Fic: Zeroes and Ones 20/? (Criminal Minds, Morgan/Reid, NC17)
Title: Zeroes and Ones 20/?
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Rating: NC17
Summary: AU. This diverges from canon directly after 4x01. When Derek's offered the job heading up the NYC field office, he takes it for the good of his career. He expects to leave the BAU and everyone he knew in Virginia behind, but some people are easier to let go of than others.
A/N: Late again! And possibly full of typos. Sorry!
This time when he left Spencer on the subway platform, Derek did kiss him goodbye. He pulled Spencer out of the flow of traffic, lighter now that they'd missed the worst of the early morning commuters, then he straightened his coat and tucked Spencer's hair behind his ears and grinned at him. Only this time he didn't stop himself from leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of Spencer's mouth, and when Spencer turned into it Derek regretted all over again that he hadn't just called in sick.
But they both had responsibilities, so Derek settled for one more lingering kiss, then he pulled back and grinned at the sight of Spencer's flushed cheeks and his wide eyes. "Remember what I said, Pretty Boy. I've got plans for you later."
He left Spencer to stare after him and took the stairs to his own train two at a time, settling in the car and pulling out his phone to check his messages. He'd been ignoring e-mails from Garcia all week, mostly because he knew she was just trying to dig up whatever she could on Spencer's visit. He wasn't planning to tell her anything, especially not anything that would embarrass Spencer, but it seemed like she'd managed to find a way to do that without even trying.
Derek let out a sigh and opened her latest e-mail, then he typed a one sentence reply: You and I need to have words, Baby Girl.
He stared at the screen for a minute, trying to decide whether it sounded threatening enough to shake her up a little. Finally he pressed send and dropped the phone back in his pocket, then he settled in for the ride across the bridge to the Federal Building.
Before he even got to the office he knew what he was in for: a long, boring day of filling out reports and tying up loose ends over a case that amounted to them chasing their own tails for months. Granted, that was a lot better than cleaning up the mess from a legitimate terrorist threat, but Derek still wasn't looking forward to the paperwork. He wasn't looking forward to calling Quantico and letting the higher-ups know that the whole thing turned out to be a bunch of kids, either.
By the time he got to his office he had a stack of messages waiting for him, and he flipped through them long enough to decide which calls he needed to return and which could wait awhile. He checked his e-mail next, deleting the junk that nobody read and downloading a couple reports from the more eager members of his team. The newest message was from Garcia, and he grinned and shook his head when he opened it and read her reply.
Are the words going to be 'you were right, oh Mighty All-Knowing Goddess of mine, and I really do have a crush on a certain genius we all know and love'?
She wasn't far off the mark and she knew it, but that didn't mean Derek had to admit to anything. It didn't mean she had any business getting Spencer all worked up right before he got on a plane to visit Derek, either, especially when he was already confused about how Derek felt about him. And that was the thing; they hadn't really talked about how they felt, where they went from here or even if they wanted to try to keep things going long-distance.
Spencer had invited Derek to stay with him when he was in Virginia, so Derek figured he probably saw this as more than a one-time thing. He wasn't exactly the casual type, after all, and it was one of the reasons Derek had avoided getting involved with him for so long. But Spencer probably hadn't dealt with a long-distance relationship before, either, so he didn't really know what he was getting into.
It worried Derek more than it probably should, knowing what a mess they were letting themselves in for and not knowing if Spencer would be able to handle it. He knew firsthand how often Spencer traveled, how much time he spent on unfamiliar ground, focused on the worst parts of life and letting all that misery get under his skin. When he was on a case he wouldn't even have time to take Derek's calls, and when they did catch the bad guy and put the world right again, Derek wouldn't be there to put his hands on Spencer and make him forget how much bad there was in the world.
Sure, he was an adult, and Derek couldn't make his decisions for him any more than Hotch or some absentee father he never spoke to or talked about, but that didn't make it any easier to let Spencer get back on that plane on Sunday. If it was up to Derek...but it wasn't, and he knew it as well as anybody.
