Ok, this is completely an inspiration from TheSundayBlues. I have merely extended on her idea and plotted it out here in writing. Therefore, the one shot is completely dedicated to her! My first one shot, please review!
"Come on man, give the reports a rest and give yourself a break for once…" Morgan pointed out with some concern as Spencer Reid read the pages in front of him with a deep frown of concentration.
"Huh..?" He looked up from the file folder and looked at his fellow teammate curiously as he tried to rid the thoughts of the gruesome details of the case that just concluded. The team was on the long jet ride home from California after a brutal week-long case. It had involved children, torture, and a misleading profile that had been hard to determine the unsub. Nonetheless, they had finally apprehended the subject after back tracking all of their steps for a missing link. All in all, it was definitely a relief to be going back home.
"Take a break. Hotch isn't even worried about those reports, he knows you'll get them done Monday." Morgan restated as he nodded towards their supervisor who was fast asleep on the long couch near the back of the plane.
Reid followed his gaze and watched Agent Hotchner in his deep sleep for a moment, his chest slowly rising and falling through a quiet snore.
"Yeah…" Reid replied, but Morgan sensed a hint of disagreement and looked helplessly at Emily Prentiss who was sitting adjacent to them from the small booth.
"Don't look at me! If the brilliant one wants to work, I don't think I can stop him…" Prentiss replied with a joking tone as she held her hands up in protest. Morgan smiled and Reid rolled his eyes at her comment and shut the file folder in front of him.
"Well then, what do you suggest we do? If you don't have any ideas, I'd rather finish up these reports than sit around and do nothing." Reid retorted just as JJ walked by from the small washroom and took a seat beside Reid.
"Well, lets think of something then…" She smiled brightly and looked at the other three. Hotch was sleeping and Rossi was in the back of the plane with his headphones on, writing uninterrupted in his notebook. The team had learned quickly that Dave Rossi didn't like to be disturbed on the plane rides home because he liked to detail the cases as soon as possible while everything was fresh in his mind. The team quickly obeyed his request, and unless he came to them first, neither of them would interrupt his quiet time.
"Cards…?" Prentiss suggested with a shrug.
"I'm sick of playing cards. Besides, I'm tired of beating everyone all the time…" Reid protested with a hint of a smile.
"No you're not. You relish in seeing yourself beat the crap out of us." Morgan shot back with a smile and Reid only smiled back a little bashfully in reply.
"Chess?" JJ mentioned next, but it received a shake from Reid's head.
"Only two people can play…" He pointed out the obvious and JJ frowned in thought.
"Come on girls, you'd better think of something fast or else our little genius here is going to dive back into work…" Morgan said one he saw Reid eyeing the file folder in front of them, but Morgan grabbed it and pulled it away quickly.
"I got it!" Prentiss suddenly shouted, then covered her mouth quickly as she noticed Hotch rustle then roll to his side on the small couch.
The other three looked at her expectantly, with Reid's expression leaning more towards worry than curiosity.
"Why don't we play Truth or Dare??" She asked a little too excitedly and JJ's expression lit up as soon as the suggestion was made.
"Yes! Oh God, I haven't played that game for years…" She replied with a wide smile and elbowed Reid in excitement, but he only pulled away in annoyance.
"Truth or Dare? We're not 12…" He mumbled and made a grab for his files, but Morgan was too quick and pulled it away further before he could reach them.
"Come on, I think it's a good idea. It'll help pass the time and it will help you unwind a little." Morgan said with a teasing smile as he scooted over on the bench seat for Prentiss to join them at the table.
"We're not kids! It's a kids' game…" Reid protested with a semi-squeaky voice, but the others only laughed at him.
"Reid, did you ever play this game as a kid…?" JJ asked sincerely as she turned towards the young profiler on her left.
He went quiet for a moment, then frowned. "No…"
"Well then, all the more reason to play." JJ confirmed with a nod, but Reid only rolled his eyes.
"You have to play this game at LEAST once in your life there, Dr. Reid." Prentiss teased, followed by more comments and pushes from the others, which finally made Reid agree to the childish game.
