Oh my goodness, another chapter. WHOO


A Difficult Question

DMSR

"It's nine," Spencer stated, squeezing the arms that were wrapped around him. They were lying in bed, spooning, and though it was a little uncomfortable with a large arm underneath him, Spencer was happy.

"I know," Derek replied glumly. "Could you pack my things for me?"

"Uh huh," Spencer agreed easily.

Derek squinted his eyes. "Really?" The head of hair he was resting on nodded slowly. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Mmhmm," Spencer answered, savoring the breaths on the back of his neck. "You should go down stairs first."

Derek groaned into the brunette's neck. "I know," he said again. "Are you going to come down later?"

Spencer sighed as he played with Derek's left hand which was holding his right shoulder with a death grip. "I will. I'll give you two time to talk and then I'll come down when I'm finished packing our things."

Derek's death grip loosened and he exhaled heavily. "This is going to be my demise."

Spencer shook his head and unwrapped Derek's arms so he could turn over. He stared into the dark brown, scared eyes in front of him. His hand slid up Derek's side and rested on his cheek, the other doing the same but resting on his chest. "She understands that you're happy and she sees that we like each other. It's just a matter of making her understand that this was coincidental and that… that the incident from your childhood has absolutely no play in our relationship."

Derek's eyes constricted in reference to 'the incident'. He closed them and nodded, trying not to let his eyes water. A soft kiss was laid on his nose and he smiled, a bit of the pain he was feeling ebbing away. "You're right," he said hoarsely.

"I know," Spencer said lightly. "Come, Derek, wake up."

DMSR

Fran felt a soft, familiar touch on her shoulder. Ever since Derek was young he'd curl his fingers around his mother's shoulder to apologize to her. She smiled and turned around, dropping the dishtowel in her hand and engulfing her son in a hug.

"Morning, momma," he greeted, returning the embrace.

"Morning, honey," she wiggled out happily.

"About last night, momma, do you think you're okay to talk about it now?" He pulled away from her gently, backing up a few steps to look her in the eyes.

She nodded serenely and picked up the dishtowel, placing it over the dish rack. "Sit down. We can talk over breakfast."

Derek followed directions and waited patiently for his mother to sit a plate in front of him. Silence ensued, the clinking of forks and glasses.

He couldn't take it anymore. "Did you and Sarah make up last night?" He questioned innocently.

"No," was the simple reply. His mother smiled as he looked up at her startled. "It's going to take longer than twenty minutes, Derek. She's coming by tonight so we can have a peaceful dinner."

Derek nodded solemnly. Time to get to the real deal. "What exactly do we need to talk about?"

Fran looked up from her eggs with a sad smile. "I don't think we need to talk hon, but I'm listening."

"We don't need to talk?" Derek stopped eating, setting his fork down. "Momma," he started softly. "It has nothing to do with… Carl Buford." He almost choked on the name, his throat closing at each syllable.

She nodded quickly, shaking her hands. "I know, sweetums, I know. I'm so sorry for saying that last night. I was just frazzled, I swear."

Derek shook his head. "It's okay. I just want you to know that this… it just happened. There was no prelude or courting or… it just happened."

Fran smiled widely, laying her hand over her son's. "I believe you, baby. I'm sorry about that." She squeezed his hand. "All that really matters to me is your happiness." It was silent as Derek let his hand be squeezed by his mother, watching the contrast of their skin. "Can I be honest?"

Derek's head jerked up, unsure of what she was going to say.

"It's just… I think the reason you didn't come around often was because you were afraid I'd always associate you and 'the incident' together." He opened his mouth to deny. "But you were right. I did," she admitted guiltily. "And I always felt that you were suffering." She mouthed words, trying to get her thoughts straight. "When I saw you this time, it was different. Only now do I see why."

He raised a questioning eyebrow at her.

"I thought it was because you had a friend with you, that you were comfortable with Spencer and not with me, but now, I'm pretty sure it's because you love him."

