student was found dead in the showers." said Grissom, as he handed out manilla file folders to the respective CSI agents.

"Let's go Nicky. It's you and I today." smiled Catherine as she lead the way to the parking garage.

Nick smiled, grabbed his work box (the silver boxes with all the supplies), and followed Catherine.

Nick and Catherine arrived at the local high school five minutes later. On the way over, Nick explained to Catherine why he really didn't get the message. She laughed of course.

Nick wore a dark blue turtleneck with his CSI vest over it. On his back read FORENSICS. Catherine was in her blue windbreaker, with the same words on her back. Their badges flashed in the sun, and they placed their hats atop their heads.

Nick opened Catherine's trunk, and pulled out the two work boxes.

"Ready?" asked Nick.

"Ready." responded Catherine.

The two walked towards the school. Students were bustling about outside as the two investigators approached. Students whispered when they saw Nick's gun, which was positioned on his side. Catherine's was hidden inside her wind breaker.

"Excuse me, can you tell us where we can find the principal's office?" the Texan asked a female student.

"Down the hall and to the left." she smiled and continued walking.

"Nick, aren't you just the lady killer." smiled Catherine jokingly.

"Shut up." he smiled and led the way.

The two entered the Principal's office after walking through the halls attracting conspicuous stares.

"I'm Catherine Willows, from the Las Vegas Crime Lab, and this is Nick Stokes. Would you mind showing us the body?" said Catherine, who was known for her direct, to the point introductions.

The Principal nodded without word and lead the two criminalists to the scene...the boys locker room.

The door to the locker room was taped in the yellow crime scene tape. The police officers on watch let them through and they were led to the showers. Rows of lockers surrounded them.

Nick's peripheral vision picked up on an open locker, most likely the victim's. Nick reached into his pants pocket and pulled out two latex gloves, and slipped them on over his hands, Catherine following his lead.

"His name is Alex Stevens. 17 years old, star of the Cross Country team, and president of the National Honor Society." said the Principal as he led them into the showers.

On the tiled floor, was a nude male student. A pool of crimson fluid, his blood, underneath his head. The on-scene medical examiner was crouching over the body doing his on-scene report.

"Talk to us." came Catherine's voice as she addressed the medical examiner.

"From what I can tell, he was showering, and he was killed by blunt force trauma, but I'll know more with the autopsy."

"Okay. How long, would you say, has he been dead?" asked Nick.

"I would say about 15 hours." said the medical examiner as he got up and left.

"15 hours. Let's see its about 7:30 now. So that means he died at what? 2:30?" calculated Nick.

"Yeah. So it had to be either a faculty member, or a student." Catherine responded.

"Uhm, Mr. Woods? Would you mind leaving the crime scene?" asked Nick.

Mr. Woods, the principal, nodded and left.

"Here we go." said Catherine as she opened her box, and pulled her flashlight out. "I'm going to check the locker." she said as she turned her back and walked out.

Nick nodded and began searching the shower for clues about the kid's death.

Nick's eyes lingered on something on the shower shelf, a bottle. Nick gingerly picked it up and read the name: Orange-Cranberry Fusion. The same body wash Greg has at his house.

He put the bottle back down, and started combing the body for evidence of hairs, fibers, defense marks, anything that could help narrow a suspect.

"I got something." said Catherine as she entered the shower again holding a book in his hand.

"Yeah?" asked Nick.

"Alex, here had an appointment with his guidance counselor yesterday at 2:30."

"Possible Suspect?"

"You better believe it." said Catherine with a grin on her face.

Nick smiled, today was going to be an interesting day.

That is the first chapter. This is also my first CSI: fanfiction. I hope you all liked. Please read and review!! Any feedback will be great. Yes this fic is centered around Nick and Greg. But don't worry, more hook ups will ensue. Please review!! Thank you!! –Damien455