older!spencer reid x younger!reader
summary: spencer can’t wait to come home to you, but luke thinks the age gap is weird
a/n: this was a request for more age gap spencer reid and reader, so i was very happy to fulfill!!
The bullpen was quieter than usual.
Not silent, never silent, but softer. The fluorescent lights hummed overhead, keyboards clicked intermittently, and somewhere across the room, Garcia was muttering angrily at her computer while eating neon-colored gummy worms.
It was late. Far too late.
Most of the BAU had already finished their reports hours ago, but Spencer Reid was still seated at his desk, tie loosened, sleeves rolled up, eyes narrowed at the screen in front of him.
“Reid,” Derek called from across the room, spinning a basketball lazily on one finger. “You know normal people go home at some point, right?”
Spencer didn’t look up. “Actually, the average American sleeps approximately six hours and thirty-five minutes on weekdays, which leaves—”
“Kid,” Rossi interrupted dryly, “that wasn’t an invitation.”
Spencer blinked once before finally shutting his laptop with a tired sigh, “Right. Sorry.”
Emily glanced over from her paperwork. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he answered immediately. Too immediately. “Just finishing the geographic profile Hotch wanted.”
Hotch, who was somehow still doing paperwork in his office despite the hour, lifted his head slightly through the glass walls. “I said tomorrow morning.”
Spencer looked mildly sheepish, “I know.”
“You’ve been here since six this morning,” JJ added.
“And you skipped dinner,” Garcia accused dramatically. “Again. Your body is literally just coffee and unresolved trauma at this point.”
Spencer pushed himself to his feet, gathering files into his satchel. “I ate a granola bar.”
“That is not food,” Emily said.
A tired smile pulled at Spencer’s mouth. He slung the bag over his shoulder before glancing around the bullpen. “Alright, guys, I’m gonna head out.”
Derek smirked. “Finally.”
Spencer checked his watch, expression softening almost instantly. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Gotta get back to my girl.”
The room collectively paused. Not because Spencer having a girlfriend was shocking anymore, they’d all met you, and frankly, they adored you, but because of the way he said it.
So gentle. So fond. Like the mere thought of you made the exhaustion melt off him.
JJ smiled to herself. Emily noticed it too, exchanging a knowing look with Garcia.
“Oh, that’s cute,” Garcia cooed.
Spencer ducked his head, already heading toward the elevator.
And then Luke Alvez looked up from his desk.
“Your girl?” he repeated.
Luke leaned back in his chair slowly, arms crossing. “How old is your girlfriend again?”The bullpen went still. Emily physically closed her eyes. Derek’s basketball stopped bouncing.
Garcia whispered, “Oh no.”
Spencer frowned slightly, not yet understanding the shift in atmosphere. “She’s twenty-two.”
Luke blinked, “And you’re thirty-two.”
Luke let out a low whistle. “Damn, Reid.”
Every head in the bullpen snapped toward him.
“What?” Luke asked innocently.
Emily stared at him in disbelief. “You did not just say that.”
“What?” he repeated again.
“You are literally dating a woman who’s twenty-eight,” JJ pointed out.
Luke opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. “I don’t know, it just—Reid’s all…” He gestured vaguely toward Spencer. “Professor-y.”
Spencer looked offended. “Professor-y?”
“No,” Spencer replied flatly. “I genuinely don’t.”
Luke sat forward now, clearly digging himself deeper. “I’m just saying, ten years is a pretty decent age gap.”
Derek actually laughed, “Man, you picked the wrong audience for this conversation.”
“Seriously,” Emily muttered.
Garcia pointed an accusing finger at Luke. “His girlfriend is the sweetest human being alive.”
“And?” Luke asked carefully.
“And Spencer worships the ground she walks on,” Garcia said like it should’ve been obvious.
Spencer immediately looked uncomfortable being perceived.
JJ smiled. “It’s actually kind of disgusting how cute they are.”
“It really is,” Emily agreed.
Luke looked between all of them. “I’m not saying he’s a bad guy—”
“Good save,” Derek muttered.
“—I’m just questioning the dynamic a little.”
Spencer’s eyebrows pulled together, “The dynamic?”
Luke nodded cautiously. “I mean… she’s really young.”
Spencer was quiet for a second. Then another. And everyone in the room could practically see the exact moment he realized what Luke was implying.
His expression dropped instantly. Not angry, but hurt.
“She’s not immature,” Spencer said quietly.
Luke shifted. “I didn’t say that.”
The bullpen fell silent again. Spencer adjusted the strap on his satchel, clearly trying to keep his composure.
“You know,” he said carefully, “for someone who profiles people professionally, you’re making a lot of assumptions based entirely on age.”
Luke’s face tightened slightly. Spencer continued before anyone else could jump in.
“She’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met. She’s kind, emotionally intelligent, patient, and she challenges me constantly.” His voice softened despite himself. “She’s… incredible.”
Garcia looked dangerously close to tears.
“And for the record,” Spencer added, “she pursued me first.”
That made Derek bark out a laugh, “Oh, I knew it.”
Spencer looked mildly embarrassed now. “I told her it wasn’t a good idea.”
JJ smiled knowingly. “And she ignored you?”
“She called me pretentious.”
Rossi laughed openly from his desk.
“And then,” Spencer continued, sounding almost personally betrayed by the memory, “she beat me in chess.”
Luke blinked. “Seriously?”
“She baited me into sacrificing my queen.”
“Oh, he fell in love immediately,” Emily said.
“Statistically speaking, emotional attachment develops through—”
“You absolutely fell in love immediately,” Derek cut in.
Spencer opened his mouth. Closed it, “…yes.”
Garcia clutched her chest.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck now, realizing the entire team had fully turned against him.
“Alright, alright,” he said. “Maybe I judged too fast.”
Emily raised a brow. “Maybe?”
“I know how it looks to some people,” he admitted. “But she’s never been someone I could… influence or control.” A tiny smile appeared. “Honestly, she’s usually the one telling me what to do.”
“Very accurate,” Garcia agreed.
Derek pointed toward Spencer. “Remember when she marched into this bullpen and made him take a lunch break?”
“She threatened to hide my FBI credentials.”
“She was right,” Emily said.
Hotch finally stepped out of his office then, clearly having listened to far more of the conversation than anyone realized.
“She’s good for you, Reid.”
Spencer looked surprised. Hotch rarely volunteered personal opinions. But his expression softened slightly. “You’ve been happier since you met her.”
The room got quiet again. Spencer’s face warmed faintly, “Thank you.”
Luke exhaled, holding up his hands. “Alright. I surrender. I’m the villain.”
“You kind of are right now,” Garcia informed him.
“I just needed clarification!”
Emily deadpanned, “Maybe don’t interrogate people’s relationships at midnight.”
Spencer checked his watch again, and the fondness returned to his face instantly, “I really should go.”
Derek smirked. “Your girl waiting up for you?”
And Spencer actually smiled. Soft and helpless and completely gone.
“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “She always does.”
The entire bullpen collectively melted. Except Luke, who looked mildly horrified.
“Oh my God,” he muttered. “He’s whipped.”
“Beyond whipped,” Rossi corrected.
“Catastrophically whipped,” Emily added.
Spencer didn’t even deny it. He just shook his head with a small laugh and headed toward the elevator.
And right before the doors closed, Derek called out, “Tell your angel we said hi!”
Spencer’s expression softened all over again, “I will.”