Derek blew out a frustrated breath and opened the first report in his inbox, eyes sliding across the words on the screen without really taking them in. He knew his job was important, that they did just as much to keep people safe in the long run as the BAU or any other department in the Bureau. But he hadn't really counted on the routine taking so much out of him, and now that he knew just why Spencer had wanted him to stay in Virginia, it was just a little harder to be stuck behind a desk pushing papers around.
His phone beeped and Derek glanced up at the sound of Spencer's ringtone, grinning and picking it up to read the text message on the screen.
Technically I'm done at 3:00 today, if you feel like playing hooky some more.
He wasn't sure he could get out of the office early; most nights he was there past 6:00, and the fact that he'd managed to get home on time most of the week was only because everybody in the office knew he had a friend in town. Still, he had made a promise to Spencer, and he intended to keep it. He hit 'reply', smiling to himself as he typed a message:
Take the train to my office when you're free and I'll see what I can do.
As soon as he hit send there was a knock on his door, and Derek dropped his phone and tried to wipe the smile off his face before he looked up. "Yeah."
"Just thought you should know, boss," Agent Barnes said, hovering near the door like he was scared to come too close. "There's some big time lawyer down at One Police Plaza right now, raising holy hell about the kids we arrested."
"What? Why?"
"Something about illegal search and seizure," Barnes said, his expression telling Derek that he'd drawn the short straw on this one. "You know how lawyers are. It's just talk. Somebody's probably got a rich daddy who's going to make a big stink to the press is all."
Derek let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a second, then he nodded and looked up again. "You're probably right. I'll deal with it. Thanks."
He picked up his land line and dialed the number for their liaison in the police department, rubbing at his temples as he listened to the phone ring. He was pretty sure he could kiss any plans to get out of the office early goodbye, and yeah, Spencer would understand, but that didn't make him feel any better.
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Derek Morgan/Spencer Reid
Rating: NC17
Summary: AU. This diverges from canon directly after 4x01. When Derek's offered the job heading up the NYC field office, he takes it for the good of his career. He expects to leave the BAU and everyone he knew in Virginia behind, but some people are easier to let go of than others.
A/N: Late again! And possibly full of typos. Sorry!
This time when he left Spencer on the subway platform, Derek did kiss him goodbye. He pulled Spencer out of the flow of traffic, lighter now that they'd missed the worst of the early morning commuters, then he straightened his coat and tucked Spencer's hair behind his ears and grinned at him. Only this time he didn't stop himself from leaning in to press a soft kiss to the corner of Spencer's mouth, and when Spencer turned into it Derek regretted all over again that he hadn't just called in sick.
But they both had responsibilities, so Derek settled for one more lingering kiss, then he pulled back and grinned at the sight of Spencer's flushed cheeks and his wide eyes. "Remember what I said, Pretty Boy. I've got plans for you later."
He left Spencer to stare after him and took the stairs to his own train two at a time, settling in the car and pulling out his phone to check his messages. He'd been ignoring e-mails from Garcia all week, mostly because he knew she was just trying to dig up whatever she could on Spencer's visit. He wasn't planning to tell her anything, especially not anything that would embarrass Spencer, but it seemed like she'd managed to find a way to do that without even trying.
Derek let out a sigh and opened her latest e-mail, then he typed a one sentence reply: You and I need to have words, Baby Girl.
He stared at the screen for a minute, trying to decide whether it sounded threatening enough to shake her up a little. Finally he pressed send and dropped the phone back in his pocket, then he settled in for the ride across the bridge to the Federal Building.
Before he even got to the office he knew what he was in for: a long, boring day of filling out reports and tying up loose ends over a case that amounted to them chasing their own tails for months. Granted, that was a lot better than cleaning up the mess from a legitimate terrorist threat, but Derek still wasn't looking forward to the paperwork. He wasn't looking forward to calling Quantico and letting the higher-ups know that the whole thing turned out to be a bunch of kids, either.
