"Careless, god damn, stupid, macho man…" Reid cursed under his breath, his legs bringing him on a constant path of pacing, his hands going from wringing themselves together, and scratching harshly against the back of his neck, and up his forearms.

Prentiss' eyes followed him as his frantic pacing picked up in speed. They were on a case, another bloody, brutal case, their seventh since Morgan and Reid's relationship had evolved. There was a hostage situation, and their usual command center to run point from was set up near the building. The unsub was a teacher, and although they were trying to go in to the school covert, with only a few agents in civilian garb, a student had asked if there was a new teacher. It had alerted the unsub, and he'd taken his classroom of students hostage, tying them to their desks.

Naturally, the rest of the building was cleared, and they'd called to establish trust between him and them, moving themselves 100 feet further back from the building and removing the SWAT teams presence from the immediate area.

Still, they had barely gained any ground with the man. After one student death, and the rape he'd forced them to listen to over the line, they all had lost it, ready to go in guns a blazing. His actions had brought the realization it was only a game to him, and no matter what they did, none of the student's would be leaving the situation unscathed if they went in or not. They needed to get them out, they needed to do an exchange.

Despite protests from more than just Reid, Morgan had gone in, unarmed, to exchange himself for the students. They all knew having an FBI agent in his hands would make the man feel more powerful than the handful of students would. Every one of them tried to volunteer themselves, but in the end it was Morgan. It was always Morgan.

"Don't worry, Reid. He can handle himself." Prentiss was the first to speak since Morgan had gone in, it had already been 45 minutes and 32 seconds, and the terrifying timer was still going in Reid's mind.

"Our unsub is a fucking maniac, and he's gone in unarmed! Not even a damn ankle holster!" Reid yelled at her, his eyes slightly manic with anger and worry.

"After we get the students out, we go in. He won't be alone with him for long, and you know this unsub likes to take his time." Hotch reminded Reid, his commanding tone also reminding him to stay his temper.

Arguments and rage stuffed down, Reid halted stiff as a board when the phone rang.

"SSA Hotchner here."

"Your gift is too generous. I will send out the students." The unsub's slimey voice filled Reid's ears like grease, and he glowered at the offending telephone.

"You are merciful." Hotch told him, using the language to akin him to a man of power.

The call ended, and the FBI team assembled together, ready to go in. They didn't have time to wait for SWAT, and none of them wanted anyone but themselves going in. One of their own in danger, even of their choosing, they formed a brutal team to be reckoned with.

JJ squeezed Reid's arm briefly as she fell in line behind him. Students began to flee from the building, and the agents signaled them to continue down the road to the diner down a block, before surging forward to go along the side of the building, hoping the man was preoccupied enough not to notice.

It seemed like the sand in the hourglass of time had jammed up and was no longer sifting through the seconds as the agents made their way down the school hallway from a side entrance. Their foot falls could've been mistaken for the wind, their eyes and hands sweeping every corner and doorway.

Attention focused on getting to his boyfriend, Reid's adrenaline pumped hysterically through him. When he got his hands on that man, he was going to beat him senseless. He should've sent a member of SWAT in with FBI credentials, but no. He'd had to insist on it. Sure, he'd saved some other man or woman from doing it, but dammit. Didn't he know what he was doing to Reid?

C104, that was their classroom. Reid allowed Hotch to step in front of him. His boss raised his leg and struck out at the door, bursting it open erratically. The young genius was right on his heels as they rushed the room.

His eyes flashed across the room, accessing the situation. Morgan was uninjured as far as he could tell, and that's all that mattered. He trained his gun on the unsub and stepped in to his vision.

"Hands in the air!" Reid shouted, the authority of his voice surprising even himself. "Now!"

With a sickening grin, the man turned his gun to Morgan.

There was no hesitation or thought before it happened, and no remorse after. Reid was the first one to get a shot off, hitting the man in his gun arm. His weapon dropped to the floor, and he grabbed at his wound.

"You little shit!" The man hissed, but Rossi was on him, grabbing his wrists roughly and twisting them behind his back, the Miranda rights falling from his lips. They all knew why Reid hadn't shot to kill, wanting the sicko to suffer through the penal system.

Rossi shoved the man roughly from the room, who's voice could be heard screeching through the halls. Ignoring the scene completely, Reid only had eyes for Morgan. Granted they were mostly pissed off eyes, but relief had filled them as well. He dropped to his knees and began to fiddle with the zip ties around Morgan's wrists.

