merry (early) christmas @galacticlee3 !! I was your squealing santa this year <3 i was so happy to be writing this for you since I love writing ler!spencer and I know you enjoy my work. hope you enjoy!!! special thanks to @squealing-santa for putting this together ❤️
word count: 1,400
pairing: spencer reid x reader (romantic)
summary: reader needs a massage and Spencer tries helping
“God, my neck is killing me,” You sighed, rubbing it gently as you rolled your head from side to side. “Next time, remind me to stretch before taking down a 250-pound killer.”
Spencer laughed quietly, his head down as he read the files, but his eyes flitted up to you. He watched as you attempted to massage your own neck, noticing how it was alleviating your pain. “I don’t think stretching would help. He slammed you against a wall. What you’re experiencing is mild whiplash.”
“Well, it hurts,” You groaned, leaning forward in your seat to rest your elbows on your knees, hands cradling your heavy head. Spencer shut the file, his attention now fully onto you. He had been watching you a lot recently. You caught his attention early on; a giggle Spencer had never heard before had him asking JJ who you were. She explained that you were an internal transfer to the BAU. You’d been working in domestic terrorism before.
He was smitten with you since then, but wouldn’t dare say that out loud. Though, he had an inkling that Penelope already knew. She was good at reading people romantically.
He longed to be the one to care for you; holding your hand when things got scary, hugging you when you were down, making you hot tea when you were sick. He battled with his own thoughts as he observed you sighing in defeat.
His hands were nimble and mildly cold, but maybe he could help.
“I—” Spencer started, cutting himself off before he could finish. His stomach churned with a nervousness he’d never experienced before. Your head slowly lifted to catch Spencer swiveling his chair back to face his desk.
“What, Spence?”
Spence. He loved it when you called him that. Before you joined the team, JJ and Emily had been the only 2 to ever coin that nickname and while he never minded it, he wouldn’t say he loved the way it made him feel when it spilled from their lips. With you, it made a fire ignite in his chest.
Spencer cleared his throat and anxiously fiddled with his fingers. “I was just—um, well… I could try and h-help if you want. With your neck, you know…”
You smiled, more at Spencer’s stuttering than at the offering he gave you. He was normally timid in social conversations—a sharp turn from when he’s authoritative on a case—but it was endearing. You knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Spencer had taking a liking to you. Flattered wasn’t the right word to describe how you felt about it. Possibly enchanted or ‘mutual’.
“You really wouldn’t mind?” You asked him, already knowing his answer. Spencer perked up and gave you a tight-lipped smile, shaking his head. “Because that would be very helpful.”
“I’m not saying I’d be particularly good at it, but I can try,” He replied, voice shaking slightly. He was nervous, but looked terrified. You giggled and shrugged the best you could without putting yourself in discomfort.
“It’ll be fine, Spence. Anything at all would probably help,” You said, turning your desk chair around so that your back was now facing him. You heard the squeak of his as he made to stand up, then the pitter of his feet as he sauntered to stand directly behind you. He let out a breath and you shivered slightly as the cold air of it just barely grazed your skin, sending goosebumps down your spine.
“Where is the center of your pain?” He asked you. Lifting your right hand, you pointed to the base of your neck.
“Here, mostly. And a little near my shoulder blades,” You answered, suddenly shy about the situation. It’s just Spencer—no reason to be nervous. Holding your breath, you awaited Spencer’s touch and once he finally made contact, you flinched.
“Sorry!” He said, immediately retracting his hand.
“No, no, Spence, it’s fine! I just can’t see, so I didn’t know when you were about to touch me,” You assured him, chuckling under your breath. “I’m ready now.”
“You’re sure?”
You smiled, even though he couldn’t see. “I’m sure.”
Still, you held your breath and tensed out of instinct as you felt Spencer’s hand rest on the back of your neck. He gently pressed into the place where your neck and back met with his thumb, easily becoming more confident as he felt you relax under his fingertips.
“Right here?” Spencer questioned you. You hummed a short and quiet response and he grinned wider at you. “Just tell me if anything hurts.”
Spencer worked his fingers in that spot until your skin began turning red from the continuous rubbing, then slid his hand over to the crook of your neck on the right side. You squealed and shrugged your shoulder up, trapping his hand.
