Great Minds {for sunshine11}

[CleverFox]

Things were unusually quiet for the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, also more commonly known as the BAU, and that was just not something that sat well with Derek Morgan. Typically he was a man that liked action so the dullness of sitting around at his desk and working on mundane paperwork was just about more than he could tolerate. His dark eyes were seemingly focused on the case file that was sitting open in front of him on the desk but to the trained observer it would be clear that the paperwork was the last thing on his mind. No, the thing, or more specifically the person, that was currently on his mind was the newest addition to the BAU team, Dr. Spencer Reid. Dubbed boy genius by Morgan the kid was in his early twenties and yet had managed to attain three PhDs, which was of course no small feat. But that wasn’t the reason why Morgan’s mind was focused on him, no he had taken a special interest in the young man ever since he had joined the team of profilers.

It was undeniable that Reid had amazing potential and was easily the smartest of their team it was also undeniable that he lacked any level of self discipline. That wasn’t surprising really given his introverted personality traits but Morgan thought that it was something that could be remedied and he had taken it upon himself to sort of whip the young man into shape. There was a literal truth to that as well as a figurative one though that was something that Morgan was careful to keep between himself and Reid since he wasn’t keen on embarrassing the young man. He had enough issues with social interaction as is and didn’t need Morgan making things worse for him.

“So where is boy genius today?” he mused to himself, the man having already realized that Reid was late and that was something that was starting to worry him a bit. All teasing aside he really did care for the young man and didn’t want to think that something might have happened to him. He was going to keep the overreactions at bay however, being a trained profiler he knew that a million things could happen but he also knew the likelihood of them happening wasn’t statistically significant. So until he had evidence to the contrary he was just going to assume that Reid was just behind schedule for one normal reason or another. Finally giving up on even attempting to look like he was doing anything resembling work, since no one who mattered was going to be fooled by his act anyway, Morgan leaned back in his desk chair, staring up at the ceiling, lost in thought.

[sunshine11]

Dr. Spencer Reid was a genius. Personally he wasn't particularly fond of the word 'genius', it was quite vague. Besides, he didn't believe that intelligence could be accuratly quantified. He had an IQ of 187 and he could read 20 000 words per minute, so he had come to accept that most people reguarded him, and even called him a genius. He accepted it most of the time, anyway. There were still times when he would correct the poor soul that had called him a genius, going into a long rant about how genius wasn't a very accurate word, what intelligence really was and how it could (or couldn't) be accuratly measured. It had happened more than once since he started working at the BAU a month ago.

Spencer liked working at the BAU. He liked it a lot actually. It was a lot moe challanging than the tests he had had to take at the Acadamy. A lot harder than the theory tests, anyway. The physical tests had been a lot harder for the young man. He was pretty fast, but he was no where near as strong as your average agent, or even your average twentytwo year old guy. Not to mention his problems with guns. Those were a lot harder to use than they looked like. Eventually they had given up on getting him to pass the physical tests and he had recived waivers from those requirements. Apparently he was too smart for the bureau to let him go just because he couldn't bench press enough... Or take more than five push ups. On his knees. At least he had managed to get his gun qualifications, though that too had been a struggle.

None of that mattered any more. He had gotten through it and somehow he had made it, and now he had his dream job. Supervisory Special Agent. It sounded pretty cool. It wasn't the title or even the interesting and challanging work that made him love his job so much though, it was his colleagues. For the first time in his life he felt like he actually had friends. He felt accepted. He especially liked Derek Morgan, even though the man at times did stuff to him that he didn't like at all. He liked Hotch too, but not as much as he liked Gideon. He liked Gideon almost as much as he liked Morgan, though in an entierly different way. Gideon was quickly becoming the father figure he'd never had. Even though he had only known them for a month Reid could no longer imagine life without them.

Reid wasn't late for work. Well, he was in the sense of being late into the actual office, but not in the sense of being late into the building he worked in. He was currently sitting on the floor outside the enterence to the BAU, different cups and bottles filled with different liquids spread out around him as he was working on getting normal water to turn blue, using Vitamin C, iodine, Hydrogen preoxide and liquid starch. Oh, and of course he had his coffee cup. His second this morning, actually. You see, figuring out if there was something interesting to do at work or just lots and lots of boring filing and paperwork wasn't much of a challange when you were a so called 'genius'. That was why Reid had decided that his time was better spent sitting in the hallway with his coffee, playing with his 'science magic'.

