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I KNOW IT IS SO IMPRACTICAL BUT GODDDD DO I WANT MY DOCTORATE IN CREATIVE WRITING FUCKKKKKKšššššš I have one more quarter left of English classes before itās all psych classes for my minor and then grad school for counseling. BUT I WANT TO KEEP STUDYING ENGLISH FUCK FUCK FUCK MY LIFEEEE
politely and respectfully asking if u have any plans to continue āitās not too lateā?
Omg u guys have no idea how funny the renaissance this series is currently experiencing is to me!! Itās the only thing in my notifs lolol I love it!! I currently am not working on anything but I honestly put so much effort into that series and had so many grand plans for it that if I was going to resume anything it could very likely be that one. As always you will be the first to knowšš cause I canāt keep anything to myself
What is the difference between āreally likingā someone and āhaving feelingsā for someone like what does it mean to have feelings for someone and also IS there even a difference between the two
What is the difference between āreally likingā someone and āhaving feelingsā for someone like what does it mean to have feelings for someone and also IS there even a difference between the two
youāre back at the BAU after five years away. spencer reid was your best friend, and the first man you ever considered falling in love with. now heās the father of someone elseās child, and more or less a stranger. but you owe him a favor, and he has a young daughter in need of babysitting.
warnings: fem!reader. mentions of death of a pregnant woman (baby survives). reader is an ex smoker. crude discussions of sex, arguing. 18+.
a/n: this series has been like 2 years in the making canāt believe i am actually posting it⦠also i have NO idea what the posting schedule will be, bear with me!!! Love u so much!!
Six years ago
Something is off with Spencer as soon as he comes into the bullpen. Heās got this nervous energy. Sort of shell-shocked. HeāsĀ cracklingĀ with it. Youāre leaning against the kitchenette counter, blowing on your coffee and trying to gauge if youāll be able to figure it out just by observing him, or if youāll have to ask. The two of you are good friends, but you donāt know if you want to tap on his shoulder lest you be electrocuted.Ā
He doesnāt speak to anyone for several minutesāonly sits at his desk, back straight as a rod (and considering his usually atrocious posture, this is concerning) not even bothering to take off his messenger bag or power on his computer. After a while of this you frown, and set down your mug (the heat-sensitive one where civil liberties from the Bill of Rights slowly disappear from the ceramic as you drink your coffee. Hotch doesnāt like it, but heās never said you canātĀ useĀ it.) Youāre prepared to go over there ask him if everything is okay after allābut then Derek appears out of the blue, bent over, and itāsĀ hisĀ hand on Spencerās shoulder,Ā hisĀ eyes concerned and voice low like he knows more than you.Ā If only you could read lips.Ā
They converse for another moment, and Derek nods toward Hotchās office door, jaw and brows set so serious youāre beginning to worry. Spencer nods robotically and finally stands. You accidentally catch Derekās piercing eyes and quickly look away, pretending to be overly concerned with studying your mug. Itās probably not an Oscar-worthy performance. When you hear Hotchās door open and promptly close again, you look back up. Spencer is obscured from view, but you can see Hotch at his desk through the window, strong profile as steely and hawkish as ever. His lips move. He frownsāitās his concerned frown. He seems to ask a question, and your stomach lurches as you watch his expression change more robustly than is typical for him. Eyes narrowed, lips slowly partedāwhat is that? Disbelief, maybe?Ā Anger?Ā And then it softens completely.Ā
Your boss stands and before you have time to look away heās closing the blinds.Ā
Youāve only been here a couple of years, butāhow often doesĀ thatĀ happen?
āDerek,ā you half-whisper, scurrying toward his desk. All you get in return is a reluctant glanceāa barely there acknowledgement of your existence.Ā
āDo not drag me into this.ā
You lean over his desk, setting your cup down and surely leaving a ring though you donāt particularly care as you frown, glancing back up to Hotchās office. Still no sign of life.Ā
āDrag you intoĀ what?Ā Whatās going on with Spencer?ā
Maybe one day youāll take those profiling classes. Theyād sure come in handy today as youāre continuously perplexed by the indecipherable facial expressions of your co-workers. Derek tenses, and then relaxes, and then tenses again. Starts a sentence. Stops it. Knits his brow.Ā
āYou two havenāt talked yet?ā
Faces, you struggle with. Inflections, you understand. Thatāsā¦Ā pity.
Your own face slackens as you realize the gravity of the situation might be greater than you grasped with your poor perceptive skills.Ā
āNo⦠did someone die? What is it?ā
Derek only leans back in his seat, giving you a sad once-over and shaking his head like this is the last time heāll ever see you in one piece.Ā
āThis is a conversation for the two of you to have. Iām not getting involved.ā
āJust tell me if someone died, Derek!ā
He sighs, giving you another hefty dose ofĀ I-feel-sorry-for-you. āNobodyās dying.ā
Maybe youāre not the master of intonation like you thought you were, because thereās a secret, or a truth, sewn into the pocket of his words, and you canāt make heads or tails of it. Just as youāre about to further your inquisition,Ā and youāre considering drastic measures, Hotchās door is opening, and your head is snapping up fast enough your chiropractor will feel it at your next appointment. He eyes you for only a second before turning his attention to Morgan and the rest of the team members, who have actually beenĀ workingĀ at their desks.Ā
āWeāve got a case. Round table room.ā
Efficient and starkly business as usual. Nothing about his demeanor reveals any secret, though Spencer emerges from behind him stiffly, rubbing his eyes and staring straight ahead. His hair is messy. His tie is perfectly straight, which you actually findĀ disconcerting. You jog up the stairs, favorite mug abandoned on Morganās desk, to intercept Spencer as he somnambulates down the catwalk.Ā
āSpencer,ā you whisper, setting your hand on his arm as you catch up. He looks down at the contact like heās forgotten heās a physical being. His hair is stringy. His eyes are bleary. āWhatās going on? Is everything okay?ā
He blinks. Swallows. Glances over at Derek. āMorgan didnāt tell you?ā
āNo! He said it was a conversation for you to have with me. Are you alright?ā
āIāmā¦ā he nods, slowly. His nose twitches.āIām fine. We should, uh⦠Hotch is waiting for us.ā
Itās trueāthe team is gathering. You two are the last stragglers.Ā
āSpencer.ā Youāre not taking no for an answer this timeāyour hand wraps around Spencerās forearm and you give him an in imploring look. āYouāre making me nervous.ā
Good friends shouldnāt keep secrets. Then againāyou and Spencer arenāt in theĀ bestĀ place right now. But youāre supposed to be on theĀ mend. Some secrets are best maintained and locked away to preserve the integrity of the friendship. This isnāt one of those secrets. If Morgan knows, and Hotch knows, you should know.Ā
āNow, please,ā Hotch orders. āConversations can wait.ā
Either youāre imagining it, or heās being firmer than usual. Not that you blame him. Heās been through a lot in the time youāve known him.Ā
Spencer looks between the two of you helplessly. You watch as his arm slips from your grip. āLater.ā
The briefing is tedious because all you can think about is what you donāt know, and when Hotch says wheels up in 30 (which, as per usual, doesnāt include you) you stand by the door, waiting for everyone except Spencer to filter out. He stays seated, now having left his fugue state and slumped, picking at his nails with an intense focus. Both Morgan and Hotch give you strange looks as they pass. You try to ignore the sinking feeling and shut the door behind them before pulling out a chair and taking a seat knee-to-knee with Spencer.Ā
āSpencer.ā
He doesnāt look up at you as he speaks.Ā āYouāre not going to believe me.ā
You frown.Ā
āWhat?ā
āI mean,Ā IĀ still donāt really believe it⦠but she has nothing to gain from lying to me. Itās not like Iām rich.ā
She?
Gently you pull his hands apart and hold them in your own. Heās got very pretty handsāonly now the cuticles are rimmed with half moons of dry blood. You squeeze his fingers, hoping it will satisfy some sensory input heās clearly seeking without being so injurious.Ā
āPlease just tell me. I know⦠Iām sorry if things have been weird between us, but I really donāt want to let thatĀ ruināā
āI, uh, got someoneĀ pregnant,ā he laughs.Ā
You blink, apology smothered in the wake of this reveal as all the oxygen is sucked out of the room.Ā
For a moment, you enter a perfect and serene state of thoughtlessness. Your brain is blissfully empty. Like a sparkling porcelain basin. Utterly drained. Bone dry.Ā
Then the ringing starts. An irritating, high pitched whine. That basin becomes a sound bowl.Ā
āWhat?ā
Spencer only nods, glancing up at you and quickly back down. He pulls his hands away. You let him.Ā
āThatās not funny.ā
āItās not a joke.ā
The ringing gets worse.Ā
āI⦠Iām sorry, I donāt understand. Youāve never even had a realĀ girlfriend.ā
It sounds terrible to you, too. Itās not really what you meant to say, and it implies something you didnāt mean to imply, and youāre hoping heāll miss that as he sometimes doesābut you arenāt so lucky. The hurt is palpable in his eyes when he frowns at you.Ā
āIām not aĀ leper. I met someone a few months ago.ā
Your eyes squeeze shut, but your own thoughts are a racing, dizzying carousel andĀ not a particularly soft landing as you try to give yourself a reprieve from the way heās looking at you. A few months ago, youād been under the impression he was pining afterĀ you.Ā
āSo you⦠went out and found someĀ random personĀ to hookup with? And got her pregnant?ā
āSheās not random. Sheās my girlfriend.ā
āWhat?Ā You donātĀ haveĀ a girlfriend!ā
He sits up straighter. Anger clears the fog from his eyes, sharpening him for the first time today, and you donāt know if itās better or worse. āWhy are you so hung up on that? Is itĀ thatĀ unbelievable to you?ā
āNo, itās justāyou told me not even three months ago that you only kissed two other people before me!ā
Spencerās throat bobs. Heās speaking faster now. āAnd then I moved on, was I not supposed to?ā
āOfĀ courseĀ you can move on, but itāsāI mean,Ā Jesus, Spencer! Itās surprising! This is crazy!ā
He swallows and his jaw clenches.Ā
āSorry that the idea that someone could actually be interested in me is so shocking to you.ā
You scoff.Ā
āI didnāt mean it like that.ā
āSo explain how you meant it.ā
You flounder at the sharp lash of his words.Ā
HowĀ didĀ you mean it?
Are you surprised he didnāt tell you about this alleged girl?
Wellāyes. When has he kept something like this from you before? Never, you suppose. Heās never had anything like this to keep from you. There havenātĀ beenĀ any girls.Ā
Not any girls, the whole time youāve known himāexcept forĀ you.Ā
You sort of thought⦠even after you both decided to remain platonic⦠that it would stay that way. That heād always be there. Waiting.Ā
He seems to take this silence as an admission of guilt.Ā
āGreat. Thanks a lot, for being so supportive.ā
Itās startling when he stands, grabbing his satchel off the table with enough force you jump, and youāre forced to look up at him. The conversation canāt end like thisānot when heās about to leave for a week. You hate being on bad terms with him, or at least you suspect you wouldāitās never reallyĀ happened before. Not like this, anyway.Ā
Desperate to stop him from leaving, but too afraid to just admit it, you open your mouth without a plan.Ā
āWhy would IĀ supportĀ this? It was idiotic. I meanāyouāre twenty seven, Spencer. Youāre a fucking FBI agent with three doctorates, and you managed to get yourself baby trappedābecauseābecauseĀ what? IĀ rejectedĀ you? And in the midst of your rebound you couldnāt figure out how to make a condom work? I knew you were naive, but IĀ trulyĀ donāt understand how you could be soĀ stupid.ā
Thereās nothing to comfort you in Spencerās face. No smiling landmark, no buoy of awkward levity to cling to, bobbing just above surface and breaking the tension up. Just a clenched jaw, which could mean anything. If itās rage, or hurt, heās masking it well. This is almost more terrifying than if heād just yell at you, because at least then youādĀ know.
Your heart pounds as you try not to gag on the words youād just spoken.Ā Iām sorry Iām sorry Iām sorry, you want to say, but itās like you donāt know how. The only language you speak comes out in venom and bile and curses. Every argument is as good as an execution.Ā
He stays, though.Ā
Youāve always had this way of getting what you want by the worst means possible.Ā Always. Itās like the universe is punishing you for daring to be unsatisfied. If youāre stupid enough to want, to even think too hard about the things you secretly desireāyouāll get them. They will be twisted and perverted and thrown back in your face. Cruel and literal. The more you want a thing, the worse it is when it finally echoes back to you.Ā
Thatās how it goes with Spencer. You wanted him to stay, so he stays.Ā
His lips part and itās like tectonic plates shifting. The plastic edge of your chair bites deep into your palms.Ā
Thereās no yelling. Just a slight waver.Ā
āI canāt imagine being as arrogant and deluded and self-obsessed as you are. Donāt talk to me aboutĀ stupidĀ when you are incapable of understanding that my entire life does not revolve around you. I started a correspondence with her six months ago. By the time you kissed me, I hadnāt thought about you for months. Maybe thatās just too difficult for you to comprehend.ā
Words have never felt so visceral.Ā
You want to take it all back. Your words. His. All of it.Ā
Iām sorry. Please donāt leave.Ā
āFuck you. Get out.ā
One more moment, he sparesāone moment for you to watch the disdain turning to stone in his eyes. Cold in a way heās never looked at you before.Ā
And then heās gone. The door doesnāt slam because it canāt but you almost wish it wouldāyou hate that slow-close mechanism because you need some sort of absolute finality here. You need the windows to shake or you need to scream orĀ somethingĀ other than his retreating back down the catwalk. Your vision pulses with rage and your eyes water but youāre so shocked that tears donāt dare fall.Ā
This canāt be real. No way heĀ reallyĀ got a womanĀ pregnant. Obviously he mustāve slept with a psychologically disturbed erotomanic individual whoās desperate to entrap him and has been plotting this out forāwellāfor at least six months. But Spencerās not the type to believe anything blindly. He must have proof.Ā
Who is this girl?
A month ago you kissed and apparently he turned right around and knocked someone up.Ā
Is that even possible? Conceiving and finding out youāre pregnant in such a short window of time?
