Chapter Four – In The Morning

Spencer was absolutely certain that it would be the conversation that would do him in. Trying to express to the girl he liked that he wished to pursue a relationship, especially in the context of a post-inebriation morning after, would presumably inflict mortal wounds to what was left of his confidence.

However. He found the silence that consumed the two of them in the distance between her sister's home and the family restaurant, to be more painful than trying to express his feelings. She was saying nothing. Occasionally she would bite her bottom lip, as if holding back words, but nothing ever came to fruition. So the conversation stalled to complete quiet as he drove along the road. He wanted to say something, just to end this placid drive, but lacked the courage.

This was all so foreign to him. Awkwardness was nothing new, really. But relationship-wise he was fairly inexperienced. He had certainly never been in this position, trying to tell the girl that he drunkenly slept with the night before that he saw her as something more than a notch on a headboard.

Subconsciously trying to woo her, he opened doors and nodded politely as she thanked him. His somnolent eyes followed her dutifully, watching every step. The hostess led them through the cherry board paneled restaurant, leaving them one of the maroon vinyl booths. The small mom-and-pop restaurant was fairly crowded, but Austin and Spencer seemed very secluded from this early morning rush. The distant clattering of dishes and humming of conversations

They sat across from each other, examining every nook and cranny of the restaurant, desperate to avoid any real eye contact. The silence from the car ride carried over, and seemed to intensify now.

"So." She said with a sigh, and the faintest hint of a laugh. "Are we going to talk about the elephant in the room, or just stare at it?"

You're failing miserably, Spencer thought to himself. This wasn't a conversation he even knew how to start. Usually never at a loss for words, he found his thoughts scattered like papers across his desk. His exhausted mind was too cluttered with thoughts and fears to even process a conversation.

As if sent to save him, the overly-friendly and obviously-caffeinated waitress approached them, her little notepad in hand. "Can I get you two anything to drink?"

"Coffee." Both replied at the exact same time, with matching desperation for the caffeine pick-up. In that one moment, simple and mundane in nature, reminded them how deep their connection was. Not just the physical connection they had drunkenly shared last night. But how in the buildup to last night, they had mutually

After the waitress left to retrieve their coffee, Reid found himself smiling. Now or never, he thought. So he cleared his throat and began. "I've never really...been through this conversation before. Most of the time, they leave before I even get a chance to talk to them."

She reached across the table, and sympathetically brushed her hand along his. "I'm still here." Unsure if this was an appropriate reaction, she slowly curled her fingers into a fist and pulled it away.

Yet he couldn't help but smile—she was the first one that he truly wished would stay. "So, I guess what I want to say about last night..." She parted her tightly-pursed lips, about to speak up, but he absolutely had to say this before all his sudden courage disappeared. "I realize that I can only speak for myself when I say that, while the circumstances were regrettable of last night were regrettable, I don't believe the act itself was regrettable." That came out wrong, he thought to himself. He shook his head, starting to feel a little discouraged. "What I meant to say was that I'm not sorry..." That one felt even more painful than its predecessor.

And yet, once again he found her hand resting on top of his nervously wringing hands. And much to his chagrin, they did not leave immediately. "Spence, it's alright. I understand completely, and agree one hundred percent. I like you." What had been confidence in her demeanor before abruptly shifted to nervousness. She bit her lip nervously, and added, "A lot."

She looked at him—really, truly looked at him for the first time for the entire morning—and found something in his expression that conveyed that the feeling was mutual.

And for her, that was enough.

The waitress returned, bearing pale turquoise coffee mugs. Steam rose from the hot black liquid, and felt like it was heaven-sent to the sleepy pair. Austin ordered first, indulging herself with some Belgian waffles. Reid was a little simpler, sticking with scrambled eggs and toast. They sipped their coffee and chatted comfortably about a wide range of topics—none of which included last night's events. When their food arrived, they ate their breakfast, suddenly content in silence. There had been an unspoken tension before, but now that the tension had been relieved somewhat, the quiet wasn't quite as nerve-wracking. At least it was for Austin.

