I know it took me longer than a day to get this up. For the next few days (today was included in this) I'm kind of busy. Graduation for a family member, father's day tomorrow, a few things to do on Mon and Tues. So I may update more like every other day. Maybe even three instead of two. I don't know. But by the end of the week I should hopefully be back into daily updates. We'll see :) Hope you guys like this! Oh, and if characters seem a little OOC, sorry :( I had a hard time writing one scene in here and I really hope it didn't come out sounding forced :P
It took everything Morgan had not to bust up laughing when Spencer waved at the two women. There were just some things that were never going to change. Spencer wasn't comfortable with touch from others on a good day; with as embarrassed as he was at the moment it would only make that worse. The image was made even funnier by the food still hanging from him. Valiantly he kept his laughter from slipping out.
Originally the two had planned on telling Morgan's family about their relationship together, over Christmas, but Morgan could see that his lover wasn't going to be up for that kind of conversation. His mortification was easy to see on his face. Morgan smiled at him, stopping himself from leaning over and kissing those flushed cheeks. "Why don't you go take a shower while I get this cleaned up? The girls and I need to talk anyways."
His suggestion had Spencer looking over at him with both gratitude and surprise. Before Spencer could say anything or form a protest, Morgan gave him a gentle smile, hoping Spencer saw the reassurance there. "Go ahead, pretty boy. I've got this."
The gratitude grew a little. Spencer tried to smile at the girls, mumbling something awkwardly as he dashed past them and down the hall. As soon as he heard the door shut, Morgan let the snickers out. He looked down at Clooney and shook his head. "You're going to get your daddy shot, you know that, right? You've got to quit running into Spencer." Still, he reached down and scratched behind Clooney's ears before putting him in the backyard and shutting the door for the moment. This wasn't the first time Clooney had run into Spencer; those two seemed destined to crash occasionally. With Clooney being a dog that didn't pay attention and Spencer spacing and moving without looking where he was going…well, it was just inevitable that they would crash on occasion.
He shot his sisters a grin while he grabbed a washcloth and knelt down to the ground. "Welcome to my house, girls." He said jokingly. "I know Spencer got me some beer and I bet there's wine in here if you want to help yourself while I clean this up."
"Oh, I want some wine, Derek." Desi said in a teasing voice. She strolled straight into the kitchen, neatly sidestepping the mess Morgan was cleaning up. "And while I have that wine, I think you've got some explaining to do."
Sarah moved in as well, slightly slower than her sister. "Yes." She said quietly. "I'd say so."
Her tone of voice had Morgan worrying a little, but he chose not to focus on it. Instead he continued to clean the mess. By the time he was done, both girls were sitting at the table with glasses of wine and there was a beer waiting for him. He smiled appreciatively at them. Before sitting, he opened the door, letting Clooney back in. The dog followed him over to the chair and laid his head in Morgan's lap when Morgan sat down.
That made Morgan laugh. He scratched behind the dog's ears. "Don't give that face to me, Clooney. It's Spencer you'll have to suck up to."
A soft snicker brought Morgan's eyes up to his sisters once more. Desiree was grinning at him over the top of her wine glass. "So." She drew out the 'o' and smirked at him. "Spencer, huh? As in, you and Spencer?"
Morgan's grin was wide and proud. He had no shame about loving the younger man. "Exactly as in me and Spencer."
"How long?"
"Officially? Oh, round about three months. Ever since the undercover assignment we did together." Chuckling to himself, Morgan took a long pull off his beer. "Spencer could probably tell you how long, down to the minute."
Laughter bubbled up from Desiree. She stared at him for a long moment, a smile curving her lips. It was enough to make Morgan want to squirm. Professional interrogators had nothing on a sister that wanted information. He managed to keep quiet and wait her out, though. Eventually she spoke up once more. "I'm happy for you, Derek. Anyone can see he makes you happy. Hell, you're practically glowing." She shrugged and took a drink off her wine again. "Plus, I'd kind of wondered for a while anyways. You do talk about him quite a bit, you know. I had a feeling there was more than just friendly feelings there. I'm glad you two finally bit the bullet and got together."
Before Morgan could say anything, his heart lifting with the warmth of his sister's answer, Sara finally spoke up. "What?" Her eyes were wide and her mouth dropped open just a little bit. Her face was the picture of shock. Looking from Desiree to Morgan, she gaped. "You knew?" She asked Desiree. "And you never told me?"
Desiree shrugged once more. "I suspected, yeah. And I didn't tell you because of this right here. I can see the bitchiness coming out already, Sara. Don't start."