What the fuck.Ā
It crosses your mind that the blinds are open, and you look up to see that nearly the whole BAU had witnessed your altercation from Emilyās desk. When you catch them they all look away. Spencer is nowhere to be seenāand maybe thatās for the best.Ā
You sniff and stand, straightening your jacket and turning to covertly dab at your cheek. It takes you a long time to tuck all the chairs back into the table. Spencerās ended up several feet from yours, probably propelled backward by the violent speed with which heād stood. You stare at the two empty chairs for what is certainly too great a length of time, and then youāre tucking them away just like the rest. By the time you turn back around, the BAU is gone.Ā
Or at least, you thought they were, which is why you leftāand then youāre almost running into Morgan on the stairs.Ā
āHey, woah,ā he says, grabbing you carefully by the arms in a bid to stabilize you and halt your barreling forward motion. āYou okay?ā
āIām fine,ā you snap. āWhy would I not be fine?ā
Itās a question you regret asking as soon as it leaves your lips.Ā
āBecauseāā Morgan glances around. āBecause I know this canāt feel good for you.ā
Your face gets hot.Ā
āForĀ me?Ā I donāt see you jumping for joy either. Spencer is a fucking idiot. He canāt raise a child. He can barely take care of himself, you know that.ā
āAlright, first of allākeep your voice down. We donāt know that heās going to be raising a child. We donāt know what the girl wants yet. Second, he is yourĀ friend. I think he was hoping for a little support from you of all people.ā
āI donāt know why you keep insinuating that me and Spencer have someĀ special connection.Ā Youāre clearly closer with him than I am. How long have you known, anyway?ā
āSince last night,ā he defends.
āWho else knows?ā
Morgan hesitates. āHotch.ā
āIām not anĀ idiot.ā
āOkay, Garcia too. That was my fault. By the time we get back, itāll probably be everybody.ā
You pinch the bridge of your nose, trying to subdue a building pressure there.Ā
āHe is so fucking stupid,ā you mutter.Ā
āHeās lonely, and heās hurting. People make bad choices under those circumstances all the time.ā
āYeah. He made aĀ human, though. So.ā
āWhy are you so mad about this?ā Morgan asks.Ā
āIāmāā
Words catch in your throat. You glance over his shoulder as JJ approaches, her own pale brows drawn in concern.Ā
āYouāre being flagged. Iāll see you later.ā
Derek doesnāt say a thing as you shoulder past him, through the bullpen and the glass doors and past the rest of the team (sans Spencer) by the elevators. You donāt really know what course youāre charting until you end up in front of the door to Garciaās lair. Thereās a sign on the door youāve never noticed.Ā
The Doctor Is In
Beneath that, a heart-shaped sticky note:
Psychiatric help: 5 cents. Results not guaranteed!Ā
You open the door and close it behind you and stand there. Penelope turns around in her spinny chair, brows raised jubilantly like sheās expecting a social call.Ā
Youāre breathing a hair too quickly for someone who was only walking. Your fists clench and unclench. Rhythmic. Like a pulsing heart.Ā
Garcia says your name like a question.Ā
Your lips twist, and you feel the first hot tear roll down your cheek the way you would feel the earth shifting beneath you. Itās setting a bone that doesnāt heal quite right. Itās a 0 where there should be a 1 in a sea of binary code. Everything,Ā everything, is almost exactly the same, and suddenlyĀ so wrong.Ā
āMe and Spencer got in a fight,ā you whisper.Ā
Itās part of, but not the full truth of the matter. Itās not quite why you feel so off-kilter.Ā
Another tear falls, and it unsticks Garcia. Sheās standing, coming to you, arms open.Ā
āOh, honey,ā she whispers, wrapping you in a hug. You feel stupid, standing there, soaking the knit of her purple cardiganātruly crying nowābut you canāt stop.Ā
This close, this raw, and with someone who has only ever been kind to you, the truth of your upset bubbles up. Itās impossibly quiet and brittle. Too delicate for this world. It makes you feel sick.Ā
āHeās having a baby.ā
Present day - October 2nd
Youāre doing overtime in the kitchenette. That is to say, your window of opportunity is coming to a close, and JJ is still talkingāholding you hostage with a silver spoon that clinks as it bumps into the sides of her mug. A plastic clockĀ tick-tick-ticksĀ on the wall. 1:25 PM. Spencer will be coming in for his first afternoon coffee any second now, and it wonāt be the end of the worldābut youāve been carefully memorizing his routines so as to move swiftly around him whenever possible. Why create an awkward moment, standing alone in the kitchen, when itās not necessary? The two of you have enough awkward moments as it is: stiltedĀ hellos murmured on the elevator in the mornings. Strange, bubbling heat which fills the stretch of air between you when heās the first one to show up in the round-table room for a briefing. EachĀ sorryĀ he murmurs when he ghosts your shoulder, passing like phantom ships in the night in and out of Emilyās office, when you can feel the weight of those nice suits he wears now, and something in your chest freezes like solid ice. When you can smell tea tree and amber and woodsmoke, and something lighterāsomething innocent, and sweet, and simple. Strawberry toothpaste. Orange and vanilla shampoo.Ā
Charlotte. His daughter, who youāve yet to meet. Who haunts every desk with crayon drawings made for each member of the BAU. You know her handwriting. You know the way she draws her father, a stick-figure head and shoulders above everyone else and with a wide, flat smile, underscoring two placid dots for eyes, and a scribbled mess atop his head. You surmise she must have long brown hair, from the way she draws herself, and you know Spencer buys her orange and vanilla scented shampoo, and youāve never met her. Sheās a ghost to you. Maybe a shared hallucination everyoneĀ elseĀ can see. An unacknowledged and inherent truthālike air, or the sun.Ā Yes, it is there. We all know. Weāre all perfectly familiar, and we have accepted her as part of our reality.Ā
Whenever sheās mentioned, you clam up. Charlotte is not someone you have the right to talk about. She is the president of a secret club that everyone else is part of except for you, and thatās the price you pay for leaving five years ago without a word, and youāll just have to accept that.Ā
1:26. Spencer breezes in, and you know, just from the tide of air against your back, that heās still a little unsettled by your presence. You donāt knowĀ howĀ you know. But it must always be obvious, after half a decade of your absence, and only a month since your return. If youāre not used to being back, surely he isnāt used to it, either.Ā
āāScuse me,ā he murmurs to JJ, and she steps aside to let him at the cabinet before resuming her story.Ā
āSoāanyway, Willās gonna hand off the baton to me as soon as I get home, catch a flight to New Orleans, and then heās gonna try and get the whole situation with his mom handled as quickly as possibleābut obviously, Iāve resigned myself to not coming in tomorrow.ā
āUgh, Iām sorry. That sounds so stressful,ā you lamentāonly peripherally processing the click of ceramic as Spencer retrieves his own mug, the sift of sugar piling at the bottom of his cup over the pouring sound of your own coffee. The sound of fabric brushing fabric as he reaches for things, a sniff as he retrieves a stirring stick. He still does that nose scrunch thing.Ā
JJ sips sweetened peppermint tea. āYouād think after having done this job for so long a little bit of vomit wouldnāt bother me so much. But, you knowāIāve had worse Wednesday nights.ā
Youāre about to agree, but Spencer beats you there. The shock of his voice is like a cold wave to the back of the head.Ā
āYou said youād watch Charlotte tonight. I reminded you last night.ā
This is not your confrontation, but you feel yourself tensing up regardless.Ā Stir, stir, stir. Sugar crystals melt like stars into your coffee galaxy during the subsequent pause.Ā
āOh,Ā shit, Spence. Iām sorry.ā
āSo you canāt?ā
āMy kids are throwing up. Willās momās house just flooded, so he canāt watch them.ā
Another tense gap in conversation, like a fissure opening up and threatening to swallow everyone in the kitchenette.
āIām sorry,ā JJ repeats. āI⦠you could drop her off? I could⦠I could quarantine her in the office?ā
Not likely.Ā
āNo, thatāsāitās fine. Itās not your fault. Iāll figure something out.ā
āMaybe Penelope?ā
āSheās leading that federal cyber security seminar tonight.ā
āShit,ā JJ says again. āCan you reschedule, with⦠you know?ā
āWeāve rescheduled three times. Sheās not going to give me another chance if I cancel last minute again.ā
This bit seems particularly distressing to JJ, who huffs and sighs and flounders. A dash of half-and-half turns your coffee galaxy into a creamer Milky Way.Ā
āI donāt know, Spence. Maybe Kate could watch her?ā
āI donāt know Kate well enough. Itās fineāthanksāthank you for trying to help. Iāll figure something out.ā
He doesnāt quite storm away. Blusters, perhaps. Rolls swiftly out like a high wind in search of some structure to level.Ā
A layer of awkward quiet covers everything as you take your first sip of coffee. You fix your eyes on the percolator as it drips concentric circles into a puddle of black.Ā
āHeās going on a date, or something?ā
JJās brows flash up as she sets her eyes on you.Ā
āUhāthereās just⦠someone he needs to see. Theyāve been trying to get together for, whatātwo months, I think? God, I feel awful.ā
Interesting.Ā
āItās not your fault. Iām sure heāll find someone.ā
JJ doesnāt look convinced. Her gaze trails after him, as concerned for his well-being as sheās always been, like sheās worried he might walk right off the edge of a cliff.Ā
āYeah⦠I hope so.ā
-
The scene sticks with you, long after youāve sequestered yourself back in your office and finished your coffee. Itās exactly the kind of thing youāve been so neurotic about avoiding. Overly intimate. Forces you to confront truths youād rather ignore: Charlotte, for example. Spencerās living, breathing daughter. The consequence of the action. The tribulations of single-parenthood. All those years in New York, you told yourself he had the whole team to support him. He wouldnāt needĀ you. Heād hardly even notice your absence. Perhaps that was how youād kept your guilt manageable.Ā
Itās that very guilt that gnaws at you all afternoon, while youāre lining up your mug with the matching rings of coffee burned into the varnish on your desk. Same mug youād always usedāthe one printed with the vanishing Bill of Rights. Chipped, now. Same desk. Stained. Peeling at the corners. Covered in framed photos from your time in the cityāpictures of you and people you havenāt spoken with in the month since you came home.
In a way, itās like no time has passed at all. But some things are showing their age, and their wear. Quantico didnāt freeze the second you left. People went on without you, because they had to. Because the world does not revolve around you.Ā
For the rest of the day, you remain in your office. Some small animal inside of you feels like hiding. Itās the same animal who runs away when itās scared and bites when itās cornered. But you are not that animal anymore. You are a grown, adult woman. Discipline must be implemented.Ā The dog must be kept at heel.Ā
Or at leastāthe burning, gnawing ember of guilt deep in the pit of your stomach seems to think so. Fire beats instinct. At 5:26, you close the office door behind you with a softĀ click, bag shouldered, shoulders squared.Ā No buckling. I donāt do that under pressure anymore.Ā
Spencer is the last straggler in the bullpen. When you make your way down the stairs, heās tucking files into his satchel, brows furrowed as his lips form silent, quick words. Like heās arguing with someone in his head.Ā
You clear your throat and stop a few healthy feet away. āHey.ā
Spencer looks up, eyes clear with surprise as you shatter whatever spell heād been under. Itās not like thereās a precedent for casual conversation between the two of you. You havenāt initiated any unnecessary interaction since your return, and you sense heās been taking queues from you. This isnāt a curveball so much as a Louisville Slugger to the wallsĀ youĀ put up and staunchly maintain. He straightens. Lips part.Ā
āHey.ā Characteristically tentative and devastatingly careful.
āDid you, uhāfind a sitter, for tonight?ā
A blink.Ā
āNo. No, I didnāt. Thereāsāeveryone is busy. Itās alright. Weāll⦠weāll figure something out.ā
The way he eyes drop back to his desk, the way his words melt into half-sighāhe is defeated like heās used to it. Your stomach twists. When you go to speak, you stumble over a false start. Swallow involuntarily.Ā
āI cāI could watch her. I meanāif you really need someone. Iād⦠be happy to do it.ā
There is so much barbed wire between the two of you now, so many layers of defense, itās difficult to interpret his expression. Guarded. Doubtful, as this sinks in over the course of a silent moment.Ā The dread you feel, despite having volunteered yourself, is so potent you think it must be mutual.
āYou donāt have to do that.ā
āI know. I just wanted to offer. It seems like you were really counting on JJ, andānot that I was eavesdropping, I just, I was right there. I didnāt mean to listen in. Itās none of my business, whatever it is, but if you need someone to watch Charlotte, I can do it. I watched JJās kids sometimes, when they were younger.ā
āI remember,ā he says, quickly, before he has time to censor the past in the way youāve been doing. Smearing it in whiteout ink and working around it without acknowledgment. Itās jarring for both of you, but Spencer clears his throat and tries to roll with it. āYou were good with them.ā
In answer you press your lips together. A conciliatory smile. The corners of his own mouth pullānot in a smile, but in that way which means heās troubled. Doesnāt particularly like his options.Ā
āCould⦠could you be in Alexandria by 6:30? Iād be home before ten.ā
Alexandria? Does he have a benefactor? Or a sugar daddy?
āYeah. Thatās not too far from me.ā
Spencer takes a deep breath and glances back down at his files, slid halfway into the bag.Ā
āOkay. Iāll text you the address, then. And thank you. I wasnāt expecting⦠I thought Iād have to cancel again.ā
āItās nothing. I should get going though, if I want to get changed and stuff beforehand.ā
āYeah, of course. Iāll see you later.ā
You offer another tentative smile and a little wave as you walk away, and youāre pretty sure you leave your stomach on the floor by his desk.Ā
You donāt have to do that,Ā heād said.Ā
But you do. There is so much you owe him. So much you will never be able to make up for.
Maybe this, at the very least, will help you sleep a little sounder at night.Ā
-
The street is quiet and narrow, lined with gorgeous brownstones and neat trees with leaves like crests of amber fire floating down onto meticulously maintained sidewalks. The cars parked to either side of yours are sturdy, square things in dark neutralsāunassuming, but new and clearly expensive to the trained eye. Pumpkins and welcome mats dot stoops. Strings of orange lights and autumnal holiday garlands twist around the wrought-iron handrails.Ā
You triple check the address heād texted you.Ā
He told you he moved, and it makes sense. Raising a child in a one bedroom apartment would be far from ideal. Still, a townhouse in old town Alexandria is so beyond your means you can hardly comprehend it. Because of Charlotte, heās got that adjunct position at Georgetownāteaches an accelerated month-long course for every hundred days he spends at the BAU. Maybe it paysĀ reallyĀ well. Likeāhundreds of thousand of dollars well. Or, more plausibly, heās laundering money.
