Criminal Minds fic: 18 Days, 21 Hours, 40 Minutes (Morgan/Reid)

[innerslytherin]

Title: 18 Days, 21 Hours, 40 Minutes
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Character: Spencer Reid (Reid/Morgan)
Rating: PG
WC: 534
Summary: Spencer knows what it isn't. He just doesn't know what it is. Preslash.
Season 2
Notes: severity_softly and hhhellcat are fantastic betas and Reid-fans. *grin* This follows A Sleepless Flight.



The record for the longest period without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes. The record holder experienced hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses. This doesn't surprise Spencer, but he'd like to tell that record holder you needn't be sleep-deprived to experience memory and concentration lapses. You just have to be in the immediate vicinity of whatever is keeping you from sleep.

Spencer is thinking about giving up on jet sleep entirely. These days his body won't relax enough for him to sleep on the jet, especially when Morgan is always too close. It doesn't matter how far away he is; the jet isn't big enough for Spencer to be unaware of him. Which isn't exactly the problem; the problem is how unaware Morgan can be of Spencer.

Drawing in a deep breath, as if he's still mostly asleep, Spencer shifts, catching just a whiff of Morgan's cologne. He doesn't know why he does this to himself, the shy glance and the murmured "Do you mind?" as he gestures at the couch. And the flare of heat in his chest when Morgan flicks a glance at him and smiles, shakes his head--Spencer knows it's reckless stupidity that keeps putting him in this situation, hoping that something will change, wishing Morgan would say something... He does it anyway.

He doesn't know how to quantify this, which unsettles him, but his curiosity is piqued, so he keeps coming back for more.

It isn't lust. Spencer knows about the twelve steps of human courting behavior, and his own observation has told him that Morgan is an expert in the laws of attraction, and though they have covered nearly half of those steps, it's always been in the line of duty. That isn't to say that lust isn't involved, but Spencer...has a hard time thinking about that analytically, so he avoids thinking about it whenever possible.

It isn't friendship. Spencer is admittedly inexperienced even when it comes to friendship (or at least, the sort of friendship that doesn't involve competing for first place or being beaten up for lunch money), but he's one-hundred-percent certain that the way he feels around Morgan isn't inspired by friendship. Particularly when Morgan's little digs about his marksmanship skills (or lack thereof) and his datability (or similar lack thereof) get so deep under his skin.

It isn't anything like Spencer's ever felt before. Not the awkwardness he felt around Lila, not the semi-resentful competition with Ethan, not the childish hero-worship he has for Gideon. It isn't the big-sister affection he feels for JJ, nor the little-sister protectiveness he feels for Garcia. It's just...Morgan.

He shifts on the couch again, stretching so his sock-clad foot slips out from under the blanket and brushes against Morgan's thigh. He can feel the heat burning a path up his leg straight to his groin, and the strength of it frightens him, but it's as if he has a current of electricity running through his body instead; he can't pull away. Because he's holding his breath, for just a moment, he hears Morgan's breathing hitch.

It must, he decides, be madness. But there's a method to it.

Spencer slips into sleep.


Research notes: Sleep facts gathered from http://www.abc.net.au/science/sleep/facts.htm , attraction facts from http://www.onlinedatingmagazine.com/columns/drjim/2007/22-bodylanguage.html

Comments

[innerslytherin]

Thanks! :D Spencer is a challenge. I can get inside his emotions easily, but his thoughts...he's much smarter than I am, and he uses those statistics as a way to evade his emotions, so... *G* We'll see. I have another Spencer installment coming up, and I feel a lot better about that one.