... Enjoy?

CH4

"Here, coffee," Darius said, handing a steaming mug to Spencer and one to Sanford. "Hot chocolate for you, little man."

Today was a rare Saturday off. Sanford was scheduled to go through a human intelligence test. The condition he set forth was that if he did the testing, Spencer could stay over night and that he and Spencer could steal his dad's memory foam bed. Darius accepted readily, the profiler encouraging him to let his son test.

"I mean, does he really need to, though?" Darius sighed, his head leaning against the back of the couch. He stared at Spencer from the corner of his eye.

"I did, when I was his age. It was nice to know that I wasn't totally out there, that there was a way for me to at least…cap my intelligence. It can't be quantified, I do think that, but it's good to know that I'm not strange, that it's happened before, that someone out there can… identify what's different about me."

Darius squinted his eyes. "So, you don't want to be unique?"

Spencer shook his head and turned his body towards the man beside him. "I don't mean that. It's just, I was so alone. I had no one but my sick mom and my workaholic father to talk to. He left. She was always having… episodes and I couldn't care for myself like I wish I could have. When I tested," he sniffed, but when Darius looked he wasn't crying. "It felt good to know that I was different, but not alien or outlandish."

The darker man sighed and ran his hands over his face. "Okay, let's ask him."

All three males were dressed, sipping on their cups quietly as the news droned on in the background. Spencer had brought his overnight bag and left it in Darius' room, where Sanford had moved his pillow and blanket.

Darius and Spencer were squished together, Sanford sprawled out on the left side of the couch, his feet slung over Spencer's legs. Darius had his arm behind the brunette to create more room between them. The seven year old sighed and turned towards the inside of the couch.

"You feeling okay?" Spencer asked, leaning toward the boy and carding through his hair with his right hand. His body turned and he gripped the legs in his lap, pulling them down a little so that Sanford was almost sitting on his lap.

"I am. I just want to get a good score."

Spencer smiled and tugged a few locks, causing the boy to look at him and smile. "Don't worry about that. Just worry about doing your best."

Sanford cocked his head to the side and pulled his legs away. He turned around and snuggled into Spencer's side. "What did you get on your test?"

The brunette pulled his legs up and under Sanford. He half cradled the seven year old. "Well, I took it and got a score of 187."

Darius pinched the other side of Spencer. "Ow! What was that for?"

"So I knew you were smart but you never told me you were Einstein genius."

Squinting his eyes at the man he rubbed his 'injured' arm comfortingly. "You never asked! Besides, I thought that maybe Lauren had told you." Spencer drew small circles on the hand Sanford had placed on top of his. His other arm was now wrapped around the boy's shoulder. There was a mess of legs as Sanford bounced his on top of Spencer's.

"Fair point, I guess." He checked his watch. Silence passed and the news went off after a few minutes. "Are you guys almost ready? We should leave in like, ten minutes."

Spencer squeezed Sanford's shoulder gently. His hands comforting to the youngest in the room. "Are you?"

Sanford nodded gently, his curls bouncing with every motion. "Good," Spencer said, gently untangling their limbs, kneeling on the ground, and sitting the boy on the edge of the couch. "Lets put our shoes on and then we can leave. How about I treat you and your dad to pizza when you're done?"

The solemn expression on the boy's face was replaced with a smile. "Okay!"

DSDS

Darius stood for the fourth time and paced around the room for another twelve minutes. He sat back down and the profiler watched him fiddle with the hem of his shirt and the little figure on his breast pocket. Spencer was sitting with his legs crossed on the chair, his shoes set under him neatly on the ground. He had a book spread across his lap, a large, heavy one that pushed his legs down into the seat. It was silent as the two of them stayed in the waiting area of the office.

Quick, light footsteps made their way down the hall and jumped into the chair next to Darius. The father scooped his happy son up and ruffled his hair. "How'd you do?"

Sanford grinned. "Very well, I think. Dr. Shuster is coming soon to talk to you. After that," He paused, pointing at Spencer who was putting his shoes back on. "Pizza!"

"Correct," Spencer replied happily, putting his book away.

"Mr. Orsafire?" A man in a lab coat came through the same doorway Sanford had just run from. "My name is Dr. Shuster, I was the one administering the test to your son."

