They did end up being late. By fifteen minutes. But neither of them cared. They climbed out of the car, grinning at one another as they joined hands. Together they headed into the little lunch shop in across from the parking garage. Morgan was the one to spot Timmy first, waiting over at a table by the wall. Spencer raised an eyebrow when he saw him as well. “Trisha isn’t with him.” He pointed out quietly.
“Maybe she went to the bathroom.” Morgan suggested as they started to move through the crowd.
Shrugging, Spencer didn’t let his mind wonder too much about it. They’d find out as soon as they reached Timmy. He didn’t need to stress himself over it. It’s not stress. It’s being cautious and doing your job. You’re here to work; you seem to forget that a little too often an you’ve only been here four days now. Only four days? It seemed like so much more. Things were so calm and quiet compared to what his normal life was like. Yeah, calm and quiet. Sure. You’re only being watched and stalked by a man who has been killing gay couples and it appears that you’ve become his next target. Which you WANTED to happen, as it’s part of your job. He’s following you around and watching you play in bed with Morgan and waiting for the opportunity to kill you. That’s totally calm and quiet. Idiot.
It took everything Spencer had not to chuckle at himself. So, thinking it was calm and quiet was pretty stupid. Maybe a better way to put it was that he was happier right now than he normally was. Being on cases made him happier than being at home did, even though people had to be hurt for it to happen. That made him feel guilty, but not guilty enough to stop the happy feeling each time a case came up that took him away from home.
For the first time since he’d discovered how trapped in this hell he was, Spencer felt a small kernel of hope that he might be able to get free. The same threats were still there, but somehow they seemed just a little easier to handle with Morgan by his side. Not as scary. Maybe it was a little ridiculous for a grown man to feel safer in the presence of another male, but that didn’t stop him from feeling that way. It makes you as weak as Michael says you are his brain taunted. Yet even that didn’t get him down. Around Morgan, maybe I am a little weaker he thought. But Morgan makes me feel like it’s ok. Like it’s a good thing. He makes me feel like being weaker doesn’t make me less.
He was broken from his thoughts when soft lips touched his. His body recognized it as being Morgan instantly; his brain only a second later. When they broke apart, he smiled at his friend. Morgan grinned back at him. “Welcome back, pretty boy.”
Confusion wrinkled Spencer’s forehead. Welcome back? Before he could ask, Morgan was already answering him. “You spaced out again, Spencer. Timmy’s been trying to say hi for a few minutes now.”
“Oh.” Embarrassed, Spencer looked over and realized that they were standing by the table they’d seen Timmy at and Timmy was sitting there grinning up at him. “I uh, sorry about that. I was just thinking about something.” His cheeks heated a little. Almost instantly the other two men started laughing and Spencer realized what they were thinking. His words, combined with the blush, and the two were probably thinking dirty. Since he couldn’t scold Timmy, he turned to smack Morgan’s arm and scold him. “That’s not what I meant! That’s all you ever think about, I swear.”
“Like anyone could blame me once they saw who I take home with me. You look hot, darling.”
Flushing, Spencer brushed past the compliment—he was just wearing a pair of jeans and a long sleeved button up t-shirt with a jacket—and instead he focused on the nickname. “Nope, Derek. Keep trying, though.”
Morgan pulled on his hand, drawing him down into the side of the booth opposite Timmy, who was busy chuckling at them. The older agent looked over at Spencer, still grinning. “Sugar plum?”
“Absolutely not.” Spencer replied immediately. He shuddered at the thought of being called sugar plum.
“Dumpling?”
“No way.”
“White chocolate drop?”
That one made Spencer turn to glare at him. “You talked to Misty!” he accused. Garcia had called Spencer that on more than one occasion, though only when no one else was around. The look Morgan gave him just before he burst into laughter told Spencer that Morgan hadn’t talked to Garcia; even worse—he’d come up with it on his own.