Almost instantly Morgan tensed. So he wasn't the only one who'd noticed Sara's…discomfort. He'd hoped that maybe he'd read her wrong. Hell, idiot. You know you didn't. You're paid to read people's body language. It had been more of a wishful thinking on his part. He had hoped so hard that his family would be perfectly ok with everything. That they would support him no matter what was going on in his life or what choices he made. He felt his heart give a little throb. Hardening slightly, he took another pull of his beer and settled his steady gaze on Sara. "You got a problem with Spencer and I, sis?"
Sara looked back and forth between them. "Come on. This is just some big joke, right?" Her tone was slightly wheedling. She was hoping someone would tell her this was a joke. "I mean, really Derek. There's no way you're gay." Snorting, she sat back in her chair. "You didn't even do a good job on this prank. I know you're not gay and even if you were, you'd have better taste than that skinny little white boy in there."
Instantly everything in Morgan switched over to defense mode. The protective instinct he felt around Spencer was triggered and he had to work to keep himself from shouting at his sister. No matter what, this was his sister. But that didn't mean he had to tolerate her insulting Spencer. His glare sharpened and he set his beer on the table. "This aint no joke, Sara. And I don't want to hear you insult Spencer in our house. He's my partner and he's here to stay. You'll treat him with respect in this house or you'll find somewhere else to stay." On that, he would be firm.
His words had Sara's mouth dropping open. "Are you kidding me? You really expect me to believe you're dating some geek like him? Derek, he's not even you're type! Even if you are gay, you can't convince me you're with him!"
"Sara!" Desiree exclaimed. Morgan ignored her and focused on Sara. His eyes had gone hard and his one hand clenched his beer bottle tightly. "I told you to watch your mouth, Sara. You're my sister but that doesn't mean you get to come in here and act like this. I love him. You can accept that or not, that's your choice. But I won't tell you again; don't you dare sit here and insult him in our house. I won't stand for it and he doesn't need to be insulted in his own home."
"He lives here?" Disgust curled her lip. She gave one last look between her siblings before she pushed up from her chair. "There's no way in hell I'm staying here. This, this isn't you, Derek. You're not….you're not like this. And I refuse to stay here while you carry on like this. It's wrong. Can't you see that, Derek! It's wrong!"
He pushed to his feet as well. "How the hell is it wrong?" He demanded. Fury had his voice rising slightly. "I love him, Sara! And you know what? He loves me too! How the hell is something like that wrong?"
"Two men aren't meant to be together! A relationship is a man and a woman!"
"People said Mom and Dad shouldn't have been together either because they were white and black." Desiree pointed out. She'd brought herself to her feet with them and was staring over the table at her sister. She'd been afraid that Sara would react like this whenever Morgan decided to come out to them. It just broke her heart to see it happen. "Love is love, Sara. Quit being such a bitch and look at him. He loves that boy! Can't you just accept that and be happy for your brother?"
"I can't be happy that he's doing something wrong!" Sara shouted. She rounded on Morgan and glared at him. "Is this…are you like this because of…"
Morgan didn't let her finish that thought. He sliced a hand through the air and glared. His fury was overwhelming now, bringing his voice down to a deadly hiss. "Don't you dare bring Carl into this. That bastard has nothing to do with Spencer and I. If anything, he made it harder for me to admit that I cared about Spencer. He didn't make me the way I am."
"I can't stay here." Sara said with a shake of her head. "I just can't. I'm going to go get a hotel. Are you coming, Desi?"
Desiree shook her head. "I came to visit Derek. Unlike you, I don't have any problems with this. I'm happy for them, Sares. Can't you be, too?"
Instead of speaking, Sara shook her head and turned away from them. She walked over to where she'd dropped her bag in the entry way and gathered it up. Without another word she left the house, the door slamming shut behind her. Silence filled the room for a long, tense minute after she left. Finally Morgan sighed and dropped back down into his chair. "Well, that wasn't how I hoped that would go." He grumbled.
Desiree took her seat again and reached over to rest her hand on his arm. "She'll come around, Derek. She loves you. This…it's just a shock for her right now. But I'm sure she'll come around."
"I hope so." It would hurt to lose his sister over something like this. But he wasn't giving up Spencer for anything.
"I'm sure of it." Desiree stated confidently. Bringing her hand back over, she picked up her wine glass and took another sip. "At least Spencer wasn't out here to witness that." As if just realizing that he was gone, she looked around. "He's been back there a long time. You think he heard us?"
Looking at the clock, Morgan realized how long they'd been out here. Amusement quirked the corner of his mouth. "Maybe. But it wouldn't have kept him back there. He's probably on his cell talking to JJ." At Desiree's confused look, Morgan clarified, "A girl we used to work with. She's his best friend. He's probably embarrassed about how he greeted you two and he probably called her to vent and get advice. He was really nervous about meeting you guys and us coming out and I doubt he really wanted to do it with Lo Mein in his hair."
