Disclaimer: Reid, Morgan, Garcia, Prentiss, and the rest of Criminal Minds belongs to someone more fortunate than me. I am merely borrowing them for entertainment purposes. However, if they want to hire me as a writer, I would be more than happy. :D:D xD
Summary: Things change fast. Suddenly happens gradually, because no matter how much things build up: they eventually had to break to change.
Warning: This is slash between Morgan and Reid, as in them together as a couple. If you don't like mxm, don't waste your time reading or my time flaming. Also, understand that to make them act like a couple, I do have to change their personalities slightly, *but* I tried to keep them as in character as possible.
Author's Note: I was looking at good coffee makers online and saw one. My first thought was "Reid would kill for it." Yes, I have an unhealthy addiction, but this is what spawned from it!
Staring at the machinery before him, Reid didn't have to be a genius to recognize exactly what it was, and he didn't need his eidetic memory to know it hadn't been there the last time he had visited.
"Hey there pretty boy. Glad to see you found your gift," Morgan greeted him as he walked up behind the slender brunette.
As of late, it was no longer uncommon for the younger male to let himself in. He still was getting used to it, because he always felt like he was invading his co-worker's privacy. It wasn't as comfortable for him to do so as it was for the others, so it seemed. The fact that this was just one of Morgan's many properties didn't really help matters.
Turning to look at the athletic, older male, Reid's chocolaty hues widened with surprise. His tone was nearly uncertain as he curiously repeated, "Gift?"
With a nod and a laugh, the dark male clapped his shoulder and answered, "You drink more coffee than anyone else I know, so I thought that it would be a foolproof gift. On those nights where the young doctor Reid wants to study obscure text books, he can have good coffee and save money."
Reid knew that he should be fawning over the gift, in fact he wanted to. The espresso machine cost nearly two-hundred dollars and had been something he had been planning to buy for himself some day, but he couldn't help wondering about one thing.
With a slight smile, he turned to face Morgan completely. Halfway joking, he asked, "If it is my gift, why is it set up at your house?"
The smile on Morgan's face turned into a devilish grin. Playfully ruffling Reid's hair, he told him, "Because, if I just gave it to you, then I couldn't use it to convince you to come over."
"Right," Reid replied with a soft laugh.
He was just now starting to get used to comments like that, despite the fact that the jokingly sweet remarks had started shortly after they had first met. In the beginning, Reid assumed that it had been mocking, but he had slowly come to realize that Morgan meant it. All of those cute, almost-flirting remarks were sincere, maybe even more so than what Morgan said when he hit on with women.
Another question occurred to Reid then. Tilting his head, he asked quizzically, "What is the gift for?"
"It's been months," Morgan answered softly, his tone all too serious. Neither of them needed to say it for it to be obvious that he was talking about Reid's addiction. His dark eyes were intent and grave as he told him, "Not everyone could have gotten it over it on their own."
Though Reid had no delusions about his team knowing about his drug problem, it made him cringe slightly to hear it mentioned out loud. Even after his friend had pointed out that his team knew, he liked to trick himself into believing that the problem had been well hidden. Maybe it had been, but when working with profiles, it was impossible to keep secrets.
Pretending to be studying the machine, Reid turned away and took a step towards it. His eyes were intent on the metal as he struggled with his own thoughts and feelings. For a moment, he nearly changed the topic, moved it to something safer, but then he confessed softly, "I-I didn't do it on m-my own. I-I-I had you and the rest of the team backing me. A-all I had to do was ask, and I-I knew you guys would have been there." His gaze went back to Morgan as he assured him, "That is not alone."
That was something both of them could easily understand. Both of them had been alone before. They had stood on their own and faced down their own demons to reach where they were. Their demons were still there, and they were still struggling, but now they were never quite as alone as before.
Before the atmosphere could get too somber, Morgan's lips twisted in another grin, and he remarked, "So…I threw away the manual. Think we can still figure out how to make coffee?"