Realizing what you’d done, you released him, swiveling around in panic. “Oh, God! I’m sorry! I just… well, I’m a little…”
“Ticklish,” Spencer smiled, finishing your sentence for you. You blushed as your head fell, eyes looking into your lap.
“Yeah. I thought I’d gotten over that… It’s so embarrassing,” You mumbled, bringing your hand up to your neck to cover up the ticklish spot.
Spencer, on the inside, felt like he’d just won the lottery. What better way to get close to someone than to tickle them? On the outside, though, he kept his composure. He reached out, placing his hand on your arm, prompting you to look up at him.
“It’s not embarrassing. It’s a normal response. Everyone is at least a little ticklish and anyone who says they aren’t, are lying. It has to do with nerve endings. And you can’t just get over being ticklish,” Spencer explained, sneakily reaching down with his free hand to pinch your side gently. You yelped and looked up at him, unaware that a smile was creeping onto your face as well. “Now, turn back around. I’ll be careful.”
You rolled your eyes playfully, obeying his words. Your chair squeaked at it pivoted back to its previous position. Spencer’s eyes shifted to where your hand was still covering your neck and smirked to himself before wiggling his finger into your armpit.
“AHA!” You whipped your elbow down and leaned forward. “Spence!”
“Your hand was still on your neck,” Spencer shrugged, an uncharacteristic shit-eating grin on his lips. You grunted and situated yourself back against the chair, sighing dramatically.
Spencer went back to massaging, putting enough pressure not to tickle you, but as he moved to that spot between your shoulder blades and he braced his other fingers onto your ribs, you giggled again, arching away from him.
“Spencer! You said you’d be careful!” You chastised him.
“I was trying to help you!” He replied, going to squeeze at your ribs again. “It’s not my fault you’re too ticklish to handle it.”
“WAHAHA! Noho!” You laughed, squirming in your seat. “Ihit’s embaharrassing!”
Spencer began tickling every exposed spot he could find, watching as you attempted to block each and every one from him. He clicked his tongue. “There’s nothing wrong with being ticklish! Everyone is.”
“Spehehence!”
“Now, repeat after me: ‘it’s okay to be ticklish’,” Spencer ordered, contracting his fingers into your sides with vigor. Had you had any control over your body, you might have stood up to get away from his attack, but you knew that you weren’t strong enough to stand. Plus, you didn’t actually mind TOO much.
“I’m nohohot saying thahat!” You yelled back through your giggles.
Spencer tickled up your torso, forcing his hands under your arms and vibrating his fingers as best as he could. That really got you laughing. “I’m not stopping until you admit it.”
“OKAY, OKAY, OKAHAHAY! IT’S OKAY TO BEHEHE TICKLIHISH!” You belly-laughed, a snort sneaking out at the last second. You instantly covered your mouth, whining and cradling your head in your free hand. “I can’t believe yohou made me snort.”
“It was cute,” Spencer responded quietly, surprisingly confident in his tone. He shuffled to stand in front of you, squatting down so that he was face to face with you. “I think everything you do is cute.”
In shock, your head whipped up, smiling at his confession and that the pain in your neck was basically gone. “You… you mean that?”
“Y-yeah,” He stuttered. “I do.”
Your eyes roamed his face, taking in every inch, and you bit your lip. “Well, I feel the same.” You reached out and grabbed his forearm, rubbing your thumb against his sleeve. “But I have a question.”
His eyes shot up to meet yours. “Anything.”
“You said that everyone is ticklish…”
“Yeah…”
“So, that means you are too, then?”
And with the fear in Spencer’s eyes, you already knew you had your answer.
Criminal Minds Tickle fic - Ler!Spencer x Lee!Reader
Y/N is still warming up to the team, one night filled with cheer and drinks is effective at breaking the ice.
(tw: mentions of alcohol/feeling tipsy)
The BAU Christmas party was in full swing at Hotch's house, with festive decorations and holiday cheer buzzing in the air. You were cradling your drink and sitting in the corner of the somewhat abandoned dinner table scattered with dirty plates and empty glasses. Spencer was sitting to your left, Emily and JJ sitting across from the two of you. Hotch, Derek and Penelope had rushed to the living room, likely to play some drinking variation of monopoly, scrabble or who knows what.
