Potential by @thebsunit
A Teen! Reader x bau team fic
After spending some time with your Zio Rossi, you see Morgan and JJ sparring and ask for a two on one training with them
A/n
Hey! So this is my first fic, and I'm really excited to share this with yall! This idea came up when @stxrryspencer posted and was like “what teen!reader x bau fic should I write?” And I commented a million times and this was one of those comments! So check there's out too! I’m not sure when it’ll be out but soooo much of their writing is good! We had the same basic idea but wrote it differently :) so that's cool! There are a few words that aren't in English (Italian) so I'll add a little translation index and author's notes at the end.
Potential by @thebsunit
Word count: 3132
“I'm nervous,”
“Don't be,” Spencer told you “besides-”
“Okay but what if Morgan beats the absolute crap out of me,” you interrupted “I asked for a sparring session! He's strong,”
“Don't be nervous, Y/n,” Emily consoled over a sip of coffee “Morgan probably won't go easy on you. And neither will JJ. But there's a difference between beating somebody up and being pushed past your limits so you'll be able to grow,”
“And besides,” Spencer continued, “In the not at all likely possibility that Morgan beats the absolute crap out of you. Rossi will definitely kill him,”
That much was true, and you pondered over it as Emily gave you pointers. Which flew right over your head.
You, Spencer, and Emily were spending some quality time together while your Zio Rossi was in a meeting with Hotch. It wasn't a secret that JJ and Morgan were the most athletically inclined out of the team, you knew that after watching a take down (albeit from the safety of the polie cruiser) and seeing Morgan pin the unsub to the ground while JJ pulled out a pair of handcuffs. It was impressive, and you wondered if they had somehow managed to chase the unsub to where you were so you could see everything up close and personal. Later that night, you had asked your Zio Rossi if a training session with the two of them would be a possibility. He said yes, and texted the two of them. Who had enthusiastically agreed.
Now you were having a coffee with Emily and Spencer. Telling them you had a training session with them the next day, followed by a sparring session that the team was invited to watch.
“So if there's JJ and Morgan, then you..” Spencer pondered aloud “Who are you fighting with? Surely it's not going to be a two on one battle, that wouldn't be fair at all,”
“Oh! No no, not at all,” Emily and Spencer both looked relieved “What JJ said is that she'll be my personal coach during the spar, not fight. So like.. she'll yell out encouragement and tips and stuff,”
“So it is like a two on one battle!” Emily said
You snorted into your coffee “Yea, I guess. Just not in Morgan's favor,”
“Serves him right! Hey, y/n, just for me, make sure to give him a nice sucker punch in the-”
“Reid!” Emily yelled while you shouted “Spencer!” at the same time
“Kidding, kidding! I’m kidding!” Spencer said as you pelted empty sugar packets at him.
——
“Are you nervous?”
Penny was driving you to the boxing gym that your “personal trainers” frequented often. There was a boxing ring, too, and you had briefly wondered if you should have borrowed a pair of gloves.
“Not really. At least not in the sense that you think I would be. I have the training, and then I’m gonna spar with Morgan. I’m more nervous I’m gonna make a fool of myself in front of people I look up to,” you explained, tightening your ponytail. Which was a nervous habit you had adopted “ask me again in three hours when I'll actually box with Morgan,”
She laughed and glanced over at you before blowing a kiss to the pair of pink fuzzy dice hanging on her rear view mirror “There! A bit of luck for you, darling”
“Thanks, Penny,”
You looked down at your knuckles and at the roll of athletic tape that JJ told you to bring. You felt the car come to a stop and looked up to see a bright red fitness center sign.
“You’re here, sweet cheeks! Wanna text Morgan and JJ you’re here? I think they’re inside warming up a bit. Maybe pulling a few strings to get the place cleared out for fight night!” Penny sensed your nervousness and bought you a few seconds to put it off before you walked in
“Yea, I’ll text them right now,” you said and pulled out your phone. Texting the groupchat with you, JJ, and Morgan that has been dubbed “the number one rule of fight club..”
The number one rule of fight club...
Y/n: Hey, I’m here!
JJ: Awesome! Come on in, Morgan got us a private room by flexing at the receptionist
Morgan: Hey! With guns like these, I can’t just let them go without use.