By the time he got to his office he had a stack of messages waiting for him, and he flipped through them long enough to decide which calls he needed to return and which could wait awhile. He checked his e-mail next, deleting the junk that nobody read and downloading a couple reports from the more eager members of his team. The newest message was from Garcia, and he grinned and shook his head when he opened it and read her reply.
Are the words going to be 'you were right, oh Mighty All-Knowing Goddess of mine, and I really do have a crush on a certain genius we all know and love'?
She wasn't far off the mark and she knew it, but that didn't mean Derek had to admit to anything. It didn't mean she had any business getting Spencer all worked up right before he got on a plane to visit Derek, either, especially when he was already confused about how Derek felt about him. And that was the thing; they hadn't really talked about how they felt, where they went from here or even if they wanted to try to keep things going long-distance.
Spencer had invited Derek to stay with him when he was in Virginia, so Derek figured he probably saw this as more than a one-time thing. He wasn't exactly the casual type, after all, and it was one of the reasons Derek had avoided getting involved with him for so long. But Spencer probably hadn't dealt with a long-distance relationship before, either, so he didn't really know what he was getting into.
It worried Derek more than it probably should, knowing what a mess they were letting themselves in for and not knowing if Spencer would be able to handle it. He knew firsthand how often Spencer traveled, how much time he spent on unfamiliar ground, focused on the worst parts of life and letting all that misery get under his skin. When he was on a case he wouldn't even have time to take Derek's calls, and when they did catch the bad guy and put the world right again, Derek wouldn't be there to put his hands on Spencer and make him forget how much bad there was in the world.
Sure, he was an adult, and Derek couldn't make his decisions for him any more than Hotch or some absentee father he never spoke to or talked about, but that didn't make it any easier to let Spencer get back on that plane on Sunday. If it was up to Derek...but it wasn't, and he knew it as well as anybody.
Derek blew out a frustrated breath and opened the first report in his inbox, eyes sliding across the words on the screen without really taking them in. He knew his job was important, that they did just as much to keep people safe in the long run as the BAU or any other department in the Bureau. But he hadn't really counted on the routine taking so much out of him, and now that he knew just why Spencer had wanted him to stay in Virginia, it was just a little harder to be stuck behind a desk pushing papers around.
His phone beeped and Derek glanced up at the sound of Spencer's ringtone, grinning and picking it up to read the text message on the screen.
Technically I'm done at 3:00 today, if you feel like playing hooky some more.
He wasn't sure he could get out of the office early; most nights he was there past 6:00, and the fact that he'd managed to get home on time most of the week was only because everybody in the office knew he had a friend in town. Still, he had made a promise to Spencer, and he intended to keep it. He hit 'reply', smiling to himself as he typed a message:
Take the train to my office when you're free and I'll see what I can do.
As soon as he hit send there was a knock on his door, and Derek dropped his phone and tried to wipe the smile off his face before he looked up. "Yeah."
"Just thought you should know, boss," Agent Barnes said, hovering near the door like he was scared to come too close. "There's some big time lawyer down at One Police Plaza right now, raising holy hell about the kids we arrested."
"What? Why?"
"Something about illegal search and seizure," Barnes said, his expression telling Derek that he'd drawn the short straw on this one. "You know how lawyers are. It's just talk. Somebody's probably got a rich daddy who's going to make a big stink to the press is all."
Derek let out a heavy sigh and closed his eyes for a second, then he nodded and looked up again. "You're probably right. I'll deal with it. Thanks."
He picked up his land line and dialed the number for their liaison in the police department, rubbing at his temples as he listened to the phone ring. He was pretty sure he could kiss any plans to get out of the office early goodbye, and yeah, Spencer would understand, but that didn't make him feel any better.