"What kind of a teacher has zip ties in the god damn classroom?" Reid gritted his teeth in frustration, then remembered the knife Morgan had given to him before leaving to enter the building. He pulled it out of his pocket and snapped it open with a movement of his wrist.

"Whoa, Pretty Boy." Morgan eyed the blade wearily.

"You, you shut the fuck up. You don't get to speak." Reid spat and with one cut the zip ties fell from Morgan's wrists.

"Rei-"

The look on Reid's face was enough for Morgan to close his mouth with a loud snap. JJ decided it was time for the rest of them to take their leave, and grabbed a hold of Hotch's arm, dragging him after her to flee the room. She knew what it was like to fear for a loved one in a similar situation, and she was sure by Reid's uncharacteristic reaction to it, Reid's way of dealing with it was something she shouldn't be there for. She made sure to reassure every one the two men would be close behind, and managed to discreetly move them out of the building with her.

Normally, Reid would've taken a mental note to thank her for her aid once again, but he wasn't thinking normally, he was thinking red.

"You, careless, inconsiderate, prick!" He exploded finally and leapt to his feet to glare down at his boyfriend.

"Hey, this is our job man. This shit happens." Morgan stood to meet Reid's gaze. "I knew you didn't like it going in, but did you think I was going to let someone else offer themselves up?"

"Oh, of course. Mr. Macho Morgan, can't have anyone else in danger! Has to put his life in harms way, has to protect everyone! The human fucking shield! No one else can do it, it always has to be you?!" Reid stepped forward, his voice raising in volume with every word.

"I'm the best one for it, and you know it!" Morgan jabbed his finger into Reid's chest, who's eyes flashed with flame. "We can't send you in, we can't send one of the girls in, Hotch is the boss, he can't go in, and Rossi's earned his right to not jump in front of the gun!"

"And you haven't?!" Reid's throat already felt scratched from screaming, but he didn't care. "Why can't you share the burden? I don't care if from time to time you do this, but dammit Morgan I've watched you do this every time! You aren't a super hero, and neither are my emotions!" Their faces were inches away from each other.

"This is our job! Not coddle Spencer Reid's emotions time!" Morgan bellowed back. Without thinking, Reid lifted his hands and shoved Morgan at his chest.

"Fuck you, you conceited neanderthal!" Reid didn't recognize his voice as his own, he turned to storm away, but Morgan's hand stopped him with a bruising grip around his wrist. The elder jerked Reid back to him, snarling.

"You don't get to be like that." The two men were nose to nose. "You don't get to act like some little bitch. We are on a case-" In a blur, Reid's hand came up to slap Morgan in the face, catching him off guard, his hand automatically returning the back hand, snapping Reid's head to the side. Wide eyed with horror, Morgan took a trembling step backward. What were they doing?

Reid didn't even seem phased by their physical violence, he took a step forward, discoloration already lighting up the side of his pale face. "Little bitch? Huh?! You know why I was so worried? Do you even care?"

"There's no shitty damn excuse-"

"Because I fucking love you!"

"Well, I fucking love you!"

Dark eyes met chocolate brown, and the tension in the air that was bowing between them finally snapped. Morgan surged forward and slammed his body into Reid's, rushing him into the wall where they hit it with such force that Reid's head bounced off it with a loud bang. Dark tinted lips found pink ones in a harsh, bruising kiss. Unforgiving and lined with fury and passion, they drank each other in. One of Reid's nimble hands gripped the back of Morgan's neck like a vise, while one of Morgan's cruelly yanked Reid's head back by his hair to bite down on the sensitive flesh of the long expanse of neck his actions left exposed.

Their hands gripped, yanked, and wandered across whatever parts of their bodies their Kevlar vests allowed them to reach. Their fear, rage and passion poured out into each other, until their emotions rode the tide in to the shore of assurance. Morgan broke his lips away to rest his forehead on the wall above Reid's shoulder, his breath coming in heated gasps.

Reid turned his head to nuzzle into his boyfriend's neck. "I love you." He whispered, his body slumping from the adrenaline high.

"I love you." Morgan returned in a hush. Relief of their well being, and their spoken emotions enveloped them as they stood in each other's embrace. Neither moved other than gentle touches and loving kisses until JJ's voice called from the hallway. Regret of their episode filled them, but it was replaced with the comfort that their love was finally spoken.