What makes total sense to you is Spencerās stoop being the most thoroughly decked-out for Halloween on the whole street. Youāre squeezed between a handmade scarecrow wearing an old sweater vest that you actually recognize and a skeleton smoking a fake cigarette. It seems Spencer does not believe in such a thing as too many pumpkins, but if the limit did exist, heād be rapidly approaching it.Ā
The door is opening before you get the chance to lift the antique knocker, spilling warm light out onto the chilly sidewalk, and thereās Spencer in a peacoat. Breathless like heād just run down the stairs. Hair falling in his face like heād been pushing it back.Ā
For a brief, aching second, he is someone you know well. Your heart catches on a rib.Ā
āHello,ā he breathes, taking a moment to stand awkwardly before he remembers to invite you in, like he canāt believe a girl from his past has been superimposed at this current front door. Like youāre a total anachronism. You canāt blame him. āSorry. Come in.ā
Spencer pulls the door open wide for you and steps back so you can enter. It smells like cedar and old books andĀ feu de boisĀ and amber. The entryway is deep and warm, a dark staircase going straight upstairs to your left and a wide arch leading into the living area on your right. You peer in.
The home is like his old apartment on steroids. The walls are the color of old parchment, but youād hardly noticed, covered as they are in an eclectic gallery of surrealist paintings, and the hundreds (now possibly numbering on thousands) of books in his collection, housed in dark walnut built-ins with ornate detailed corners. The couch is a deep-set, wine colored sectional, and strewn with knit blankets and throw pillows, stationed in front of a grand brick fire place over a rich tapestry rug. Several stained glass Tiffany-style lamps cast various pools of warm glow through the room, reflecting off the plethora of trinkets and photos on the mantle. You look away, to the console table aside the stairs, topped with an antique looking mirror and several houseplants thatĀ mustĀ be fake, because heād never been able to keep one alive back then. At the end of the hallway is a closed door, probably leading to a bathroom.Ā
āWow. Nice digs.ā
āThanks, yeah.ā He closes the door behind you and clears his throat. āStill getting used to it. We just moved in last spring.ā
We.
āIāā
The sound of rapid pattering interrupts you. Little footsteps coming from upstairs. You turn your head just in time to see a tiny thing, though much bigger than you remembered, racing down the creaky stepsāa streak of blue followed by two dark braids.Ā
āWoah! What did we say about running in the house?ā Spencer scolds as Charlotte barrels into his legābut his fondness for her is evident in the way he sets his hand atop her hair, pushing deep brown wisps out of her big eyes.Ā
āI got afraid. It wasĀ dark,ā she justifies breathlessly. He frowns. For the moment, youāre forgotten, and itās just as well, because youād be shocked into silence by the sight anyway. Sheās not the baby youād last seen her as, and logically you knew she wouldnāt be, but it never quite sunk in. Sheās, like⦠aĀ real human person. Just miniature.Ā
For a month youāve been around Spencer, for years youāve been thinking about the two of them, and youāve heard her mentioned since you got back, sureābutĀ seeingĀ itāseeing her and him togetherāis entirely different. Maybe you didnāt really believe she would be so grown up now. Youād only seen her a handful of times before you left, and that screaming infant couldāve been anyoneās.
āDarkĀ where?ā
āYour office. I made a fort under your desk.ā She beams up at him, hanging onto his leg and standing on his foot, swinging from him like heās a jungle gym. The smile on her face says sheās not supposed to do that.
āOkay,ā he says drylyāclearly heās learned to choose his battlesāand looks back up at you. For a moment, after he introduces you to Charlotte, youāre not sure how to respond. Youāre still in something of a state of shock. Awe, maybe.Ā
This child is unmistakably, undeniably,Ā his.Ā
But even more than that, she looks like her motherāa face that had begun to blur in your dreams over the years since youād seen her last. You only met her a handful of times during her pregnancy, and now itās like sheās staring right at you through her daughterās eyes.
āWow, hi, Charlotte!ā you manage, hoarsely. āItās nice to meet you. I like your pajamas.ā
āTheyāre space,ā she says simply, slowly curling behind her dadās leg to hide, even as sheās gracing you with a smile.Ā
āThatās so cool. Do you like space?ā
She looks at you, and then back up at her dad for approval, still clinging to him, with eyes that may as well have been copy-pasted from his face onto hers. Theyāre wide, warm brown, framed by long, dark lashes. Spencer scratches her scalp affectionately, and nothing could prepare you for the unfiltered adoration heās regarding her with.
Heās not just a clueless, bereaved 28 year old holding a wailing baby anymore. HeāsĀ actuallyĀ a father.Ā
āShe likes her butterfly pajamas more, but space is good too. Charlie, you should show her the present Derek brought you later.ā Then, to you, āShe knows all the planets in the solar system.ā
And heās soĀ proudĀ of her when he says it, his eyes are so sparkly and smiley and soĀ cloudedĀ with love your breath catches.Ā
āOkay,ā she agrees hesitantly.Ā
You smile absently. A silence you donāt have the strength to lift falls and Spencer is quick to fill it.Ā
āOkay. So, uh, no peanuts, but her epi-pen is on the kitchen counter just in case. I left my card, too, the PIN is 3449. Get whatever you want for dinner. And donāt worry about putting her to bed. Iāll be home before ten. Sheās kind of a night-owl anyway⦠despite my greatest efforts.ā
āLike her dad,ā you marvel, still smiling at her.Ā SheāsĀ still hiding, eyeing you with a cautious sort of interest. Spencer exhales a nervous laugh.Ā
āYes. Like her dad.ā
A moment passes, and you sense the reluctance in him of a parent hesitant to leave their child. Itās strange and at the same time not at all out of place on him. But then heās crouching down to be at Charlotteās level.Ā
āOkay. Iām gonna head out now, but Iāll be home to tuck you in, alright?ā
āOkay.ā
He smooths her braids and you realize he mustāve done them himself.Ā How old was she when he learned how to do that?
āAre you gonna be good?ā
āYes.ā
āAre you gonna run up the stairs?ā
āNo!ā
āOkay, okay! I just had to check. Give me a hug.ā
Charlotte gives him two dramatic kisses on each cheek and hugs him tightly.Ā
āIĀ loveĀ you,ā he says, smushed against her head, and you can tell itās not an after thought. He means it with every fiber of his being. Have you ever heard him tellĀ anyoneĀ that he loves them in so many words? Has he ever been so unafraid in expressing it?
āI love you too. I have to go take Rosie for a ride before it starts raining, ācause sheās afraid of thunder,ā Charlotte says matter-of-factly as she pulls away.Ā
āI think thatās a great idea.ā
So she bounds into the living room and beyond toward what you presume is the kitchenāwhich is apparently where they keep the stables.Ā
Spencer stands. Clears his throat like heās suddenly insecure. āRosieās not a real horse.ā
YouāreĀ terriblyĀ charmed by the entire exchange. Breathlessly so.
HeāsĀ soĀ happyĀ with her.Ā
āAh. Thanks for clearing that up.ā
Spencer takes a deep breath and pats his pockets like heās making sure heās got everything. Itās a familiar gestureāthe eidetic memory never stopped him from being forgetful.Ā
āAlright⦠all good?ā
āYes,ā you nod once. Decisively.Ā
āOkay then. Iāll be back around nine or ten.ā
āGot it.ā
āDonāt be afraid to call.ā
āUnderstood.ā
He remains rooted to the spot.Ā
The internal struggle is palpableāthe push-pull between whatever it is heās so desperate to attend to and the fear of leaving his daughter with someone untested.Ā
More than that, you realize that heās fighting with something on the tip of his tongue. Like itās hurting him to consider saying.Ā
In the end, it wins. He looks genuinely pained as he sighs and then speaks.Ā
āIf sheāif she starts⦠itās been a while, but she has tantrums sometimesāand theyāre, theyāre pretty bad. So if that happens, just⦠call me right away.ā
You blink.Ā
āOkay.ā
āShe probably wonāt. Iām sure she wonāt.ā
Some odd undercurrent laps at the foot of the conversation. Some tone you donāt understand. Some mine under the floorboards you hadnāt noticed a moment ago.Ā
Heās staring into you like you might know whatās going unsaid.Ā
But thereās little time to ponder and no room for further discussion before heās taking another deep breath.Ā
āOkay. I will⦠see you later. Lock up behind me?ā
Your smile is a delayed flicker and it probably doesnāt reach your eyes.Ā
āYeah. See you later.ā
You follow him to the door and stand with one hand on the knob as he makes his way down to the sidewalk. He pauses. Turns to face you once more. A sweet, dark autumn breeze ruffles his hair.Ā
āThank you for doing this. Really. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.ā
āOf course. Iām happy to,ā you say softly. You wonder if he thinks youāre lying. You wonder if you are lying.Ā Most of all, you wish heād stop thanking you.
Either way, he doesnāt push. Just bids you a quiet goodbye with a final awkward smile, and you wave. Then youāre closing the door, locking up just as requested.Ā
The wood digs into your back as you lean against it, deeper when you fill your lungs completely.Ā
One breath.Ā
And then youāre launching deeper into labyrinth, chasing after a little ghost with dark braids.Ā
-
There are no explosive temper tantrums. Not even a hint of a bad mood. On the contrary; Charlotte isĀ exuberant.Ā
You shouldnāt be surprised, but Spencer Reid has raised a delightfully entertaining and precociously conversational child. At first sheās shy, but once you present her with butter chicken, she thinks youāre Godās gift to earth.Ā
She shows you the present Derek got her: a little box which projects a spinning solar system in a sea of pretty jewel-toned lights onto the wall when you turn off the myriad lamps, and she names each and every planet, just like Spencer said she would. You get to meet Rosie, who is a plushie horse head on a long stick, and indulge her love for invisible sugar cubes. She shows you her dance from The Nutcracker, and you agree to play ballet class with herāwhich ends up being her favorite game of the night. Every time you intentionally flub a step, she breaks out into hysterical laughter. Her energy is contagious, and you fall into the swing of babysitting quite easily. Even if she werenāt so charming, youād be captivated. You see her father in the set of her eyes and the warmth of her hair and the slope of her nose. Sheās real. SheāsĀ him. Genetically. Itās hard to look awayāto stop searching for proof in every familiar feature.Ā
After several hours, she finally tires herself out. Youāve long since been directing her games from the decadent comfort of the couch.Ā
āCan we watch TV?ā
āDo you evenĀ haveĀ a TV?ā
Charlotte nods, her long brown braids now hopelessly tangled. They werenāt like that before you showed her how to do somersaults on the sofaāsomething Spencer may or may not appreciate.Ā
āItās in daddyās room,ā she says, rocking back and forth on her little feet, gripping the edge of the couch for support. āSometimes when Iām sad we watch movies and TV in there and he lets me sleep in his bed. Even though itāsĀ bad sleep hygiene.Ā Because ofĀ blue light.ā
āI see,ā you nod, pulling your knees to your chest against the slight chill and eyeing the fireplace desirously. āAre you sad right now?ā
You almost canāt imagine it. Despite being born of borderline Shakespearean tragedyādespite Spencerās ominous warning about temper tantrumsāshe seems like a perfectly happy, outgoing little girl.Ā
She shakes her head emphatically, and climbs onto the couch, shuffling toward you on her knees. āNo. I just wanted to show you Scooby Doo.ā
āHm. Well, I donāt think I should go into your dadās room. Maybe you guys can watch it later. I think heās getting back soon.ā
Charlotte tugs down her pajama shirt so the little shooting stars and planets on it stretch into oblong blobs and kneels next to you. Her little milk teeth are perfect pearly white as she smiles shyly, and sheĀ definitelyĀ has her dadās eyesāhuge, rich brown,Ā you-canāt-say-no-to-meĀ eyes.Ā
āWhy are you hugging yourself?ā
She still has her chirpy little sing-song baby voice. ItāsĀ absurdlyĀ cute.Ā
āBecause Iām cold.ā
āDonāt move,ā she orders, and just like that sheās back up, running across cushions to the other side of the couch (you probably shouldnāt let her do that) and kneeling again, fussily choosing from the stacked pile of blankets at the corner of the sectional. āFluffy or yarn?ā
āDefinitely fluffy.ā
āDefinitely,ā she agrees happily in her sweet musical way, like she loves the sound of the word. āDefinitely,Ā definitely.ā
A moment later sheās successfully unfoldedĀ allĀ the blankets in order to grab the on at the very bottom of the pileāa big cream-colored oneāand drags it back over to you, making a show of tossing and pulling and patting and smoothing till youāre completely tucked in up to your shoulders.Ā
āThere. You can sleep here tonight.ā
āOh, you knowāI donāt think weāre having a sleepover, Charlotte.ā
She looks crestfallen, but hides it well, squishing a babyish cheek against the couch cushion next to you and picking at its seam.Ā
āWell⦠why not?ā
āBecause your dad is coming home soon, remember? Isnāt that exciting?ā
She makes a face.Ā
āNo. I see him all the time. I want to keep playing withĀ you.ā
Your heart swells. Sheās got the same earnest sweetness as her father, and is well on her way to having just as much attitude. Carefully you untuck your hand from the blanket and brush her braid over her shoulder.Ā
āThatās sweet, Charlotte. Iām having fun too. Maybe we can hang out again sometime.ā
She takes the little act of affection as an invitation to plop down next to you and lean into your shoulder. For a split second you freezeābut you snap out of it and offer her a corner of the blanket. She takes it until youāre both warm and cozy and tucked in.Ā
āWhy do you know my dad?ā She asks, words lilted with that same childish prosody.Ā
āWe work together.ā
āI knowĀ everyoneĀ he works with. āNelope, JJ, Kate, Dave, Derek, and Emily. Plus, he used to work with Hotch and Alex. He never told me about you.ā
Makes sense. Thereād be no reason to talk about you.
