Chapter Text
The house was beautiful. It was completely and utterly gorgeous. At least on the outside. Inside, you knew, would be a different story, or you wouldn’t be here with him.
“It’s going to be the perfect home when we’re done with it,” you marvelled, smiling as the warm sun hit your face.
Morgan beamed. His smiled had changed recently. Ever since his son was born, you could see it.
“I wouldn’t trust anyone but you to help me,” he said.
He held his hand out and you indulged him, wiggling yours over his and then bumping fists together as you had when you were kids.
You’d known Derek Morgan for almost a quarter of a century now. You’d met when you were seven. Somehow, even though you’d both moved several times, been in different places and gone through so much change, you were still each others oldest friends. Although both your parents had hoped you’d end up together, it was never like that. Morgan was your friend, your brother. And now he was getting married, starting a family.
“There’s a lot of wallpaper,” he warned, frowning at the house. “Almost all the flooring has to be redone, and there’s a wall I want to knock down to combine the kitchen and dining room.”
You nodded, half listening as you watched the way the shade hit the house in the late afternoon sun, dappling the white exterior with bright and dark spots. The dark brown wood complemented the white face in the classic Tudor fashion. It was no small house. It was a house that could stand at least one more kid comfortably and still have room for all the memories. Ivy grew around and up the left side of the house, like some kind of fairytale. The large bay windows of the family room let in the sun like an old friend.
It was about time Morgan had some light in his life. You’d only met Savannah in person about a month ago when you first moved up here, but Morgan had been sure to introduce you over FaceTime when he knew it was getting serious.
You were so happy for him. He’d been through a few relationships, but you’d never really met any of them. He’d talked about them, but for him to actually share this one with you was something else. And that kid. He was a charmer already just like his father.
“It’ll just be me and a few guys,” you said. “I trust them, worked with them the past month. They do good work, and if not, I’ll whip them into shape.”
Morgan laughed freely and nodded.
“I have no doubt, Skates.”
You smirked at your old nickname. It was the dawn of your friendship, actually. He’d met you when you were crying because you’d just fallen really hard off your roller skates and skinned your knee. Even then he was so kind. He had stopped to help you.
“What’s wrong, skates?” he’d asked, as he hadn’t known your name yet. You warmed at the memory.
“Manny will be here soon,” you said, looking down the quiet street for a car. “He’s my main guy, then there’s just Tim and Ryan, but you’ll meet them another time.”
“Sounds good,” he said. Then, with a mischievous smile, “You, uh, like any of these trustworthy gentleman?” He asked coyly, smirking and not daring to make eye contact.
You hit his arm, hard enough to wipe the smirk off his face and scolded him.
“No,” you laughed. “Do I ever?”
Morgan rolled his eyes.
“Never,” he admitted.
“They’re very respectful,” you admitted. “Ryan’s married, but Tim and Manny haven’t even tried to hit on me. Maybe it’s the boots,” you looked down at your steel toe footwear. “Maybe they make steel toe stilettos.”
“Like you’d wear that.”
“Guess I’ll die alone then,” you shrugged, not bothered.
You knew he was just looking out for you, but romance was never something you thought about or went after.
Just then you heard the car pulling up. Manny got out of the car and walked over to the two of you. His height being a little over six feet meant you had to look up at him, and could easily fit under his chin. His smile was infectious and his hair always looked great, though he wouldn’t tell you his secret. Manny went right to you, and even though you’d seen him the previous day, greeted you with a hug. You could feel Morgan’s eyes on you and wanted to explain that it wasn’t like that, no matter what he might think. You were close with Manny, good friends, and he was a hugger. Still, you blushed knowing that Morgan would tease you for it later regardless.
“This the famous Derek Morgan?” he asked, holding out his hand. Morgan smiled and shook it.
“Famous, huh?” he asked.
You rolled your eyes.
“Don’t get cocky, anyone who wears a badge is famous in his eyes. He’d be impressed by a health inspector.”
“They keep us safe too,” Manny jested.
“Should we take a look around the inside of the house?” you asked.
“Let’s go.”
Morgan led you through the old front door. Paint chips fell when you opened it, spilling red bits onto the ground. It felt like you were stepping into a time machine. Everything looked like something your great grandma would have chosen when she was young.
There were old, dirty carpets in most of the rooms, but you suspected there might be a nice hardwood underneath. The moldings, if they were present at all, were scratched and nicked. Morgan hadn’t been lying about the wallpaper either. There was floral everywhere. The previous owner had moved out all of the furniture, but you could just see the matching couch and chair.
“Wow,” you remarked, but you were sincere. It had amazing potential. Once you were done gutting it, it would be perfect.
“I know,” Morgan smiled, reading your tone perfectly as always.
You walked around into the kitchen. The tile was extremely neglected, and the counters were in worse shape than the moldings. There was a stain or two on the ceiling. The wallpaper in this room was of different fruits. You couldn’t wait to tear it all down. You were getting excited thinking of all the ways you could make this a wonderful home for your friend.
The upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms offered just as much room for improvement as the downstairs, and by the time you made it back outside, you were nearly buzzing.
“This is a great project,” you beamed.
“I knew you’d love it.”
“Want to carve out a plan over dinner?” Morgan asked. “Savannah took the baby to her mom’s house.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” you said. “You in, Manny?”
“You buyin’?” he smirked.
“No,” you laughed.
“Ah, alright,” he shrugged. “It was worth a try. I’m in.”
