Okay, first things first, I have to thank the people who have given me reviews. I'm glad to see that people are still interested in reading, and I seriously have to thank both czyk61 and rudybluey for your reviews. It honestly brought a smile to my face and I can't thank you two enough :) I promise I will try my best to continue updating and writing this story, straight up to the end. The next thing I want to say is that I probably might fall behind on updating this story and my other one called His Wolf. The reason is because depression reared it's ugly head and I've been feeling down these past couple days, and it'll only continue to grow. I know, not the best explanation, but I'm not sure how else to explain it. So, that's just a little warning that updates will be a little slower. I'll do my best to make it so that the updates aren't slow, but I can't make any promises with that. Now, onto the chapter :)
Summary-His life had been ripped from his heart right then and there. The second he saw the love of his life fall to the floor, his whole world shattered. But let's start at the beginning, shall we? Where the first hopes of love started blossoming, becoming real instead of dreams. Back to that case where it all began, where it all ended. Right before their eyes.
Relationships- Reid/Morgan, JJ/Will, Garcia/Kevin, pretty much all the canon relationships (except for R/M).
Rated: M, just to be safe
WARNING: THERE IS DETAILS ABOUT SELF HARM, MINOR DETAILS ABOUT RAPE, TORTURE, ABUSE, ADULT LANGUAGE, SEXUAL CONTENT, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN!
Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds!
Chapter 9: Promise
"The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep."
~Robert Frost
Reid woke up late that next morning to the strong smell of coffee throughout the house. He grumbles to himself and rolls over onto his other side, cuddling deeper into the blankets. His stomach practically screamed at him to get up and out of bed to go and get coffee, but he's just so tired! He doesn't want to move. And then the fact that Morgan knows everything courses through his blood, causing his eyes to snap open. Well, so much for sleeping.
Slowly, he pushes the blanket away from himself and shivers as the cold air instantly hits his bare torso. And then he remembered that he had taken his shirt off the night before to show Morgan every bruise, every scar, every cut that James had inflicted onto his body. They had spent yesterday, the day Reid had explained everything, just cuddling with Morgan, mostly in bed. They had talked about what they wanted their relationship to be, how they wanted it to work out.
They promised each other that no matter how bad it got, and if they ever broke up, they promised to stay friends.
"Reid? You awake yet?" Morgan called from the kitchen, pulling Reid from his thoughts once more. Reid only groans as he swings his legs over the edge of the bed, glad that he had decided to keep his pajama pants on. He hadn't been ready to show the rest of his body yet, and Morgan had understood. Though, they worried about what this was doing for the mission. They had to start getting their asses in gear if they wanted to keep the spotlight on them instead of any other couple.
"Yeah, yeah I'm awake." Spencer called back, rolling his eyes as he stands. He quickly gets dressed in a long sleeved shirt and his normal everyday pants. He walks out of the bedroom and down the hall, making his way to the kitchen where he saw Morgan sitting at the counter, drinking a mug of coffee.
"Hey pretty boy," Morgan chuckles as he hears Reid's bare feet against the hardwood floors. "Sleep well last night?"
"Yeah," Reid replies as he walks over to the coffee maker, pouring himself his own mug. He then grabs the sugar and practically pours half the bag into his mug, according to Morgan. "I actually didn't have any nightmares, for once."
Morgan only chuckles as Reid sits down beside him, sipping at his coffee. "Sorry there's no breakfast, I can't really cook anything besides the basic bacon and eggs."
"At least one of us can cook," Reid comments casually as he takes another sip of his coffee, smiling at how the warm liquid made his insides all warm and fuzzy.
"Wait, since when can you cook?" Morgan asks, raising an eyebrow at Reid as he drinks his own coffee. "I didn't know that about you."
"Yeah, I mean, I kinda had to learn how to since, you know, my mom." Reid replies with a shrug as he looks down at the coffee in his mug. "Besides, I've memorized every recipe that I've ever read. Why not put it to use? So, I taught myself how to cook. And I have to say I make a pretty good cook for a genius."
"Oh really?" Morgan asks as he pats Reid on the shoulder. "Maybe I'll take you up on that, but not tonight. Tonight we need to get out on the town, eat out and then hit a few bars, maybe a movie or two."
Reid looks over at Morgan, this time it's his turn to raise an eyebrow. "You seriously want to do all that in...thirteen hours?"
"Not all of it, we obviously don't have the time." Morgan chuckled as he takes a long drink of coffee. "Just go out for the day and then eat at a restaurant before hitting the bar. Sound like fun?"
"Sort of...except for the bar part."
