Sweetest stranger
Author's note: Hi! This is my first time ever posting something like this. I came up with this idea yesterday at night and I just had to write it down (it's my first time writing fanfiction, ever). English isn't my first language, so any suggestions or constructive feedback would be greatly appreciated. And I'm sorry for any spelling or grammar mistake. I really hope you like it!
Lots of love, Jo.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Hayes!reader
Summary: when a stressful cake and your nephew's fourth birthday party becomes a meet-cute.
Content warnings: very cheesy (?)
Tags: fluff, domestic, meet-cute, established family (character is savannah's sister), baking, minor injury, socially awkward spence, matchmaker penelope, derek morgan, savannah hayes, hank spencer hayes, reader is the cool auntie, reader has freckles.
Word count: 2k!
Your kitchen was a complete mess. There were dustings of flour on the wooden counters, utensils scattered around and frosting of all colors on little containers. You were pretty sure all of your neighbors could smell the vanilla and strawberry jam from the cake you had spent all morning making.
Hank, your nephew was turning four today. A week prior he had asked you, over a very serious tea time along his teddy bears — with those sweet puppy eyes that melted every fiber of your soul —, if you could make his birthday cake with all his favorite things: strawberries, the colors of the rainbow caramel and little teddy bears. Savannah, your sister, had said it was not necessary; she didn't want to put more pressure on your life, but there was no way you were saying no to that wonderful request.
Although, you were considering now, with your hair made a mess and your pajamas covered in powdered sugar, to buy a cake in the store because those little teddy bears were definitely not looking like teddy bears. No matter how many times you tried and tried and tried, your hands just wouldn't be able to draw a teddy bear the way you wanted it.
Suddenly a text popped up on the screen, distracting you from the — not so easy — tutorial on how to make frosting bears. It was Savannah.
Hey, just letting you know that almost all of the guests are here. Hank is very excited for his birthday cake ;)
Of course you were late. Oh god, it was so late. You had barely even looked at the time; it had been four hours. You drew as best as possible the remaining bears and hoped that Hank or the guest wouldn't mind the look of them.
You ran to your bedroom, rummaged through the closet for something nice and appropriate to wear. The flowy summer yellow dress seemed perfect; the sunshine coming through your window made it shine against your beautiful skin and it somehow complimented your tired eyes. You let your hair down from the messy ponytail and brushed it with your fingers. Some withe comfortable heels and your favorite denim jacket.
Already on my way :)
You texted back to your sister as you jumped on a cab, holding the cake in its cardboard box with your dear life. There was a reputation to maintain, not every "cool auntie" made their nephews a delicious cake. But either way, the bears and the ticking clock were making you very anxious, and the taxi driver seemed to have gotten their drivers license yesterday by how slowly they drove down the streets.
After what seemed like an eternity of sitting in the back seat of the taxi, you were finally standing outside of the front door of your sister's house. With both hands holding the cake and the little bag with your phone, you gave a delicate kick with your heel on the dark brown wood of the door, hoping anybody could hear you amidst all the laughter of little kids.
“You made it!” Derek smiled as soon as he saw you standing on the porch
“Hi, yes, sorry I'm late" you smiled back
His eyes went down to the box.
“Need help with that?" He asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“No, no, I can handle it”
You stepped inside of the house. There were balloons of all colors over the ceiling, a blue glittering curtain on the backyard door and some toys scattered around the living room. You walked carefully into the kitchen and finally left the cake safe and sound on the marble countertop.
“Oh, thank god you're here” Savannah showed up and gave you a big hug. When she pulled away her eyes observed you carefully from head to toe “You look awful. Did you even get any sleep?”
“Thank you, sis. I love you too" You answered sarcastically, trying to camouflage the fact that you had woken up at five in the morning to make the cake and finish that god forsaken draft that you had to send to your boss.
“I'm serious" Savannah crossed her arms “You promised you were okay with doing the cake for Hank”
“I was. I am" You replied quickly.
On your distraction, Derek had opened the box and was inspecting the cake with a critical eye. All of your fears of disappointing your nephew came back at once.
“I've seen better cakes" Derek finally said
You looked at him mortified. After a few seconds he let out a loud laugh.
“I'm kidding, freckles. This is amazing” He smiled.
A sigh of relief left your body and you hurriedly closed the cardboard box again, protecting the cake from all harm until Hank saw it and tasted it.
“Ha, ha, very funny, Derek" You answered sarcastically “Where's Hank?” You asked looking at Savannah
“Outside, on the swings with his friends. Let me take you to him”
Your sister guided you to the backyard where the whirlwind of noise — kids laughter and lullabies playing through a speaker — , a splash of color and teddy bear coded food took over the place. Towards the far left corner of the backyard, a few slides and swings were placed. The amount of kids gathered there just told you that they had found a paradise as their faces lit up with extreme joy.
“Oh god” Savannah whispered as soon as she saw Hank sitting on the floor holding his left knee “What happened?”
“He fell trying to jump from the swing” A man's voice informed, kneeled next to the kid on the floor. His eyebrows showed his clear worry for the child.
The light of the sun hit his eyes and provided you with a hazel incandescent glow that you had never experienced before in your life. His hair was light brown and curly, styled in a way that made it seem perfectly disheveled. He was wearing a light blue buttoned up shirt, completely avoiding the last top two buttons and some dark brown dress pants with black converse, similar to the ones that were sitting on your closet back at home.
“Oh, no, sweetie” You said softly, looking at Hank “How bad does it hurt?”
“Just a little bit. It's burning” The child answered, lifting his hand from his knee to show the small injury.
“Oh, baby, It'll be fine in a second” Savannah smiled “Let me take you inside for a band-aid, okay?”
