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“He’s smiling,” Morgan mutters across the bonnet of the SUV to JJ, a grin gracing his own face. His whole body is casual, facing out into the open grounds of the crime scene and leaning on the front of the car, with his head turned toward her as he speaks. JJ finds Reid in her line of sight, less than twenty feet away from them but far enough that she can't hear what he's saying. Not that she wants to; eavesdropping is rude.
But Morgan is right; he has that goofy little smile on his face, the kind that uplifts her spirits, in light of their long case. She sees him mouthing words she recognize as “case”, and “home late”, and possibly “this weekend?” into the receiver of his cell. She can only guess the last one out of experience. She's tasted those words more than once at the end of a case that started by interrupting something.
“He’s been smiling a lot more lately,” Morgan adds, his voice hinting at something they've all been kind enough to not voice. She hums conspiratorially, with an eyebrow arching slightly.
They both watch as Spencer pushes a strand of hair away from his face with an almost shy expression, despite being alone. He turns and starts walking further down the path, his back to them.
Normally, personal calls on crime scenes are not the most professional thing, but there's been a kind of atmosphere hanging around, of hope and love and gratefulness that she had to stop herself from calling Will.
Three women are going home relatively unharmed to families desperate for their return. Small town's nature means that families are expanded beyond that of blood, meaning that every local officer is personally relieved at their safety. The feeling is palpable and infectious, spreading into everyone on site, prompting Reid’s understandable lapse of professionalism.
Rossi’s form appears from the house, his posture easy. “Where’s Reid?”
Morgan nods with his unwavering smirk to down the path where the man has changed direction, Reid's aimless walking almost bringing him back to where he was standing when Morgan first started the conversation. “On the phone.”
Rossi takes in the loved-up expression on the youngest agent's face, before making a little grunt of amusement. He turns back to the two with a humorous glint in his dark eyes. “Hotch wants us back at the station. There's some things to take care off, but we should be in the air within the hour.”
JJ and Morgan nod, before sliding into the car.
“Hey, Pretty Boy!” Morgan calls across the yard, getting more than just Reid’s attention. Investigators jump at the shout, then glare at him but nothing can stop the good mood that’s come along. Reid starts, straightening up, before concluding his phone call with a sigh.
The drive to the station is a little distance, leaving them to fall into casual silence. The night is black as pitch, and as Morgan leaves the crime scene behind, the only lights are the headlights in front and the stars above.
Reid's phone vibrates once, twice, three times in the first ten minutes of the drive. JJ shares glances with Morgan across the front seat, when their friend's head is bowed to reply.
Reid sighs when he sits up straight after replying to the fourth test message and looks directly into the rear view mirror to watch their silent exchange he's been studiously ignoring up until now.
“Just ask me whatever it is you want to ask,” he tells them, placing his phone back into his pocket.
“Ask you what?” Morgan's voice has an innocent infliction JJ supposes might work on someone who's not a profiler. Reid is obviously not fooled.
“Both you and JJ have been making pointed glances at each other since before we got in the car, just -” Reid sighs again, but he doesn't actually seem very impatient or irritated. “The whole team has been doing it, for weeks, and I’m glad you guys are respecting my privacy so much, but just ask. I’m tired of everyone skirting around it.”
Morgan looks back at him, and Reid’s expression is open and honest. He's starting this of his own accord.
“You're seeing someone,” JJ states simply. Reid nods.
“She must be pretty special if you like her,” Morgan teases. “What's her name?”
Spencer pauses for a second, and something uneasy passes over his face, before being replaced with resolve. The expression is tinged with a hint of rebellion almost.
“His name is Tom. He’s the manager of a bookstore in D.C.”
Morgan slows the car down so he doesn't accidentally wrap it around a tree.
“Huh,” JJ says. “Why did you never tell us?”
Reid shrugs. “I don't often have relationships that last longer than several dates, and I didn't want to tell you only for it to backfire on me.”
"No - that you like men. It would have saved all the years of Morgan trying to set you up with random women."
Reid frowns. "I like women too - I'd just rather meet people by myself."
The lights of another car shine through the back window; Morgan has slowed to a crawl, so he can pay attention to what Reid's saying, but now Hotch, Rossi and Emily have caught up with them in the second car they'd been supplied with, at the start of the case. Morgan hits the gas, and the vehicle speeds up to a more average pace.
“How long have you two been together?” Morgan asks, having found his voice again.
“About four months.”
They're starting to enter the outer limits of the town. Within ten minutes they'll be at the station.
“How'd you meet?” JJ is genuinely curious. “Did you need some book that the store didn't have? Did he have to order it in especially for you?” Her voice takes on a teasing quality, like that of a sibling.
Spencer laughs, looks down and gets that shy soft smile that makes him look younger again. “No, um - we met when I accidentally spilled coffee on him.”
Morgan bursts out laughing first, nearly doubling over in the seat, while JJ throws her head back and let's out light peels of joy.
She turns her head to look into the back of the cab. Spencer is blushing, letting out little chuckles at the memory.
Morgan recovers first. “What's Tom’s last name, Pretty Boy?”
Reid's eyes widen a fraction as the car turns into the parking lot of the station. “No, you're just going to make Garcia run background checks on him!”
“Well, we have to make sure this guy is good enough for our resident Genius.”
“Thanks, but I’m pretty sure I can handle it myself.” There's still humor in his voice as he unbuckles his safety belt. He's the first to get out of the car and follow the others into the building.
The laughter settles into an easy silence between the two as they also exit the vehicle.
“Did you have any idea?” Morgan asks her. His teeth look whiter in the darkness of the night as he talks.
“None,” she tells him honestly. “Not a clue.”
“Well as long as he's happy, I’m happy.” Morgan's smile is that of a proud older brother, and she probably looks like a proud older sister. She can live with that.
“We should invite him to Rossi’s fourth of July party,” JJ muses. “No better way to welcome him to the family.”
“If he survives the whole night,” Morgan tells her as Hotch gestures for him to join him, “Then he's a keeper.”