Morgan and Reid meet for the first time on a Monday, at a recruiting seminar that Gideon drags Morgan to. He says Morgan might as well get the hang of it now rather than later, because at some point, he'll have to do them either by himself or with a new agent in tow. And because Morgan wants to be a good agent and do things right (and keep Gideon happy, because nobody in their right mind wants to anger Gideon), he agrees to give a small speech about what it's like to be a new member on a BAU team, while Gideon explains the job, and does a hell of a good job to be wise and caring and interested in everyone. The people attending this seminar are mostly college kids in their very early twenties, and Reid doesn't stick out in the crown. The only thing that makes him different from the rest to Morgan at that point is the fact that he's the only one who doesn't take notes. He hasn't even got a pen and paper with him.

The kid approaches Gideon and Morgan after the seminar and they talk for a bit before Morgan gets distracted by a girl coming over to him to ask a few questions herself. She's a little flirty, but Morgan makes sure to stay professional throughout the whole conversation. Neither Gideon nor Reid mind that he leaves them, so it's all good. Morgan and Gideon leave shortly after, before Gideon gets to talk to anyone other than Reid, who has, apparently, sparked an interest with Gideon, to go back to the BAU and do some tedious paperwork. Morgan drives, because Gideon tends to be a little distracted on the road, unless he has something very specific to focus on, like a chase.

"That Spencer Reid is quite something," he says. "I hope he joins. He seems like he's got an excellent mind."

Morgan doesn't know what to say to that, so he keeps his mouth shut.

A few months later, Gideon introduces the team to their newest member, 22-yearold Dr. Spencer Reid. Everyone stares at the kid in surprise, Morgan included, because he had expected that if the kid joined, it would be in maybe a few years. Reid explains that he has an IQ of 187, and holds three and two BAs, and that, in short, he's a genius, so he graduated college when he was sixteen. It's impressive, to say the least, and Morgan has to remind himself that it's not polite to stare open-mouthed to keep his jaw from dropping.

Hours later, after he's helped Reid settle in and has finished some paperwork, including a report for Gideon, he overhears Hotch ask the unit chief (a position Hotch is looking to get, and will most likely get very soon, because Gideon is looking at a promotion to senior SSA) if he's sure he wants someone so young working on the kind of cases they get, and Gideon assures him that he knows what he's doing, and that the kid will be fine.

"Just type his name into a search engine and you'll see. He's got an impressive mind," Gideon says.

"With an IQ that high, I don't doubt that," Hotch says.

Morgan googles the name Spencer Reid later that night, when he's gotten home, and decides that, yes, Gideon knows full well what he's doing.

The first time Morgan and Reid kiss, it's on a Friday, and it's quick. Reid kisses Morgan in the men's bathroom at the BAU. He pulls away, blushing brightly and murmurs an apology before rushing out, leaving a very confused and very surprised Morgan in the bathroom.

Morgan has trouble focusing the rest of the day, which is highly impractical. He just barely manages to finish a report for Hotch that he was actually supposed to turn in at noon, but he doesn't finish it until about an hour before they're off for the day, because Morgan has a lot of paperwork to do, and really, he's a little distracted. Reid is rushing through his own paperwork, faster than usual, and never looks at Morgan. He spills his coffee and stubs his elbow on his desk, which Morgan would have found just as hilarious as Elle does, if he hadn't been so confused, and if his own head had even been with him. In fact, his head is so far away from him and reality that he misses his cup when he pours himself a new cup of coffee, which Elle also laughs at, and proclaims that he's almost as clumsy as Reid.

When the day ends, Reid rushes out of the bullpen and Morgan follows as best as he can without attracting any attention. He catches Reid by the main entrance, and Reid does his very best to avoid eye contact.

"Listen, I am so, so sorry about what happened in the bathroom," he says, looking at Morgan's neck rather than his eyes. "I didn't mean to freak you out or anything. I don't know what came over me, I wasn't thinking. I usually think about everything. I'm really sorry. I won't do it again, I promise."

