//Similar dress to Darling's above in this first flashback tee hee//
"I told you Darl, I don't think this is a good idea-"
"And I told you Derek-" Darling rolled her eyes over the room divider, bored of the conversation they had repeated twice now as they got ready for the last New Year's eve party before Morgan was meant to permanently move to Virginia after being based both in Chicago and Washington for the past year of his FBI training.
"-I won't let you abandon me without watching you make a fool of yourself on the dance floor first" she turned to him with a smile, popping on her glistening earrings in her bedroom where Morgan slouched on her vanity stool, "now stop being a big cry baby and come zip a gal up."
"Why do I have to dance?" He rolled his eyes, standing up and walking over to zip up back of Darling's dress- pausing when he saw her as he came around the dressing divider.
The velvet green material on the low neckline complimented the sheer embezzled swirls of the rest of the fabric of the long 1920's inspired gown that stopped at Darling's ankles to show off her gold heels that sparkled just like her thin gold wire crown headband that showed as she tucked her straightened but still voluminous hair behind her ears mindlessly.
"Are you gonna just stand there or zip me up? My back is getting cold" Darling chuckled, turning over her shoulder to look at Morgan who cleared his throat and nodded, walking over and quickly zipping up the back of her dress, patting her shoulder before stepping back, unsure of the fluttering in his stomach from simply looking at his friend in a dress, albeit a beautiful dress he couldn't help notice fitted her figure perfectly.
Darling turned with a smile before frowning, "and why aren't you dressed?"
"Because I don't want to go" Morgan chuckled, gesturing at his jeans and white t-shirt, "plus, all my suits are packed so I guess that means I am forced not to go- what a shame."
"Oh no Mr, you're not getting out of this that quickly" Darling shook her head, walking over to her wardrobe stubbornly and shifting through the boxes at the top, struggling on her tip toes.
"I'm not sure your little dresses and flare trousers are quite going to fit me Darl" Morgan teased.
"You're not the only reluctant man I've had to dress for a party before" she winked, grabbing the large box she was looking for and chucking it at him, "now strip for me."
"What?" He laughed, "what the hell is all this stuff?"
"Things I've grabbed from the thrift store- the men's section has great stuff I can throw into outfits. Now go get dressed into something semi-1902's-esc before our 'fashionably late' turns into just plain disrespectfully late."
"You seriously have a hoarding problem" he couldn't help his laughter as she ushered him to the bathroom, sticking out her tongue at him before shutting the door for him to change.
"I don't know what to pick out" Morgan shook his head, really just wanting to spend his last day with Darling in their pyjamas eating Ice-cream and pretending that he wasn't going to be moving thousands of miles from her the next day permanently this time, nor the fact they hadn't really talked about how that would affect their friendship yet.
"God, you're so useless" Darling laughed, opening the bathroom door before he could tell her not to and not seeming to bat an eye at the fact Morgan was now shirtless and taking off his belt- although the sudden red on her cheeks begged to differ as she cleared her throat and looked through the box in attempt to hide it.
"Have you ever heard of knocking?" Morgan couldn't help his amusement of her- usure if he should be flattered or insulted that she didn't seem to care that he was half naked.
"Have you ever heard of time management?" She looked over her shoulder at him, trying not to gulp at the strong appearance of his cut torso.
It wasn't like she hadn't seen him shirtless before, they had been to the local swimming pool countless of times together but it had been some time and there was no denying that he had certainly grown into his appearance along with his muscles clearly growing too whilst he had been away.
Focus on the task, weirdo.
"Here- tuck this white shirt into these dark grey trousers, I think this matching waistcoat should fit you if you just don't breathe- I've got a velvet dark mens suit jacket in my closet somewhere that should work. Then add this dark green tie and little pocket square thingy, so we can be matching of course" Darling distracted herself by piling his arms up with clothes before booping his nose and leaving.
Morgan followed her out of the bathroom a short while later with a sigh, "I look like an extra in the Great Gatsby that got too big for his boots."
Darling turned from finishing adding a dark rouge to her lips, almost choking at his sleek appearance.
"All I'm missing is a cane and I could be someone's gangster grandpa" Morgan teased himself before noticing Darling just staring at him.
"Come on then, bring on the mocking."
"W-what?" She cleared her throat before chuckling and pretending to mock him, "I mean you do look like you walked straight out of peaky blinders and became a theatre usher."
"That's such a specific insult" he laughed, walking over to the dressing unit where half her clothes were falling out of and checking the time on his phone, "shall we go then?"
"Wait! We need a piccy first!" Darling beamed, grabbing her polaroid camera and hushing his mocking groans as he crouched down behind her to get into the frame just before the camera clicked.
"Wait- where's the tie I picked out?" She quizzed as the photo developed and she spotted his outfit, turning to him.
