poly_chromatic | [ profile sixty-four ] Action

Morgan...?

[Initially, he stops because hardly anyone here thinks to call him Morgan. So he hasn't heard the name since Reid went home... which has been awhile. But of all the people to come here today, it was Emily. The last time he'd seen her, he'd been holding her while she bled out. She hadn't lived past that.

So when he turns to see her, his chest feels a little bit tight and his heart skips a beat. She's like family to him. And that atark contrast from the last time he'd seen her to now... well, he's closing the gap now and his arms are tight around her, holding her to him for as long as she'll let him. And seeing her alive here now, has also left him momentarily speechless, searching for words that he can only put into that embrace. He's missed her? He's sorry he didn't get there soon enough to save her? He would've done anything to make it different? Yeah, all of that in a big Derek hug.]

[It was confusing enough to be in one place, and then suddenly find herself in another. In fact, it didn't make any sense. How, why, who... She didn't feel drugged, didn't feel disorientated. In fact, she felt just fine.

Save for the fact that this wasn't where she had been earlier in the day.

And she's surprised by that greeting, a small oof as that hug is given- and kept given. After a moment, softly, her voice speaking up.]

Uh. Hey, Morgan? ... everything okay?

[You know, aside from all this strangeness.]

[It's frightening to find yourself in a place with no recollection of how you got there. For Reid it's perhaps even more so and for a moment he thinks that this is it, the day is finally here. But he feels fine, not even a headache and when he spots that familiar siluette the relief is great enough to make him call out.]

Morgan!

Oh! Here! [There is a Garcia waving and trying to weave her way through a crowd of people who are almost as brightly colored as she is in some cases.]

Okay, people, let me through. Mama has to get to her Hot Stuff.

[Derek would know that voice anywhere. And honestly, if there was anyone he needed to see right now in this moment, it was her. Although for some reason, he doesn't want her to know how down he is about being alone here, about the fact that people just keep leaving over and over again.

So he puts on a charming smile, the kind of smile that he's really good at, and he steels himself to see her as he turns toward the sound of her voice.

The moment she breaks through the crowd, he arches a brow, gaze slowly lowering from the top of her head to the points of those colorful shoes she always wears, soaking in the sight of her.] There's my baby girl. [Seconds later he has her in a big, Derek, bear hug where he lifts her up off the ground and sets her back down.]

[He kind of loves hearing people call him Morgan, it feels more like home. He turns to find Reid standing there and moves closer through the crowd. It was only a few months ago that Reid had gone home from the City. But he doesn't expect him to remember that he was once here.

As he moves closer, he can tell that the other is confused, maybe a little disoriented. But his first thought is that boy is Reid gonna geek out once he knows what's going on here. This kind of thing is right up his alley.]

Hey pretty boy. [He reaches out to ruffle a hand through Reid's hair that always just seems to fall in that messed up but still fixed kind of way. And for a brief moment he's a little overwhelmed at seeing his friend again. Reid and him had been through a lot together here in the City before he had gone home.] Boy am I glad to see you.

Oh! [She laughs a little, but it's a slightly nervous laugh the same way her voice was a little too quick before. She's been to this place in the past, but it doesn't exactly stop being weird. The spicy thai food and red vines after midnight kind of weird. Not so much the crazy unsub kind of weird.]

If that's the kind of greeting I get, I should randomly appear next to fountains in strange cities all the time.

[He's still just holding on... like he's seen a ghost and doesn't really want to let go in case she just disappears. But when she speaks again, he realizes that it's probably just awkward for her. She can't know she's dead if it hasn't happened yet. And he has no clue at what time point she's from.

So reluctantly, he pulls back, squeezing her shoulders just a bit to make sure he can feel her there again before he lets go.]

Uh, yeah... everything's fine. Just glad to see you. It's been a long time. [Almost two years for him since he first came to the City.

Edited 2012-01-28 23:59 (UTC)

Just the ones I'm in, alright? No going to strange cities where I'm not.

[He lets go of her, but after a moment of hesitation he reaches out for her hand. He needs the contact right now. He needs her just like he always needs her, maybe even a little more so right now. What he wouldn't do to have her here all the time. But that's just selfish, isn't it? She has a life and a boyfriend back home.]

You have no idea how bad I wanted to see that beautiful face of yours today. We don't have long... before the City will put you back where you were.

I wouldn't dream of depriving you of my beautiful face a moment longer than I absolutely had to.

[Hand in his, she steps back to look him over—not subtly—but also not really to check him out. That's just a fringe benefit. This is about the worry.]

How long has it been since I was here before? Have you been here this whole time? [However much whole time that might be.]

[When she steps back enough to really look at him, he tries to put on the tough guy act, like nothing could ever really get to him or bother him, like nothing could push past that wall he always has up around himself. But with her, he's never been able to put that wall up so completely that just a tiny bit of that vulnerability, of the sadness he feels doesn't seep through. She knows him too well.]

