Summary: Spencer is head over heels in love...with Section Chief Erin Strauss’ daughter.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader
Word Count: 788
Warning: Little kissing and lead up to smuttiness but no smut.
A/N: This fulfills my boss’s kid square for @cmbingo. This is an AU of sorts in which Strauss has an adult child around the 7-8 season of the show (no Maeve). I think you see where this is going ;)
If someone had told Spencer a year ago that he was going to be head over heels in love, he would’ve thought they were insane. But here he was, heart racing, sweaty and laughing with his girlfriend in his arms. “That was, um, wow. Yea.”
She giggled into his chest and nipped playfully at his arm, pulling the covers over them both. “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Smiling, Spencer kissed her on the forehead and took a deep breath. “Do you think we can come clean to your mom soon? I’d like for her not to kill me.”
She replied with a snickering laugh. “We’ll tell her soon, I promise. I’m just...mom’s always been a pain in the ass with me dating in general.” Her voice was muffled into Spencer’s chest. “So having to tell her that I’m sleeping with one of her agents is probably going to knock the wind out of her.”
The thought of telling Strauss that he was dating, i.e. sleeping with, her daughter made his stomach churn. Despite the macabre work, he loved his job. He was good at it and he wanted to keep it. “You think she’ll fire me?”
“No way,” Y/N laughed. “She gives you guys grief sometimes, but she constantly talks about the BAU. She calls you the BAU’s walking, talking computer.”
Spencer laughed under his breath. “An eidetic memory has its perks. But you promise we’ll say something soon?”
“Definitely.”
-----
Nearly two weeks later, they still hadn’t said anything and the relationship was heating up fast. On her way out of work, Y/N texted Spencer.
Y/N: Do you want to tell mom now? I could stop by the bureau and we can get it over with.
S: Please? I think she stepped out for dinner but she told Hotch she’ll be back in a little bit.
Y/N: Okay. Here goes nothing! lol. On my way.
Thankfully, Y/N only worked a few minutes away as a chemical engineer, so she walked off the elevator into the bullpen just 10 minutes later.
She strode across the floor toward Spencer and gave him a quick kiss. “Mom back?”
“Not yet,” Spencer grimaced. The closer they got to telling Strauss about their relationship the more he wanted to hurl his guts up. “How was your day?”
As she regaled him with the findings of her latest research, Spencer relaxed into his chair with dopey, lovestruck smile.
“What?” Y/N asked with a laugh.
Spencer leaned forward and grabbed her hands. “Oh, you know, just marveling at your brilliance and falling more and more in love.”
Laughing, she blushed. “Flattery will get you anywhere you want to go, Spencer Reid.” When she leaned into him, she brushed her hand against his inner thigh. “There somewhere around here we can be alone?”
Immediately, the recently vacated office of Dr. Blaine Ledbetter came to mind. Grabbing her hand, he led her to the office and shut the door behind them. Her hands ghosted over his neck, teasing at possibilities before her lips meet his. As she slipped her tongue passed his lips, he groaned and pulled her close by the small of her back, his fingers sliding underneath the hem of her shirt. “God, I love you.”
Chuckling softly, Y/N replied. “I think I love you more.” She slipped her hand under his belt, grabbing his ass as he pinned her up against the wall. In an instant, heat dissolved when they heard a voice on the other side of the door. “Hello? Who’s in there?”
Spencer went wide-eyed. Chief Strauss. His boss and his girlfriend’s mother. It couldn’t get worse.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Y/N? What are you-?”
When she opened the door, she shielded Spencer from the death glare. “Um, Mom. I believe you know Spencer?”
“SSA Reid, what’s happening here?”
Swallowing against the lump in his throat, he summoned every bit of courage he had. He’d talked down dozens of unsubs; he could do this. “Chief Strauss, I know this looks bad and obviously being in this office is pretty inappropriate, but this isn’t random. I’m-I’m i-in love with your daughter.”
Her eyes softened. “Y/N, why wouldn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you freaking out. You’ve always been judgmental of the guys I’ve dated and you’ve told so many stories about the dangers of working at the Bureau that I didn’t want you to try and stop this before it started, you know? But it’s true. I’m in love with him, too.” She squeezed Spencer’s hand and leaned her head into her shoulder.
Sighing, Chief Strauss gave her blessing. “You’re a big girl, Y/N. I trust your judgment. And SSA Reid is a good agent. Agent Reid?”
Here Comes Secret Santa Claus [Spencer Reid x fem! Reader]
Find my masterlist here. Taglist is back open, find the form here.
I am currently taking requests for holiday themed fics only. Send me a request here.
Found this idea on a prompt website and I’ve been sitting on it for a while as it didn’t seem right to write it before the holidays. Didn’t have a particular season in mind but it includes the core 8. Also using this as my entry for @cmbingo CM Bingo for the square “Found Family”. Named after “Here Comes Santa Claus”.
Summary: Christmas is your favourite holiday and you eagerly anticipate the BAU’s Secret Santa every year. This year, your Secret Santa has gone all out in order to make you smile.
CW: mentions of alcohol but other than that this is super teeth rotting fluff!
WC: 3.2K
—————————————————————
Here Comes Secret Santa Claus
You’d been on the edge of your seat excited about the BAU’s Secret Santa ever since Hotch announced it five weeks ago. You’d spent five weeks planning and scouring to find the perfect gift for the person you drew and you couldn’t wait for the Christmas party this evening to exchange.
Christmas was where you thrived; it was unrivalled as your favourite holiday. You adored everything about it, from decorating your apartment until it resembled Santa's workshop to wrapping up warm and sipping hot cocoa.
Honesty, you were probably exhausting for the rest of the team. Ever since December first you’d been full to the brim with Christmas cheer.
Each day in December you wore a different Christmas sweater. On office days when you weren’t having to be face to face with grieving families you often wore either a Santa hat or your reindeer antlers atop your head. You hummed Christmas carols twenty four seven, even when you didn’t realise you were doing so.
But your favourite part about the holidays by far, was the gift giving.
You loved buying presents for people. You would spend days, sometimes weeks searching for the perfect gift for someone. You spent all year listening and taking mental notes of things people mentioned in passing that most other people wouldn’t even pick up on.
It was like a sport to you. Finding the one thing that was going to put a smile on someone’s face. That was the real magic of Christmas to you.
When you’d drawn Penelope’s name for this year's Secret Santa you’d been overwhelmed at first. You had so many mental notes stored away about things you could potentially buy her that you weren’t entirely sure where to start.
You knew it had to be something for her office because that was where she spent most of her time. But she already had an impressive collection of animal figures and crazy pens and over the top mugs and you didn’t want to gift her just another chachki.
And then you remembered a mental note of a conversation the two of you had a few months ago.
You’d gone into her bat cave to find her hunched over her desk, groaning slightly.
“What’s wrong Penny?” You hurried to her side, placing a hand between her shoulder blades.
“Oh nothing, my love.” She sat back with a groan, rubbing her lower back as she did so.
“Pen?” You raised a strict eyebrow at her, giving her a look you quite often gave to people on the other side of interrogation room tables.
She blew air out of her mouth, now fiddling with the arms of her chair.
“I’m fine, Y/N, seriously. Nothing that some decent lumbar support wouldn’t fix anyway. Now what can I help your pretty self with?”
That had been the whole conversation but you remembered ever since she had been using various cushions and sitting positions and still seemed to be struggling.
So you’d gone online. You found a company that made, what was supposed to be, top of the line lumbar support for office chairs.
And they were all fashioned into plush animals.
