So a good friend of mine informed me that I had to write more positive, fluffy material because my sad fics were devastating her and we were in desperate need of 'happy feels' during the crisis that is anatomy and chemistry. So this is the first of a few fluffy one-shots I have written dedicated to her! It's a little short, but eh, I'm happy with it nonetheless. Hope you all enjoy!

WARNING: male/male, slash. This is also a kind of alternate universe in which they don't work for the bureau.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Criminal Minds or the prompt that inspired this one-shot (see below).

Inspired by the prompt on Imagine Your OTP... Tumblr page: Imagine person A in your OTP going off to war. After two years, person B is sitting on the couch watching T.V. when their eyes get covered, and when they turn around, they see person A in uniform smiling widely behind them. Person B starts crying and gives person A a hug.

.

.

Reid pursed his lips into a thin line when he caught sight of the picture resting on the mantelpiece.

He could feel his heart practically slowing down in gradual beats as he reached for the framed photograph, sucking his lower lip between his teeth. He caressed the sleek, glass surface over Morgan's face, swiping away the delicate layer of dust with his thumb as he did so.

His mind traveled back to the day when this picture was taken. It had been Reid's 25th birthday, held at his old apartment with the rest of the BAU team. Morgan and him had only been dating for a few months at the time, but God, they already looked so happy, with Morgan's strong arm wrapped securely around his shoulders, bringing him in close, and Reid leaning in willingly into Morgan's comforting hold, a genuine smile gracing both of their faces. He remembered that Garcia had been the one to take the photo, and had provided Reid with a copy a few days later.

The photograph had donned the mantelpiece dutifully since Reid had moved in with Morgan. And when Morgan had gotten the call to duty, about a year after Reid's 25th, the picture had served as both a curse and a blessing for the time that Morgan was absent, the sight of Morgan's carefree grin both weakening and strengthening him.

He smiled a sad smile as he dusted down the wooden surface over the fireplace, setting down the picture back to its rightful place. It was now two years later, and Morgan was scheduled to be home in a week's time, according to when Reid had contacted him last. The reminder caused him to smile wider, and his spirits were admittedly higher as he completed his dusting task.

Once that was out of the way, and there was nothing else in the house to clean to get rid of his nervous energy, Reid slumped onto the couch in the living room with Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories, Volume 1, desperate to find some way to occupy himself. Flipping to the first page, he pressed his middle finger to the first sentence and began to read, his finger scrolling down the length of the pages as he progressed.

He was on page 351 of his paperback, about to enter the section entitled "The Man With the Twisted Lip," when suddenly he was blind. He gave a startled yelp, jumping slightly in his fright, yet the warm flesh covering his eyes did not relinquish their hold. He froze as he felt hot breath blowing on his ear, then...

"Guess who, pretty boy?"

His heart stopped beating for a moment. And then it restarted, pumping furiously and throbbing as if to compensate for his momentary shock. He gasped and yanked his face away from the hands covering his eyes, stood up, and whipped around.

There, clad in his army uniform like the day he had left, stood Derek Morgan, watching Reid's reaction with a grin. The same grin he had just seen on the photograph resting on the mantelpiece.

For a second, Reid only could stare, eyes wide, jaw slack.

Then Morgan's grin softened into a loving smile, and he spread open his arms and whispered, "Hi, baby."

With a strangled noise that sounded like a gasp mixed with a wild cry, Reid practically launched himself over the couch in his haste to get to Morgan. He collided into Morgan's firm chest, long arms snaking their way around Morgan's neck, and the older man caught him, enveloping Reid in a tender hug that was so hauntingly familiar and warm that it caused tears to appear in Reid's vision.

"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Reid chanted repeatedly, feeling the heat of his tears spilling down his cheeks, his overflowing eyes still wide as he pressed himself even closer to Morgan, his chest constricting and his stomach turning as he struggled to process this. He cupped the back of Morgan's skull in his hand and turned his face into Morgan's neck. "You're here, you're really here."

"I'm here, baby," Morgan mumbled into Reid's hair, his lips brushing against the helix of Reid's ear, his breath lightly blowing the strands of hair curling behind it. "I'm right here. I'm back."

The familiar embrace, Morgan's strong arms wrapped around him, the deep baritone of Morgan's voice, the small crack of his reply, the second rapid heartbeat that was pounding against his chest, it was all too much. Reid burst into tears right there, gasping sobs muffled by Morgan's clothed shoulder. He felt so full, emotions threatening to overtake him, all the pain and worry and fear and glee and love fighting for prominence within him, and the only anchor he had to keep him in the present was Morgan's fingers, which were soothingly running through his hair, scratching the back of his head with slow, comforting strokes.

Morgan let him cry, silently rocking Reid's trembling form side to side, pressing small, tentative kisses to Reid's temple and cheek.

Eventually, Reid's racking sobs subsided into more subdued quivering breaths and uncontrolled shivers running throughout his body. Morgan continued to stroke through his hair with gun-calloused hands, pulling back ever so slightly to lay his forehead on Reid's. He wasn't crying, but close to it, judging by how bloodshot his eyes were.

The next second all the air rushed out of Reid's lungs as Morgan leaned in and kissed him, their first kiss since he had been deployed two years ago. His grip around Morgan's neck tightened, throwing his all into the kiss that had started off slow and gentle, before morphing into something hungry and passionate. Nips and tame bites were delivered to bottom lips, tongues clashed and slid together languidly, breathless moans cut through the silence of the house.

"I missed you so much," Reid mumbled against Morgan's mouth. He could taste the saltiness of his tears as they continued to trek down his face, slipping and intermingling into their kiss. Morgan pressed one last hard kiss onto Reid's mouth before moving back, resting his brow on Reid's, his own happy tears slipping free down his bronze cheeks.

"God, I missed you too," Morgan rumbled, before leaning in to continue their kiss.