Love strawberry, too
Morgan hated strawberry-flavoured Jello.
It was too sweet, for starters, and it reminded him of childrens's cough syrup. Actually, it tasted more like cheap bubble gum than like strawberries, and Morgan really didn't like that.
Also, it was pink. Which, according to Morgan, was a perfectly legitimate reason for disliking it.
---
Strawberry was one of Spencer's top favourite flavours, instead. It was the one he preferred when he huddled up on the couch with a book, still shaky from a bad case, or simply after a bad day. It was his special favourite when he was scared, and when he wished to indulge himself a little.
It was the one he used to get when he was a child, and he had to go grocery shopping because his mom would not get out of bed – his mom would never have allowed him to have Jello, had she been in her right mind. Spencer would sit at the kitchen table, two cushions piled on top of the chair because he was not quite tall enough yet, and slowly eat his Jello – pondering between spoonfuls what he could try to say to mum to make her get up and if, maybe, she would recognize him tomorrow.
---
Reid in tears, exhausted and sick of everything – too tired to keep up the deceitful smile he'd been sporting all evening – was a sight which made Morgan's knees go weak. He'd sat with him, on the sofa in Reid's messy living room, and had held him, careful – and it had felt so right it had made Morgan's heart sort of ache. Reid had tried to smile, his eyes luminous and his lashes wet, and Morgan had just been able to stare, half enchanted and half stupid –
Their first kiss had been strawberry-Jello flavoured. Morgan had kissed the taste on Spencer's lips that night, and later time and time again – he'd come to associate it with Reid's comfort, and now it did something to ease Morgan's own silent wounds, too, when need be.
Not that Morgan would ever admit it – it was still pink, after all. So, when Reid opened the fridge and found some of his Jello stash missing, he would never mention it – but he would go and nestle against Morgan on the couch or in bed, and talk or listen or simply touch him, rubbing slow circles on his back and arms, caressing his face as they kissed and kissed.
---
"Why won't you buy the strawberry one? I know you like it," had asked Spencer, resting his chin on one hand, a playful smile on his lips.
"It's pink," Morgan had said, disdainful. Reid had smiled, shaking his head.
"That doesn't stop you from stealing mine," he'd said, and he'd sniffed in mock offence.
"I never do that," Morgan had replied, promptly reaching with his spoon towards Reid's cup. Reid had laughed and swatted at his hand, but had let him have some of his strawberry Jello anyway.
---
"No more 'buts'. I'll personally go get you some sandwiches and you damn well eat every single one of them. Are we clear?"
"Yes, mama. Promise I'll try," Morgan said, and couldn't help a smile as Garcia glared at him with her arms crossed over her breast, looking every bit like his mother.
"That's how I like you, sweetpie. Is there anything else you want? How about some Jello?" she added, lighting up. She'd been trying to get Morgan to eat since she'd arrived at the hospital, but he'd conceded to having something only after that nice doctor had come to tell them that the cure was working, and that Reid would indeed be alright. "Which one do you prefer?"
Morgan's stomach still felt sore and stiff, after he'd been so upset the mere idea of food was almost enough to make him sick. And he hated strawberry – he did. It was pink and tasted like plastic and he really, really hated it, and he would maintain that in front of everyone. And yet – yet it tasted like Reid's lips, too – like soothing, unspoken words. "I'd like a strawberry one," he said, soft and quiet as a whisper. "Please."
Garcia just smiled at him, and lay her hand on his arm. "Strawberry it is. You sure deserve something sweet now, my dove." She leaned down to kiss his forehead. "I'll go get food. You try and rest a little – you want to be bright and strong when our baby wakes up."
---
"Hey, baby boy," murmured Morgan, as he let his hand ghost over Reid's skin, reveling in his warmth, in the soft, regular pulse on the inside of his wrist. "Never. Ever. Do that again. Just – don't."
A tired Reid looked up at him, affectionate, and did not promise what none of them could offer. "If I say sorry – then, can I have some Jello?" he asked, just a little out of breath.
"Deal," replied Morgan, smiling.
Reid stared into Morgan's eyes and remained silent for one long moment. "I'm sorry," he whispered then, and his voice echoed for an instant the haunted guilt those words had carried hours before, spoken from behind a glass pane which was as thick as regret, as the weight of lost chances. "I'm sorry, Derek."
"It's alright, kid," Morgan's fingers traced slow circles on Reid's hand – he leaned in to kiss Reid's lips and he closed his eyes, so Reid would not see them glisten as Morgan fought back the remains of his fear, and tried to tame the overwhelming warm, grateful feeling that made him want to cry.
He let his mouth graze Reid's, soft and warm, in chaste, small kisses which made his heart flutter. He blinked as he sat back, and grinned when he saw Reid's brow furrow as he tentatively licked his lips, tasting the flavour he'd stolen from Morgan's mouth.
"Strawberry", said Reid, and smiled, his eyes half-closed. "I thought you hated it."
"Sometimes I do," replied Morgan, his voice catching in his throat. "And sometimes , you know – I love it. The strawberry. Like now. So much, I – I love – strawberry," he babbled, feeling rather foolish, not even sure if Reid would understand – hell, not even sure if he understood himself.
"Yeah," replied Reid, barely more than a whisper, offering Morgan a small, luminous smile. He was a genius, after all. "I love strawberry, too."