It's been a few months... too long. And I always seem to be here.

[He squeezes her hand in his, his features lightening up a bit, putting on a show that he's very adept at putting on.] How about I buy my girl some coffee? There's a shop right over here.

[There are definitely some chinks in that armor of his, but she's not going to poke at them right now. He said it himself. There isn't much time, but that doesn't mean there won't be some worry in these fabulous features.] This place knows when to hold on to a good thing. I'll have to have a talk to it about letting go. [If only this was something she could just hack away for him. But she smiles at the mention of coffee. Less crowded would be good.]

Oh, Derek Morgan, you know the way to a girl's heart. This is why I like it tall, dark, and full of muscles. I mean sugar. [It's not really a slip.]

[A short laugh, as her eyes turn to look at him. A flicker of concern, wondering, as that isn't exactly typical behaviour.]

It was this morning. You know, case, meeting, talk.

[This is why he needs a Penelope in his life, always. She's just the right kind of light to counter his kind of dark. Everything about her exudes light. It always has. And that's what attracts him to her. He needs that light. And maybe someday he'll be brave enough to decide that he's deserving enough of it to take that leap. Or maybe that someday will be too late. He doesn't know. He just knows he needs her in whatever capacity he can get her.

He laughs a bit and turns, his hand holding hers as they move toward a small building with the sign 'Cafe Juliet' over the top. He'd known coffee might be just the thing for them. She likes it and he knows she does. He likes keeping her happy.]

I know all the short cuts to your heart. And there are lots of them. Might have a list somewhere. [He teases her.]

Just avoid the control, alt, delete shortcut, and I'll let you keep using the other ones especially if they lavish me in coffee, gifts, and other trinkets of your boundless affection. [That nervousness has dropped from her voice. It's hard to be too nervous with your very own Derek Morgan by your side even if you are in some freaky fandom fantasy land.]

Yeah, about that. This place is called The City. It's... not home. [Although he guessed in some small ways it had become a kind of home to him. He's made some roots here.]

But it's where I've been for about a year and a half now. And don't hate on a guy for sounding like Reid, but people say it's a pocket dimension.

I'll avoid that one at all costs. Promise.

[Derek opens the door to the cafe open for her and they step inside out of the crowd. It's still a little busy inside but not as crowded as it is outside. They get in line to the counter.]

I don't think the Youth Center was up and running the last time I saw you. I built it, remodeled this old building and added onto it. Crazy, right?

If you're asking me if it's crazy that you built something up and made it into a place to help youth then the overwhelming and obvious answer to your inquiry, sir, is no. That's exactly what I've come to expect from you.

Making things better is kind of your signature. [And this fond smile that comes with her observation is absolutely free.]

And to your unspoken offer, yes, I would like to see it.

[Alright, so she gets a full on, genuine Derek smile at that. Because once again, she sometimes knows him better than he knows himself. And she completely guessed his next thought, that he wanted her to see what he'd built, what he'd put together, where he spent most of his time here.]

You think you got me all figured out, huh? [Asked around a grin.

At the counter he orders a coffee with two sugars and then turns to see what Penelope wants.] They have all your mocha freppe latte whatever 'te' things here too.

I'll leave the profiling up to you, precious. But I've picked up a couple of things over the years.

[She smiles and shakes her head.] It's cute that you think you know what you're talking about when it comes to coffee. [She smiles at the person taking her order and rattles off a long description which includes a "te" thing.]

[She's right. He really doesn't know much about coffee besides black with two sugars. Sometimes just black. But he does know that she likes hers all complicated and unpredictable. He'd never think to try to order for her unless he was reading it off in some kind of legible handwriting, maybe a computer print out.

He pays for the drinks (after a brief hesitation since it means he has to let go of her hand) and they step to the side to wait for them to be prepared.]

Hey, I don't think what you order can be classified as coffee. It's something in a foreign language, but not coffee.

[He makes a start to duck away from Morgan's hand, but naturally it connects in the end anyway - jeeze, he's almost thirty! How long is this going to be a (incredibly comforting and familiar) thing? He relaxes visibly now that Morgan is around, although it's still clear that he's all kinds of confused.]

I'm glad to see you too... [Distracted. Maybe even a little concerned still, about whether or not he should ask but in the end he does.] Where are we?

[Yeah, that last question confirms his suspicions. Reid doesn't remember being here before. He doesn't remember helping Derek get the Youth Center off the ground and running or working at the library. He doesn't remember any of it. And that's okay. Cause he's here now for at least a little while and that's a lot more than Derek could have hoped for. Crazy how this is the one thing that could trip up that ideitic memory of his.]

This place is called The City.