CM/CM/CM/CM/CM

No one questioned the matching blossoming bruises on the two agents' cheeks the plane ride home, or why Reid's collar was popped up on one side to hide a small portion of his neck.

When they landed, yet again no one questioned Morgan and Reid as they both headed to Morgan's SUV with no words spoken between them.

Darkness plagued Morgan's house, and the two men didn't bother flicking on any lights. They toed off their shoes, kicking them across the floor carelessly. In silent agreement, they made their way up the stairs to the bedroom.

Guilt gripped Reid's insides when he thought of his behavior. Morgan was right, they were on a case. He had no rights to do that there, or at all, but he had lost control of his emotions. The fear that he had never told Morgan how much he loved him, and that he would die before he could, had taken over and driven him into a madness. Misdirected or not, his anger had been valid, and he hadn't been able to restrain himself.

Morgan could almost feel the way the back of his hand had stung with more than just the feel of Reid's face when he'd slapped him, and he wanted to replace the violent feeling with something tender. With slumped shoulders, Morgan watched Reid stripping off his shirt and slacks. Beautiful pale skin was revealed inch by inch for him, and an undeserving feeling bubbled in his gut.

"Pretty Boy, I'm sorry…"

One slender hand was held up for silence. "I'm sorry, Derek. I shouldn't have exploded like that, or initiated violence." Reid's voice slid through the dark, barely audible.

Sliding his shirt over his head, Morgan sucked on the inside of his cheek. "I'm still sorry, Spencer. I should've thought about you too."

"My life wasn't the one in danger." Reid told him. As he sought to apologize to his boyfriend, he began to feel more ashamed of his actions.

Blankets were thrown back and the two men climbed between the sheets. Morgan's arms reached out and curled Reid into his chest, intertwining their legs together. Taking a deep breath, he let Reid's natural scent wash over him, and felt his muscles begin to melt at the feel of his love against his body.

"I'm really sorry. I can't believe I acted that way…I kept thinking how I had never told you how much I love you, and if something happened to you and you didn't know before you…And if you suffered any pain to protect us, and those children…I couldn't stand the thought…" Reid cut himself off before his words became a ramble, shame lighting his cheeks.

Morgan lifted his hand and stroked the back of his knuckles against Reid's cheek, sighing at the feel of his satin flesh rubbing against the knuckles he had used to harm him earlier.

"I'm sorry I hit you." Reid mumbled.

"I'm sorry I hit you back…Sometimes those kind of things happen…" Morgan tried to shrug but couldn't in his current position.

"It's inexcusable." Reid replied bitterly. The darkness that normally sent him into shivers wrapped itself around the two, and in that moment it was only them. The world melted away and they forgot their external worries.

With tender kisses to Reid's eyelids, Morgan brought his lips down to kiss over the bite mark on Reid's neck.

"Sometimes, violent things happen in situations like that. Not every one can say they work with their boyfriend or girlfriend in the setting we do. The stress it causes, and the fear and anger you feel for, and at the other, is overwhelming sometimes." Morgan reassured his boyfriend, kissing back up his neck. It should've scared him that he knew their slaps wouldn't be their last, but it didn't.

"Have you ever felt that way before?" Reid questioned incredulously.

Heaving a sigh, Morgan lifted his head to tuck Reid's head under his chin, constricting him closer to his body. "So many times. But since we got together, last week…Illinois…He had a knife to your throat, he started to run his hand down your side…"

"I remember." Came Reid's muffled response from Morgan's chest.

"I shot him. I could've let him live, I could've gotten you away without hurting either of you. I wouldn't." Morgan admitted to his love and the darkness. "After I was so angry with you, and myself. I wanted to tell you right then how much I loved you, and that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you, but I didn't, because I also wanted to shake the shit out of you, and ask why you hadn't checked that corner. After I calmed down, I realized that it wasn't your fault. SWAT was there, they were supposed to have your back…"

Silence reigned supreme once more and Reid began to lay kisses across Morgan's chest. "I'm sorry…"

"Let's not be sorry anymore. It was a tough case, tough day. But at the end of it all, I love you. I love you so much and it feels so good to finally say it."

"Want to go on your roof and let the world know?" Reid suggested playfully with a grin.

"Absolutely."

"I was joking." Reid winced, imagining the horribly cliché movie moment.