Y/n: Hahaha. Okay, I’m coming in right now. I’m in a blue tank top and leggings if you see me before I see you
JJ: Great, if you get lost ask the receptionist for directions
Morgan: And don’t hesitate to name drop me, you never know what perks you’ll get if she knows you’re with a god like me ;)
You laughed and grabbed your bag, letting Penny read the thread while you got yourself together.
“Okay! Let’s go. I’m going, I’m gone!” You yelled over your shoulder at Penny once she passed your phone back to you.
“Okay, love you!” She responded, blasting Eye of the Tiger from her car window as she drove away.
You squared your shoulders and walked in. The smell of sweat overpowering your senses. Almost immediately you didn’t know where you were going. So, begrudgingly, you went up to the blonde receptionist who looked way too energetic.
“Um, hi. Do you know where the private rooms are?”
“Hi, gorgeous! I’m Abby, which room number are you going in to?” She practically yelled at you
“Aw crap. I don’t know which room number it is,” You internally panicked
Then you remembered that Morgan said you could name drop. He probably didn’t give you the number just for that reason
“Sly, dog..” you thought
“Um.. I’m not sure but I’m here with Morgan? Derek Morgan,” you corrected yourself then saw Abby start blushing and leaned over to you
“Oh, Derek, what a handsome young man! Of course, you’re in 2B. Can I get you a water? They’re usually a buck, but if you’re with Derek I’ll let a few ‘go lukewarm’” She whispered the last part and winked at you.
You smiled. Morgan sure did have something different that got all the ladies to swoon.
“Yes, please, that would be wonderful. I’ll tell Morgan, that you gave us some,” You collected the water. Condensation pooling on your fingertips and yelled over your shoulder “Thank you, Abby!”
She winked at you again and pointed you in the direction.
“Hi guys,” you smiled nervously and held out the waters “Abby gave us waters, I may have name dropped you, Morgan,”
“Haha, nice!” Morgan walked over and gave you a high five “Thank you, Abby,”
“Hi, y/n, want me to wrap your hands for you?” JJ asked
“Yes, please,”
You sat down on a bench and held out your hands, unsure whether to put your palms up or down and trying to ignore the obvious tremor in them.
Apparently palms up was the correct placement as JJ gently, but securely, wove the tape through your fingers. “So what we're gonna do today is just teach you some of the basics in boxing. That’s what Morgan and I have been properly trained in, and what I think is the most fun-“
She was cut off by Morgan
“Hey, doll face, are you shaking?” He grabbed one of your hands in his own “Don’t be nervous, y/n. We're gonna teach you first. We wouldn't just throw you to the wolves. And even when we do box it out,” he mimed a duck and upper cut “with JJ giving you pointers I’m sure you’re gonna do fine. Even if you don’t manage to beat me,”
“Yea, Y/n. You’re gonna do great, I promise,” She finished taping up your hands and stood up “Okay. We’re gonna teach you the basics in boxing, and then some cardio to get your blood pumping. After we have the ring to ourselves! I'm friends with the owner, so James said we could stay late,” JJ whispered the last part to you
“Learning, cardio, practice, go, got it,” you looked up eagerly at JJ and bounced on your toes “which moves first?”
——-
You genuinely had no idea how Morgan still seemed to be full of so much energy. He was bouncing on his toes and had a look of fire in his eyes as he danced around in front of the mirror. You looked over at JJ who was on her phone.
“Y/n?” She called to you
“Mhm?”
“Spencer and Emily want to know if they could come watch us. Garcia said she'll be here in spirit but she loves you and Morgan too much to see either of you at each other,”
You laughed at Garcia's reasoning “What about Hotch? And Zio Rossi?”
JJ frowned “They really wanted to come, they swear, but Strauss called them in for a last minute meeting. Something about paperwork. They say they're so sorry, but if you let Spencer and Emily come they want them to film it?”
You tried not to let the relief show on your face. It was your dream to work in the FBI and if Hotch, someone with an incredible amount of power (at least to you), saw you get absolutely clobbered you weren't sure if you could ever go back. At least with your pride.
“That's okay!” You said “Tell Spencer and Emily to come! If Abby's still working ask if they can bring some more waters down, I'm worried I might need the coldness for a makeshift ice pack,”
You didn't want Morgan to hear how nervous you were. It worried you that he might go easy on you when you needed him to push your limits.