Laughter filled the dining room. Looking at his sister, Morgan decided to push the fight with Sara to the back of his mind for now. Maybe Desiree was right. Maybe she would just take some time to cool off before coming around. They were a family of hot-heads. It wouldn't be the first time any of them fought, walked away, and came back later to apologize. He hoped that was all it would take this time. I hope.
Sitting on the bed he shared with Morgan, Spencer ran a hand through his hair. "It was so embarrassing!" He hissed into the phone. On the other end, he heard musical laughter. "Quit laughing at me, JJ! I had food in my hair. Food! And Clooney was trying to eat it!"
"Oh, honey. I'm sure it'll all turn out fine." JJ tried to reassure him. Even so, she was still snickering as she said it. He found his lips quirking in a reluctant grin. "You're only saying that because you weren't the one with food all over you. I can't believe it, Jayje. There I was, sitting on the floor, covered in Lo Mein and his sisters standing there staring at me. Derek didn't even bother to hide his laughter."
"You would've laughed at him too if the positions were reversed."
His grin stretched wide this time. "That's beside the point." His joking chastisement had her laughing once more. Sighing, Spencer lay back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "How am I supposed to go out there and face them now? I won't be able to stop blushing or stuttering!"
"That's ok, Spence. That's kind of typical for you anyways. You probably would have even without this…incident. Just go and be yourself and everything will be fine. They'll love you! Come on now, what's not to love?"
No matter what was going on in his life, JJ was always there for him with a reassuring word. Though he was close with his other friends, growing closer and closer with some, she was always his best friend. With her, he was safe to let out his insecurities, the same as he could with Morgan. She wouldn't ridicule him for them or think he was silly. "I'm not exactly the typical person someone might bring home to their mother. I know that I'm not the average male. Me being male will probably be hard enough for them to accept. But, well…look at me. I'm a pretty messed up person, JJ. I come with a lot of baggage."
Her tone was almost offended on his behalf when she replied. "You're a wonderful person, Spencer Reid. Sometimes it drives me crazy to hear you talk like that. Morgan loves you, baggage and all. Isn't that what matters here?"
"Well, yeah. But the opinion of his family members is extremely important as well. Derek is very close with his family and so naturally it will affect him greatly if anyone has adverse reactions to our relationship. No matter what happens in his life, Derek always strives to make his mother proud. To live up to a preconceived image he has for himself. I just, I don't want him to, I don't know." Frustrated, he ran his free hand through his hair.
Like always, his friend knew him well. "You don't want them to have a negative reaction and cause Morgan to rethink being with you." She summed up his thoughts perfectly. This time, it was her turn to sigh. "Spence, do you really think that one of them having a bad reaction is going to change how Morgan feels about you? That it's going to chase him away from you?"
"I don't know." He mumbled. A second later he sighed again. "No. No, it wouldn't." Those words gave him a little more strength; a little more courage. "I know it wouldn't. He won't let anyone break us apart. If everything with Michael didn't send him running, I doubt this will. But I don't want to be the cause of tension between him and his family. It would upset him and it would hurt him, JJ."
"And if it does, you'll be there for him, Spence. But remember that he's made his decision to be with you and nothing will change that. If there's a problem, all you can do is be there for him and support him. You can't take it on yourself and try to shoulder it. As his partner, you need to be there for him, but you need to respect him enough to let him deal with it the way he wants to. Just be there."
"Meaning quit hiding in the bedroom?" He joked, catching on to the subtle hint she was giving him. When she just laughed, he couldn't resist chuckling as well. "Ok, ok. I get it, Jayje. I'll quit hiding and go out there. Thanks for listening, though."
He could practically hear her smile over the phone. "Anytime, Spence. You know that. Now, go out there and face the music. Call me tomorrow and let me know how it went!"
"I can do that." Then, because it had always been felt with this woman who had become like he imagined a sister would be, he mumbled "Love you, JJ." Though he could say it, he still occasionally got flustered. It was becoming easier and easier for him, though.
"Love you too, Spence. Talk to you tomorrow!"
When he hung up his phone, Spencer took a moment to stare up at the ceiling. JJ was right. He could do this. Maybe he'd blush and maybe he'd stutter—ok he knew he'd blush and he knew he'd stutter—but that didn't mean he needed to hide back here. So Spencer gathered as much courage as he could and pushed up off the bed. With one last deep breath, he headed out to the living room to find the love of his life.
AN-I know, I know. Mean ol Sara. But honestly…every story I read about taking Spencer to meet the parents (it never happens here, either. Always they go to Chicago!) his family is always perfect. I've seen stories where the team has a hard time with them being gay, or friends, or a million other people, but never Morgan's family! I have nothing against them, but I felt that it should at least be a little bit of an issue with one of them. Who knows where it'll go? Guess we'll have to see. :) That's not even the meaty part of the story, either. In a few more chapters, you'll see how I make this Christmas vacation a little different. Hope you liked this!