CSI: Love: One Shot

A/N: The idea for this came from listening to one of Josh Groban's cds for the first time this morning. All I can say about his singing is WOW... stunned into silence, it amazed me and quickly gave me a story involving the boys, so I had to write it. Of course. The lyrics in this piece belong to the song "When You Say You Love Me" by Josh Groban and it is strongly recommended that you listen to his songs while reading this. Kleenex box? Consider having it handy. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it.

Nick climbed the porch steps with heavy footfalls, his weary body wanting nothing but to find his bed and fall into it. His eyelids drooped and fluttered, as he struggled in vain to keep them open for five more minutes. At least until he made it to the couch in the livingroom.

He heard the loud music coming from inside before he even had the front door open and he knew he wasn't going to get any sleep for a long while. He groaned and slipped his key in the lock, wondering how he could convince Greg to turn it down and let him sleep.

Opening the door, however, he was shocked to recognize one of his own favorite artists blaring from the speakers. Josh Groban. But what would Greg be doing listening to his music? Greg hated his music. Especially if it was in a language he didn't understand, as was the song currently playing.

Nick closed the door softly behind him and made his way to the livingroom. If he wasn't so tired he would have blown a gasket at the sight of hundreds of cds, their cds, strewn all over the floor. Some were opened, the actual cds laying beside their cases. Some where in neat piles. And a select few were sitting on the coffee table.

On the couch, Greg lay on his back, one cd case in his hands, though he wasn't looking at it. Nick couldn't decipher which one it was, but he had a feeling it went with the music he was listening to. There was a look of pure wonder in Greg's shining eyes, pure love, and Nick wondered what was going through his mind just then as he listened to music he wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole the day before.

Watching his partner, he found himself rooted to the floor, unable to move forward and unable to turn away. Greg couldn't possibly understand the lyrics he was hearing, yet his attention seemed wrapped around them, just the same. His lips curved up at the corners of his mouth into a brilliant smile, as if he'd just found the very thing he'd spent his entire life looking for. Even so, it was still a gentle smile, as gentle and beautiful as his soul. He seemed relaxed, happy, perfect. He would never be anything but perfect in Nick's eyes.

And then he remembered all the stress they'd been under for the past few weeks, remembered Grissom giving them part of the week off, and forcing himself to go in the night before to finish up some important paperwork. The stress seemed to have slipped right off Greg's face and other features. The worry lines that had appeared on his forehead recently were now gone. He looked like he was at peace with the entire world, which was something he couldn't say about Grissom right then. Or the rest of the team, for that matter. Never mind himself. Nick stared, wishing he could loose his worries as easily.

"It's true, you know."

Nick blinked at Greg's sudden words, realizing Greg knew he was there, and had probably known for awhile. Hardly shifting his body, the other man's chocolate eyes met his. He briefly wondered what Greg was talking about, but his brain wasn't functioning properly anymore, his breath stolen away by the beauty before him.

"The song, I mean," Greg clarified.

Nick focused his attention to the music, paying close attention to the lyrics, and when he recognized which one it was, his mouth hung open, shock radiating throughout him. The cd had switched to the next song since he'd walked in, and it was one they could both understand.

He urged his feet to move toward the couch, shrugging off his jacket and letting it fall on the floor wherever it would, covering a mound of cds and their cases.

... Like the echoes of our souls are meeting

You say those words, my heart stops beating

I wonder what it means

What could it be that comes over me

At times I can't move

At times I can hardly breathe...

"Greg..." his voice caught in his throat as waves upon waves of emotions hit him, threatening to knock him over into the surf at his feet.

Greg set the cd case gently on the coffee table and took his hands, pulling him onto the couch to lay beside him.

... When you say you love me

The world goes still, so still inside and

When you say you love me

For a moment, there's no one else alive...

"Tell me something," Greg whispered. "How much do you love this song?"

... I don't know how but I feel sheltered in your love

You're where I belong...

"Do... do YOU like it?" Nick asked, unsure why he was afraid of the answer.

"I've been listening to this cd all day on repeat. Especially this song. I can't turn it off."

He drowned himself in his favorite deep chocolate pools and knew Greg had spoken the truth. He felt himself choking up, but couldn't control his emotions.

... And when you're with me if I close my eyes

There are times I swear I feel like I can fly...

"I didn't think any of this would ever happen. I... I love this song... and I love that you love it."

... For a moment in time

Somewhere between

The heavens and earth

I'm frozen in time...

"Then the planning's done, Nicky."

"Planning? Done?"

"All I have to do is give the DJ the title and artist of this song and it'll be the first one he plays."

"It will? You like it... that much?"

Greg nodded. "I want to hear this song every year on August twenty-first at the exact moment you get to kiss me, and every moment between those dates."

... And this journey that we're on

How far we've come and I

Celebrate every moment

When you say you love me

That's all you have to say

I'll always feel this way...

Nick swallowed the sudden lump in his throat. "It's all done? For real?"

Greg reached a hand up to caress his cheek. "Yes."

"I don't feel like I did anything to help you."

"You asked for a small, simple wedding, Nicky. That wasn't too hard to plan. Besides, you just helped me with the hardest part."

... When you say you love me

The world goes still, so still inside and

When you say you love me

In that moment I know why I'm alive...

"This is happening. It's really happening..."

Nick felt his heart tremble as he buried his head in the crook of Greg's neck, welcoming the arms of his fiancé as they held him close.

... When you say you love me

Do you know how I love you?

A feeling of serenity drifted over him like snow flakes softly kissing his skin wherever Greg touched him. Nick closed his eyes, celebrating this moment, never wanting it to end.

"I love you, Nicky," Greg breathed, his lips brushing against his forehead as the very words Nick was thinking were stolen from his open mouth. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."