āWell, thatās because I went away for a while. You wonāt remember this, but we actually met when you were just aĀ tiny baby.ā
Her wide eyes go wider as she looks up at you in awe.Ā
āReally?ā
āYep. I remember the day your dad brought you into the office for the first time. You were so small he could hold you withĀ one arm, isnāt that crazy?ā
You donāt mention that the office had never been more somber than it was that dayānot even when Haley died. That when you look back on the memories, theyāre devoid of color or sound, aside from Charlotteās screaming. It was too soon to bring her in, but where else could he go?Ā Where else could he possibly take her?
āDid you know my mom?ā
Your blood flash-freezes for a moment as youāre pulled out of the memory with a bucket of ice water to the face. Youāre not quite sure how to answer without opening Pandoraās box.Ā
Youāre not quite sure thereās an answer to that question that you could give toĀ anyone.Ā
Thankfully, and possibly due to divine intervention, you hear keys jingling in the door, and for all Charlotte claims to find her dad boring, you swear her ears perk up. Sheās craning her head over the back of the couch and her little face erupts in the biggest smile when the door opens.Ā
āDaddy!ā
You turn slightly, sitting up a little straighter and dropping the blanket, suddenly hyper-conscious of how you might look too comfortable on his couch, or too familiar with his daughter.Ā
The smile that blossoms on your own face is completelyĀ unconsciousĀ as you watch themāthe way she scrambles off the couch and runs as fast as her tiny feet will carry her around it, immediately glomming onto his leg just like sheād done before he left.Ā
āOh, my girl,ā he half-grunts, half laughs at the impact, sliding a still-dripping umbrella into the holder by the door before dropping to her level and pulling his daughter into a hug. Immediately you note the exhaustion whittling cracks in his voice and carving itself under his eyes. Like whatever heād been out doing hadnāt gone so well. āMissed you. Were you good while I was gone?ā
āDefinitely,ā she says. His brows dart up.Ā
āDefinitely?Ā You sound pretty confident.ā
Spencerās eyes slide to you, full of wry humor despite his lack of energy like heās waiting for your corroboration. Charlotte doesnāt give you the chance to speak, and his eyes immediately flash back to her. Itās for the bestāhe hasnāt looked at you with that much ease in years. You wouldnāt have known what to say.Ā
She leans farther into her fatherās hold and looks over to you. āGuess what? She said we could have a sleepover tonight.ā
āWhāokay, thatāsāthatās notĀ quiteĀ what I said,ā you hurry, suddenly regaining your voice, floundering in a plush blanket and face warming as you try to find the balance between correcting her mistake before Spencer can misconstrue it and not getting too defensive over a comment from a five year old.
He straightens her shirt fondly.Ā
āSometimes Charlie Mae remembers things how sheĀ wantsĀ to remember them and not necessarily how they actually happened, huh?ā
āI told her the TV is in your room and we could sleep in there! You would let us, right?ā
Spencer, more used to redirecting the overactive juvenile mind than you are, artfully changes the subject, all the while fussing with her braids.Ā
āYou must be tired, lovebug. Did you brush your teeth?ā
āYes. She counted to two minutes for me. Iām not tired. And IāmĀ notĀ a bug.ā
āOkay, Homo sapien-sapien bipedal girl. Why donāt you go get cozy in bed and pick out a book for us?ā
Charlotteās eyes light up. āBruce Springsteen?ā She asks, boisterous and over-excited. Spencer laughs dryly, watching as she jets for the stairs like she jets everywhere she goes.Ā
āShel Silverstein.Ā CarefulĀ on the stairs, Char.ā
āIāmĀ bipedal!ā
Both of you watch her through the fluted railing until she disappears, and you feel only a little slighted that she didnāt say goodbye.
āBruce Springsteen,ā Spencer mutters incredulously, still crouching.Ā
You smile.Ā
āDavid Rossiās influence?ā
Spencer rises again, unslinging his bag and hanging it up by the door. āOh, undoubtedly. How was sheĀ really?ā
āShe was great,ā you admit, reluctantly relinquishing the warmth of the heavy blanket and standing up yourself, stretching your arms above your head and resisting the urge to yawn.
He faces you.Ā
āGood.ā
After a beat you realize he has nothing more to say. That heās standing, hands pocketed, studying you from the other side of the couch. With Charlotte gone, the room feels darker. The air feels thicker. Thrumming.
Itās almost like heās waiting to see what else you do.
Unabashedly, heāsĀ watching.Ā
Quickly you realize that you are a specimen under glass, to be examined intently.Ā
Your face warms.Ā
You clear your throat.Ā Ā
āHow was your, uh, thing?ā you ask awkwardly, sliding your hands into your back pockets. An innocent, if not a littleĀ invasive, question. Born of necessityāsomething toward which you can direct the charge in the air.Ā
For a moment, youāre afraid itās not going to work, as his expression remains unchanged.Ā
Then heās back to being shy-adjacent. Like an unpaused movie. That eerie air of examination, and somethingĀ sticky, dissipates.Ā
āUhāit was... Yeah, it was good.ā
It doesnāt sound true, but thatās none of your business. You hum, wrapping your arms around yourself. Spencerās eyes dart down to note the action. You wonder if heās only just now noticing the casual attireāa thin sweater too light for the season. Too casual for work. You tug it down over your waistband.
āWell, I had a good time, too. Charlotte is awesome.ā
Spencer finally moves again, shrugging off his coat and hanging it up as he speaks. āSheās pretty great, huh?ā
āI canāt believe sheās so grown up. Sheās five, right? And her IQ is probably what, likeā200?ā
āNo idea.ā
You laugh in disbelief.Ā
āYou havenāt had her tested?ā
Spencer leans against the arch and crosses his arms. The way his eyes flit to something just above your head, and he squintsāitās familiar. Heās deciding how much of a private truth he wants to reveal.Ā
āIāve⦠been avoiding it. She homeschools anyway, so we adjust the curriculum based on what sheās ready for.ā
āWow.Ā Homeschool. How do you have time for that?ā
āIĀ doĀ not,ā he chuckles. āHer grandparents do it.ā
āHerāoh. Thatāsāthatās good. Probably comes in handy to have family nearby with all the traveling you do.ā
āIt does. They adore her.ā
āYeah. Not hard to understand why.ā
You act like you donāt suddenly have a million questions about the nature of his relationship with Charlotteās grandparents.
Now that youāre thinking of itāhadnāt you heard murmurings of them in the weeks following Charlotteās birth? Of course, you canāt remember for sure. You were already pretty checked out by that point.Ā
Rain lashes the window hard and draws you both from some mutual dreamland. Spencer is regarding you with the beginnings of that same contemplative look on his face.Ā
āOkay, well⦠I should get going,ā you decide, reaching down to grab your keys from the table.Ā
Spencer gives a dramatic berth as you pass him into the entryway to put your jacket on, watching as you pull on your boots. The smell of dark rain and something smokier follows as he reaches around you. Beneath it is the same detergent and shampoo heād always smelled like. Itās distracting as you mindlessly accept whatever heās now holding out to you.Ā Smooth. Tortoise shell. The handle of his umbrella.
āYou should take this.ā
This hallway is much narrower than itād seemed earlier.Ā You clear your throat.
āOh, thanks! IāllāI can bring it to work tomorrow. To give back.ā
He gives you that smileāperfect teeth barely flashing as he nods once. Somehow self-effacing as though it wereĀ hisĀ dumb addendum and not your own. āAppreciated.ā
Right.
āOkay. Cool.ā
Why canāt you move? Why are you glued to the spot, watching him watch you?Ā
āYou were a lifesaver tonight, truly. You absolutely didnāt have to do this, but I really appreciate that you did.ā
You balk and attempt to shake it off.Ā Lifesaver.
Not very likely.
āNo worries. Really. I had fun.ā
The air in the room is warm and dark. It smells, tastes,Ā feelsĀ of some previously forgotten contentment.Ā
For a fraction of a second, so quick itās disorientingāyou feel moreĀ homeĀ than you have in years. Like the two timelines youāve been straddling have briefly synced up. His eyes are exactly the same as theyāve always been, and there is a flash of intimacy that does not belong to you.
Then, years in the future, a little voice from upstairs is hollering, āDaddy!ā
The air goes from amber back to oxygen. You go from fossil and memory to living, breathing people. Both of you loose awkward little laughs.Ā
āYouāre being summoned, I think.ā
āOh, yes. Charlotte has a thing about timeliness.ā
āShe is quite the character.ā
āThat she is. Iām glad you got to meet her, again.ā
You swallow a thorn and try not to think about how his voice softens.Ā
AboutĀ what you didĀ to them.Ā
āMe too.ā
Spencer opens the door for you, inviting in a shocking snap of wind. The rain is so heavy it splashes against the sidewalks and makes brilliant glowing sprays as cars zoom through puddles in the dark.
āYou gonna be okay out there?ā Spencer asks.Ā
You brandish your umbrella. āIāll be great.ā
āAre you sure? You can wait in here for a little while. Itās a rainband, it wonāt last.ā
āNo, no, itās okay. You have someone waiting to be read to.ā
He nods again, taking another distrusting look at the conditions of the road behind you. āDrive safe, okay?ā
āI will. Have a good night.ā
Is that a weird thing to say? Do people say that? Is that appropriate? Too casual? Too formal?
But that little smile stays pasted on his face.Ā
āYeah. You too.ā
Then youāre on the porch, popping open the umbrella and scurrying off into the downpour, hastily looking both ways before running across the street to where youāve parked.Ā
For a moment you fumble with your keys, but after a few embarrassing seconds (youĀ knowĀ Spencer is waiting to close the door until youāre safely in your car) you manage to climb in, closing the umbrella and shaking it out before tossing it in the passengerās seat and shutting your door against the deluge.Ā
The wheel goes slick under your clammy, white-knuckle grip as your eyes close and you take several deep breaths, trying to fight the roiling of your stomach.Ā
When you open your eyes again, Spencer is gone. The front door is closed, but the windows are still the warmest on the block.
You put the car in reverse.
-
By the time you get back to your apartment, any semblance of joy or redemption from your time with Charlotte has shed like an old skinācurdling in the stale air as you lean hard against the door to close it behind you. It squeaks against the floor and you wrestle with the lock in the dark. That sickly malaise of having woken up in your early twenties is worse than usual tonight, as you turn to face the big empty living room. Maybe thatās what you get for choosing to live in the same building youād moved out of five years prior.Ā
When you were twenty-two you chose it for its charm. You had a comfortable income. The excitement of being an adult hadnāt worn off yet. Making coffee in the morning still felt like playing house. When youād toured the unit, you thought the parquet flooring and the lofted ceilings were so elegant, and the big paneled windows with their sliding sashes were romantic. Only after you moved in did you realize they were painted shutāso you took a razor and some acetone and fought for several hours to get them open. It was the first thing you did when you moved back in.Ā
Now, your kick off your boots and donāt bother turning the light on before making your way to sit in front of one of them, cracking it a few inches open to let the cold breeze keep you company.Ā
This was also routine, all those years ago. Sometimes when you sit on the floor like this, next to your big potted palm, shamelessly watching the people in their own little yellow squares of light across the way dancing or fighting or watching TV, you feel like youāre with your younger self.Ā
If she was really here, sheād be out on the fire escape with a cigarette. But itās too cold now, and you donāt like the way the metal grate leaves a grid on your skin. Now, youād be an idiot to climb out onto a rusty death trap hanging from the side of your building by a couple of screws. Smokingās not as glamorous as it used to be, either. There comes a point where you either need to grow out of it or admit that youāre addicted.Ā
Besides, last time you moved out your landlord withheld the damage deposit because apparently the apartment smelled like tobacco. You didnāt believe her, but youāre not going to risk it again.Ā
And maybe it feels good to have control over something. An old habit you can stop yourself from slipping back into.
For a moment, you think maybe you want a cigarette. You havenāt wanted one since you got back.Ā
Indulge one craving to keep the others at bay, some slithery, sibilant voice whispers in your head.Ā You like making deals, donāt you?Ā
You can keep promisesācanāt you?
Your stomach turns. A familiar breeze hits your cheek. It smells like the cityāgas and rain and asphalt and fried food and a hint of green, ofĀ life, that youād realized long ago wasnāt ever really out there.
If only youād realized how poisonous your guilt would be, how much it would grow into this throbbing, undulatingĀ thing, taking up space in the pit of your stomach,Ā beforeĀ you agreed to come back.Ā
If only youād realized an ex-smoker canāt have justĀ oneĀ cigarette. An addict can never be casual about their vices. Can never stopĀ wanting.Ā
If only youād realized keeping promises made to a dead woman is a lot harder than keeping promises made to a living one.Ā
Because Maeve Donovan isnātĀ everĀ letting you out of your end of the deal.Ā
Iām admittedly a shy fan but I love this series.
I can tell youāre crafting this series with so much love and attention to detail so I think it deserves a commentary while I reread! As a creative writing student Iām having a lot of fun finding parallels and foreshadowing š¦š
Something is off with Spencer as soon as he comes into the bullpen. Heās got this nervous energy. Sort of shell-shocked. HeāsĀ cracklingĀ with it.
Every time I read this beginning I instantly feel anxiety. I know whatās coming but Iām still worried. I love how you decide to start the series with the day that literally changes Spencer and readerās lives forever.
hisĀ eyes concerned and voice low like he knows more than you.Ā
This foreshadowing hits even harder after rereading
Spencer is obscured from view, but you can see Hotch at his desk through the window, strong profile as steely and hawkish as ever. His lips move. He frownsāitās his concerned frown. He seems to ask a question, and your stomach lurches as you watch his expression change more robustly than is typical for him. Eyes narrowed, lips slowly partedāwhat is that? Disbelief, maybe?Ā Anger?Ā And then it softens completely.Ā
I love the way you write the changes in facial expressions tbh your descriptions are always amazing
And you know itās a big deal when Hotchās expression changes I love this
Derek only leans back in his seat, giving you a sad once-over and shaking his head like this is the last time heāll ever see you in one piece.Ā
I love how this builds up the anxiety more. And oh this foreshadowing
I want to protect reader from the news every single time but itās always inevitable like the birth of Spencerās child.