It took you four days to pick one. But ultimately the unicorn shaped support won. You could imagine the exact look on Penelope’s face when she realised the Velcro strap to secure it to the chair was a rainbow pattern.
You’d wrapped it in sparkly paper with a bright pink ribbon around it, wanting everything to be perfect. You were beyond excited. The thought hadn’t even crossed your mind who might have drawn your name.
Once all the paperwork was out of the way for the day, you all piled into your respective cars to head to Rossi’s for the party.
Spencer caught up to you in the parking lot, a little out of breath.
“Y/N! Y/N!” You heard him calling you.
You turned as you reached the car and smiled at his haphazard attempt at a run.
“You need a ride?” You chuckled as he came to a stop in front of you, panting a little.
“Yeah, everyone else already left.”
“Hop in.” You beamed at him as the two of you got into the car.
You drove for a little while in comfortable silence while Spencer caught his breath after his brief encounter with exercise.
As you pulled onto the highway, you noticed Spencer watching you.
“I can feel the excitement emanating off of you.” He laughed a little.
You gave him a sideways glance, making sure to not take your attention fully off the road.
“You know me, I love the holidays.”
“I don’t think I’ve met someone who loves them as much as you do.” He sat back in his chair, unbuttoning his coat as the heat in the car rose.
But that wasn’t the only reason he did it.
He managed to manoeuvre out of the coat without removing his seatbelt and placed it in the footwell.
You glanced over at him again and a smile broke out on your lips.
“You’re wearing the sweater.” You giggled a little, using one hand to nudge him in the arm.
Last Christmas you’d drawn Spencer’s name for Secret Santa. You’d agonised over what to get him, and not just because he was the hardest team member to buy for.
A few weeks before the Christmas party the team had been laughing at your particularly gaudy choice of Christmas sweater, covered in bows and bells.
Spencer had remained quiet until you looked at him with a playful smirk.
“I would love to see boy genius in a Christmas sweater.”
“That’ll be a cold day in hell.” He rolled his eyes.
“Oh come on, Spence.” JJ laughed. “There must be a Christmas sweater in existence that we could get you to wear.”
“If you could find a…” he paused to consider this, clearly trying to think of the most ridiculous thing he could to ensure no one would ever be able to find such a thing. “A Christmas sweater themed around Halloween, magic and chess, I may consider wearing it.”
It was a good job you were fantastic at knitting.
So, in the space of a few weeks, you designed and knit Spencer a Christmas sweater.
It depicted two people with pumpkins for heads, playing chess in front of a Christmas tree whilst being made to appear out of a magicians hat. They were surrounded by the words Merry Christmas and an array of holly and snowflakes.
Spencer had laughed so hard tears had sprang from his eyes while he hurried to put it on.
That was the only other time you’d seen him wear it.
“I knew it would make you smile.” He tried to hide his blush.
The truth was, Spencer would do just about anything to see you smile, not that he would ever admit as much.
“It looks great on you.” You felt a sense of pride wash over you at being the only person to ever get Spencer Reid to wear a Christmas sweater.
“Thanks.” He turned towards the window to hide his burning cheeks from you. “So uh….did you knit your gift this year?”
“No, not this year. But I’m still very sure the person will love what I picked out for them.”
“Undoubtedly. You are the best gift giver I’ve ever met.”
What he actually meant by that was that you were the kindest, most thoughtful and considerate person he’d ever met.
But of course he didn’t say as much.
“I try.” You smiled to yourself, returning your full attention to the road.
You loved the sweater you made for Spencer, but times like this you wished you’d been braver and gifted him the truth of your love for him instead.
***
Rossi had gone above and beyond with his Christmas decor. Waiting in the entrance was a grand tree that had to be at least twenty foot tall and covered from top to bottom in sparkly baubles and tinsel.
There were smaller trees dotted about on end tables and streams of decorations hanging from almost every inch of the ceiling.
There was soft Christmas music playing and the atmosphere was simply magical you thought, as you and Spencer made your way through to where the rest of the team was in the kitchen.
You greeted everyone and as you slipped your long trench coat off, Spencer tried his best not to stare. He tried even harder not to just keel over on the spot.
You’d bypassed your usual Christmas sweater for something much less cutesy.
The figure hugging, knee length Santa dress had Spencer’s head spinning and his heart racing.
It was simple red in colour with a hem of white fluff and a matching adornment across the top of your breasts which Spencer thought might actually send him to an early grave.
“Holy baby Jesus, Y/N!” Garcia gasped looking you up and down as you pulled a Santa hat from your purse and placed it on your head.
“Santa baby!” Morgan wolf whistled. “Please tell me you are my Secret Santa and this is my gift.” He teased.
“Oh please.” You waved a dismissive hand as Rossi handed you a flute of champagne. “You could not handle my Christmas goodies.”
“You have to tell me where you got that dress, Y/N. Will would lose his mind if I wore that.” JJ laughed.
You laughed too, turning to Spencer as you sipped from your glass. As flattering as everyone’s words were, there was only one opinion you really cared about.
His expression was one you’d never seen on him and you had no idea what it meant.
His eyebrows were knitted in a slight frown while his mouth hung partially open.
It was lost on you, but not on the others that Spencer was strategically holding his coat over his crotch.
Morgan noticed it first and hid his laugh behind a sip of his drink before nudging Emily in the arm.
“Looks like pretty boy has a little problem.” He subtly nodded his head in the direction of Spencer’s coat placement.
Emily followed his gaze before she burst out into fits of laughter, causing the rest of the team to turn and stare at her.
“Sorry,” she said while laughing. “Ignore me…Morgan is…ignore me.”
She turned her back on her coworkers, trying desperately to subside her laughter.
Within a few minutes the joke had been passed on to all in the room, aside from you and Spencer.
Drink was flowing as was the easy conversation between friends until Hotch cleared his throat, loud enough for everyone to look at him.
“Shall we open gifts?” He motioned for everyone to follow him to Rossi’s living room where eight gifts were wrapped on the coffee table.
Everyone took a seat except Emily. It was tradition that the person that made their most recent arrest handed out the gifts. This year it was Emily.
The first gift was for JJ. It was slightly messily wrapped but the giver had clearly tried their best.
You all watched as she unwrapped the parcel carefully, revealing a woolly scarf and matching gloves.
She looked straight at Morgan with a smile.
“I left my last set in Utah a few weeks ago. You were there when I realised.” She chuckled.
“Happy Christmas, mama.” Morgan blew her a kiss.
Next to open was Rossi who received a new cigar humidor from JJ.
Morgan received some tickets to a sports game from Emily. Emily was gifted clothes for Sergio from Garcia and Spencer was given an old copy of one his favourite books by Hotch.
When Emily picked up the perfectly wrapped gift and handed it to Garcia, you squealed internally.
Garcia grinned at the neatly wrapped package and attempted to unwrap it as delicately as she could in her excitement.
Once she got the wrapping off she let out an almost ear piercing screech, holding up the unicorn lumbar support in complete and utter elation.
“Oh em gee!” she squealed, giving the plush a tight squeeze. “My precious, precious posterior will be most grateful for this beautiful gift!”
She looked at you with the happiest eyes.
“No offence Reid, but this is clearly from Y/N.”
“No kidding.” Spencer chuckled.
“Thank you so, so much. I will name her Y/N.” Garcia was beaming like a kid in a candy store. “Oh my gosh! The strap is a rainbow!”
“You’re welcome, Penny.” you giggled happily.
“Last one!” Emily announced, as she thrust a parcel at you wrapped in brown paper and tied with a brown string.
It was only then, as you looked across the room at Spencer, that you realised by power of elimination he had to be your Secret Santa.