"Great, I'll start us off." Morgan smiled widely and looked at Prentiss beside him. "Emily Prentiss…. Truth?... Or… DARE…" He exaggerated with an over-serious expression on his face, only making Prentiss laugh at him. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear at Morgan choosing her fate in the game.
"Dare." She chose immediately. She wasn't a wimp and she had always been up for any kind of adventure. Playing a silly little game with her coworkers was no exception.
"Muahahaha…" Morgan laughed evilly as he rubbed his hands together in thought. He narrowed his eyes in concentration for a minute then they widened suddenly with the spark of an idea.
"I dare you to take this pen…" Morgan whipped a pen out from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of Prentiss. "And draw the best handlebar moustache on our sleeping friend over there…"
Prentiss raised her eyebrows and turned to glance at Agent Hotchner asleep behind her on the small couch. She bit her lip in a moment of reconsideration, he was their boss after all, but maybe he would see the humour in it after he woke up. If he didn't wake up while she did it…
"Got it." She agreed to the dare and plucked the black pen from the table before getting up and practically tiptoeing towards the back of the jet. Rossi looked up briefly from his notebook in mild curiosity, then continued with his work.
Prentiss knelt down beside the couch and glanced back at the other three at the table. JJ was struggling to hold back her laughter, Reid was wide-eyed and looked scared, and Morgan was smiling at her, egging her on to continue.
Prentiss pulled the lid off the pen and carefully began drawing from the middle of Hotch's lip and dragged it outwards. He was laying on his side facing her, so it was a little difficult to draw and suddenly he shifted in his sleeping position. Prentiss froze for a moment with the pen dangling in mid air as the sudden rush of fear fell over her that he would wake up. But Hotch only rolled to his back and Prentiss let out the breath she was holding, then finished the other side of the moustache before smiling at her work and placing the cap back on the pen.
"He'll be a little surprised when he wakes up and sees himself in a mirror…" Prentiss muttered with a smile once she sat back down at the table. The other three let out their laughter once she was back in the safety zone.
"I can't believe you did that…!" Reid commented with his eyes still on the new facial hair on their slumbering supervisor. He was suddenly glad that he didn't have that dare.
"Ok, JJ, truth or dare?" Prentiss asked to keep the game rolling. It was a childish game, but she had to admit it was fun to be playing it again.
"Uhh… I'm going to take the safer route and pick truth…" JJ said slowly after witnessing the attack on their boss.
"Oh come on…" Morgan began to protest, but Prentiss held up her hand to signal him to stop.
"You can't be mad at the choice we choose." She said as Morgan slapped her hand playfully out of his face.
"Ok, Ms Jareau…" Prentiss began as the thoughts ran through her head. She studied a spot on the wall behind JJ and Reid for a moment as she wondered which question to ask, then suddenly she broke into a wide smile. "Have you ever had a sexual experience with a woman?"
JJ's mouth dropped at the question and Morgan broke into a wider smile and laughed out loud.
"What?!" Reid nearly shouted in disbelief at her question as his eyes shifted back and forth between the other three. "You can't ask that… What kind of question is that??"
"Uh uh uh…" Morgan held up his hand, this time silencing Reid. "The rules clearly state, if one so chooses to pick Truth, one must answer whatever question thou shall choose."
Reid's eyes remained widened in shock and he glanced over to his right to JJ who was in the middle of glaring at Prentiss.
"You have to answer…" Prentiss pried through her smile. The three had their eyes waiting expectantly on JJ and she finally let out a large sigh and rolled her eyes.
"Fine… Yes I've had a… Sexual experience with a woman… I DID go to college after all… And I grew up in a small town." JJ admitted a little shamefully, which received a woot from Morgan across the table.
"That's what I'm talking about…" Morgan slapped the table and smiled in JJ's direction, but she only frowned in disgust and threw Prentiss' pen at him.
"It was just a one time thing…" She stressed and shut Morgan up, but he couldn't wipe the smile still visible on his face.
"ANYways… Since you're enjoying this so much, Morgan. Truth or dare?" JJ shot at him with her own grin and waited with an eyebrow raised for him to choose.
His smile faltered for a moment, but he recovered and quickly picked dare. He didn't want them to think he was a wimp and he definitely couldn't let Prentiss show him up.