Darius stood and set his boy down next to Spencer, who gripped the small, brown hand that was slid into his. The doctor lead him to his office and the two boys left behind planned where they would go for pizza.

"Hello, Mr. Orsafire." He greeted once more. Darius smiled and offered a hand but the doctor just stared at him. "As I said before, I gave your son the test. He did well, I can tell just by the way he left the room. However, the test results won't be back for another week." Darius almost snarled as he pulled his hand back. "On another note," the doctor watched the man from over his glasses. He fiddled with the two pencils sitting on his desk.

Darius crossed one leg over the other, the tennis shoe in the air bouncing in an angry pattern. The doctor continued, "I see that you came here with a man…" He picked up the pencil and rolled it between his thumb and pointer.

Darius' eyes narrowed. "I did. A friend of ours. Do you have a problem with that doctor?"

This time the doctor narrowed his eyes. "I do. I find it strange when two of the same sex pair up. Even stranger when they raise a child together. Horrible when that child ends up the same way as their 'parents'." His face pulled in disgust and it was audible in his voice.

With his eyes twitching, Darius replied. "I believe I told you he was just a friend. Even if he wasn't, you have no say in how I raise my child. He's a blossoming brain and half of the reason for that is my friend out there. He's the one who encouraged me to bring my son in for testing. He's the only thing keeping my son entertained from the small fry work they give him in school. Not to mention the fact that I'm sure he's twice as smart as you, unless you got a score higher than 187?" Darius' mouth curled up and he basically growled. "I'll raise my son how I want. He'll be perfectly fine."

The doctor was speechless for about ten seconds. He shook his head. "Well, he is just a friend so I'm sure your son will grow properly. Besides, he's of your blood, correct? That must mean you're straight. I apologize, I wasn't thinking thoroughly." He smiled as if that would push away everything that had transpired.

Darius almost screamed. "Did what I just say mean nothing? Is it even possible to-"

"Daddy?" A small voice came from behind the door and it opened. Spencer was standing there, his face as red as he could possibly be. The attention went to the red faced agent. He pulled the young child in the door, closing it behind them. His lip twitched with anger and Darius almost opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, friend of Dr. Norman, who called in this favor." He let go of Sanford's hand and moved towards the desk, his hands slamming softly on the surface. "Don't you know that studies upon studies have been conducted? Children raised by gay parents have just as much chance as children with straight parents to be healthy, successful and well-adjusted." Sanford jumped at the thunderous tone of Spencer's voice. He had never heard it go that loud before. He walked by his father and stood next to him, watching Spencer with wide eyes. "They are definitely more accepting and tolerant. Out of sixteen thousand people, only two-hundred and forty-eight were raised by a gay or lesbian couple. Of those two-hundred and forty-eight people, twelve were found to be gay or lesbian. Would you like to know the statistic for those straight parents and how many of their children turned out to be homosexuals? Thirty-seven percent. From my point of view, it would seem as though straight people make babies, and those babies end up being gay. Is that a problem? No, but you people make it sound like it is. You people are the reason so many suicides happen, why the children run away, are bullied and think that there is something wrong with them. When there isn't! We're fine. We're people too, we deserve to have the same rights straight couples do." His eyes started to water, from both anger and sadness. "You have no right to judge us."

Darius clamped a hand on the brunette's shoulder and he shuddered. He'd just given himself away. He'd told the man he liked that he was gay and-

"He's not worth your intelligence, Spencer. Lets go." Darius took Spencer's wrist in his hand and pulled the profiler and his son out of the room. After pushing them in front of him, he poked his head back into the office. "The results will be in in a week, correct?"

The doctor nodded slowly. "Y-yes." Darius knocked on the door as a dismissive gesture and left.

Spencer Reid

I chewed on my bottom lip as the waitress sat us at a table. She smiled and handed us our menus. "What can I get you guys to drink?" She asked, pulling out a note pad and pen.

"Uh, he'll have an apple juice, I'll have a coke and a water for him." He said, gesturing towards me. I almost cringed and thought better. My eyes were already red and puffy from my silent crying in the car. He said nothing the whole way, Sanford said nothing, at least not until we got to the restaurant.

"What kind of pizza are we getting?" The seven year old asked, pulling the menu out of my light grip. "I like sausage but I kind of want ham."

Not able to stay quiet any longer, I smiled at him. "Well, how about we get a large two-topping pizza?"

