I wish that you would do with some talking
How else am I to know what you're thinking?
If only people would say what it really was
What it really was
What it really was that they wanted
- Garbage
Reid lay awake at three thirty in the morning staring at the white ceiling above him. His eyes kept drifting over to the L.E.D. alarm clock beside him, watching as the minutes ticked by one by one. The thoughts in the brilliant brain of his were jumbled, running over each other and stomping one another into the base of his skull. The headache this gave him kept growing, and those minutes kept ticking by. Four a.m. He would have to get up in an hour. But why another sleepless night?
Because of him: Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan.
That name could not flee from his head. And this was one sleepless night among the countless others that kept him awake. The team had been noticing it too. His performance had slipped at work, and everyone just thought something terrible had happened in his personal life. He supposes something must have, if a person looked at his predicament in a certain light.
The phone also sat on that nightstand. Reid felt like he should just call Morgan, no matter how early in the morning it was. The other agent would understand. Everyone knew there was something stuck on Reid's mind. It was just that nobody knew it was his co-worker. Reid's long thin hand slipped out from under his comforter and picked up the phone. For a moment he hesitated, almost putting it back down. But no matter how early in the morning it was, Reid had to be brave. He did not care whether it was the smart thing to do or not. Thus, the genius dialed Morgan's cell phone and listened to the tone until a familiar person picked up.
"Reid?" Morgan inquired, sounding groggy and irritated.
Reid spoke quickly into the phone, "I need to tell you something."
"Can't it wait till morning?"
"Actually, technically it is morning," Reid corrected him.
This conversation was taking a turn for the worse, and quickly too.
"I am such an idiot," Reid thought to himself, wishing he had never called Morgan. "I'd rather be blessed with a brilliant social IQ right now."
"Reid!" Morgan snapped.
"Yes?"
"We'll talk about this in the morning… now go to sleep," Morgan ordered.
And then he hung up.
Reid spent the time before his alarm clock rang just staring up at his ceiling. He felt hopeless, and no one was going to listen. No one would want to listen. Why should they? And after his alarm clock had gone off, Reid kept staring at the ceiling, just listening to the beeping of his alarm.
Twenty minutes before he would be late for work (ten minutes to get ready, ten minutes to get there) Reid got out of bed and shut off his infernal alarm clock. Pulling on black jeans, a light purple long-sleeve button-up shirt and a black tie, Reid did not even care to tuck his shirt in his pants as he always did. With the pace he was moving, getting dressed had taken up those ten minutes. Making scrambled eggs and eating them took up the other ten minutes. By the time he got his black sneakers on and had gotten in the car, he was late by five minutes. The commute to work took another fifteen minutes, and when he walked inside the building everyone he knew looked at him as though he were a different person. No one said good morning to him. No one even looked at him.
Only footsteps to the door, and Reid was so nervous he did not think he could walk inside. And yet, he did, only to find the team staring at him. Prentiss walked across the room with a manila folder in her hand. She motioned for him to go with her behind a desk.
"What'd you do? Just get out of bed?" Prentiss asked in a low whisper.
"I uh-"
"Your hair's a mess, your shirt's un-tucked… Reid, you look like a mess. Now there are people here who want to help you through whatever's happening to you. You have to let us help. We're your friends, Reid," Prentiss told him, her voice becoming louder until it was at a normal volume. Reid turned his head when Morgan walked in the room. Morgan strode over to his desk and sat down in his desk chair. Reid's eyes followed him all the way there, paying attention to every detail. Prentiss saw this and a slight smile crossed her lips because of an obvious realization, as she finished with, "On second thought, Morgan!"
"Yeah?" Morgan crossed the BAU until he was standing next to Reid.
Morgan glanced at Reid, and made a face as though she was trying to decide whether to say it or not, "Reid has something to tell you."
Morgan turned to Reid, and before Morgan could open his mouth to say anything, Red bolted upstairs into the presentation room. He hid in a corner, his lanky limbs coming up into the fetal position. He knew his team out there was talking about him. Now they all knew. Prentiss saw it the moment she asked what was wrong, and she must be telling everyone else. Reid wrapped his arms around his legs and tried to fight his eyes from watering. All the blinds were down in the room. They were closed against the long windowpanes, so anyone who was trying to look in would be unable to see him. The downside was that he was unable to see out there.
As the door opened, Reid hid his head behind his long legs. Clearly there was a presence in front of him. He hoped that when he looked up it would not be the devilishly handsome Morgan.
"Reid, what's goin' on with you man?" Morgan inquired.
Reid looked up. And there he was, that amazing man that had captured his heart without even realizing it. Morgan knelt in front of Reid, placing a large hand on Reid's knee. Reid stood up quickly. It was as though Morgan's touch had burned him. A look of sheer panic and nervousness crossed Reid's face.
"Reid, what's wrong?" Morgan stood up and blocked Reid's path to the closest exit.
Reid shook his head. He swallowed a lump in his throat. Those tears in his eyes had subsided, but Morgan had never seen his friend like this before.
Reid swallowed again and then looked Morgan straight in the eye. "You wouldn't like what I'd be telling you."
"Try me."
Reid bit his lip and looked away, but was shocked when Morgan's lips met his. The younger man backed into a wall from the initial shock. Morgan followed, pushing him up against the blinds that covered the view to the outside. When the older agent pulled away and turned around, his head lowered as he scratched the back of his neck. Evidently there was somewhat of a blush across Morgan's face that he did not want Reid to see.
"You knew?" Reid sputtered.
Morgan turned back around to face Reid. His pupils were quivering with intense feeling. Morgan turned his head to the side. From the look on his face, Reid could tell he did not want to admit what had just happened. But they both knew. Soon everyone else would know. With those couple moments of silence, Morgan looked pointedly at Reid.
Morgan finally answered Reid's question as he stepped forward, "I had to be sure, you know?"
"No, I don't know. This thing? This thing is all new to me," Reid confessed.
Morgan took place next to Reid and placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder, "Then I'll teach you."
"All right, how?"
"By lovin' you," Morgan grinned. "Now c'mon, we gotta get back to work. I'll come over tonight."
Morgan walked out of the presentation room, leaving Reid dumbfounded behind him. But now Reid's insides were settled. It was as if now that he found Morgan loved him too, the beast had settled because Reid's need had been fed. Who Reid was without Morgan was a mess of jumbled up thoughts, which Morgan would straighten out and iron. The weight on Reid's shoulders was lifted. Who Reid would be with Morgan was a better man, a better agent, and everything would be back to normal, except with added happiness.
Reid walked out into the BAU with a lightened step and a smile.
AN: This was my first slash fic, so please review and tell me how I did =)