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Morgan watched the team’s resident genius trying to go to sleep. The case ran later than expected and they were flying back to Virginia from Oregon. It was currently three in the morning and only he and apparently Reid were still awake.
The ex-cop watched the slender man toss and turn on one of the couches, dark circles more prominent than normal under his eyes. Morgan had noticed that after the Hankel case, Reid hasn’t fully been himself and looked paler than usual.
Morgan hated how vulnerable his friend looked, but hated himself on how he didn’t notice how bad it’s become. Getting up, he walked over to the restless genius and slowly shook him awake. Exhausted, doe brown eyes met his blearily.
“Can’t go to sleep, pretty boy?”
Before his friend could think of a response, Morgan pulled Reid to him. He immediately noticed how fragile the younger man felt. If he tried, Morgan could count all the bones in his body. Fierce protectiveness and guilt welled up, making his hold tighten.
“Derek what-”
“Shh…you need to sleep, baby. Please, Spence.”
He was relieved when Reid sighed and went limp against him. Morgan guided the genius’ head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. He grinned when Reid instinctively nuzzled into his throat, giving a soft moan in contentment.
“Warm, D’rek…” Reid mumbled into his skin as all of his too-thin limbs wrapped around his own.
Morgan ran a hand through Reid’s soft-as-silk chestnut hair while the other massaged the younger’s bony back. When the jet has landed, he was going to make Reid stay with him for a while. His friend needed to eat, among other things. To the ex-cop’s worry, he felt almost anorexic.
Morgan knew he was acting more like a concerned lover than a worried friend, but that was what he wanted. He was tired of not acting out his feelings toward Reid and the stress was taking a toll on him.
He suspected that Reid felt the same by the adorable blush he always wore when he was around and the shy, longing looks he knew were there when Reid thought he wasn’t noticing. Morgan also knew his pretty boy was also a virgin, so he would have to take this slow.
The ex-cop made up his mind then and there as he stared at the now deeply sleeping genius. He was going to talk to Reid about his predicament. He could only hope his deduction was true and he wasn’t reading his friend wrong.
He needed this adorable, awkward kid in his home, living his life with him. Morgan already decided that Reid was it for him; no other would have his affection and love like this again. All he needed to do now was plead his case.
Closing his eyes, Morgan hid his face in his pretty boy’s hair, which was beginning to be a kink for him. He has been dying to touch Reid’s hair like this for years and now that he has a chance, he was feeling a little overwhelmed.
As he breathed in the younger’s unique scent, he was knocked out in seconds.
TIME LAPSE
Morgan woke up when someone was shaking his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he saw JJ leaning over him with an excited look in her eyes. Slowly, the ex-cop sat up, careful to not jostle his still sleeping pretty boy.
Glancing around, he noticed that the jet has landed and they were the only ones left on it. “We’re here?” he asked, voice still rough from sleep.
“Yea…umm, Derek?”
“Hm?” he responded as he manhandled Reid into a more comfortable position.
“I’m not going to apologize for being so blunt.”
Morgan rolled his eyes. “Go ahead, JJ.”
“Does this mean anything?”
He decided to play dumb. “What?”
“This.”
“This what?”
“Derek.”
Morgan chuckled as he stood up, carefully shifting Reid in his arms until he was carrying him like a toddler. The genius’ hair was all over the place and it was distracting Morgan like never before. He gave JJ a grateful look as she helped him gather his stuff.
As they slowly walked down the steps and to the SUV, he answered, “Hopefully, sweetness.”
“I knew it.”
“Yeah, I bet. You and baby girl know everything.”
“So, you do love him.”
“Yep.”
“And…he does too?”
“I want him too.”
“He does.”
“How do you know?”
“Derek. Everyone with eyes can see how flustered Spence gets when he’s around you.”
“It’s cute.”
“We know,” JJ teased. “You two have been acting like lovesick teenagers for like two years now. Hotch will be relieved.”
Morgan laughed at that. Opening one of the passenger sides, he carefully set Reid down on the backseats. He couldn’t help but notice how adorably sexy his pretty boy looked with his hair tousled and in his face.
As they pulled out of the airstrip, JJ asked, “Derek, have you noticed how…Spencer isn’t himself?”
Morgan cleared his throat, trying to hide how tight it felt. “Yeah.”
“Ever since his abduction…”
“I know, JJ. I’m beating myself about it.”
“Well, now you can do something.”
“Oh, I am. I can promise you that.”
The blonde giggled. “You’re such an alpha male, Morgan. I don’t know if Spence knows what he got himself into.”
Morgan smirked, glancing over to the smiling woman. “Sweetness, he knows exactly. He ain’t smart for nothin’.”
“Ooh, careful Derek. Your roots are showing.”
“Damn right.”
“I have a feeling you’re going to be a big momma bear for a while.”
The ex-cop snorted. “The kid ain’t takin’ care of himself and he probably doesn’t know it.”
“He probably knows he needs help, but doesn’t know who to turn to.”
“Our fault.”
He heard JJ sigh, resigned and sad. “Trust isn’t the problem though.”
“Yeah, I know, sweetness.”
“It’d probably be best for Spence to stay with you.”
“Already ahead of ya, girl.”
“Of course you are. Just try to take it easy on him. You know he has male authority problems. Gideon just made it worse.”
“And I hate him for it.”
“Derek…”
“It’s true, sweetness. The man all but abandoned my pretty boy, just like his dad.”
There was nothing else to say after that. Silence reigned in the SUV with only Reid’s soft, slow breathing to accompany it until Morgan pulled up to JJ’s apartment. As the ex-cop unlocked the door, he asked, “You good, sweetness?”