“Got it! I'll text them right now,” JJ turned back to her phone and you watched Morgan hype himself up “Rossi said we can have dinner with everyone at his place, and Spencer and Emily are 10 minutes away,”
“Awesome sauce, thanks JJ,”
“Anytime,”
You unwound your tape, JJ said it would be good to stretch your hands, and you flexed your fingers. Yelling over your shoulder that you were going to the bathroom.
“One last nervous pee, I got this,” you whispered to yourself
It was about a half hour or so after closing, but the bathrooms were still open. You looked yourself up and down in the mirror and took a breath to steady your nerves. While you were studying your posture JJ walked in.
“Hey, Morgans already in the ring. Emily and Spencer are there too. I'm gonna give you some pointers, okay?”
You nodded. Splashing your face with cool water and watching JJ through the mirror reflection.
“Okay. I think this goes without saying but no hits below the belt, no matter how much Reid paid you off,” you laughed out loud and nodded your head “Alright. I'm gonna be telling you pointers but really you're the one in the ring. You're the one that gets final say, does that make sense Y/n?” You nodded your head “Great. So if you want to do something I didn't tell you to, that's totally okay. And I'm not going to be choreographing your entire fight. This isn't a dance routine. Just tips, does that make sense?”
“Mhm, yea. Keep going,”
“Excellent. This is a one round kinda thing, just whoever taps out first loses. I've never really hosted my own boxing match so we're all learning today!”
You nodded. Getting hyped up.
“Alright. I'm gonna walk you out, you got this. I believe in you. Kick some sweet sweet Morgan Ass,”
“Deal,” You responded.
You walked out of the bathroom and into the ring, seeing Morgan taping up his fingers, and you mirrored his actions. Once your fingers were taped up you flexed them, and pulled on your boxing gloves.
“Ready?”
You looked over at JJ and winked “Ready as I'll ever be,”
You climbed into the ring, and into the corner across from Morgan who winked at you. You smiled smugly back and looked over at Spencer and Emily, blowing them a kissy face and a smile.
JJ called to start the match and you went over to Morgan, keeping your fists up and close to your face. You let Morgan take the first hit and you dodged it, going for a jab on his torso. You hit him and heard your “fans” cheering for you. You fought the urge to look over but in your distraction, Morgan got a cross punch on your torso. You felt the hit but with your adrenaline pumping, if anything, it got you more fired up. Morgan paired his cross punch with a jab. JJ kept yelling encouragement so you wouldn't let go but combined with her yelling, your fan club, and the blood rushing through your ears it all went in one ear and out the other
“An effective 1-2...” Flitted briefly in your mind. And your eyes went to his. Open face.. “Rookie mistake!”
He left his face unprepared for just a second too long and you took the hit. You threw a hook across his face and Morgan went down. Obviously not seeing just how vulnerable he left himself.
“Oh shit!” Emily yelled and you dropped your stance immediately.
“Morgan! Oh crap, Morgan Morgan Morgan!” You held your hands up to your face. Not to shield yourself, but out of shock (and maybe a little bit of pride) at your hit. “Morgan Morgan, Morgan I am so sorry! Oh my god are you okay?” You looked over at JJ who looked incredibly impressed and then over at Spencer and Emily. Who had definitely just passed a ten dollar bill between them.
“Doll face,” Your eyes snapped to Morgan “Y/n, I'm okay. That was a good hit, I didn't realize how good you were at boxing! And you swear you've never taken classes?”
You smiled. Glad that he was okay “I haven't-” a thought crossed your mind “Holy smokes did I win!”
A playful groan passed Morgan's lips. And JJ stepped into the ring to announce Morgan's defeat.
“Holy crap I won! I beat Derek Morgan SSA of the FBI in a boxing match!” You laughed out loud and JJ held up your hand in a proper victory stance. “Spencer! Emily! I won!”
Emily and Spencer both laughed and gave you a high five. You glanced over and saw Morgan pressing a still cool water bottle to the side of his face.
Morgan walked his way over to you and that was really when you felt bone dog tired. “Good job, kid,” He smiled and put his arm around your shoulder taking a look at the group “Can't believe a teenager rocked my shit..” he almost mumbled to himself.