When he got his laughter under control, Morgan leaned over and kissed his cheek. “I didn’t, but you know her and I think alike sometimes.” He turned to Timmy and flashed a grin. “Sorry, man. Pardon us. We’ve been in a heck of a mood all morning. Just ignore our bickering; we do it for fun.”
“Maybe you do.” Spencer grumbled. But a corner of his mouth was trying to curve despite his best efforts. He really did like ‘bickering’ with Morgan. It was fun.
Timmy was trying to get his laughter under control. “Oh, man, it’s no problem. Trisha and I do the same thing sometimes. We’ve actually challenged one another before to come up with the most complicated and intelligent insults.”
“Who won?” Morgan asked.
Leaning back in his seat, Timmy hid his grin behind his coffee cup. “Depends on who you ask. She says she did and I let her think that. Makes things a little easier when I let her think she’s always right.”
“Isn’t that the truth! Where’s she at, by the way? I thought she was joining us today?”
Timmy shook his head. “She wasn’t feeling that great so she opted to stay at home. But she said to tell you two hello and that she thinks we should all go to a movie together once she’s feeling better.”
The phone in Spencer’s pocket buzzed lightly for a second. He pulled it out, checking the screen and seeing he’d received a text. A text? That had to be from Garcia. The woman knew he didn’t like texting. While Morgan and Timmy joked back and forth, Spencer opened up the message to see what she had to say.
Spencer all I can say 2 u is OMFG– Misty
The waitress walked up right then as Spencer was looking at the message. He heard the other two order and, when she came to him, he told her “Just a coffee, please.” Then he looked over to Morgan. “Derek, what does OMFG stand for?”
Morgan startled for a second before his face melted down underneath a grin. “Misty texting you, baby boy?”
“Yeah.” He turned the phone so Morgan could read it. His friend looked at the phone and chuckled. “It means ‘oh my fucking God’.”
Nodding, Spencer sat back to send her a reply. While he did that, Morgan looked over to Timmy. “Ignore him for a bit. He’s slightly anti-technology so he doesn’t understand all the terms quite right. But he has to respond to Misty or she gets antsy. She’s got the mama bear syndrome when it comes to Spencer and she’s not liking him being so far away.”
“I take it she’s an old friend, then?”
Spencer paused in his awkward texting to look up at Timmy. “Yes, she is. I grew up with her. She’s a bit of a character, but she’s one of the best people you could ever know.” That was completely true. Garcia was the bubbly, happy girl that kept them all sane sometimes. But underneath that sweetness was a core of steel that could come out when one of her ‘babies’ was in danger. Then she really did turn into a bit of a mama bear. Kind of like JJ.
He bent his head back down and finished off his message, sending it off to her.
Why do you say that? – Spencer
Her reply came within seconds. Amazing how she could type more than him and take way less time.
I needed 2 take a cold shwr after watching u last nite – Misty
His cheeks turned bright red. “Ah, man. I knew it!” he grumbled to himself without realizing it. His fingers flew to reply to her.
Did anyone else happen to witness it? – Spencer
As if, my little puff pastry. That was 2 personal 2 share! But boy was it hot. U 2 are good at faking, that’s 4 sure – Misty
Tipping the phone a little, Spencer let Morgan read the message, pinching his leg when Morgan started to laugh. Deliberately he put the phone back in his pocket right as the waitress returned with his coffee. He wasn’t going to sit and text with Garcia and be rude to Timmy. They were here to visit with him. “Sorry about that.” He apologized while picking up his cup. “Misty tends to get annoying if she isn’t answered immediately. And seeing as how I don’t have a death wish, I try not to upset her too much.”
“She sounds a bit scary.” Timmy teased. He picked up part of the sandwich he’d ordered, eyeing it for a second, then looking at the burger and fries Morgan had ordered with his coffee, and then over to Spencer’s single coffee cup. “You not hungry?”