You felt your cheeks turn a little red as you ran your fingers over the parcel.
“Thanks Spence.”
“You haven’t opened it yet.” he was blushing too and he averted his gaze from you.
You were a combination of nerves and excitement as you peeled the tape from the paper just enough to create a hole big enough to remove what was inside.
Whatever it was, was wrapped in another layer, this time of bubble wrap.
But the shape it made was almost familiar. Your hands were shaking a little as you unraveled the bubble wrap and you felt your heart practically burst from your chest when you had the gift in your hand at last.
It was a beautiful and intricate snow globe with a winder on the back for it to play an instrumental version of Here Comes Santa Claus by Bing Crosby. The scene inside the globe depicted an Austrian ski resort complete with ski lift and tiny skiers on the slopes.
How did you know all that just from one glance? Because you’d had the exact same one as a child.
Your father travelled for work a lot when you were a kid. But without fail, he would always bring you home a gift from the countries he visited.
It was a week before your tenth Christmas when your dad had arrived home from a longer than usual stint in Austria. When your mom was cooking dinner he had secretly shown you the snow globe and told you he was going to wrap it and give it to you Christmas morning but he just needed you to know he hadn’t forgotten your souvenir on his trip.
He told you that when he was away and you missed him, to play the song, even when it wasn’t Christmas, and think of him.
It had been your prized possession. But when you moved out of your childhood home to go to college, the snow globe had gotten misplaced somewhere and you’d never seen it again. And although this was a replica, it was a pretty damn good one.
You fiddled with it in your hands as tears welled in your eyes. You turned it upside to give it a shake and something else caught your eye.
A post it note was tapped to the bottom and even if you hadn’t already known who had given you the gift, you would have recognised the handwriting anyday.
“I hope you like the gift. It was difficult to find but seeing you smile will be worth it. From your Secret Santa.”
You looked up at Spencer, eyes glossy with tears you were trying so desperately to contain.
“I-I love it.” your voice cracked as you spoke. “How did you-”
You were cut off by a clock timer coming loudly from the kitchen.
Rossi jumped up immediately.
“Looks like dinner is served, kids.” he waved a hand for the rest of the team to follow him which they did.
You hung back in the living room, as did Spencer.
You were still clutching the snow globe, scared to let it out of your sight.
“How did you…I don’t understand Spence.” you laughed a little but your first few tears escaped your eyes.
Spencer chewed his lip with a small shrug.
“You mentioned it once, years ago when you’d been drinking. I always thought about it. And after you made me such a thoughtful gift last year, I wanted to return the favour. Garcia helped me get your mom's number and I called her. She told me exactly what it looked like, even sent me some photographs of you with it. I had it made for you.”
You looked from the snow globe up at him with a small smile.
“It was lucky you picked my name.”
“Luck had nothing to do with it. Emily drew your name. I traded her for you. I’m going to be cleaning a lot of litter trays in the foreseeable future.” he laughed but it was an awkward laugh.
“I don’t understand why you would do this for me.” You sniffed, wiping your tears with your thumb.
“You’re just such a great gift giver. I wanted you to know what it’s like receiving the perfect gift for a change.” Spencer was blushing and not quite meeting your gaze.
You placed the snow globe on the table before you threw yourself into his arms.
“Thank you so much, Spencer. It’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.”
He tentatively wrapped his arms around you and it immediately felt like home.
God how he loved you. Making you smile was the only thing he ever wanted to do. And he had.
“Guys, are you coming?” JJ suddenly poked her head into the room and you and Spencer sprung back from one another.
You smiled and nodded saying you’d be right there before she left again.
“We better go eat.” You squeezed Spencer’s shoulder. “Thank you again, it really means so much.”
“You’re so, so welcome.”
You beamed at him before practically dancing from the room.
Spencer smiled to himself once he was alone and picked up the snow globe.
He turned it over and looked at his post it note on the bottom.
He picked a little at the corner of the note, revealing a tiny glimpse of the other note he’d hidden underneath.
He wondered how long it would take you to find his secret note.
The one in which he finally professed his love for you.
Loving you and being loved by you would be the best gift of all. He just hoped he didn’t have to wait another Christmas.
Warnings: None, really? Emotional hurt/comfort and sorta like a touch starved deal doing on, but it’s pretty thoroughly fluffy and sugary-sweet.
A/N: For the “bed sharing” square on my @cmbingo card!
Title is from the referenced psych study, because I’m a dork.
“One sec,” you call, wincing at how thick and nasal your voice sounds.
You wipe your cheeks hastily as you sit up. It’ll be obvious anyway, though; wouldn’t take a profiler to notice your tear tracks and blotchy face.
It’s Spencer. Of course it is — because he’s the last person you want to see you like this, when you’re all snotty and puffy and gross.
His eyes go wide and solemn when he sees your face, genuinely distressed. There’s that empathy again, the too-big heart that everyone seems to overlook in favor of his big brain. You love him for it.
Well, you love him for a lot of things.
“Hi,” he says quietly. “I was going to just ask if you were okay, but… I guess I don’t actually need to ask now.”
You let out a watery little chuckle. “Guess not.”
“You want some company?” He looks hopeful, almost, and then seems to catch himself, dropping his gaze with a shrug. “I understand if you just want your space, though.”
If it was anyone else, you absolutely would not want company right now. But it’s Spencer, so. You pretty much always want him around.
“I was just about to turn on some shitty TV because it felt too quiet in here, honestly. Company would be really nice.”
He gives you a quick twitch of a half-smile as he steps past you, and after you close the door, there’s a pause where you both stand there and look at each other, Spencer suddenly shy as he shifts his weight from one foot to the other.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, in a thin unhappy voice.
“Not really. Just… one of those days. One of those cases.”
“Can I do anything to help?”
You hesitate, because it seems like such an immature thing to say out loud, but you’re too tired to be anything other than honest.
“I could use a hug.”
Spencer’s expression goes all soft and sweet, and your cheeks feel hot under the drying salt water as he steps closer. He wraps his arms around you, and you bury your face in his chest and try to inhale. Your exhale is a ragged little shudder, and you fist both hands in the back of Spencer’s cardigan as you cling to him, feeling raw and sensitive and so very young.
He lets out a quiet, shaky sigh of his own, squeezing you tighter.
How long has it been since anybody hugged you like this? It’s like the contact — the warmth of him — the pressure of his arms around your shoulders — the rise and fall of his chest under your cheek — is lifting some massive weight you never realized you were carrying. All you want in the entire world is to hold him tight, take the comfort while you can, but you know you should pull away.
He hesitates for a second before releasing you, like maybe he doesn’t want to let go either.
Then he’s stepping back, hands in his pockets, slightly pink-cheeked as he bounces on the balls of his feet and gives you one of his frog-faced not-quite-smiles.
“You said something about shitty television?” he asks. “Or maybe we could watch some television that’s not actually shitty?”
“That sounds perfect.”
Turns out Planet Earth is on, which is the rare overlap in your and Spencer’s tastes, and it’s not until you’re eagerly toeing off your shoes that you realize the bed is the only seating option.
Spencer sits cross-legged, with his elbows on his knees and his chin propped on his fists, and he stays as close to the edge of the bed as physically possible. You lean back against the headboard and hug your knees to your chest, feeling the need to hunch over, like you could physically protect your heart.
Then again, it’s much too late for that. You knew your heart was in trouble the moment you met Spencer.
Today, especially, you already feel vulnerable, like all your carefully-constructed walls cracked open the second you let yourself cry, and now you’re just ripped-open and bare. You need a good night’s sleep and a long, hot shower before you’ll be able to go about your life as a professional, fully-functional, grown-up human again. Right now you’re just kind of a mess.