You've felt your anxiety slowly melting away the more adult beverages you consume throughout the night, you've always been jarringly anxious during social situations, especially those including your new team mates. You were glad to get the opportunity to hang out with the group outside of work, everyone has been so lovely - never pushing you beyond what you're comfortable with but still clearly eager to get to know you. It was a nice feeling, to be seen and cared for despite hiding yourself out of instinct. The fact that the team knew nearly nothing about you even after 3 months of working with with BAU, was not lost on you or the rest of the team. But they were working on it.
Some hours and many laughs shared over eggnog had passed, and you look up to the sound of JJ laughing, Emily seemed to be attacking her with rapid pokes to her side, causing JJ to squirm and attempt to swat the raven haired detectives hands away. Emily was letting out a boisterous evil laugh with a drunken, yet mischievous, glint in her eyes. Your eyes averted as quickly as they'd laid eyes on the scene, a crimson glow spreading across your cheeks which you desperately tried to hide by looking down at your phone.
Dammit, why does this always happen? Was it second hand embarrassment? Fear of being brought in and having to interact with the flustering concept in front of her co-workers and friends? Whatever it is, you were doing a lousy job at laying low because you started to feel the eyes of a certain tipsy profiling protégée burning into the side of your head.
Oh god.
"Are you alright, Y/N?" Spencer shuffled closer to you, speaking low as to not alert the giggling girls across the table.
"Yes! Of course" You giggled with faux nonchalance. "Just getting tired is all"
You were looking down at your watch and beginning to yawn, committing to the act, before realising who exactly it was you attempting to lie to.
Spencer cocked his head to the side, with a look of genuine concern present on his features while he leaned in closer. Likely analysing your every move. You were in the middle of giving him a 'do not profile me look' when he said "Is it too hot in here? You're looking quite red in the face"
Of course your blush only deepened at that comment. Bless him, he was only trying to help. Your hands didn't ask permission from your brain before they came flying up to shield your burning cheeks. Fuck. They flew back down again and you laughed nervously.
"No it's fine, really" You flashed him your most casual smile.
Spencer must have caught on at least to the fact that you were embarrassed or flustered about something, because his look of concern was replaced with a mildly amused one. It took him about another .5 seconds to make the connection.
He glanced over at JJ, a little red in the face now, still giggling at Emily relentless fingers landing pokes here and there. "Oh" He said. "Feeling left out?" He offered a teasy smile.
"What?" you replied a little too quickly. "Of course not!" You started anxiously playing with your hands. God let this be over soon.
"Or, the opposite?" He began thinking out loud. "I suppose we haven't gotten to know you all that well yet. The act of tickling is quite an intimate exchange, a weakness usually only confessed between people you trust. It makes sense that you aren't ready for us to know your weaknessness." His friendly smile making it obvious that he had no idea that what he was saying was even mildly flustering.
If your face was warm before, It must be sprouting flames now. You just froze, staring at him for a few seconds before responding.
"Wh-why would you think? Im- Im not-"
"You're not? what, ticklish? I only assumed because someone who isn't ticklish wouldn't have anything to be concerned about. Most people find lack of sensitivity to be a strength, and like to show it off. But I just saw you essentially try to turn yourself invisible." He chuckled, potentially catching on to the fact that you were slightly mortified now. "You can trust us, you know. You don't have to be embarrassed" That last part came out very softly, a genuine show of support.
You would be touched if you weren't feeling like you'd rather the universe implode than have this conversation right now. Your head snapped up at the mention of your name. "Y/N, Is your drink still full? You've had that going for ages!" Emily exclaimed.
You willed the heat to evaporate from your cheeks as you laughed. "I guess you're right! I'll get right on that" You brought the cup to your lips as Spencer and the girls fell into casual conversation, and took a big gulp.
A few moments later, while you were listening intently to a story about how JJ accidentally left her coffee cup on the roof of her car this morning and drove away, you felt the overpowering sensation of someone wiggling their fingers on your left knee-cap. You managed to trap the giggle in your throat, covering it up with a cough while you not-so-subtly jerked your knee away. Emily giggled at you, probably assuming it was the alcohol in your system making you clumsy. Spencer hadn't even broken eye contact with JJ, seemingly enthralled in what she was saying. But there was a smirk on his face that you couldn't ignore. Maybe he wasn't as oblivious as you thought.
You didn't even get 5 seconds of recovery time before he attacked under the table again, this time firmly squeezing the flesh above your knee - causing you to squeal loudly and jump. Your knee collides with the bottom of the table causing a loud 'clunk!'.