"Assuming that you put it together correctly," Reid muttered with just enough sarcasm to cover up the relief.
An hour and several very bad cups of coffee later, the two males had fully figured out the complex mechanics to make a simple cup. Either of them figuring it out on their own might have had more luck, but together, they distracted each other, making games out of small things and laughing. It only served to make it that much better when they finally ventured to the living room with their drinks.
Together, they settled onto the couch, Morgan slouching and Reid drawing his feet up with him to curl up. Sipping at the steaming beverages, they argued over what sort of show they should watch, Reid wanting to see what 'nonsense' they might have on the science channel and Morgan opting for a cop show.
Bickering over such trivial things was another thing that Reid was just now getting adjusted to. When he was a child, he had given into everything his mother demanded. Throughout school and training to work in the FBI, he had done exactly what he was told and excelled with ease. There had never been a chance to jokingly fight with others. He never had anyone to quarrel with over silly things.
Years prior, he had done much the same with Morgan, who pushed him just to push him. That had caused him to slowly fall into the habit of complaining, and from there, he had learned to argue.
Morgan almost always looked like he was fighting to not grin when they debated what they would do or watch.
Finally, they settled on Animal Planet and Discovery Channel until something worth arguing over came on.
"I can remember when there was good content on Animal Planet," Morgan sighed as he switched back to the Discovery Channel after a particularly annoy episode of "It's Me or the Dog."
Looking over at him, Reid tilted his head and asked, "Really?"
Morgan laughed and nodded. With faux seriousness, he said, "Yeah, it was way back when you were still a teenager."
"Ah, that explains why I am not as disappointed as you are with these shows. I was busy with college then," Reid remarked with a slight shrug. He knew that that was all he needed to say to explain that he hadn't watched much television before. In fact, he could only remember a few times before he started hanging out with Morgan that he actually bothered with it, and he had always watched sci-fi shows.
There was a disbelieving expression on Morgan's face as he shook his head slightly. He asked Reid curiously, "What was your favorite cartoon growing up?"
"I didn't actually watch cartoons," Reid replied. He was comfortable enough with Morgan to reply without feeling embarrassed about the fact. Most people made him feel slightly ashamed of the things that were unusual about his childhood, but generally Morgan didn't. Thoughtfully, he confessed, "My mother said that television was no good and she refused to let me watch it."
Since his focus went back to the show as soon as he shut up, Reid didn't realize that Morgan didn't reply. His mind fixated on the show, rather than anything real. He was quite content to think about nothing more than the coffee and the show. With stubborn refusal, he blocked out thoughts of why he was enjoying the delicious drink or why the show held his interest more than it held Morgan's.
He was much happier in the present, and that was where he was staying.
"I love you," Morgan declared abruptly.
His head instantly snapped around and his eyes widened with shock as his heart lurched, nearly painfully.
This wasn't the first time that Morgan had said it. It wasn't even the first time he had looked at Reid with those resolute, dark eyes as he uttered those three foreign, but familiar words. Reid, however, was no more used to them than the first time they had been said to him, almost a year ago.
They always made his heart stop and then race a little faster than before. They shot waves of nervousness, happiness, discomfort, and excitement through him all at once. They left him with nothing to say and so many feelings that he couldn't understand.
Unlike with invading Morgan's home, the play-fighting, or the almost-flirting, this was not something he had adjusted to.
Reid was still as uncertain as before about what to say.
His slender lips parted as his eyes stayed on those two dark, endless pools, but no words formed. All at once, his brain was shorted out and running in a hundred different directions at a million miles an hour.
What could he say?
What did those words mean to Morgan?
What did they really mean to him?
Could he say that he loved Morgan too?
Did he love him?
Did he even know what love was?
Suddenly, Reid realized that he honestly did love Morgan. The guy was his best friend, his most trusted confidant, his would-be older brother, and someone he could always rely on to have his back. Even if there were moments that Morgan stirred feelings in him that were bizarre enough to nearly make him push away, he always came back, and that made Reid feel like he really did love him.