“I know there’s the germ thing,” you blurt out, without looking at Spencer. “But —”
His laugh sounds crackly and nervous, but relieved, like maybe he’d been holding his breath. “Come here.”
You give him a grateful smile as you scoot closer to each other, and apparently you’d been so worried about your own swollen eyes earlier that you hadn’t noticed the fatigue evident in every drawn, wan line of his face.
Not that he isn’t still the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen.
You duck tentatively under Spencer’s arm, and it’s not like you’re cuddling, exactly, because there’s still an inch or so of space between your hips and legs… but the bony plane of his chest, between collarbone and heart, makes a surprisingly perfect pillow. You pull the sleeves of your sweater over your hands, tucking them under your chin, curling up.
The moment feels delicate, like a soap bubble that you could burst if you simply breathe too loudly, and you hold yourself stiffly, at first, not wanting to move any closer for fear of pushing a boundary. It feels like you’re glowing at the points where your bodies are touching; the warm weight of his arm feels like bright spring sunshine across your upper back. His palm on the round of your shoulder is thawing away the last chilly bits of your self-consciousness.
When the commercial break starts, Spencer says, “Do you ever think about how little physical contact the average single adult experiences on a regular basis?” His voice is quiet and almost sheepish.
You smile. “Yeah, I’ve considered it.”
“Especially when we live away from our families,” Spencer says wistfully.
You can feel the vibration of his words in his chest. You shift, making yourself more comfortable, feeling dazed and dumb with his proximity.
“The monkeys. I feel like — you know?”
“Harlow. I know exactly what you mean.”
Trust him to get that from your ridiculously vague mumbling.
“Except they’re babies,” you add.
“The emotional benefits of physical touch don’t decrease just because we get older,” he says softly. “It’s just that the fear of judgement makes it difficult to be honest.”
There’s silence for a minute as the show starts again, and David Attenborough says something about sloths. Spencer’s thumb strokes your shoulder gently, back and forth, soothing. It’s hypnotic, and the tension drains from your muscles, leaving you more relaxed than you’ve felt in a long time.
“Thank you,” he whispers.
You swallow hard. “For what?”
“Being honest.”
There’s no reason for your eyes to be stinging like this, but they are. “I should be thanking you.”
“Nothing to thank me for. This is… really nice.”
“Yeah. It really is.”
He’s quiet again.
Spencer smells like vanilla and old books — although the latter might just be your imagination, something to do with the power of mental association — Spencer could probably explain the science behind that. Your brain has them inextricably linked, though. You’ve caught hints of that smell before, but never up close like this.
The softness of the worn knit of his cardigan makes you want to rub your cheek against it like a cat. His arm, skinny as it may be, feels like protection — like you’re safe here.
After the brutal violence of the case and the emotional turbulence of the day, this quiet, golden moment is even more breathtakingly peaceful by contrast. It doesn’t feel real.
It’s too good to last. This isn’t yours. It’s not going to last, no matter how right it feels, and your chest already aches with the idea of letting him go.
You try to appreciate it while you can, to remember every sensation, but your body is leaden, exhausted down to the bone, completely drained of whatever adrenaline-stubbornness-caffeine combination was keeping you running until now. Spencer’s thumb rubs invisible circles on your shoulder, and he breathes evenly, and you feel safe.
You’re asleep before the next commercial break.
A distant car alarm wakes you, sometime later. In the handful of seconds before it’s turned off, you come to without opening your eyes, trying to remember where you are and who you’re with. The smell of vanilla makes you relax instinctively, before you can process why.
Spencer has all but melted against you in his sleep, soft and boneless. He’s got both arms around you now, holding you close, his breath tickling your forehead. Then he stirs, and you can feel the moment he realizes where he is, because his muscles go tense as he freezes.
“Sorry,” he murmurs hoarsely. He’s barely audible over the infomercial voices coming from the TV. “I didn’t mean to — sorry. I’ll go.”
And before you can think better of it, you whisper, “Don’t.”
He’s still frozen, and silent for a second that feels like an eternity. “You mean —”
“I don’t want you to leave. Stay.”
Honesty seems to be your default setting tonight, and anyway, you can tell without looking at a clock that it’s long past midnight, well into the early-morning hours where boundaries and reservations and reality don’t seem to follow their usual laws. You can’t lie to him (or to yourself) right now.
Spencer’s voice cracks as he says, “Okay. I’ll just — let me get the light.”
You don’t open your eyes as he slips away. This all seems like a dream, and the sharp bright lamp light might make it dissolve around you. You might wake up.
The TV goes quiet, and when you tug at the hotel comforter, sliding between cool sheets fully clothed, the barely-there rasp of moving fabric sounds loud in its absence.
Spencer turns off the lamp, and you open your eyes. You can just see his shape as he navigates the dark room, negative space on a charcoal backdrop, but as your vision adjusts, you can see a faint suggestion of his features in the blue-black.
You feel it, though, when his weight makes the springs of the old mattress dip. You’d expected him to lie on his back again, but instead his face is just inches from yours when his cheek comes to rest on the pillow. You feel the way he’s breathing, quick and shallow and nervous. You feel your heart kick in your ribs, thudding so loud he must be able to hear it.
He reaches out slowly, hooking an arm around your ribs, and pauses with just the very tips of his spidery fingers touching your back, between your shoulder blades: five soft points of contact that you feel so intensely they might as well be electrode pads connecting you to a defibrillator.
This is crossing a line, and you both know it.
It’s not a sexual touch, it’s not that sort of thrill going through you, but something about this feels profoundly intimate. That intimacy is almost more shocking than lust might’ve been, and it’s much more dangerous. It’s the sort of closeness you don’t walk away from unscathed.
Spencer’s fingers flutter, butterfly-wing delicate, like one or the other of you might be trembling.
“Are you sure this is okay?” he whispers.
“Yes.”
Maybe you’re both trembling.
His palm comes to rest on your back, easing you closer, and you shift, settle, readjust. He pulls back and tilts his head just long enough to brush his lips over your temple, soft and sweet, before tucking you neatly under his chin, where you fit like you were meant to be there, with your nose nudging at the gap between his collar and the delicate skin of his throat.
“Sweet dreams,” he whispers, sounding just as awed as you feel.
“Sweet dreams, Spencer.”
.
.
.
If you enjoyed this, please reblog or leave a message!
Summary: Luke and Penelope believe something happened to the Reader, just not what they expected.
Notes: This is my first Reader insert story. Hopefully, I was able to put the inserts in properly. And a decade, I think of writing anything resembling smut.
Word Count: 500+ ( I stopped handcounting after 500)
******
“ Spencer?”
"Yes, Y/N?" he replied, his nose in a book.
There was a strong chance that a new case might pop up soon and Y/N and Spencer were spending their free time catching up on some leisurely reasing before the inevitable call to work would come.
She stood and stretched. "Let's take a book break." she raised her arms over her head. "I feel like a pretzel."
Spencer looked up, a sly smile appearing on his face. He silently watched her stretch, admiring the way her body moved. Sleek and sensual, she was as graceful as a panther and as aggressive as one too.'Especially in bed' he mused, his body warming up. An idea formed into his head and he smiled rakishly.
Standing up, he crossed to her, wrapping his strong arms around her waist. She jumped a bit, surprised
but elated. "Spencer?" she asked softly, leaning into his embrace.
"Sshh..." he muttered, nuzzling her neck. His experienced tongue darted out licking the silky flesh.
He gently nibbled her neck, his teeth grazing over her pulse. "I thought you wanted to take a break."