“Cool, just follow me, I’m not far,” Morgan instructed.
You both nodded and followed him as he drove a couple miles to a nice apartment building. You parked and followed him up. They had made a nice home here for the time being. The apartment wasn’t immaculate, as they had a baby, but it was lived in and homey. Savannah had the taste you wished you could learn, with cozy yet stylish decoration and plenty of family pictures. You walked over to one of her and her parents standing in front of what looked like a mansion.
“Damn,” you exclaimed. “Is that theirs?”
Manny rubbed his chin and let out a sigh of envy.
“Damn nice house,” he said.
“Damn nice mansion ,” You corrected.
Morgan laughed as he uncorked a bottle of wine. And showed you. You smiled.
“Yeah, she’s um, her parents are quite well off,” he said casually.
“Can you adopt me?” you asked, blinking rapidly, trying to look young and cute.
“And me?” Manny chimed in, mimicking your expression.
“I already got one baby, I don’t need two more.”
You frowned and Manny pouted.
“I can offer you some takeout menus,” he said, holding out an array.
You huffed and took one, flipping through it. In the end you just ended up ordering pizza. You got a few notebooks together and mapped out a basic plan for the remodel.
Morgan made it clear that, while he wanted to help on the project, his main duty was stay at home dad. Savannah still had some maternity leave left, but he wanted to make sure she could rest and get ready to go back to work.
“It’s not going to drive you crazy, staying at home?”
Morgan shook his head.
“Not after all the shit I’ve been through,” he said.
You felt your heart catch in your throat. This was the closest you ever got with him to talking about his job. He never went into detail ever.
You’re the only thing this job hasn’t touched, he would always say whenever you asked about anything - what was wrong, who did he work with, what were some of the cases - and it was always the same. He didn't want you to be in that part of his life. He wanted you to be untouched by that sadness.
“I bet it’s not an easy gig,” Manny lamented, grabbing a slice of pizza. “She mentioned what you do. Catching serial killers? That’s some late night drama shit. Very cool.”
Morgan laughed.
“It’s probably not as glamorous as you’d think.”
“Well, being a stay at home dad is cool too,” he said. “I admire that a lot. I wish my dad had been there for me more growing up. Mostly I just saw the back of his head as he went to his study at night, or the back of his head when he got into his car in the morning. It’s cool, man.”
“Cheers,” Morgan said, lifting his beer.
You all clinked your drinks and took a sip.
“You got any kids?” Morgan asked, knowing full well that you’d told him he didn’t.
“Nah,” Manny said. “Haven’t gotten to it yet. Haven’t found the right one to make it happen.”
Morgan looked at you suggestively, somehow managing to avoid Manny’s attention. You rolled your eyes and shook your head.
“Not easy to meet girls on the job huh?” he asked.
Manny laughed.
“No, not really. She’s one of maybe five girls I’ve seen. Unfortunately a very dude centric job,” he shrugged. “But she’s a great wingwoman.”
“I know,” Morgan grinned. “She’s the best.”
“I am,” you shrugged, taking a drink.
“We should go out again soon,” Manny said. And you knew when this night was over you’d have to explain again to Morgan that he didn’t mean it like that.
“Yeah, I got you. I’ll talk you up,” you promised.
“Thanks, man,” he clinked glasses with you.
You didn’t know how Manny knew you weren’t interested in him like that. You sensed that if you were, he would ask you out. But somehow, unlike a lot of men you’d met, you could tell that he just knew, and didn’t press it. You respected him so much for that, and knew you’d made a great choice in workmate.
“What about you?” Morgan asked. “Manny a good wingman?”
“I am an excellent wingman,” he said. “I just… don’t get permission to practice,” he pouted.
“Shut up,” you laughed. “I just don’t find anyone that’s interesting enough,” you shrugged. “Most barflies are not my type.”
“One day,” Morgan said knowingly. “It’ll sneak up on ya.”
“Yeah right,” you rolled your eyes. “That would be the day.”
When you had put together a solid plan, you decided to meet Morgan at the house the following afternoon to start measuring and planning more. You told Manny to drop by and hang out if he wanted to, and he seemed eager. He and Morgan got along well, and by the end of the night, they were old friends. You marvelled at Manny and Morgan’s ease. They seemed to get people instantly, seemed to connect and feel comfortable so easily. You were envious, thinking of how nervous and awkward you were when meeting new people.
Manny left first with a hug that Morgan surprisingly accepted. He hugged you too, wrapping his giant arms around you and giving your hair a careless tousle just short of a nuggie before heading out. You collected your things shortly after, waiting for the teasing you thought would come from Morgan. When you heard nothing, you were shocked.
“What, no jokes about needing to get with Manny?” you asked. Morgan put his hands up as if defending himself.
“He’s a good guy,” he said. “But not right for you.”
“How would you know?” you laughed.
“One, I’ve known you your whole life. Two, I’m a profiler.”
He listed these things off on his fingers.
“Yeah, well, you’re right for once,” you admitted. “Sometimes it’s annoying not being interested in anyone.”
“Come here,” he said.
You sighed and accepted his hug.
“You’ll be fine,” he promised. “Just meet me at the house tomorrow, and we’ll take the rest of our lives from there, how’s that?”
“Sounds good,” you sighed.
He gave the top of your head a kiss before walking you to the door.
“Say hi to the fam for me,” you said.
He promised to do so and you left, going home to an empty apartment with your thoughts.