"Come on, Spencer! You know we gotta get out and hit the bars, get the unsub's sight on us." Morgan chuckles as he pats Reid on the back, though he makes sure his touch is gentle. He doesn't want to hurt Reid anymore than he already is. "Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time. Remember?"
"Okay...but the second you leave me alone-" Reid starts but is cut off by a swift peck at the lips from Morgan, effectively cutting him off. The two pull away a few seconds later, both smiling. "Promise you wont leave me alone?"
"I promise baby boy," Morgan says with a warm smile. "Now, finish your coffee and hop in the shower. Then we'll start the day."
Morgan gets up from the stool and heads out of the kitchen to the bedroom to take his shower first. Reid continues sitting there, sipping at his coffee with a content smile on his face. He can't help it, he just feels so happy, for once in his life he just feels happy. He had never felt this before, not even when he realized that the BAU was his family. Not when he had first joined the BAU, not on his mother's good days, not when he had first started dating James. Nothing could ever compare to this pure, raw feeling of joy, happiness, peace, content. And he hoped that it would never change, that he would never ever lose or forget this feeling.
After about ten minutes the shower shut off, and a few minutes later Morgan walks back into the kitchen wearing a nice deep blue shirt with black jeans.
"Hey," Spencer says as he turns in his stool, having finished his coffee. "There better still be warm water left, no way in hell am I bathing in cold water."
"You're so picky," Morgan chuckles as Reid stands up from the stool. He walks over to his lover and gently wraps his arms around his waist, pulling him close. He gently grips Reid's chin and tilts his head back, soon pressing his lips against Reid's own soft ones, the two smiling. They pull apart a minute later, Reid's cheeks a bright pink. "Now, go and take your shower pretty boy, I'll clean up here."
"Okay," Reid replies with a nod as he places a swift kiss on Morgan's cheek. He then heads out of the kitchen, walking down the hall to the bedroom. Behind him he can hear Morgan chuckling in the kitchen, bringing a smile back to Reid's lips as he enters the bedroom. He picks out some clean clothes and enters the bathroom, gently closing the door behind him though he made sure not to close it all the way. Couples don't do that, at least, that's what Reid had heard anyways. He always locked the door with James.
Reid lets out a heavy sigh as he turns the shower on and starts stripping down. It would definitely take a long, long time to get over the memories James left. Though, having an eidetic memory, that wouldn't ever happen. The memories would always be there, vivid for the rest of his life, and he hates that. He hates that fact that he will remember every touch, every hit, everything.
He frowns as he steps under the warm water, shivering as it makes the cuts on his arms sting from the warmth. But he doesn't care, he's used to it. In fact, he actually welcomes the feeling, as it reminds him of when he had actually cut. And he finds himself missing the action of slicing his arms with a blade, as if it had been the easiest thing in his life. And it had been, technically.
It doesn't take long for Reid to get clean. He rinses all the soap away and then turns the water off, squeezing all the access water out of his curling hair. He then steps out of the shower and instantly reaches for the towel placed on the counter, smiling at the knowing that Morgan had put it there. He quickly rubbed the towel over his hair, trying to dry it as much as possible. And then he dries the rest of his body, throwing the towel off to the side.
It doesn't take him long to get dressed, and he stares at himself in the mirror. He is wearing a plain brown, long sleeved shirt with simple dark slacks with one yellow sock and one purple sock. He then walks back out to the main part of the house to see Morgan sitting on the couch, texting someone he guessed was Garcia.
"Hey," Reid says as he sits down beside Morgan, scooting closer to him until their sides pressed against each other. Morgan only smiles as he wraps an arm around Reid's waist, pulling him closer as he plants a kiss to the corner of his mouth.
"Did the shower help you de-stress?" Morgan asks knowingly as he slips his phone into his pocket, gently squeezing Reid's hip. Reid only smiles and nods as he lays his head against Morgan's shoulder, enjoying the fresh smell that is Morgan. "That's good, I don't want my baby genius out stressing about tonight."
"Morgan," Reid says after a minute of silence. "Are we...you know, going to have to...um, the whole...will we..." He lets out a frustrated sigh, feeling his cheeks burn at the question he tries to say. Morgan gently rubs his side, reassuring him that it's okay. "Will we have to have...um...sex?"
"Not unless you're ready," Morgan replies calmly as he rubs his head against Reid's. "But we are going to have to fake it, I'm sure the unsub is getting quite impatient."
"I-are you sure?" Reid asks as he slightly leans away to look at Morgan in the eyes. "I mean...what if I have...flashbacks or something? What if-what if..."
"Hey, don't let your mind go there, okay?" Morgan says as he cups Reid's cheek, smiling when the younger leans into the touch. "I'm not him, okay? I promise I won't do anything you don't want me to, and I promise that I will stop anytime you ask me to. Okay? We don't have to actually do it, just pretend. Okay?"
