This an idea I had while playing DnD with my siblings and some friends last week. There’s another for Among Us coming along.
Introducing the team to Dungeons and Dragons was the combined efforts of Reid and Garcia. They were very excited at the idea and were more than willing to help the others make their characters.
Garcia is well versed in DnD Beyond while Spencer uses the photocopier in the office to make more character sheets.
Rossi, JJ, and Morgan get help from Garcia with DnD Beyond.
Emily and Hotch decide to get help from Spencer using the player books.
Spencer hints that the books he bought were among some of the first purchases he made upon joining the FBI.
Spencer is DM.
Garcia, Hotch, and Emily read the four pages of Session Zero he actually typed up.
Garcia and Reid do voices for their characters
JJ and Hotch do too. They’re parents. They can’t tell a story and not do voices.
Everyone but Morgan and Rossi refer and address each other as their characters’ names
They try to at first but keep getting mixed up and give up.
The Jack, Henry, and Michael are set up in a different room playing video or board games with snacks of their own
They’re curious about the DnD game and it’s Henry that eventually asks Spencer about the game when the doctor is babysitting him and Michael at some point.
He writes a mini campaign to play with the three boys when he babysits them
Summary: Five times the BAU remembered Reid’s younger than them plus one time they were violently reminded he’s not a child.
Spoiler/Trigger Warning: The entire ending of the second season’s 15th episode: Revelations.
Dr. Spencer Reid was merely 21 when SSA Jason Gideon convinced him to join the BAU. With the exception of Aaron Hotchner (who had also read the young doctor’s file) the team wasn’t sure how to feel about the inexperienced man.
Other than giving a pointer or two to a professor lecturing on a cold case, Reid had no experience working in the field. The others figured that was why the poor kid pushed himself so hard: to prove himself.
Right after the first case, Elle stopped talking down to him. Half way through the same case, Morgan decided he’d taken the doctor under his wing. JJ was the first of Hotch’s subordinates to warm up to Reid. Their friendship was an awkward one for a couple of days. To an outsider, it looked as though a childhood friend was trying to help the other through a bout of amnesia.
Though the team never again questioned Reid’s ability on the field, there were times when they were suddenly reminded of Reid’s age.
1: Trying to Balance on a Curb While Walking
Hotch lost count of how many times Jack would walk on the curb, one foot in the front of the other, both arms outstretched for extra balance. Almost always, one of Jack’s hands would be firmly holding one of his father’s. SSA Hotchner almost laughed at himself when he nearly held Reid’s hand on instinct.
Reid and Hotch were walking alone to get lunch for the unit while between cases back home. They’d been walking side-by-side while Reid babbled happily about the last book he finished. Hotch contently listened, his mind occasionally wondering.
Hotch’s mind was pulled back to reality from one of its wonderings when his hand had brushed against Reid’s. The doctor’s hand quickly formed into a fist as he concentrated on his balance, his lips pressed tightly together. While Jack had his arms stretched straight out, Reid held his at more of a slant.
One thing Hotch quickly noticed, and was surprised the scientifically minded doctor missed, was that Reid’s ever present satchel was throwing him off balance.
“Reid.”
“Hm?”
“Let me hold onto your bag.” Hotch held his hand out to take the leather bag.
“Why?” Reid’s foot touched down on the road as he lost balance now that he was doing more with his brain than focussing on his footing.
“It's a hypothesis.” Hotch smirked but Reid missed it, not taking his eyes off his sneakers.
Carefully, as not to fall, Reid removed his satchel and held it out, blindly, for Hotch to take. The older agent held it by the shorted of the two handles as he continued to walk alongside Reid.
Hotch chuckled to himself upon seeing the look on Reid’s face. The young doctor was looking at his feet, almost in awe. He hadn’t needed to touch down since Hotch took the bag half a block back.
Once he walked two blocks on the curb- without losing balance- Reid was content and took his bag back, putting it back over his shoulder so the pouch of it bounced against the opposite hip.
“Did you know the position of an object’s center of gravity affects its stability? The higher the center of gravity is, the easier it is for the object to fall. That’s why a small boat- like a kayak or canoe- is less likely to tip if the occupants are seated lower in the boat.
“Textbooks usually demonstrate this with either a bus and or two cars of different heights and lengths…”
2: Mismatched Socks
One of the first things Emily Prentiss noticed about Reid were his mismatched socks. Of course, the other BAU members noticed it too, but they never questioned it. It’s just part of who Reid was. Curiosity got the better of SSA Prentiss.
“Reid?”
The doctor looked up from his case file. “Yeah?”
“Why do you never wear matched socks?” She looked down at Reid’s ankles and he followed her gaze. One lavender sock, one pink with blue stripes.
“My uh- When I was a kid, my mom would tell me it was bad luck to wear matching socks.” Reid pulled the lavender sock back up to where it should be.
“That doesn’t sound like something that could be scientifically verified.” A slight smirk spread across Emily’s face.
Reid huffed slightly. “The night I was taken by Tobias… It was the first time I wore matching socks in five years. Burgundy with orange stripes.” Reid blinked heavily, clenching his eyes shut. “I don’t wear socks if they match.” He paused again. “Besides, matching socks are boring. Some people say socks should be a shade darker than their pants or a shade lighter than the shoes- Hotch does the former.
“Also, 82% of men in my age bracket wear mismatched socks at least once a week because we keep losing one of a pair. And a family of four- on average- loses 60 socks a year.”
3: Playing With Jell-O
Reid loved Jell-O. No-one was really sure why, but didn’t ask, either. Everyone had their favorite dessert, so maybe Jell-O was just his? He liked cake, sure, but he didn’t eat it nearly as often as he ate Jell-O.
