secret santa; spencer reid x fem!reader
summary: based on the gift that jim gives to pam on the “christmas party” episode on the office! basically a secret santa!
warnings: absolutely fuffly
a/n: it’s september so that’s means december. i love christmas and i would not stop writing about the office i’m sorry (not really) english is not my first language, let me know any mistakes, also remember that my request are open!
Christmas is that time of year when the world seems to pause in a sigh of hope and joy.
The streets, normally gray and monotonous, transform into rivers of twinkling lights that dance with the wind, as if the stars themselves had descended from the sky to accompany humanity in its celebration.
The air is filled with a cold that doesn't bother you, but rather invites you to embrace a little tighter, to seek the warmth of a fireplace or the soft glow of candles in the window.
It was definitely your favorite time of year.
And you were determined to bring that spirit to the BAU.
"Hello! How is everyone?" You rushed into the office, carrying a pumpkin latte for each of your coworkers. You went to every desk, dropping off their coffee.
"Hey, sunshine," Morgan smiled broadly at you. "What’s with all this cheer?"
"It's almost Christmas, Derek! I’m so excited." You beamed, handing him his latte. "This is the best time of year, of life, of everything!"
Spencer smiled at your excitement. He wasn’t particularly crazy about Christmas—not that he minded it. It was a nice season, sure, but nothing that kept him up at night.
"So, because I’m super excited, I thought we could do a secret santa!" you told your teammates.
"What’s that?" Emily asked, looking a bit lost.
“You’re joking, right?” JJ stared at her in disbelief.
Everyone chuckled a little at Emily’s confusion.
“What? What’s going on? I don’t know what that is, guys,” Emily protested.
“It’s a game where everyone gets assigned a secret friend to exchange gifts with. And on the day of the exchange, you find out who your secret friend is, and you swap gifts based on their tastes, of course.”
Everyone turned their attention to Reid.
“The tradition of gift exchanges in December dates back to Roman festivals. ‘Who gives a gift gains prestige and creates an obligation in the recipient, who must somehow reciprocate the gesture, thus forging social bonds of hospitality, protection, and mutual exchange,’” Reid explained.
“Thanks a lot, Reid.” Derek laughed. “You just took the fun out of Christmas.”
“Don’t say that.” You lightly swatted Derek’s shoulder, scolding him.
“Anyway! Are you guys in? Please!” you begged your coworkers.
“Of course, sounds like fun,” JJ smiled at you.
“Good luck convincing Hotch,” Emily laughed.
“Are you kidding? He’s my best friend,” you scoffed with mock seriousness, making everyone laugh.
“I’ll tell Garcia,” Derek gave you a small pat on the shoulder, smiling at you.
You invited everyone to your house for a small dinner and to exchange gifts.
You were wearing a long-sleeve burgundy blouse, with a black skirt and tights, and your hair loose. You felt beautiful.
You had managed to convince Hotch; it wasn’t hard, he was really a sweetheart, just pretended not to be.
The gift exchange was planned, and you got Garcia. This made you extremely happy; you knew her well and had come up with a great gift for her.
She had been wanting a video game for a long time, but it was quite expensive, and she wasn’t willing to splurge on it.
“Are you kidding!? I’m dying!!!” JJ screamed with excitement when she saw the watch Hotch bought her. Apparently, she loved it.
“It’s nothing.” Hotch gave JJ a small smile as she gave him a brief hug of thanks.
“Oh, cuties!” Garcia smiled.
“You know, I get to give a gift to my favorite cutie.” You approached Garcia.
“Shut up! Really!?” She squealed with excitement.
“Here you go.” You handed her a small box.
“AAAAH! How exciting!” With joy, the blonde with glasses unwrapped her gift.
“She seems quite excited.” Spencer, to your right, whispered in your ear.
“I hope so, because I won’t be able to buy coffee for a month,” you laughed.
Spencer watched you, feeling a bit nervous. He wasn’t sure if it was because he feared you wouldn’t like the gift he had for you or because you looked so pretty.
He didn’t believe much in Christmas magic, but lately, seeing you in those Christmas colors and scents, it definitely had to be magic.
“It can’t be, it can’t be, it can’t be!” Penelope repeated with euphoria when she saw the video game in her hands. “I adore you!” Penelope hugged you warmly.
“I adore you too, sweetie.” You gladly returned the hug.
“It can’t be, I’m going to play this at work all day.” The blonde said as she released you.
Then she remembered Hotch was in front of her. “I mean—no—you know—” She stumbled over her words.
Everyone laughed at seeing the girl struggling and started to spread out into their own conversations. So you decided to head to the kitchen for some chocolate.
“I’ll be right back, okay?” you told Spencer as you got up from your seat.
Spencer thought it was the perfect moment to give you your gift, so he followed you to the kitchen.
The truth was, he wasn’t thrilled about everyone seeing his gift. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed or anything, just… it made him a little nervous.
“I love the decoration.” Spencer commented on the decor in your kitchen.
“Oh, really? I love decorating for Christmas!” You smiled, this season truly filled you with joy.
“Yeah… sure.” Spencer smiled nervously.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” You touched his shoulder, noticing he seemed a bit off.
“Me? Yeah, of course, it’s just that—umm—you know—I—” Spencer stammered. You looked at him puzzled, laughing a little.
“Here.” He handed you a box wrapped in red Christmas paper.
You gasped in surprise. “I’m your secret Santa?”
“Oh God!” You started opening your gift. You realized it was a large pink teapot. “It’s so pretty.” You smiled gratefully, you loved making tea.
“Yeah—well—umm, there are other things inside.” Spencer pointed to the teapot.
You looked at him curiously and opened the teapot. It was filled with small mementos of your friendship.
It had the ticket from the Redskins game you went to when you first met, the ticket from the first time you went to the movies, some colorful bands you used to braid Spencer’s hair from time to time, and many other things that reminded you of memories from your relationship.
This made you a bit emotional, causing your eyes to well up. “It’s so sweet.” You looked at him with misty eyes.
“Hey, don’t cry.” He whispered and used his thumb to wipe away a couple of tears rolling down your cheek.
“It’s just that—I don’t know, it’s so meaningful, it’s so sweet, Spencer, really.” You sobbed. “Thank you so much.”
“It’s okay, I—I thought you might not like it, I wasn’t sure if I should have just bought you the headphones you wanted.” He scratched his neck nervously.
“Are you kidding? This is perfect.” You set the teapot on the counter to hug him. You wrapped your arms around his neck and buried your face in his chest.
Spencer tensed a little but immediately returned the hug, soaking in your scent.
You pulled back slightly from the hug, not completely, so you were quite close.
“You know what could be the best Christmas gift ever?” He whispered against your lips.
“I have an idea.” You whispered back.
“Really?” He raised his eyebrows.
“Hmm” You nodded as you leaned closer to him.
“It’s good we have the same ideas.” He finished by pressing his lips to yours, in a kiss as soft and sweet as the first sip of hot chocolate on a winter morning. It wasn’t a hurried or stolen kiss, but one full of meaning.
As the kiss continued, the world stopped. The laughter and Christmas carols in the background faded away with the touch of his lips.
Christmas was definitely magical.