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Chapter three of the Round Robin fanfiction, which started here.
Chapter One by duckgirlie.
Chapter Two by pabzi.
Chapter 3
Pairing: David/ Nick
Rating: PG-13
It's been a little rushed, I'm sorry, but I had lots of fun writing this pairing and would like to thank you for letting my take part :)
*
When David Hodges eventually sat on the passenger’s seat of Nick Stokes’ car, he didn’t know what was more stupid: that Greg Sanders thought a plan as obvious as that could possibly work or that Nick and he really behaved like they were only playing pretend.
What he did know, however, was that the 20 minute ride in Nick’s car was one of the most awkward ones he’d ever been on, but he had thrown away the idea of reaching over to the steering wheel to crash them into the next available tree rather quickly already - because even if a close encounter with a tree (or brick wall, for all that mattered) sounded more pleasant than awkwardly staring out of the window in silence, David realized that maybe, just maybe, he was blowing things out of proportion.
“So, what movie are we going to watch?”
Being formerly deep in thought, David Hodges, master of snark, managed a “Huh?” and realized that he had obviously left parts of his brain at the cheap diner they had just left.
“On Saturday, to fool Greg and Bobby.”
David wondered if Nick really had to stretch that point like that. He also wondered whether a triple feature of Lord of the Rings part one to three were appropriate - a good ten hours next to Nick, close to the CSI he had long admired and ten hours of a mildly entertaining movie with good chances of being bored to death after the first half and/or having himself humiliated by then. Actually, very good chances of doing the latter, which was one of the reasons David Hodges didn’t date: He tended to make a complete idiot out of himself. And additionally, he liked being antisocial very much.
“If it’s something too corny, I’ll flee with flying colors.” Hodges warned him, quirking an eyebrow, eliciting a chuckle from Nick.
“Oh, I’m sure Greg would love to see us watching Brokeback Mountain.”
“And I’m sure he’d be downright delighted to know I died of kitsch during the movie.”
Pulling a face, the lab tech earned one of those disarming smiles from Nick which had a great deal to do with why David had fallen for him and quickly glanced away, feeling a warm blush spreading across his face.
“C’mon, it’s not like we all hate you,” Nick replied, focusing once more on the street and taking his eyes off the man next to him. Had he really been blushing? He must have been imagining things. Wishful thinking, he told himself.
“No, not all of you, Stokes. Just - oh wait, everybody.” The other retorted, rolling his eyes. Sarcasm was going to save him from this impending disaster. At least he hoped so.
“Nick,” was all the other replied, causing Hodges to look at him puzzled. Nick noticed and quickly explained: “If we want to make this dating thing look real, we should start calling each other by our first names, David.”
Hodges resisted the urge to sigh and instead muttered: “Of course, Nick.”
By the time they had finally settled on a comedy movie and Nick had dropped the lab tech at his car, David Hodges was convinced that this little plan of theirs was definitely going to backfire. And he mentally scolded himself for really, really wishing that it would.
*
“You really will?!” Greg looked wide-eyed at the other CSI, blinking surprised, before quickly clearing his throat and grinning confidently. “I mean, of course you will. It was my plan after all.”
At that, Bobby rolled his eyes and Jacqui shook her head, while Nick simply gave him a lopsided smile. “Yeah, going to the movies on Saturday.”
Greg beamed broadly at Jacqui in his favorite I-told-you-so way and in response she shot Nick an inquiring look, which he managed to withstand. Still, she didn’t trust this whole date-thing they had going on all of sudden. Hell, the two of them used to be her ultimate proof that denial wasn’t only a river in Egypt!
And now this? Real shady business, that Jacqui Franco was sure of.
*
Nevertheless, when Nick Stokes showed up only a couple of days later on David Hodges doorstep, he couldn’t help but feel like a nervous teenager again as he hesitantly pressed the button for the doorbell and waited for the lab tech to open the door. It felt like an eternity before the door got eventually opened and David stood before him, clad in a black shirt and jeans, his hair still somewhat wet. It seemed like he had showered not too long ago.