"Are you really going to make me wear a tie that matches your dress?" He raised an eyebrow as she nudged his arm, grabbing the tie from the bathroom and placing it around his neck.
"Of course I am, what kind of friend would I be if I didn't force you to match me at any fancy dress occasion?" She chuckled as she tied his tie for him on her tippy toes, not noticing his gulp from her hands brushing his skin.
He had never noticed how soft her hands were before, how delicate they were with a hint of determination on the task at hand as she ever so slightly brushed his skin through the shirt fabric that confused him with how tight it was suddenly feeling to his body after her touch.
Weird.
"One who doesn't scare off any woman from talking to me with your relentless attempts to set me up despite literally matching with me" he forced past the thought and as Darling rolled her eyes.
"I keep telling you, no one thinks people are dating just because their outfits match- it's called having good fashion co-ordination."
"It's called cock-blocking" Morgan joked, hiding the fact he oddly enjoyed when people would mistake him and Darling as a couple at Halloween parties and events where she would make him match outfits in some way with her.
"Fiiiine- if you really want to spend your last night in Chicago fending off women when the clock hits midnight all on your own then you don't have to wear the tie" she rolled her eyes but Morgan just chuckled, taking the tie from her hands and tying it up around his neck.
"Happy?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"To see you in clothes other than t-shirts and jeans? I'm over the moon" she teased, grabbing her bag and walking to the door, "now come on, we have to-"
Darling paused in her stride when she heard the front door downstairs slam shut, a chill running down her spine from the familiar sound.
"We have to what?" Morgan went to ask but she turned and suddenly covered his mouth with her hand before stepping back apologetically.
"S-sorry, I just- uh..." she stammered for a moment, hearing the steps of the stairs creek and a panic flooding her as she turned to Morgan who couldn't help but notice within the obvious strange fear was a growing hint of protectiveness, "get in the bathroom and promise that you'll stay in there until I come and get you."
"Wait a minute Darl-" He tried to say, just now hearing the steps as Darling quickly led him to the bathroom and shut the door just as her bedroom door opened.
Morgan didn't hear the conversation entirely, just the drunken voice of Darling's father slurring through the door.
Eventually he heard the voice raise more than it already was, louder, angrier than the quiet rage he had when he first walked in and saw Darling's dress which he deemed 'whorish' and demanded she cover up despite her being 18 years old and quite capable of choosing what she wore out.
It wasn't until Morgan heard a smashing and stomping towards Darling did he go for the door but found himself pausing with his hand on the handle when he remembered the last time Darling's father found Morgan in her room- or more so he remembered the bruises he saw on Darling's wrist the next day, knowing it was safer for her if he stayed hidden in her bathroom even though all he wanted to do was storm out and give her father a piece of his mind.
He realised then that protectiveness he saw in her eyes moments before was there, but not just for herself by locking him in the bathroom so her father wouldn't hurt her more because of Morgan or even that her father would hurt Morgan- she was protecting him.
Morgan had never been silent about his clear dislike for her father since she revealed more about her childhood as they grew up, nor had he ever not made it clear that if he ever saw him hurt her that he wouldn't be able to pretend it wasn't happening like she wanted him to.
They both knew that it would end in Morgan taking out his protection of her on her father, and they both knew Darling was a fiercely loyal person to her core- where that loyalty would lie when seeing Morgan hurt someone in her family, even one who terrified her to her core, didn't seem to be so clear now...
He was a monster, he hurt her, he took her childhood more than Morgan would know for years- but he was her family, that's what he had ingrained in her, that's what stopped her turning him in years prior or telling anyone what he was really doing to her, not even Morgan until years into their friendship.
Even though they both knew that he was a monster, Morgan knew that Darling would never forgive him if he hurt her father, no matter how much he deserved it.
He couldn't put her through that internal painful dilemma of having to defend the man who continued to abuse her, and as selfish as he knew it was, he couldn't lose her if that automatic defence of her family kicked in...
Still, his white-knuckled hand kept on the door knob just in case as a silence swept outside the bedroom before Morgan heard the bedroom door slam shut and a small whimper come from the room.
He opened the bathroom door slowly, spotting Darling staring at the broken vanity mirror and subsequent lamp that was thrown into it, tears present in her eyes before she spotted Morgan in the reflection and cleared her throat to turn to him.
"Ready to go?" She forced a smile.
"Are you okay?" Morgan asked with concern, walking over and noticing how she now had a dark green shall on her arms.
"We're going to be late" Darling chuckled, turning and walking to the door but Morgan stepped in front of her.
"Darling-"
"Can you just not?" She suddenly snapped quietly, not meeting his gaze but staring at the floor before slowly looking up with watery eyes and an earnest, almost painful, sigh of vulnerability, "I just want to have fun tonight, it's your last night here properly- I just... I don't want to spend my last 24 hours with you giving me yet another lecture about how I need to call the police or have you talking to me in that stupid kind pitying voice of yours."
