Disclaimer: In case you can't tell since I am posting my story here: I don't own Reid or Morgan or Criminal Minds or Garcia or anything else relating to them. If I did, trust me, Reid and Morgan would already be together and JJ would not be off the show. That being said, I am borrowing these delicious men solely for entertainment purposes. None of it relates to the series-yadayada.
Summary: Sometimes you don't have to be in love with someone to love them and sometimes you can feel both. Reid and Morgan/Implied attraction
Warning: If you are looking for something hard core or obviously romantic, I suggest checking out my other stories. This is earlier on in the series, so they are just starting to feel drawn together. While I am attempting to keep them in character, you must understand that to spark a romance between the two, I have to change certain aspects about them. Please be forgiving of anything you don't thing is right.
Author's Note: The gelatin is my tribute to one of my favorite episodes of the two of them. (Amplification 4x24) Otherwise, this is just a "milestone" in their relationship that I really wanted to write out.
"Yeah, no need to knock or anything," Doctor Spencer Reid remarked with sarcasm in his tone as his mocha colored gaze met the obsidian hues.
The young genius was perched on his couch with his feet drawn up underneath him. He was half leaning forward, as though he had just picked something up from the floor in front of him. In one hand was the remote to the television set, which was currently dark, and the other hand held an unseen object in his lap. It was apparent that he had been watching a video before the intruder had entered his home.
Agent Derek Morgan couldn't keep the smile off his face at Reid's tone. The younger male was rarely sarcastic, since the concept occasionally went over his head. So the few times his tone took that ironic note it was hard to not get a warm, fuzzy feeling from it.
Inviting himself the rest of the way in, Morgan closed the door behind him and studied the other a moment longer. He quickly realized that the brunette was holding a container of red jell-o, rather than something useful like a weapon. Curious and moderately concerned by how insecure the place was, he asked, "My man, where in the world is your gun?"
"Right there, why?" Reid answered innocently. He tossed the remote forward a few inches and it landed beside the holster and weapon on the floor.
Shaking his head, Morgan felt a pang of anxiety for Reid's safety. There was always the chance that it wasn't him or someone altogether friendly that would open the door. As illogical as it was, there were still many people out there that would harm one of the team, simply because they refuse to let the evil in the world go unpunished.
Strolling over to the couch and trying desperately not to think about Elle, he sank down and inquired, "Do you always leave your door unlocked when you're home?"
"Actually, no," Reid answered as his attention returned to his snack. He quickly consumed the gelatin with quick, meticulous motions, gathering all of the stray pieces in a corner, slicing off a small bite, and neatly scooping it into his mouth.
As he ate, he told Morgan the statistics of robberies that occurred in his general area, including a comparison between the number of empty home invasions and those when someone had been home.
After finishing the relay of useless information, Reid paused for a second before added, "I knew you were coming over, so I didn't bother locking it."
"Oh?" was all that Morgan could think to reply. Why in the world did he know all of that? Of course, the answer was obvious. He knew it because he was Reid. The thought made Morgan smile and in a tone that was a trademark mix of sarcasm and sweetness, he suggested, "So I should lock it?"
Though Morgan did not understand why, Reid's brow furrowed with thought and his lips parted wordlessly. It was an adorable expression, but sadly lasted for less than a second before the brunette nodded slightly and answered, "Err, yeah, actually."
Chuckling quietly to himself, Morgan rose back up and headed back to the door. As he flipped the lock, he noticed something that caused him to linger a moment longer.
While he most certain couldn't expect to see as much security as someone like Hotch, he had at least expected the male to have a second mechanism on the door. How anyone in their world could go without barring the door at the end of the day was a small miracle to Morgan. Yet, all he saw on the door was a simple deadbolt.
Finally turning back, he returned to the couch and sank down. His mind went over how to approach the topic, but before he could make a comment, Reid scooped up a large chunk of the gelatin. For half a second, he hesitated, and then the young genius held the spoon out with a smile. Awkward, but adorable, he explained, "For, err, locking the door. I was comfortable. Didn't want to get up."
Shaking his head, Morgan didn't bother to hide the grin from the brilliant male as he told him, "You are something else." Leaning forward, he opened his mouth and accepted the bite of his friend's snack, trying to not think too much about what they were doing. Even though he cared a lot about Reid, the other was his friend and the weird feeling he occasionally got when they were together wasn't going to screw that friendship up.