Just as he finally had his answer to Morgan, he lost it.
Morgan gently touched Reid's cheek. The touch, itself, was nothing new. When the two of them were away from the team and not on a case, he had been steadily getting more physically affectionate. Sometimes, when they were out of town, they would even go as far as to hold hands while walking.
Though Reid knew that it wasn't "normal," he couldn't seem to stop himself from going along with it. He didn't know what to make of it as the contact thrilled him in such a strange way. It was just like hearing Morgan say those three words: his heart stopped then started racing as his mind ceased to function properly.
This time, there was something different about how Morgan touched him. Most of the time, the gestures were friendly and light. It was all passing connections that were done with his usual arrogance.
This time, Morgan was slow and timid. He almost seemed frightened by his own actions. There was none of his usual confidence that Reid assumed leaked into every aspect of Morgan's life.
Transfixed, eager and intimidated, expecting and uncertain, he remained frozen, unsure of what he was waiting for.
Their eyes never left each other as Morgan hesitantly began to lean in. The whole world seemed to hold its breath as the distance was slowly closed. Nothing broke through the moment. Even Reid's mind was silent until the last second. When there was barely a centimeter between their lips, it frantically began to race.
What was happening?
Did he want this?
What was Morgan doing?
What was Reid going to do?
Did he really get a say whether he did or didn't?
Could he go along with this?
Could he let himself go along with this?
Could he force himself to say no?
Thinking about neither retribution nor consequence, Reid tilted forward and closed the last of the distance.
"I love you" did not compare.
Reid had kissed Lila before and thought that had been amazing. It had been great, grand, wonderful, and every other synonym. The memory had left an impression in his mind and occupied his thoughts for almost too long. Phantom sensations of her gentle, soft mouth and supple, wet body had crashed his study time over and over again.
It had been an enjoyable torture that had slowly faded. Though he hadn't considered it before then, those thoughts had stopped around the same time Morgan had first said that he loved him.
Of course, the sweet words had come months after the kiss and Reid had never gotten in contact with her again, so maybe it had just been time.
Kissing Morgan was what occupied his mind at that moment. It was completely different. The dark lips were firmer and more in control. While Lila had been begging, Morgan meekly commanded Reid. Her kiss had been asking for something, but his kiss was offering him something. Reid didn't even know what he was being given, but he felt like he couldn't live without it.
Before he could properly analyze what he was thinking, feeling, or even doing, the kiss ended.
As Morgan shifted away, Reid drew his lips into his mouth, not sure what to say. He was certain that he looked just as confused as Morgan did.
What had they just done?
Some part of Reid thought it was wrong, not because of their gender, but because of whom they were.
They were co-workers, close friends, and FBI agents. Their job had all sorts of rules against interoffice relations, not to mention relationships between team members. Even if it was allowed, relationships were impossible with just one person on the team. What with two of them on the team? There was no way that it could work out to be anything but heartbreak.
That, of course, was first assuming that Morgan even wanted a relationship. He could just be curious. Statistically speaking, he was a little older than the average age for experimentation, but that was one of the things that had the biggest window.
"What are you thinking?" Morgan asked suddenly, cutting across Reid's thoughts. His expression was a little more guarded, but the uncertainty still showed through with aching clarity. His gaze was troubled, and his body language betrayed that he was trying to distance himself from Reid.
Reid abruptly felt even more nervous before and began fidgeting with his cup as his lips parted and closed repeatedly as he tried to find his voice. He blurted after a moment, "S-statistics."
The sound of Morgan's laughter was a relief.
The chorus of their phones ringing was an even greater one.
Some part of Reid flat out refused to leave until he could figure out what had just happened and what he just felt. Another, larger part of him was not quite ready to understand it.
A/N: Part two is coming soon! I already have it written! :D
Do you like it? Love it? Hate it? What do you think I can do to improve it?
View and review!
Comments make me want to write more.
If you want the squeal to this and more delicious MorganxReid, add me to your alerts! ^^ :P