-----
“Oh my chocolate thunder..!” You heard Penny yell. Once she saw Morgan’s face her shock was well written “Does it hurt?”
Penny went to fetch him a fresh bag of frozen peas, when you popped up. Already holding a steadily defrosting bag of frozen veggies.
“I actually think his ego is a lot more bruised than his eye. Hi penny. I hope you aren't too upset that I hurt Morgan..” you trailed off. Now worried that you were going to make her upset.
“Oh not at all, my little boxing champion! This nice tall glass of water can take a hit, I'm proud of you, y/n/n, really,” Penny smiled at you and took a reach for your veggies
You gave them to her with a smile and waved goodbye. Off to see how your Zio was doing.
“Passerotto!” Your Zio Rossi spotted you before you did and engulfed you in a hug. He pressed a kiss on to your forehead and smoothed a bit of your hair back against your head “I saw what you did to Morgan! I asked Emily if they got a video but they said they were so wrapped up in the atmosphere they weren't able to. But I think you can elaborate enough for us, no?”
You smile and shook your head “In all honesty, I barely even remember. I guess the adrenaline in it all really got a way from me,” What actually happened was you were way too embarrassed to go into detail about you clocking one of Hotch’s finest co workers in front of him “I bet Spencer could help you fill in the blanks!”
“You know, Y/n..” Hotch said “I didn't know you were able to pack such a punch. If it would be okay with your parents and Uncle here, I have a friend that runs a self defense clinic at the Academy if you'd like some more work. I think you'd be a nice fit,”
With Hotch being a man of few words (and even fewer emotions) his slight compliment filled you with pride. “Thank you, Hotch” you smiled at him “I didn't know I had it in me either! I'll ask my parents about the clinic, but I doubt I'd stay long enough here to be a valuable member. Maybe as a summer program!” You added
Zio Rossi's oven’s beeping cut you off short. He went to tend to his lasagna, your favorite, and waved you all to seat yourselves at the table. You found yourself sandwiched between Spencer and Emily at the circular dining table. Out of all the dining areas in your Zio Rossi's mansion, this was your favorite for family meals. You were able to really look at one another. With your company next to you, you felt a little short and maneuvered yourself so you were sitting on your legs. Giving yourself an extra few inches of height that made you look a lot more sophisticated if you do say so yourself (which you did). Spencer glanced at your wiggling and wrote you a note in the little journal he always kept with him.
“I used to do the same thing,” it read and you looked at him and smiled as he winked.
Almost like magic Zio Rossi appeared holding a very large dish with a gorgeous lasagna in it. You were passed the salad bowl and filled your plate with it. Careful not to let it touch with your other side dishes. You took a sip of lemonade from your wine glass that matched Spencer's. Spencer didn't drink and neither did you. (Although often you would steal a sip of your Zio’s glass “as long as you don't tell your parents,”)
“So Morgan..” your Zio Rossi started once everyone's food was dished out “How does it feel to get.. pardon me if I phrase this wrong, but, absolutely served by my nipote?”
The table erupted with laughter and you found yourself again beaming with pride.
“Hey I gotta say, the kids got potential.” Morgan smiled and held out his glass to you “To Y/n!”
“To Y/n!” The rest of the table cheered.
-----
Translation Index and Author's Note
Hey! Thank you soooo much for reading! I'm really proud of this, and I hope you guys like it! Always open for requests and critiques!
Zio - Uncle
Since the reader was probably brought up with some Italian, they refer to Rossi, their uncle, as Zio. Which is Italian for Uncle. While the rest of the team just calls him “your uncle Rossi” they understand Zio but never really fit right with them. It's yours and your Zio Rossi's little thing
Nipote - Niece/Nephew
Nipote is a gender neutral term for niece or nephew. It can be distinguished with further describing words (Ex. “Mia Bella nipote”, my beautiful niece or “Mio nipote” my nephew) it's like Spanish!
Passeretto - Little Sparrow
Passeretto is a name used by someone's “Guardian” when their younger influence is growing up and “spreading their wings” (like a Sparrow). I used this as Zio Rossi's affectionate nickname because the reader is learning/learned how to properly box.
Again, thank you so much for reading. It really means a lot! ¡Besitos!
~Romeo
