A/N: So this entire chapter story will be me kinda rewriting almost the entire Criminal Minds series, but with Morgan/Reid slash thrown in. Reid and Morgan moments will be prominently highlighted and tweaked to fit the story, and the central episodes surrounding the two will definitely be focused on. I'll try to include as much of the original pain points of the story as possible, but the main focus will be on these two. Just a warning, it will be a slow build-up… at least relationship-wise. Apologies ahead of time if the characters appear to be OOC, this is my first Criminal Minds fic. As mentioned before, this will be a Morgan/Reid SLASH story, so if slash isn't your fancy, consider this your warning and turn back now. For the rest, I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the plot or the characters of Criminal Minds.

The wisps of steam flowed past the brim of the black coffee mug, the heat of the liquid lightly burning Reid's eyes as he raised the cup to drink. He blinked and sighed as he felt the caffeine enter his system, leaning against the counter. Reid took another small sip of coffee, taking the time to appreciate this small moment of solitude before his phone chimed in his pocket. He fished it out and glanced at the caller ID. Recognition lit up in his eyes and he pursed his lips together, pressing the answer button and lifting the device to his ear.

"Hey Morgan," he greeted.

"Hey kid," his colleague replied. Reid cringed at the use of the word 'kid.' "Just got off the phone with Hotch. Got a case in Seattle, info should be faxed over."

No sooner did Morgan say that did the whirring of Reid's fax machine in his living room come to life, slowly printing out the case report before his eyes. "He wants you to take that to Gideon."

Reid frowned. "Gideon?"

"Yeah." Morgan's voice had an uncertain edge to it now, and it was clear that he was not at all happy with the knowledge that Gideon was going to be joining them. "Director wants him to come in. God knows why, but she does."

"He could be an asset to this case," Reid counter, naturally defensive of his mentor. It was no secret what had happened to Gideon that caused him to resign; one agent, let alone six, lost because of someone's actions was bound to take a harsh toll.

There was a short pause on the other end of the line before Morgan replied, "Maybe. We'll see. I'll see you both soon." The echoing click of Morgan hanging up caused Reid's frown to deepen, an unknown weight settling deep in his chest, and he pressed the 'end call' button and replaced the mobile back into his pocket.

Taking another tentative sip of his coffee, he walked over to his fax machine and gathered the papers that were piled there. Briefly scanning the documents, he sighed again, and walked back to his kitchen. He'd need a large thermos today.

xXx

"I can't because I am ashamed of something." Reid could hear Gideon's resonating voice as he approached the door of the lecture hall. Quietly as he could, he opened the door and revealed Jason Gideon in front of his class, several students glancing up from their note-taking to gawk at the newcomer. Gideon looked away from his class and focused on Reid, and Reid responded in kind by tapping the folder twice and crossing his hands over it.

Gideon nodded his acknowledgment, and glanced back at his audience. "Excuse me," he said, following Reid out.

In the hallway, Reid immediately began to explain the content of the file. "Unsub in Seattle, Washington. They're calling him the Seattle Strangler. Four victims in four months. He keeps them alive for seven days. The handle serves as a crank." He then displayed the crime scene photo of the victim to Gideon.

"Allowing him to control the rate of suffocation," Gideon concluded.

"To prolong it?" Reid questioned, looking at his superior in confusion.

"To enjoy it," Gideon corrected. "Seattle's hit a wall?"

Reid nodded his head, his walking growing gradually slower until they came to a complete stop, having arrived at their destination. "Physical evidence is non-existent; there are no tangible leads."

"And another girl is missing," Gideon said, grabbing the file and crime scene photo from Reid's hands and walking into Gideon's empty office, Reid following close behind.

xXx

"I've looked the case file over," Gideon said, keeping his eyes trained on the documents in his hands. "I'll get some thoughts to you ASAP."

Reid opened his mouth to cut in and correct Gideon, to inform him that the BAU director actually wanted Gideon back in the field, back to actively participating in the handling of the case, but was interrupted by the arrival of his unit chief and Morgan.

"You're gonna be with us in Seattle ASAP," Hotch said, briskly walking into the office, Morgan close behind. Morgan cast a brief look over to where Reid was standing near the entrance, and Reid quickly focused his eyes back to Gideon, who was now staring at Hotch with raised brows, his forehead pinching as he expressed his surprise and disbelief. He took off his spectacles and approached Morgan, who was holding out a photo of a redhead woman smiling brightly at the camera.

