Spencer

The two of them sat in the kitchen at Derek's house, Derek's math textbook in front of them.

Spencer tapped his pencil against the book, looking up at Derek. "Okay, so your homework is numbers 1 through 20. We've gone over the formulas for the last half hour. Do you think you could manage getting the problems done without help?"

Derek shrugged, eyeing the problems. "Possibly, or…"

"Or what?" Spencer asked, eyebrow raised.

"We could set up a system," Derek suggested. "For every right answer I get, I earn a kiss."

Spencer rolled his eyes, shoving his notebook at him. "That's not happening. I don't do bribery."

"Why not?"

"I don't believe it's a valid way to get someone to do something, because then, they're only doing it for the incentive, and not because they should."

"Uh huh, have you ever used bribery?"

"No?"

"Then how do you know it's not valid if you haven't tried it yourself?"

Spencer smiled, blushing. "Fine, for every five problems done correctly, you get one kiss. Does that seem fair?"

Derek nodded, clicking his mechanical pencil and turning to a new page in his notebook. "It sounds more than fair."

Spencer leaned back in his seat, watching as Derek worked on his math homework. The last few months had been, for lack of a better word, perfect. The bullying at school had stopped completely ever since Derek's declaration at the pep rally. He was no longer the laughing stock of the school and, instead, people wanted to be around him. He knew popularity was a ridiculous concept that only made others feel excluded, but something about being the boyfriend of the best athlete in school felt good. As a result, Derek talked him into going to several of his hockey games. JJ had joined him for a few, teaching him about the details of hockey and letting him know the appropriate times to cheer. He'd still had lunch with Emily, JJ, and Will everyday, and over time, Derek, Penelope, and two of Derek's friends had joined them. He'd never really been part of a big group of friends, but now that he was, it felt right.

Derek looked up from his notebook, handing it to Spencer. "Problems 1-5, done. Pucker up."

Spencer shook his head. "Not so fast." He picked up a pencil, sharpening it, before looking at Derek's answers. He hummed to himself, going over every last detail painstakingly slow.

When he finally set the notebook down, Derek looked up at him. "Well?"

Spencer leaned in, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Fifteen more to go."

Derek gasped. "All of that work for a cheek? Come on."

Spencer shrugged. "You didn't make any conditions, that's your fault, not mine."

Derek clicked his tongue before looking up at him. "Fine, all 20 gets me a real kiss. Fair?"

Spencer thought it over before nodding. "Fair." He handed the notebook back to him. "I'll be waiting."

While he was working, Derek glanced up at Spencer. "You gotten any college letters yet?"

Spencer nodded slightly. "A few. I'm staying local for a few years, just to be sure Mom's doing well, before I take the offers from MIT or Caltech or anywhere else. Her doctors told me she's doing fine, but I just want to know for sure before I leave, you know?"

"Mhm. Besides, that means you're mine for at least a few more years… if colleges ever decide to get back to me."

"I'm sure they will," Spencer assured him. "I mean, you're a star hockey player. Who's not going to want to scoop that up?"

"Homophobes," Derek put plainly, finishing his problem and starting the next one.

"Their loss," Spencer told him, tapping his notebook with his finger. "Now come on, you're ten away from a kiss."

"You know, most guys don't have to work for a kiss from their boyfriends."

Spencer put up his hands. "You made the conditions, not me."

Derek

Luckily, after the pep rally, he was still treated like the same old Derek. The fact that the student body openly accepted something that he felt a need to hide for years was a huge relief. He enjoyed being able to spend time with Spencer and get to know him better than he already had. They'd talked nearly every day, and if Derek didn't have practice or a game, they'd do something together, whether it was Spencer helping him with his homework or Derek taking him out to dinner. At first, Derek could tell all of the attention made Spencer nervous, but after talking to him, he assured him that it was a good thing.