“Yeah. Take care of our boy genius. We need him too.”
“You can count on it. Have a good weekend.”
Morgan waited until JJ was inside before driving away. For the remainder of the ride, Morgan would glance out of the rearview mirror every minute or so, watching every breath Reid took. He was anxious to get home and start taking care of his pretty boy.
NEXT MORNING
Derek was making breakfast when he heard soft footsteps coming up behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he barely held back a grin. His pretty boy looked like he got caught going into the cookie jar.
The older man's fingers were itching to run through Reid's unruly hair. He also wanted breathe in the brown-eyed's scent and lick that beautiful, pale neck. He turned off the stove as he fully turned around.
"Hey, pretty boy."
Morgan couldn't stand how embarrassed Reid looked in the doorway; fidgeting with his borrowed shirt with a pink flush on his cheeks. Come to think of it, the genius looked damn good in Derek's shirt. It made him look a lot smaller and very much protected.
His gaze went to the exposed skin of Reid's shoulder peeking out of the shirt that really was too big for him. Derek wouldn't have it any other way if he had any input on the matter.
The younger man cleared his throat and shifted on his bare feet, which made Morgan glance down and become distracted again. Reid's feet were surprisingly dainty for a man so long and thin. It made Morgan want to lick them.
"Uhm...Morgan...t-thank you for allowing me to stay here..." Reid murmured hoarsely, the flush deepening to a redder color as he tried to disappear from the room.
Morgan's not having that, so he gathered up his nerve and walked over to the nervous younger man. He moved close enough to breathe in Reid's natural smell, which was driving Morgan crazy.
The older man reached out and pulled Reid into his chest. He forced himself not to nuzzle into that gorgeous neck, but he did run a hand through his unruly hair. To his surprise, Reid all but melted into him, the nervousness and uncertainty gone from his body.
Morgan couldn't help himself; he literally scooped up Reid into his arms. He chuckled at the shocked squeak the genius made. The brown-eyed instinctively latched onto Morgan like a monkey.
The dark-skinned man walked into the living room and sat down on couch, loving the feel of his pretty boy finally where he belonged; his lap. He waited until Reid relaxed again and looked up at him, face as red as a tomato. His soft brown eyes were filled with confusion and apprehension.
Morgan refrained himself from caressing his pretty boy's cheekbones. "Pretty boy, I need to tell you something before we do anything else."
He waited until Reid nodded, the confusion in his eyes more prominent now. "I need you in my life, Spencer. Please tell me I didn't read you wrong in this."
Those brown eyes stared at him with such shock and hope that it squeezed his heart. "W-what?" he choaked out, voice high and strangled.
This time, Morgan did caress those cheekbones and softly kissed those full, pink lips that were as soft and silky as he imagined they would be. Reid froze for a split second before he responded, softly moaning.
Morgan could finally relax. He forced himself to pull back, chuckling at the protesting whine Reid gave. "We need to talk more, baby," he rasped, making Reid blush again at the new pet name.
His pretty boy nodded as he rested his head on Morgan's chest. The older man's arms went around the too-thin body and pulled him as close as possible. He looked down and grinned at the way Reid was nuzzling his face in his shirt.
The dark-skinned man couldn't help but bury his hand in Reid's hair, gently massaging the back of head as he went. "You should've done something earlier, baby."
"I was waiting for you to make the first move, Derek...if you even felt the same way for me."
"Spencer. I was so obvious to everybody. Considering how you watch everything, I thought you would pick up my interest to you years ago."
"Years?" Spencer breathed.
"Years."
Spencer was slightly trembling. "Why didn't you just say something, Derek? All this time we could've been together. I had almost given up on waiting for you to do something. You know I am not a tactile person in...relationships."
"I know, baby boy. I guess I was waiting for you, but I shoud've just pinned you to a wall and kissed you senseless the day you walked in the BAU."
"Morgan!" Reid groaned in his shirt. Derek laughed, feeling the heat coming off his face.
The older man kissed his pretty boy's temple before nuzzling his jawline. "I love you, Spencer Reid, and I'm not gonna let you go."
Brown eyes met his, full of happiness. "Love you too, Derek."
Morgan turned playful. He shifted Reid until his head was nestled in the crook of his neck and shoulder. Then he licked the sensitive skin of his collarbone, that jutted out too much for his liking.
He grinned when he felt the shudder that went through Reid's frame. "I'm going to be a protective asshole, babe. You good with that?"
"I-If you're a good protective a-asshole..." Reid stuttered out.
Shock almost paralyzed the older man. "Did you just say a dirty word? Spencer Reid, I'm impressed."
The answering blush was too cute for words. Morgan smiled before it dimmed. Reid must have saw it because concern went into those beautiful, brown eyes. "Derek, what's wrong?"
"Baby, I know you haven't been sleeping well. You're probably not sleeping at all right? Last night was probably the first full sleep you've had in a while. I bet you're also not eating. Pretty boy, you're so thin. I'm worried about you."
Reid looked down, distress and shame etched on every part of his body. Derek nestled him as close to his body as possible, caressing his love's thin back. He hated how he could feel every vertebrae.
"I'm sorry...I-I've just b-been having...n-nightmares," his pretty boy whispered in his neck. "C-can't sleep..."
"I'm gonna help you, baby boy. You're gonna move in with me and get you healthy again. I need you healthy, Spencer. You're my life now."
"Can I sleep with you?" he asked shyly.
"For the rest of your life, pretty boy. Now, let's eat our cold breakfast before we shower. I know you must be starving."