"22-year-old Heather Woodland," Morgan said in reference to the woman.

"Before she left for lunch, she downloaded an email with a time-delayed virus attached," Hotch explained. "The killer's virus wiped her hard drive and left this one the screen." He held out another photograph, which Gideon slowly took, staring at it carefully.

Reid was observing this interaction closely, but still could not help but feel a jolt of something deep in the pit in his chest when Morgan suddenly turned to look at him. Chewing the inside of his cheek, Reid wrapped his arms around his torso, trying and failing to avoid Morgan's gaze. Then Morgan smirked, and then actually winked at him. Reid forced himself to not blush not a pitiful schoolgirl, shifting his arms around himself.

Fortunately, Morgan's attention was diverted once again to Gideon when the man spoke, "For God's sake, catch me before I kill more, I cannot control myself." Reid watched as Gideon turned and compared the photo in his hand to the framed one on the wall. It was of a previous case of William Heirens, known as the Lipstick Killer in 1945, with the exact same message scrawled with lipstick on the wall of the Heirens' victims.

"He never keeps them more than seven days," Hotch continued. "Which means we have fewer than 36 hours to find her."

"They want you back in the saddle," Morgan said. "You ready?"

"Looks like medical leave's over, boss," Reid said, firmly avoiding Morgan's once again wandering eyes.

"You sure they want me?" Gideon asked.

Hotch gave the smallest of nods and replied, "The order came from the director."

Gideon paused for a moment, turning to face the old case of the Lipstick Killer once more. "... Then we better get started."

xXx

Reid wasted no time in exiting the vehicle once they arrived at the FBI issued jet. Adjusting the grip he had on the bag and briefcase he was holding and hoisting his satchel further up his shoulder, he took bustling steps toward the entrance of the jet, Gideon a little further ahead. He should have known better than to think he could outrun a former football player though, for Morgan quickly caught up to him, nudging his shoulder teasingly as he passed him by, a smirk evident on his face. A faint blush tinting his cheeks, Reid couldn't help the small smile that graced his lips as Morgan initiated the contact, no matter how tiny and platonic.

Over the roaring of the jet's engines, Reid could faintly hear the sound of a woman's voice, a senior agent, conversing with Hotch. Or rather, throwing orders and instructions at him. Reid climbed the steps leading into the jet slowly, stopping at the doorway to wait patiently for his colleague.

Once they were all situated inside the jet and on the way to Seattle, Hotch spoke. "Alright, so what do we know?"

"His first victim was 26-year-old Melissa Kirsch," Reid said, opening the file that he had already memorized by heart. "Stab wounds, strangulation-"

"Wait, wait, back up, back up," Morgan cut in, leaning over the seat that Hotch was occupying. "He stabbed her, and then strangled her to finish her off?"

"Other way around," Gideon said. "Why do you think he started using the belt with the second murder?"

"Strangulation with your bare hands is not as easy as one would believe," Reid answered, shaking his head. "He tried, probably found that it took too long-"

"So he stabbed her instead," Morgan said, completely Reid's thought.

"And realized it would be hours cleaning up the blood," Hotch added.

"Next time, our boy's got a method: the belt," Morgan concluded.

Gideon nodded, convinced. "He's learning, perfecting his scenario. Becoming a better killer."

Once the briefing was concluded, Reid closed the file and placed it back into his satchel, grabbing his coat and heading to the back of the jet. He hadn't had a lot of rest the night before, and hoped for at least a few hours worth of sleep before they arrived in Seattle. He claimed the couch, listening to Hotch and Gideon as they sat down to take a nap themselves as he slowly lowered himself into a laying position, bringing his feet up and settling under the meek warmth that the jacket provided.

It was silent, and before long Reid could hear the light snores coming from Gideon near the front of the jet. He shivered slightly at the remnants of cold still striking his feet and torso, and he curled even further in on himself.

"I have a better way of warming you up if you're interested."

Reid jumped violently, a yelp right at the tip of his tongue, but a rough hand clamped down on his mouth and suddenly he was staring into the amused, dark eyes of Derek Morgan. Reid scowled and tore his face away from Morgan's hand, taking a deep breath.

"You scared me," Reid said, hating the whiny pitch that tinged his statement. Morgan seemed to pay no mind as he chuckled. "And as for your offer, in case you didn't remember, which would be impossible since we literally finished a briefing just minutes ago, we're on the jet with two supervisors on our way to a case."