"I wouldn't lecture you" he crouched to meet her eyeline, "I just want to make sure you're okay."
"I'm okay" she smiled, a fake one she knew that he could spot a mile a way but still she forced it.
"No you're not" he said knowingly, "you're scared."
"What I'm scared of, Mr know-it-all, is being late for this party" she brushed past the serious matter with a chuckle, grabbing the oversized velvet jacket and chucking it at him as she went to walk to the door before pausing as she heard a bottle leave the fridge from downstairs, a familiar cold fear running up her arms before her brain kicked into gear and she turned with a cheeky smile to Morgan.
"You know what will be a killer way to kick of the end of your last night here?"
"I know that look- it's your scheming look, what is it?"
"How do you feel about helping your bestest buddy climb out of her window one last time?"
"I'm not helping you climb out of a police station window" Morgan laughed outside one of the women's bathroom stall as Darling changed into her cover outfit for the mission with Luke.
"I'm not asking you to help me- I'm just asking you to happen to accidentally knock the lock off that window with your show muscles and accidentally kick me out of it" she called out with a chuckle.
"If you don't want to go undercover why don't you just tell Hotch? I told you before that I don't think you should go undercover on this mission anyway" he quizzed, nodding apologetically to a female officer who walked into the bathroom and paused seeing him in there before checking the door was for the women's bathroom and raising an accusing eyebrow at him.
"Oh don't mind him, he's just here to zip me up" Darling called out to the woman, standing on the toilet seat to smile at them over the bathroom stall.
"Right... I'll just come back later" the woman looked between the two accusatorially and left with a glare at Morgan.
"What's her problem?" Darling shrugged, hopping off the toilet seat and finishing getting into her outfit.
"Other than the fact you're half naked and I'm a dude in the women's bathroom 'helping' you get dressed? Jee, I wonder" he laughed sarcastically.
"Yeah well you're not helping at all at the minute, I can't get this thing done up- gimme your long arms" she opened the door, turned around so he could zip up her wide legged, yellow corduroy jumpsuit that had thick straps on her shoulders above the regency empire square neckline where her usual locket necklace lay against her collarbones.
Her black square toed heeled booties complimented the black corduroy baker boy hat she was wearing over her long loose waves tossed behind her shoulders.
"You look beautiful" Morgan couldn't help staring at her as he slowly zipped up the back of her jumpsuit, letting his hands linger on her bare shoulders for just a moment longer than he should have as Rossi walked into the bathroom, making Morgan jump back into the stall door awkwardly as Darling turned in a similar frantic fashion.
"We're about to head out Darling-" Rossi paused, a teasing smile coming to his face, "am I interrupting something?"
"Of course not, Derek was just zipping me up- thanks bud" Darling punched Morgan's chest in an overly 'friendly' fashion that both Rossi and Morgan raised an eyebrow at.
"No problem, 'bud'" he chuckled, walking over to Rossi with his hands in his pocket awkwardly.
"Mhm, sure" Rossi looked between the two before chuckling, "anyway, like I was saying- we're heading out soon, Luke is in the car waiting for you."
"Right..." Darling nodded, turning and picking up the cheap fake wedding ring from the counter and slipping it onto her finger before sighing, "here we go I guess."
"You don't have to do this" Morgan spoke next to her quietly as they followed Rossi out of the bathroom.
"It's just a few nights undercover as his 'wife' to get the attention of some sketchy motel killer whilst you guys sneak around and search for the missing people- it's not like I haven't slept in the same bed as him before" she shrugged, looking up and spotting Morgan's frown that she couldn't help rolling her eyes at.
"What's that eye roll for?" He quizzed.
"Do you not trust me or something?" Darling suddenly turned to him mid stride with a whisper, stopping him from following Rossi who continued out of the doors of the building.
"What? Of course I trust you Darl- what are you on about?" Morgan asked with confusion that seemed to annoy her as she shook her head.
"Okay let me re-phrase; do you think that I'll sleep with him or something?"
"What?" Morgan exclaimed in shock of her outright question.
"Answer the question; do you trust me? Because this whole day you've been trying to get me to pull out of going undercover and I know damn well you wouldn't be asking me if I was okay with going undercover if Hotch was who I was with."
"I-" Morgan paused before tilting his head and unable to stop his jealous words before they came out, "is there some sort of reason that you would prefer to be fake-married to Hotch? You have been spending a lot of late nights at work with just him..."
Darling's eyes widened with outrage at his insinuation, shaking her head pushing past him to follow Rossi but he caught her hand.
"Darling wait, I didn't mean-"
"It's fine- just forget about it" she forced a smile, patting his hand but Morgan couldn't help notice how fast she pulled her hand from him before she left.
"Shit" he sighed, following her out and preparing for the undercover mission none of them were excited for- well, all bar one...
