They had barely been out on the road, only a block away from the house they’d just left, when Morgan decided it was time to start the conversation. He didn’t bother trying to talk to Spencer right away, or to ask him to put the journal down. Instead, he just grabbed it out of the young man’s hands, tossing it into the backseat. The “Hey!” of protest that Spencer gave rolled right off Morgan’s shoulders.
Focusing on the road, Morgan only let himself sneak a quick glance at Spencer’s face. “Rarely do we get alone time on a case, Spencer. I’m not wasting the little time we’ve got here with you reading a journal.”
The younger man sighed, but he didn’t protest anymore. He simply readjusted in his seat, turning his body just a little so that he was facing more toward Morgan. “Sorry. I just, I get caught up like that when I work. But I don’t need to tell you that. You already know…”
Morgan moved a hand off the wheel and reached over, setting it down on Spencer’s leg, cutting him off before the ramble could really kick in. If he hadn’t known that Spencer was upset about something before, he would have after that. It wasn’t the younger man’s typical ramble; that was the kind that came from nerves.
When Spencer was quiet and Morgan was sure he had the younger man’s attention, he spoke. “Tell me what you’re thinking, Spencer. Please.” His words were said softly, with a gentle touch reserved for those he loved.
For a long moment he thought Spencer would either ignore him or brush him off. That was a typical way for the young genius to deal with things he didn’t want to talk about. Aaron and Morgan had been working hard at trying to get Spencer to open up and it seemed to slowly be working, but there were still too many times that Spencer shut down on him. Now was one of those times. “I’m fine, Derek. It’s just been a long morning so far.”
“Bull.” His hand on the wheel tightened for a minute. He took a deep breath to calm down and level out his tone; it wasn’t Spencer that he was upset with. “You’ve been upset since you and Seaver went to the hospital this morning. Why don’t you tell me what she said to upset you so much, Spencer.”
Out of the corner of his eye he saw Spencer sigh softly before shrugging. “Nothing I haven’t heard plenty of times before.”
Morgan didn’t stop to think before he jerked the car over to the shoulder of the road. Once the car was in park, he spun to look at his young lover, the anger he’d held back before now coursing through him. Had he really heard him right? “What did you just say?” he demanded angrily. He couldn’t believe he’d heard him right. Was he saying that other people had told him he was useless on the team? Morgan swore he’d find whoever had the balls to say that to Spencer and knock them flat on their ass. No one spoke to him that way! No one!
Immediately Spencer was reaching over, taking Morgan’s hands in his. Those big hazel eyes went wide with worry and his tone was gentle, soothing. “Derek, Derek, breathe. Please, Derek, just calm down a little. Calm, please.”
“You tell me what the hell these people are saying to you and who’s saying it, Spencer.” Morgan’s voice had become even harder. He was having a difficult time controlling his fury at the moment.
Spencer’s eyes were drawn to something outside the car for a minute. Quickly he let go of Morgan’s hands, shifting his body in his seat as his cheeks heated. One of his hands came up to cover his face. Turning his head, Morgan saw why. The other SUV had parked up ahead of them, obviously thinking something was wrong. One of the doors had already opened and Aaron was on his way over. Because it was Aaron and not any of the others, Morgan didn’t put as much of a lid on his temper as he might have otherwise. Still, he fought to bring it under some kind of control.
Their older love walked to Spencer’s door, waiting as Spencer rolled the window down, one hand still hiding his face. “What on earth is going on here?” Aaron demanded seriously. There was concern in his voice, but they were on the clock and being their boss took precedence at the moment over being their lover. “Did something happen?”
“No!” Spencer rushed to say right as Morgan snapped out “Yes!”
With one look Aaron summed up the scene between the two. He paused, watching their faces. Then he shook his head. “Stay right here.” He ordered them. “And shut up until I get back.”
Morgan contemplated saying something in response to that, but a look from Aaron warned him that now wasn’t the time. So he watched and stewed as Aaron made his way to the other SUV, going to the passenger’s door. A moment later Dave stepped out, taking the keys from him and moving to the driver’s door while Aaron made his way back over.
Looking over, Morgan saw how red Spencer was behind his hand. Situations like this were mortifying to the younger man. He hated causing a scene in any way, shape, or form. Personally, Morgan didn’t care in the least that they might have ‘made a scene’. None of that was as important to him as taking care of one of the men he loved. And that was the center of his focus right now. His mind was still wrapped around the fact that Spencer had been insulted by other people. Plenty of times, apparently! He couldn’t help how angry that made him. No one had the right to talk to Spencer that way!
Aaron was back at Spencer’s window again, his arms folded so that he was leaning in. “I just bought us a short amount of time so this had better be good, you two. Obviously this isn’t work related and I can’t waste time on a case to indulge in being Aaron. Right now I need to be Hotch. You two know how this has to work.” When Morgan started to say something, Aaron held a hand up and shook his head. “You’re too pissed to talk right now, Derek. I need this short and quick. Spencer, tell me what the hell happened. Please.”