Good friends shouldnāt keep secrets. Then againāyou and Spencer arenāt in theĀ bestĀ place right now. But youāre supposed to be on theĀ mend. Some secrets are best maintained and locked away to preserve the integrity of the friendship.
I wonder if she thought keeping it a secret that she wanted Spencer to wait for her was a good idea because she wanted to preserve the friendship š
Either youāre imagining it, or heās being firmer than usual. Not that you blame him. Heās been through a lot in the time youāve known him.Ā
My sweet girl has no idea that the team is sorta trying to protect her from the news š Hotch doesnāt want them arguing before the briefing
Itās like they know she wonāt be happy
Everyone knows she loves Spencer except for Spencer ahhhhh
Both Morgan and Hotch give you strange looks as they pass.
The increasing anxiety of whatās to come. You know itās bad when both Morgan and Hotch are concerned
Gently you pull his hands apart and hold them in your own. Heās got very pretty handsāonly now the cuticles are rimmed with half moons of dry blood. You squeeze his fingers, hoping it will satisfy some sensory input heās clearly seeking without being so injurious.Ā
His hands are pretty hehe. After rereading itās tragic to see how reader is trying to comfort him and she has no idea that theyāre about to hurt each other so much š„²
Heās a germaphobe but he lets her touch his hands aww
He doesnāt look up at you as he speaks.Ā āYouāre not going to believe me.ā
The irony that he says this and then he gets surprised/frustrated that she reacts with outrage and disbelief
Oh Spencer
āI, uh, got someoneĀ pregnant,ā he laughs.Ā
First time I read this I was like
Despite the fact I read the summary š¤£
Itās so interesting to me while rereading that Spencer doesnāt say he got his girlfriend pregnant in this line. Instead, he says āsomeoneā like a part of him is too afraid for a second to admit to reader that heās with someone who is not her.
Your eyes squeeze shut, but your own thoughts are a racing, dizzying carousel andĀ not a particularly soft landing as you try to give yourself a reprieve from the way heās looking at you. A few months ago, youād been under the impression he was pining afterĀ you.Ā
I love this imagery. The carousel. The dizziness. The confusion. The shock.
āSo you⦠went out and found someĀ random personĀ to hookup with? And got her pregnant?ā
Her response is so valid tho when he says he got āsomeoneā pregnant he does sound like heās talking about a random person lol
āWhat?Ā You donātĀ haveĀ a girlfriend!ā
He sits up straighter. Anger clears the fog from his eyes, sharpening him for the first time today, and you donāt know if itās better or worse. āWhy are you so hung up on that? Is itĀ thatĀ unbelievable to you?ā
In this argument I can kind of see the underlying words Spencer and reader are too afraid to say to each other. You always write arguments in an entertaining manner btw I love how both sides make mistakes and itās relatable
Spencerās anger is clouded by insecurity and hurt. The underlying meaning might be āIs me having a girlfriend that unbelievable to you because you couldnāt imagine me being capable of having a girlfriend just because you donāt want me?ā
And readerās words are trying to secretly say āhow could you get a girlfriend? I thought thereās no other girls. I thought you liked me. I thought you would wait for me. I do want you.ā
Or at least thatās how I interpret this š
Spencerās throat bobs. Heās speaking faster now. āAnd then I moved on, was I not supposed to?ā
Perhaps Iām overthinking this question because Iām trying to find evidence that Spencer is down bad for reader still. Even though he just admitted he has a pregnant girlfriend.
The last part āwas I not supposed to?ā shows his attitude but also heās still unsure of himself. maybe subconsciously wants reader to argue back with āyeah, you werenāt supposed to!ā even though that will never happen.
āSorry that the idea that someone could actually be interested in me is so shocking to you.ā
He thinks reader was never interested in him š He thinks sheās shocked that anyone could be interested in him
āSo explain how you meant it.ā
This line is brilliant. Iāll probably notice more after rereading the other parts but I think this line defines Spencerās relationship with reader so far. He wants her to explain when sheās not sharing the full truth with him and then he gets frustrated when she doesnāt.
Which makes sense sadly. He canāt read her mind.
Wellāyes. When has he kept something like this from you before? Never, you suppose. Heās never had anything like this to keep from you. There havenātĀ beenĀ any girls.Ā
Reader is so valid for being confused.
You sort of thought⦠even after you both decided to remain platonic⦠that it would stay that way. That heād always be there. Waiting.
These lines hit so hard.
He seems to take this silence as an admission of guilt.Ā
āGreat. Thanks a lot, for being so supportive.ā
I love the way you capture Spencerās attitude. This misunderstanding is so painful
Desperate to stop him from leaving, but too afraid to just admit it, you open your mouth without a plan.
The foreshadowing. Reader in this series tends to be afraid of admitting the full truth to him. Which is so understandable. And like girl, same.
āWhy would IĀ supportĀ this? It was idiotic. I meanāyouāre twenty seven, Spencer. Youāre a fucking FBI agent with three doctorates, and you managed to get yourself baby trappedābecauseābecauseĀ what? IĀ rejectedĀ you? And in the midst of your rebound you couldnāt figure out how to make a condom work? I knew you were naive, but IĀ trulyĀ donāt understand how you could be soĀ stupid.ā
I love the way you write how harsh anger can be especially when itās hard to control words
The tragedy of this argument is that Spencer is a profiler who canāt profile the underlying meaning in her words and why sheās reacting this strongly
Your heart pounds as you try not to gag on the words youād just spoken.Ā Iām sorry Iām sorry Iām sorry, you want to say, but itās like you donāt know how.
The way you write guilt is so visceral. I love this reader. Sheās so relatable for feeling guilty after saying harsh things and being terrified of apologizing. I love how sheās not perfect
Youāve always had this way of getting what you want by the worst means possible.Ā Always. Itās like the universe is punishing you for daring to be unsatisfied. If youāre stupid enough to want, to even think too hard about the things you secretly desireāyouāll get them. They will be twisted and perverted and thrown back in your face. Cruel and literal. The more you want a thing, the worse it is when it finally echoes back to you.Ā
Oh this foreshadowing is beautiful. This paragraph is beautiful. This whole series is beautiful. She wants Spencer back, she wants him to be single with no Maeve and she gets that wish but in the worst way possible. In the future heās a single dad with a motherless child because of a tragedy. This sets up the immense amount of guilt she feels for daring to still love and want Spencer.
āI canāt imagine being as arrogant and deluded and self-obsessed as you are. Donāt talk to me aboutĀ stupidĀ when you are incapable of understanding that my entire life does not revolve around you. I started a correspondence with her six months ago. By the time you kissed me, I hadnāt thought about you for months. Maybe thatās just too difficult for you to comprehend.ā
I hope he deeply regrets this emotional damage
I love how youāre not afraid of showing Spencerās jerk side tho. In this instance I understand why both of them are lashing out. No one wants to be called naive and stupid but reader feels betrayed and I get her. I get him too. Heās very overwhelmed. He thinks sheās overreacting and being mean and he canāt see sheās heartbroken š„²
The hopeless romantic side of me tries to find underlying meaning even in Spencerās insults.
The more he keeps denying that he thought about her. The more Iām thinking heās lying to himself and her.
And the irony that he calls her self-obsessed when in reality he has no idea that sheās obsessed with him. She cares for his well-being. She kept looking at him the minute he came into the bullpen.
Something is off with Spencer as soon as he comes into the bullpen.
He doesnāt speak to anyone for several minutesāonly sits at his desk, back straight as a rod (and considering his usually atrocious posture, this is concerning) not even bothering to take off his messenger bag or power on his computer.
She watched and counted the minutes he was sitting straight. She knew something was wrong because he usually slouches š she was so worried
Spencer emerges from behind him stiffly, rubbing his eyes and staring straight ahead. His hair is messy. His tie is perfectly straight, which you actually findĀ disconcerting. You jog up the stairs, favorite mug abandoned on Morganās desk, to intercept Spencer
She noticed his tie was straight and not crooked. She abandoned her favorite mug and went to him! She loves him. She loves him
I started a correspondence with her six months ago.
I knew the babyās mother was Maeve just from this line. The foreshadowing was excellent. I remember feeling dread the first time I read this like oh no itās Maeve? Maeve?!
Iām sorry. Please donāt leave.Ā
Oh sweetheart. I love how you show the difference between her thoughts and what she says sometimes.
A month ago you kissed and apparently he turned right around and knocked someone up.Ā
This line š Iām being a bit delulu but this does make me suspicious. Did kissing reader actually rattle Spencer to the point he had to avoid those feelings through sex with his gf?
this makes me wonder why didnāt he tell reader about Maeve when the kiss happened? He had a lot of time to mention her. why did he let reader think heās still single?
I love the mystery
It crosses your mind that the blinds are open, and you look up to see that nearly the whole BAU had witnessed your altercation from Emilyās desk.
I forgot that so many people witnessed that. Spencer and reader must have been the hottest topic of gossip for weeks.
Maybe some ppl at the BAU were shipping reader x Spencer and theyāre genuinely shocked that Spencer knocked up some other girl. Theyāre probably like āwhat? š«¢ I did not see that coming.ā
Spencerās ended up several feet from yours, probably propelled backward by the violent speed with which heād stood. You stare at the two empty chairs for what is certainly too great a length of time, and then youāre tucking them away just like the rest.
This is such a beautiful scene tbh the subtle metaphor for their relationship.
At first they were close literally and emotionally before Spencer told her his news
You try to ignore the sinking feeling and shut the door behind them before pulling out a chair and taking a seat knee-to-knee with Spencer.Ā
currently their relationship feels like itās over and empty. she keeps looking at those chairs because itās the last time they were this close before having a sort of friendship ending argument and now theyāre distant like those chairs š
I wonder if Spencer ever looked at readerās empty chair after she left the BAU.
āIām fine,ā you snap. āWhy would I not be fine?ā
This parallel to Spencer
āIāmā¦ā he nods, slowly. His nose twitches.āIām fine. We should, uh⦠Hotch is waiting for us.ā
They both lie and say theyāre fine when theyāre not. Theyāre made for each other
I adore the way you write dialogue it feels so true to the characters
āBecauseāā Morgan glances around. āBecause I know this canāt feel good for you.ā
This man must know sheās in love with Spencer š
The irony that Morgan knows this doesnāt feel good for her and Spencer is oblivious.
āHeās lonely, and heās hurting. People make bad choices under those circumstances all the time.ā
Derekās line makes me pause cause it makes me so curious. I wouldnāt rlly call Spencer lonely since he has a gf now whoās facing the same problem. I know Derek could obviously be referring to Spencer dealing with his situation at work alone.
Maybe this is also subtly implying that the relationship between Maeve and Spencer isnāt that perfect then. I mean, if they did have a happy relationship thatās plausible too. Iām just rambling theories
Maybe heās hurting not just because itās shocking (and probably blaming himself since accidentally getting a girl pregnant is stressful), the future is unknown but also because itās with the wrong person? Things are going way too fast? This might have been the consequences of a bad choice? He might feel some guilt about that? š«¢
Based on the timeline it seems like Maeve and Spencer only been dating in person for a few months
āIām not aĀ leper. I met someone a few months ago.ā
āI mean,Ā IĀ still donāt really believe it⦠but she has nothing to gain from lying to me. Itās not like Iām rich.ā
The fact that itās implied it crossed his mind that Maeve could have been lying to him before he decided that she isnāt is kind of a sign to me that this relationship isnāt that solid. He doesnāt know Maeve that well yet. If he did, he would have never suspected her of lying.
Theyāve been dating in person for such a short amount of time and now theyāre expecting a baby. It is jarring. He probably didnāt even see Maeve that often then because of his job. This looks more and more like a rebound attempt gone wrong š maybe reader is right about that but he doesnāt want to admit it
āSorry that the idea that someone could actually be interested in me is so shocking to you.ā
This line makes me pause again too Iām realizing after rereading that maybe Spencer partly had this relationship with Maeve because he just wanted to feel wanted and to him, she was supposedly the only woman who wanted him at the time.
A few months ago, youād been under the impression he was pining afterĀ you.Ā
I donāt think reader is wrong about this. I think he was still pining after her. Itās possible I might be wrong while Iām trying to find evidence for my ship to sail to be fair lol
āYeah. He made aĀ human, though. So.ā
Is she wrong tho? Nope
I love her.
Youāre breathing a hair too quickly for someone who was only walking. Your fists clench and unclench. Rhythmic. Like a pulsing heart.Ā
Gosh this is so deep I can feel her sadness
Everything,Ā everything, is almost exactly the same, and suddenlyĀ so wrong.Ā
Youāre so good at making me feel her heartbreak š
This close, this raw, and with someone who has only ever been kind to you, the truth of your upset bubbles up. Itās impossibly quiet and brittle. Too delicate for this world. It makes you feel sick.Ā
āHeās having a baby.ā
I want to cry whenever I read these lines. Itās so heartbreaking. I know Iām gonna love Charlotte but I canāt help feeling so sorry for reader. Things between her and Spencer will never be the same again. And the way Penelope comforts her is so kind.
Itās rlly clever to end the flashback like this. Spencer and readerās argument feels unresolved. They didnāt get the chance to apologize to each other in this memory
Like itās referenced in this earlier lovely heartbreaking paragraph thereās no finality
And then heās gone. The door doesnāt slam because it canāt but you almost wish it wouldāyou hate that slow-close mechanism because you need some sort of absolute finality here. You need the windows to shake or you need to scream orĀ somethingĀ other than his retreating back down the catwalk. Your vision pulses with rage and your eyes water but youāre so shocked that tears donāt dare fall.Ā
Oh sweet girl š plus when the present is shown I see that Spencer and readerās relationship is unresolved too. These parallels amaze me. The argument didnāt end, the distance didnāt end.
Present: Youāre doing overtime in the kitchenette. That is to say, your window of opportunity is coming to a close, and JJ is still talkingāholding you hostage with a silver spoon that clinks as it bumps into the sides of her mug. A plastic clockĀ tick-tick-ticksĀ on the wall. 1:25 PM. Spencer will be coming in for his first afternoon coffee any second now, and it wonāt be the end of the worldābut youāve been carefully memorizing his routines so as to move swiftly around him whenever possible.
I love this parallel to the beginning of this lovely story.
