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The BAU headquarters was quieter than usual, a calm before the storm of another case. In a corner of the room, Dr. Spencer Reid sat, his attention buried in a pile of books and papers.
Now, Spencer Reid was incredibly clever… there was no about it.
However, he was never very good at concealing the fact that he was hiding something. You’d think that in his line of work it would be quite the opposite, but most of the time, that just isn’t the case.
Whenever he was hiding something, he would act even more awkward than usual.
Derek Morgan, ever so observant, caught this look and couldn’t resist the urge to investigate.
“Alright, pretty boy, spill it.” Morgan abruptly confronted, palms slammed on the table as if he were conducting a real interrogation, startling the young detective.
Reid looked up with surprise before he put on a mask of innocence. “Spill what?”
“Don’t play dumb. You’re hiding something, and I wanna know what it is!”
The younger averted his eyes and Morgan swore that he saw a faint blush on his cheeks.
“What would give you that idea? I’m not hiding anything…”
Morgan wasn’t buying it. He moved closer, a playful yet determined look on his face as he circled around behind Reid.
“Alright… if you won’t talk, I have other methods.”
With that, he quickly spun the chair around to make Reid face him before making a beeline for the detective’s vulnerable sides, digging into the sensitive flesh.
Taken off guard by the sudden tickling ambush, Reid lets out a surprised yelp before loud, unrestrained laughter tumbled from his lips.
“Hey! W-What are you dohohohoing?!”
The older man gave a sly grin.
He was definitely gonna have fun with this.
“What does it look like I’m doing, genius?” He asked teasingly, skillfully spidering his fingers up to Reid’s ribs, using just enough pressure to drive the young detective crazy.
“Ahh! Y-You’re tickling mehehehehee!”
“Bingo!” Morgan said with a grin. “And I’m not gonna stop until you tell me what you’re hiding!”
The blonde squirmed desperately in his seat, trapped between the chair and his attacker. Well… he could maybe escape if he wanted to. The seat didn’t have any armrests; he just wasn’t willing to throw himself at the floor quite yet.
Perhaps he could hold out and Morgan would just give up.
“Nohohoho! Morgan, plehehease! I-I’m not hiding aNYTHIHIHING- WAHAHAIT!”
The doctor’s plea was cut off by his own raucous laughter when he felt the tingling sensations migrate from his ribcage to under his arms, one of his hot spots.
“You can’t lie to me, pretty boy! You better start talking, or I might have to take drastic measures.” The elder playfully threatened, drilling his thumbs into the tender hollows, getting an uncharacteristic shriek from the normally reserved detective.
Reid glued his arms to his sides, but it didn’t matter. Morgan kept on tickling, even with his hands trapped.
Truthfully, Morgan kind of hoped that Reid would stay stubborn, just so that he’d have an excuse to keep tickling him.
Reid’s laughter was so rare, and to have it ringing so openly was nothing short of a gift.
He didn’t even care about the secret as long as he could get Reid to keep laughing like that.
Well… okay, maybe he cared about the secret a little bit.
But that just means he has every excuse in the world to keep tickling the young genius.
Besides, the poor kid needed some playfulness in his life.
“I-I’M NOT TEHEHELLING!!”
This statement, ladies and gentlemen, was a huge mistake.
Morgan quirked a brow, pausing to give the younger man a momentary break from the tickling, but moving to grab his wrists so that he doesn’t escape.
“Not telling, huh? So you admit that you’re hiding something!”
Reid’s face flushed bright red and his eyes widened comically as he realized his mistake.
“Wait, no, I-I meant that, uh…”
Morgan wasn’t having it.
“Y’know, Reid… I think those lanky legs of yours are feeling a little left out.”
He didn’t have to say anymore before Reid began kicking his legs, pleading for mercy before Morgan even touched him.
“Nononono, Morgan, plehehease dohohon’t!” There was a nervous smile on his face, which was starting to turn a nice rosy shade.
“Oh, I think I will, since you’re sooo insistent on not sharing that secret.”
Before Reid could let out another protest, Morgan’s hand caught one of the flailing legs while the other hand began to squeeze rapidly at the kneecap.
The young genius let out a snort, his laughter taking on a boyish energy as he tried his hardest to free his leg, thrashing his entire body from the intense electric tickling sensation.