Strong arms lifted Reid to sit up, and lead him across the room. "I love you." Morgan murmured and linked his arms around Reid's waist, pushing him forward gently down the hallway. "Guest bedroom." He commanded, and Reid obeyed, peppering kisses down from Morgan's ear to the crook of his neck, nibbling on the sensitive flesh. Passion kindling in their loins.

Groaning, Morgan licked along the shell of Reid's ear, eliciting a rewarding whimper that went straight to his cock. The feeling of Morgan hardening against Reid's thigh as they stumbled together down the hall sent a shiver up Reid's spine, one of his slender hands palming his boyfriend over his shorts.

"Aw, fuck." Morgan moaned, and slammed Reid against the wall of the hallway, sucking a trail of kisses down his boyfriend's heaving chest. Morgan's dark eyes drank in the sight of his boyfriend's face, his eyes half lidded with lust, his lips parted, breath coming in gasps.

Twirling them back around, Morgan shoved their path forward to the guest bedroom, determined to get them to the roof. With a groan, Reid bit down onto Morgan's shoulder before sucking and licking at the skin, savoring their developed sexual ease.

Despite Morgan's determination to get to their destination, Reid had other plans. The young man ran his hands across Morgan's torso lightly, sending shivers through his body, before plunging passed his waist line and gripping Morgan's bare cock. With a animalistic growl, Morgan surged his body forward, sending the men sprawling onto the floor of the guest room.

Ah, well. Close enough to the roof.

"I fucking love you," Morgan moaned. "So fucking much." He ran his hands up Reid's sides, fingers splayed across the pale flesh, drinking in the sight of the body writhing below him. Both men's bodies and minds determined to display their affections.

"I love you, Derek, fucking love you." Reid moaned, a whimper falling from his lips when Morgan tweaked his nipples. Reid wrapped his long legs around Morgan's waist, pulling the athletic man's body closer to him, his hips raising to grind desperately against the other's.

"Ah, shit, baby, you are too fucking sexy." Morgan bit out before forcing Reid's grip to lesson so he could work his way down the lean body. Laying teasing kisses across Reid's hips and down his legs, he purposefully ignored Reid's hardened member, causing the other man to twist and squirm with anticipation.

"Please, Derek. Please."

"Please what?" Morgan questioned innocently, hooking his fingers in the waistband of Reid's shorts.

"Please, touch me dammit!" Reid cried, and Morgan thrust Reid's boxers down, letting his angry red cock bob in the air for a moment before leaning towards it. With a puff of breath down the shaft, Morgan lay a soft kiss to the head. "Ahhh, dammit, Morgan you tease." Reid hissed breathlessly.

With a chuckle, Morgan slowly plunged Reid's cock into his mouth, sucking harshly around the member. Reid let out a cry of pleasure and relief at the feel of the wet warmth enveloping him. Working his way down the hilt, Morgan slowly moved back, and forward. His bobbing increasing in rhythm. With a swallow, Morgan hummed, the other man's hips twitching upward with a moan.

Using his tongue to swirl around the head and down the shaft with his movements, Morgan sucked as if he was trying to swallow Reid's soul. Long fingers grasped his skull desperately, and Reid's hips rose and fell of their own accord, fucking Morgan's mouth who groaned in approval, the combination of the vibrations, the ministrations of his tongue, and the suction of his mouth pulling Reid's orgasm out of him. His seed shot into Morgan's mouth, coating his tongue in the sugary taste that was distinctly Reid.

Panting, Reid grabbed a hold of Morgan's arms, dragging him back up to his lips to suck and bite on the man's tongue.

"Derek…" Reid murmured, licking across the other man's bottom lip.

"Mmm."

"I want you." Gone was the shy quality of Reid's voice when it came to sexual encounters, passion and confidence taking it's place.

Still, Morgan paused, and ran his hand gently down Reid's side. "I want you, but Spencer, we don't have to-"

"No, I want you. Now."

Morgan pulled his head back far enough to look into Reid's eyes. Eyes filled with devotion, want, need, lust, and love. With a affectionate kiss, Morgan sat up slightly, Reid's legs wrapping themselves around his waist. Steady hands grasped Reid's bottom to lift him up with Morgan, his member pressing against Reid's stomach. Morgan stood and carried his boyfriend back down the hallway to the bedroom, kicking the door closed behind them.

CM/CM/CM/CM/CM

A/N: Some hot sexy time coming up in the next chapter if you didn't already guess. =) Hope you all enjoyed!