"Aye, hello there Mrs Alvez" Luke teased excitedly as Darling walked out of station, immediately bursting into laughter at his outfit.
"Hey, don't mock my fashion- we're meant to look like I'm going on a camping trip, not a fashion show in the 70's" he chuckled at her jumpsuit, but Morgan couldn't help notice Luke's eyes linger on her body a second too long.
"I didn't pick this out- Hotchner did" Darling shrugged, "although I'm keeping the boots- don't tell him."
"So you're stealing them?" Morgan tried to get back to their playful teasing as he opened the car door for her but she just gave him a polite smile as she got in as opposed to her usual teasing back.
"You should arrive at the motel in half an hour, Darling has a listening piece under her jumpsuit so we can listen in but you won't be able to contact us other than calling" Hotch re-explained as he walked out with Reid following and carrying fake camping gear for Luke and Darling that he put in the boot of the truck.
"Remember, you're just there as a distraction and doing recon work just like we are; Reid is going under cover as a repair engineer with Morgan, Rossi is going to be a guest on a writers re-treat and Emily will be interviewing for a maid job. Remember this is just observing work, meaning no putting yourselves in the line of danger- right Darling?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"You do tend to take risks kid" Rossi agreed with Hotch, not noticing her offence on her face before she shrugged and held up her hands in defence.
"I promise not to do more than the assignment."
"Ever the over-achiever" Morgan teased quietly, enjoying how she almost couldn't hide her laughter at his mocking like usual before shaking her head and looking up at him, trying to clutch onto her anger that proved difficult as he softly smiled down at her.
"Go careful" he nudged her arm, spotting a fresh bandage on her other one where the cut he had spotted before.
"You too" she smiled at him before shutting the door- but Morgan couldn't help but frown with confusion at the fact she didn't say her usual 'love you' as a goodbye, something she had done almost every time they parted, even if it was just for 5 minutes, over the last 18 years...
"So this motel, I assume it's 5 stars right? Only the best for your new wife" Darling joked to Luke as they drove closer to the building down the dirt road that coated the car with dust.
"Oh of course- the motel presumed to be frequently booked out by a serial killer is in fact where I'm planning our real honeymoon" he teased, flicking on the radio and groaning and Dolly Parton came on.
"Oh come on, don't tell me you don't like Dolly?"
"Of course you do" Luke laughed at her, "get yourself a boob job and some botox and you're basically her."
"Oi" Darling laughed, hitting his arm, "you leave Dolly's face and my boobs out of this."
"I mean no offence" he chuckled, "you have great tits."
"Ew" she burst out laughing again, "please forever reframe from talking about my 'tits' again."
"Isn't that what a husband is supposed to do?"
"At this rate you're going to become a divorcee sooner than you'll ever be a husband" she warned with a chuckle, looking around as they came to a stop outside of the motel but her phone rang before she could get out of the car with Luke.
"One sec" she called out, answering the phone whilst he rolled his eyes and made a joke about her trying to get out of carrying the luggage.
"Derek? Is everything alright?"
"Do you want me to come and get you?" Morgan's voice was hushed, presumably because he was still in the station with the others, but there was an anger behind it, a protectiveness that confused Darling.
"What? Why?"
"I'm in the audio room, alone, and just heard what Luke said on your wire. He has some nerve-"
"What?" Darling said with genuine confusion before rolling her eyes, "oh for god sakes Derek, he was only joking around."
"Was he?" Morgan said suspiciously.
"I'm hanging up, I have a job to do- maybe you should focus on your job too instead of listening in onto conversations that don't concern you" she hung up quickly before she could let her anger bubble out- unsure of where this sudden jealousy of Morgan's had come from and more than sure that it was making her feel gross.
"Ready?" Luke knocked on her car door just as Morgan rang again, Darling looking at it for a moment before silencing it and stepping out of the car hand in hand with him.
"Let's go rock this fake marriage" Darling smiled, following him into the sketchy looking motel where an older man sat clipping his toenails with his feet up on the counter before they walked in.
Gross.
"Good afternoon folks; welcome to highway 64's greatest- and only-motel" he yawned through his welcome speech before he spotted Darling and her ring, perking up slightly.
"Aye- I see you've brought the ol' ball and chain with ya" he spoke to Luke who chuckled as Darling bit her tongue behind her fake smile.
"Just passing through on our honeymoon road trip" Luke explained their cover story lie, "thought we'd stop off for a few days here to rest before we head back out- you wouldn't happen to have a spare room, would you?"
"Honeymooners, eh? That's a first for this motel, especially for such a perty couple as yourselves" he nodded, not so subtly eyeing Darling up and down as he chewed on a thought, "let me look on the old computer for you two."
"Much appreciated" Luke nodded, glancing down at Darling and nudging her arm to get her attention when he saw her gaze gloss over.