Before he answered he grabbed the sugar and started to pour it into his coffee. “I only had one cup this morning.” He explained. The evil look he shot at Morgan made the older man snort out a laugh before deliberately picking up his burger and taking a bite, grinning around the food in his mouth. Spencer rolled his eyes again. “I have a tendency to forget food. When I…do anything, really, I have a tendency to get caught up in what I’m doing and forget mundane things such as meals.”
“Or brushing his hair. Or answering the phone. Or paying the bills.” Morgan rattled off around a mouthful of food. Spencer scowled at him. He knew Morgan had talked with his mouth full on purpose, just to add to the insult of his words. Morgan knew that Spencer hated when people did that. His grin once he’d swallowed was totally unashamed of it. Leaning in, he kissed the tip of Spencer’s nose. “But that’s ok, I love you anyways.”
“I’m not that bad!” Spencer argued.
Morgan quirked an eyebrow at him. “Baby, remember the time I told you about when you zoned out so bad you almost knocked over four different people? You would have had your gorgeous ass kicked and not even known why if I hadn’t been there to look out for you.”
Blushing, Spencer turned to look at Timmy. “Ignore him, please. He’s apparently in the mood to pick on me today, seeing as how he hasn’t stopped since he woke up. So I think I’ll ignore him for a short bit.” He picked his cup up again, cradling it between his hands and turning his full attention to Timmy. “I hear you’re going to act as tour guide for us today and show us around.”
“Well, I offered and Derek seemed kind of interested to see the place. I thought I’d show you guys the great places to grab some quick lunch between classes, or to go eat and study. How to get to the library quickly and where the best place is to park if you’re going to be walking all over. You know, that kind of stuff.” Timmy stopped, looking like he was trying to restrain himself from asking something.
The look he wore was pretty obvious. Spencer had a feeling he knew what it was Timmy was going to ask. Sighing, he gestured with one hand. “Go ahead and ask, Timmy. I won’t bite your head off for asking me a question, I promise.”
The other man flushed slightly. “I just, well, you said you have a tendency to forget meals when you’re doing stuff, but you’re not doing anything now. I was just curious if you really don’t eat that often. I mean, it can’t be good to skip meals so much. Not that I’m judging you or anything! Oh, man, that didn’t come out sounding right. Listen, I’m sorry. I’m just putting my foot in my mouth here. Forget I said anything…”
“Timmy!” Spencer cut in. When he got the other man to look at him, he chuckled. “It’s ok, really. It is. You’re not the only person in my life that questions my eating habits. In fact, among some of my friends, it’s a constant topic of conversation.” He shot a look over to Morgan, who had been looking at his phone. When he looked over, Morgan held the phone up so Spencer could see the message there.
Tell boy genius he needs more than coffee 4 breakfast! An that those jeans look good on his cute hiney – Misty
Perfect example. Garcia always tries to feed me. Wait a second…’those jeans’ He turned his head casually and found one of the security cameras in the store pointed right at their table. Hello Garcia Spencer thought with a purely mental sigh. He covered the moment by smiling over at Timmy. “To be honest, I can eat you out of house and home if I’m hungry enough. When I get caught up in things, I may not eat. But when they’re done, sometimes the hunger hits and I can eat quite a bit. But I typically don’t. I enjoy food, I just don’t require it as often as some would think for my size.”
The rest of lunch passed rather quickly. Once Morgan put his phone away, the three men chatted about local attractions and made future plans to get together once Trisha was well. When they were done with their food, Timmy suggested they head out and see a few of the local places. That was how they found themselves wandering down the street, talking and laughing amongst the crowds of people.
Spencer found himself relaxing as the day went by. They discovered coffee shops, bookstores—which Spencer couldn’t resist going inside and grabbing new books, though Morgan did give him a ten minute time limit—the local library, internet cafes. Everything a person could need to use while they were at school.
It was a pretty simple day, but it was wonderful. Spencer got to hold Morgan’s hand, or wrap an arm around his waist while Morgan’s went around his shoulders, or snuggle in next to him when they sat somewhere. As the day went by, the wind picked up a little, but it stayed a decent day. Morgan wasn’t even wearing a coat. For once, Spencer wasn’t that cold either. It was hard to be cold when cuddled against Morgan’s warm body while they walked.