It was cherry gelatin. That made Morgan's grin widen. Whether boy genius knew it or not, it was the athletic male's favorite flavor for jell-o and most other sweet snacks.
Reid drew his lips into his mouth, a typical way to hide the smile and his own embarrassment. Even in the dim light of the younger male's place, Morgan could see the slight blush on his pronounce cheekbones.
Exhaling loudly, Morgan leaned back against the couch and relaxed there in the comfortable silence. His knee practically touching Reid's, and because of that, part of his mind was hyper aware of that 'almost-contact'. At the same time, it wasn't quite enough to make him feel that annoying flutter in his stomach…at least, it wasn't at first.
Then Reid finished with his treat and set aside the bowl, so he could turn those intent, studious, chocolate hues towards Morgan's face.
The intelligent, stoic man made neither observation nor comment as he studied the older, stronger male. Despite his silence, there was a question in his gaze. He silently asked why the other was there and what had been so urgent that Morgan would call late at night to see if he was up and then warn him that he was coming over.
As he contemplated the questions himself, he honestly hoped that Reid wouldn't care that there was nothing, no reason for his visit. Morgan had simply wanted to see his friend.
Since he couldn't find the words to express why he was there or think of a decent way to keep the topic from going there, the silence went unbroken until abruptly Reid's gaze flicked away, towards one of the opposite walls. Softly, the more submissive male said, "Thank you."
A soundless chuckle that was seventy percent nerves escaped Morgan. Once again, he shook his head and asked, "What in the world are you talking about, kid?"
"Uh...err..." the male mumbled uncomfortably, his gaze dancing around the room and back towards his dark skinned companion for a moment. The pale man shifted nervously, practically fidgeting, but then Morgan saw a certain resolve appear inside of Reid. Though their gaze's met, it was hard to read what was going on behind his eyes. "I-After saving Nathan...I didn't want to be alone, but I didn't have anyone to call."
That was one statement that Morgan knew he should have expected, but had no answer for.
Though he instantly thought of the girl that he knew Reid was sweet on, Lila, he realized he had not heard anything about the girl since Reid had questioned him about relationship advice. Morgan didn't even know if Reid had any friend or even spoke to anyone on a personal level outside of the BAU. It was a sad thought, but with Reid's intellectual shields, there was a chance that it wasn't a stretch to say that Morgan was one of his few close friends.
Trying not to think on it and not even considering dealing with the awkwardness of replying to Reid's confession, he did what he was best at and changed the topic. "What were you hiding when I walked in? No one just turns off the TV when their front door opens."
Though the younger male attempted to play it innocent, his embarrassment was easily apparent. Taking the half second to profile his friend, he decided it wasn't an intense embarrassment, so it couldn't be anything too horrible. So, with a cocky grin, Morgan leaned over Reid and snatched the remote from the floor.
It was all of a second that their chests were parallel and for all of that second, Morgan's heart ceased beating. That second wasn't even long enough for him to feel the heat from his body or hear his heartbeat. Then the second was over, and Morgan was back in his seat, holding the remote out of Reid's reach.
"No! Wait!" Reid pleaded as his hands lifted, though he made no real attempt to snatch the remote back.
It was far too late already. Morgan pressed the power button and the screen of the television lit up, revealing an adorable scene of cartoon, forest creatures. Pausing to give his friend a sideways glance, he chuckled at the embarrassment he saw and clicked play.
Already, the child oriented film was close to half through, and while the plot of it was abstract and intended for humor, Morgan didn't get what was going on. Of course, if he had been paying attention, it might have been a different story.
Instead of following along, he sat there wondering what could inspire Reid to watch a movie like that. There was no depth, no plot, nor any factuality to any of it. It was just cuteness meant to entertain children.
Eventually, he just gave up on trying guessing the why. All that was happening was he was confusing himself and coming up with a bunch of maybe's that were nearly illogical.
His mind began to ponder the next most obvious thing. He was in Reid's home. He couldn't remember ever having been there before. Because of that, his eyes roamed around the room, even when he tried to keep them on the screen. It was impossible to focus on anything but his surroundings.
Too restless with his attention straying, Morgan rose and, without asking permission, began to flick out the lights. Logically, he figured that there was no point in raising the bill since they were both supposed to be focused on the screen anyway. It was pointless to light so much of the apartment. It wasn't until he was sitting back down that Morgan remembered that Reid had a fear of the dark.