((Just so you know, my post will NOT be this long every time))

[CleverFox]

Worrying wasn't something that Morgan was prone to doing, at least not about his colleagues since he knew that they could take care of themselves, or at least most of them could. There were two members of the team that Morgan had a soft spot for and that was Penelope Garcia, their technical analyst, and Reid. So when either of them was involved Morgan was prone to losing his calm facade and getting a bit on edge. Which actually annoyed him to a degree since he liked to at least seem as though he were always in control but sometimes that was just an impossibility. Such was the case now, Morgan gazing up at the ceiling and wondering where it was that Reid was, the man debating getting up and going to see if perhaps Gideon had seen the young man on this particular morning.

Aaron Hotchner was on his way to the office, having been speaking with the director so he was behind schedule, which was the reason why he stumbled upon Reid with his little experiment. It was admittedly a little strange to see the young man sitting there with the cups and bottles that were filled with water but then again Hotch had grown accustomed to things being out of the ordinary with their resident boy wonder. There was also the fact that he had already spoken to Reid about his penchant for doing things like this when he was supposed to be working so there was a frown on his face as he came to a stop and gazed down at the younger man.

"Reid we've talked about this," Hotch said, his voice a little bit stern since they really had talked about this before and he had told the kid that he wasn't supposed to be doing things like this. "You know that you aren't supposed to be doing that 'science magic' of yours in the office and sitting out in the hallway still counts. Aside from that you have work that you should be doing, even if it isn't working on an active case. There are still reports that you have to work on." The man continued to look down at the younger man, waiting to see how it was that he was going to react and also waiting for him to clean up the bottles and cups and get into the office where he was supposed to be.

"I'm sure the others are wondering where you are," Hotch added as something of an after thought, knowing that at least one of them was likely having those thoughts. While Morgan and Reid never advertised anything the pair were a part of a team of adept profilers so it was no great secret that there was something between them more than friendship even if no one ever actually said as much out loud.

((no worries, so long as it's paragraph length I'm good. Mine most likely won't be as long in the future either, they tend to shrink after openers))

[sunshine11]

Reid was completely focused on the task at hand; turning water blue. And yes, he probably could have achieve the very same thing using food coloring, but where was the fun in that? The young man was staring intently at the different cups scattered around him when a familiar voice snapped him out of his little, personal buddle. He tilted his head up to look up at his boss, paleing slightly at the man's frown and stern voice. The man was completely right of course, they had talked about not doing science magic in the office, three times actually, but he wasn't actually in the office. Hotch quickly ruined his defense when he went on to say that the hallway counted too. That was a bit unfair. Hotch had never said that before, so Reid had no way of knowing that. The young genius opened his mouth to inform his boss of that, but then the man went on to say that there were reports he should be working on. He didn't have anything to defend himself with against that one, other than that it was boring and this was so much more fun.

"But Hotch, I'm turning water blue" Reid said, his voice coming out sounding supiciously like a whine. Surely Hotch would understand just how awesome that was and then he would understand why Reid had decided that his time was better spent doing that than working on the reports. He didn't have any illusion that the man would let him stay in the hallway to continue his experiment though, he had known the man long enough to realise that that wasn't going to happen, not even if he took the time to explaine how he turned the water blue. Instead of starting to try to explain the science behind his little project to Hotch he gathered the bottles in his bag, taking the two cups with different clear liquids and his coffee cup in his hands before he moved to stand up. His facial expression was pretty much resembling a pout as he head for the doors leading to the actual BAU office.

((Good And paragraph length shouldn't be a problem))

[CleverFox]

The entire team had a soft spot for their youngest and newest member but Hotch still expected Reid to contribute and pull his weight, all of the time and not just when there was something exciting or challenging that was going on. So for that reason he scolded the young man when he found the young doctor sitting on the floor in the hall in front of the office playing with water. One eyebrow arched as Hotch listened to Reid whine to him about turning water blue, and that was exactly what it was, a whine.

"Reid there will be plenty of time to turn water blue when you aren't being paid to do other things and you know that when I tell you something I expect you to listen to me," Hotch told him, voice still stern as he scolded Reid slightly. He wasn't outright angry with the younger man but he was a little annoyed that they were having this talk, again, when he had already made his position on it quite clear. He probably would have gone on to say something else on the matter were it not for the fact that Reid took it upon himself to gather up his things and make his way into the office, Hotch deciding at that point that he would just let it go.