On jet rides back home, no-one ever knew what conversations were bound to come up. This week’s was what the team was going to do with a three day weekend and morphed into best desserts.
“What about you, Reid?” Prentiss drew Reid from his train of thought.
“Hm?”
“You like Jell-O, don’t you, Pretty Boy?” Morgan checked.
“Yeah.”
“Not even Henry likes Jell-O,” JJ smiled at the thought of her young son.
“It doesn’t have much of a taste,” Rossi added.
“I think that’s part of why I like it, actually.” Reid fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.
“Because it tastes like watered down Kool-Aid?” Rossi frowned.
“Yeah. All the other foods are so strong and Jell-O’s not. It’s cool, but not cold, and it’s fun to play with.”
A ghost of a smile danced across Hotch’s face. “Jack likes playing with it. He gets sad when I don’t buy finger Jell-O on accident.”
“That’s the only kind I buy.” Reid nodded. “The red is my least favorite- It takes like Red 40.”
“What is your favorite kind, then?” Rossi couldn’t help but ask.
“Pineapple. Minimal amounts of dyes and you can see through it.”
“No numbers about Jell-O?” Prentiss challenged with a grin.
JJ, Hotch, and Morgan all smiled while Rossi teasily groaned. The groan got a smile from Reid too.
“Actually, in the US, the Jell-O brand is recognized- by name and product- by 99% of the populous.” Spencer chortled. “That means that if you got a group of 100 people together, only one person would have no idea what Jell-O is.”
4: Doodles on Everything
Dr. Spencer Reid didn’t always carry his leather satchel with him. Hotch more or less ordered him to get a notebook he could keep in a pocket. The unit chief didn’t care if Reid drew on his arms. The unit chief cared when Reid jotted down notions or points for the running case.
Garcia loved Reid’s little doodles and had a decently sized collection. She referred to him as a “chronic doodler”. The analysis tech found it almost funny that someone as brilliant and talented as Reid had so little artistic skill outside of his geographic profiling maps.
Reid knew full well that Garcia collected his doodles. After a particularly stressful case- which always resulted in more doodles, Reid would sign and dare the flip book page before tearing it out and leaving it in Garcia’s bunker.
There were times when Reid would doodle on his arm rather than the flip book simple because it was more convenient. That didn’t mean Garcia didn’t see those ones. No, no, no. These ones, Reid would take pictures of and send to Garcia when a case was getting to her.
Morgan talked to Garcia more than anyone else on a case. Whether or not Penelope voiced her unease, Morgan- ever the profiler- could tell. He’d have Reid a certain look and the younger man would send Garcia texts of his doodles- evenly spaced- throughout the case. If he did the math and found he didn’t have enough, nothing stopped him from drawing a couple more.
Hotch and Gideon thought of the times their sons would draw a picture or make them a card when they had a bad day at work. Morgan was reminded of the beaded bracelets his sisters used to make him when he was injured in football or his team lost a game.
The one hitch with their theory? Garcia was the one person who got to keep the drawings. Not even Reid kept them. She knew this fact and gloated about it to the team whenever she got a new one. All of her computer screens in her bunker had a different doodle as the screen saver.
5: Dependent on the Team
For the most part, the BAU stuck to themselves after hours if they weren’t going out for drinks. Reid was the one exception and the rest of the team found they didn’t mind.
JJ was the first one he texted. The message was a simple worded question: How can you tell the difference between romantic feelings and transference? The gentle blonde took it upon herself to explain to the doctor that he’d know when he was in love because how being near the person or even just thinking about them made him feel.
The media liaison assumed she’d never really see the person Reid texted her about that Sunday evening. She was a little less than shocked to see the light in the young doctor’s eyes shift when Morgan wandered into the bullpen Monday morning.
A month passed before JJ got a message along the lines of the one she was expecting: Reid asking for advice on how to ask someone out. How to better the wording, how to keep from straying off the point.
The next day, he texted Elle about flowers: I have a date next weekend. Are flowers too forward?
Elle smiled down at her phone, at Reid’s innocence. She told him that flowers were a nice and caring gesture, but that he’d want to be careful with what flowers he got because different flowers sent different messages.
This was the first of this Reid was hearing. He thanked Elle and thought more. Hotch was married. He must know a decent amount about flowers and such romantic ideas, right? So he texted Hotch: Do you know anything about flower symbolism? Elle says flowers have different messages to them.
Hotch chuckled, getting Haley’s attention.
“What’s so funny?”
“Do you remember Dr. Spencer Reid?” Hotch looked at the blonde.
“He’s the shy, Autistic boy, right?” Haley glanced up from feeding Jack.
“Yeah. He’s nervous about an upcoming date and texted to see if I know anything about flowers.” Hotch’s thumb was dancing across the flip-phone’s buttons.
“What are you telling him?”
“That roses have the highest chance of getting him in his date’s bed. Pink camellias and carnations are signs of love and longing; ivy means friendship.” Hotch typed this by naming the flowers, placing an equal sign, and the meaning.
“Do you know who his date is?”
“Not as far as Reid and his date are concerned.”
So yes, he did.
Friday morning- the morning before his date- Reid sat by himself on the jet ride home, trying to read a book he brought. He couldn’t focus on it for the life of him. He’d been staring at the same page for then minutes. He jumped a little when Gideon sat down across from him.
“What has you so nervous?”
“Noth-” Reid stopped short. That wasn’t the right word; the date meant everything to him. “I uh… I have a date tomorrow evening and I’m worried, I guess. I’ve never actually been on a date, but I really like this person.”
“Okay. So what about it has you worked up?” Gideon’s eyes were gentle and fatherly.