And with that, he leaves, very quickly, towards the subway, because he rarely ever drives to work. Morgan is once again left very confused, but at least it doesn't affect his work this time. He spends most of his weekend thinking about it all, because he doesn't want to be awkward with Reid for the rest of their time together at the BAU, and he'd really prefer it if this little problem could be solved the following Monday, so they can get it out of the way. The conclusion Morgan ends up with is really very surprising, but once he gets his head around it, which he spends most of Sunday doing, he doesn't mind it very much.

So the following Monday, Morgan corners Reid in the men's room again, and Reid seems to be agonizingly uncomfortable with the situation.

"I've been thinking a lot this weekend," Morgan says, but then his mouth goes dry, and he decides that action is better than words in this particular instance, so he kisses Reid. Reid is too surprised to respond, and Morgan feels a little awkward when he pulls back. That quickly passes when Reid kisses him again, and this time they're both in on it, and into it, and very much so.

A few kisses later they agree to get together that night and talk about it, because they really do have to talk about it. Inter-team fraternization is frowned upon and they both know that. Reid leaves the bathroom first, seeing as he entered it first, and Morgan follows shortly after. They act completely normal the rest of the day, and even though Elle makes fun of them for apparently going to the bathroom together, they don't comment on it very much, no more than anyone else would have, and they don't blush at it like school girls. Morgan begs her to do some of his paperwork for him, but instead, it ends with him doing two reports for her, which Reid laughs at.

They have sex for the first time on Morgan's couch, on a Saturday night. It's technically not Morgan's first time with another man, but it's the first time he enjoys it, and boy does he enjoy it. As soon as the pain passes for Reid, Morgan stops feeling guilty about liking it as much as he does, and then they're both enjoying it very, very much. Reid's good in bed, Morgan concludes, especially because he knows that it's Reid's first time ever. It makes Morgan feel a little weird and very privileged to know that he's the one who took Reid's virginity. He's a little happy to know that Reid has had several experiences in kissing before he kissed Morgan, because it would just be a little too weird for Morgan if he'd also been the kid's first kiss.

Afterwards, Morgan gets Reid a glass of water and they cuddle on the couch. Clooney joins them by lying on their feet, because there isn't room for him by their heads, but for once, an animal doesn't scare Reid. They end up falling asleep on the couch, and Morgan is a little surprised when he wakes up and finds that nothing aches or is uncomfortable, despite sleeping on the couch with Reid. When Reid wakes up, it seems that he's not quite as fortunate, although that's more from the sex than from sleeping on the couch, and they both know that. They have the day off, so they eat breakfast together, and talk about what to do the rest of the day. However, any plans they make get cancelled as soon as they're done eating, because Morgan pulls Reid in for a kiss and they end up spending the entire day in bed.

They're called to Cambridge, Massachusetts on a case the next day. It's a tough one, but they've worked worse. The main nuisance is that it's taking a long time to solve, because of a lack of evidence and an exact four days cooling off period, so unfortunately, they need a new body to solve the case. This means that they're stuck in Cambridge for more than a few days. Now, normally, this wouldn't be anything but a nuisance, but this time something is different, and it's annoying Morgan.

He wants to have sex with Reid again. Not an unnatural want, they're just not sure it's a good idea when they're working on a case. Someone could see one of them exiting the other's hotel room, or knock on the door in the middle of the night. Too risky, they agreed. But Morgan is sort of starting to not care.

It's the sixth night in Cambridge, and Morgan knocks on Reid's door after he's sure the rest of the team are in their rooms, most likely asleep. Reid opens the door and looks a bit surprised to see Morgan there, but not much. After all they've all come knocking on each other's doors in the middle of the night for a long time, the whole team has. So it's not a complete surprise for Reid, but a small one nonetheless.