Morgan was still sitting at his desk, staring idly up at the ceiling and allowing his thoughts to roam, when he heard the sound of the door opening and footsteps approaching. Shifting in his chair the man turned his brown eyes toward the sound and saw that it was Reid and Hotch, his gaze immediately falling on Reid as he asked, "So where you been boy genius?" The tone of voice that he used made it clear that he expected an answer to the question. Sure Morgan was one of the ones of the group that liked to joke around and have a good time but he had a stern side that he could bring out when the situation called for it.

And this situation definitely seemed to call for it based on the sullen look that Reid had on his face as well as the stern look that Hotch was sporting.

That was enough of a clue that something had gone on between the two of them before they entered the BAU office and of course that made Morgan curious as to just what that something was. And he wasn't the type that would just drop the matter either, the man keeping his gaze focused on Reid as he waited for an answer.

[sunshine11]

Reid didn't like being scolded. He didn't like it at all. Not by Hotch or anyone else. When he was younger and was in school he would be scolded for not paying attention (mainly because he didn't need to pay attention, because he already knew all of what his teachers were trying to teach him) and it would almost always end up with the person scolding him saying something incorrect, causing a young Reid to go into a long rant as he corrected him. It didn't seem fair that people got to scold him just because they were older when Reid not only knew better than them, but was far more intelligent. Of course, that wasn't the case at the BAU (even though he was more intelligent than most of his co-workers), but the feeling of it being unfair was still there. Therefor Reid simply have to try to defend himself by telling Hotch that he was turning water blue, and while it might have sounded like a whine it deffinitely wasn't one. He was a grown man, he didn't whine.

"Yes Hotch" The young male murmured, staring down at the floor when his boss went on to tell him that he wasn't being paid to turn water blue and that he expected him to listen to him. He gathered up his things, putting the bottles in his bag and taking the cups and his coffee in his hands, standing up and heading for the door, successfully getting himself out of another round of scolding. Or so he thought, anyway. Only seconds after he had entered the office he was faced with a not too pleased looking Derek who demanded to know where he had been. Derek was using 'The Voice' again. The one Reid didn't like. The stern one that meant he had to listen, do as he was told and not make any smart comments. That was a lot harder than it sounded like, especially when he didn't want to answer the question the man had asked while using 'The Voice'.

"I was in the hallway" He answered after a moment of hesitation, his gaze flickering to Hotch and then back to Derek. Surely Hotch wouldn't say anything. He didn't know that Derek... That he... uhm... That he did that to him, did he? He didn't want Derek to do that. Not now. Well, not ever really, but at the moment he was most worried about Derek doing it now. He wouldn't do that though, would he? Not for something that small. He hadn't even done anything wrong, not really. He had been slightly late getting to work, but no later that Hotch. If Derek was going to do that to him he had to do it to Hotch too, and Reid couldn't see that happening.

[CleverFox]

Hotch could tell by his mannerisms as he gathered up his things that Reid wasn't happy right now, it didn't take a profiler to make that connection really, but it was a non issue for the man considering that Reid had a job to do that had absolutely no bearing whatsoever on his ability to turn water blue. Following an unhappy Reid into the office Hotch looked over at Morgan as the man asked Reid where he had been, his gaze going to the young man in question as Reid replied that he had been out in the hallway. Unsurprisingly this got an arched brow accompanied by a puzzled look from Morgan, the man seemingly trying to figure out what could have possibly delayed Reid for that long out in the hallway.

"Tell him what it was that you were doing Reid," Hotch said, not making it an order but the tone of his voice made it clear that if Reid decided that he didn't want to explain to Morgan what he had been doing in the hallway then Hotch was going to. The man had been watching the two of them interact and was under the impression that if anyone could straighten Reid out and get the young man to the point where he would be more apt to follow the rules it was Derek Morgan.

Looking at Reid as the young genius said that he had been out in the hallway Morgan showed obvious confusion, clueless as to what he could have been doing. His gaze shifted over to Hotch when their boss prompted Reid to tell him what it was that he had been doing and that was enough to make it clear that whatever it was that had delayed him was something that he wasn't supposed to be doing. That was enough to get a stern look to appear on Morgan's face even as a sigh left his lips. "Alright Spencer, let's here it," he said, using the kid's first name, which was unusual for him considering that typically everyone on the team referred to and addressed one another by their surnames. That was another indicator that he wasn't happy and that he wasn't going to let Reid get away with not answering the question that he had asked of him. There was an expectant look on his face even as the man drummed the tips of his fingers on the desk, Morgan now sitting up straight and trying to guess what it was that Reid was going to say even before the man opened his mouth.

