A/N: This story was written for the Valentine Gift Exchange, from the Chit Chat on Author's Corner forum. Check it out!
Title: Always and Forever
Assigned pairing: Morgan/Reid
Assigned love song & prompts: Bless the Broken Road (Rascal Flatts); chocolate bunny, satin boxers, Valentine proposal
This is a gift for Jazmingirl-Happy Valentines' Day, honey!
Hope you like it!
Seds
6:00 PM.
Reid glanced at the clock. Seeing the hands pointed straight up and down made him sigh.
Morgan was late.
But, Reid wasn't worried. Morgan being late wasn't that unusual-in fact, it happened fairly often. Sometimes, Reid thought that that was Morgan's way of showing the universe who was boss-he wasn't going to let a little thing like the hands on a clock dictate his life, not even the one in the kitchen he'd been sharing with Spencer Reid for the last six months. It was annoying, but...
Morgan was always there when it really mattered.
And, being late-annoying, yes, but definitely not the worst trait a partner could have. Most of the time, it wasn't even his fault, exactly. Morgan had a way of... being there when things happened (Reid called it "white knight syndrome") and Morgan would end up pushing a distraught old lady's stalled car off the road, or helping a harried shop owner run off a gang of rowdy kids, or stopping by Garcia's to unplug a clogged drain before he made it home to Reid.
And, normally, Reid didn't mind, much. The things he loved most about Morgan-his strength of character, the way he stepped up, the way he intrinsically knew how to handle things-were the very qualities that led him to jump into all sorts of sticky situations without a second thought as to what the time might be.
Reid stirred the tomato sauce and contemplated the many times Morgan had been his white knight-holding him through long nights when the cravings were eating at him. Speaking gently and soothingly to him when he couldn't wake up from a nightmare. Slipping an arm around him when he really thought he was destined to be alone forever with the terrors that roiled in his brain.
Thank God for Morgan.
No, Reid knew that, whatever it was that was keeping his boyfriend from him, it had to be important. When Morgan got home, he'd greet him calmly and pleasantly. He'd withhold judgment. He'd listen to the explanation. He'd be understanding about it. And, he'd try very hard not to let himself be resentful, snide, or bitter as he did it.
It was just that tonight was a special night.
Just as the day had been a special day, not that Morgan had seemed to notice. Apparently, the pink plastic hearts on Garcia's headband that bobbled up and down when she nodded hadn't alerted him. Nor had the large bowl of pink and red-wrapped candies in the middle of the conference room table. And, when the delivery guy came in with a huge bouquet of flowers for JJ, Morgan hadn't even looked up from his computer. And, to be honest, Reid hadn't called his attention to the date, either.
He wanted to see what Morgan would do.
Well, here was his answer. Apparently, Valentine's Day was just another day to Derek Morgan. And, that was okay. They celebrated other occasions. Another month of sobriety. A week without a nightmare. The days when a case ended quickly and well. Morgan always noted those precious milestones and showed Reid how to rejoice in them. That was important; left to himself, Reid was far too focused on the "what if's" in life to take the time to appreciate the "now."
They made a good pair.
He surveyed the kitchen, mentally checking off his to-do list. Everything was ready. All he had to do was throw the pasta into the boiling water as soon as Morgan walked through the door. He turned down the heat on the sauce-it could simmer indefinitely and only improve-and went to sit on the couch. Clooney trotted along with him and jumped up to squirm in under his arm, determined to get his rightful share of attention. Reid leaned back and absently scratched behind Clooney's ears, then glanced at the dining room table.
It was laid out with the good china; there was an open bottle of wine and two glasses, a vase filled with pink and red carnations, a big chocolate bunny holding a red heart that said "I Love You," and a box wrapped in cheerful red and pink paper that contained a pair of wild satin boxer shorts decorated with candy hearts that said things like "Be Mine" and "Hot Stuff" all over them.
Reid stopped petting the dog, and Clooney nudged his hand with his nose. Reid smiled down wistfully at him. "I'm sorry, boy. I know how you feel. Looks like your daddy doesn't have time for either of us tonight, does he?" He gave Clooney a commiserating hug and received a wet lick in the face in return. He'd just reached for a tissue when the door opened.
A warm, rich voice proclaimed, "I'm home!" Morgan walked in, threw his keys on the sideboard and his jacket on a chair, then closed his eyes and breathed deep. "Damn, it smells good in here." His face bore the blissful expression of a man returning to someone he loves, with a hot home-cooked meal to look forward to.
The expression of a man cheerfully unaware that he was walking into a maelstrom.
Reid stood and went to greet him. "Hello, Derek." Not the warmest tone he'd ever used. He tried to remember his plan.
"Hey, gorgeous. Mm, you look good enough to eat, yourself." Morgan walked into the living room, took Reid in his arms, squeezed him tightly and kissed him, then glanced over at the table. His jaunty manner faded into a slightly disturbed air of concern. He waved a hand toward the festive table. "What's all this?" He sounded genuinely bewildered.
"Happy Valentine's Day," Reid said, unable to stifle a note of sarcasm in his voice. The plan was beginning to get away from him.
"Oh! Whoa..." Morgan looked guiltily at Reid. "Is all that stuff... for me?"