Reid thought about how to answer the question. “We’ve been friends for a while and I don’t- I don’t want to mess up so badly that he doesn’t want to be friends-” Reid froze, his eyes wide. “G-Gideon, I-”
“There’s nothing wrong.” The older man squeezed the younger’s shoulder. “If your friend know you as well as you know him, I think it’s safe to say he’s not too worried about the friendship failing. Sometimes, Reid, you have to take a leap of faith.”
+One: “I choose...Aaron Hotchner.”
“Choose, and prove you’ll do God’s will.”
“No.”
Click. “Choose.”
“I won’t do it.”
Click. “Choose.”
“I...I choose...Aaron Hotchner. He’s a classic narcissist. He thinks he’s better than everyone else on the team. Genesis 23:4, “Let him not deceive himself and trust in emptiness, vanity, falseness, and futility, for these shall be his recompense.”
Bang. Raphael took a bullet from Tobais’ pocket and held it up, showing it to Reid. “For God’s will.”
Morgan’s heart shattered at seeing his boyfriend crouched over the body of his captor and tormentor. The side of Reid’s head was coated in dry blood, he was avoiding putting weight on his sock-less foot.
Reid limped his way over to Hotch and hesitantly put a hand on his superior’s arm as though he wasn’t sure the man was there. The young man quickly and tightly hugged Hotch.
“I knew you’d understand.”
JJ was the next to hug Reid, the doctor losing his balance slightly and the liaison easily caught him.
“I am so sorry.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
The second JJ let go of Reid, Morgan stepped forward and pulled Reid into as tight of a hug as he dared. He needed to feel his boyfriend in his arms but he’d seen the same video as everyone else and didn’t want to hurt him more.
Prentiss was shocked and looked at JJ with wide eyes when Morgan kissed Reid and the doctor eagerly reciprocated. The blonde just smiled.
Summary: Derek knew fully well that moving in with Spencer was going to bring around some changes. Dr. Spencer Reid was different and Derek loved him for it. There were little quirks that the doctor showed at work and some Derek was still learning. So there must be some at home.
And a special thanks, of course, to @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese for helping me compile this list!
1. Alphabetizing Movies by Title
“Pretty Boy?” Derek was crouched down in front of their TV looking for their movie while Spencer did the dishes. The latter hadn’t seen Happy Gilmore and Derek couldn’t let that stand.
“Yeah?” Spencer called from the kitchen.
“I can’t find it?”
“What?” Spencer stepped away from the sink and went to the living room. Water dripped from his fingertips. “The movies are alphabetical. It’s between Hamlet and Ice Age.” He went to Derek’s side and gestured to the movie. “I was going to order them by director, but Hotch said most people don’t know directors very well. Which is a shame because J.J. Abrams destroyed Star Trek but Guy Riche-”
Derek pressed a kiss to Spencer’s lips with a fond smile. Spencer blinked.
“Sorry,” the doctor blushed.
Derek just chuckled. “You know you’re adorable, right, Pretty Boy?”
“You may have mentioned it a time or two,” Spencer laughed.
“You can tell me all about directors later,” Derek promised. “I know a bit about the mainstream guys, but not a whole lot.”
“All you really need to know is that J.J. Abrams kills anything he touches and Peter Jackson doesn’t get as much attention as he should.”
*****
2. Morning Rituals
One thing that Derek very quickly learned about Spencer was that he
had a specifically timed morning ritual when not on a case. And that if it was broken or disturbed, the whole rest of the day would go down hill like a train on greased tracks.
He woke up at 6:17, was in the shower by 6:25, eating breakfast by 7:00, his bed made by 7:30, and shoes on his feet by 7:32. The last half hour before they left at 8:00 was free game.
The first morning in their new place was the roughest. Spencer went
about his usual morning, but Derek didn’t usually wake up until 7:45 because he took less time to get ready and ate in the car. So when Spencer finished breakfast and went back to their room to make the bed but Derek was still asleep… He paced for the next fifteen minutes and his head nearly went through the ceiling when Derek’s alarm went off.
Spencer almost had a panic attack as he fumbled his way through making their bed and cramming his feet into his shoes. Needless to say, the extra half hour was spent- in vain- trying to calm the doctor down. None of the rest of the day lined up properly and Spencer was on edge and fidgety. Hotch even had to gently remind him to focus a few more times than the usual redirection of infodumps.
That was the first and only time Derek didn’t follow Spencer’s morning routine. He found the same day that Spencer had a much simpler night ritual: Snack (sometimes) at 10:10, teeth brushed by 10:25, in bed by 10:35, reading until (supposed to be) 11:18, and then lights out. This routine was much more flexible and relaxed.
Derek found waking up and going to bed at the same time every day made the former much easier. He also found that Spencer reading to him most nights- no matter the book or topic- was very relaxing. And of course there were nights when Derek read to Spencer.
*****
3. Sugary Coffee
Derek took a sip of coffee from his travel cup and whistled. “Think I got yours, Pretty Boy. There’s enough sugar in this to hype up a six year old’s birthday party.”
Spencer braced himself and took a sip of the coffee in his own cup. He was pleasantly relieved when the bitterly sharp taste expected never came. “I-I put sugar in both of them. I wasn’t thinking,” he said sheepishly.
Derek shrugged. “You know what they say: I’ll try anything once.” He chuckled. “I’ll just brush my teeth for an extra three minutes.”
Spencer scoffed as he got into the passenger seat of Derek’s car. “Who knows? Maybe you’ll like it. You don’t get the caffeine drop when the eight hour half-life is over.”
“Is that why you put so much sugar in coffee?” Derek raised an eyebrow, thinking he already knew the answer.
“And coffee tastes like battery acid. I’d rather drink vinegar than black coffee.” Spencer shuddered.
Derek chuckled but didn’t say anything else as he pulled onto the street.
