Morgan and Reid got ready for bed. Morgan was a little amused by the fact that Reid went into the bathroom to change, but he understood; if you've been told your entire life that you are too skinny and not at all attractive, you are not quick to let anybody else see your body, let alone someone you are interested in.
When Reid came out wearing a pair of flannel pajama bottoms and a t-shirt 3 sizes too big, Morgan's breath caught. He knew Reid was beautiful and he knew he was attracted to him, that much was obvious, but he hadn't calculated the immediate visceral jolt to his whole body at seeing him like that.
He went into the bathroom before he did something stupid, like tell Reid that he didn't think they should wait. He knew he wasn't ready to be intimate with a man yet, even if it was Reid. He had to get used to the idea that he was even attracted to a man first.
He brushed his teeth and came back out and went to bed. Reid was already lying on his side, facing Morgan's bed. That pleased him; it showed that Reid wasn't embarrassed and wasn't trying to hide from him.
Morgan settled on his bed facing Reid and smiled at him.
"I'll drive home with Hotch tomorrow."
Reid nodded.
"That's good; he shouldn't have just anybody drive him home."
"Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to come over later; I'd come to you, but I want you to meet my dog."
He blushed a little at that admission, but Reid just gave him a shy smile.
"Let's hope he's immune to the Reid effect, then."
Morgan grinned.
"He'll learn; we'll just ease your way into the house, maybe armed with some treats to bribe him with."
Reid chuckled at that, hoping that Clooney would take the bribe and leave him alone. He didn't dislike dogs; he was just a little scared of them and they could sense it in him. He gave Morgan a shy smile and told him goodnight before turning out the light.
The next morning, Morgan woke up like he had fallen asleep, on his side facing Reid. He smiled when he remembered what had happened the night before; he had kissed Reid. It really amazed him that he had repressed those feelings all those years; he knew what that could do to a person.
He also knew that he hadn't done it on purpose; he had honestly forgotten all about ever feeling attracted to someone of the same gender. The fact that he had always been strangely drawn to Reid hadn't really registered as anything other than friendship, maybe feeling like he was a younger brother who needed protection.
All those feelings were a memory now; he knew for a fact that he was attracted to Reid and the feelings he had for the younger man, even if friendship was part of it, were much deeper than that, and there were absolutely no brotherly feelings there.
Reid woke up and was a little confused at first. He had no idea why he had this feeling of peace and excitement at the same time. Then, he opened his eyes and they lighted on Morgan looking at him from the other bed and he knew. Morgan had kissed him and then he had kissed Morgan.
He smiled and the other man smiled back brightly.
"Good morning, Pretty Boy. How did you sleep?"
"I slept fine. How about yourself?"
"I don't think I've slept that good in years."
Reid smiled brightly at him and got out of the bed to get ready for the day. Morgan decided to do the same since he had a five hour drive back to Virginia ahead of him.
They both showered, separately, and got ready for the day. They felt a little awkward, both wanting more contact, both afraid to make the first move. Surprisingly, it was Reid who finally got up the courage when he stopped Morgan before he opened the door to their room.
"Derek, could…could you kiss me again?"
Reid blushed scarlet and Morgan felt like an idiot for making him ask. He reached up and cupped Reid's cheek and lifted his face and looked him in the eyes.
"I'm sorry, Spencer, this is new to me and I didn't think about the fact that it's new to you, too."
With that, he leaned in and gently kissed the younger man. Reid's breath hitched when Morgan called him Spencer; he had never done that before; and then, he kissed him back with passion.
They pulled apart and stood facing each other, trying to get their breathing under control, as well as certain errant body parts. When they were both ready, Morgan opened the door and they stepped out into the hallway. They went down in the elevator together and Reid went with the rest of the team to the airport to take the jet home and Morgan went to the field office to drive Hotch home.
He was smiling and feeling better than he had in a long time, better than he'd ever felt after a tough case, and a lot of that was because of the fact that Reid had called him Derek. He loved the sound of his name on Reid's lips.
It wasn't the only reason; of course, he liked what he and Reid had started. He'd never felt like this before; never felt that something was this right.
His good mood quickly disappeared after his conversation with Hotch about trust. He brooded about the subject all the way back to Virginia. He drove to Quantico, said goodbye to Hotch, got in his car and called Reid.
"Hey, Pretty Boy. I'm at Quantico; would you like to come over in about an hour? We can maybe order some takeout and watch a movie. You can even pack a bag and stay the weekend; we're not due at the office until Monday."
"The weekend? You want to spend the weekend with me?"
Reid was incredulous; he had never had anybody interested in spending that long with him. Then, something occurred to him.
"Where am I going to sleep?"
"Well, my bed's big enough for two, but if you'd feel more comfortable, I do have a guest bedroom."
Reid took a sharp breath when Morgan told him his bed was big enough for two, but then he heard the other part and realized that he actually liked the idea of lying next to Morgan all night, maybe even curling up against him.
"Ok, I'll pack a bag. Should I bring something else, food or a movie?"
"We'll just have something delivered, Pretty Boy, don't worry about it, and I have plenty of movies or we can find one on cable."
"Ok, I'll see you in an hour."
Reid hung up and Morgan grinned, most of his good mood restored after talking to Reid. Morgan drove home and was greeted by a very enthusiastic Clooney. He took the dog to the backyard and ran around with him for a little while before going back inside to take all his laundry out of his go-bag and repacking it. It had to be ready at all times; there was not time to pack when they were going on a case.
