Title - Fronti Nulla Fides
Author - boothbones4eva
Rating - G
Disclaimer - I don't own Criminal Minds; I'm just playing with the characters.
Characters/Pairing - Reid/Morgan
Spoilers - None
Word Count - 300
Summary - Spencer was judging a book by its cover.

***

Reid can see Derek talking and joking with other agents and wish that he could be like him - able to laugh with and talk to anyone. But he isn't and Morgan is the sort of guy who doesn't notice Reid unless it's to make fun of him. He may only have been at the BAU for a month, but Reid is always able to profile the high school jocks that enjoy teasing the science nerd.

Morgan breaks away from the group, wishing them a good night. They leave and it's just him and Reid in the ball pen now; even Hotch and Gideon have left. Morgan walks up to Reid's desk and Spencer pretends not to have noticed and hopes he'll keep on walking.

But he doesn't.

"Happy birthday."

Reid looks up so fast it feels as though he's pulled a muscle in his neck (even though he knows that's impossible).

"Pardon?"

"It is your birthday, isn't it?" Morgan's voice still sounds casual, but Reid notices his arms muscles tense - he's worried he's got the wrong day (he's worried about being wrong).

"Yeah, I just..." His voice trails off - he's too surprised to finish the sentence.

"I heard Gideon say it this morning," he said as an explanation to the unasked question.

"Oh," Reid hears himself mutter, waiting for the joke, the cruel twist to the unexpected kind (caring?) gesture. But none comes; only a slightly awkward silence follows.

"Okay then," Derek finally says. "Have a good night."

Reid watches him walk around the corner, and starts to resume paperwork.

"Hey, kid?" Reid looks to see that Morgan has reappeared. "Do you want to grab a drink? Y'know, to celebrate or something?"

As Reid collects his coat and follows Morgan, he starts to think he might not be as good at profiling people as he thought.

***