Why was Morgan still calling her? Didn't he trust her? Why did he seem so angry? Was he angry at her-
"What's wrong?" Luke mouthed to her.
"What? Nothing, I'm fine" she shook her head at herself and smiled up at him before smiling at the man on reception as he spoke to them.
"Well looks like it's your lucky day, we had someone check out this morning- if you just sign here then you're all booked in, a bit old fashion with a check in book I know but we ain't had the time to set up the fancy tech yet."
"No worries, we like the old fashion way- don't we baby?" Luke nudged Darling to try to get her to engage with the cover but her mind was elsewhere before she snapped herself out of it and smiled.
"Of course honey" she linked her arm around Luke's and wiggled closer to him with a fake bright smile that was somehow convincing enough as they signed the book.
"Hmmm 'Darling,' that's an odd name" the man commented as he read it.
"So I've been told" Darling chuckled.
"Easy enough to remember at night though, right son? Can't get in trouble by saying someone else's name when hers is so universal to use" the man joked with Luke, although Darling found it anything but amusing, forcing herself to choke down her anger with a fake smile as Luke laughed as he took the keys.
"Certainly unique- thanks so much for your help."
"Hold up, I'm sure you two love birds will be needing this" the man pulled out a 'do not disturb' sign from under the desk, wiggling his eyebrows at Darling who had enough of this and almost broke character before Luke laughed and stepped forward, taking the sign off of him.
"Cheers."
"I'll be sure to pop in my earplugs tonight, she seems like a screamer" the man took the joking too far, making Darling turn back to him with rage as she went to walk away but Luke caught her arm and pulled her back the other way as he said goodbye to the man with a fake laugh, leading her down the corridor.
"Let go of me" she squirmed, Luke not realising his hand was on her upper arm where her bandage was.
"Not until you calm down" he spoke with a quiet sterness, smiling politely at passing guests as he marched Darling to their room.
"You're hurting me-"
"And you're going to hurt this mission if you don't keep a control of your anger" Luke looked down at her before sighing as they got to their door, finally letting go of her arm that stung from the pressure on the relatively fresh wound.
"What he said was disgusting, I won't apologise for-" Darling went to defend.
"I don't care if you apologise or not" Luke shook his head, "that guy was gross, but he also could be a suspect or have the potential to kick us out of here if you blew up at him- it's not in your fake profile to be outspoken as you actually are-"
"Oh so just because I'm meant to be your wife I'm not meant to have opinions then?" Darling scoffed with offence.
"Exactly" Luke said as they entered the room, "I thought you were meant to be good with people as the liaison?"
"I am" Darling defended.
"Then stop taking everything so personally and do your job" he pulled the luggage in as Darling shut the door, every part of her wanting to blow up at Luke but forcing herself to breathe as she walked over and looked up at him with an almost sickly sweet smile that stung just as much.
"Of course, honey" she played into her character before catching his arm as he went to turn to get the other suitcase and pulling him close to her with a threatening tone, "but if you ever grab my arm like that again Alvez, I will show you just how good I can be with people- your funeral director being one of them."
Luke looked down at her in shock for a moment before she let go of his arm and walked over to the bathroom.
"Did you want the shower first?"
"You, uh, go ahead" Luke cleared his throat, almost afraid of her even with her warm smile now as she shut the bathroom door and turned on the shower, but didn't get in.
She forced her face to be blank before she took off the wire and placed it the bathroom bin, closing the lid to muffle the sounds and sitting on the floor to let out a breath she had been holding for longer than she intended as a small sniffle escaped when she looked down at her arm, spotting blood starting to come through the bandage and finding her finger pushing into it slightly with misplaced anger at herself that she couldn't quite figure out how to feel.
Darling didn't have a great pain threshold, she knew that well enough to avoid paper cuts like the plague- but that didn't seem to deter her from applying more painful pressure on the wound until the blood speckle turned into a fresher colour.
She didn't understand why she needed that pain, or why it felt like a relief to the misplaced anger in her chest she didn't know how to let out or who to direct it to other than herself, but she just kept pushing until her blood found its way under her perfectly manicured fake acrylic nail just as her phone rang.
"Shit" she snapped out of her state as she quickly got up, grabbing tissue from the toilet and patting her arm with almost confusion at herself whilst she turned down the shower and grabbed her phone.
"Hey Hotch-"
"Why is the wire muffled?" He quizzed.
"Because I was about to get into the shower" she half told the truth, checking her arm in the mirror, wiping off the blood and re-dressing it but pausing when she saw it under her nail still.
You deserve it, a small voice whispered in her head, a voice she had heard before but never fully listened to until now, a voice that didn't feel as much like a foe anymore.
"I told you to not take off that wire, we need to always be in contact with you" Hotch's tone was stern enough to cut through her concerning thoughts as she shook her head at herself.