All day the two agents kept their eyes peeled for any signs of being followed. Though it was rare, Spencer occasionally caught sight of their Unsub; he couldn’t help but think the guy was obvious. If this was how he stalked others, how had he not been caught? Following in his car, stalking in public; it was just so obvious to Spencer. Maybe it’s because you’re a trained profiler, you nerd. You’re trained to look for these things and other people aren’t! That’s why you notice him everywhere. Obviously. But it wasn’t his profiling skills that showed him the man around them, at least in his opinion. He thought maybe it had something to do with his childhood more than his FBI training. As a kid, he’d had to learn when someone was following him so he could figure out a way to escape. Kids had often followed home from school to catch him somewhere and beat him up. Side effects of being the scrawny nerd who was younger than the rest of his class.
Either way, he logged the information away in his mind and also sent a quick text to Garcia to let her know a ‘mutual friend’ was out and about today. He didn’t want to risk someone being able to see what he was typing. A little paranoid? Not like someone can really read what you type from a distance. But still, better safe than sorry. The few looks he’d exchanged with Morgan here and there told him that Morgan had noticed their shadow as well. Always at a distance, or in innocuous places, but he was there.
By the time they were heading back to their car, the two were in a pretty good mood. It had been a fun day, after all. They’d enjoyed being out and about with one another, talking and laughing in a manner more relaxed than either had been able to do for a while. Not to mention they were both not only free to flirt, but expected to. Which they happily did.
This feeling of being happy with someone was new to Spencer. When he climbed into the car, he was shocked to realize that he hadn’t thought of Michael for hours now. That was amazing.
Shaking his head, Spencer drew himself from his thoughts. He smiled as he saw Morgan loading their couple bags into the back of the car. Despite Morgan’s teasing when he let him into places, the older man had carried the bags without protest. Some of them were heavy, too, with the thick books that Spencer had picked out.
He adjusted his sore muscles in his seat and tried to get more comfortable. The sun was starting to set and he felt pleasantly tired, albeit a little achy. He rested his head against the seat and let his eyes slide shut. There was the sound of the driver’s door opening and then he could hear Morgan climbing into his seat. After the door shut, a hand brushed over Spencer’s forehead, tucking hair behind his ear. “How you feeling, kid?”
“Good.” Spencer replied. A yawn broke in, making Spencer smile once it was done. “A little tired, I guess. It was a good day, though. Timmy’s a pretty decent individual.”
“Yeah, he’s a cool guy. Kind of shy like you at first, but he sure got more outspoken.” There was the sound of keys and then the car came to life. Spencer just kept his eyes closed and trusted to Morgan to get him home. Once more he yawned. He was more tired than he’d thought. He knew he should wake up; he was supposed to call Emily. You can do it when you get home he told himself. That was fine. He’d just call her when he got back to the house. For now, he’d just rest his eyes a little bit. In minutes he was asleep.
CMCM
Morgan smiled as he snuck a glance over at his passenger. Just minutes after climbing in the car, the kid had passed out. Normally that might have worried Morgan; it was normal for Spencer to be up for long stretches when he was working and he always functioned fine if he could have coffee. But everything that Morgan had learned about Spencer’s life, well, it wasn’t surprising the kid was tired. His body was still recovering from the beating it had received. One that Morgan worried might have caused more damage than Spencer would admit to. But right now, there was really nothing he could do but keep his eye on his young friend.
He tried to pull his thoughts away from Spencer for a moment. Work had to come first right now. He knew that Spencer was supposed to call Emily tonight, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be able to get the kid up to do it. Everyone knew that when Spencer went out, when he was tired enough, he could be difficult to wake up if you didn’t have a cup of coffee to stick under his nose. Since the last thing that Spencer needed was coffee right now, Morgan’s plan was to just carry him into the house and tuck him into bed so he could nap. Or maybe lay him out on the couch with him while he watched a movie.