All eyes were on you as you glared at Spencer, who was making no attempt at hiding the look of genuine amusement from his face. "Oh, Y/N, I didn't know you would be that ticklish!"
"Spencer!" You hissed, shooting him a look of betrayal.
"Ohhhh Y/N is ticklish?! How did I not know that! I'm kind of the tickle monster around here, you know" Emily winked and made ghostly tickle hands in your direction.
"Why is it fair that you always get to do the tickling? and I'm usually on the receiving end" Spencer grumbled, shooting out his slender arm, his fingers pinching your sides. You actually yelp and slap his hand on instinct. You didn't have time to speak before his grip landed on your lower ribs and began squeezing rapidy.
Oh no.
You squeal again and and an uncontrollable wave of giggles start to pour out of you, you wiggle around helplessly in your seat, partially paralysed by the shock of being tickled so purposefully. The sensation is so overwhelming that you forget even to be embarrassed. You manage to take a deep breath between giggles to yell "Oh my gohohd, stohop!!!"
Spencer's slender fingers retract immediately, and there's a round of excited giggles from the table. "I think Y/N might be the most ticklish on the team!" JJ exclaimed.
"Even worse than you, Spence" Added Emily.
"I hate you so much" You grumble in Spencers direction. "Ouch" He out his hands to his heart in faked offence. He had a broad toothy grin on his face as he said "Hey, since we finally learned something fun about you, we need to share it with the rest of the team"
Your mouth fell open. "Don't you da-"
"Derek, Hotch, Garcia get in here!" Emily yelled.
"No!" You hissed, your flustered blush already creeping back up your neck.
"Oh this is gonna be fun" JJ chuckled and gave you a reassuring wink and you sunk into your chair and covered your face with your hands yet again.
There may or may not have been an excited smile emerging beneath your fingers.
*Sequel to Movie Nights and (rather one-sided) Tickle Fights + Part 3 to Sensibility and Its Open Doors*
SFW; angst at first but gets super duper fluffy, more hints of a slowly growing romance (this be a slow burn AHSHSHD)
Words: 2859
Summary - After Y/N experiences a meltdown brought about from sensory overload during a very stressful assignment, they grow embarrassed and ashamed, which is further worsened by the ableist comments of someone involved in the case. Spencer offers his support, and in the midst of slowly helping them to settle, suggests a very familiar way to get them giggling again.
Warnings: Talks of sensory overload, meltdowns, shutdowns, going nonverbal, recounting of ableism, imposter syndrome, lots and lots of super soft and comforting tickles
DISCLAIMER: This fic is inspired by my own experiences with sensory overload, meltdowns, and shutdowns as a neurodivergent individual. Not everyone who's neurodivergent experiences what the reader in this story experiences. My hope is for this fic to provide some comfort to ND readers who feel a lot of shame and embarrassment post-meltdown or shutdown, as well as provide comfort for fellow ND individuals who've had to experience ableism in the workplace
Spencer's footsteps were growing faster in pace as he made his way down the hall. JJ stood outside of one of the room doors, hands resting on her upper arms as she patiently waited for her friend to reach her. His eyes flickered with concern, and every ounce of his body language was evidence of his worry.
"How are they doing, JJ...?" he questioned quietly, ignoring the people who walked past him, as his mind could only focus on Y/N's wellbeing.
JJ glanced toward the door, her eyes saddening. "Not good, Spence. They're really embarrassed. I did my best to assure them the meltdown wasn't their fault, but... the case witness yelling at them, and saying that to them-"
"Oh, believe me. Morgan and Prentiss are giving him hell right now. It's been a long time since I've seen Hotch get that angry."
"IhI don't blame him. I talked with Garcia a few minutes ago. She's ready to fly out here and fight." JJ's statement was followed by a hollow laugh, and her eyes wandered to the door again. "Spence, do you... do you want to check in on them? I think they really need to see you right now."
Spencer nodded, and JJ moved aside so he could enter the room. Before he opened the door, he knocked very gently. "Y/N, it's Spencer... I'm coming in, okay?" The faint sound of a wordless affirmation was heard by the doctor, who then slowly turned the doorknob, and stepped into the dimly lit room.