*****
4. Cuddly Sleeper
Even though Spencer wasn’t huge on PDA like Derek was, he sure was a cuddly guy. The second the door closed, he was a six foot koala. That included in bed- but usually not until after he was asleep.
Some nights, Spencer would fall asleep reading. So Derek would take his book, close it, gently remove Spencer’s glasses, and turn out the lamp. Nine times out of ten, Spencer was curled up against his side before Derek was asleep himself.
At first, Derek found himself wondering why Spencer wasn’t nestled against him before sleep took him. But after a while, it sunk in that the doctor unwound by reading.
The look on Spencer’s face when he curled into Derek’s side always sent the older man over the moon. The absolute peace on the doctor’s face. One night, Derek almost woke Spencer up laughing. Derek rolled over to out the lamp and Spencer had gripped Derek’s arm tighter and whined in his sleep. Derek then had to assure his boyfriend- in soft whispers as to not actually wake him up- that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Spencer never thought to question why his book and glasses were gone when he woke up.
*****
5. Leaves Books Everywhere
Anyone who had a 30 second conversation with Spencer- anyone who glanced at Spencer- could tell the man read more than he did anything else.
Derek picked up the doctor’s satchel once and was moderately surprised the slim man hadn’t dislocated his shoulder with how heavy the bag was. But Spencer didn’t only keep books in his bag. No. They were all over the place.
Their bedroom, the craft room where Derek made floor plans for his renovations, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room. Even both bathrooms and the basement.
When the two first moved in together, Derek debated building an extension onto the living room for a library. He still debated it from time to time (just in case). But as time wore on, Derek grew to appreciate the countless (if seemingly random) books around the house.
Spencer would read when Derek was working on floorplans, so Derek would read when Spencer worked on an academic paper or consult.
“What’re you reading?” Spencer asked one night, finally looking up from his notebook. He was writing an essay on how handwriting analysis could help catch a serial killer and/or rapist.
“I don’t even know,” Derek chortled. “Uh..” he looked at the cover, “it’s Introduction to Law by Joanne Banker and Yvonne Ekern.”
“Oh! Hotch loaned that to me yesterday,” Spencer noted. “I should get that back to him soon.”
Derek just shook his head. “You know, Pretty Boy, I didn’t read this much in college.”
Spencer smiled. “See? Maybe there’s a good side to not spending thousands of dollars on building a library,” he teased.
6. The Nightlight
In the bedroom, in the outlet closest to the door was a nightlight. But not just any night light. This nightlight made the move in the front pocket of Spencer’s satchel.
“So what’s the story behind this platypus, Pretty Boy?” Derek had to ask one night as Spencer turned it on. “Because you’ve had this since before we were dating.”
“My uh- my mom’s went on a sort of field trip with her hospital a couple years ago. It was on one of her good days. She saw this in the aquarium’s gift shop and bought it for me.”
“That’s pretty cute,” Derek encouraged. He knew Spencer didn’t open up about his mom often so Derek tried to learn everything he could about the woman during the rare occurrences.
“We named him,” Spencer laughed. “Alfred Nicholas Brian Reid.” He giggled. “I just… He helps.”
*****
+1. Bleeding/Infected Hangnails
Spencer usually had something to stim or fidget with. A strip of paper, a pen or pencil to twirl, a shirt with a loose thread, something. On the off chance that he didn’t, the doctor somehow decided that his fingers were good enough. If Spencer didn’t have a hangnail, he’d start one.
This was the one and only thing about Doctor Spencer Reid that Derek Morgan hated. He could see the minute flinch when Spencer held a utensil wrong and it pressed on the swollen skin. He heard the soft hiss when Spencer got tomato or orange juice in the broken skin.
What Derek hated even more than that was when the hangnail would get infected. The skin around the nail or turn a greenish-yellow and harden. Which, in turn, gave Spencer another thing to pick at.
“Pretty Boy, you gotta stop,” Derek sighed. He’d gone into a convenience store to get them something other than coffee- but tastier than water- to drink. While inside, he bought a box of Band-Aids and a tube of anti-bacterial cream.
Spencer snapped out of his daze. “What?”
“Picking at your nails.” To prove his point, Derek took Spencer’s hand in his to show him, as well as to stop his current picking. “I know you’re worried about the case, Baby, but we’ll catch the son of a bitch and put his ass behind bars like we always do. You gotta stop destroying your hands.”
“I didn’t realize I was,” he admitted.
“I know,” Derek said softly. He applied the cream and a Band-Aid to each finger that needed it (five in total between both hands). “We just gotta get you a couple of those fidget cubes Garcia has.”
Summary: Hotch tells the team a joke for Jack and Spencer doesn’t get it right away. When he finally does, his ridiculous laughter awakens feelings Morgan didn’t know he had.
Hotch came out of his office and entered the bullpen. “I almost forgot that Jack told me a joke this morning and wanted me to tell it to you all. What has two butts and kills people?”
Elle and Morgan looked at each other, running possible answers through their minds. Hitman; no. Sadist; no.
“An assassin,” Hotch chuckled.
Morgan and Elle laughed. “Where’d he hear that?” Morgan wondered.
“Someone at school heard it from their brother,” Hotch shrugged. “He was proud that he got me with it.”
The three looked at Reid who was still contemplating the joke. His brow was furrowed, his eyes seemingly staring at the floor but not focussing. Assassin?
“Reid?” Hotch questioned.
“I-I don’t…” he shook his head with a frown.
“You’ll figure it out,” Morgan reassured. “A hint: don’t overthink it.”
Hotch chuckled again at the perplexed look on the youngest agent’s face and went back to his office.
