Darling deception- a criminal minds fanfic

Planning, scheming, deceiving (1)

As far as makeshift briefing rooms went, Rossi's grand dining room chandelier was a step up from the usual florescent lighting the team were used to sweating under.

The marble table stretched to the other end of the room with enough velvet seats to sit a basketball team, the permanently displayed bar car sat closest to Rossi despite the 9am impromptu meeting time.

Morgan sat nearest the door, watching as Darling fiddled with the hem of her cropped denim vest that lay on an oversized white tee tucked into her wide legged jeans- a double denim moment she would normally compliment with her red cowboy boots, but instead wore the guest slippers Rossi slipped under the door the night before, insisting he 'hated' hosting but having an entire closet dedicated to it.

The hotel like robes in the wardrobes, the hand soaps Darling had now stuffed into her purse, the mini confectionary breakfast- it was adorably put together, as if he had been waiting for someone to have their apartment burn down for years.

Morgan's first taste of Rossi's ill-timed hosting was the night before as he tapped on the guest bedroom door Darling had practically glued shut after she stormed from the car...

"Darl?" Morgan's knuckles knocked the door for the fourth time in a row, "come on Darl let me in, I think Rossi's five seconds away from inviting me for a 'nightcap' in his bed."

"My nightcaps are reserved for the fairer sex only" Rossi's joke surprisingly opened the bedroom door Morgan was tapping on, revealing his teammate holding his dog in matching robes with his girlfriend over their clothes, "and Clooney."

"How did you even get in there?" 

"You think I'd live somewhere without secret passages?" Rossi took a sip of his whisky with a chuckle Morgan almost shared before he saw Darling sat on the bed, paper sprawled around her, cigar in hand.

"And when did we decide to become a chimney?" He entered the room uninvited, almost receiving a witty comeback from Darling before she remembered she was meant to be ignoring him, turning her head away as he rolled his eyes and swiped the cigar from her, "you can ignore me all you want but your lungs will thank me later."

"Hey! That was a gift from our host!" Darling accidentally broke her silent treatment almost immediately, jumping to her knees on the bed in an attempt to swipe it back, Morgan holding it above her head with a smug smile fighting his lips, "wipe that smirk mister, I'm still pissed at you."

"Oh yeah? And how are you planning on punishing me then?" He couldn't help teasing, laughing at her shocked, yet slightly blushed, face.

"Oookay I think that's our cue to leave then Cloon" Rossi laughed from the door, raising his glass goodnight to them as he left.

"Great now you've made Rossi and Clooney leave with your dirty mind" Darling huffed, slumping back down on the bed after giving up, "now get on out of here so I can work without you and your giant sass getting in my way."

"What if my sass waits in the hallway?" He half teased before kneeling down by the bed, "so what are you up to then?"

"Oh you know, planning, scheming, deceiving" she sighed before shaking her head, "stop tricking me into talking to you, go away."

"Come on Darl, you love to talk- it used to be in your Myspace likes" he nudged her before sitting next to her on the bed, "my top likes just happen to all be listening to you talk."

"Stop being cute, it's impossible to be mad at you when you do that you sneaky bastard" Darling couldn't help her chuckle that he shared before he gently took her hand, earning her gaze meeting his.

"I'm sorry for what I said Darl, really, truly" he began, "I didn't mean it in a way to doubt you, I just worry this case is taking too much of you, but I should know better than to worry if you'll kick somethings as, you always do."

"I-" Darling stared at him for a moment before sighing, seeming to give up on her already broken silent treatment, "-If I'm honest sugar, I don't think your doubts were too far off this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Look around Derek-" she couldn't help laughing as she gestured at the paper surrounding them, "-this is all useless, everything I've collected and gone over and over, it's all stupid and useless- it's my word against his and there's nothing I can pull out my ass that can change that, no sudden revelations, no final 'lightbulbs' that wraps everything up neatly- I can't win this time, I... I lose."

"Don't say that, you'll figure it out" is all Morgan could say as he brought her into a soft embrace, unsure how to react to this version of Darling, a Darling without fight, without hope, without light.

She had been beaten down before, literally and metaphorically, but she always got back up, always.

Even when the odds were stacked against her 10 times over, she never gave up.

But now it didn't just seem like she couldn't get back up, it was like she didn't want to.

Morgan watched as she closed her eyes in the embrace, a slight furrow to her brow, knowing almost immediately what he had to do.

"Okay" he spoke simply.

"Okay?" She looked up at him with confusion, a small smile to his lips as he nodded.

"If you lose, I lose too, so, let's lose."

"What?"

"Darling your the smartest person I know, if you say you can't figure this out, then I guess you can't " he shrugged, leaning back on the bed.

"What game are you playing here?" She tilted her head with amused scepticism.

"No game, just giving into the inevitable" he patted the spot next to him, "if there's really no way to prove your word, then we'll just have to give up, come on, come give up with me."

"This is you giving up?" Darling couldn't help chuckling whilst she shuffled next to him on the bed, head resting on his arm on the pillow, still trying to figure out his plan as he smiled down at her.

"Mhm, it's nice isn't it? Giving up."

"If this is you trying to hype me up, it's a weird approach."

"No hyping up, just laying down" he turned to her, faces inches apart as his cheeky smile faltered to a sincere concern, "I know that big brain of yours Darl, but I don't think I could ever imagine living with it- it's understandable that it's not able figure some things out, if you need to give up, to lose, to let it rest, then that's what we'll do, together-"

"I'm not giving up-"

"You are, it's okay" he spoke softly, gently caressing her cheek, "you've figured out more than people do in a lifetime the last few months alone, maybe you're super brain is shutting down, it's time to give up and let yourself rest."

"Is this some kind of suicide pact or something?"

"No" Morgan couldn't help his boom of laughter at her raised eyebrow, nudging her arm, "I'm just saying, no one's gonna judge you for not finding another way to figure this one out-"

"Okay asshole, I know what your doing" she rolled her eyes.

"And what is that, stupid?" He teased.

"You're trying to make my ego take over my brain and prove you wrong, it's not gonna work."

"Is it not?" He smirked, looking down at her fingers tapping his chest, leaning closer to whisper, "you only tap your nails like that when you're figuring something out, I think my plan is working."

"You overconfident bastard" she laughed, playfully pushing his chest away before bolting up right suddenly, "overconfidence!"

"There she is" Morgan couldn't help smiling at Darling as she stumbled off the bed, practically running around the room as a spark of a plan void of all logic, all critical thinking began spewing out of her mouth, a plan consisting only of planning, scheming and deceiving...