“NAHAHAH- MORGAHAHAN, T-TOO TIHIHIHICKLISH!!” He shrieked, tears of mirth starting to prick at his eyes.
Morgan couldn’t help but laugh along, not expecting such an extreme reaction from Spencer Reid.
How on earth had Morgan been neglecting Reid’s knees until now?!
“Maybe if you tell me your secret, I can make it a little less ticklish~”
The younger shook his head stubbornly. His stomach was starting to hurt from how hard he was laughing.
He knew his knees were sensitive, but he didn’t know they were THAT sensitive.
Nevertheless, he refused to give in!
At least until Morgan began scribbling over the kneecap…
“Well that’s too bad, Reid. What if I just- woah!”
The minute Morgan touched his knee with that scribbling motion, Reid let out a scream of laughter before throwing himself to the floor in a desperate escape act.
And it worked! He was free from Morgan’s ticklish clutches.
For a few seconds…
Undeterred, the older detective simply followed Reid to the floor, now able to pin him more effectively by sitting on his hips.
“Nice try, kid. You can’t escape me that easily!”
The younger man gave a childish whine, wriggling hopelessly and realizing he definitely wasn’t getting out of this until he gave Morgan what he wanted.
But strangely, it seemed almost as if Reid was enjoying himself… like he was having just as much fun as Morgan was.
“Alright, Reid. I didn’t wanna have to do this, but you leave me no choice.”
With that ominous statement, the older agent began to roll up the younger’s shirt, watching with a mischievous sparkle in his eye as he sees his victim’s expression shift from playful dread, to one of sheer panic… and a glimmer of excitement?
“Your tummy looks rather tasty, Reid. If you’re not gonna share that secret, maybe I should give it a little taste?”
Reid’s eyes went as wide as saucers and he burst into a fit of anticipatory giggles, futilely tugging at his arms.
“Oh? Giggling already? Something you wanna tell me, Reid?”
The giggling agent in question frantically nodded his head, signaling to Morgan that all was about to be revealed.
“I’m listening…”
When Reid looked at Morgan with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, he finally said…
“I’m never telling you.”
Taken aback by the sass, the elder decided it was time to unleash his secret weapon.
“That’s it! You asked for this, Reid!”
With that, he brought his face to Reid’s tummy and began to nibble at the soft skin.
The response he got was pure gold.
Reid let out the most childlike squeal before falling into bright, boisterous guffaws, arching his back out of instinct.
“OH MY GOHOHOD, MORGON, PLEHEHEHEASE!!”
Morgan simply let out a low chuckle, the sound vibrating against Reid’s skin, before he continued the tummy nibbles, making obnoxious nomming sounds which only seemed to make Reid laugh louder.
“NOOO! O-OKAY OKAHAHAHAY!! I’LL TEHEHELL!!”
The tickler lifted his head, looking at Reid with a raised eyebrow.
“For real this time? Don’t make me-”
“EEK- NONONO, I MEAN IT, I PROHOHOMISE!!!”
Morgan pulled back, giving Reid a moment to catch his breath.
At last, Reid inhaled… ready to unleash his big secret.
“So, um… you know how earlier this morning, Hotch said that somebody used all the sugar?..”
Morgan stared blankly.
Surely this was going somewhere…
Reid fiddled with his hands, guiltily averting his eyes.
“I did it…”
For a moment, neither said a word.
“That’s it!?” Exclaimed the older man, expecting more of a, well… secret?
“I used all the sugar, Morgan!”
The blonde tilted his head when Morgan began laughing and shaking his head with disbelief.
“God, Reid… you’re a mess.” He chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the younger’s hair.
Reid’s cheeks turned a rosy shade, whether it was from embarrassment or the affectionate gesture, he couldn’t quite tell.
With an amused expression, Morgan hopped up off the ground, extending a hand for Reid to take, which the doctor graciously took.
“That’s enough excitement for me for one day… I’m heading home.”
Before he left, he turned to give Reid a wink.
“Don’t worry, pretty boy… I won’t tell your oh so terrible secret.” He teased, flashing that charming smile.
Reid felt the heat rise to his cheeks.
As he packed up his own belongings, his thoughts kept drifting towards Morgan, and how maybe he should stop being so uptight all the time…
Maybe it was kind of fun laughing until he couldn’t breathe.
And maybe, just maybe… he kind of liked it when Morgan called him pretty boy.