She nodded wordlessly, his machinations making her unable her to speak. She could feel him smiling against her skin as he continued his tender assault. She tilted her head back allowing him even better access to her.
"Shall we take this into the bedroom?" he asked enticingly, blowing into her ear for emphasis.
"Yes." she whispered huskily, her mind and body lost in his ecstasy.
Wordlessly, he scooped her up into his strong arms pulling her close to his body. She wrapped her arms
around his neck, loving the feel of being in his arms.Every time he did this, she always felt like a fairy
princess and he, her knight in shining armor.
As she leaned in to plant a kiss on him, the phone rang. "RRRRRRRRRRRRIIINNNNNNGGG!!!!!!!!!"
The ringing startled them both causing her arms to tighten even more as Spencer almost dropped
her."Ignore it." he replied, heading for the room.
"It might be important."
"More important than this?" he uttered before kissing her passionately but briefly. Releasing her, he arched
his eyebrow. "Well?"
Breathlessly, she said. "Normally no but...."
"It might be a case." he sighed dramatically.
She nodded as he carried them back to the sofa. Plopping down, he cradled her in his lap as she
reached over to pickup her phone. "Hello?" she answered as he began to kiss her neck.
Covering the phone, she hissed. "Spencer."
"Hmm?" he mumbled as he placed wet kisses along her neck and all the way down to her collarbone.
Sighing helplessly, she asked. "Hello?"
"Y/N?"
"Luke? What's up?"
"We need help with some paperwork."
"Hmmm?" she said distractedly as Spencer began to unbutton her blouse. Halfway undone, he reached in and
unclasped her bra, pulling the material away from her silky skin. He captured one of her nipples between his
thumb and forefinger rolling it gently while placing his kisses farther down her neck.
She closed her eyes, allowing herself the briefest moment to lose herself in the exquisite torture he was
creating.
"Y/N? Hello? !" Luke asked. "Are you there?"
"Yeah?"
Luke screamed into the phone."What's wrong?"
While Spencer's hand was busing itself with her upper body, the other was exploring her lower body. His experienced hand slid under her skirt, running up her firm thigh to the edge of her underwear. He moved his long fingers closer to her moist heat, the tips of his fingers teasing her gently. She shifted forward trying to force him to press harder but he resisted.
She moaned." No..don't.."
"Y/N!" Luke yelled."What's happening?"
Reid whispered laschivously into her ear."What's wrong, love?"
She turned and gave him a reproachful look. A look that promised retribution later. Spencer just smiled
wickedly at her frustration. She leaned back more against him, the receiver cradling her ear. She turned her head and lightly nipped his earlobe.
"Ohh.." Spencer groaned, loud enough for Luke to hear.
"What the hell was that?" Luke shouted. "Y/N!! Who's there?"
Penelope, standing next to Luke, tugged on his sleeve. "What's going on? What's up with Y/N?"
Luke turned to face her."I don't know. I just keep hearing moaning."
"Moaning?" Penelope asked confused. "Is she hurt?"
"I don't know." Luke continued. "Y/N?"
She smiled shyly at spencer's reaction. It served him right for teasing her like that."Like that?" she squirmed on his lap, feeling his burgeoning erection against her. "Oh, you did."
Reid looked at her and saw her smug smile. 'I'll show you, love.' he thought right before he moved his fingers under the elastic of her underwear and plunged two of his fingers into her welcoming heat.
"AAAHH!" she screamed right before she dropped the receiver on the ground.
Both Luke and Penelope heard her screams."Y/N!! "they yelled at once.
She grabbed Spencer's head and kissed him ferociously. She dug her fingers into his hair, scratching and pulling at the scalp. He opened his mouth and she darted her tongue in, tangling it fiercely with his own. Soon, they battled, tongue and teeth, trying to dominate. So caught up in their kiss they forgot all about the phone call and lost themselves in their shared passion.
***
"Y/N!!!" They screamed again, fear creeping up at her inability to answer them. "Y/N!"
Hearing nothing but faint groans and moans, they hung up the phone and left.
"We have to do something." Luke yelled frantically. He pointed at Penelope. "You're the tech queen, do something!"
"From here?" Penelope shouted back." I am not Bewitched here. I can't just 'poof' and hightail it to someone's home."
He nodded his assent. "I know. But, we have to do something." he snapped his fingers. " Trace her phone."
"Good idea." Penelope replied determinedly. "Emily won't mind. We're going to save Y/N from whoever or whatever is attacking her."
"Right." Luke said as he led them down the street."By the way, where is Reid? Those two are connected to the hip."
"He's probably not with her" she explained. "Besides, do you think Boy Genius would just stand there and let Y/N be attacked?"
He nodded. "You're right. Cell block Reid would come out and play if he saw Y/N in trouble."
"Yes, he would." Garcia said. "Now, quit talking we need to save Y/N."
The calvary was on its way!
***********
15 minutes later at Y/N's apartment....
Penelope and Luke ran up the last flight of stairs, huffing and puffing.
"Wait." Garcia coughed." I need to catch my breath."
"Damn, Y/N's apartmet has some steep steps." Luke said as he raced to Y/n's door. They could hear some faint sounds, ones of an animalistic quality.
"Open the door!"
"It's locked." Luke said as he tugged on it. An idea popped into his head and he ran away from the door.
Penelope looked at him strangely. "What are.." she started to ask as he launched herself at the door. "..you doing?"
Luke, leapt into the air, his right leg extended straight out in front. It connected solidly with the oak door, his strength almost ripping the hinges off the door. The door slammed open, banging against the apartment wall.
"What the hell?" Y/n exclaimed, popping up from behind the couch when she heard the door open.
Luke quickly rushed in screaming. "Y/n, we're..." he stopped when he saw her naked form peek out from the back of the couch."..here.." ‘Damn, Y/N’s gorgeous’
"Sweet Pea, are you.." Penelope asked, stopping dead in her tracks as soon as she saw Y/n." ...all right?"
"Yes." she replied angrily. "What the hell are youguys doing here?" She wrapped her arms around herself in an effort to cover up. as she saw Luke staring at her. She glared at the two intruders pointedly, waiting for them to saysomething. "Answer me, you two."
"Well, we're here to rescue you." Penelope offered in explanation.
"Rescue? That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Y/N shouted.
"It certainly is." a voice under Y/N said. He grasped her hips and lifted her off of him and set her
down on the couch. Forgetting his nakedness, Reid stood up and faced them. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Well..."Luke said openmouthed. He couldn't help looking at Reid naked. 'Damn, he's
fine.'
"We're rescuing you." Penelope pointed at Y/N."from the tall, dark and naked man."
Reid finally realized he'd stood up naked and quickly retrieved a pillow from the floor, where they had hurriedly tossed them to the ground minutes before. He'd been so angry at the intruders for interrupting his alone time with his girl. Between their jobs, they rarely had time to be alone together. And so they took as much advantage as they could.
Now, it was ruined.
Reid eyed them darkly, a glint in his eye. Both intruders swallowed at Spencer's sneer and unconsciously moved back a few paces.
" Garcia, Alvez." he turned to Luke, who was still staring at him.. "Luke?"
He shook his head. "Sorry. I was just...wow."
"Luke stop looking at Y/N." Reid said, as Y/N replied."Luke, stop looking at Spencer."
Penelope smiled sheepishly at Luke. They were still in awe, first at seeing them together in a more than
friend kind of way and second, naked. Not that the thought hadn't crossed either of their minds, a fact
they would never admit but to see first hand Spencer and Y/N like this still shocked them to their core.
"Okay, no more looking." Luke offered.
"Good."
"But," he continued. "We want to know. Why are you two..together?" he gestured with his hand.