Y/N remained staring at their hands, tugging at their sleeves and rocking their body. Their headphones sat around their neck, but in the midst of their distress, they hadn't been able to get any music playing. Spencer carefully closed the door behind him, before slowly stepping closer.
"Hi," he greeted softly. "Are you alright with me sitting with you?"
His coworker's nod had him recognizing that they had gone nonverbal. Their eyes still couldn't meet his, but he noted the way their body seemed to lose a small bit of its tension when he sat beside them. A few silent minutes went by, the only noise coming from the fan above, and from outside of the room in the form of footsteps. Spencer glanced over to Y/N upon feeling the gentle tap on his arm, and he watched as his friend signed a single word.
"Sorry..."
"Y/N, you don't have anything to apologize for. Your hypersensitivity to sensory input is not something you should be made to 'get a handle on.' And, contrary to that man's statements, there is nothingwrong with you."
The horrid comments made by the case witness were still running rampant at the front of their mind. They looked up at Spencer, opening their mouth in an attempt to speak, but even the thought of talking in that moment felt physically painful. Spencer offered his hand, and Y/N shakily accepted.
"I know you feel embarrassed, and ashamed, about experiencing a meltdown at work, in front of us, but none of us would ever hold something like this against you. Ever." Spencer's voice was firm, speaking his words with conviction, but he made sure his voice stayed quiet. "Navigating this line of work, with the little amount of support there is for neurodivergent agents, is not an easy task, and believe me, you make it look so. much. easier, than it is..."
He gave Y/N's hand a gentle squeeze. "...but you should not have to work five times as hard, or sacrifice your entire wellbeing, or be subjected to gross mistreatment when you're experiencing sensory overload, just to prove you belong here."
Y/N returned the squeeze, and looked down at the floor. Their body was so tired, overwhelmed guilt, and embarrassment, with every thought in their mind being the repeated questioning of their own abilities, and of their place on the team. "Y/N..."
"H-Hm?"
"Would you be alright with a pressure hug?" Spencer watched as his friend slowly looked up at him, and nodded. The moment his arms carefully wrapped around them, they buried their face in his sweater, hugging him as tightly as they could. It was a comforting feeling, especially given that the sweater's fabric was one with a texture that emitted absolute sensory bliss, like the softest cloud, if clouds could be woven into clothing. Y/N wouldn't deny that their heart was fluttering from Spencer's affection, and they hummed when he returned the squeeze, resting his chin on the top of their head.
"Not a day will go by where I don't tell you that you belong here, Y/N. I... I can't tell you enough, just how thankful I am, that you're here. I meant what I said during our movie night."
Y/N lifted their head to meet his gaze, and he couldn't help the smile that crept up on his lips. "Doho you realize how cute it is when you do that?" Their brows furrowed.
"It isn't cute..." Spencer saw their eyes widen as they realized their nonverbal episode was over, but he didn't point it out or make it a big deal, which Y/N was grateful for.
"Scientifically, you're incorrect," the doctor challenged with a smile. "Do I need to give you the whole spiel on the orbitofrontal cortex and releasing of dopamine again? You know I will~"
"I-It is not c-cute!"
"Well, unfortunately, you can't dictate what my brain does and does not find cute~ It is cute. And you're cute. You cannot argue with the science of cuteness."
"Stop it..."
"Would you prefer I call you adorable? Because I could totally call you that too."
Spencer noticed Y/N had begun stress-stimming again, tugging at their sleeves, and rubbing their hands, and he frowned as they stared down at the dull, turquoise, rug flooring of the room. "I... I can't stop thinking about what that man said to me... what he called me... everything... I-It, it really hurts, Spencer..."
They tried not to cry again, but Y/N's eyes were already growing foggy and glassy, chest aching with the urge to sob, and in their attempts to speak again, the tears began to fall. Spencer held them closer, to him, offering another pressure hug, and obliging when Y/N nodded despite their crying.
"I know, Y/N. We can stay like this as long as you need, okay?"
"M-Mhm..."
Spencer's phone, which he'd set to vibrate to make sure it wouldn't startle Y/N and further upset them, began to ring, so he answered quietly, letting JJ know that he needed to stay with their teammate until they had fully recovered from the meltdown-turned-shutdown.
"Y-You don't... you don't have to stay..."