Nick wanted to say something - anything - but suddenly found himself incapable of talking. There was no reason to be this nervous, he told himself, it was only a fake date. Right?
”Swallowed your tongue, Nick?” David asked, before pulling the door close behind him and then raising an eyebrow at the CSI, who quickly shook his head. “Err… shall we get going?” Nick asked, awkwardly motioning towards his black SVU. Rolling his eyes and muttering something that sounded suspiciously much like “Imbecile”, David strutted past him, Nick following him at a slack pace and, even though he’d never ever admit it, enjoying the sight before him. A rather nice view, really.
“Earth to Nick, hello~o.” David was suddenly waving a hand in front of his face, causing Nick to look at him in a puzzled manner and pulling him right back to the ground from his thoughts which had slightly drifted off.
“What?”
David sighed. “Mr. Obvious, how about unlocking the car?”
“Oh.” Hastily, Nick pulled the keys from his jacket and did as told, before walking over to the driver’s seat and getting in, then waited for the other man to take his place in the passenger’s seat.
Five minutes into this ‘date’ and he was already on the verge of making a complete fool out of himself. This was not going to end well. Not at all.
*
It wasn’t all too often that David Hodges was wrong, but when he had thought the first ride in Nick’s car had been the most awkward one - well, he’d just been proven wrong: The second one was at least equally awkward. They both sat next to each other in silence as neither of them knew what to say, Nick seemingly focused on the street and David staring out the window absent-mindedly. To onlookers, it probably seemed both of them were bored to death - while in reality the opposite was the case. Both were nervous, about how ‘fake’ or ‘real’ their date was, about what it had in store for them, and mostly about what the other one was thinking of them.
That Nick caught the lab tech glancing at him every now and then didn’t help any, and nor did the fact that Nick openly stared at David whenever he thought the other wasn’t looking. It took mere fifteen minutes that had seemed like eternity, before the two of them finally came to a halt in front of one of the numerous cinemas in Vegas, and David mentally thanked whatever non-existent god that he could finally get out and quickly did that, relieved when he finally felt pavement beneath his feet.
Nick didn’t feel much different, he sighed relieved after stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him. For a moment he closed his eyes and leaned against his SVU, silently scolding himself for so far being a total screw-up, until he heard David’s voice.
”Stokes, have you fallen asleep on the other side of that car?”
“I’m coming already, David.” He replied surprisingly calm, seeing how he still felt more nervous than on his first date back in High School, causing Hodges to roll his eyes. “I don’t want to wait forever, Nick.” David still didn’t see how calling each other by their first names was supposed to make this whole ‘date’ thing more believable - it certainly didn’t make it any better for him, instead it just felt more forced to him.
Still, forced or not, Nick finally walked around the car over to him. “I’ve got the tickets already, let’s head inside.” He suggested and gave the lab tech a charming smile, before motioning towards the entrance. “We don’t want to miss anything, do we?”
“Certainly not. Would be a shame.” David retorted, stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed about half a step behind the CSI, and some good ten minutes later they were eventually seated in the cinema.
If they had thought they’d been nervous before, then this topped everything that yet had happened. As soon as the lights went out, both sat stiff and silent in their seats, each of them trying hard to focus on the movie, but even though it was right in front of them, neither of them had the slightest clue what the movie was about.
Nick’s thoughts were racing now. Why had he agreed to go on this date anyway? It’s not like anything was going to come out of it. Of course, even though both of them were silent, he enjoyed David’s company greatly, but as he had said, after this date they’d keep living their lives like it never happened. It wasn’t even a real date, they did that simply to fool Greg. Right?
He mentally sighed. If he wasn’t going to admit anytime soon that that certainly was not true at all, things would really go back to the way they had been, and he didn’t want that. Not at all. However, he couldn’t wait for David to do anything - he didn’t even know how the lab tech felt about him - so the only way to find out was to do something and risk it.
“David?” He whispered, as not to disturb the movie audience.
David averted his eyes from the movie screen and looked at the other, the hopeful look in his eyes plain visible.
Now or never, Nick thought.
And with that, he threw his worries over board and kissed David.