There was still something gnawing at Reid. He hated leaving anything in ambiguity. Everything in his realm need definition, and his relationship with Austin was no different. His biggest fear now was stepping outside of some boundaries he didn't know existed. In his eyes, Austin and he were dating. But just because he viewed things in that light did not mean Austin reciprocated that viewpoint.

Point blank, he needed to find out if they could call what they were doing, in simplest terms, dating.

Austin was lost in a fantasy, thinking about relationship definition when, suddenly, Spencer set down his fork. "It's a common conception that long distance relationships don't hold the greatest success rates. In fact, almost 90% don't last past the first year. But it feels like communication, which is the most crucial aspect in any relationship, is especially important when both parties are at such a distance. It feels like our communication is exceedingly strong, and theoretically..."

She smirked as she sliced another piece of her waffle and let his words sink in. "Spencer, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?" She looked up, noticing how blaze red his cheeks now were. He stammered a little, and then confidently nodded. Her smirk turned into a full-on smile. "I was hoping you'd say that."

–

He never thought it was possible to smile so much that it actually hurt. All thirteen muscles were getting such a workout, that a strain seemed to be imminent. But there was not an instance of regret for Reid, because this was the absolute happiest he had ever been.

This happiness, he knew, would be bittersweet. Austin had just agreed to be his girlfriend, and now they would be saying goodbye to each other. His life was one long series of Catch 22's.

He was seeing her off on her flight. It was the absolute last thing he wanted to do, as he selfishly wanted every minute to be as happy as this one was. Standing in the middle of the crowded airport, in each other's arms. She had not broken away from him for the last ten minutes, not to look at him, not to check her flight. She just buried herself in his embrace, in absolute fear of goodbye.

"I told you I was terrible at goodbyes." The sound of her voice was muffled as she spoke into his chest. "I really wish I didn't have to go."

He sighed. "I wish you didn't have to, either."

"So let's just stay here. For all of eternity." She laughed wryly, knowing full well that both of them had lives outside of that airport. He had his FBI job, she had bartending and rent and countless other things that seemed trivial in comparison to this feeling of felicity. With a defeated sigh, she broke away from the tight hug and just looked up at his sweet brown eyes. The eyes that she would be missing the second she boarded that plane.

In that moment of looking at the beautiful woman in his arms, their eyes locked, Reid felt a wave of emotions that he had never truly experienced before. Euphoria, longing, sadness, love. And even though he was more times than not awkward and uncomfortable, he knew exactly what he wanted to do. And for once in his life, he took a risk without calculating the consequences.

Without a word, he lowered his lips and kissed Austin.

Her lips were soft, that was the first thought that popped into Reid's head. And the passion that he had put forth towards the kiss was met ten-fold by her. His hands pressed against the small of her back, and her body automatically drew closer towards his. Her hands ran through his hair. Clichés forsaken, it was as if the earth had stopped spinning for that fervent, two-minute kiss.

She drew back, and sighed dreamily. "I wish you wouldn't have done that." Reid had been filled with newfound confidence, which was quickly turning into regret, when she clarified, "It'll make saying goodbye even harder."

So it wasn't the kiss that she regretted, it was the goodbye. He sighed with relief. "I'm not sorry." Regret was the last thing he felt for that kiss.

She smiled. "Neither am I."

This is confusing... And yet, at the exact same time, it all made absolutely perfect sense.

As pleasant as the concept of staying together was, the boarding call was an inescapable reminder that their time was up. "Your flight is boarding."

"Yeah." She heaved a heavy sigh, and tightened her grip on him for just a second. "This isn't goodbye. I'll call you as soon as I land."

"Okay." Even though his head believed her, his heart couldn't help but know that this was goodbye for now. This would be the last time in God knows how long he would be seeing her right in front of him.

And as she walked away, he couldn't help but look forward to hearing her voice after she landed.

–

This was the part he was really, truly dreading. By this time, the team would be awake and presumably looking for their youngest team member. They knew about Austin (what details specifically they knew, he wasn't positive) and would endlessly mock him for it. His heart, still vulnerable from Austin's goodbye, just couldn't take that maltreatment.