"Hey," he says. He hasn't been to bed yet, Morgan can tell. He's still fully dressed. He's wearing glasses instead of contacts, though.

"Hey," Morgan says back. He steps forward and closes the door behind him. Reid barely has any time to look bewildered before Morgan's kissing him, and he makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat. Morgan wraps his arms around Reid, whose hands end up on the back of Morgan's neck. Morgan reaches behind him to lock the door, but Reid suddenly grabs his arm and pulls away from the kiss, which is not very far back, because Morgan's other arm is still around him.

"We said no sex on cases. What if somebody knocks, or hears something?" Reid asks. He's being cautious. Morgan should be too, he knows, but he wants Reid, and preferably right now.

"Pretty boy," Morgan says, stroking Reid's back. "Right now, I don't care."

Reid seems to think about it for a moment before he grins and kisses Morgan again. The hand on his arm leaves in favor of returning to his neck, and Morgan locks the door.

The first time they fight is a Wednesday, and it's because of Reid's problem with Dilaudid. Not that Morgan knows it at the time, because Reid is damn good at keeping secrets, but in retrospect, Morgan knows that the Dilaudid had been behind the argument. Morgan doesn't even remember how it starts, except that Reid snaps at something that Morgan never would've expected him to snap at, which is why he knows he can push all the blame on the drugs.

After Reid gets clean, they don't fight very much. There's not much to fight about, and they prefer not to, especially because they work together and they know why inter-team fraternization is prohibited: it can affect their work and the workspace. Nobody wants that, and Morgan can, after a couple of months with Reid, see why it could affect his work that he's with Reid. Also, if they fight, the others are more likely to notice and discover their little secret. Morgan actually wonders if they've already discovered it, because they're all profilers, they're all good at their jobs, and maybe they can see or somehow tell that something has shifted between Morgan and Reid. After all, they all knew about JJ and Will, even though he was in a completely different state.

But no matter how much Morgan doesn't want to fight with Reid, and vice versa, they do fight on occasion. Mostly in relation to Reid doing something stupid or dangerous (or both) on the job. It sometimes frustrates or even angers Morgan when he does something like that, especially after the horrific incident with Tobias Hankel in Georgia, and everything that followed that particular case. Reid often thinks Morgan is being ridiculous for reacting the way he does every time Reid puts himself in danger.

"You do it a lot more that I do, mister!" Reid says. "Who's the one who continuously kicks down doors and tackles unsubs? It's certainly not me!"

"It's different! I come out of those situations just fine, but you seem to have a knack for getting yourself in sticky situations, and you don't always come out of them just fine," Morgan says. Tobias Hankel is a name that has been burned on Morgan's memory for all eternity. "I'm trained to tackle and kick down doors, you're not!"

Reid takes quite a bit of offense to that the first few times Morgan says it, but after some time it stops, and he admits to Morgan that, yes, Morgan is much better equipped for dangerous situations with all that muscle mass he has built up. He does so with a pink tinge to his cheeks, but he keeps eye contact with Morgan the entire time. Morgan doesn't say anything to it, he just smiles and hugs Reid. The only reason Morgan even gets angry or frustrated is because he worries when Reid does something that puts him in a dangerous situation. But once Reid gets out of the situation okay, that's when Morgan gets angry at him.

They fight over other things as well, and they argue even more, but it's still not much. They have a good, solid relationship, and they enjoy it as much as they can.

Reid tells Morgan he loves him for the first time on a Tuesday morning, over the phone. Morgan's not sure he hears correctly, but when he asks Reid to repeat himself, he does indeed say those three little words. Morgan really isn't sure what to say to that, and when he tells Reid that, Reid says that he doesn't have to say anything. Then there's a short silence, Reid mutters an apology and hangs up. Morgan stares at his phone for a while after, not sure if he really believes it. Not because he doesn't think he's worthy of love, but simply because it's a little weird for him to grasp the fact that Reid loves him, and is in love with him. At this point, they've been together for a long time. About two years. Still, they've never even come close to telling each other that they love each other. Morgan hasn't even really thought about it.