Chapter One by duckgirlie.
Chapter Two by pabzi.
Chapter 3
Pairing: David/ Nick
Rating: PG-13
It's been a little rushed, I'm sorry, but I had lots of fun writing this pairing and would like to thank you for letting my take part :)
*
When David Hodges eventually sat on the passenger’s seat of Nick Stokes’ car, he didn’t know what was more stupid: that Greg Sanders thought a plan as obvious as that could possibly work or that Nick and he really behaved like they were only playing pretend.
What he did know, however, was that the 20 minute ride in Nick’s car was one of the most awkward ones he’d ever been on, but he had thrown away the idea of reaching over to the steering wheel to crash them into the next available tree rather quickly already - because even if a close encounter with a tree (or brick wall, for all that mattered) sounded more pleasant than awkwardly staring out of the window in silence, David realized that maybe, just maybe, he was blowing things out of proportion.
“So, what movie are we going to watch?”
Being formerly deep in thought, David Hodges, master of snark, managed a “Huh?” and realized that he had obviously left parts of his brain at the cheap diner they had just left.
“On Saturday, to fool Greg and Bobby.”
David wondered if Nick really had to stretch that point like that. He also wondered whether a triple feature of Lord of the Rings part one to three were appropriate - a good ten hours next to Nick, close to the CSI he had long admired and ten hours of a mildly entertaining movie with good chances of being bored to death after the first half and/or having himself humiliated by then. Actually, very good chances of doing the latter, which was one of the reasons David Hodges didn’t date: He tended to make a complete idiot out of himself. And additionally, he liked being antisocial very much.
“If it’s something too corny, I’ll flee with flying colors.” Hodges warned him, quirking an eyebrow, eliciting a chuckle from Nick.
“Oh, I’m sure Greg would love to see us watching Brokeback Mountain.”
“And I’m sure he’d be downright delighted to know I died of kitsch during the movie.”
Pulling a face, the lab tech earned one of those disarming smiles from Nick which had a great deal to do with why David had fallen for him and quickly glanced away, feeling a warm blush spreading across his face.
“C’mon, it’s not like we all hate you,” Nick replied, focusing once more on the street and taking his eyes off the man next to him. Had he really been blushing? He must have been imagining things. Wishful thinking, he told himself.
“No, not all of you, Stokes. Just - oh wait, everybody.” The other retorted, rolling his eyes. Sarcasm was going to save him from this impending disaster. At least he hoped so.
“Nick,” was all the other replied, causing Hodges to look at him puzzled. Nick noticed and quickly explained: “If we want to make this dating thing look real, we should start calling each other by our first names, David.”
Hodges resisted the urge to sigh and instead muttered: “Of course, Nick.”
By the time they had finally settled on a comedy movie and Nick had dropped the lab tech at his car, David Hodges was convinced that this little plan of theirs was definitely going to backfire. And he mentally scolded himself for really, really wishing that it would.
*
“You really will?!” Greg looked wide-eyed at the other CSI, blinking surprised, before quickly clearing his throat and grinning confidently. “I mean, of course you will. It was my plan after all.”
At that, Bobby rolled his eyes and Jacqui shook her head, while Nick simply gave him a lopsided smile. “Yeah, going to the movies on Saturday.”
Greg beamed broadly at Jacqui in his favorite I-told-you-so way and in response she shot Nick an inquiring look, which he managed to withstand. Still, she didn’t trust this whole date-thing they had going on all of sudden. Hell, the two of them used to be her ultimate proof that denial wasn’t only a river in Egypt!
And now this? Real shady business, that Jacqui Franco was sure of.
*
Nevertheless, when Nick Stokes showed up only a couple of days later on David Hodges doorstep, he couldn’t help but feel like a nervous teenager again as he hesitantly pressed the button for the doorbell and waited for the lab tech to open the door. It felt like an eternity before the door got eventually opened and David stood before him, clad in a black shirt and jeans, his hair still somewhat wet. It seemed like he had showered not too long ago.
Nick wanted to say something - anything - but suddenly found himself incapable of talking. There was no reason to be this nervous, he told himself, it was only a fake date. Right?
