The sound of gushing water splattering against the tiles signaled that Spencer Reid was finally in the shower after copious amounts of coaxing on the part of his boyfriend of only a few weeks, Derek Morgan.

"If the lights go out, I'll be right here," Morgan had assured him, referring to the thunderstorm that hugged the genius' apartment building like a warm pair of gloves. "Just go shower," he whispered, kissing Reid lightly on the forehead. "You're starting to smell, Pretty Boy," he grinned widely and Reid shot him his signature 'kitten glower' as Garcia had deemed it and sauntered into the bathroom.

In fact, Reid didn't smell bad at all. If anything, he smelled relatively good; surprising due to the fact that they had just gotten off the BAU jet after a tough case. But this was the only chance Morgan had to snoop through Reid's apartment. He had only been there once – the couple mostly hung out at Morgan's – and had been desperate to nose through his things. Spencer was so private it was hard to extract information out of him.

Morgan peeked out of the bathroom and then walked back into the main living area. When he first had visited there, he had been expecting the apartment to be sparse and unhomely but he had been pleasantly surprised. The walls were painted a rich cream color and the furniture was dark, antique and utilitarian, reminiscent of an old hunting lodge. Frames dotted the walls and as Morgan peered at them he realized he was looking at all of Reid's academic achievements. His high school diploma registered that he had graduated Cum Laude along with his CalTech diploma, bachelorette degrees (Morgan counted three with pride) and three doctorates.

There was an old bureau that housed multiple stacks of books on its top, drawers haphazardly open and shut. As Morgan cautiously opened a drawer he was surprised at he found. Hundreds of photographs sat in stacks in the first drawer, their edges bent and their colors yellowed. Morgan felt his heart swell when he saw that most of them were of the team – Garcia and Emily at the annual FBI Christmas party, the whole group smiling as Rossi held the camera to their faces squashed together, several of Morgan and Garcia together in her lab, a random photo of Reid frowning as he looked up from his desk, obviously annoyed that he had been distracted and a couple of J.J, and Reid at a football game.

Morgan flipped disinterestedly through the rest until he came to one almost at the end of the stack. Its edges were decidedly more rumpled than the others but its color was bright like it had been handled frequently and brought out in the sun more than anything. Morgan grinned as he looked at it.

The photo was slightly blurry – probably someone rushing to capture the moment – but it was taken in the office showing Morgan lightly grasping Reid by the chin, his grin wide and genuine. Reid was looking off to the side, his hands in an awkward self-handshake but there was a distinct blush on his face and if a stranger were to look at the photo, it would have been obvious to spot the affection between the two agents. Morgan thought back to when the picture was taken and remembered immediately.

It had been after a particularly gruesome case a few years back, before Morgan and Reid had admitted their feelings for each other, and as the team had shuffled back into the bureau late at night, Reid had been more withdrawn than normal. As he sat at his desk, brooding over the photos of the crime scenes, Morgan had felt his heart go slowly numb at the sight of his best friend.

Tangled hair tucked behind pink-tinged ears, lips pursed in a small pout and golden hazel eyes narrowed in a squint, Morgan had been quick to want to cheer the genius up.

"It gets tough on all of us, kid," Morgan had put a heavy hand on Reid's bony shoulder, feeling the shoulder blade in his palm. "But it does get better. You saved the rest of those families, you know. If you hadn't pinpointed the unsub's location…."

Reid looked up, eyes expectantly wide. "Yeah?" He whispered.

"Yeah." Morgan replied quietly.

"I just….I-I don't know. I wish I could have protected them…saved them from seeing their kids like that…" Reid's voice trailed off and he grew quiet. "Or at least I wish I could have been protected from seeing someone shot in front of me…" he had mumbled. Morgan had sighed and drawn Reid up from his chair, holding him by the shoulders and peering into his innocent eyes.

"I'm always gonna protect you, Pretty Boy." He had replied with a fiercely protective quality to his voice.

Reid had perked up after a few hours of Morgan attempting to cheer him up – even cracking Reid's favorite existentialist joke just for the sake of it. Garcia had been showing the rest of the team pictures of her best friend's new baby and had had her camera with her when Morgan had reached up and gently cupped Reid's smooth jaw with all the intent of the world of keeping that smile alive in the young man.

Morgan gently slipped the photo back into its place in the stack and then closed the drawer quickly. The water was still on in the bathroom and Morgan resumed his snooping, his feet leading him through the kitchen and into the bedroom.

The kitchen was meticulous- the only sign of it being used was the poor, overworked coffee maker and the fact that the dining room table was covered in small paper bombs. There were a few inches of bare, dark wood where documents, folders, files and just plain crap wasn't covering the area. Morgan felt himself smile as he remembered how Emily teased Reid constantly about his mess on his desk and how Reid would shoot back about how it was "creative organization".

The bedroom was small but cozy, with a queen-sized bed taking up most of the room, two end tables on either side of it and a narrow dark chest of drawers in the corner. The closet doors were splayed open and Morgan peeked inside, surprised at what he saw. Only a few button-down shirts were actually on their hangers, the rest were either stuffed onto the shelves, sleeves hanging loosely down, or on the floor.

Slacks, a dark pair of jeans, corduroys and khakis were laid precariously in a daunting pile on one shelf and loafers, sweaters, blazers, topsiders and brogues were shoved into the remaining spaces. Reid's car keys to his black GMC Denali had been flung onto a hook right outside the doorframe to the closet along with the keys to his old Volvo that had finally died a slow death on a particularly cold winter night.

A crack of thunder pulled Morgan from his thoughts and he wandered back into the bathroom to check up on his boyfriend, already knowing that Reid could spend hours submerged in water if he had the chance, despite a frightening storm. Sure enough, steam had filled the small space and Morgan sat down on the chair in the corner that had formally housed a few fluffy white towels.

He noted that Reid's toothbrush and toothpaste were gone from their place on the sink counter and he chuckled quietly to himself. Reid, for some inexplicable reason, preferred to brush his teeth while he showered and Morgan thought back to the many times that on past cases when Reid and him had shared a hotel room, Morgan would blindly make his way to the bathroom in the middle of the night only to curse loudly after stepping on the sharp corners of an abandoned tube of toothpaste.

The water stopped after an ear-splitting shot of thunder, followed by a bright streak of lightening and Morgan watched as Reid's arm shot out between the shower curtains in search of a towel. Instead he located Morgan's arm and he made a squeak of surprise.

"Relax, kid, it's just me," Morgan drawled affectionately. He pulled back the curtain, revealing a cross-looking Reid and he held his face in his hands, thinking back to the photo in the bureau. A hint of a smile tugged at Reid's full lips and Morgan watched as his sharp cheekbones moved upwards as Reid slowly smiled.

"You scared me," he whispered, his hands finding their way to Morgan's soft Northwestern T-shirt. Morgan pushed back Reid's wet hair and leaned in for a kiss, their lips meeting in a tender passion.

"I'm always gonna protect you, Pretty Boy," he whispered, pulling back and cupping Reid's jaw. "Don't you forget that," he continued and his heart swelled again as he took in the sight of the young man, his boyfriend….his Pretty Boy, grinning back at him.

Please review guys! This is my first story and feedback would be much appreciated!