The past: Youāre leaning against the kitchenette counter, blowing on your coffee and trying to gauge if youāll be able to figure it out just by observing him, or if youāll have to ask.
She observes in the past and present but in the present sheās anxious and wants to avoid him while in the past sheās anxious and eager to comfort him, she didnāt want to avoid him
This is so bittersweet and complicated
The two of you have enough awkward moments as it is: stiltedĀ hellos murmured on the elevator in the mornings. Strange, bubbling heat which fills the stretch of air between you when heās the first one to show up in the round-table room for a briefing.
The more I reread the more Iām seeing it that Spencer is subtly trying to get readerās attention while trying to give her space too. Strange, bubbling heat? Love this line itās tasty. Sexual tension or unresolved feelings? Or both? š
EachĀ sorryĀ he murmurs when he ghosts your shoulder, passing like phantom ships in the night in and out of Emilyās office, when you can feel the weight of those nice suits he wears now, and something in your chest freezes like solid ice.
Passing like phantom ships in the night? Oh the pain! Gorgeous lines. Solid ice and weight of those nice suits is so raw
anyway, this scene is so angsty but the chemistry is wow. they need to be locked in a room together.
Itās that awkward moment youāre trying to avoid your ex best friend whoās a hot single dad but his suits are too nice and you can still feel him.
When you can smell tea tree and amber and woodsmoke, and something lighterāsomething innocent, and sweet, and simple. Strawberry toothpaste. Orange and vanilla shampoo.Ā
I love the yearning oh my gosh. I dearly hope Spencer memorizes our scent too
I love how even the smells show how things are the same and different. The subtle references to him being a father
Strawberry toothpaste because he probably uses that when heās helping Charlotte brush her teeth
Orange and vanilla shampoo because he washes Charlotteās hair.
Charlotte. His daughter, who youāve yet to meet. Who haunts every desk with crayon drawings made for each member of the BAU. You know her handwriting. You know the way she draws her father, a stick-figure head and shoulders above everyone else and with a wide, flat smile, underscoring two placid dots for eyes, and a scribbled mess atop his head.
Oh no, sheās a sweetheart (I already knew this lol) but still she is! And she made drawings for everyone else. I love the specific usage of the word āhauntsā btw since her mother haunts the narrative.
Itās so cute how reader is so observant. Sheās trying so hard not to care but she does
I hope Charlotte makes a drawing of reader one day
You surmise she must have long brown hair, from the way she draws herself, and you know Spencer buys her orange and vanilla scented shampoo, and youāve never met her. Sheās a ghost to you. Maybe a shared hallucination everyoneĀ elseĀ can see. An unacknowledged and inherent truthālike air, or the sun.Ā Yes, it is there. We all know. Weāre all perfectly familiar, and we have accepted her as part of our reality.Ā
I may be saying it a lot but I love how complicated reader is.
I imagine reader waiting until everyone is gone in the bullpen before picking up one of Charlotteās drawings and staring at it for a long time maybe tracing Spencerās face
Itās like she does want to know her but sheās also terrified understandably. She sees her as a ghost, a reminder of her guilt and thereās still that 22 year old in her that wants this to not be real.
She must feel a bit of envy that the rest of the BAU can easily accept Charlotte as part of their reality while sheās still struggling
Whenever sheās mentioned, you clam up. Charlotte is not someone you have the right to talk about. She is the president of a secret club that everyone else is part of except for you, and thatās the price you pay for leaving five years ago without a word, and youāll just have to accept that.
Everyone knows that Spencer hates not having closure! But saying goodbye is hard so I sympathize with reader. I feel bad for Spencer too.
I love how you can just tell that reader feels sad that sheās not a part of this āsecret clubā and how she tries to force herself to accept that.
1:26. Spencer breezes in, and you know, just from the tide of air against your back, that heās still a little unsettled by your presence. You donāt knowĀ howĀ you know. But it must always be obvious, after half a decade of your absence, and only a month since your return. If youāre not used to being back, surely he isnāt used to it, either.Ā
Unsettled, yes. Perhaps also in love with us? *twirls hair dramatically*
only peripherally processing the click of ceramic as Spencer retrieves his own mug, the sift of sugar piling at the bottom of his cup over the pouring sound of your own coffee. The sound of fabric brushing fabric as he reaches for things, a sniff as he retrieves a stirring stick. He still does that nose scrunch thing.Ā
I love these sensory details theyāre so mmm
love the way she keeps observing him sheās so down bad for him
JJ doesnāt look convinced. Her gaze trails after him, as concerned for his well-being as sheās always been, like sheās worried he might walk right off the edge of a cliff.Ā
I love the protective older sis vibes. I imagine JJ and Spencer probably bonded a lot as parents in this universe.
The scene sticks with you, long after youāve sequestered yourself back in your office and finished your coffee. Itās exactly the kind of thing youāve been so neurotic about avoiding. Overly intimate. Forces you to confront truths youād rather ignore: Charlotte, for example. Spencerās living, breathing daughter. The consequence of the action. The tribulations of single-parenthood.
Itās like she wants to stay in the past but she canāt. The present keeps reminding her that so much has changed
The conflict. She wants to avoid the truth but thereās also a part of her that wants to see it
Thereās still that 22 year old version of her who wants to comfort Spencer
All those years in New York, you told yourself he had the whole team to support him. He wouldnāt needĀ you. Heād hardly even notice your absence.
It all goes back to the argument in the past, doesnāt it? I appreciate your writing even more because the argument is significant in the present too
āBy the time you kissed me, I hadnāt thought about you for months. Maybe thatās just too difficult for you to comprehend.ā
She thinks because he said he hasnāt thought about her for months that it means he wouldnāt need her and think about her for 5 years too and thatās why he would barely notice her absence
Spencer, if you werenāt such a kind hot single dad with a very traumatic backstory I would be way madder
Same mug youād always usedāthe one printed with the vanishing Bill of Rights. Chipped, now. Same desk. Stained. Peeling at the corners.
Awesome dramatic symbolism to show how sheās less optimistic now. Less hopeful and sheās trying to stay in the past somewhat by using items from the past
Because the world does not revolve around you.Ā
The parallel! Spencerās words šš¢
āDonāt talk to me aboutĀ stupidĀ when you are incapable of understanding that my entire life does not revolve around you.ā
The way those words haunt her
Kind of ironic that Spencer says this in the past and then he gets obsessed with wanting to talk to her again in the future
Spencer looks up, eyes clear with surprise as you shatter whatever spell heād been under. Itās not like thereās a precedent for casual conversation between the two of you. You havenāt initiated any unnecessary interaction since your return, and you sense heās been taking queues from you.
I think heās been waiting for her to initiate an interaction with him outside of work stuff. maybe a part of him was afraid that might not happen š he canāt hide his surprise
You clear your throat and stop a few healthy feet away. āHey.ā
āHey.ā Characteristically tentative and devastatingly careful.
even this makes me cry the way theyāre walking on eggshells around each other
The way he eyes drop back to his desk, the way his words melt into half-sighāhe is defeated like heās used to it. Your stomach twists. When you go to speak, you stumble over a false start. Swallow involuntarily.Ā
This series is literally taking me on a fun rollercoaster of diff emotions
Youāre so good at making me feel sorry for Spencer and mad in the past and then feeling bad for him again in the present
āYou donāt have to do that.ā
Even a short line like this is heartbreaking. You do such a masterful job of showing how they keep pretending like theyāre strangers who donāt owe each other anything š
āI know. I just wanted to offer. It seems like you were really counting on JJ, andānot that I was eavesdropping, I just, I was right there. I didnāt mean to listen in. Itās none of my business, whatever it is, but if you need someone to watch Charlotte, I can do it. I watched JJās kids sometimes, when they were younger.ā
Itās so cute that she forgets for a sec that he would remember her babysitting JJās kids. Sheās so nervous and sweet
Also rlly sad how they went from being close best friends to her being terrified that sheās invading his privacy š
āI remember,ā he says, quickly, before he has time to censor the past in the way youāve been doing. Smearing it in whiteout ink and working around it without acknowledgment. Itās jarring for both of you, but Spencer clears his throat and tries to roll with it. āYou were good with them.ā
The fact that he acknowledges she was good with kids makes me wonder if he felt even more distressed when she left because a part of him hoped she would help out with his kid.
What makes total sense to you is Spencerās stoop being the most thoroughly decked-out for Halloween on the whole street.
It does make sense! His love for Halloween. I love that you kept that part of his character.
The door is opening before you get the chance to lift the antique knocker, spilling warm light out onto the chilly sidewalk, and thereās Spencer in a peacoat. Breathless like heād just run down the stairs. Hair falling in his face like heād been pushing it back.Ā
Why oh why does he have to be so hot/cute? And I just noticed that he was basically eagerly waiting for her lol thatās sorta romantic⦠then again, heās supposedly going on a date with someone else the audacity
For a brief, aching second, he is someone you know well.
This is so heartbreaking and poetic. Gosh this series makes me ache.
āHello,ā he breathes, taking a moment to stand awkwardly before he remembers to invite you in, like he canāt believe a girl from his past has been superimposed at this current front door. Like youāre a total anachronism. You canāt blame him. āSorry. Come in.ā
Now this may be that hopeless romantic side of me seeing more than there actually is 𤣠but maybe heās looking at reader not just because sheās a girl from his past but because deep down he still has feelings for her
And maybe cause heās hopeful they can go back to being close again.
The walls are the color of old parchment, but youād hardly noticed, covered as they are in an eclectic gallery of surrealist paintings, and the hundreds (now possibly numbering on thousands) of books in his collection, housed in dark walnut built-ins with ornate detailed corners. The couch is a deep-set, wine colored sectional, and strewn with knit blankets and throw pillows, stationed in front of a grand brick fire place over a rich tapestry rug. Several stained glass Tiffany-style lamps cast various pools of warm glow through the room, reflecting off the plethora of trinkets and photos on the mantle. You look away, to the console table aside the stairs, topped with an antique looking mirror and several houseplants thatĀ mustĀ be fake, because heād never been able to keep one alive back then. At the end of the hallway is a closed door, probably leading to a bathroom.Ā
Of course his house is hot. Love these vivid descriptions but now I wanna move in
The sound of rapid pattering interrupts you. Little footsteps coming from upstairs. You turn your head just in time to see a tiny thing, though much bigger than you remembered, racing down the creaky stepsāa streak of blue followed by two dark braids.Ā
Charlotteās entrance! Iconic and adorable.
Although with a reread I can see how angsty this entrance is too. This adorable interruption is like a parallel to the past when the news of her existence interrupted reader and Spencerās normal life.
āWoah! What did we say about running in the house?ā Spencer scolds as Charlotte barrels into his legābut his fondness for her is evident in the way he sets his hand atop her hair, pushing deep brown wisps out of her big eyes.Ā
Spencer being such a doting father is sweet and painful to witness.
āI got afraid. It wasĀ dark,ā she justifies breathlessly. He frowns.
Sheās afraid of the dark like Spencer š„ŗ
āDarkĀ where?ā
Aww the way he gets worried
āYour office. I made a fort under your desk.ā She beams up at him, hanging onto his leg and standing on his foot, swinging from him like heās a jungle gym. The smile on her face says sheās not supposed to do that.
Aww sheās so mischievous
For a month youāve been around Spencer, for years youāve been thinking about the two of them, and youāve heard her mentioned since you got back, sureābutĀ seeingĀ itāseeing her and him togetherāis entirely different. Maybe you didnāt really believe she would be so grown up now. Youād only seen her a handful of times before you left, and that screaming infant couldāve been anyoneās.
reader is so strong tbh
At least when she was away she could maybe pretend sometimes that Spencerās life didnāt change. Because if she wasnāt there to see it then she could pretend that Spencer never lost Maeve and wasnāt raising his child by himself.
Babysitting for her ex best friend despite all of her complicated angsty real feelings about this messy situation means sheās more selfless than she realizes even though sheāll keep telling herself she just feels guilty
This child is unmistakably, undeniably,Ā his.Ā
This line is so sweet until I read the next lines. Itās like aww Spencer has a cute daughterā
But even more than that, she looks like her motherāa face that had begun to blur in your dreams over the years since youād seen her last. You only met her a handful of times during her pregnancy, and now itās like sheās staring right at you through her daughterās eyes.
Excellent way of showing that reader is so traumatized
āWow, hi, Charlotte!ā you manage, hoarsely. āItās nice to meet you. I like your pajamas.ā
I love this reader. The way sheās shocked and trying to stay calm while finally talking to Spencerās daughter for the first time. The daughter sheās been terrified of meeting. The ghostās baby. But she still manages to be so nice to Charlotte š
She looks at you, and then back up at her dad for approval, still clinging to him, with eyes that may as well have been copy-pasted from his face onto hers. Theyāre wide, warm brown, framed by long, dark lashes. Spencer scratches her scalp affectionately, and nothing could prepare you for the unfiltered adoration heās regarding her with.
She has our boyfriendās eyes š and heās so affectionate
āShe likes her butterfly pajamas more, but space is good too. Charlie, you should show her the present Derek brought you later.ā Then, to you, āShe knows all the planets in the solar system.ā
And heās soĀ proudĀ of her when he says it, his eyes are so sparkly and smiley and soĀ cloudedĀ with love your breath catches.Ā
Spencer being a proud father is so endearing.
Youāre so good at writing him as a parent š¦
He smooths her braids and you realize he mustāve done them himself.Ā How old was she when he learned how to do that?
The image of Spencer making his daughterās braids is adorable and again, so painful. Heās a single father and heās a good one. Even though the circumstances werenāt ideal.
āOkay. So, uh, no peanuts, but her epi-pen is on the kitchen counter just in case. I left my card, too, the PIN is 3449. Get whatever you want for dinner. And donāt worry about putting her to bed. Iāll be home before ten. Sheās kind of a night-owl anyway⦠despite my greatest efforts.ā
Heās so hot. Heās too hot, help.
Seeing him being a caring and attentive father is making me blush
And to prove Iām one of the biggest fans of this series Iām gonna highlight the fact that I did read ur like mini thoughts about the series in ur blog
The fact that 3449 is Charlotteās initials!? 3449= CMDR Iām in awe, I love your dedication I love ur world building
āLike her dad,ā you marvel, still smiling at her.Ā SheāsĀ still hiding, eyeing you with a cautious sort of interest. Spencer exhales a nervous laugh.Ā
āYes. Like her dad.ā
Gosh, this is heartbreaking. I know this moment is cute but Iām also over here like you three could have been such a cute family!