Realizing his actions had been thoughtless, Morgan felt oddly insensitive and was about to apologize when he realized that the other's eyes hadn't left the television. Like a child, eagerly fixating on the bright lights and flickering colors, he blocked out the darkness that existed beyond his halo of distraction.
Morgan felt a smile tug at his lips, and he shook his head at himself. It wasn't smart to find Reid this adorable, but he couldn't help it. It was like Reid was trying to be cute.
Stretching his arms above his head, Morgan let them rest along the top of the sofa as he relaxed. This time he was decided and determined to watch the rest of the movie and enjoy the general cuteness of it all. Since his eyes had lost the more tempting goal, he managed to stay on the television, and somehow he managed to keep his mind on the movie.
Even though he didn't absorb any of the content, could not have even recalled the characters names, he enjoyed the distraction from reality. It was just something easy to space out to.
He was so unfocused that he didn't even notice when Reid shifted closer towards him. By the time he did notice, the younger male was close enough to touch him before Morgan felt the brush of his hair against his arm. He nearly leapt out of his skin as his head snapped around. The chocolate hues, however, were still on the screen until he became aware of the intent gaze on the side of his face.
When Reid's gaze met his, he nearly blushed, yet again and moved to be sitting up straight.
"Sorry about that. I am falling asleep," Reid explained as he settled back against the couch. Much like a child that was stubbornly trying not to be sent to bed, his hands came up to rub at his eyes so that he would look more awake.
Laughing to himself, Morgan slipped his arm from the top of the couch to around Reid's shoulders. Giving the other a friendly squeeze, he halfway pulled him back to where he had been. Even though the gesture was platonic, it caused his heart to race…and he still felt unsure why and unhappy with the only reason his mind offered.
Shaking his head, he told the other male, "Kid, you know, I love you."
For a moment, it was almost as if the brunette hadn't heard him as his expression remained blank. A moment later, confusion and uncertainty filled it. When he glanced at Morgan for a brief second, it was as if he were trying to smile but simply couldn't.
Then he forced a laugh and remarked in a joking tone, "Strangely enough, I didn't. I guess I don't know everything."
Morgan laughed, earning a slight rueful grin from Reid. Shaking his head, he ruffled the wavy hair before standing up. Quietly, he turned on each of the lights that he had shut off before. When he had finished, he paused before returning to the couch. It was late and originally he had been planning to leave, but he couldn't bring himself to.
Tilting his head, instead, he inquired, "Why that movie? I thought that all Doctor Reid did was study and chuckle over science fiction?"
"Usually, yes, I prefer science fiction, because it is amazing to read the older books and see how much of the-" Reid began, but when Morgan gave him a pointed look he stopped himself from rambling. With a small smile on his face, he admitted, "Garcia loaned me the DVD and asked me to watch it." The smile suddenly spread a little farther and Reid sounded almost like he was talking about an older sister as he explained, "After-after she and I found Nathan, she told me I needed something cheerful. She actually told me it was my mission to watch it and report back to her which character I liked best."
Morgan smiled, loving the happy tone that he heard in Reid's voice, but he shook his head to hide his expression. Those two were adorable. Like a kitten and a puppy, even when they were picking on each other it was cute.
He had no idea what he would do if he didn't have them.
"With our job, all of us do," Morgan remarked thoughtfully as he looked back at Reid. For a moment, his heart started to race yet again, but he quickly dismissed it and added, "Thanks for letting me stick around."
"Yeah-no-it's cool-should totally come by again-if you want to or have the time," Reid answered quickly. His usual social awkwardness made him stumble over his words as he spoke too fast.
Before Reid fluster himself too much, Morgan cut across smoothly, "We should watch it again. I missed the first part of the movie."
Reid was all too eager to agree, and it was obvious that he didn't want to be on his own. That was just fine by Morgan, because even if Clooney was there, Morgan just didn't want to be home.
As the movie was restarted, the young doctor gave facts. He rambled off about animation films, animals that starred on the movie, and general things that barely related. Each time he started talking about a different topic, he always began with 'did you know' and then proceeded to tell Morgan something that he didn't.
It, honestly, wasn't such a bad way to spend his evening.
A/N: I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it. ^^
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~Muzi