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“Pretty boy!” Derek grinned, leaning on the counter where the thief was currently reading at his usual alarming speed. The kid was a weird one, but endearing. Though he and the genius got off to a rough start, the hitter had confidence they were friends now -- even if Spencer seemed to have a perpetual wall up and six layers of security. He was like the Fort Knox of people. (Even though Spencer and Garcia both could point out the defensive flaws of Fort Knox, which perhaps made the illustration even more fitting.) Derek was guarded, sure, but Spencer Reid was something else .
They all had quirks, but his were -- a lot to handle. Brilliant and a genius, running math and numbers without a second thought, it was easy to see why he was an asset. A man with near legendary scores under his belt (once pulling off a solo casino heist), Spencer was hard to crack. Even if he was a genius, the young thief was socially awkward and his last attempt at grifting lead to a minor crisis (Spencer, freaked out by an overly touchy mark, had stabbed the man with a fork).
Touch adverse as he was, he seemed used to Derek now, even letting him affectionately ruffle his hair as he passed, “Yeah?” The younger man asked, looking up with suspicious hazel eyes.
Derek sighed, internally. Friendlier or not, Derek had a feeling he had more hoops to go through because of who he was. Spencer’s behavior and look just screamed ‘brutally bullied as a child’ and Derek was no idiot; he knew very well he was the intimidating ‘jock’ stereotype that likely set him on edge.
He grinned, charming and confident. “Do you want to do some training with me? I know you aren’t supposed to be caught, but it’d be nice if you could throw a punch or two, maybe get some muscles.” An amused smirk.
Spencer looked deadpan and blinked, “No.” That was the end of the discussion, if Spencer had it his way. But Spencer may have been a thief, but Derek had been the middle child with two sisters. He was nothing if not a force against stubbornness.
“Please?” He leaned on the counter, poking at the other’s side. “Train with me and I will buy you coffee for a week.” The genius consumed more caffeine than anyone he’d ever knew, and the man seemed swayed, for a second or two.
He tapped his chin, folding the page and closing the book. “Give me twenty minutes and make it coffee and a doughnut every day for a week and you have a deal.” A grin as he hurried off. A small snort of amusement from the Brunette grifter who had slipped in during their conversation.
“Got something to say, Prentiss?” His tone is unamused, though he grins, easily, both knowing he’s only teasing her.
The woman shrugged, moving past him, “Don’t underestimate him.” she cackled, as if knowing something Derek didn’t. Sure enough, thirty minutes later, Derek and Spencer were in the big, almost empty gym he enjoyed going to. DC was no Chicago, but it worked.
He watched Spencer appreciatively. The man had two styles -- thief and 70 year old grandpa. But this was a new style -- sweatpants and a t-shirt that Derek guessed was likely belonging to Garcia given the garish color and size. One thing could be said about Spencer in his short time with the team -- he’d taken to Garcia like no one else. It flattered, him somehow, and Derek grinned, watching him tug long hair back out of his face, securing with an elastic band.
“You ready, kid?” Derek asked, assuming a fighting stance, mostly wanting to see what Spencer could do, first. The younger man stepped into a similar position, body tense, and a bit nervous, if Derek was reading him right. “Go.” He advanced on the man, thinner and scrawnier than he was but as he swung a punch, the man nimbly dodged it, a leg kicking out, catching Derek simply out of sheer shock the other wasn’t awful .
Spencer grinned, light and almost impish, “Small doesn’t mean weak, Morgan.” He commented, tone soft and lilting as he danced away from the hitter. Derek watched. The boy was nimble, flexibility that came with his profession, but his agility was something else, while Spencer was not as built as Derek, he was clearly stronger that he’d given credit for.