And the way this breathes familiarity. Reader knows him. She knows heās a night-owl. She remembers so many things about him š„ŗ
A moment passes, and you sense the reluctance in him of a parent hesitant to leave their child. Itās strange and at the same time not at all out of place on him. But then heās crouching down to be at Charlotteās level.Ā
Iām saying this for the hundredth time heās such a good father. Awwwww
āIĀ loveĀ you,ā he says, smushed against her head, and you can tell itās not an after thought. He means it with every fiber of his being. Have you ever heard him tellĀ anyoneĀ that he loves them in so many words? Has he ever been so unafraid in expressing it?
This paragraph makes me want to cry. The fact that he learned how to not be afraid of saying āI love youā when itās directed to his daughter (which is adorable and sweet) but this also implies that maybe he was too afraid to say it to reader when he was younger š
So she bounds into the living room and beyond toward what you presume is the kitchenāwhich is apparently where they keep the stables.Ā
Spencer stands. Clears his throat like heās suddenly insecure. āRosieās not a real horse.ā
I love how in the midst of angst you manage to weave in some humor that never feels random. It feels so true to life. Also hehe Spencer is so cute
HeāsĀ soĀ happyĀ with her.Ā
even in a short sweet line like this I can feel readerās love for Spencer. Sheās relieved that heās not a depressed father, heās a happy father
The internal struggle is palpableāthe push-pull between whatever it is heās so desperate to attend to and the fear of leaving his daughter with someone untested.Ā
I sympathize although I love how reader doesnāt wanna acknowledge that our boyfriend who doesnāt know heās our boyfriend is going on a date with someone else
She might as well go on a revenge date with Anderson
āThank you for doing this. Really. You have no idea how much I appreciate it.ā
Heās so sweet
*picks up the phone and dials* ya hello, Anderson? Are you free this Friday?
The wood digs into your back as you lean against it, deeper when you fill your lungs completely.Ā
This fic feels like a movie I canāt stop rewatching. Gosh the way you write emotions is incredible
And then youāre launching deeper into labyrinth, chasing after a little ghost with dark braids.Ā
I love how after seeing the lighthearted bonding moments you remind us again that reader feels like she can never escape Maeveās ghost.
You shouldnāt be surprised, but Spencer Reid has raised a delightfully entertaining and precociously conversational child.
I love him. I admire the fact he raised Charlotte despite the tragedy and reader leaving
At first sheās shy, but once you present her with butter chicken, she thinks youāre Godās gift to earth.Ā
I realized after rereading even this cute scene has great significance too
I googled it (lol sorry Iāve never had butter chicken before) but supposedly butter chicken can be made from chicken tandoori
And who loves chicken tandoori? Spencer.
Reader is a sweetheart confirmed. She had a feeling that Charlotte would love it because sheās her fatherās daughter and reader loves Spencer so much she notices the little things
She shows you the present Derek got her: a little box which projects a spinning solar system in a sea of pretty jewel-toned lights onto the wall when you turn off the myriad lamps, and she names each and every planet, just like Spencer said she would. You get to meet Rosie, who is a plushie horse head on a long stick, and indulge her love for invisible sugar cubes. She shows you her dance from The Nutcracker, and you agree to play ballet class with herāwhich ends up being her favorite game of the night. Every time you intentionally flub a step, she breaks out into hysterical laughter. Her energy is contagious, and you fall into the swing of babysitting quite easily. Even if she werenāt so charming, youād be captivated.
I know Iām commenting on so many paragraphs but I canāt help it! I love this fic
Charlotte is very adorable. I love these lighthearted moments between them. Theyāre bonding. My fav people are bonding. She showed us the planets. She loves us š„ŗ
Spencer is right. Reader is good with kids. Gosh, sheās so good. Youāre so good at writing Charlotte and reader being a babysitter.
You see her father in the set of her eyes and the warmth of her hair and the slope of her nose. Sheās real. SheāsĀ him. Genetically. Itās hard to look awayāto stop searching for proof in every familiar feature.Ā
The way reader is in awe. This description is captivating. I think she does love Charlotte already. Itās hard not to since she loves Spencer and this is his kid. But the guilt over everything is making her scared of admitting that to herself.
Gosh the way she keeps trying to find proof of the boy she loves in his daughter is beautiful and heartbreaking
āDo you evenĀ haveĀ a TV?ā
Reader is so funny š and good question
āItās in daddyās room,ā she says, rocking back and forth on her little feet, gripping the edge of the couch for support. āSometimes when Iām sad we watch movies and TV in there and he lets me sleep in his bed. Even though itāsĀ bad sleep hygiene.Ā Because ofĀ blue light.ā
Spencer the technophobe got a TV for his daughter š and he lets her watch movies and TV when sheās sad even tho itās ābad sleep hygieneā awww Charlotte is so smart
I love the way you show how being a father kind of changed Spencer in certain ways.
It must be so jarring for reader. She constantly has to remind herself that this isnāt the 28 year old version of him anymore. Brings me back to this line
Heās not just a clueless, bereaved 28 year old holding a wailing baby anymore. HeāsĀ actuallyĀ a father.Ā
itās unfair now heās a pretty 33 year old father
āI see,ā you nod, pulling your knees to your chest against the slight chill and eyeing the fireplace desirously. āAre you sad right now?ā
I sense foreshadowing. I sense that Spencer might kiss us in front of the fireplace sometime hehe
I wonāt be disappointed if that never happens I just like to dream š¤£
Despite being born of borderline Shakespearean tragedyādespite Spencerās ominous warning about temper tantrumsāshe seems like a perfectly happy, outgoing little girl.Ā
Spencer and Charlotte both experienced tragedies but at least they have each other. You made Charlotte so endearing.
She shakes her head emphatically, and climbs onto the couch, shuffling toward you on her knees. āNo. I just wanted to show you Scooby Doo.ā
Aww š
Charlotte tugs down her pajama shirt so the little shooting stars and planets on it stretch into oblong blobs and kneels next to you. Her little milk teeth are perfect pearly white as she smiles shyly, and sheĀ definitelyĀ has her dadās eyesāhuge, rich brown,Ā you-canāt-say-no-to-meĀ eyes.Ā
She still has her chirpy little sing-song baby voice. ItāsĀ absurdlyĀ cute.Ā
I love this description. You have this way of completely immersing the reader in your fics. Itās like I can hear Charlotteās cute voice.
āDonāt move,ā she orders, and just like that sheās back up, running across cushions to the other side of the couch (you probably shouldnāt let her do that) and kneeling again, fussily choosing from the stacked pile of blankets at the corner of the sectional. āFluffy or yarn?ā
You are so freaking good at writing kids.
āDefinitely fluffy.ā
āDefinitely,ā she agrees happily in her sweet musical way, like she loves the sound of the word. āDefinitely,Ā definitely.ā
How is it possible that I love Charlotte even more after rereading? š Sheās so cute!
Thatās it. Reader needs to marry Spencer and become Charlotteās stepmother as soon as possible! I know this is a slow burn but a girl can dream š
A moment later sheās successfully unfoldedĀ allĀ the blankets in order to grab the on at the very bottom of the pileāa big cream-colored oneāand drags it back over to you, making a show of tossing and pulling and patting and smoothing till youāre completely tucked in up to your shoulders.Ā
This is so freaking adorable. I feel like she learned how to tuck in someone from Spencer š„ŗ
āThere. You can sleep here tonight.ā
āOh, you knowāI donāt think weāre having a sleepover, Charlotte.ā
She looks crestfallen, but hides it well, squishing a babyish cheek against the couch cushion next to you and picking at its seam.Ā
āWell⦠why not?ā
Oh⦠Charlotte! š„¹š„ŗ Iām moving in tonight.
I rlly hope there will be a sleepover in the future.
āNo. I see him all the time. I want to keep playing withĀ you.ā
I love how you can see Spencerās behavior showing up in his daughter. Itās so sweet
Your heart swells. Sheās got the same earnest sweetness as her father, and is well on her way to having just as much attitude.
The way readerās heart swells? Same. The way she does such a motherly gesture. The parallel with Spencerās fatherly gesture earlier?
Carefully you untuck your hand from the blanket and brush her braid over her shoulder.Ā
He smooths her braids and you realize he mustāve done them himself.
These two are Charlotteās parents š
āThatās sweet, Charlotte. Iām having fun too. Maybe we can hang out again sometime.ā
I hope Charlotte holds her to that lol
She takes the little act of affection as an invitation to plop down next to you and lean into your shoulder. For a split second you freezeābut you snap out of it and offer her a corner of the blanket. She takes it until youāre both warm and cozy and tucked in.Ā
She thinks this is a little act of affection but to Charlotte it must mean so much. This baby needs a mother š„¹
Iām adopting her
Btw this image of them huddling together is so warm and sweet.
I love the way you show readerās guilt even in subtle ways like her freezing for a split second because she feels like she shouldnāt be here
Makes sense. Thereād be no reason to talk about you.
Ouch. I love how you write readerās POV tbh I see sheās more negative in the present after all that trauma
She thinks Spencer wouldnāt want to talk about her. Rereading is making me realize tho that maybe he did want to talk about her. The reason he didnāt bring her up is cause he knew that Charlotte would want to meet her.
He didnāt want to make reader uncomfortable. He was waiting for reader to make the first move.
He does care about our feelings. He does think about us š„²
You donāt mention that the office had never been more somber than it was that dayānot even when Haley died. That when you look back on the memories, theyāre devoid of color or sound, aside from Charlotteās screaming. It was too soon to bring her in, but where else could he go?Ā Where else could he possibly take her?
This scene is absolutely haunting and tragic. I wonder if witnessing this partly pushed reader to eventually leave so suddenly without saying goodbye.
The way Haleyās dark death is referenced and the foreshadowing for Maeveās.
āDid you know my mom?ā
Oh Charlotte. itās so natural for her to be curious about Maeve.
Your blood flash-freezes for a moment as youāre pulled out of the memory with a bucket of ice water to the face. Youāre not quite sure how to answer without opening Pandoraās box.Ā
I love this part. Itās chilling. The mere mention of Maeve is traumatic. Another reminder that Maeve is and always will be Charlotteās mother.
You turn slightly, sitting up a little straighter and dropping the blanket, suddenly hyper-conscious of how you might look too comfortable on his couch, or too familiar with his daughter.Ā
Oh gosh the way she feels so much guilt is heartbreaking sheās so afraid of overstepping and seeming too familiar
The smile that blossoms on your own face is completelyĀ unconsciousĀ as you watch themāthe way she scrambles off the couch and runs as fast as her tiny feet will carry her around it, immediately glomming onto his leg just like sheād done before he left.Ā
This is so sweet. Reader genuinely smiling is beautiful. Charlotteās excitement is cute. Itās like getting a glimpse of an alternate universe if everything was different. If reader was Charlotteās mom or stepmother already and they get to be excited when Spencer comes home
āOh, my girl,ā he half-grunts, half laughs at the impact, sliding a still-dripping umbrella into the holder by the door before dropping to her level and pulling his daughter into a hug. Immediately you note the exhaustion whittling cracks in his voice and carving itself under his eyes. Like whatever heād been out doing hadnāt gone so well. āMissed you. Were you good while I was gone?ā
Iām gonna be a bit delulu again and pretend the date didnāt go so well because he couldnāt stop talking about reader or Charlotte or both
The way heās exhausted but always has time to show love for his daughter is heartwarming
āDefinitely,ā she says. His brows dart up.Ā
I love that she keeps repeating a word that reader used.
Spencerās eyes slide to you, full of wry humor despite his lack of energy like heās waiting for your corroboration. Charlotte doesnāt give you the chance to speak, and his eyes immediately flash back to her. Itās for the bestāhe hasnāt looked at you with that much ease in years. You wouldnāt have known what to say.Ā
I love how this lighthearted scene turned tragic in 2 seconds. He hasnāt looked at her with ease in years š
makes me go back to this line One more moment, he sparesāone moment for you to watch the disdain turning to stone in his eyes. Cold in a way heās never looked at you before.Ā
That argument made him look at her differently thatās so sad
She leans farther into her fatherās hold and looks over to you. āGuess what? She said we could have a sleepover tonight.ā
Yes, we are! 𤣠I love how mischievous she is
āSometimes Charlie Mae remembers things how sheĀ wantsĀ to remember them and not necessarily how they actually happened, huh?ā
Spencer being a smart father is so sweet and hot. Have I been calling him hot too many times?
Gotta love the foreshadowing with Charlotteās name too. The fact that Mae can be a shortened version of Maeve. Charlotte is like such a cute name that totally fits a child of Spencer Reid. The nickname Charlie too. And Mae? Yeah the Maeve references are traumatic but Mae does sound sweet and innocent. The name just flows so sweetly.
āOkay, Homo sapien-sapien bipedal girl.ā
Okay this and lovebug is so freaking cute.
Both of you watch her through the fluted railing until she disappears, and you feel only a little slighted that she didnāt say goodbye.
I love this foreshadowing since I believe in the next part Spencer does tell reader she felt bad about not saying goodbye. Aww
āBruce Springsteen,ā Spencer mutters incredulously, still crouching.Ā
Charlotteās mix up was so adorable.
After a beat you realize he has nothing more to say. That heās standing, hands pocketed, studying you from the other side of the couch. With Charlotte gone, the room feels darker. The air feels thicker. Thrumming.
Itās almost like heās waiting to see what else you do.
Unabashedly, heāsĀ watching.Ā
The image of Spencer watching us without shame is so hot
You hum, wrapping your arms around yourself. Spencerās eyes dart down to note the action. You wonder if heās only just now noticing the casual attireāa thin sweater too light for the season. Too casual for work. You tug it down over your waistband.
I continue to be slightly delulu and pretend heās checking us out. That sweater better haunt his dreams as much as guilt haunts reader.