[He smirks then, rubbing that same hand that had ruffled Reid's hair over the back of his own neck now. He really can't believe that he gets to tell Reid this.] It's like a... a pocket dimension? You know, sucks people in and keeps them here 'til it doesn't.

[And that's all the geek talk Reid will get out of Derek for now. He's just going to wait to see the reaction for the moment.]

Imaginative.

[Like something out of fiction. He takes a moment to study his surroundings but the explanation sharply draws his attention back to Morgan.]

A pocket dimension..? [You wanted him to geek out? You got it.] You mean like the concept used in the theory of cosmological inflation? It was first proposed in 1980 by the American physicist Alan Guth who theorized that the early universe underwent an extremely rapid exponetial expansion driven by a negative-pressure vacuum energy density. The initial inflationary period is what we generally call the Big Bang, and the idea that the universe is still expanding is typically seen as a standard compound in the Big Bang hypothesis. In turn, a pocket dimension or pocket universe is defined as a realm containing the observable universe as only one of many inflationary zones.

[Exciting!]

Reid... Reid! [This said toward the end of that ramble, because as usual, someone has to get Reid to stop. His interruptions come with a small grin though because boy did he miss this. He never thought he would actually miss all those rambling facts until now.]

I don't know anything about all that, but you've probably got it all right. Thing is you're only here for... a day or two. There are these days here when the walls coming in go down and the City is flooded with people. Luckily I get some people I know this time. But they close in a day or two and all those people brought in? They go back to where they were taken from while the rest of us who've been here for awhile stay.

[His mouth curves into the start of a question, but he stops himself before asking it, eyebrows knitted in thought as he lets Morgan's words sink in. The meaning, the implications, the tone of voice. Choice of words. ]

You mean... [That frown deepens.] You mean you're here... indeterminably?

Yeah... yeah, I am. [He should have known Reid would catch on to that little slip of his. The moment it had been out of his mouth, he'd kind of regretted it. For a moment his eyes take on a little bit of a faraway, sad look. But as always, he covers that up with some bravado, eyebrows lifting and a slight shrug before he speaks again.]

I built the Youth Center here, from the ground up. Now I run it. And uhm... there's kind of a police force here that doesn't have any structure aside from keeping people safe. I help out with that. I teach self defense classes on weeknights... usually. [Cause every now and then there was a curse that prevented that. But it's obvious that just like back home, Derek tries to keep himself busy here.]

You wanna see the Center?

[He catches that shadow of sorrow - of course he does - but doesn't comment, just musters up a reassuring smile at that question. They don't have a lot of time and judging by what Morgan has said already it would be a futile effort to try and figure out a way to get him back home.

Better make the best of the situation.]

Of course! Show the way.

You have much to learn, grasshopper. You may be wise in the ways of profiling and general manly ruggedness, but you in this area I am the master and you are the one ordering coffee black. [This part is easy. The back and forth. The Morgan. Easier than thinking of him trapped here without his BAU family. How is he supposed to be okay without her support—technical and otherwise?]

[They start walking through the throngs of people in the square and Derek leads Reid off to a side road leading away from it.] When I first got here it took me forever to believe that this whole pocket dimension thing was real. [He smirks.] Even though I was living it, you know? Just couldn't wrap my head around it being real.

[He pauses, casting a sideways glance to Reid, preparing to feed more into that geek stuff that he loves.] There are vampires here. Aliens. People with powers that back home we'd only see in a movie... it's crazy.

[The answer is that he's not okay without her support, or even the rest of his BAU family, people who know him better than even his own family back in Chicago. But in true Derek fashion, he's very good at pretending things are okay to most everyone here, and even now to her.

So he settles into the back and forth, easily falling into their flirtatious game they always played.] Hey, I thought you liked it black. [He's only half black, but still...]

Don't be jealous of the coffee, my love. It doesn't become you. [She smiles up at him, noticing little differences in his appearance after his time here and misses the fact that their order is up.]

[Derek notices though, and he reaches out to take their travel cups and hands her to her. They have lids on them but he can still tell which is hers and which is his just from the small alone.

He starts out of the coffee shop with her, but instead of going back to the square, he turns off on a side road leading away from it.] The youth center is a block this way. It was an old abandoned building to begin with. Had a basement. I restored it and added a second floor plus a whole lot of rooms to the back. Laid out a basketball court in the back. I'm really proud of it, actually.

A few days ago the entire City turned into legos. [He smirked.] I spent the day making sure the building stayed in tact cause the legos just came apart in the walls and the windows. Kids couldn't resist playing with them.

Vampires..? [Oh yeah, you got his attention.] You mean like... Bela Lugosi type of vampire, not just Renfield's syndrome?

Uhhh I don't know about the type but they drink blood? [Isn't a vampire a vampire? No they're not. But Derek doesn't really know that.]

I don't really know much about them. They usually keep to the Underground.

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