When the athletes who had hurt Spencer came back to the team, Derek had them apologize to him personally, and told them if they had any issues, they could go through Derek. Unsurprisingly, there were no problems on their part. They'd eaten lunch separately for several weeks, until one day, Derek moved everyone his table to the other side of Spencer's, introducing everyone. Derek was definitely a fan of PDA at school, while Spencer was extremely shy about it, so whenever Derek would steal a kiss, Spencer would blush and swat a hand at him with a smile on his face.

Applying to colleges hadn't been easy for him, considering he wasn't the best student. Luckily, Penelope had kept her promise, and Spencer joined in on it, helping him with his essays. Penelope had been in charge of sending out the applications for him, so it was just a waiting game for the first acceptance or rejection letter to come in.

He finished his homework problems, handing Spencer his notebook and sighing. "How'd I do?"

Spencer put up a finger, looking through the problems and clicking his tongue, his pencil hovering over the page.

"You're the devil," Derek muttered.

Spencer laughed softly. "Not quite." He scanned the rest of his problems and raised his eyebrows, setting down the notebook and taking off his glasses, rubbing his eyes.

"That bad, huh?"

He shook his head. "No, just thinking about the fact that I actually bribed you to get this done and it's done correctly."

"So how do you feel about bribery now?"

"I still abhor it," Spencer said, putting his glasses back on.

Derek smirked. "No, you don't."

Spencer leaned in, resting a hand on Derek's cheek and kissing his lips. Derek smiled to himself, pulling Spencer's chair closer to his and laughing softly when Spencer yelped.

His younger sister walked in, hitting the stack of mail against the table. "Good afternoon, big brother."

He pulled back and watched as Spencer blushed, clearing his throat and looking at the textbook.

"To what do I owe the displeasure?" he asked, eyeing her.

She held up the mail. "A few things for you from some colleges. Why they'd want you is beyond me."

He reached out, taking it. "You can go now."

"I don't know, I think you two should have supervision."

"Don't make me get mom in here."

She put her hands up. "Spencer, I wish Mom could adopt you and give him up. At least the manners your mother taught you stuck."

Derek shooed her away and waited until she left the room before eyeing the envelopes in front of him.

"Do you want me to go?" Spencer asked, motioning toward them.

He shook his head, picking up the first and sighing, tearing it open and holding it out to Spencer. "Rejection will hurt less coming from you."

Spencer took it. "And what makes you think it's a rejection?"

"What school is going to want to be the progressive one and have a gay star athlete?"

"Opening someone else's mail isn't exactly right, even if I have permission-"

"Please, Spencer?"

Spencer sighed, reading it, before tearing open the other envelopes, reading those as well.

"Let me guess. 'Dear Derek Morgan - nice try, but no way you'll get in here'."

Spencer smiled, shaking his head. "Three acceptance letters with scholarship offers, actually."

Derek glanced up at him. "You're serious?"

He handed the letters to Derek. "See for yourself."

Derek took them, reading through them and raising his eyebrows, smiling. "I'm going to college."

"On someone else's dime," Spencer added.

He took the phone out of his pocket, calling Penelope. While it was ringing, he put his hand over it. "MOM, get in here!"

She walked in. "Derek, what are you yelling about?"

He held up the letters to her, putting the phone on speaker.

"Hey, Chocolate Thunder. I thought you had a study date today."

"I do, just wait one second."

"What am I waiting for?"

His mother gasped, squealing and running over, hugging him. "You did it, I knew you could!"

"What's wrong? What happened? Spencer, fill a girl in!"

He smiled. "Derek got into the three schools he applied to with scholarships."

Penelope clapped her hands together, squealing. "We did it!"

Spencer picked up one of the letters. "What's this mention of a video message they received with his application?"

"Oh, that? Just a video of his coming out speech from the pep rally."

Derek pulled back from his mother's hug. "My what?"

"What? They're always looking for passionate students, and that speech was Oscar-worthy. You're welcome."

Derek stared at the phone, at a loss for words, so Spencer picked it up. "I think the words the speechless one is looking for are 'thank you'."