Spencer set his phone back into his pocket, his arms enveloping the tearful agent once more. "I want to. I'm going to. Y/N, you mean the absolute world to me. You and this team, are the closest friends that I have ever had. I found a home with this team. I found a home with you... Please, tell me how I'd ever be alright with not making sure you feel safe and sound on this team..."
"I... I don't understand. You've been so patient with me... you've been so protective of me... you've been so..." Y/N moved back so they could study Spencer's expression, taking a deep breath before they whispered out their next words. "...understanding, of me..."
The genius smiled softly, gently placing his hands on their shoulders. "I guess you could say, I've... I've walked a lot more than just a mile in your shoes, Y/N."
In their mind, Y/N was kicking themself. It made so much sense why Spencer was so understanding, why he was so patient, why he was so committed to making sure they felt safe, why he was adamant about prioritizing their wellbeing in times they couldn't do that for themself... Spencer understood because he lived it.
"S-Spencer, You're..."
"Yeah," he answered quietly, still simpering, his tone of voice carrying an air of casualness. He didn't feel ashamed of it. He hadn't for a long time. He didn't want Y/N to feel ashamed for a second longer. "I have a question for you."
Y/N bit their lip and nodded to signal that Spencer could ask them whatever was on his mind in that moment. Nothing could have prepared them for what he was about to inquire, however.
"Would you be alright with some tickles?"
Butterflies traveled from their ear and down their body in mere seconds at the question. They could feel their cheeks and ears heating up with the intensity and speed of a high quality hot plate, or... perhaps that of a pocket warmer. No matter how many times the topic of tickling was brought up, despite their many tickle fights, though, to be fair, they weren't exactly tickle fights as much as they were simply Spencer tickling the daylights out of them, they would always grow flustered. Y/N was racking their brain for an answer, but their overthinking was interrupted when their friend gently squeezed their hand.
"It's perfectly alright if you're not up for it right now." Y/N nodded at Spencer's words, before taking a deep breath.
"I... I am... I'm just... It... IhIt never gets any easier to hear that word..."
Spencer's lighthearted chuckle made them smile, their wrists shaking with the beginnings of what would soon be very intense happy stimming. He knew Y/N wasn't feeling completely like themself, and was still very sensitive in the aftermath of their meltdown. As "unfair" of a ler, which is how had Y/N once put it, as Spencer could be, he knew that it wasn't the time for his usual methods.
Instead, in the dim lights of the empty office space, Y/N saw Spencer's slow wiggling fingers creep into view, and they pressed their lips together, already feeling the urge to giggle bubbling in their chest. "IhI already see that smile forming."
"Mmnot s-smiling..."
"The corners of your mouth keep twitching, and you only ever press your lips together when you're trying not to smile. I've known you nearly a year, Y/N. I'd be disappointed in myself if I couldn't tell when you were about to smile."
Y/N tried to furrow their brows and glare at him, but as his wiggling fingers suddenly got centimeter's away from their belly, they squeaked softly.
"Are you okay with some belly tickles?" Spencer's question was laced with care, with concern, wanting to make sure that he checked with them about each spot he targeted. Although the question had Y/N's face burning even hotter, they nodded, remaining timorous as Spencer carefully moved up their shirt the tiniest bit, before he began to trace delicate circles over the skin on their tummy.
They tried their best to stay still, and to not react, their stubbornness trying to outmatch their desire to giggle, however, when Spencer spidered his fingers a little faster, they began to squirm, the quietest little giggle sneaking out from their lips. "There's that giggle~"
"Mhmph! S-Spehehencer..."
"I'm still curious as to what part of your belly is the most ticklish."
"Y-Youhou h-havehehen't fihigured thahahat out yehet!?" Y/N hissed, gasping when Spencer tickled the skin right above their waist, body jolting from the super sensitive nerve endings being activated.
"I juhust did." He fluttered his fingers over the spot again, still at a careful pace, and grinned when he saw their hands begging to flap. "You're safe, Y/N. Safe to stim and giggle as much as you want to. You're not constricted by time or assignments right now."
The tickling remained gentle, light, and the comforting touch was helping Y/N to feel a little more present in their body again. "How about your sides? Are you alright with me tickling this spot?"
"M-Mhm- PFFHEEE! S-Spehenceherrr!" Y/N's back arched and they moved their fists toward and away from each other, giggling even harder when the tickling sensations increased two fold. Spencer slowed the tickles a little more, trailing his pointer fingers up and down repeatedly, and Y/N relaxed back into his arms, save for the occasional jump or breath hitch when it tickled more than they were expecting.
