"Are you kidding me?" Spencer asked in surprise. He couldn't stop his jaw from dropping a little. "I'm plenty athletic, Derek Morgan!"
Laughter filled the conference room. "Kid, it's nothing to be ashamed of. Physical fitness just isn't your forte." He teased him.
Snickering to herself, JJ leaned on the table and looked at Morgan. "Oh, Spence does physical fitness." She said. Ignoring Spencer, who was trying to climb over the table to get to her, she quickly said "He does yoga!"
The room was almost totally silent but for the sound of Spencer's backside connecting with his chair again and his forehead hitting the table. That was the last thing he'd wanted to tell his friends. The very last thing. This was something they'd never let him hear the end of. Any moment now they'd start teasing him. 5…4…3…2…1…
"Yoga?" Dave asked with just barely a hint of humor present. Most might have missed it. Spencer did not.
Keeping his forehead on the table, Spencer said "I was trying to improve my balance. It's helped, a little."
"That's not physical fitness." Morgan argued loudly. "That's just twisting and bending. It totally doesn't count."
Those words were enough to bring Spencer's head up off the table. "Excuse me?" His eyebrows shot up. "It's more than just bending and stretching, Morgan. Some of it is quite difficult."
"Psh. Right, kid. Anyone can do that twisty stuff."
For a single moment Spencer debated letting that one slide. But his irritation got the better of him. He rose to his feet and gestured at Morgan to do the same. "All right. You think it's so easy, come on then. Let's see if you can do it." Knowing Morgan wouldn't be able to resist, Spencer threw out the final taunt "Or are you afraid you'll be proven wrong?"
Morgan stood up and grinned at him. "Oh, it's on now, pretty boy. Hit me with your best shot."
The first thing Spencer did was remove his shoes and socks, putting the socks inside the shoes. Then he double checked to make sure his shirt was well tucked in. He tucked his tie in between the buttons of his shirt, hoping it would stay there. "Ok, let's start with something easy." The words were meant to be kind, a bit of a truce in the midst of this, but the scoffing sound Morgan made had Spencer's temper rising back up. "Fine. You want more than just beginner, Morgan? Watch me and see if you can do this."
Spencer let his temper lead him. First he went down to his hands and knees, making sure his wrists were underneath his shoulders and his knees directly under his hips. Before anyone could say anything, he curled his toes under and pushed back, raising his hips and straightening his legs while spreading out his fingers out and shifting his weight onto his hands, his backside pointing straight up. "Downward facing dog. Easy enough, Morgan." He spoke easily, breathing through his movement.
Now it was time to step it up. He walked his feet in closer to his hands. Then, bending one knee, he kicked up with the other leg, bringing his feet up over his head so that he was in a perfect handstand. He smiled, looking at an upside-down Morgan who was watching him with surprise. But Spencer wasn't done.
He lowered his feet back down, one at a time, waiting until both feet were on the ground to shift his weight from his hands to his forearms so that his forearms and palms were flat on the floor. His elbows were bent so that his upper arms were perpendicular to the floor. Then, once more, he walked his feet inward before bending one knee and kicking up with the opposite leg. Instead of a handstand, he was doing a forearm stand, his head curved so that he was staring at the floor.
He took a few breaths, never losing track of his breathing as he moved through the poses. One more he thought to himself. Let's see how easy he thinks this is. Spencer lifted his head, bringing his feet down and close to his head as he went into a deep backbend. Still resting on his forearms, he now had his head up, looking forward, and his body bending backwards until he rested his feet on his head. "Scorpion." He told the room.
After another breath, he slowly brought himself out of the pose, carefully moving himself back until once again he was standing on his feet. With one hand he brushed his hair back while he smiled at Morgan. "Ok, big guy." He teased. "You said anyone can do it. Well, now it's your turn."