She laughed. "You are ever so welcome. Now, if I'm not mistaken, a certain genius friend of mine was also accepted to those three schools with scholarship offers?"

Spencer shook his head. "Penelope Garcia, you are a sneaky little genius."

"And you are ever so welcome. I love making my boys happy. You two, enjoy, celebrate, stay virginal, and I'll see you tomorrow."

Spencer eyed Derek, blushing, before hanging up.

Fran opened the fridge. "Spencer, are you staying for dinner? We're celebrating with Derek's favorite."

He nodded slightly, turning to Derek. "Okay with you?"

Derek nodded. "More than okay with me." He closed up his textbooks, turning to Spencer. "Doctor Who?"

"Yes, please." He put the books into Derek's backpack and followed him to the living room, where Derek loaded it on Netflix.

Spencer

The two of them sat on the couch, watching the second series of Doctor Who. It was something that he'd gotten Derek into back when they were talking online. He told Derek that if he was a fan of sci-fi, he should look into it. Since then, it was a common topic of discussion for them.

While Derek stayed tuned in, Spencer was looking through the letters and biting his lip.

"What's bugging you?" Derek asked, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Nothing," Spencer said quickly, setting the letters down on the table.

"Nope, I'm not buying it." Derek looked at the letters then paused the TV, turning to Spencer. "What is it?"

"We got into the exact same schools, Derek. We both got acceptance letters from these three institutions. They want me for my academics, and they want you for your athletics. I don't want to do something that you wouldn't be comfortable with, so I want to leave the decision up to you."

Derek raised an eyebrow. "And what decision would that be?"

Spencer chewed on his cheek, sighing. "Would you want us to go to the same school? I completely understand if you wouldn't want to go just because we're in a relationship, but I figured I would ask and have you make the final decision. If you don't want to go to the same college, just say the word and I'll send my acceptance to another school. But if you-" he was quickly silenced by Derek's lips pressed against his. He smiled slightly, pulling back. "I um, I was rambling, wasn't I?"

Derek nodded. "Just a bit."

"Well?"

"Well," Derek started, shifting in his seat, "we talked for over a year, we met, we were separated, a whole lot of unnecessary crap happened, we're reunited and happier than ever."

"...Yes, that's a basic summary?"

Derek smiled, lifting Spencer's chin. "And there's no way you're getting rid of me that easily. Pick the school and that'll be ours. I can play sports anywhere. It's more about what you want, because it's a place of academics after all."

Spencer sighed, looking through the letters. "Well, JJ, Emily, and Penelope were all accepted here, and JJ got her soccer scholarship, and I know college is about new beginnings, but I'm comfortable with familiarity, and-" once again, he was cut off and he sighed, pulling back and pressing his forehead against Derek's. "Is this it?"

Derek nodded. "That's it."

Spencer grinned. "I was hoping you'd say that."

While eating dinner that night, Derek's mother couldn't stop gushing over the fact that her baby had been accepted to several colleges. His younger sister would roll her eyes every few minutes, but Derek would smirk, taking in all of the appreciation.

"So are you two going to be roommates?" Desiree asked, looking at the two of them.

Spencer cleared his throat. "Well, possibly? We could apply to be roommates and have it happen, but that all depends on what we choose to do. The odds of being roomed with someone you choose are-"

"None of your business," Derek told her, pointing his fork at her.

"That's a yes," she sing-songed.

"That's a mind your business."

"Enough," his mother said, pointing to the table, "eat."

It was a silent few minutes before she spoke up again. "So are you two going to prom together?"

Derek put his fork down on the table. "Really, Desi?"

"What, it's a good question!"

Derek exhaled, looking at her. "I was going to ask him on our date Friday night. Thanks for blowing it."

She put her hands up. "I didn't know."

He sighed, turning to Spencer. "No pressure. I know how much it took you to go to the Halloween dance because you don't like social gatherings, but I think it'd be fun and-"

This time, it was Spencer's turn to cut him off with a kiss before blushing, pulling back and nodding at him. "Yes."

