So. My first ever Criminal Minds story.

It's written a bit strangely, I think, but hopefully you won't mind. It may not be the longest story ever, but hey, quality is better than quantity, right?

The first bit is after 3x17 "In Heat", the next bit is just somewhere between that and the next episode, "The Crossing". The Last bit is after episode 4x01, "Mayhem (part 2)", and there are som reavy references to 3x17 and 4x01, so if you haven't seen them, you probably won't understand this story completely. Other than that, it's pretty harmless.

"Come on Reid, talk to me," Morgan said, standing in front of Reid at the park near Reid's apartment.

"What exactly do you want to hear from me?" Reid asked, closing his book with a snap. He was frowning.

"I want you to tell me why you're mad at me," Morgan replied. It had been bugging him since they returned from Miami four days ago, and he really couldn't figure out why Reid was mad at him.

"I never said I was mad at you," Reid said flatly, lighting his frown a bit, but it didn't disappear.

"I'm not stupid, Reid. You're avoiding me, and when you do talk to me, you're cold a curt."

"Fine, you're right, I'm mad at you," Reid admitted, and his voice hardened. Now Morgan frowned. Reid rarely got mad at him, or at anyone in general, and when he did, he didn't harden his voice like that. But at least he was talking now. That was a good thing.

"Why?"

"Because of Miami."

That wasn't really an answer Morgan had expected. One, because it was short, and if he could, Reid always gave a long answer. Two, because what did Miami have to do with them?

"Miami?" Morgan echoed.

"The way you acted in Miami," Reid elaborated.

"How did I act? What did I do?"

"You were extra friendly with detective Lopez, weren't you?"

"What? No!"

"Yes, you were. Right from the beginning, when you introduced yourself as 'Derek'."

"And because of that, you're mad at me?"

"No, not just because of how you introduced yourself, but the way you acted around her the entire visit."

Now they were really getting somewhere, although they weren't going anywhere Morgan wanted to be. They didn't fight very often.

"Reid –"

"In general, the way you acted while we were there just didn't sit right with me."

"Reid, you got no reason to be jealous of detective Lopez!" Morgan said, raising his voice.

"Yes, I do, we had that talk over a year ago, we're not just friends, or friends with benefits. We're exclusive, remember?" Reid said. His voice was still at a normal level.

"Yes, I remember that, but –"

"That means I got plenty of reason to be jealous and mad."

"We talked about this, we gotta keep up appearances!"

"You tried to impress her, Morgan!" now Reid raised his voice as well.

"When did I do that?"

"When you went into that youth hostel. You chose not to wait five more minutes for the rest of us, so you got to play the hero in front of her!"

"That's not what happened, Reid!"

"Then enlighten me, please."

"There were kids in there, they were in danger, we had to do something!"

"Five minutes, Morgan. Ten tops. We've waited longer than that!"

"There were kids in that building!"

"No, there were teenagers and young adults in that building!"

"Reid –"

"And there were too many for Steven to kill someone, he'd have to wait until the next day, night at the earliest, and you know that, because that's what the profile said!"

"Alright, you want to know what happened?"

"If you tell me the truth, yes."

"Detective Lopez didn't want to wait. She went in, and I followed her because she had already made the decision."

"…"

"What?"

Morgan was now getting a little apprehensive and a little worried. Reid looked crestfallen, and he hadn't responded immediately.

"You took the fall for her?" Reid said, his voice a little lower than normal.

"What?"

"You lied to is so she wouldn't get in trouble!" and Reid's voice was up in volume again.

"Reid, please –"

"There's a large possibility that you'll never see her again, or at least not for a while, and you protect her from a man, who has no real authority over her?!"

Morgan remained silent, which made Reid frown again. "Or were you planning to see her again? In private?"

"No, Reid!"

"Then why?!"

"…"

"Morgan, why?!" Reid almost sounded a little desperate to get an answer.

"Because if Hotch got mad, then I wanted him to get mad at me, because he knows me."

"So you would stay on her good side?"

"I don't know, maybe."

Silence. Morgan sighed a little. "Reid?"

"…"

"Reid, talk to me."

"…"

"Reid!"

Reid still didn't say anything. He put his book back in his messenger back and put it over his shoulder.

"Reid, what are you doing? Where are you going?"

"Away."