Hank nodded
“Then you can come back and I'll show you the magnificent cake I made for you, yeah?” You smiled.
“You made it?!” Hank was standing in an instant.
The man smiled at you and stood up too, dusting off his pants from the grass.
“Of course I made it. I couldn't let down the amazing request you and your teddy friends made” You winked at him.
“You're so cool!”
The little kids' arms surrounded your waist softly. You crouched a bit and hugged him back with those bear hugs he loved.
“Wait for me, I'll be back in a second!” He joyfully announced as Savannah took his little hand and brought him inside.
You looked at them as they disappeared behind the door leading to the house. You couldn't be more proud of the amazing family your big sister had made. You remembered all the calls she made on her lunch breaks, telling you about Derek, his job and how she wasn't completely sure about anything.
“That explains it” The man's voice interrupted your line of thought.
“Sorry?" You asked looking up at him.
“You...you made the cake" He smiled “That's why you have a bit of frosting on your chin”
“Oh, I do?" You quickly covered your chin and tried to get the frosting off with your hand.
You had thought you looked presentable enough; no signs of the mess that your life was at the moment, just your eyes. Why had nobody else told you about it? Of course it had to be the one attractive man you just met.
“Is it off?” You asked, your cheeks burning bright.
“Uh...no, it's still there” He smiled awkwardly, his hand in his pockets.
“Uhg, as if making the cake wasn't hard enough" You murmured to yourself as you tried to get the frosting off again, but he definitely heard it.
“May I help you?" He asked softly, already reaching for a napkin from the nearby buffet table.
You nodded, still blushing hard.
As soon as he stepped closer you immediately noticed the subtle trace of a beard that was probably shaved that morning. His eyes settled on you and you could notice how a very earthly palette, brown and green tones, folded together into incredible shadowed layers. Your eyes went up to his forehead, noticing two tiny moles that gave his face a lot of character. Then your gaze went down, his lips seemed as soft as the clouds in the sky that day, displaying a cute natural pastel pink color that had you immediately hypnotized.
You held your breath just in case you could ruin the perfect bubble you were both in; so fragile it could even break with a little breeze.
“There" He whispered looking into your eyes as his cheeks also turned red “It's gone”
“Thanks" You smiled as you put a strand of hair behind your ear.
An awkward silence settled between the two of you, none stepping away from each other. He folded the napkin into a square as he looked at you with a cute smile. You were uncertain which feature on his face deserved more attention.
“The distribution of melanin in your skin is very structured." He suddenly said with a new found anxious speed “Most people believe it's mainly hereditary, but they also can be a physiological response to the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. It's interesting how—”
You tilted your head to the side and the confusion and amusement in your eyebrow was evident to him in an instant. He squeezed the napkin in his hand; now the tips of his ears turned a deep shade of crimson that matched his cheeks.
“I'm sorry" He said, briefly lowering his gaze to his black converse for a second to then come back to your eyes again “I'm—I'm trying to say they are beautiful. The freckles. They're very beautiful”
You opened your mouth, but before you could thank him for the compliment a very colorful dressed lady walked over to your direction.
“Spence!" She said joyfully as soon as she saw him “I've been looking for you, there's chocolate covered donuts with the colorful sprinkles you—” she stopped next to him and looked at you from head to toe.
“Who is your beautiful friend?" She asked the man
“I—I actually don't know yet” He smiled looking at you. Completely unaware of where his favorite donuts were, not that he cared a lot either, at least, not right there and then.
“Sorry, where are my manners?” You chuckled “I'm Savannah's sister. Though, around here, everyone calls me freckles.”
“Well, Freckles. I love your dress!" The woman exclaimed “I'm Penelope Garcia and you can call me whatever you like. And this handsome fella right here is Dr. Spencer Reid." She gave the man a playful punch on the arm. “We're Hank's godfather and godmother.”
“Oh, you used to work with Derek, right?" You asked, looking at both of them.
“Yes, at the BAU” Spencer started “Which actually used to be called BSU, Behavioral Science Unit. But they changed it because it sounded more like an academic research group and they wanted it to be viewed as a high stakes operational force—” He suddenly stopped.
“He has a rambling condition. He does it whenever he's nervous or really excited" Penelope explained softly, smiling.
“Sorry” Spencer made his lips into a thin line and scratched his neck.
Was he nervous because of you? Or just excited for the birthday party?
“Auntie! Auntie!” Hank ran back to the backyard and straight into your arms “I'm ready to see the cake!”
“Hey" You chuckled, holding him “First I need to know, how is your knee doing?"
“Better, mommy gave me a bandaid and a magic kiss.” He explained innocently.
“Just one magic kiss?" You asked looking at the little kid “I'll give you a ton!"
As soon as you started to playfully kiss him everywhere possible he started chuckling and laughing. Spencer and Penelope also chuckled at the sight.
“Okay, I think that's good...for now" You chuckled “There's a cake waiting for you" You turned to the adults “It was really nice meeting you guys.”
“Likewise,” Spencer answered.
“I'll see you around" You smiled at him and turned back to the house.
“You'll definitely see her around, huh?" Penelope chuckled looking at Spencer as soon as you left.
“What?" He asked, oblivious
“You were drooling for her!" She laughed “You think she's cute!”
“Wha—I do not—” He stopped. “Well, she is very pleasing to the eye, but I was just making small talk with a stranger. That's what you're supposed to do at parties, right?"
“Pleasing to the eye?” Penelope laughed hysterically “Sure, genius, you were just doing small talk”
Meanwhile, at the kitchen, your face was radiant with a smile; not just for the fact that your nephew had absolutely loved the cake you had put so much effort into, but because you had just met the sweetest stranger.
part two coming soon 𖹭.ᐟ