[sunshine11]

Reid barely kept from wincing when Hotch told him to tell Derek what he had been doing in the hallway. Suddenly he felt very much like a mischievous child. He didn't like it, and it wasn't fair. He hadn't even done anything wrong! Hotch had never told him not to do his science magic in the hallway. He wasn't a child either, he was a grown up and he could take care of himself, he didn't need Hotch and Morgan scolding him and telling him what to do. It wasn't fair, it just wasn't.

Becoming more upset by the second the young man started down at the floor, wringing his hands in front of him and shuffling his weight from foot to foot as he debated on if he was going to say something or not, and what he was going to say if he decided to say something. Then Derek went and called him Spencer, and that was even more unfair. No one else got called by their first name in the office. Well, except Derek. Reid tended to slip up and call the man by his first name every now and again, but he didn't do it in the way Derek was doing it with his name. He didn't go all 'I'm unhappy with you and I'm not trying to hide it' on him when he used him. Being adressed by his first name while in the office had the same effect on him as being adressed by his full name would have on a kid. He wasn't a kid, he was just as much as an adult as everyone else in the team (almost, anyway), and he wanted to be treated as such.

"I was drinking coffee" He eventually murmured without looking up, keeping his voice low enough that only Derek would be able to hear him. He didn't want Hotch to hear and tell Derek that he was lying. Not that he was lying. He wasn't. He had been drinking coffee. He had been doing other stuff too, but he wasn't lying. He was simply not telling the entire truth. There was a big difference.

[CleverFox]

Morgan wasn't actually attempting to be unfair to Reid right now but when Hotch told the young man to inform him of what he was doing out in the hall that prevented him from coming into the office on time that made the man think that it was something Reid shouldn't have been doing. And because of that assumption he turned into the stern disciplinarian, a role that he had taken on when it became apparent that while he was without a doubt the smartest member of their team Reid was also the one that had the least amount of self discipline. A character trait that was vital in the type of work that they did and a deficiency that Morgan had taken it upon himself to remedy for the younger man. Because he cared about him and didn't want to see him get hurt, not because he wanted to make Reid think that he was trying to bully him or anything of the like.

He looked at Reid when the younger man said that he had been drinking coffee out in the hall, that having the ring of truth to it and yet based on the way that he continued to fidget and the way that he quietly gave his answer lead Morgan to believe that there was more to it. "And you couldn't drink your coffee at your desk the way that you always do?" he asked, just trying to make sense of this story despite that he was already thinking that it wasn't going to make sense. Mainly because he was thinking that something was either being left out or that it was untrue. Of course Morgan was not going to accuse Reid of flat out lying to him since the young man wasn't prone to doing that and had never given Morgan cause not to trust him so he was giving the kid a chance to spill his guts and give him the whole story.

And he wasn't going to be happy if Reid stuck to his guns and maintained that drinking coffee had been the only thing that he had been doing out in the hallway since that just didn't make a whole lot of sense to him.

[sunshine11]

Reid shook his head no when Derek asked if he could drink his coffee at his desk like he always did, but he didn't offer the man any explanation about why that was the case. He couldn't drink his coffee in his office because then he would have to work on the reports instead of doing his magic, because Hotch had told him not to do magic in the office... three times. Derek hadn't asked him about that, and Reid was determinded to keep as much to himself as possible without actually lying to the other agent. If Derek wanted the full story he would pretty much have to drag it out of him. He continued to stare down at the floor and fidget with his hands as he stood there, glanzing up at Derek only once.

"I don't want to talk Derek" He said, suddenly looking up at the other male. "Hotch said I had to work" All of that was true. Why wasn't Hotch telling Derek that he had to work like he had done to him? That wasn't fair. If he didn't get to play with his magic Derek shouldn't get to play interrogate-Spencer. Reid knew that wasn't actually what Derek was doing, that it wasn't some game he used to entertain himself. Of course he knew that. It was just that at the moment the part of him that knew that was burried very deep down and being very quiet. The part that told him that all of this questions and the scolding he had gotten from Hotch was completely unfair was much louder. Reid was well aware that he wasn't only the youngest member of the team, but mst likely the youngest member of the entire FBI. That knowledge put quite a bit of pressure on him and he was constantly struggling to prove to the others and himself that he was an adult, not a child, and that he was worthy of being there. Needless to say that was quite a sore subject for the young man, and he was very sensitive about any kind of 'childish' treatment he might recieve while at work, especially when he was treated in a way he was sure no other member of the team was.