Reid got a fresh cup of coffee and sat back down. On a scrap of paper, he wrote the joke’s question and the punchline under it. Writing out the punchline was what got the joke through to him.
The young doctor clamped a hand over his mouth, giggling. His eyes were clenched shut as he laughed. The two co-workers sitting around him shared a look.
“You good, Pretty Boy?” Morgan chortled.
“You just got the joke, didn’t you?” Elle sighed.
Reid finally managed to swallow his mouthful of coffee and burst out laughing. He nodded in answer to Elle’s question. Hotch could hear Reid’s laughter from his office and couldn’t help laugh. The young genius could pinpoint where the unsub lived based on his handwriting in moments yet it took minutes for him to understand a simple quip.
Elle spared Morgan a look, her smile softening when she noticed a different light behind the man’s eyes as he watched Reid trying to contain his laughter.
After a few moments, Reid managed to calm himself but was left with the hiccups. Everytime Reid hiccupped, Morgan would chuckle. At first, she thought it amusing. Now though? Five minutes later? It was driving her insane.
The brunette ventured into the breakroom and thrust a cold bottle of water into Reid’s hands when she came back.
*****
JJ and Reid were talking in the breakroom later in the afternoon.
“Did you hear the joke Hotch told earlier?” Reid giggled at the thought of the joke.
“No. What was it?” JJ grinned at her child-like friend.
Reid managed to tell the joke- a smile constantly on his face and through giggles.
“Want some Tums for those butterflies, lover-boy?” Elle teased suddenly, making Morgan jump.
“Jesus, Elle!” Morgan hissed from where he sat at his desk.
“You’re gonna talk to him, right?”
“I talk to him all the time,” Morgan shrugged, trying to dismiss the woman’s teasing.
Elle gave him an incredulous look.
“I- No. Not about this.”
“Why not? There’s nothing in the books saying agents can’t date.” Elle crossed her arms over her chest, tapping the toe of her shoe waiting for an answer.
“I...It’s not a smart move.”
“Not a smart move?” Elle scoffed. “It’s one of the smartest moves you could make.”
“What move?” Reid wondered as he and JJ appeared in the doorway.
“Pulling his head out of his ass long enough to breath,” Elle covered, ignoring Morgan’s galre.
Reid’s brow furrowed again in confusion, but he dismissed it and headed back to his desk to finish the consult he was working on.
“Butterflies?” JJ looked between the two profilers with a knowing smirk.
“Does everyone know?” Morgan threw his arms up.
“I’m not a profiler and I know, so probably.” JJ shrugged.
Morgan glanced at Reid with wide eyes, silently asking the two women if Reid might know as well. The women glanced at Reid. “No,” they answered at the same time.
“I’ll give Garcia a heads up that you’re gonna want to talk to her for date ideas.” JJ beamed and left with a bounce in her step.
*****
“Pretty Boy.” Morgan caught Reid’s elbow as the younger agent pressed the down button for the elevator.
Spencer looked at Morgan with widened eyes, shock evident in them. “Yeah?”
“Wanna get some coffee that’s supposed to be sweet without rotting your teeth?” Morgan offered. “My treat.”
“Oh. Sure,” Reid smiled. “The coffee they have here isn’t good enough?” he teased.
“Do you see the ability to steam milk?” Morgan smirked.
“Fair point. But if you want frothy milk, it’s not hard to do. I mean, you could buy a hand-held frother- they don’t cost much. Or if you have a jar- like a canning jar- then you fill it a third of the way and shake it like crazy until the milk doubles in size. It only takes about a minute, actually,” Reid explained.
As the two got into the elevator, Reid missed the thumbs up JJ and Garcia were sending Morgan’s way with wide smiles.
“You don’t usually drink coffee after four unless we have a case. What changed?” Reid’s question pulled Morgan’s wandering mind back to the present.
“Uh...it’s just one of those cooler fall days, you know? Gets ya in the mood for warmer drinks.”
“Have you had spiced cider?” Reid asked, excitement in his eyes. “My favorite coffee house only has it from October first to December 31.”
“You never really struck me as a cider kinda guy,” Morgan noted.
“It has to be real cider. The stuff they sell at the store isn’t worth the money. It’s just over priced, juice made from crab apples- not really crab apples, but it’s sour enough to be. It has to be real cider,” Reid explained.
“If you like cider so much, have you had hard cider?”
“I don’t drink,” Reid shook his head. “I like the usage of my frontal lobe and liver too much. Not to mention what it does to your kidneys and blood- Alcohol is just back for you. Some people swear that a glass of red wine is good for at the end of the day, but more current studies are finding that it’s not because it kicks your liver into hyper drive right before you lay down to go to bed so it actually keeps you up.”
Morgan chuckled at Reid’s info-dumping. A lot of people found it annoying, but Morgan saw the truth behind it. The more the kid trusted you, the more he info-dumped. He wasn’t huge on physical touch from others- he, JJ, and Garcia were working on that- so he showed he cared by sharing his infinite knowledge with you.
“Sorry.” Reid tugged the cuffs of his cardigan over his palms and fisted his hands. “I was rambling.”
“It’s all good. I knew people thought wine could help disease- my aunt swears by it- but I didn’t know they were disproving it. I’ll have to send her some of those sources of yours, huh?”
“I can forward them to you tomorrow,” Reid nodded.
*****
Reid got up from their table to get them refills. They’d been chatting and working on a jigsaw puzzle at the back of the coffee house. Morgan sent a quick text to JJ.
“I don’t think he knows I asked him out.”
JJ giggled as she replied. “So tell him you asked out. You know Spence. You have to be painfully clear.”
Reid sat back on the couch, handing Morgan one of the cups of spiced cider. “Do we have a case?”