Derek grinned, turning to her. "That'd be a yes."

"What are the odds your school would give you two prom kings?"

"Depends on the votes, really," Spencer said. "Penelope said she'd get us on the ballot, so we'll see."

When Spencer left that night, Derek took his hand, squeezing it. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Helping me get into college? Making my math grades suck much less?"

Spencer smiled. "You did that yourself, but if you're going to credit me, you're welcome. So, what are we wearing to prom?"

"I think we'll figure that out when the time comes," Derek said, leaning in and kissing his cheek. "See you tomorrow?"

He nodded slightly and heard a car horn knocking. He groaned to himself. "That'll be JJ, insisting that I can't walk home four blocks."

"Don't want to keep her waiting," Derek said, giving him a quick kiss and smiling at his blush.

Spencer shook his head, walking to the car and getting in, setting his backpack on the floor in front of him.

"Good day?" JJ asked. "I didn't get any distress texts or anything, so I'm assuming everything went well."

He nodded. "Derek got into college. Specifically, our college."

She squealed, hitting his arm. "You're going too?!"

He rubbed his arm. "Yes, I'm going too. No need for the violence!"

She pulled him into a hug. "It'll be great. Me, you, Derek, Will, Emily, Penelope… everyone we like in one place. You guys are rooming together, right?"

"I don't know. Now will you buckle your seatbelt and drive?"

She rolled her eyes, leaning over and buckling her seatbelt, starting the car. "Fine. Did you at least bring up prom?" she asked, pulling out of the parking spot.

He shook his head slightly. "No-"

"Spence, why not?!"

"Let me finish. I didn't, but he did, well his sister did, and we're going together. Hands on the wheel!" he snapped when he saw her reach out to ruffle his hair.

She groaned. "Fine."

When they arrived at his house, she got out, giving him a hug and kissing his cheek. "It's good to see you happy, Spence."

He smiled slightly. "It's good to be happy," he admitted, not even ducking out of the way when she mussed up his hair. He patted his hair down. "So, I'll see you tomorrow morning, bright and early?"

She nodded. "You can get a prom ticket tomorrow morning. That is of course if your perfect gentleman of a date isn't buying one."

He shook his head. "Good night, JJ," he said, walking into his house.

He found his mother sitting up in her armchair with her reading lamp on, looking through some papers.

"Sorry I'm late. I had dinner at Derek's," he told her. "Is everything okay?"

She nodded, holding up the stack of papers. "Grading. It's downright awful how often I find my students plagiarizing from SparkNotes and other horrible sources. They don't even change the phrasing." She pointed a finger at him. "I ever find out you do that on anything involving school, I will hurt you."

"I definitely won't," he said, putting his hands up. He walked over, kissing her cheek. "Good night, mom."

She smiled at him. "Good night."

"Don't be up too late grading."

"I think I'll be turning in if I see one more line copied from a Wikipedia page," she told him.

He smiled, walking to his bedroom and setting his backpack down. His mother's doctor had found what had been the best combination of medications, and because of that, she was able to go back to teaching at her school, and what would soon be his school. She had forbidden him from taking her course, because she promised she would be extra tough on him. It was good to see his mother happy again, doing what she loved.

Over the next few months, Spencer's life seemed like a fairy tale. If you'd told him a year ago his life could be that way, he would've dismissed it and laughed. But now? He had a boyfriend. He had friends. He had his mother in good health. He had everything he could ever want out of life in such a short amount of time. He'd gone to prom not because he was dragged, but because he was invited. He spent the night with his friends and he even danced. Penelope had declared them honorary prom kings, and neither of them cared that they'd lost to Hotch and Haley. He'd been proud of JJ for being one of the princesses and watched her excitement as she was crowned. At graduation, he'd given a valedictorian speech to put all other speeches to shame, and in the fall, he'd be going off to college with his best friends and his boyfriend. It was almost too much to believe, but it all was really a dream come true.