As he drove down the road, Morgan pulled out his phone and dialed the number for Emily. She answered after just a few rings. “Hey, Morgan. We were beginning to wonder if you’d forgot about us.” She teased him.
“As if I could forget about you, Prentiss. Naw, we just got caught up making friends today, you know? All part of the job and such.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. You’re just too much of a people person. Everyone likes you for some unknown reason.”
He grinned in the darkening car, knowing she couldn’t see it, and adopted a pretend offended tone. “I’m hurt! You know I’m just a likeable guy.”
“Yeah, that’s it. I’m sure.” She said dryly. The both of them chuckled. “So, where’s the boy genius? I thought Garcia said he was the one calling to check in.”
That had Morgan sneaking another glance at his sleeping partner. “Pretty boy crashed once we got in the car. He’s pretty beat, so I decided to let him sleep. And you know how hard it is to wake him up without coffee.”
“Isn’t that the truth? Sheesh. He gets that Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde thing going on sometimes.”
“You’re telling me.” But Morgan said that with a fond tone. “Anyways, on to work. You guys got anything for us? We saw our potential Unsub following us around today. He seems to have fixated on us at the moment.”
“It looks that way. Garcia says he didn’t even get online to view his cameras today. It looks like he spent the whole afternoon following the two of you. Oh, she also said he was there for the show last night, which she wouldn’t let me watch. You two came into the house and she booted everyone away from the computer. Even Hotch!”
That had Morgan laughing again. “I bet that was a picture to see.”
“Hotch kind of gaped at her, but she didn’t really give him a choice. When we protested staying, she picked up her laptop and left the room after telling us that she wasn’t going to embarrass her junior G man any more than he already was. Once she was gone, Hotch said he had to admit she was right. We all know this is hard for Reid, with him being so private and all, and it’s probably hard for you too, so we’re trying to respect as much privacy as we can while still keeping you guys safe.”
“We really appreciate that. I wouldn’t care that you were watching.” He made sure his leer bled through to his tone just to make her laugh. “But it would have bothered him a lot. So tell my baby girl thanks for me.”
Emily’s voice was sunny when she told him “Can do!”
It was good to talk with her. Good to hear from the other members of the team. As fun as it was to be playing pretend with Spencer, the rest of the team was their family and he was used to hearing from them every day. His happiness showed through in his voice. “So anyways, what’s going on?”
“Well the car is registered to a Carlos Sanchez. Who, let me tell you, does not match the guy that’s driving. We compared the description we got as well as the image Garcia pulled off a security cam and it definitely isn’t Carlos. She’s got his picture running through the system right now, trying to see if she can get a hit off him. It’s starting to irritate her, because she’s found nothing so far and you know how she is about that.”
“Shit, I bet she’s just pleased.”
“Ha, ha, Morgan. You’re not here, you don’t have ot listen to her ranting about it while she works. She’s taking everything he does personal. Him being a bit of a ghost and his hacking skills and his tech skills. Let’s just say, she’s not happy.”
In the background he heard Garcia’s voice suddenly. “Is that my sweet little buttercup?” she called out. Morgan had to smother a chuckle. Oh, Spencer would hate hearing her call him that. He snickered while he pulled into the driveway and put the car in park. Instead of getting out, he turned in his seat so he could watch Spencer sleep while he listened to the voices on the phone. Emily was laughing and answering Garcia. “Nope, PG. It’s Morgan.”
There was a shuffling sound and then Garcia’s voice came over the line. “Hey there, handsome. Fancy meeting you here.”
“Hey baby girl.” Morgan grinned at her even as he reached a hand out and tucked a stray strand of hair behind Spencer’s ear. The kid just slept on. He really looked cute while he slept, as much as he might frown at hearing himself referred to as cute. “Good to hear your voice.”
“Oh, you sweet talker. I supposed Em caught you up on your Unsub? The little jerk who keeps evading me. But not for long, oh no! I’m going to catch him and then you’re going to catch him so we can all go home where we belong!”