"So you want me to get into the shower with electricals on my body?"
"No, of course not- all I'm saying is-"
"Listen, I understand you want to keep an eye on me given what happened the other day but-" Darling let out a much needed frustrated sigh, needing to direct something at someone other than herself.
"You're on speaker" Hotch interrupted, letting her know not to talk about what happened the other day right now.
Darling paused, mentally kicking herself for not checking that first.
Stupid, stupid girl, this is why you deserve the pain- if you weren't so stupid with your mistakes then I wouldn't hurt you, the voice cut back in, almost paralysing her with the familiar shiver going down her spine before shaking her head and trying to think fast to come up with a lie.
"Hi everyone- as I was saying, with me- uh- forgetting to give in those reports to you the other day, but it was just a silly mistake and I'll be more careful."
"I need to be sure that these 'silly mistakes' won't be happening anymore" Hotch spoke, clearly telling her that he was still referring to the original 'mistake' she brought up, of which being the reason she had the slice on her arm in the first place.
"Of course" Darling said through gritted teeth, her anger growing in her chest of everyone undermining and underestimating her lately.
"And Darling, I would prefer if you put the wire back on now and had a shower during the night" Hotch requested which was almost the tipping point of Darlings rage that almost spouted out with a 'How dare you tell me when I can and can't shower?'
Her thumb pressed against her wound, involuntarily digging in to physically press her anger down with gritted teeth.
Take the pain, make it physical pain, you deserve it-
"Sure thing."
"Alright, the rest of the team are heading to the motel now for their various covers- they should be there within the hour."
They don't trust you enough to do this alone, no one does, no one should trust you-
"Mhm" Darling responded with forced disinterest as she put the wire back on and turned off the shower without looking at the water as she stared out the window, letting out a breath before walking back into the bedroom.
"Shit-" she exclaimed through shocked laughter, dropping the phone and quickly turning around as she walked in on Luke getting dressed.
"What the hell?!" He exclaimed back, pulling his trousers back up and turning around, still shirtless and clearly not as amused as her at the situation.
"I'm so sorry" she couldn't help her laughter as Hotch asked what was going on down the phone with Morgan doing the same in the background.
"You can't just walk in here when I'm changing!" Luke yelled.
"I said I was sorry" Darling picked up the phone, looking over at him, "don't worry, I won't tell anyone on the team about your tighty whiteies."
"I don't wear tighty whities" he called out at her teasing as she laughed.
"Gotta go Hotch, I think my 'husband' is about to murder me for walking in on him changing."
"Keep it professional you two" Hotch couldn't help his chuckling before hanging up.
"I'm serious-" Luke folded his arms but Darling just rolled her eyes and slumped down on the bed.
"Oh grow up, it's not like I saw you naked- it was just your underwear."
"You wouldn't be saying the same thing if it was you" he defended and she paused, looking over at him and nodding.
"Good point- okay, fairs fair" she stood up, attempting to unzip her jumpsuit.
"What are you doing?" Luke quizzed.
"Showing you my underwear- making it even so you'll stop your hissy fit."
"What?" Luke couldn't help laughing, all residual anger leaving as amusement took over.
"I warn you I am not wearing a matching set- didn't think I'd be showing anyone my underwear today" she joked, getting nowhere with trying to take of the jumpsuit that zipped at the back.
"You're ridiculous" Luke chuckled, "okay, okay, stop circling like a dog to unzip it- I believe your gesture, you're forgiven- you don't have to take off your clothes... for now."
"Phew" Darling laughed, sitting back down on the bed and ignoring Morgan's calls on her phone, "I was starting to think one of my overly confident gestures was going to have to be followed through."
"You're way too self-conscious for that" Luke chuckled, sitting down on the bed but Darling tilted her head at him.
"What? I am not."
"Oh come on, you can't really expect a profiler not to notice the signs of over compensation? The loud clothes, always being put together, making jokes about your appearance- you're insecure" he said it as if it was a casual fact but Darling frowned at him and sat up.
"That's so rude, and I'll have you know-"
"It's true though, isn't it?" He turned to her with a knowing matter-of-fact eyebrow raise, "don't get me wrong, I don't understand why you're insecure at all but I can see the signs from a mile away."
"I'm not insecure" she lied, folding her arms stubbornly as Luke raised an eyebrow at her.
"Mhm sure, and the fact that you always have a jacket in your bag even in 100 degree weather is just for, what? Fashion?"
She tilted her head at him and how quickly he was able to read her, not enjoying how bluntly he said it but unable to fault that he was partly right.
"I don't carry a jacket because I'm insecure" she mumbled, standing up and starting to unpack her case.
"Don't try to tell me it's to 'be prepared' for the weather when we live in the most predictable weather state in America" he rolled his eyes, laying back on the bed with his hands behind his head.
"It's because of my dad" she said before she could stop herself, Luke tilting his head at her with confusion.