“Nah. Just JJ texting to see what’s up,” Morgan shrugged. He couldn’t help but admire Spencer. The younger man went right back to the puzzle, the awkward air floating miles above his head.
Summary: A character study of Reid via his hands through Morgan’s eyes.
Trigger Warnings: None
Piano-player hands. That’s how his mom would describe the doctor’s hands. But as far as Morgan knew, Reid didn’t play piano. Or any instrument. Just because the doctor didn’t play piano didn’t mean there weren’t uses for such talented hands.
Morgan couldn’t help but watch Reid’s hands as he wrote. He’d never seen anyone else hold a pencil how he did. The pencil was a bit shorter now. The length of a pen now. His thumb rested under the green and yellow metal holding the heavily used errasser. The tip of the pencil was balanced between his middle and ring fingers.
The hand he wasn’t holding the pencil with would occasionally reach up to tuck the strand of hair behind his left ear when it slid down in front of his eyes. The same hand would return to the bottom left corner of the page.
Morgan looked away when Reid’s head shot up and he pushed the mass of his hair back, the pencil over his thumb and pinky but under his three fingers. The doctor tapped the spacebar on his keyboard before his eyes danced over the screen and he went back to the notes.
*****
It wasn’t uncommon for Reid to get coffee for himself and whoever he was sent to do his part with. Reid and Morgan were sometimes sent to check out a victim’s home together. It was very rare Morgan was instructed to stay back with Reid to work on the victimology. It was usually JJ or Prentiss who stayed and helped the doctor.
Yet, like JJ and Prentiss told Morgan, Reid strolled into the room where they’d be working with a folder under one arm, two to-go cups of coffee on top of eachother in the other hand.
Reid’s left hand was stretched so he could walk without worrying about dropping either cup. The doctor stopped next to Morgan and slowly extended his hand. “Top one’s yours.”
“Thanks, Pretty Boy.” Morgan carefully took the top cup, but Reid didn’t seem worried. His pinky and ring finger tightened around the bottom of the cup, the flesh under his weirdly short fingernails going white from the pressure.
The doctor took a sip of his own coffee before placing it on the table and turning to the dry erase board.
“Reid?” Morgan watched the younger man uncap the Expo marker. The doctor hummed as he started on the map for his geographical profile. “Why are your nails so short, man?”
Reid shrugged and went back to the board. “I chew my nails. Nervous tic I picked up at 15. I never really give them the chance to get long enough to trim.”
“You ever wanna stop?” Morgan sat himself on the table, watching Reid work.
“It’s not hurting me,” Reid dismissed. “If it was, I’d redirect.”
Morgan wasn’t 100% sure what that meant- redirect. He figured it was something to do with the Autistic stims Reid felt he had to mask that Hotch told him about. But Hotch wasn’t the only one who put the pieces together and did their homework.
*****
The odd little sculptures- if one could call them that- was another thing. Morgan couldn’t stop himself from watching Reid make them. The young doctor would sit in the back, quietly, during their group debates and make odd figures with whatever was laying around. If he didn’t have anything in his pockets, then he’d play with his handcuffs.
Playing with his handcuffs was something Hotch tried talking to Spencer about. “They’re to help us apprehend an unsub, not reverse engineer.” That talk happened after the second time Spencer locked his left wrist in the cuff.
The first time, he tried picking it without drawing attention to himself. After three minutes of pretending not to notice, Morgan unlocked the cuff and patted the heavily blushing doctor twice on the head without a word.
But the sculptures Reid made… He’d give them- randomly- to members of the team. Garcia had two in her collection of happiness reminders. Hotch had three in various places around his office. JJ had two, Elle had one or two, Gideon had two or three. Morgan himself four: two on his desk, and the other two were in his apartment.
*****
Reid holding a gun was something of a foreign concept and one Morgan had mixed feelings about. The older SSA knew Reid could use one. Everyone in the BAU knew that. They’d seen how deadly the doctor’s aim was when it needed to be. First with Dowd, then again with Hankle.
Reid was careful: he held the pistol with steady hands, and his hands were unwavering as they took aim. Even with the pain (mental and physical) of being kicked by Hotch as he yelled; even with the pain of beatings and drugs in his veins, Reid’s aim was deadly.
But that was Dr. Spencer Reid. One person- one kid- being so different while being the same person. Author and essayist; coffee guzzling, Autistic, and superstitious, profiler, sculptor, and doctor.
This was an idea @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese and I came up with. The summary is exactly what it says on the tin. Let me know what you think and don’t be afraid to make a request. Also! Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for any or all fandoms.
Side note: The raw honey remedy Rossi gives Reid isn’t nonsense. My uncle was a holistic nutritionist and taught my sisters and I this trick.
No-one in the BAU was shocked to learn the young Dr. Reid had horrible seasonal allergies. Upon his first year at the BAU, the Unit Chief, Aaron Hotchner, thought the poor boy was ill.
The youngest agent continuously had a tissue, wrapped around his forefinger, pressed under his nose whenever he had to look down. Reid sniffled almost constantly and sneezed every few minutes. After the third sneezing fit, Hotch decided enough was enough.
“Reid,” he called from the rail above the bullpen, “my office, please.”
Reid was up on his feet, going to his boss’s office and sat when gestured to. He sneezed and wiped his nose with the tissue. “What’s up?”
“You can stay home when you’re ill, Reid. That’s why you have sick days,” Hotch explained. Gideon had joked about them having to tell Reid about what a vacation was, but he didn’t think he’d need to tell the boy about sick days.
Reid shook his head. “I’m not-” he sneezed, “sick. It’s just allergies. My meds just haven’t kicked in yet.” The doctor sniffled. “It only takes about a week for antihistamines to work their way into the system.”