Her little speech had his smile growing a little more. There was nothing like talking to Garcia to make a person feel good. “I’m sure you will, Mama. No one’s as good as you.”
“Mm, just for that, I’ll make sure to reward you when I see you again.” She practically purred in his ear. The easy flirtation was something Morgan had been missing. His relationship with Garcia was special; something that went deeper than the teasing that neither ever took seriously. Their bond went deep. “Now, my love, let me catch you up on our last info, which really isn’t anything. Your Timmy character and his girlfriend Trisha both come up squeaky clean. Not a single splotch on their record whatsoever. So far, they look normal. Boss man says good job, by the way, on making friends so early on. He says it’ll help your position. Just keeping going out randomly, but he says not to go out every night and blow bureau money.”
“Now where’s the fun in that?” he teased.
“No kidding. Well, you behave, Derek, or you’ll incur the wrath of Hotch and none of us want that. Now my tracking says you’re in the driveway, so I should let you get in the house. Where’s your young man?”
Morgan smiled at her words. His young man. Sounded kind of nice to him. “He’s sleeping in the passenger’s seat. I should probably get him inside at least. Kid’s tired.”
“You take good care of my little one for me, Derek, or you’ll have me to answer to! Now get him in that house and we’ll talk to you in a day or two.”
“Thanks, Garcia. You take care too.”
Hanging up the phone, Morgan shook his head. If someone listened to Garcia, they would think that none of the agents could take care of themselves, especially Spencer. She was protective of them all, but more so toward Morgan and Spencer. Well, don’t want to get on her bad side. I better get Spencer in the house he thought to himself. He didn’t even realize that Reid had become Spencer in his mind now, too.
It was easier than he’d thought it would be to get Spencer out of the car and into his arms. He scooped him up marriage style, one arm under his knees and the other behind his back. God, he’s so light!How did he shrink so much without any of us knowing it? Hell, he got a lot past us without us noticing it. Well, not anymore. No more, pretty boy. I’m taking care of you now.
His heart melted just a little when Spencer mumbled “Derek?” and twined his arms up around Morgan’s neck.
“Yeah, kid, it’s me. Go back to sleep, hon, I’ve got you.” He soothed him. Instantly Spencer settled back down. Luckily, Morgan had his keys in his hand, so he didn’t have to maneuver too much to unlock the door. Once he was in, he used his foot to shut the door. Instead of moving to the couch as he’d thought about doing, he headed back to the bedroom. Neither man had bothered to make the bed that morning, so the blankets were still flung back from earlier.
He laid Spencer down before starting to undress him just like a child. He removed his shoes and his pants, setting them off to the side. Then he grabbed a large t-shirt, bringing it over and changing it out for Spencer’s button down shirt, trying to keep the bruising on Spencer’s stomach from being visible. Just the sight of the mwas enough to have rage building in Morgan again. He couldn’t understand how someone could want to hurt Spencer. Who the hell would hurt someone as sweet, as innocent as him? Who could dare to mark that soft, beautiful skin?
If he ever got his hands on this Michael character, he wasn’t going to be responsible for his actions. Tucking the blankets around his love, Morgan pressed a kiss to his temple. Just as he started to step away, Spencer shifted. “Derek?” he mumbled again.
Morgan stroked a hand over his hair. “Yeah, baby boy?”
“Stay with me?” his voice was just a low murmur, so low that Morgan almost didn’t hear him. “You keep the nightmares ‘way.”
How could he resist that plea? Morgan kicked off his shoes and shucked his shirt and jeans. Then he climbed into the bed and under the covers, wrapping his arm around Spencer’s waist as he’d done every single night. This time the young man instantly scooted back into him and let out an audible sigh. “Thanks.”
“Anytime, Spencer.” Kissing the skin at Spencer’s neck, Morgan held him close. “I’ll always be here when you need me.” You won’t be alone anymore, baby boy. I won’t let that bastard ever hurt you again. Together, the two drifted to sleep.