”Swallowed your tongue, Nick?” David asked, before pulling the door close behind him and then raising an eyebrow at the CSI, who quickly shook his head. “Err… shall we get going?” Nick asked, awkwardly motioning towards his black SVU. Rolling his eyes and muttering something that sounded suspiciously much like “Imbecile”, David strutted past him, Nick following him at a slack pace and, even though he’d never ever admit it, enjoying the sight before him. A rather nice view, really.
“Earth to Nick, hello~o.” David was suddenly waving a hand in front of his face, causing Nick to look at him in a puzzled manner and pulling him right back to the ground from his thoughts which had slightly drifted off.
“What?”
David sighed. “Mr. Obvious, how about unlocking the car?”
“Oh.” Hastily, Nick pulled the keys from his jacket and did as told, before walking over to the driver’s seat and getting in, then waited for the other man to take his place in the passenger’s seat.
Five minutes into this ‘date’ and he was already on the verge of making a complete fool out of himself. This was not going to end well. Not at all.
*
It wasn’t all too often that David Hodges was wrong, but when he had thought the first ride in Nick’s car had been the most awkward one - well, he’d just been proven wrong: The second one was at least equally awkward. They both sat next to each other in silence as neither of them knew what to say, Nick seemingly focused on the street and David staring out the window absent-mindedly. To onlookers, it probably seemed both of them were bored to death - while in reality the opposite was the case. Both were nervous, about how ‘fake’ or ‘real’ their date was, about what it had in store for them, and mostly about what the other one was thinking of them.
That Nick caught the lab tech glancing at him every now and then didn’t help any, and nor did the fact that Nick openly stared at David whenever he thought the other wasn’t looking. It took mere fifteen minutes that had seemed like eternity, before the two of them finally came to a halt in front of one of the numerous cinemas in Vegas, and David mentally thanked whatever non-existent god that he could finally get out and quickly did that, relieved when he finally felt pavement beneath his feet.
Nick didn’t feel much different, he sighed relieved after stepping out of the car and closing the door behind him. For a moment he closed his eyes and leaned against his SVU, silently scolding himself for so far being a total screw-up, until he heard David’s voice.
”Stokes, have you fallen asleep on the other side of that car?”
“I’m coming already, David.” He replied surprisingly calm, seeing how he still felt more nervous than on his first date back in High School, causing Hodges to roll his eyes. “I don’t want to wait forever, Nick.” David still didn’t see how calling each other by their first names was supposed to make this whole ‘date’ thing more believable - it certainly didn’t make it any better for him, instead it just felt more forced to him.
Still, forced or not, Nick finally walked around the car over to him. “I’ve got the tickets already, let’s head inside.” He suggested and gave the lab tech a charming smile, before motioning towards the entrance. “We don’t want to miss anything, do we?”
“Certainly not. Would be a shame.” David retorted, stuffed his hands in his pockets and followed about half a step behind the CSI, and some good ten minutes later they were eventually seated in the cinema.
If they had thought they’d been nervous before, then this topped everything that yet had happened. As soon as the lights went out, both sat stiff and silent in their seats, each of them trying hard to focus on the movie, but even though it was right in front of them, neither of them had the slightest clue what the movie was about.
Nick’s thoughts were racing now. Why had he agreed to go on this date anyway? It’s not like anything was going to come out of it. Of course, even though both of them were silent, he enjoyed David’s company greatly, but as he had said, after this date they’d keep living their lives like it never happened. It wasn’t even a real date, they did that simply to fool Greg. Right?
He mentally sighed. If he wasn’t going to admit anytime soon that that certainly was not true at all, things would really go back to the way they had been, and he didn’t want that. Not at all. However, he couldn’t wait for David to do anything - he didn’t even know how the lab tech felt about him - so the only way to find out was to do something and risk it.
“David?” He whispered, as not to disturb the movie audience.
David averted his eyes from the movie screen and looked at the other, the hopeful look in his eyes plain visible.
Now or never, Nick thought.
And with that, he threw his worries over board and kissed David.