Ok so:
More autistic Spencer Reid but this time it’s about the Special little things Derek does for him
my favorite genre of headcanons :)
Sometimes Spencer likes to lay down on the cool tile floor in Derek’s kitchen, running his hands along the small grooves in the stones—after he makes sure that the floor has been cleaned recently—and he just talks into the air, not really expecting any response or attention because who wants to hear him rant about physics, right? Except Derek actually pays attention to what Spencer’s saying and he sometimes even joins him in laying on the floor (Derek will reluctantly admit that the floor isn’t half bad, especially when he gets to see Spencer so comfortable and open)
Spencer genuinely almost fainted one time when they were on a case from eating so little—it probably didn’t help that they were in Florida during the summer—and Derek was absolutely horrified. He made a point after that to starting getting Spencer to eat during cases (usually by enticing him with his favorite foods until Reid gives in and takes a break)
After especially bad cases, Derek holds Spencer extra tight on the plane rides home because he knows how Spencer likes the extra sensory input of being squeezed when he’s feeling up to touching. The team doesn’t even spare it a second glance anymore, used to the two of them curled up together on the couch
Derek makes a point to not prolong eye contact with Spencer during conversations, usually looking around the room or at something he has in his hands so as to not make Spencer feel awkward for also looking around—he doesn’t want to force Spencer into more eye contact then strictly necessary because he knows Reid will force intense eye contact if he thinks that’s what he’s supposed to be doing
Sometimes after cases when Morgan can tell Spencer is overwhelmed he—sometimes begrudgingly—offers up his headphones to Reid so that he can block out the noise (Derek can also tell a lot about how Spencer is feeling just based on whether he doesn’t listen to music and uses the headphones for noice cancellation or if he blasts the music so loudly that Derek can hear what’s he’s listening to from three seats over)
Derek carries bandaids around with him—which the team teases him relentlessly for, calling him a mother hen—because Spencer has absolutely no spatial awareness and never fails to bruise or cut himself at least once every few days (Derek at this point is so used to Spencer asking for a bandaid that he recognizes the look on Reid’s face as soon as he starts heading over to ask for one and Derek usually has it ready by the time Spencer can even reach him and open his mouth)
Whenever Spencer doesn’t understand something socially—usually a joke or phrase that went completely over his head—Derek makes sure to take the time and explain to Spencer what he’s misunderstanding (usually he can’t do it in the moment during cases so whenever they have a second to themselves Derek makes sure to catch him up to speed)
Spencer is god awful at asking for things (it took him a year into their relationship before he even felt comfortable asking for a kiss) so Derek has gotten good at doing things for Reid on autopilot—he can recognize the look Spencer has on his face when he wants something from a mile away
Spencer has absolutely shitty posture—because of course he does—and Derek occasionally, when Spencer’s okay with it, rubs out the tension in his back because it really does feel like his shoulders are made of bricks with how tense and knotted the muscles are (Spencer, in turn, makes a point to do the same for Derek who somehow managed to pick up Reid’s posture through osmosis or something)