"Well, yes, you being my Valentine and all. You are indeed the recipient." Reid had a slightly ironic smirk on his face. "And, what do you have for me?"
"Uh-"
Reid raised an eyebrow. "Oh, I see. Nothing, huh?"
"Uh-"
"You did remember that today is Valentine's Day, right?"
"Uh-"
"Am I not your Valentine?"
"Of course you are, it's just that-"
"It's just that, you were so busy, you couldn't be bothered to pick up so much as a lousy greeting card for me. Is that it?" Clearly, the plan was becoming derailed.
"No, baby, that's not it at all. I just-"
"I cooked dinner. I got flowers and candy. I bought you a present. You, however, didn't even remember what day it was until this very moment."
"Now, Spencer-"
"It's okay, Derek. I know you. I know you were preoccupied with work today. And, I know that something must have happened on your way home-you ended up helping someone out of a jam, or rescuing someone from something awful, and you got so distracted, you didn't even think to call to say that you were going to be late. Right?" Reid was trying hard to wrestle the plan back into action.
"Uh-"
"No?"
"Well-"
Reid folded his arms over his chest. "Where were you, Derek?" Listen...
Derek cast his eyes heavenward and bit his lip. Then he leveled a mea culpa look at his boyfriend. "I'm not going to lie to you, babe. I was at Eddie's."
Reid's eyes widened, then narrowed in disgust. "Eddie's. Your ex-football player team buddy, Eddie?"
"Yeah."
"The guy you always get drunk with and start reminiscing about how great things were back in your college days? That Eddie?"
"Uh, yeah."
"So, you were drinking and remembering how hot Sally Ann McKinney looked in her cheer leading uniform instead of coming home to a home-cooked meal-and me?"
"Uh-"
"On Valentine's Day?" The plan was now officially invalidated.
"Uh..."
"You certainly do say 'uh' a lot."
"Um, well, I... Now, baby, you're not giving me a chance to show you the whole picture." Morgan's look of trepidation slowly transformed into a mischievous grin. "You see, actually, I know exactly what today is." He put his arms around Reid and kissed him again, slow and deep and hungry. Reid felt his knees weaken, and he had to fight to maintain his irritated expression when Morgan released him. He managed a frown and raised an accusatory finger.
"Really? Prove it."
Morgan reached into his pocket, brought out a small box wrapped in Valentine's Day paper topped with a tiny bow, and put it in Reid's hand. "Happy Valentine's Day, Spencer."
Reid regarded the little box. "What is this?"
"Open it."
Reid tore off the paper. He flipped the top of the hinged lid. Inside were two gold bands. He stared uncomprehendingly, then slowly raised his eyes to Morgan's.
"These look like... wedding bands."
"Yeah. Do you remember what Eddie does for a living?"
Spencer stared for a moment. "He's an... engraver."
"Uh-huh." Morgan pulled the top ring out of the box and indicated the inside of the band. "Read it." He handed it to Reid.
He took it and held it so that the light shone on the tiny script. "D.M. & S.R. Always & Forever." He looked at Morgan. "I-I don't understand." He understood perfectly well. He just couldn't believe it. He wanted to hear Morgan put it into words.
Morgan took the ring and held it up with one hand. With the other, he grasped Reid's hand. "I love you, Spencer. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
Reid stared into Morgan's eyes. For a moment, time stood still. Then, a huge smile crossed his face. "Derek Morgan, you bastard. You had me so-yes. Yes, I will marry you. I-I love you, too."
Morgan slipped the band on Reid's ring finger and brought it to his lips. He held it there for a long moment, eyes closed, reverent, as if in prayer. Then, he opened his eyes and smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, pretty boy."
Reid flung himself into Morgan's arms, then pulled back and removed the other ring from the box. He took Morgan's hand and put it on his finger. "You and me. Always and forever. I like the sound of that." He leaned forward for a kiss. Morgan's lips met his and they each discovered that it was a lot harder to kiss when the other person is smiling like a loon.
A few hours later-after dinner, after wine, after a pair of wild satin boxer shorts was put on and subsequently taken off-Spencer Reid lay in the arms of the man he loved. He thought of the path that had taken him there-the many cases gone by, the terror and torture he'd endured at the hands of a mentally ill abuse victim, and the battle with drug dependency that had come from it.
It hadn't been easy. He'd seen terrible things. He'd struggled and he'd suffered, and he'd hurt people he cared about. Ultimately, he'd been changed forever. But, if it had meant missing this-this place in time, lying in this bed, in these arms, loving and being loved by this man-he wouldn't have spared himself any of it. In fact, he said a silent thank you to the universe, or the Force, or whatever it was that brought him down that path, here, to Morgan. Because this was where he wanted to be-was meant to be-always and forever.
-The End-
I set out on a narrow way many years ago
Hoping I would find true love along the broken road
But I got lost a time or two
Wiped my brow and kept pushing through
I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you
Now I'm just rolling home
Into my lover's arms
This much I know is true
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you
That God blessed the broken road
That led me straight to you.
("Bless the Broken Road," Performed by Rascal Flatts. Written by Bobby C. Boyd, Jeff hannah, Marcus Hummon)