When he gets to work, he finds Reid already there and acting as if he'd said nothing on the phone. When Morgan looks at him, however, a light pink dust settles on his cheeks, and Morgan knows that he feels weird about having said what he said. But he still acts normally. Throughout the whole day, Reid does nothing to make anyone suspicious, and by lunch time, only Morgan is faced with a worried Prentiss, who asks if he's okay.

"Yeah. Why do you ask?" he replies casually.

"You've been acting a little weird," she says, narrowing her eyes just a smidgen, and Morgan knows she doesn't really believe him.

"I've just got a couple of things on my mind today. Nothing important, don't worry. And nothing to do with you, so keep your nose out of it," Morgan says teasingly and heads back to his desk. He can practically hear Prentiss roll her eyes behind him and knows that even if she doesn't believe him, she's not going to ask any more questions.

Morgan spends the rest of the day thinking about it. It's not too weird a thought, the more he thinks about it. He and Reid are close, they like each other very much. Their two years long relationship is proof of that. But actually loving someone has always seemed very serious to Morgan, like he thinks it should for everyone. He knows some people throw the word love about all the time, without really thinking about what it means. And he's never really loved someone not a family member before. Well, he loves Garcia, but as a sister, and to be honest, he thinks he might love the rest of his team members as if they were family as well. But not Reid. Reid's something special to him. He knows that much, so now he just has to find out if he's so special that Morgan loves him in the "I-want-to-spend-the-rest-of-my-life-with-you"-way. That he's not too sure about.

At the end of the day, Morgan goes home alone as usual. He and Reid don't spend every single night together (close, though), and since they don't want anyone getting suspicious, they go home separately, Morgan in his car, Reid on the subway. Reid then goes to Morgan's house after dropping off his messenger bag at home, if they've agreed to see each other that night. This night they have, despite the awkward announcement in the morning. Morgan wonders if Reid will stay away, out of embarrassment, or something, but before he can give Reid a call and check, the young genius unlocks Morgan's front door and steps in. They exchanged house keys last year.

"Hey," Reid says in a very low voice. He's clearly feeling a bit awkward at the situation.

"Hey," Morgan says.

"Listen, about what I said this morning," Reid starts and takes a deep breath. "You don't have to say anything. I don't really expect you to, I just wanted you to know, and so it came out of my mouth before I even had a chance to think it through. I'm sorry if I freaked you out, which I probably did, but you don't have to say anything."

"Well," Morgan says and pulls Reid into his arms. "I am actually glad to hear that, because to be honest, I don't know what to say. I'm flattered. But loving someone is extremely special to me, and I don't want to just throw that word about. I want to be sure before I say it, and honestly, I'm not sure. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Just don't be mad," Reid says. To answer that, Morgan just smiles and kisses him.

The first time Morgan tells Reid he loves him is on a Thursday, a few minutes before midnight. They're lying next to each other on Morgan's bed, stark naked under the covers. Reid's on his stomach, hands underneath his pillow, head tipped to the side so he can look at Morgan. Morgan is on his side, propped up on his elbow, watching Reid with fascination, adoration, and love. He's pretty sure now.

"Hey," Morgan says and reaches out to run his fingers over Reid's uncovered back.

"Hey what?" Reid says, voice a little slurred from tiredness.

"I love you," Morgan says simply. Reid was very simple about it when he said it, so Morgan is as well. Reid's face splits into a smile that could outshine the sun. He leans up and kisses Morgan hard on the lips. It's not a long kiss, or a deep one, just a hard one. When he pulls back, he licks his lips, and Morgan feels something run down his spine.

"I love you too," Reid says. Morgan smiles at him, even though he already knew. The smile only widens when Reid pushes Morgan on his back and straddles his lap. "And I'll show you just how much."

Now that is something Morgan will definitely not complain about.