"Yeah. And for how long?" Penelope piped up.
Reid looked at Y/n and a silent communication passed between them. They had been dating secretly for
months, but had opted not to say anything. They knew that the two of them as a couple might not go over so
well. Case in point.
"Well..." Y/n started as Spencer grabbed her hand for support. "A few months ago."
"Few months?" Luke and Penelope exclaimed at the same time.
She nodded as Spencer continued. "Yes. I won't go into specifics of how we came together because it's none of your business. " he said pointedly at them. "But, it's been the happiest months of my life." he grinned happily at Y/N.
"Mine too." she kissed his hand.
"Okay. Enough lovey-dovey." Penelope motioned to their joined hands. "But, why didn't you tell us right
away?"
Spencer shrugged. "We just wanted something that's just for us. Not for the entire team to know."
Y/N nodded. " You know, how everyone wants to know everyone elses personal lives 24/7." she answered, staring pointedly at Penelope.
"Hey!" Garcia sputtered, as Luke pulled her arm.
"Well, we should be going " Luke replied as he dragged Garcia halfway out the door. "I'm still slightly surprised seeing you guys naked right now." Reid and Y/n realized they were still naked and scrunched behind the couch. "Besides, one ofus.."he gestured to Garcia." has to be the mature one."
"But.." Garcia yelped. "they're..naked.."
Luke wrapped an arm around Penelope. "Yes, I see. Now, we'll leave them alone. "he waved to the two of them. "Bye, guys."
She closed the door behind her as she went out, Spencer and reader could hear the two outside bickering.
Y/n turned to Spencer who looked just as stupified as she. "Well, they took it well."
Spencer nodded in agreement. "I think Penelope was more shocked at us being naked than us being together." he pulled her into his lap and began to nuzzle her neck. "Besides, who cares? They're gone, aren't they?"he kissed his way to her mouth. "Now, where were we?"
Lured by the promise of free cake and an afternoon where he doesn't have to think about his ex, Luke gets pulled into a off the books case by Penelope to bring down a conman. This story fills the fake engagement square on my @cmbingo card.
CM Bingo 2021 // Main Masterlist
“I need you to know I am asking you as a last resort.”
“Yeah, yeah I got it the first time.”
“Newbie I’m serious. I don’t want you thinking this is a…thing. Okay?”
“It’s a scam to get free cake I’m super clear on that,” Luke rolls his eyes. “Matt’s married and so are Rossi and JJ. Tara is visiting her Dad this weekend, Emily is our boss so it might be considered inappropriate. Derek lives too far away and I get the sense that Spencer would be kinda uncomfortable. I am literally your only choice for fake fiancé to go cake testing with.” They’re approaching the wedding fair so he slips his arm round Penelope’s waist. She starts a little at the unexpected touch.
“I…yeah. Cake scam. Anyway just shut up and follow my lead.”
The convention centre is a fairyland of lights, chiffon and the smell of spun sugar. They’re signed in and congratulated on their engagement.
“We’re just so excited aren’t we honey?” Penelope bats her lashes at Luke.
“We are. Yep. Definitely!”
They’re handed a programme and a map of the fair. Luke’s never been to anything like this before but it appeals to the romantic in him. Plus he loves cake so when Penelope asked him to pretend to be engaged so they could get into the fair he said yes. Truthfully he was still smarting form his break up with Lisa. Maybe a day surrounded by love and romance would help?
“Ooh there’s a vegan bakery offering samples, and Mindy’s! You know that bakery downtown? It’s near where JJ lives and she says that-“
“I LIED!”
Luke blinks. Penelope looks like she’s about to burst.
“You lied?”
“About the cake. This is not a mission for cake it’s a mission for justice. You know they don't check the relation ship status of everyone who comes in right?”
Nothing is ever easy is it?
Luke takes a deep breath.
“Explain.”
“Okay the short version is that a couple of years back my friend Denise and her girlfriend came here when they were engaged and they got talking to this guy, Brent Fox, who was leasing wedding venues. They put down a deposit for this gorgeous turn of the century farmhouse. It was their dream venue and catering and the bar was provided. Except the whole thing was a scam but they didn’t realise until they’d paid the full amount. This douchebag took fifteen grand from them and they couldn’t get it back! All their savings were gone, they couldn’t afford to get married and their relationship broken down. Denise was devastated so I tried to help by tracking this Brent guy down and he disappeared! Do you know how hard it is to disappear to the point where I can’t find you?”
“Hard enough that I don’t want to contemplate that. So why are we here?”
“Very similar companies were popping up on social media starting last year but none of them had any obvious links to Brent Fox. They were hidden behind shell companies and registered abroad. As soon as I would pin one down and…” Penelope hesitates.
“Attempt to find out who they were through totally legal means?” Luke finishes.
“Right! As soon as I would do that the company would disappear and then a new one would take its place.”
Luke rubs his temples. He just wanted some cake and to stroll around pretending to be in a relationship that wasn’t toxic and emotionally draining for an afternoon.
“None of that explains why we’re here.”
“We’re here because he’s here,” Penelope says, opening the programme to a page advertising a converted farmhouse from the 1800s as a wedding venue. “Brent's going to try it again! He’s destroying people’s dreams Luke!”
“Are you sure?”
“It’s the same stock photos, same wording from when Denise was conned, I checked. I’m a professional Luke, I did my due diligence and I've been working with some people at the bureau. This is 100% Brent Fox and we need to nail this son of a bitch.”
“I’m guessing you have a plan.”
A plan of sorts. Basically Penelope wants to pose as potential victims of the scam and hope Brent takes the bait and then when they’re signing up she’s going to alert an old co-worker in her brief stint in cybercrime who moved onto the fraud squad.
“Does Emily know you’re doing this? Working case for another team?”
“It’s better to ask for forgiveness than permission newbie. Are you in?”
Luke sighs. This guy is a douchebag and technically the mission is above board. He can’t even be annoyed at being lured here under false pretences (and denied the promised cake) because Penelope’s eyes are huge and pleading and it would be a lie to say Luke isn’t touched by her quest for justice for her friend.
“Fine. But we get to try cake after…”
It felt better to scope out some of the stalls near Brent first rather than make a beeline. Luke grabbed some leaflets from florists and a few swatches of fabrics.
“We have to sell it Garcia. Y’know, actually look like we’re here to plan our wedding.”
“No wedding of mine is going to have those minimalist bouquets,” Penelope sniffs, flicking one of the leaflets. “Weddings are supposed to be celebrations right? How am I supposed to believe two people love each other if they celebrate with beige?”
“When my brother got married his wife had a bouquet with the favourite flowers of her two sisters, her mom, her aunts, her grandma and all her friends. It was this huge mish-mash but she said she wanted her whole family to be in every part of her wedding because my brother was going to be part of that family now.”
“See that’s romantic!”
“I agree. Lisa said it was ‘chaotic’ which, first of all you don’t say that at someone else’s wedding and second of all it wasn’t, it was meaningful.”
They fall silent as Luke goes to look at some wedding invite samples. He’s aware of Penelope watching him and though he doesn’t look up he can picture the conflicted look on her face. She feels sorry for him but doesn’t want to show it.
“I am really sorry about you guys,” she mumbles eventually.
“It is what it is,” Luke shrugs and before Penelope can say anything else, Luke jerks his head in the direction of the stall they’ve been heading to. “That him?”
“Oh yeah that’s him,” Penelope growls. “Ugh, he looks so slimy.”
“Flashy suit and a watch that costs more than I make in a year,” Luke tuts. “Okay what’s the plan of action?”
