Title: You, Actually.

Rating: PG

Pairing: Morgan and Reid.

Summary: Reid profiles Morgan and gets a surprise.

You, Actually

"Stop looking at me, Kid. Nothing's changed."

Spencer lowers his eyes to his paperwork, but Morgan's wrong. Everything's changed. His eyes raise again to look at the older man, who is trying to concentrate on his paperwork. He notices things about Morgan he didn't see before.

"Reid, I swear to God, if you don't stop staring at me, I'm going to kick your ass."

His tone is all anger, but Spencer sees the look - the look of shame. Everyone knows his secret. Everyone knows his troubles, his pain.

Spencer lowers his eyes again, trying to appease the man, but he can't help it. He looks up again, looking at the man. His jaw is clenched and his eyes are ablaze, but there's a relaxed sense about him, that's new. The weight has been lifted off his shoulders; he stopped the abuser. Kids are going to be safe now and then, people know. People know what happened to him and that helps.

Morgan slammed his hands against his desk, but Spencer doesn't jump, he doesn't even budge.

"What, Reid? What is so damn interesting? Ask your questions and stop looking at me like that?"

"Does it feel better?"

Morgan furrows his brows. "What?"

"To have it out in the open, to have it not be a secret anymore. Does it feel better?"

Morgan sat back down, staring at the kid. "No. It doesn't. It doesn't feel good at all. Everyone sees me different now."

"I see you differently."

Morgan looked at him with a glare and Spencer shook his head.

"You make sense now."

Morgan raised an eyebrow. "I what?"

Spencer blushed and lowered his eyes. He hadn't meant to say that. He shook his head. "It's nothing. I was just… It's nothing."

Morgan was far too interested now to let it go. He moved to see on the edge of Reid's desk. "How do I make sense now?"

Spencer shrugged, not wanting to talk anymore. He looked around the empty BAU bullpen before standing up, grabbing his bag. "I should get going. It's late and…"

"Oh no, Pretty Boy. You're going to share." Morgan said, leaning to grab the man's arm before he walked away.

Spencer pulled away and looked at the man.

"You continuously to risk your life, not because you want to be the hero or because you want to save the day, but because you empathize with the ones that being hurt and want to do whatever it takes to save them, because in return, you save yourself a little with each victim that goes unharmed by your crazy actions. You can't commit to someone because you feel like you don't deserve to be loved because you're broken, damaged. You sleep with a lot of women to defend your masculinity that you feel was taken from you and dominating someone else is the only way to take it back."

Morgan's face was stone. "We aren't supposed to profile each other, Dr. Reid."

Spencer shrugged. "We aren't, but we do. You profile me too, I know you do. As soon as you found out that my mother was schizophrenic, you started to look at me differently."

Morgan didn't say anything and Spencer knew he was correct. It didn't mind that Morgan's opinion of him had changed; he was glad. It meant that the man would always be watching him and if his mind betrayed him, Morgan would be there and notice.

Spencer cleared his throat. "What I still wonder about you, Morgan, is….if….Because you called me 'Pretty Boy'…" He flushed. He couldn't ask.

Morgan's posture changed completely at the stammering. He straightened and Spencer just flushed more and lowered his eyes.

"Are you asking me if I'm gay, Reid?"

Spencer didn't look up, he didn't speak. He could hear the hostility in Morgan's tone and he knew that he had asked too much. He flinched when Morgan stepped towards him. It was instinct after so many times of being at the end of abuse by high school boys. Morgan didn't hit him and Spencer raised his eyes, slowly.

"You flinched." Morgan said.

"I..I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I-in-insult you." The genius said, trying to backpedal, so that his friend wouldn't be angry. Even if the man wasn't going to hit him, he didn't want their relationship to change. He didn't want to upset the man even more.

Morgan leaned back against the desk, a little shocked.

"You thought I was going to hit you, didn't you?"

Spencer picked as his fingernails as he shrugged, unsure what Morgan was doing. "I… asked you if you… It's a normal reaction for a straight man to get offended when someone asks if they like men. Definitely if its someone like me." He said, muttering the last part.

"Are you gay, Reid?" Morgan asked, looking at him.

Reid automatically flushed again, his hand moving to the strap of his messenger bag.

"No! no, I-I-I kissed L-Lila Archer. In the pool. You remember, you saw. You saw me kiss her! And then… then… The date! The date with JJ… We went to a game, and… I… I…. uh…." Spencer stops his stammering to look at his shoes, finding them very interesting at the moment.

Morgan leaned into him again, moving a finger under the man's chin and raised it to look at him.

"It's okay, if you're gay, Reid. I'm not going to hurt you. You're my friend."

Spencer's tongue darted against his bottom lip as he looked at Morgan. He looked sincere. Spencer gave a quick nod before turning his head away.

"Can I go now? Please?"

Morgan moved away from him, still watching him.

"I've never been with a man, Spencer."

"I know. It was stupid. I was stupid to ask the question and I'm sorry that I asked." He turned to leave, before Morgan changed his mind and got angry with him.

"But I have been attracted to them. Some. A few. You, actually. And it terrifies me."

Spencer turned to look at the man, curiously.

Morgan shrugged. "What does that say about me, Doc?"

Spencer pushed his hair behind his ear. "It means…. Next time you call me Pretty Boy, I'm going to blush even more than normal."

Morgan laughed and shook his head. "Thanks, Kid."