He made his way quickly from the parking lot to the hotel lobby, keeping his head ducked. As if averting eye contact would save him from being identified. He had almost made it scot-free, almost to the elevator, when he heard vivacious laughter from behind.

Laughter that he recognized instantly as Derek Morgan's.

"Well, well, well... look who's trying to sneak back!" He said, still laughing. As if Reid's situation was the funniest comedy imaginable. Slowly, Reid turned around to find the entire team assembled in a sitting area in the lobby. Of course they'd all be gathered here. Waiting to attack. He thought cynically to himself.

"Where were you sneaking off so early in the morning?" Rossi spoke, his voice not nearly as entertained as Morgan had apparently been. Curiosity more than derision, Reid thought. "Prentiss went up to your room at eight and you weren't there."

"Yeah, I thought maybe we could get breakfast." Prentiss sounded only slightly jilted by his absence. She was more interested in getting the details than sharing a meal with a coworker.

Reid cleared his throat, and prepared himself for the lie. "I'm sorry, I had some personally matters to take care of." Ambiguous enough to not solicit more inquisitions, and not completely a lie.

"Personal matters?" Prentiss asked, raising an eyebrow and looking towards the other males in the room.

"Yes." Reid snapped back, unintentionally sounding more scornful than necessary.

"Take it easy. We're just curious. You should know by now that we all have this compulsive need to know everything." And now Rossi was trying to defuse the situation that was building. "Why don't we talk about something else?"

"Yeah." Morgan chimed in, a devious grin spread like a Cheshire cat. He turned his attention to Reid, and the genius braced himself for what was coming. "Like how the rest of your date went last night?"

And there it was, Reid thought to himself. A crack in Morgan's armor. There was a certain affliction to the way the word date was spoken, indicating a lack of belief that it actually was a date. For all they knew, it was an old friend.

An attractive friend that, after a drunken night of passion, had become his girlfriend. Yes, telling the team all the details would not go over well.

So Reid simply said, "It wasn't a date."

"Leave him alone, Morgan." Prentiss interceded, flaunting her maternal side, protecting Reid like she were a lion and he was her cub. "Just because every beautiful woman you've ever been..."

Was this the beginning to a compliment, a defense, or to an insult? Reid couldn't really distinguish... Either way, Prentiss was proving to be a superb distraction. Capitalizing on their misdirection, Reid rushed to the elevator. Each step he took carried him away from the inquisition, and a little closer to relief. He stepped into the elevator, mentally willing the doors to shut faster, when he noticed that he was not alone in the car. His boss, Aaron Hotchner, stood stoically. While everyone else seemed frazzled from their nights of drinking, the lead profiler looked as spick and span as always. It was intimidating to Reid, who was still nursing an awful hangover.

"Where were you?" Hotch's stern expression expressed more curiosity than anger or disappointment.

"Personal matters." Reid struggled to keep his voice even, unwilling to betray the secrets he was now carrying diligently. He's a superb profiler, Reid reminded himself. There won't be hiding this for long.

Though Hotch did not press the matter any further, there was the slightest hint in his expression that suggested a deeper understanding. It was possible, if not extremely likely, that Hotch knew what those personal matters entailed.

Still, silence filled the space between them. And as the elevator climbed, neither profiler felt the need to

"You don't have anything to worry about. No one saw you leave the club last night, and no one saw you leave this morning." The two exchanged one last glance that spoke far more than any words could tell. Hotch was the only one who knew of last night's events, and would keep it that way.

Rather than a verbal thank you, Reid smiled and nodded. The elevator doors swung open, and Reid rushed to his room, desperate to make that flight home. There had been times where he'd been anxious to return home, simply to escape a case or to sleep in his own bed. But now, he was excited for a whole new reason.

He had something to truly look forward to: a phone call from his new girlfriend.

You have been officially warned: the next chapter will be primarily fluff. :P Thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing, as well as sticking through as I try to write this little ditty. :D All feedback would be greatly appreciated!!