'You need to cover yourself up in the house! You're disgusting! You can't walk around like that in the house and not expect-'
"What? Your dad?"
The door knocked before Darling could speak, quickly walking and answering it to avoid the conversation as Luke quickly pulled his t-shirt back on and buckled up his trousers just as she opened the door to the smirking man from the front desk.
"I don't mean to interrupt, but I forgot to give you our breakfast menu- it ain't nothing fancy but we offer it with all the rooms" he nodded, looking over at Luke with a sly smile that Darling wanted to smack right off.
"I'll let you two get back to whatever was the cause of all that shouting- oh, and I should probably warn you since I don't need another lawsuit; we do have camera's in the rooms but there's no audio on them and they clear every morning without anyone looking at them."
"You have camera's in the bedroom of your motel?" Darling raised an eyebrow at him, "isn't that-"
"Illegal? In any other state, yes- but we're a motel on state line that doesn't take pre-bookings and accepts cash, we have to cover our asses for the stuff that happens here somehow" the man replied honestly, "now don't worry yourself dear, not even me has the key for the security rooms- I lost mine a few weeks ago so no one will see what you two get up to, I just legally have to tell you."
Luke and Darling exchanged a glance, both knowing that the series of murders that could be connected back to this very motel started a few weeks ago.
"Thank you very much sir, very kind of you" Darling put on a fake sweet smile before shutting the door and turning to Luke.
"Well, honey, it looks like we have an audience" she glanced over to the corner of the room where she just now spotted the small security camera hidden in the light.
"It would seem that we do" Luke nodded, walking over and whispering down to her so Hotch could hear on the wire.
"What do you want us to do here? It seems like there's a good chance that whoever is doing these killings is using the stolen key to scout their next victim."
A buzz of a text came through on Darling's phone by the bed;
Act like a normal couple for now and then leave the motel for a while; Reid is going through the victim's time of death to see how long the unsub is scouting his next victim to see if we need to have you two act as bait so he doesn't scout anyone else, don't take any risks yet, we'll message you within the next hour if we need you to turn up the notch- Hotchner.
"Well, this just got more interesting" Darling sighed.
"It, uh, certainly looks that way" Luke nudged her arm, looking over at the window where they both spotted Morgan stood there with folded arms and a more than unpleasant look on his face.
"Son of a-" Darling shook her head, urgently mouthing 'go away!' at him with her back turned to the camera.
"Answer my calls" he mouthed back.
"What's he doing?" Luke whispered as Darling tried to shoo Morgan away from the window but he wouldn't move.
"Oh for Christ sakes-" She rolled her eyes, turning to Luke and quickly coming up with a plan that would work with the cameras.
"I'm really sorry about this" she grabbed his collar of his t-shirt and pulled him to her, pretending to kiss him but placing her thumbs over his mouth as she tugged him towards the bathroom.
"Holy shit-" Luke fell forward with her, hands surprisingly wrapping around her waist automatically before he stumbled back into the bathroom.
"Start the shower and chuck me your t-shirt" Darling stepped back to where the camera could see her again and pretended to be trying to take off her jumpsuit as she slipped off her shoes and chucked them into the room for the camera, confused at how Luke was reluctant to let her step back at first.
"What is happening-" Luke quizzed but obeyed, throwing his t-shirt out of the room with a little too much eagerness.
"Listen Hotch I know you can hear me and I know you said not to take risks but I need to do this so don't be pissed off at me" she spoke as she walked into the bathroom, reaching down and pulling out the wire from the jumpsuit before she shut the door.
"Wait for me in the shower dear," she played into the role in case anyone was listening and to make Hotch think she was just getting into the role to trick the cameras and not sneaking out to meet Morgan before whispering, "I'll be back in a minute."
Darling pushing Luke towards the shower/bathtub as she climbed on top of the toilet seat and opened the window with a hefty grunt.
"Where are you going?" Luke quizzed, confused by everything happening as Darling climbed out of the window.
"Oi giant oof! A little help?" She called out to Morgan who was now banging on the bedroom window, looking over at her in shock before storming over and taking her hands to help her wiggle out.
"What the hell was that little show just then?!" Morgan started to yell.
"Oh hush your mush" she scolded, half falling into his arms as she dropped out of the window that shut behind her, "I wouldn't have had to do that 'little show' if you would have just moved from the god damn window- why are you even here?"
"You kissed him!"
"I kissed my thumbs, genius" she rolled her eyes, showing her lipstick on her thumbs, "stop deflecting- what are you doing back here? You're meant to be pretending to fix the building."
"I heard what happened on the wire, he's trying to flirt with you and I won't have it" he crossed his arms but paused as she burst out laughing.
"Oh give me a god damn break Derek."
"Why are you laughing? This is serious."
"It's hilarious! You're out here making a scene because Luke pretended to flirt with me on an undercover mission? What is your problem today?"
