Title: Reading

Rating: T (Child Abuse)

Pairing: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid (Just a tiny bit of Pre-Slash)

Summary: Reality is overrated, especially when your reality is like Spencer Reid's.

The local library was like a solace for him. Ever since he was little, this had been the only place that he could use to escape from the horrors of his life. And if anyone ever deserved to escape the horrors of his life, it was Spencer Reid.

It all started back when he was young, before his mom got sick. His parents could tell that he wasn't like other kids when he started reading thousand page books of thirteenth century literature in under 10 minutes. While his mother embraced her son's obviously high intellect, his father hated him for it. William Reid had abused his son when he was no more than a child, someone who didn't understand what was happening to him. There was always some new bruise forming somewhere on his body, though no one ever asked. The teachers in his classes ignored the kid who was too young to be in middle school, assuming that he had been bullied by the other kids.

When Mr. Reid left when Spencer was 12, it was supposed to be a blessing. All of his bruises started to heal, turning an ugly yellow that stood out against his pale skin. Life was going to finally be normal for Spencer Reid. Then came high school.

He was at least 2 years younger than all of his peers during freshman year, and he was smarter than most of them anyway. As usual for jealous teens, violence was always the answer. He was ambushed every day after school by the football team, and the lacrosse team would handle him during lunch. The marks they left almost made Spencer wish for his father's fist. When he came out during his senior year, things became worse. No one wanted a gay genius to be able to stand up without limping.

No one even noticed the little boy going through hell, not even his own mother.

She was sick; Spencer was sure of that. If he had to make a diagnosis on all that he had read, Schizophrenia would have been high up on the list. She thought the government had bugged their house and were listening to their conversations. Diana Reid was too busy duct taping all the windows shut to acknowledge when her son came home limping with a busted lip. Most of the time, she didn't even know Spencer was her son.

It was when he turned 18, after his first doctorate, that he knew she needed help that he couldn't provide. Even after she had neglected him for so long as a child, he still loved her. With a heavy heart, he reluctantly admitted her into the Bennington Sanitarium, just a few minutes away from his college.

Unfortunately, visiting her was harder than he had ever expected it to be. Whether she was having a good day or a bad day, it almost physically pained him to see her. Not because of all the confusion and pain she was going through, but because he knew that someday, he could be just like her. It was a selfish thought, but it was true. He made up for his absence with letters, though he didn't know if she even bothered to read them. They were full of pathetic excuses that even he refused to believe. Life never could be easy on Spencer.

Through all these hardships in his life, the only freedom from his hell was divulging in books. After all the years he had been coming to this old library, he still hadn't read them all. When he was reading, it was like he was in another place. The world outside his mind stopped existing for a short while. It was the one place where Spencer could truly be himself.

"Hey Margret." Spencer called softly as he entered the warm building. Margret turned from her place behind the front register and gave him a little wave before continuing her conversation with the old woman in front of her. He knew all the employees by name, which was a good testimony to how much time he actually spent here.

He walked back to the farthest corner, deep down into the psychological science textbooks and every known topic under the sun. He was thinking about going for his third doctorate, something that he could use to help other people like him. Pulling a thick book off the shelf, Reid sat down in his usual spot, just next to the window. It was winter now, so Reid knew it would be the coldest seat in the building, but he didn't care. This was his spot, the one thing that had been a constant in his life, no matter how pathetic it sounded.

He opened the book, smiling as he heard the old bind of the book pop and crinkle. Delicately turning to the first page, he began reading at speeds too fast for normal human beings to comprehend. From an outsider's point of view, it would look as though the twenty-something year old was simply skimming the pages, but Spencer could recite every line.

After a few hundred pages, Reid could feel someone's eyes on him. It had always been a sort of sixth sense of his, being able to feel when people were watching him. Maybe it was because he was always getting stared at; for the way he dressed, the way he talked, or in this case, the way he read.

"Are you going to stare at me all day?" Reid asked, not lifting his eyes from the book. The stranger seemed startled that the young man knew about his presence and hesitantly came closer.

"Hey kid." Reid looked up in surprise, hearing Morgan's voice. Derek's father had owned the library when Spencer was younger, and sometimes Derek had played with him over in the children's section. Derek might have been a couple years older than Spencer, but they still managed to have fun without making too much noise. If Spencer's memory served him right, which it always did, Derek was his only friend as a child. When Derek's dad died when he was 13, the family had moved away from Las Vegas to get away from all the memories.

"What are you doing here?" Spencer asked, somewhat confused as Derek sat down in the seat across from him. Derek had obviously been working out, and Reid found himself having less-than innocent thoughts. He fought down the blush that was threatening to take over his face and set down his book on the table.

"I just bought the Library, kind of in honor of my father. It's nice to know that his best customer still comes here." Derek said with an easy smile. Spencer smiled, the first real smile in awhile, and laughed.

"What have you been up to?" Morgan leaned back in his chair, running a hand over his shaven head.

"Nothing much. I'm working down at the firm on Allen St. as a lawyer now and Sarah is a school teacher down where you used to go." Sarah was Derek's older sister, who Spencer hadn't met much. He tried to remember what she looked like, but couldn't remember. "How about you?"

Spencer sighed, wondering how to tell his friend about his multiple doctorates without sounding like he was full of himself. Finally, he settled with saying, "I got my degrees and I'm working on an off base chemistry research center for Caltech." Derek smiled and laughed.

"I always knew that genius brain of yours would be doing something like that. What are you reading?" and Spencer launched into a discussion of the principles of psychology. They stayed there for hours, talking about life and everything else they could think of.

At 6 the librarian kicked them out for closing time, and they headed off, the book Spencer had been reading forgotten on the table.

Sup! So I don't know how I liked this one, what do you guys think? It was my first attempt at anything slashy and I don't think it's my strong point, but oh well. Anyway, I know that whenever I read I tend to zone out and the outside world doesn't exist. Does that happen to anyone else, or am I just weird like that? Review!