He filled his washer and then went around opening some windows to air out the place; it was a little stuffed after having been closed up for some days. He then took some of Clooney's snacks and left them on the porch before letting his dog in.
Reid was nervous; he didn't know what to expect and he didn't like situations where he didn't know what to expect. It was different when they were on a case; he almost always knew, and if he didn't, it was because something happened unexpectedly, and then he didn't have time to be nervous.
He didn't know what to expect from his meeting with Clooney and he didn't know what to expect from the evening with Morgan, what would happen when they were going to bed, or what they would do all day tomorrow.
He wasn't sure if he liked this feeling or not; on one hand, he was nervous, but on the other hand, he was excited. He was actually looking forward to spending all that time with Morgan; they had never done that before, not alone, at least. The thought of getting into a bed with Morgan did unfamiliar but very pleasant things to his body and he was looking forward to that.
He knocked on the door precisely an hour after Morgan had called him. Morgan opened the door and slipped out before Clooney even registered who was outside the door.
"Hey, Pretty Boy."
He greeted the younger man and gave him a little kiss. Reid was taken aback; he hadn't expected that kind of PDA; they were standing on Morgan's porch in full view of his neighbors, after all. He smiled brightly when they separated and gave Morgan's arm a little squeeze.
"Hi. Did the drive go ok?"
Morgan's smile faltered and Reid sobered a little.
"Did something happen?"
"We'll talk about that later; right now, you get to meet Clooney."
He smiled again and Reid couldn't help but smile back. Morgan took the treats he had left on the porch and gave them to Reid.
"Just hold these out to him and you'll be ok. Clooney is a good boy."
"Ok, I'll try, but please don't expect miracles."
Morgan laughed and gave Reid another little kiss before he opened the door and let Clooney come outside while he held on to his collar.
Reid held out the treat on his flat hand and Clooney sniffed at it, encouraged by Morgan. After a little while, he took the treat and ate it. He put his nose to Reid's palm, and when he found it empty, he looked at the man, who hurried up and laid another treat in his hand. Clooney took that one faster and then just turned around and went back inside.
Reid looked at Morgan with the most adorable stunned expression; at least, Morgan thought he looked adorable.
"I knew you would never let anything happen to me and that made me less scared; I guess Clooney could smell that, or at least he couldn't smell as much fear on me as he would have if you hadn't been here."
Morgan was taken aback by that declaration, but then he processed what Reid had actually said and a bright smile broke out.
"You trust me that much?"
"Of course I do. I know that you would never let him hurt me."
"I trust you, too, Spencer, you know that right?"
Morgan looked completely serious and Reid figured this was important to him for some reason.
"Of course I know that; we couldn't do our job if we didn't trust each other."
Morgan smiled and led Reid inside. He went to the living room and sat on the couch, pulling Reid down with him. He told him about his conversation with Hotch and how he didn't think it was completely fair. He did trust his teammates.
"I know you do, Derek. I don't think it's about trust; I think you have gotten so accustomed to protecting everybody that you don't even think about it anymore; you just act if somebody you care about is in danger. You have had to be the 'man of the house' after your father died; I can relate to that." He gave a self-conscious little shrug. "You protected your mother and your sisters from the knowledge about what Carl was doing and that instinct is so ingrained in you I don't even think it's conscious anymore."
Morgan stared at him for a long time before he slowly nodded his head.
"That might actually be true, Spencer; I think you have a point. That still doesn't change the fact that Hotch thinks I don't trust him to have my back."
"I know it doesn't, and I don't think there is anything you can say to change his mind; you just have to show him that you do trust him."
Morgan nodded again and then he shook his head as if to clear it of all the unpleasant thoughts.
"Are you hungry, Pretty Boy?"
Reid looked surprised at the change of topic, but he understood Morgan's need to process a little before he talked about it anymore.
"Sure, what are we having?"
"That's up to you; what are you in the mood for?"
"Something that doesn't require chopsticks."
He smiled crookedly and Morgan laughed. He got up off the couch to go get the take-out menus he had in a drawer in the kitchen.
They ordered pizza and then went to the shelf to find a movie they both wanted to watch. After dinner was done and the movie was over, they sat together on the couch just talking until Reid yawned and then blushed.
"Don't worry about it, Spencer, I'm tired, too." He looked apprehensive for a moment and then he got up the courage. "Have you decided where you want to sleep?"
Reid's blush became a little deeper and he looked down in his lap.
"I think I'd like to sleep next to you, if that's ok?"
Morgan reached out his hand to lift up Reid's head to look him in the eyes.
"It's more than ok, Spencer. I would really like that, too."
Morgan gave him an unsure little smile and Reid smiled back. They got up to get ready, Morgan going to the bathroom to brush his teeth and Reid to the bedroom to change into his sleep clothes; they traded when they were done. When Reid came out from the bathroom, Morgan was already in bed.
He couldn't help but look at the sculptured chest; Morgan hadn't put on a shirt and he was sitting on top of the covers with his back resting against the headboard. It wasn't that Reid had never seen Morgan with his shirt off, he had, but this was different, this was in a different setting.
Reid sat next to him nervously, and when Morgan put his hand over Reid's, he almost jumped.
"Spencer, relax, nothing is going to happen that we don't agree on. Let's just lie down and let me hold you."
Morgan gave him a reassuring smile and lay down; Reid joined him and put his head on his shoulder. Morgan wound his arms around the slender body and squeezed him tightly. They fell asleep like that and both of them slept without nightmares.