"My problem is that you tried to get naked in front of him-"
"You know that I was just joking-"
"My problem is that he keeps flirting with you-" Morgan interrupted, knowing she was right but clinging onto his confusing anger.
"He's not flirting with me, he's just being a normal person who makes normal jokes-"
"My problem is that he hurt your arm" Morgan grabbed her wrist, straightening out her arm to look at the blood on her bandage that she thought no one would notice- but of course he did, seeming to pause with confusion at how much more blood was there now than he expected there to be from Luke simply grabbing her arm.
She stared up at him in silence before pulling her arm away.
"He didn't hurt me" she lied before sighing, "he didn't mean to anyway."
"And what about the fact you offered to get into your underwear in front of him then huh? Did you not mean to do that either?" He folded his arms, unsure of where this jealousy was coming from but feeling it full force in his chest.
"I was only joking around because I walked in on him changing" she rolled her eyes before shaking her head, "and even if I was in my underwear in front of him or any other guy that doesn't give you the right to accuse or assume anything of me, I could be butt-naked in front of a hundred men and you should still assumed I wouldn't do anything- I shouldn't even have to explain myself to you."
"Well you might have to if you're going to keep acting the way you do with every single guy who steps 5 foot from you- I'm starting to think you don't even care about this" Morgan spoke before he could stop himself, pausing at her outraged expression and going to apologise, but she spoke first as she stepped closer and glared up at him, her voice a quiet controlled whisper that was somehow more terrifying than if she blew up and yelled at him.
"I'd like to remind you that before we were whatever this is now, you were my friend; a friend who would never insinuate I was sleeping with your boss or assume I would sleep with the nearest dick just because I was on an undercover mission, and would never ever judge me for my friendly personality or assume that would mean I am somehow more 'uncommitted' to this 'thing' than you. Maybe put your damn ego away for 5 minutes Derek and try to remember that I do not belong to you nor do I have to explain myself just because I made the stupid mistake of liking you."
Morgan stood in shock for a moment before clearing his throat and going to continue the argument, ignoring his bubbling urge of his conscience telling him to apologise to her or just explain what he was feeling and talk to her.
But before he could speak, a tapping came from the window.
"Uh guys-" Luke called out.
"Not now!" Both Morgan and Darling yelled at the same time, surprised at their synchronicity even when they were furious at each other.
"I think you guys should come see this-"
"I said not now!" Darling yelled at the window he poked his head out of, "we're having a gosh darn conversation!"
"Well I think that can wait" Luke opened the window, holding out a cup of water he took from the shower, "look."
"Jesus Christ-" Darling covered her mouth from the stench alone, not to mention the liquid that was meant to be water.
"Wait-" Morgan stepped closer, pulling out his phone torch and shining it on it, "is that-"
"Blood" Darling answered with a slight gag at the blood speckled in the murky liquid.
"I just showered in that- oh my god I'm going to be sick" Luke dropped the glass, turning to the toilet and trying not to throw up.
"Why did you get in the shower?"
"You told me to!"
"I told you to pretend to! Not to actually wait for me in there you idiot! What did you think was going to happen?! Did you think I'd actually get in there with you?!" Darling rolled her eyes before shaking her head when Morgan's eyes turned to rage fuelled daggers at Luke, "never mind that, we need to call Hotch."
Just as they turned to get their phones, a rustling came from the bushes behind them.
"Shit" Morgan panicked at the thought of blowing their cover since he was still in his repair man costume as someone stepped out of the hidden path.
"For the love of god-" Darling thought quickly, grabbing Morgan's collar and pulling him to her into a deep kiss as she stood on her tip toes.
"Jesus Christ-" Luke exclaimed at their intense kiss before ducking down when he saw the man walk back into the bushes, understanding that they were doing it for the sake of hiding Morgan's uniform and looking as if Darling was just a random person kissing their partner on the pathway.
Morgan almost stumbled when Darling pulled away from the kiss, hands still wanting to linger on her waist where they had automatically made their way to when she kissed him- but instead of leaning back into him, Darling stepped back and wiped her mouth, seemingly to pretend to Luke and the team when they found out that it was nothing more than just cover but Morgan couldn't help noticing her anger in her eyes still at him before she turned and grabbed her phone from her pocket as she walked away.
"Sorry about that, gotta keep cover- I'll go call Hotch."
"Damn... that was some fake kiss" Luke nodded at Morgan through the window as Morgan watched Darling walk away, still feeling the tingling of the passionate kiss that left the butterflies in his stomach swirling.
He brushed his thumb on his lip as he tried not to think about how hurt she looked before she kissed him, how angry she seemed, how disappointed she was with him.
"Yeah... yeah it was" he mumbled in response to Luke, praying it wasn't the last time he'd get to experience a 'fake kiss' like that again.