"You've done amazing navigating this entire situation, Y/N. I want you to hear that. Even if you can't believe it, even if you do believe it, but you doubt it, you're doing fantastic, and the entire team, especially me, we're all so proud of you."
There was something so oddly flustering about hearing such comforting words in the midst of the gentlest tickling, and Y/N resorted to closing their eyes, their happy stimming surging through their nervous system and leaving their body through their flapping hands.
"Is there any spot in particular you'd like me to tickle next?"
"IhIhI dohon't knohohow!" Y/N squeaked out, hiding their face in Spencer's shirt.
"Would back tickles be too much right now?" He really was so sweet, and Y/N was very grateful he was checking in so much.
"Gohohoho eheheasy, plehease."
Spencer obliged, and only used one finger to softly and slowly trace patterns on their back, smiling softly at the way Y/N curled into him, their giggles spiking in pitch every so often when he neared their spine. His heart was fluttering rapidly at the endearing sight of the joy returning to their body and mind, as the more he tickled them, and reminded them of how incredible they were, the more reassured they began to feel.
"No matter what that imposter syndrome tries to tell you, we do not see the failure you see. We don't see a burden, we don't see an obstacle. We see our teammate, Y/N. We see our friend. I see the person who I've grown to completely and utterly adore and adore being around." When Spencer lightly brushed over the spot where their sides met their back, they shrieked into his shirt, and sunk down, lying across his lap and looking at him.
"Dohon't apologize, Y/N. I'm sorry I caught you off guard." He looked into their eyes, not taking any offense when they had to avert their gaze a couple of seconds later. "Are you all tickled out?"
With a sheepish bite of their lip, Y/N shook their head. "Noho? Okay. How about your neck?" After a nod of affirmation, Spencer fluttered his fingers on their skin, grinning each time Y/N scrunched their shoulders or lightly turned their head. Their legs were bouncing with happy stimming, arms tucked into their chest.
After a few more minutes, Y/N had built up the courage to timidly ask a question.
Spencer had to fight the urge to audibly 'awww' over Y/N's timid question, and gently moved their arms out of the way, their happy stimming moving to their fingers. He set his hands on their sides, close to their hips, and bit by bit, began to walk his fingers up.
"Look out~ They're gonna get your ribs~" Y/N giggled even harder and had to cover their mouth to keep their loud squeak from echoing into the hallway. "They're gonna make you giggle and remind you how wonderful you are~"
Despite the playfulness, Y/N noticed that Spencer's singing in that moment was void of his usual teasing tone. He could tell that despite their giggling, that they were still feeling fragile. When he got to their ribs, he wiggled his fingers along them, moving up and down strategically. The two remained like that for a good ten minutes more, with Spencer always checking in before he moved to a new spot. Even after he'd stopped, Y/N's happy stimming remained.
"Hotch says we're set to return to the hotel for the day. Are you feeling alright enough to leave the room?"
"I-I think so... Thank you, Spencer. Thank you for everything." They pushed themself up a bit, and pressed a grateful kiss on Spencer's cheek.
"Of course, Y/N. Always." His face felt warm from the kiss, and he was thankful that in the low lighting, they couldn't see how red he was sure his face had become. "Um... Before we head back, would you like to get something to eat, somewhere? A-Anywhere? With... with me?"
Y/N's overthinking was beginning to creep up on them again, but they weren't about to let it spoil a chance to spend more time with someone they cared for so immensely, and without a second thought, they nodded with a smile. The negative words of the man only crossed their mind a couple more times that day, and even then, Spencer was right there to offer support, and reassurance, in the form of tickles, infodumps, and shared experience.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I am in such a lee mood for soft ler!Spencer rn 😭🤎 I owe a major thank you to @softestavengers for this headcanon about how Spencer would comfort an Autistic lee after a meltdown. They inspired me immensely!!! 💖💖💖 /p /gen
To my fellow ND readers who struggle with sensory overload, meltdowns, shutdowns, or nonverbal episodes, I'm sending you all of my love. Sensory overload is so stressful and meltdowns and shutdowns are so energy draining and scary. Please take care of yourselves 💜 /gen
“Okay. How bad does this tickle on a scale of one to ten?” Spencer asks, thumbs nudging against the painful knot of muscle underneath your shoulder blade.