āIāve⦠been avoiding it. She homeschools anyway, so we adjust the curriculum based on what sheās ready for.ā
Oh. Oh. Oh. This is another great example of Spencer being such a good father. He doesnāt want the IQ obsession to define Charlotteās childhood like it did for him. He wants her to be happy and carefree still.
āIt does. They adore her.ā
āYeah. Not hard to understand why.ā
Reader probably thinking itās easy to adore Charlotte because of an earlier line like this Sheās got the same earnest sweetness as her father
She thinks Spencer has an earnest sweetness but sheās too afraid to say it out loud oh my girl I feel her underlying feelings in this line
You act like you donāt suddenly have a million questions about the nature of his relationship with Charlotteās grandparents.
Iām curious too. Sorta seems like thereās something ominous about his relationship with Charlotteās grandparents.
Makes me go back to these lines It was too soon to bring her in, but where else could he go?Ā Where else could he possibly take her?
It looks like the grandparents maybe werenāt willing to help in the very beginning after Charlotte was born? And thatās why reader is so surprised that theyāre so helpful now š¤
Rain lashes the window hard and draws you both from some mutual dreamland. Spencer is regarding you with the beginnings of that same contemplative look on his face.Ā
I wonder whatās he thinking about. Hopefully he thinks we look like his future wife or something lolol
realistically heās probably thinking about the past or maybe heās wondering what reader is thinking about.
Spencer gives a dramatic berth as you pass him into the entryway to put your jacket on, watching as you pull on your boots. The smell of dark rain and something smokier follows as he reaches around you. Beneath it is the same detergent and shampoo heād always smelled like. Itās distracting as you mindlessly accept whatever heās now holding out to you.Ā Smooth. Tortoise shell. The handle of his umbrella.
After rereading Iām noticing heās actually taking his sweet time with reader. Charlotte is waiting for him upstairs and yet heās more focused on watching readerās every move and making sure she gets his umbrella.
I choose to see this as him being totally in love with us š
The way she notices he smells the same. The way sheās distracted cause she keeps finding hints of her Spencer still existing.
āOh, thanks! IāllāI can bring it to work tomorrow. To give back.ā
I forgot but I donāt think she gives it back tomorrow š interesting very interesting hehe
Why canāt you move? Why are you glued to the spot, watching him watch you?Ā
I love how they canāt stop watching each other the chemistryyy
You balk and attempt to shake it off.Ā Lifesaver.
I have a theory that she might have witnessed Maeveās death. Why else would she dream about her? Why else would she get so distraught when Spencer calls her a ālifesaverā š«¢
For a fraction of a second, so quick itās disorientingāyou feel moreĀ homeĀ than you have in years. Like the two timelines youāve been straddling have briefly synced up. His eyes are exactly the same as theyāve always been, and there is a flash of intimacy that does not belong to you.
A flash of intimacy that does not belong toā
Oh the angst. The angst. The angst. this situation is as messy as a soap opera I canāt look away from.
Despite the guilt she feels, reader briefly feels at home with Spencer.
For a second she can pretend heās still her best friend she thought was waiting for her š
Then, years in the future, a little voice from upstairs is hollering, āDaddy!ā
Charlotte as usual still cute but gosh I love how this innocent scene is angsty too. A reminder for reader that Spencer is still a father raising his daughter from another woman. Reader canāt pretend that theyāre still in the past before Charlotte, before Maeve because the future is interrupting.
āThat she is. Iām glad you got to meet her, again.ā
You swallow a thorn and try not to think about how his voice softens.Ā
Spencer with his sweet earnest nature and still oblivious that innocent words like this make reader feel so guilty. Swallow a thorn? So poetic teach me your ways.
AboutĀ what you didĀ to them.Ā
This line scares me because I have to prepare myself for the flashback that will probably show up someday.
āAre you sure? You can wait in here for a little while. Itās a rainband, it wonāt last.ā
Initially I was like oh heās offering for her to stay because heās a caring person but I think this also works as an excuse for him wanting the chance to spend just a bit more time with her.
Reader believes she doesnāt deserve his time but Spencer wants to give her his time.
He nods again, taking another distrusting look at the conditions of the road behind you. āDrive safe, okay?ā
The way he keeps showing he does care about reader. He does think about her.
For a moment you fumble with your keys, but after a few embarrassing seconds (youĀ knowĀ Spencer is waiting to close the door until youāre safely in your car) you manage to climb in, closing the umbrella and shaking it out before tossing it in the passengerās seat and shutting your door against the deluge.Ā
I love the realism tbh like fumbling with the keys and feeling embarrassed
The wheel goes slick under your clammy, white-knuckle grip as your eyes close and you take several deep breaths, trying to fight the roiling of your stomach.Ā
The way you describe anxiety/guilt is so real
When you open your eyes again, Spencer is gone. The front door is closed, but the windows are still the warmest on the block.
The warmest ohhhh sweetheart deserves his warmth
You put the car in reverse.
I know itās a line to end a beautiful scene but gosh the word āreverseā makes me think about how reader probably wishes she could reverse time š
By the time you get back to your apartment, any semblance of joy or redemption from your time with Charlotte has shed like an old skinācurdling in the stale air as you lean hard against the door to close it behind you. It squeaks against the floor and you wrestle with the lock in the dark. That sickly malaise of having woken up in your early twenties is worse than usual tonight, as you turn to face the big empty living room. Maybe thatās what you get for choosing to live in the same building youād moved out of five years prior.Ā
Now, your kick off your boots and donāt bother turning the light on before making your way to sit in front of one of them, cracking it a few inches open to let the cold breeze keep you company.Ā
I feel how tired and sad and lonely she is just from reading these poetic paragraphs. Well done. The way this part implies how she must feel even more overwhelmed with the distance and differences between her and Spencer.
Spencer moved out of his place and lives in a better place. Sheās living in the same place she lived before.
Spencer lives with his child and is surrounded by warmth and light. She lives alone with the cold breeze as her only company.
She thinks she deserves to be alone in the dark and cold š she thinks she doesnāt deserve redemption and joy she experienced
Oh honey you do deserve it!
When you were twenty-two you chose it for its charm. You had a comfortable income. The excitement of being an adult hadnāt worn off yet. Making coffee in the morning still felt like playing house. When youād toured the unit, you thought the parquet flooring and the lofted ceilings were so elegant, and the big paneled windows with their sliding sashes were romantic. Only after you moved in did you realize they were painted shutāso you took a razor and some acetone and fought for several hours to get them open. It was the first thing you did when you moved back in.Ā
I feel sorry for readerās loss of young adult optimism. The way you show how her younger self acted in the past in a memory like this is beautiful.
But thereās still hope! She did kind of find that young adult joy again even if it was only temporarily when she was at Spencerās house which is fitting actually because heās her home.
Your stomach turns. A familiar breeze hits your cheek. It smells like the cityāgas and rain and asphalt and fried food and a hint of green, ofĀ life, that youād realized long ago wasnāt ever really out there.
Oh this is beautiful and sad. She canāt catch a break
If only youād realized an ex-smoker canāt have justĀ oneĀ cigarette. An addict can never be casual about their vices. Can never stopĀ wanting.Ā
My hopeless romantic side is back. Reader and Spencer are both ex addicts š a line like ācan never stop wantingā can be foreshadowing hehe
Reader and Spencer can never stop wanting each other
If only youād realized keeping promises made to a dead woman is a lot harder than keeping promises made to a living one.Ā
Because Maeve Donovan isnātĀ everĀ letting you out of your end of the deal.Ā
These ending lines? Iconic. I got chills the first time I read them and I still do.
Iām wondering what the promise was. I forgot if that has been already been revealed in any of the published parts so far *claps* thank you for such a captivating beginning
the parallel that reader left Spencer when he was 28 and now sheās back when sheās 28. this series is poetry
This series is like a fun puzzle Iām trying to complete š¦š¦š¦
āThe fact that 3449 is Charlotteās initials!? 3449= CMDR Iām in awe, I love your dedication I love ur world buildingā YASSSSS I forgot abt that detail honestly kinda forgot about this series but holy shit I always appreciate an annotation and this one is so detailedšš thank you so much for taking time out of your day to do this I am sending u so much love and so so many kisses!!!
@mariasont made the cutest bestest quiz ever you take it and it tells you which BAU man secretly wants you (link to her quiz!! Take it itās so fun) and I was like wowww this is so awesome
So I made a silly little quiz if anyone is interested!!! U answer some questions and it tells you what era of spencer reid is in love with you hehehheh
ok im about to say some things that will inevitably make me sound like a crazy person which is not completely untrue but unfortunately I am one of those awful people who feels the need to share like actually everything ever, typically at the expense of myself or others!!! self-preservation? I hardly know er.
DOUBLE unfortunately!! im a real sucker for nostalgia (i mean who isn't in todays climate lol - I digress). anyway its not like im yearning to be a 1950s housewife or return to my 2010s Directioner roots, I AM however yearning for the summer of '24 when I was so deeply obsessed with Spencer Reid that it was downright disturbing. I was like a sleeper cell agent, you really could not take me anywhere without me relating something to That Man. it was So Bad.
Anyway that was a prologue to my current happenings. I was feeling particularly nostalgic & self-indulgent today so I scrolled through your blog the same way I would've like two years ago and it was actually very cute and emosh if you ignore the absurdity of it. like aw DYBMN in her early days :') think pieces on spencelle :') musings on whether or not Spencer Reid is hung :') like AW GUYS YOU JUST HAD TO BE THERE. this was Coachella 2016. idk if your blog so profoundly affected me as an individual because there was some crazy developmental stuff happening in my life at the time or what, but the power of teenaged girl bloggers on Tumblr is actually unmatched. I've had fanfics grant me more perspective on things than real life experiences (which maybe says more about me than fan fictions but WHATEVER)
what I am trying to get across with this is firstly, WOW I probably shouldn't have depended so much on Spencer Reid Tumblr as a teenager but also WOW I am so glad to have found such a community when I did, and in the Spencer-Reid-Obsession-Transition-Into-Adulthood Venn diagram, your blog was in the middle. anyway this isn't a NEREIDPRINC3SS PLS COME BACK THE KIDS MISS YOU ask or a... whatever the opposite of that is... I haven't been super involved in Tumblr in a while because (shock horror) im no longer plagued by fictional FBI agent brainworms on the daily but I do check in occasionally or scroll through peoples old blogs hoping to go back to what once was!! lol!! and im feeling vulnerable about it. im feeling like 'thank you for creating this lovely space and niche community and encouraging young writers and just being a creative young woman on the internet'. im feeling like even if you don't post writing on here again, or you do (!) you must be made aware of the impact you have haddddd
its actually so serious and I doubt im the only one who feels this way but maybe I am the only one who is typing a spiel about it at 2.45am on a Wednesday morning. which whatever SUE ME can't a girl be passionate !!! okay sorry for this clusterfuck of a message, I think there was a point in here somewhere but I got lost in between tradwives and Spencer Reids penis. I hope life is being kind to you, thank you for your service I appreciate you more than you know GOODNIGHT
p.s. why is this giving love letter. am I Spencer Reid circa part 6 of dybmn... maybe. the nereid effect...
Ohmygod I love you
āthank you for creating this lovely space and niche community and encouraging young writers and just being a creative young woman on the internetā
That was like the most beautiful kind gut punch Iāve ever felt in my entire fucking life like that rlly got me right in my feelings omg
Actually this whole thing did thank u so much I promise I appreciate you as much as you do me and you were just as impactful like summer 24 truly was a beautiful fever dream, I too has spencer reid psychosis and sharing it with a likeminded community was exactly what I needed to be doing at that moment. On the one hand you can say itās just tumblr but also it was a community and it was deeply formative to me, I have made friends whom I still regularly talk to and love deeply like idk this blog was just peak girlhood to me. So much about it informed who I am and changed my life. I think writing fanfic was extremely therapeutic for me at a time where I was super insecure about literally everything and the ridiculously warm reception and kindness I received was such a lifeline. Like hello I chose to major in English because of this blog!! I identify as a writer in my real life because of this blog!! That is a core part of my identity and it is all due to me being horny for some loser from a show that started in 2005!! Not even a particularly GOOD show mind you!!! Itās all just very beautiful.
Not to get all sappy and tangential too but I think spaces like this are actually really important for self exploration. I was so closed off emotionally back in the day and like okay yeah I still am shhhh but I was SO allergic to vulnerability that it was nearly impossible for me to even imagine being in a romantic relationship with a fictional character without cringing and feeling immense shameš and now I can do it in real life! And I know how I want to love and be loved! And I didnāt know any of that before! And I figured it all out in a way that felt safe to me!! And I got to have such meaningful discussions with likeminded people about that shit like we were deadass doing lit crit for DYBMN like we had theses and analyses going on!! It was so fun and I love you and everyone who has been here with me thank you for this ask and for rocking with me I love you I love you MWAH MWAH MWAH
Iām not currently working on anything for anyone, but I will never declare that I have Stopped because why would I commit to that, I donāt know what the future holds! Inspiration strikes at randomšÆšÆš
Also this was my first time taking plan b so anyone who has taken it, did it lowkey make u feel like shit? I am so fucking tired suddenly and Im abt to work until 11:30 PM I gotta lock in
hi babes, so im kinda new to writing and have been reading your fics for forever now, and i seriously adore the way you write and describe things.
do you have any tips to get better? i feel like i always repeat myself no matter what i do and always use the same words :[
In terms of writing exercises when I feel stuck sometimes I like to just describe an object or a scene in as vivid of detail as I can, not just using trite turn of phrase or things we are used to seeing in writing but utilizing all my faculties to accurately illustrate what I am seeing which sounds like DUH but itās so easy to fall into habit and convention and cliche when writing. What is even more challenging for me though is trying to write about emotions and sensations in a way that hasnāt been done a hundred times before. Like you have to go very internal and ask yourself what you are ACTUALLY feeling in your body when you experience an emotion or recall a memory, and think about how you would write it down. Journalling every single day can really help. Just intentionally observing the world more often makes you a better writer I think!
i reread come on home to me so often you really healed something in me w that one!
Aww I am so glad, I love flangst so much it is my favorite thing to write!! U might like āghost in the machineā, another certified nereidprinc3ss phoebe bridgers based flangst classic. Also āthe killer doesnāt understandā, lowkey Phoebe bridgers is always at the scene of the crime