Bringing his other hand up to hide his face, Spencer shook his head. He was obviously beyond uncomfortable with this. But Aaron just reached in, stroking his hand over Spencer’s hair gently. “Does this have something to do with what Seaver said to you?”
“You know?” Spencer looked up, surprised.
Morgan tried to reign in his temper. The last thing Spencer needed was yelled at right now. He took a few deep breaths before he said “She told me a little of what she said to you, baby boy. I didn’t mention it because I wanted you to talk to me about it. But I told Aaron.”
Yet again Spencer buried his face. “Oh man.” He muttered. “No wonder you got so upset. I can’t believe I just told you that.” The last part was more to himself than to either of them. His eyes turned to peek out for a moment at Morgan. “Give me a heads up that you know next time! Better to just ask me outright than to try and trick me.”
Aaron looked from one to the other. “Someone tell me what happened, now, before I start getting pissed off.”
The look on Aaron’s face said he wasn’t kidding around. Morgan reached over, resting his hand on Spencer’s leg once more, trying to calm the younger man down as well as use the contact to bring himself back under control. “I asked him to tell me what Ashley said or did that upset him and he told me it was nothing he hadn’t heard plenty of times before.” The anger was back again, making Morgan narrow his eyes. It pleased him to see the same angry look cross Aaron’s face. “I got pissed, so I pulled over so we wouldn’t wreck.”
“Is there someone on the team other than Seaver that’s treating you badly?” Aaron demanded. The patience in his voice was totally gone now, replaced with the same anger that was in Morgan. Neither one of them would tolerate someone putting down their youngest. Spencer didn’t speak, but he shook his head no. “Is this the first time Seaver’s said something to you?” This time, there was no response. Aaron’s voice went a little harder. “I’m asking as Unit chief right now and I expect an answer to that question.”
Spencer’s hands dropped down into his lap and his chin lifted a little. Eyes closed, Spencer took a deep breath, visibly gathering himself. After a short pause, he opened his eyes again, looking much calmer than before. The blush was completely gone and there was a slightly defiant light in his eyes as he looked at Aaron. “No.” He said firmly. All signs of his discomfort were gone now. His gaze traveled back and forth between Aaron and Morgan as he spoke. “I’m not going to play this game. Not with them and not with the two of you. If I can’t handle a little personal conflict with other agents than I don’t deserve to be on a team. I have no official complaint to make about Ashley or about any other agent, nor do I plan on it. Quit treating me like a child and let me handle this on my own.”
“As the leader of this group, it’s my job to straight out conflict between agents.” Aaron pointed out.
But Spencer was already shaking his head. “Only if it becomes a problem, which it hasn’t. This hasn’t affected my work and I don’t intend to let it. If it was anyone but myself, you’d let this go, Aaron. You know you would. The both of you would. If it was Seaver and Emily, you’d step back and let them handle it, only stepping in if it got too out of control. I’m expecting you to extend me the same courtesy. At the moment, this isn’t a problem to my team.
He looked at them again, face serious. “It’s a problem to my lovers, but not to my boss and not to my co-worker. Later, if my lovers want to discuss it with me, maybe we will. But not here, not now, and not while we should be working. I’m not wasting precious time with this.”
Unbuckling his belt, Spencer reached to open his door, waiting until a shocked Aaron stepped back out of the way. Once out, Spencer moved around and climbed into the backseat. He didn’t look at either one of them as he grabbed the journal Morgan had stolen from him before and he started to read right where he’d previously left off.
The only thing Aaron could do was climb into the passenger’s seat. He and Morgan exchanged surprised looks; neither one had expected that kind of speech from Spencer. But they both knew he was right. This was not something for working hours. There was a job to be done and an Unsub they needed to catch before he could hurt anyone else. The rest of this would wait until they were off the clock and alone together. Still, Morgan promised himself that the three of them were going to have a long talk at the soonest opportunity. He wasn’t going to let something like this fester in Spencer’s mind. At the same time, Aaron was promising himself that he was going to keep a closer eye on Ashley and refrain from pairing her with Spencer unless he absolutely had to. No need to create even more of an opportunity for conflict.
Just as Morgan started the car back up, he felt Aaron’s hand slide into his. Then he heard Spencer shift in the backseat, his long arm reaching up between the two front seats so that his hand briefly rested over theirs. A small smile tugged at Morgan’s lips. Maybe they were all a little worried and annoyed right now and maybe Aaron and Spencer were right; they were on the clock right now. But that didn’t mean they couldn’t take a little bit of silent comfort from one another while they did their jobs. Morgan pulled the car back out onto the road, their hands staying linked together until right as they pulled into the station.