"And-and if...if we actually want to?" Reid asks shyly as he ducks his head. Morgan smiles as he gently grabs Reid's chin, tilting his head back up so they are making eye contact once more. "I mean, we don't, I was just-"
"I know, pretty boy," Morgan says with a warm smile. "And, if you want that, if you're ready for it, then I'll give it to you. But only if you're actually, actually sure. Okay?"
"O-okay," Reid nods, feeling his eyes tear up. "I-I promise that I...that I won't try anything until I'm sure I'm ready. But-but you promise that you won't-that you won't rush it...that you'll be patient with me. Please?"
"I promise baby boy," Morgan whispers as he plants a soft kiss to Reid's forehead before pulling him closer. "I promise."
The two go out to the bar later that night, deciding to eat a quick dinner at a nearby restaurant. Morgan didn't want to go dancing on an empty stomach, while Reid didn't want to go dancing at all. Especially with how crowded the bar would be on a Friday night.
By the time they made it over to the bar they had already been touched and bumped by multiple different people, which bothered Reid to no end. His mind just kept thinking up of all the facts on germs, not to mention all the memories of James assaulting him. But Morgan was there, and he made it all better by wrapping a protective arm around Reid's waist, seeming to dare anyone that was close to try something.
"You can't drink too much," Reid says as they sit down side by side on the bar stools, Morgan ordering their drinks.
"Oh come on pretty boy," Morgan chuckles as they watch the bartender get the drinks ready. "You've gotta let me have a little free reign."
"Not too much to drink," Reid repeated as the bartender gave them their drinks. Reid frowned at the whiskey while Morgan instantly picked it up and took a normal sip.
"You're not scared that I'll lose control of myself, are you?" Morgan asks as he looks over at Reid who was looking down at his drink with guilt. Morgan smiles softly as he nudges Reid in the ribs with his elbow, though he makes sure it isn't too hard. "Hey, I promised I wouldn't do anything you didn't want, remember? Drunk or not. I promise, that in all our years to come of loving each other, I will not hurt you in any way."
"I know I just...I don't know, it's ridiculous." Reid mumbles as he turns his still untouched drink. "I'm sorry."
"Hey, it's okay," Morgan says with a smile as he leans over and places a kiss to Reid's cheek. The bartender smiles as he helps another person. "It's okay, I understand. Now, are we going to spend the whole night sulking or are we going to have a good time?"
"Uh..."
"Come on pretty boy," Morgan says with a smile as he pats Reid's shoulder. "Let's go dance."
"We've only just got here," Reid argues lamely as he looks up at Morgan with a deep blush. "I mean...I can't even-"
"Oh come on," Morgan says with a smile as he stands and pulls Reid up as well. "It's not as bad as you think, besides it's pretty easy. You just gotta follow along to the music, I'll show you."
Reid groans as he allows Morgan to lead him out onto the dance floor. It doesn't take long for Reid to catch onto the dance moves to the songs, and before he knows it he's dancing perfectly fine with Morgan, their bodies easily flowing along with the music.
"You sure you've never danced before?" Morgan asks, raising his voice to be heard over the loudness of the music and people as they dance together.
Reid feels his cheeks burn as he looks back at Morgan, a faint smile on his lips. "Sort of? I've had some practice...not a lot. I did grow up in Vegas you know."
Morgan only smiles as he pulls Reid close, kissing him on the lips for a few seconds before they part and continue dancing, practically becoming one with each other and the song as they dance.
After a couple more songs the two decide to return to the bar and get another drink, though Reid doesn't drink his. He watches with a smile as Morgan downs his drink in one go.
"We've been here for a few hours," Reid comments as he glances at the watch on his wrist. "It's getting pretty late as well.."
"Someone wants to get home," Morgan chuckles with a smile as he places a sloppy kiss to Reid's cheek. "You ready to go home? Already?"
"Morgan, we've been dancing practically the whole time. I'm tired," Reid commented calmly as he looks over at Morgan who is on his third drink.
"You can't get too tired, remember we still have to get a little spicy in bed," Morgan chuckles, smirking at the blush that quickly spreads across Reid's cheeks for the umpteenth time that night. "Alright, I'm just teasing kid. We'll go home."
Morgan pays the bartender and then takes Reid's hand, leading him through the crowd. Throughout the whole night they had seen their guy sitting in a corner booth, watching them as if he was planning their murder. He probably was. But Reid didn't care about that at the moment. Right now, all his thoughts were going to fuel the anxiety growing in the pit of his stomach about the rest of the night. But he's with Morgan, not James. It would be different, right? Besides they aren't actually doing anything. So why worry?
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."
~Ernest Hemingway
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