“Hit me, pretty boy.” He goaded, a small grin on his lips. Spencer seemed to hesitate in distrust, but moved into range where he could hit him. Derek moved, sure, Spencer was quick, but Derek was more brute strength. Once he could get the man by the arm and put him onto the floor, pinning him to the mat was easy. Spencer could duck and dodge and get a hit or two in, but he wasn’t a fighter. “That all you got, kid?” He said, watching the boy relax in his grip, suddenly a knee flies up and catches him in the crotch and he glowers as Spencer as he rolls off, “What the hell , Reid?!”
The thief sits up, seemingly bright and chipper until he sees Derek is in actual pain and then he looks skittish and mildly upset. “You asked…” He mumbled, looking at the other with regret, almost, “It works, though.” He points out as Derek sits up. He flinches away, falling silent, clearly expecting retaliation.
The dark skinned man grinned, clapping the thief on the back, friendly and warm, “Yeah, it works, but it’s not reliable. You’re relying on defense, not offense, and you can’t always do that. If someone comes at you --” he swung himself to pin spencer once in on a way that both caught the thief off guard and prevented and wayward knees, “-- you can’t just dodge.”
“That’s why you’re here.” Spencer pointed out, hazel eyes looking up at Derek, a small smile curling his lips. For a second Derek thought he might melt at that -- the words, the smile -- but he rolls his eyes.
“I know, but I can’t always be, Reid. You gotta be able to fight. Let’s get some practice in.”
So they did.
It was a few weeks, between jobs and Spencer’s excursions to various less than reputable gambling establishments, but they trained, at least a bit. Spencer was no hitter, but he could land a few punches and knew a few blocks and pressure points.
Outside of training, the two were close, Spencer offering Derek parts of his food and becoming comfortable enough with him to even steal his food (a weird and important thing, due to his germaphobic habits towards food). They sat next to each other, Spencer sometimes settled on top of him, during the briefings and it was actually sort of confusing. Spencer seemed to be entirely his usual self, even if his touchiness was increased (it also seemed to be a team-wide thing, given the fact he seemed more comfortable with all of them). He couldn’t be sure, and he watched Spencer, trying to deduce clues about what he meant with his behavior.
Three weeks after the first session, and Spencer was training with Derek once more. The fight had been decent, Derek holding back a lot and Spencer putting into practice his full force hits. when the other had once again pinned him on the mat. This time, things felt different. Spencer was wearing a bright, odd smile, and he didn’t break the pin, instead, he leaned his head up. Derek knew what was coming, but it surprised him none the less as he leaned down, meeting the thief’s lips halfway. It was shy, awkward, and Spencer seemed unsure of himself. He sat up, appreciating the gentle kiss.
Finally they broke a apart. Spencer’s cheeks were bright red, and his lips were a bright smile. Derek just blinked stupidly and grinned, “Any reason for that, pretty boy?”
“Garcia thought it was mean that I kept ‘giving mixed signals’ -- so she told me that if I kissed you it would be obvious where I stand.” The genius looks thrilled, and lightly touches his lips, “I liked that. We should kiss more.” He said, a bright smile. Derek laughed, amused and fond as he stood, pulling the younger man up with him.
“Sure kid.” A smirk, “Every hit you land gets you a kiss.”
The genius looked amused, “That’s gonna be a lot of kisses.” He pointed out. When Derek let of a scoff, he began his attempts, landing two or three hits before the other got him into his arms, effectively trapping him. “Hey!” He protested in annoyance, kicking and whining as he was given kiss after kiss. “Not fair.”
Derek’s phone rang, and keeping Spencer pinned to his chest with one arm, he answered, “Hey, babygirl -- yeah, Reid and I are on our way over now. Bye, sweetness.” He hung up, letting Spencer wiggle free. “Better get changed, pretty boy, “you have thieving to do.”
“I already stole the best thing, though!” Spencer announced.
“Oh?” Derek arched his eyebrows silently, blinking in surprise as he stole another kiss. The lithe man danced away.
“Your heart!” he called, and Derek laughed, hurrying to fall into step beside him. “It’s okay. You took mine, too. So we’re even .”