Morgan rolled his eyes. "Relax, pretty boy." Reid blushed at the pet name, causing Morgan's eyes to sparkle in humor. "Just messing with you. But you really do need something better to keep you warm other than that rag of a jacket you have."

Reid frowned in protest. "I'll be fine."

Morgan was quiet for a moment, biting the inside of his bottom lip in contemplation before shrugging. "Alright. Wake you up when it's time to land. And maybe if all goes well…" His voice trailed off to a low murmur as he leaned in, Reid's eyes widening with every millimeter he approached. He was so close to his face, and Reid's eyes kept darting down to Morgan's mouth, his lips. "... Maybe you'll take me up on that offer later on."

And then he stood from his crouched position, sitting in one of the chairs by the window opposite the aisle, and Reid was left with a flushed face and a racing heartbeat.

xXx

With time running out, they had narrowed the case down to this: Richard Slessman, the accomplice they had in their custody, had been incarcerated in prison for a short time, and while he was there had been befriended by one Timothy Vogel, a prison guard that protected Slessman and made him believe that he was in his debt for the times he saved Slessman from being targeted from the more aggressive prisoners. Slessman was definitely smart, using a password crack-resistant program to limit the amount of tries they had to get into his laptop before the hard drive was wiped clean; not even Garcia could offer much assistance.

Gideon and Elle were on Vogel's tail, and Hotch was interrogating Slessman, leaving Morgan and Reid to scour Slessman's house for an answer.

"Come on, I need a password." Reid could hear Morgan's mumbling as he approached the attic of the house, twirling a paperclip in his fingers. "What could I possibly be looking for?" Reid looked up in time to see Morgan fall back into a chair in front of the laptop with a sigh, rubbing at his temple. Frowning at his friend's distress, Reid walked around the table where the laptop was placed.

"I've been thinking about the CDs," Reid said, crouching down to be more level with the computer.

"Oh come on, Reid, we tried the CDs," Morgan said, exasperated. "We searched, sifted, and sorted through every one of this guy's head-banging heavy metal collection. We gotta find something or this girl is dead."

Reid furrowed his brows together as he took the paperclip, searching the side of the computer. "Think we may have missed the obvious," he muttered, and gently pressed the eject button to insert disks in the laptop, ignoring Morgan's question of "What are you doing?" With a click, the slide popped out, revealing a Metallica CD inside.

Morgan sat up with a start, and Reid turned to cast Morgan a surprised look as the other man grabbed at the CD. "Reid, what made you think of this?" Morgan asked, awe clear in his expression.

"It was the only empty case," Reid said, holding up the vacant CD case. Morgan reached out and took it from Reid, holding them up to verify that they were a matching album. Reid rubbed at his jaw as he read the song listings on the back of the case.

"Alright, I'm an insomniac who listens to Metallica to go to sleep at night," Morgan said. "What song could possibly speak to me?"

He lowered the case, and Reid looked up sharply as he realized the answer. "Enter Sandman."

Morgan stared at him for a moment, then broke it with a baffled chuckle. "Reid, have I ever told you that you were a genius?" he said, excitement evident in his voice as he pulled the laptop to him to type in the password. Reid glanced down, hiding a pleased smile.

xXx

The case was over, Heather was saved, and Gideon proved himself out in the field. All in all, Reid was rather pleased by how this case turned out. God knows this win was desperately needed.

Hotch had arranged for them to spend the night at a nearby inn before they had to take off in the morning to return to Quantico. Morgan, Gideon, and Reid were waiting all for him to get their room keys, conversing and laughing among themselves in the hotel lobby. They quieted down as Hotch approached them.

"We'll have to double up for the night," Hotch said, passing a key over to Reid. "Me and Gideon, and Morgan and Reid. Get some sleep. We leave on the jet tomorrow at 9 AM, so be back down here by 8:30." And with that, he turned and headed toward his respective room, Gideon following, leaving Morgan and Reid alone in the lobby.

Morgan turned and smiled wolfishly at Reid, a predatory gleam in his eyes. "So about that offer…"

Reid nervously swallowed, feeling his heart skip in his chest.

xXx

It was small, but the moan that escaped Reid felt like it echoed in the small hotel room, even as it was muffled by Morgan's firm hand.