"Wait, Reid." Morgan grabbed Reid's arm when he tried to walk away.

"Let go of me, Morgan!"

"No, talk to me. I want to sort this out."

"And I want to take a walk."

"We have to sort this out at some point!"

"Just let me go, Morgan."

"… Fine." Morgan sighed and let go of Reid's arm.

"Thank you."

And Reid walked away.

"Reid?" Morgan stood in front of Reid again. Reid was sitting on a bench, in the same park, with a new book, three days later.

"Yes?" Reid said.

"We need to talk."

"I know." Reid sighed and motioned for Morgan to sit down. Morgan did, and Reid closed his book.

"You're mad at me because of how I acted in Miami."

"Yes."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."

"I know you didn't." Reid was quieter this time. Morgan was more calm as well, but Reid was almost dejectedly quiet and he kept his head a little down.

"Then why are you still mad at me?"

"You said it was because we have to keep up appearances."

"It was."

"Morgan, we've worked with women who are just as pretty as Lopez, and you haven't flirted with them as much as you flirted with her." Reid's voice was back to its normal level, and Reid was looking at Morgan again.

"What?"

"It wasn't just regular flirting, it was more. Not to mention you usually don't flirt with female detectives."

"…"

"…"

"Maybe. Maybe you're right."

"I'm a profiler, and I have an eidetic memory. I know I'm right."

"It was a little different in Miami, I guess."

"Morgan…"

"What?" Morgan asked when Reid didn't continue. Reid looked incredibly uncomfortable and sad, but still a bit determined.

"I think, um… I-I think we should… maybe, um, take a, take a break."

Morgan stared at Reid, and Reid stared back, biting his bottom lip uncomfortably.

"What? Are you serious?"

"Very." Reid's voice was a bit small again.

"You want to break up?"

"No, you need it."

"…What?"

"You need some time to find out if you actually want this."

"This? You?"

"No, this serious, committed relationship."

"Reid –"

"The way you acted in Miami made me realize that this is your most serious relationship in a long time, maybe your most serious relationship ever, and maybe you don't want that anymore, I don't know."

"Reid –"

"But we both need you to figure out if this is still something you want. So let's just… let's just take a break. Please. I don't want you to feel trapped. You'll get some time to think, without feeling guilty or anything."

"But Reid –"

"Please, Morgan."

A long silence rested between them, and Reid looked both upset and desperate. Morgan had to admit he probably did need some time to think, he probably needed to be a bit of his old self again. Reid was probably right. Again.

"It's a break. We'll talk about it again."

"Absolutely."

Reid looked relieved.

Morgan found Reid on the roof of the hotel building. They hadn't talked about their break since they decided to go on one, over a month ago. Morgan's night had been pretty chaotic, and he wanted to talk to Reid again.

Reid looked over his shoulder and turned around fully when he spotted Morgan.

"I worried about you three times tonight." He said with a quiet voice when Morgan was standing in front of him again. "Three times in one night. I've never done that before."

"I know." Morgan sighed. First, he had possibly been blown up, then he had chased down an UnSub, and finally, he had driven and ambulance containing a huge bomb. Three reasons for Reid to worry in a very short period of time.

"It's scary. And unpleasant."

"I know."

"It made me think about how you've felt during the many times I've gotten myself into some crazy situation, like with Tobias Hankel."

"Reid –"

"And it also made me think about how I feel about you. I mean, I've known for the past three years that I really like you, and during the time of our break, I figured out that I certainly want the relationship we had, but I'll live if you don't want it."

"Reid –"

"And then tonight, when you were being crazy and driving that ambulance, I found out that I don't just really like you, and yes, I'd live if you didn't want us back, but I'd probably be depressed for a while, I'd never be really, really happy, and your love life would always be a sensitive subject because I don't just like you, I love you."

"Reid, listen to me. Tonight I told Garcia that she's my God-given solace. Do you know what you are to me?"

"No."

"You're the one who could very likely make me want to settle more down. You're the only one I've ever been crazy in love with like this. And I want us back, and preferably right now."

Reid crashed his lips into Morgan's, wrapping his arms around his neck. Morgan kissed back fiercely, and wrapped his arms around Reid's back and waist. Reid sighed contently.

They were back.

I hope you liked it. Review if you want, I certainly won't mind. :)

Thanks for reading!