“When did you start taking them?” Hotch studied Reid.
“Monday.”
It was Wednesday. “Reid, go home. Catch up on sleep.”
“Hotch, I’m really-” sneeze, “-okay.”
The unit chief sighed. “That wasn’t a question. Go get some rest; play tomorrow by ear. If you aren’t as snuffly, come on back.”
Reid grabbed his satchel and begrudgingly waved to Morgan on his way out.
---
When Reid went back to work the next morning- very early morning seeing as they had a case, he was still just as stuffy-nosed as before. Hotch very nearly sent the boy home.
Reid was comparing handwriting samples when his nose started to run. He was about to run the cuff of his shirt under his nose when there was suddenly a tissue in his hand.
He looked at Morgan, who was slipping a plastic sleeve of tissues into his pocket, for a few seconds before he sneezed into this tissue. From then on, Morgan made it a habit to carry tissues with him in case the kid might need them.
II
JJ was in Quantico with Garcia while the rest of the BAU was off helping police in Montana with a missing person’s case. Garcia usually preferred tea after 3:30 in the afternoon. Whenever she started up her electric kettle, she always offered whoever was within earshot if they wanted tea, too. That day, it happened to be JJ.
“I’m going to rinse out my mug. The second drawer to the left- the bottom one- is full of tea. Take your pick.” Garcia ducked out of the room.
The Tech Analysis wasn’t kidding when she said the drawer was full of tea. Earl Gray, mint, Lady Gray, a couple of herbal seasonal teas. And a sinus relief tea.
Garcia re-entered her office only to find a rather concerned JJ.
“Are you coming down with something, Garcia?” the blonde inquired.
“What? No.” Realization dawned on her when she saw the Yugi box in the Media Liaison’s hand. “Oh! That’s for Reid when his allergies act out. When his allergies are bad, I cut him off after two cups of coffee, but he can have as much Gateriad, water, and tea- herbal tea- as his little doctoral heart desires.
III
When Reid came to work sniffly and red-eyed, Prentiss felt worry for the young doctor. Why didn’t he stay home if he was feeling so poorly?
Garcia came bustling in next and Emily caught up with her. “Hey, Garcia? Does Reid look kinda ill to you?”
“Watery eyes? Sniffling every five seconds?” Garcia was already headed back to her bunker, determination in her step.
“Yeah…”
The blonde shook her head. “He’s early this year.”
“What?” Emily followed after her.
“His allergies are awful. They’re always worse in the fall.” Garcia turned on her electric kettle and got a Dr. Who mug from her tea drawer.
“Does he take meds for it?” Emily wondered. “My allergies were bad in college and I took an over the counter pill; they were manageable.”
“No,” Garcia sighed. “He used to, but now he won’t take anything that isn’t prescription and he refuses to go to the hospital unless Hotch makes him- and allergies aren’t deadly or contagious, there’s nothing Hotch can do. Anyway, we help our good doctor teas and endless tissues. Morgan always has tissues for him and JJ has tea in her go-bag.”
---
When Emily went to the store after work, she was sure to buy tissues in the plastic sleeves. She was loaded with the little things. Her blazer pocket, pants pocket, purse, go-bag, and the glove box of her car.
So Reid was shocked when, the next day when they were at a crime scene, he sneezed and there was a tissue in front of his face when he opened his eyes and the hand wasn’t Morgan’s.
“Oh. Thanks.” He took the tissue and Emily merely nodded.
IV
Rossi had been on the team for a few weeks before he witnessed one of Spencer’s allergy bouts. He couldn’t help but pity the young man. After all, he’d had godforsaken seasonal allergies when he was a teen.
One day, Reid stepped into the bullpen and saw a jar of honey on his desk- comb and all. Beside the jaw was a note in Rossi’s neat scrawl. It read: Eat half an inch of honey comb twice a day, use the honey in tea or on food. Give two weeks and you’ll never suffer from allergies again. -David Rossi.
Reid smiled to himself and picked up the jar. He opened it and broke off the suggested amount, squishing it lightly between his forefinger and thumb, debating if he’d be able to stomach the texture. He came to the conclusion that never having to deal with allergies again- even the possibility of it- was worth an off-putting texture.
Morgan was the first to notice the youngest agent stopped putting half a cup of sugar in his coffee and instead opted for three tablespoons of honey. “Trying a new flavor, Pretty Boy?” Morgan asked when he spotted Reid putting the jar of honey back in his desk drawer.
“It’s a home remedy suggestion from a friend. The honey’s sweeter, so it takes less- to mention the health benefits. Honey has four properties that kill bacteria and because this jar I have is wild honey, it has trace amounts of pollen. That’s why it might help my allergies- it’s like an edible vaccine.”
“My cousin sent me a game for my birthday.” Elle held up a black and white, rectangular box. “I thought it might be a fun cool down.”
“What’s the game?” Hotch looked up from his case file.
“Cards Against Humanity,” Reid read, leaning forward to see the writing better. “A horrible game for horrible people.”
“It’s a fun play, Hotch,” Morgan vowed.
“It really is,” JJ grinned, a rare glint in her blue eyes. “Should be interesting with Spence playing.”
“How do you play?” Reid’s brow furrowed. “Can I read the instructions?”
“Have you ever played Apples to Apples?” Morgan asked while Elle opened the boc and got the instruction pamphlet for Reid.
“Never heard of it.” Reid opened the pamphlet, his eyes flying over the words at a seemingly impossible speed. “Seems easy enough.” He handed the glassy paper back to Elle.
Elle and JJ already set to shuffling the cards. Hotch closed his file and moved to sit with the others. Placing a hand on Morgan’s forearm, Reid turned to the back of the jet where Gideon sat, wrapped up in his own mind.
“Gideon?”