“Uh okay, I was thinking of a soft approach.” It has the tone of a question and Luke nods encouragingly. Some of the tension leaves Penelope at the gestures, she becomes more assured as she continues. “We can’t push him. He’s probably on guard for people who might suss him out. I’m thinking we play it cool, let him sell the place to us but don’t play too hard to get. Maybe we suggest we’ve been having real trouble finding the perfect venue?”
“Act a little desperate? Yeah I can do that - do not read into that ice queen!” Luke adds, face flushed.
“Not saying anything newbie. Look, based on what little social media there was before Brent vanished, he’s kind of a misogynist. I’ll play the part of the bride who is desperate to find the perfect venue for our perfect wedding and you be the boyfriend who needs to be persuaded.”
Luke can feel Brent’s eyes on them as they amble up to his display. Penelope is trying her best to look despondent, leaning into Luke who has his arm slung around her shoulder. She has her phone recording, having called her friend before making their move. All they need to do is handover a cheque and then the fraud squad can do the rest.
“I’m sure we’ll find something,” he says. “I promise it’ll be the best day of your life.”
“But we’re getting closer and closer to the date and everywhere is either too small or not accessible or there’s no catering!”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear.” Brent’s voice is just as oily as the rest of him Luke notes. He flashes them both a wide, unnaturally white grin, twisted into something resembling sympathy. “Venue troubles for your wedding?”
“We had a venue but it fell through,” Luke explains. “We wanted to get married where I proposed.”
“We’ve been waiting forever to get married,” Penelope adds, “every step of the way something stopped us. Luke lost his job, my Mom got sick and now this.”
Brent tilts his head.
“I’m so sorry. Your wedding should be the biggest celebration of your lives.”
“I keep saying that just being with her is enough,” Luke shrugs. “I’d get married in a parking lot because what’s important to me is the fact that I get to spend the rest of my life with her.”
Both Brent and Penelope stare at him. There’s a glint in Brent’s eyes as he senses a challenge but Penelope’s eyes are wide, a blush spreading across her cheeks.
Perhaps Luke’s oversold it?
“Um anyway, yeah, it’s kind of a bummer,” Penelope stammers.
“Perhaps you’d like to have a look at one of our properties?” Brent takes Penelope by the arm, tugging her from Luke and steering her towards a display of glossy photos. Luke’s hands ball into fists as Brent sweet talks her. He tries to push the feelings down, aware that if Brent senses something is off then they won’t get a chance to bring him in.
“What do you think?” Penelope turns and fixes Luke with a pleading look that lifts some of the tension from his shoulders.
Luke sighs deeply and Brent shifts a little. The seconds drag out.
“If it will make you happy angel, then we’ll do it.”
“You’re the best!” Penelope throws her arms around Luke and plants a kiss on his cheek. The gesture makes him start a little and he holds her a little more tightly than he might have otherwise.
He tries not to think about how disappointed he is when they break apart.
Penelope signs the cheque with a flourish and after more gushing thanks Brent waves them off.
“Cake? We deserve it.” Penelope says with a smile.
“Anything for you angel,” Luke teases, enjoying the blush return to Penelope’s cheeks.
“He’s not watching, you can cut it out,” she mumbles.
Maybe I don’t want to.
“Hey look,” he says instead. Several agents enter the conference hall and stride purposely past them. “Happy endings all round.”
“You know I never had you down as a hopeless romantic,” Penelope says.
“You gonna give me grief for that too?”
“Actually no. I think that’s sweet.”
Luke’s heart does a little flip in his chest. She’s definitely right about the hopeless part, he thinks.
Summary: The team don’t know you and Emily are dating, but an incident involving a white shirt and a glass of red wine might put that in jeopardy, and you don’t want to be the one to lose the bet
warnings: some swearing, the lead up to some sexy times but no actual sexy times
This fills my sharing clothes square for @cmbingo
*
The door flew open and she pulled you in, her lips against yours. The door swung shut behind you and you were pushed against it, her hands roving your body, goosebumps trailing behind them. Your hands wound into her hair, pulling her against you, drinking her in like a woman starved. Not until you were gasping for air did you pull apart, her forehead coming to rest against yours, the only sound your heavy breathing.
“Hi.” you huffed out a laugh, eyes flickering between her eyes and her lips.
“Hi yourself.” she shot you a smile, before pulling away.
Your limbs unwound from each other, your bodies moving away. You felt her loss as she moved further into the apartment, your body craving her close to you again. Following her, you saw the freshly opened wine bottle on the kitchen counter, the two glasses half poured. She topped them up and handed one to you, the smile still painted on her lips.
You both drank in silence for a moment, simply looking at one another, taking in her form. Her hands played with the stem of the glass and you found yourself staring, imagining all the things she could do with them. When you looked up you saw she had noticed where you had been staring, her eyes locking with yours. You felt your cheeks heat, caught in the act. She held your stare, the air between you warming.
Then she was on you, pulling you in again, glass discarded on the side. Her hands wound around your waist, pulling you closer, closer, her lips locked with yours. It happened so quickly you forgot the wine still sitting in your hand, and as you raised it you felt the liquid spill over down your white work shirt.
“Shit!”
She leapt from you as the wine spilled out, her hand coming to her mouth. “Oh god, I’m so sorry”. She reached for the tea towel on the counter, dabbing at the stain forming on your shirt. A seemingly innocuous move, but you felt your body warming as her hands moved across it. You reached out, placing the now considerably empty glass on the countertop, moving your hands to her wrists, stopping her in her frantic movements.
“It’s fine Em. Don’t worry about it.” Her hands stilled in their movements, hands resting on your torso. Her eyes still held the stain, eyebrows knitted in concern. You reached up your hand, lifting her chin so her eyes were level with yours, before placing a gentle kiss on her lips, cradling her chin with your thumb. As you kissed her, your other hand raised, pulling the buttons apart on the still wet top. She pulled away slightly, eyes flitting down to your movements.
Your hand fell from her chin, joining the other to speed up the process. She simply watched you, here eyes clouding with the thoughts of what was to come. You dropped the shirt on the floor, her hands now moving up your bare torso, making gentle circles with her fingertips. You shivered slightly, goosebumps once again trailing behind her fingers.
“You’re so pretty.” She whispered, dropping her head to your shoulder and peppering kissed into your neck. Her hands moved to grasp at your hips, pulling you against her.
“I think now it’s your turn.”
She lifted her head from your shoulder, a smirk gracing her lips. Grabbing your hand she pulled you towards the bedroom, her other hand making quick work of her shirt.
*
You lay next to each other, the sound of your breathing filling the silence. You looked across at her, her hair splayed across the pillow, the light from the lamp giving her skin a faint glow. Like an angel. Your hands followed the same paths her’s did early, drifting and swirling across her skin. You wished you could freeze this moment, stay in it forever. Let no distraction pulled you out of it, nothing from the outside world even -
“Shit.” the shrill sound of your phone buzzed from the pocket of your trousers, discarded in some corner of the room.
“Don’t worry about it,” Emily said, rolling over to rest against you, pinning you to the bed, “It’s probably nothing.”
You almost believed her, willing yourself to lay back and forget all about it, until the telltale sound of Emily’s phone went off beside you. You both groaned. Typical.
She reached over to the bedside table, picking up her phone and checking the message before turning it to you.
Garcia: Hey lovely, we have a case, sorry x
Rising from the bed you began to pick up the clothes that were scattered across the floor, throwing various items of Emily’s at her, still lounging on the bed. You pulled them on as you found them, Emily still watching you, seemingly making no move to get up. At last you had everything on but your shirt, which was …
“Oh god.” You groaned, throwing your head back, thinking of the now ruined shirt still left on the kitchen floor.