"You like that, huh?" Morgan purred softly, blowing warm air into Reid's reddening ear before lightly sucking on the lobe. A muffled whimper escaped Reid's throat. "Shhhh." Reid's eyes rolled back into his head and he groaned lowly, bucking his hips to match the erratic thrusts of the man above him. Morgan grunted as he pushed himself in deeper inside Reid. The younger man almost couldn't comprehend the intense pleasure he was receiving, feeling his orgasm creeping up on him as Morgan continued moving inside of him, striking his prostate every time and making Reid see stars and flashes of white.

Morgan lowered his mouth to Reid's chest, nipping and licking one of the rosy nipples, now red with Morgan's ministrations. Reid panted heavily into Morgan's cupped hand, feeling the hot air around his mouth and his jaw growing slack as Morgan continued to rock into him. Reid had his pale legs wrapped securely around Morgan's waist, unconsciously pressing down on Morgan's lower back in his attempts to increase the strength of Morgan's movements. "Oh God, Reid," Morgan gasped.

"Morgan," Reid huffed into Morgan's hand, broken by a hitch in his throat as he threw his head back and finally came, spurting thick white ropes of hot liquid on both of their stomachs, chest heaving with unsteady breaths. After a few more frantic thrusts, Morgan followed Reid over the edge with a soft moan, and Reid couldn't help the groan that he released as Morgan's seed filled him, the heat of it traveling deep inside of him. After a moment, Morgan carefully slid out, removing his hand from Reid's mouth. Reid observed Morgan's movements with hooded eyes, watching as Morgan collapsed on his back beside him, arms splayed out above his head.

"I really needed that," Morgan panted, eyes closed in contentment.

There was a small pause where the only sounds in the room was Morgan's calming breaths and Reid's own throbbing heart, and then Reid quietly whispered,"Yeah."

He felt heavy all of a sudden, completely weighed down by an unfamiliar feeling, confusing him. It was heavier than any feeling of sleep deprivation he'd ever encountered, but that had to be it, right? It didn't help matters that Morgan just drew out a mind-blowing orgasm out of him as well. The heaviness almost forced him back onto the sheets as he sat up with the intention of returning to his own bed now that the night's tryst was over with.

"Where are you going?"

Reid blinked, then turned to face Morgan over his left shoulder. The other man was lying on his back, arms crossed behind his head, staring at Reid in inquiry. Reid's gaze flickered down to the blankets by his legs, absentmindedly fiddling with the edge of the fabric. "My bed," he answered, suddenly flustered, standing and quickly moving over to climb underneath the his covers; he may be having sex with Morgan, but that didn't mean there was no discomfort from displaying his bare body to anyone. "I-I'm sure that you don't want me sleeping next to you."

There was no answer from Morgan, and Reid made himself comfortable under his covers, his back to Morgan, trying desperately to ignore the heaviness that hadn't gone away yet, threatening to drag him down even as he lay on the mattress.

And then suddenly, Reid heard a rustling sound from where Morgan was, and before he could turn to see what was happening, there was Morgan, throwing back Reid's covers and sliding in next to him, startling the genius completely. "M-Morgan?!" he almost squawked in his surprise. He was answered with a finger to his lips and a kiss to his temple, and then Morgan placed a strong arm around Reid's thin form, drawing him close to his warm chest. Reid's eyes were wide with confusion, and he opened his mouth to try to ask again, and was once again met with a finger to his lips.

"Shhhh," Morgan whispered, shifting into a more comfortable position, replacing the arm around Reid's torso. "The sheets are soiled over there and clean here. Go to sleep, pretty boy."

Though thoroughly bemused and bewildered, Reid nodded hesitantly, placing his head on Morgan's shoulder as he made himself comfortable. It was so warm here, wrapped up Morgan's embrace, heat radiating from his slicked skin, and Reid couldn't help but cuddle even further into Morgan's arms, nuzzling the crook of Morgan's neck as he slowly gave into sleep. He heard Morgan sigh, and before sleep claimed him, Reid noticed that the heaviness was gone, replaced with a light, almost floating feeling. And, a ghost of a smile etched on his lips, he fell into an easy sleep.

So anyone think that Reid's falling for Morgan and just hasn't realized it yet? Poor boy. Well, this was Extreme Aggressor, so the next chapter will be cased off the second episode entitled Compulsion. Please let me know what you think in the reviews, I welcome feedback and constructive criticism!