Derek coughed and gurgled, his mother rushing to his side to pat his back. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, momma," he said quickly, clearing his throat. "Uh, a little soon, don't you think?"

She laughed at him and shook her head. "I always thought that he was your best friend because you always talked about him when we spoke. It was him and Penelope all the time. During every single conversation, even from before Ca- uhm, it's just, I realize you spoke about him a lot."

"Well, yeah," Derek said quickly. "He used to annoy the hell out of me and he was fun to tease," he covered.

Fran giggled. "You sound like a fifth grader teasing his crush," she laughed out.

Derek's face pulled into a long 'O' and his eyes widened. "Momma, no. Seriously, I can't deal with this right now, don't put that on my plate."

She laughed at him some more, rubbing his back gently. "Okay," she acquiesced. "I'm sorry. I won't say anything more. You guys like each other and I'm accepting that." She sobered a little, her voice lulling instead of teasing. "I'm actually very happy for you."

Derek smiled to himself, stopping his mother's hands and grabbing them in his. "I love you, momma."

"I love you too, baby."

Ten minutes later, a fully clothed Dr. Spencer Reid came down the stairs. The white shirt was freshly ironed and his slacks were crisp with starch. A simple dark blue tie pulled the outfit together and he smiled warmly at Fran and Derek.

"Good morning, Ms. Fran," he greeted, hoping that the smile on her face was an indication of a good talk.

"Morning, Spencer," she replied just as sweetly, and he breathed out in relief.

"Hey, kid," Derek greeted with a wave, obviously trying to avoid the greeting he really wanted to give. Fran noticed and blushed, turning around and busying herself with dishing up for Spencer. The older man shrugged and though Spencer shook his head vehemently, he was met with a short and sweet kiss on the lips that made him lean forward for just one more.

By the time Fran turned with a full plate in her hand, the two men were seated at the table, Spencer waiting patiently and Derek smiling to himself while he fiddled with his phone.

With the three of them at the table, though it was awkward, they managed to talk after a few minutes and the next thing Spencer knew he was in the kitchen washing dishes with his boyfriend's mom while said boyfriend was on the phone with their boss.

"I'm sorry I reacted so fiercely last night," Ms. Fran said quietly, as if unsure if it was okay to talk to Spencer alone.

He shook his head as she handed him utensils. "It wasn't 'fiercely' at all. I completely understood where you were coming from and no one can hold it against you, Ms. Fran." He placed the rinsed off forks in the dish rack. "He's your son. Worrying about him is your given right."

She giggled and nodded in agreement. "Though sometimes he worries me a little too much."

An hour later found Desiree walking down the stairs in her pajamas, her hair all pushed to one side and a lopsided grin on her face. She saw that the three of them were talking easily and couldn't help but jump into the conversation straight away. When midday rolled around, the two men reluctantly stood and notified that they had to leave. The trip was anywhere between ten and twelve hours and they had to report to work in the morning.

Fran and Desiree helped them take their things to the car, Fran pulling out a care package complete with carrots, celery, sandwiches, juice boxes and gummy worms. "So you don't have to eat too much junk on the road," she told them.

With a giant kiss for each and a "See you two in December", the boys jumped in the car and took to the highway.

"I'll only drive the first leg this time. I'm not driving for eight hours straight again," Derek said at Spencer, his eyes focused on the snowy road ahead of him.

"I really, really hate driving in the snow, Derek." The brunette's voice took on a striking resemblance to a whining two year old.

"I know. So do I." His tone was final and Spencer slumped back in his seat.

"You know, Derek, I'm not one to express clearly how I feel about something but seeing as how we're intimate in a completely new way, I think I'm going to act downright spoiled when we're alone." The petulance actually made Derek want to cuddle the doctor next to him but he kept his face straight.

"Don't expect me to accommodate your selfish requests," the older man sighed reasonably.

"I fully intend for you to." He folded his arms and turned his head towards Derek. "I'm not ruled by my libido as much as you are. I've endured months without any kind of sexual contact." He smirked at the dawning realization on Derek's face. "Could you do the same?"