“What?” she let out a small laugh at your display, pushing the hair from her eyes.
“My shirt. It’s ruined. I have another one in my go bag at the office, but I don’t particularly feel like having to explain why I’m turning up in a stained shirt. And I don’t think the FBI or your neighbours would appreciate me walking around shirtless.”
“Maybe not. But I certainly wouldn’t mind it.” You lobbed a pillow at her that had fallen on the floor as she laughed at you, catching it before it hit her in the face. “I don’t know why you’re so stressed about this. Just borrow something of mine.”
“You don’t think someone will notice?” As far as your fellow BAU members were aware, you and Emily were just ‘good friends’. They had absolutely no idea the two of you had been dating for the last few months. And you had to give it to the two of you, you were pretty good at sneaking around.
“Please. I think you give them too much credit.” She finally got out of the bed, moving to her wardrobe. She began pulling clothes out for her to wear, lobbing a turtleneck at you over her shoulder. “Now put that on and stop worrying.”
*
Emily made sure to arrive at the BAU before you. She lived closer so it made sense. It had began as a precaution, you didn’t want your relationship to affect the dynamic of the team, if it didn’t work out it could have ramifications, Hotch might not approve. But now it was fun. Last month you made a bet that the person to let the secret out to the team owed the other fifty bucks. And you sure as shit were not losing that bet.
The team were gathered at the round table as you made your way up the steps and into the conference room. Emily was sat next to JJ and as you walked in she shot you a smile, before looking back to the pictures JJ was showing her on her phone. You sank into the last seat next to Morgan, opposite Emily, but it wasn’t her that caught your eye this time, it was Reid, staring at you like he was trying to figure something out. Or rather, staring at the top you were wearing. Emily’s top. Shit.
“Hey, isn’t that Emily’s shirt?” Everyone turned to Reid as he said that, pointing at your top. You felt your heart skip as he said it, everyone’s eyes on you, willing them not to notice the embarrassment now seeping in.
“I don’t know what you mean Reid?”
“Yeah. She was wearing it the other day.”
Ok, no big deal, play it cool. There’s plenty of reasons why you would be wearing this shirt. EMILY PRENTISS DON’T YOU DARE START SMIRKING AT ME NOW. I WILL NOT LOSE THIS BET! Oh god why is everyone staring!
“Don’t you know, Dr Reid, that women can shop in the same store. Now you say it, Emily probably does have a similar shirt.” You pretended to inspect it, like you were only just noticing that it was the same as Emily’s. Like you weren’t wearing her FUCKING SHIRT.
Luckily, looking back up it seemed they were convinced, mostly. There was an odd look here and there, like they were beginning to put two and two together, but they were still missing something. The room fell quite as minds seemed to whir for a moment, mulling it over. You cleared your throat, uncomfortable at the amount of attention still being paid to this.
“Don’t we have a case or something. Is that not why we’re here on a Friday night. Seems more important than where I buy my clothes, no?”
The room seemed to lighten then, minds shifting into work mode. Hotch nodded at Penelope to start the briefing. Her eyes flitted between the two of you for a moment, before starting to download you on the case. She was definitely not going to be letting this one go anytime soon. The thought made you chuckle slightly, which you tried to pass off as a cough. Emily shot you a look, eyebrows raised in question. You shook your head slightly in reply. I’ll tell you later.
The briefing ended and the team filed out, readying their things for the flight. You hung back in the room, slowly gathering you files off the table, hoping Emily would do the same. At last, just the two of you and Hotch remained in the room. He shot you both a look before shaking his head, leaving the room.
“What do you think that means?” She was standing beside you now, files clutched in her hands, both of you looking to where Hotch had just left.
“I think it means, ‘I think I know, but I don’t want to know’”
You huffed a laugh in response.
“You almost lost fifty bucks there, that was a close one.”
“And completely your fault. If you hadn’t spilled wine on me we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Pity.” She leaned in close now, her breath wafting across your neck, “You look good in my clothes you know.”
Your breath caught in your chest, eyes following as she walked out the door now, shooting you a wink over her shoulder, leaving you alone in the conference room. The next few days were certainly going to be interesting.
This fills my JJ/Elle square for @cmbingo The team is in for an interesting night at Rossi’s.
It’s one of those nights that we are all hanging out at Rossi’s. We’ve all had a hard week and it’s nice to just relax. I glance across the room to Elle, who is my girlfriend. We agreed to keep it a secret for now. What I really want to do is go make out with her, but I can’t. She smiles at me, making me want her more.
Rossi walks into the room at that point. “I have alcohol.” He says. We all reach for it at the same time. After a couple of hours, we have all relaxed completely with help from the alcohol. “We should play spin the bottle.” I hear myself saying. “JJ, aren’t we a little old for that?” Spencer asks.
I chuckle and mess with Spencer’s hair. “We are never too old for spin the bottle.” I say. After about ten minutes, everyone except Spencer has agreed to play. We sit in a circle on the floor. We are all talking excitedly to each other. “Quiet people.” I say hyped for the game to get started. “When it lands on you, you can choose truth, dare, or kiss. It’s up to you.” I say.
I spin it to start and it lands on Hotch. He says dare and we decide to blind fold him until it lands on him again. After that, it lands on Elle. She gets up and walks over to me. She tilts my head up and gives me a gentle kiss. Rossi and Derek whistle. I blush.
We continue the game for a while. At some point, Elle decided to annoy me. Every time it landed on her, she kissed someone different. It’s starting to piss me off. I just want to kiss and make out with her and instead she's teasing me. It lands on me next. I choose kiss. I walk over to Elle and crash my lips on hers. It’s not a gentle kiss. It’s passionate and deep. When I finally pull away, everyone else is looking at us. I lean down and whisper in her ear “Mine.”
I walk back over and sit down without saying a word. Both of us are still trying to catch our breaths. I’m not usually the possessive one, but right now I just want her for myself. She has a huge smile on her face. “JJ, what was that about?” Spence asks since he's the only one with a clear head. “She’s my girlfriend and it was annoying me that she was kissing other people.” Elle blushes when I say that. “JJ, we agreed to keep it a secret!” She says with a laugh. At that point, everyone is giggling.
For the rest of the night, I sit next to Elle. I cuddle her and drop kisses on her lips at random times. None of us are sober enough to drive, so we all crash at Rossi’s for the night. I cuddle up to Elle and fall asleep quickly.
The next morning, I wake up curled around a sleeping Elle. I get up to go find aspirin. I have a headache from last night. I walk into the kitchen to find Rossi, Hotch, and Spencer sitting at the table. “Good morning. Rossi, please tell me you have aspirin somewhere?” I say. He tosses me a bottle. “So JJ, how long have you been seeing Elle?” Spencer asks. “Fuck. Did I really kiss her possessively last night?” I’m screwed. “Yeah, you did.” Spencer says. Rossi laughs and Hotch looks surprised. “How much do you remember about last night Hotch?” “Um, not much after we decided to play truth or dare.” He says. I sigh.
Elle, Derek, and Penelope walk into the kitchen at that point. “Elle, Spencer and Rossi remember last night, but Hotch doesn’t. Sadly we have to tell them again.” I say sadly. She laughs. Derek and Penelope are both confused. “JJ and I are dating. She kinda made out with me last night during truth or dare.” Elle says. I blush and hide my head in my hands. “This is so embarrassing.” I mumble. Elle walks over, pulls my hands away, and kisses me. “I’m not embarrassed. It just means I can kiss you when I want.” I kiss her passionately, glad that I can kiss her whenever now.
