To Woo A Genius
Chapter 6: Gently into the Unknown

A/N: Hey all, good tidings to you all during this terrible time. I hope this makes you smile, even just a little. ENJOY! R&R PLZ!

The next morning, Derek awoke to sound of sizzling and popping coming from the kitchen. He quietly padded to the doorway and saw Spencer nudging some bacon in pan that also had a couple eggs cooking sunny-side up. "Need a little help?"

Reid started, nearly dropping the spatula, "Jesus don't scare me like that!"

"First of all my name is Derek," the man chuckled. "Second, your toast is gonna burn."

Reid cussed to his companion's amusement and ran to save the poor bread. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Anytime," Derek took over watching the eggs and bacon while Reid salvaged the toast. "So, to what do I owe the honour of this?"

"Just feeling antsy," Reid said offhandedly. "To keyed up to sleep much, woke up early and decided to make breakfast."

"I see," Morgan chewed his cheek. "Reid…are we okay?"

"Yeah we're fine," he assured him. "Just had a lot to think about last night. And – uh – thank you for not…giving in. You were right, it was too soon. Not that I wouldn't be okay if we had – really. It's just smarter I guess to go slower."

"Hey baby boy, don't forget you set the pace," Morgan reminded him. "I'm happy to go as fast or as slow as you want. I just figured that it was too soon to re-evaluate your boundaries."

"Yeah," Reid finished up the toast and put the stack on the table while Morgan plated the eggs and bacon. Right on cue, the coffee maker dinged its completion but when Spencer stretched up to reach for mugs, Derek quickly pressed in behind him. "What happened to holding back?"

"Just helping," Morgan brought down the dishes but didn't even attempt to move away, wrapping his arms around him and nibbling kisses behind his ear.

Reid sighed into the embrace. "I could get used to this," he warned half-heartedly.

"Good," the arms around him squeezed tighter.

"We still have to eat."

"We'll get to it…eventually." And they did…eventually.

*TWAG*

At work, Reid still enforced the professionalism rule but it would've been hard for anyone not to notice the dopey smiles they wore when they came in. Or that their fingers were scant millimetres apart. The fact that they worked with country's best profilers just meant that it happened a lot faster. Naturally, there were a lot of knowing smirks floating around the bullpen and Spencer wasn't at all surprised when Garcia finally pounced.

She managed to snag him on the way back from the bathroom and hauled him into her lair. "Okay you, spill sesh time. Did you and Chocolate Thunder do the dirty dirty deed?"

"What?" Reid asked incredulously. "No! Garcia that is really personal."

The tech levelled him a look, "You've been walking around like a Disney princess after her meeting her true love and you want me to stay silent?"

"No I haven't," Spencer pouted. He wasn't that bad surely.

"Reid. You were humming. And if you think I don't know the chords to Whitney -"

"Okay, okay! Point taken." Reid conceded. "But no we haven't done that. We came close though," he blushed but couldn't help the small tugs on his lips. "Last night. It was wonderful."

"Really?" Pen rolled her chair closer. "Tell me everything," she said with a sultry voice. Reid rolled his eyes and gave her a very light version of his evening with Derek and then that morning. Garcia hung on to every word like it was code. She made all the appropriate supportive friend noises. At the end though, she cocked her head a little, "Sounds like you've been getting friendly then but what stopped you from doing the do?"

Reid went on to explain his boundaries and Morgan's respect of them. "He's been amazing Garcia."

"I'm proud of you both," she ruffled his hair. "Getting all that healthy smexy goodness. But don't let it become a one-way street."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't be afraid to turn the heat up on him too."

"I think I did just that. A little too well."

Pen rolled her eyes, "I don't mean all the way. Just enough for him to know you're not the meek little genius. He wants to be intimate. Be intimate back. Whisper something just on the edge of naughty. Let a hand trail over his arm. Throw a wink now and then. Even just checking him out from across the room. Let your eyes go slowly up," she demonstrated, "and then down, and then back up again to his face. Nothing you can get carried away with. You try. Pretend Derek is by the door."

Reid tried, darting his eyes over the doorway but felt like an absolute idiot. Penelope even laughed. "Sweetie, sweetie," she flapped at him to stop. "You're not speed reading him. You're letting him know you're watching and that you like what you see. Savour it. Enjoy it." Her computer beeped. "Except not right now. We've caught a case."

*TWAG*

Four people had been kidnapped in the last two weeks. No bodies recovered meant there was hope for survivors and that the team was on the clock. Within the hour, they were on the jet pouring over the case details so they could hit the ground running. Reid did his best to focus on the case but his eyes kept cutting to Derek and, judging from the amount of time they met each other's looks, the other man was having the same issue. The professional boundaries were in place. That was still non-negotiable. But it was hard. This was their first case together and they both knew it would be rough. Reid was fully aware Derek's protectiveness would rear its head and didn't even know how he himself would handle watching Morgan go off in the field. They met each other's gazes again and, on impulse, Reid winked. At least that brought a smile to their faces.