His smile grew and he nudged me with his elbow. Darius was across from me, his hands folded under his chin, elbows on the table. His eyes were trained on me, my cheeks were almost always red the whole time. Sanford tugged on a lock of my hair and I turned towards him, his father's gaze still on me. "So we can get sausage and ham? Yes!" He said, hopping in the seat a little.

The waitress came back and set our cups down, passing us straws when she was finished. "What'll you guys be having today?" She asked, her face pulled in a permanent but sincere smile.

"Two-topping pizza! Sausage and ham, ma'am!" Sanford handed her the menu and sipped from his juice.

"You're so cute," she said, sending him a wink. The boy blushed and hid his face in the sleeve of my cardigan. She rushed off to put in our order.

Darius' cell phone rang and finally his eyes left my face. I wanted to sigh in relief, but Sanford was pushing me to give him another word. "Liberation," I told him.

DSDS

Lauren's car was parked outside of Darius' apartment building. I gulped audibly and she opened her car door.

"I'm not asking for a key," she joked, as she held her arms out for me to engulf. "But next time be a little more accurate in the timing you guys get home!"

"Yeah, I can do that, I'm sorry." Darius replied handing Sanford's hand to her. "Spencer, could you give Lauren my keys, please. We'll be heading to yours."

I was driving his car- You need the practice, he told me a few days ago- so I handed them to her as she gripped Sanford. Her questioning look almost made me cringe but I shook my head as if I didn't know and followed Darius, who was heading to my building. "Bye Sanford. I'll see you soon," I told him, his free hand waving erratically at me.

Darius stopped at my door since he didn't have the entrance key. I opened the door and let him grab it as I made my way to the elevator. He followed me to the fourth floor's third room, my room. I opened my door and set my messenger bag by my door.

"Y-you know where the couch is," I said, pointing down my small hallway and awkwardly shrugging towards the right, my kitchen. "Anything to drink?" I asked him, as his footsteps went deeper into my house.

"No, I'm good. Just sit down and lets talk." I groaned and he heard. "I'm not gonna kill you or beat you up. Promise. I just want to talk."

I felt the blood shoot to my face and I tried to calm down as I poured myself a glass of water. I drank slowly and set the empty glass down. "Okay, I'm coming."

I made my way to the living room and sat gingerly on the table across from him. Darius stared at me more until I looked away from him. He finally broke the quiet with "So… you're gay."

I snorted. "Nice way to break the ice, Darius." He smiled at me.

"I just meant… I didn't know. You could have told me. I mean, I wouldn't have judged you. I'm not. We can still be friends, if that's what you're worried about. You closed up after that explosion and I don't want you to think I'm like that jerk." He was nervous, babbling and looking me in my eyes. I smiled gently at him, hoping it would relax him.

"Thank you. I believe you," I said as he opened his mouth. "I just didn't know how to tell you." I contemplated what I was going to say next. If I said what I wanted to, would it make a difference? Deciding I can trust him, I said it. "When I told Derek, he flipped out on me and things were awkward for a little bit."

Darius' eyebrows shot up. "I see. I'm sorry. You and him are best friends, right?" I nodded. "He…doesn't seem the type."

"I know. We're fine now, obviously, but it hurt, you know. I… didn't want to go through that again."

The older man squinted his eyes. "Does… Lauren know?"

I nodded. "She took it better than I did." Darius laughed.

"That's my sister." He paused. "Does anyone else know, like on your team?"

I shook my head. "JJ pushed me into telling her and I think Garcia may have suspicions about me, but I probably… that's it."

"I'm sorry that I put you on the spot. I was just trying to think through a way to let you know that everything's fine. That I'm not gonna put you out or anything, you know?"

"I do," I replied, the smile on my face faltering.

"Good. I mean, if it wasn't for you, Sanford and I wouldn't have food half the time."

I laughed as I stood. "If not for you guys I would have never learned how to cook."

He joined me and I backed up, going around the table to the entrance of my hall. "This weekend is rare for Lauren and Derek so we should probably get back." I turned around to walk towards the door but stopped and turned back around. "Sorry for stealing your bed tonight," I smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. I can feel your sincerity."

Uh so... This is getting longer than I thought it would be. But... I like it. Probably three more chapters, though they may be long. Bare with me.