JJ giggled suddenly and eyed Morgan before looking at Prentiss quickly. The childish game she had once played as a teenager had childish dares as well, and she was about to take full advantage of it.
"You gotta kiss Emily. On the lips." JJ advised with excitement.
"What?" Morgan replied, thrown off guard by the dare.
"WHAT!?" Prentiss' mouth dropped as she snapped her head towards JJ, who couldn't hold back her laughter. "JJ, it's his dare, not mine, why would you drag me into this??"
JJ didn't answer because she was too busy laughing. Prentiss looked at Reid for some kind of help, but he only looked at her quizzically and then shifted his confusing expressing to Morgan.
"Hey, you gotta do what they tell you to…" Morgan shrugged and smiled at Prentiss beside him who frowned and slapped him on the shoulder.
"Fine. But one slip of the tongue, and my Glock 22 is going to be in your face…" Prentiss warned and Morgan froze for a second as he eyed the gun, held protectively in its case at Prentiss' hip.
He leaned in and kissed her quickly on the lips, receiving a small applause from JJ who was smiling in glee.
"Ok, ok. Let's get our buddy Reid in on this. He hasn't played before. Reid, truth or dare?" Morgan eyed the young genius quickly and Reid looked at the three expectantly, waiting for someone to tell him what to pick.
"Uh…" Reid cleared his throat and debated the choices. If he picked Dare, he might be forced to vandalise their boss or kiss someone… As the thought entered his mind, he swallowed nervously and quickly spat out his answer. "Truth… I pick truth…"
Morgan frowned at his reply, he was hoping the kid would pick dare so he can force him out of his shell a bit. But this was an opportunity to learn something about their teammate, and Morgan thought carefully on what to ask.
"You know you have to answer whatever question he asks you…" JJ warned him and Reid suddenly became more nervous as he stared at Morgan who was lost in thought. Reid debated if he made the wrong choice, but answering a question seemed safer than being forced to do something.
"Ok, ok. I got one…" Morgan finally announced and looked at the girls before his eyes landed on the man across from him. "Every Wednesday night. You're always busy, and I KNOW you don't have a girlfriend lining you up for 'middle-of-the-week dates', so I'm awfully curious. Where is it that you DO go every Wednesday night?"
Prentiss and JJ raised their eyebrows at the question and studied Reid, waiting for an answer. They too, had wondered off and on where Reid had been going the same day nearly every week and they would be lying if they didn't admit they were a tad curious themselves.
"Uhh…" Reid's palms began to sweat and he rubbed them unconsciously on the thighs of his pants, wishing his teammates weren't staring at him so intently.
"Come on man!" Morgan pried. "What is it? Is Wednesday night specials at the strippers?"
Reid frowned at Morgan's guess, but JJ piped up soon after.
"Do you rush to the comic book store for their weekly releases?" She suggested, but Reid shook his head with a confused frown on his face.
"League bowling?" Prentiss guessed next, followed by another round of obscure assumptions by the three.
"No! No, it's nothing like that…" Reid protested, which finally silenced the others, but it didn't stop them from staring at the young genius in great curiosity.
"Well then, what is it? Enlighten us, oh great one…" Morgan pried further and Reid closed his eyes briefly, trying to soften the pounding heart deep in his chest.
"It's… I, uh…" Reid stammered, then let out a heavy sigh. "I… I got to weekly meetings for cops who were former drug addicts… I… I promise I haven't done anything for over a year, it's just that sometimes after cases I… The meetings help." Reid concluded and wouldn't look anyone in the eyes as he fumbled with his fingers nervously on top of the table.
The other three stared at him in slight disbelief for a moment.
"Well, I still think you go see strippers every week, even if it's not on Wednesdays.." Morgan replied with a smile.
"And I KNOW you go check out the new comic releases all the time. I've seen your apartment…" JJ added in and the three laughed, making Reid smile a bit.
He knew what they were doing, and he was extremely glad for it. They didn't ask any questions, didn't rustle up any nightmares from the past. He was still sweating a little from the fact he just told them something he's been hiding from the team for over a year. But here they were laughing and pushing each other around, telling Reid he had to choose someone to go next. It was like they didn't just hear a deep secret from Spencer Reid. They weren't judging him, they were truly his friends and he finally broke into a smile at the thought.