“Hm.” The eldest member of the BAU looked to the youngest.
“Are you playing?”
“That’s alright,” Gideon gently dismissed. “I’ll stick to chess.”
Reid frowned but nodded and turned back to the table where Elle was now dealing the cards.
“I felt, so Hotch starts.” Elle read through her cards as everyone did the same.
“Wait.” Reid’s frown was deeper now. “What’s a flesh-”
“Woah. Woah. Show me. Pretty Boy,” Morgan interrupted his boyfriend. He read the card Reid held out to him. “You really don’t know what this is?”
“Should I? It has light in. It’s not- I didn’t read anything about this at MIT.” Reid combed the back of his mind for the information but came up blank.
Elle, JJ, and even Hotch shared a look. Reid saw it but didn’t understand what it meant. Morgan sighed but leaned over and whispered the meaning in the younger profiler’s ear, whose frown deepened with every word.
“Why does-”
“You don’t wanna know.” Morgan shook his head.
Hotch wondered, very briefly, if he should put a stop to the game for the youngest’s sake. Reid was 24… He’d seen worse in the field. The kid would be fine…
“Okay.” Hotch drew a black prompt card and read, “Here is the church, here is the steeple. Open the doors and there is…”
*****
“Should we really be letting Morgan judge?” Elle asked when it was the man in question’s turn to read a black card, his hand already on the pile.
“Why not?” Reid held out another card- the one he just drew- for Morgan to see.
“Are you saying I’d cheat?” Morgan scoffed and whispered the meaning of the new card in Reid’s ear. “Might be fun.
Reid looked at Morgan like he was insane and quickly shook his head, turning back to his cards. The interaction drew a small smile across Hotch’s face.
JJ giggled at Reid basically sitting in Morgan’s lap so the latter could see the younger’s cards. Reid wasn’t huge on PDA- unlike Morgan who’d get away with as much of it as possible if Reid was more comfortable with it. This was as close as the two had gotten in a while.
“Hotch, tie break,” Morgan prompted.
Aaron considered for a few seconds. “We’ll let you judge first the next time we play.”
Morgan’s only reply was a petty huff- good naturedly.
A look of realization suddenly crossed Reid’s face.
“What is it?” Hotch didn’t know whether to be concerned or entertained.
“Thanks to my Eidetic memory, these words will be seared to the inside of my brain until I die.” Reid’s confusion grew as his teammates laughed around him, even Gideon was chuckling in the back.
“You’ll be okay, Reid,” Elle promised.
*****
By the time the group had ten minutes left until the landing, Hotch was the only one playing who wasn’t whispering. Elle and JJ had taken to giggling over how cute the two dating profilers were. Some of the cards had Reid scoffing and giggling until Morgan whispered something that made him blush if he hadn’t been blushing already. Hotch wondered if Reid was lightheaded at any point from all the blood going to his face.
“You really knew so few of these cards, Reid?” Elle didn’t try to hide her smile.
“I didn’t have a normal college experience,” Reid pointed out. “I didn’t have a lot of friends to play this sort of game with.” He laid down his white answer card. “And I don’t read a lot of modern books…”
“Wait, wait. Have you seen the movie Accepted?” Morgan asked quickly.
Reid adjusted how he was sitting and tucked a strand of hair behind his ear to hide the slight flutter of his index and middle fingers against each other.
“Elle, you're judge,” Morgan reminded.
You really know so few of these cards, Reid? Elle’s voice played over in his head and it took every ounce of will in his body to stop his leg from bouncing a mile a minute.
The others ignored- or rather pretended not to see- the nervous tics of their team’s youngest member and redirected the attention of the game from him.
*****
That night, Spencer and Derek laid in bed, the younger wrapped safely in the darker’s arms. Spencer knew Derek was awake and Derek knew Spencer’s thoughts were keeping him up.
Derek snuggled closer to Spencer, pressing a kiss to his shoulder, then where his shoulder met his neck, and lastly where his neck met his chin. The latter two placements made the doctor squirm slightly and the SSA smirk.
“What’s that brain of yours thinking, Pretty Boy?”
“Was I annoying today?” Spencer rolled over in Derek’s arms so they were facing each other, their noses almost touching.
“What makes you think you were annoying?” It was Derek’s turn to frown.
“Just, I-I always… I kept-”
“Take your time,” Derek chuckled.
“I kept asking what every other card meant. Everyone else knew what they meant.” Spencer’s fingers started fidgeting with the hem of his tank top.
“You’re allowed to know stuff, ya know? Just because everyone says you’re a computer doesn’t mean you are. I mean, look at how many times a day we ask you for facts or statistics.”
“But that stuff matters. It’s saved people.”
“And you really think playing that game didn’t matter?” Derek kissed Spencer’s forehead. “Playing the game was fun. De-stressing and having fun is just as important as the job. At the very least, it was an excuse to sit really close to you in front of the team without you being jumpy.”
Spencer blushed and Derek chortled. “Didn’t occur to you before now, did it?” Derek knew it hadn’t, but he had to tease his boyfriend. “You are too damn cute for your own good when you blush.”
Spencer nuzzled his nose against Derek’s neck, hiding his face and making the darker skinned man chuckle again.
“Feeling better, Pretty Boy?” Derek gently ran his hand through Spencer’s hair, twirling a strand around the tip of his index finger. The touches to Spencer’s hair were soft- breathes- because of how sensitive the doctor’s scalp was.
“Much. Thank you.” His voice was muffled.
“Think you can sleep now?”
The answer to Derek’s question came in the form of a tickling nod and Spencer snuggling closer.
**********
Special thanks to: @stxrryspencer @chaoticgremlinwholikescheese @prettyboy-reid and @reidecorating