The darker man took a second to glare at his coworker and then switched back to the road. The snow was actually falling now, making small splashes on the windshield and making it harder to see. "What are you playing at, brat?"

Spencer's eye twitched at the word and he huffed. "I'm sure you can understand what 'withholding' means."

"And all this just because you don't want to drive in the fuckin' snow?" The words were said with no malice, in fact, Derek sounded absolutely entertained.

"Precisely," the brunette retorted.

Derek nodded his head slowly, his lips pulled back into a grin. "Alright. That's cool. You do you and I'll do me."

Spencer's act seemed to falter and he went from staring at Derek to watching the cars pass out of his window. "What does that mean?"

Derek smirked and adjusted the heat in the car. "Exactly what I said. I've handled myself before and you can handle yourself. We've both got hands, I'm fine with using mine."

Spencer blushed deeply and unfolded his arms. There was silence in the car and Derek thought he'd won when-

"I'd much rather have your hands on me than mine."

It was quiet. So quiet in fact that if Derek had been listening to the radio instead of trying to concentrate on the road, he wouldn't have heard it. His tongue darted out to lick his lips cautiously and his lip twitched as he watched Spencer out of the corner of his eye.

"Yeah?"

Spencer nodded, his cheeks ruddy and his fingers twiddling on either side of him nervously. It was quiet now, maybe for another twenty minutes, before Derek spoke again.

"Hey, baby?"

Spencer jerked at the words and quickly turned his head to his new mate. "Mmhmm?"

Derek looked at the clock and clicked his teeth. It was only two in the afternoon and they had about nine hours to go. "Say we have this weekend off," he paused as he changed lanes. "Would you want to stay in or go out?"

Spencer rolled the options around in his head. He'd love to stay in, God would he love to, but he wasn't sure just how far Derek would want to take it. Then again, if he didn't say anything now, that battle inside his head could go on for months and who knew if either one of them could last that long. He bit his lip and pulled it into his mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully and tracing patterns on his knee with his hand.

"That's a difficult question to answer," he decided.

"Oh?"

Spencer smiled at the hint of delight in Derek's voice. "Yes." He opened the glove box absentmindedly and idly wondered how much the rental would cost Derek. Yikes he thought to himself as the price emerged in his genius brain. "On one hand, we could go out and eat and talk and actually do something and enjoy ourselves. On the other hand, we could stay in and enjoy ourselves."

"Mmmm," Derek grunted, apparently liking that idea.

"Then I guess going out it is," Spencer grinned at the slight look of disappointment on Derek's confused face.

"Why?" He blatantly asked as he tapped the wheel trying to figure out where Spencer was going with his roundabout answer.

"You see," Spencer glanced at Derek from the corner of his eye mischievously. "There's this thing that's been bothering me since we started going out…"

Derek rolled his eyes. "Already?"

Spencer laughed at that and shook his head. "Nothing bad. Just the fact that you don't seem to believe me when I tell you that I'm extremely sexually active."

Derek narrowed his eyes and cut towards Spencer for a long moment.

"Derek, the road!" Spencer pushed the bald head back towards the road and sighed in relief when the man stayed.

"Meaning?" His voice was deep and full of incredulity which only spurred Spencer on more.

"Meaning this weekend I'm taking you out instead of you taking me out. I'll decided when and where and you'll comply with no questions asked. In return!" He raised his voice at the end when Derek started to protest. "You'll get something I know you'll enjoy fantastically. But only if you agree will I tell you."

The darker man seemed to start at that, his mind racing to what it could actually be. What had he said about places he had to go to get chicks? Gay bars and raves and whatnot. Derek could handle a weekend at one of those places, no big deal. Why the hell not? Spencer was going to give him something he'd like and that couldn't be at all bad. Of course he'd made his decision but he only said "I'll think about it," to Spencer before he turned the radio on.


SO I kind of feel like I'm on a roll, no kidding, chapter ten is pretty much done :D