“Zero,” You huff, rolling your neck to the side. Sleeping on the jet has its perils, including but not limited to waking up and being greeted with a deep stabbing pain whenever you turn your head.
“The scale is from one to ten,” Reid sighs, only lightly exasperated. He knows you’re messing with him a little.
“...One, then.”
“Alright, good. Let me know if I should stop.” His thumbs start working at the problem area, and even though you wince in pain a couple of times, you can tell it’s helping.
“Sorry,” He mutters, noticing your expressions. “That should be the worst of it. There’s only one more part to go.”
Then Spencer’s hands move lower, towards the base of your ribs. His knuckles press against a rogue filament, nudging it back into place. You feel some of the tension leave your neck, and let out a sigh of relief. Reid keeps going - but with most of the pain gone, his movements start to tickle a bit. You twitch involuntarily when he pushes against a rib, and have to bite back a smile when he rubs circles into your shoulders.
“Reid-” You start.
“Am I hurting you again?”
“No.” You mutter. His fingers poke a sensitive spot, and you have to hold back a yelp.
“I’m almost done. If you walk away now, you’ll have the same pain next time you take a nap. Your neck pain is likely caused by the same muscles repeatedly knotting due to a few core knots that have been there for some time already. If you want to avoid the same problem, I’ll need to work them all out.”
“...Okay.”
“Okay.” Spencer mirrors, moving to the top of your shoulders. His thumbs move up along a tendon towards the back of your neck, and you can’t help but flinch away.
“Spence!”
“What?” He’s holding his hands up in front of him, confused.
“I...you- that-” You sigh, putting a hand to your neck. “...we’re at a 4 on that scale of yours.”
“Oh,” He says, then grins. “Oh. I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to tickle you.”
“Promise?”
“Promise. Can I carry on?”
You begrudgingly shift back towards him, and he spends the next minute or so rubbing your shoulders whilst you have to try increasingly hard to keep a straight face.
At one point, Spencer’s fingers catch a spot towards the side of your ribcage that has you arching away with a giggle.
“Spence!” You start, reaching behind around to try to rub away the residual feeling. He laughs a little bit, and pokes at your other side.
“So what’s that, a six?”
You feel a blush creeping up your neck. “...Probably.”
“But I’m not even trying to tickle you.”
You meant to say something along the lines of no shit, Sherlock, but what comes out instead is “Maybe you’re just a bad masseuse.”
Spencer raises his eyebrows. “Am I?”
You hesitate, but nod. He grins.
“Ok then. Help me out here,” His arms snake around your waist before you can think to stop them, trapping you in a hug. You feel fingers crawling along the sides of your stomach, heading for your lower ribs, and it tickles. There’s no hope of holding back your laughter at this point, but you try to giggle into your hand as if it’ll somehow stop it.
“How bad does this tickle on a scale of one to ten?” Spencer sounds unfairly smug,
“Seven!” You squeak, trying to twist out of his grip. “Seven, seheven! Spencer!”
“Seven? Oh, sorry. I’ll move to a different spot, then.” He starts squeezing up and down your sides again, moving his fingers as if he’s playing the piano, which sends you into even more fits of laughter.
“What about here?”
You shove ineffectively at his arms, cackling into his shoulder and blushing so hard you feel your ears burn.
“Seven!” You cry, in the hope that repeating the same number will stop him from looking for any more weak spots.
“Are you sure?” He frowns. “It’s not any better?”
“N-no?”
“Ok, I’ll be gentler,” He switches to scribbling against the curve of your waist, which sends you into stuttering giggles. It’s almost definitely worse. “How about now?”
“Eight! Eight, please-”
“Hmm,” He almost sounds defeated, stilling his hands momentarily. For a second, you think he’s done messing with you.
But then he darts his hands up to the tops of your ribs, and applies just a little pressure as he wriggles his fingers there.
You jump, and let out another peal of laughter.
“How much does this tickle then?”
“Ten! Ten!” The words are interspersed with more laughter, and Spencer makes a sympathetic noise as if to sound sorry for the embarrassment he’s caused you. He does stop though, hands resting on your sides so he’s just hugging you instead.
“Maybe,” He starts, leaning forwards so you can hear him mutter. “Maybe I’m not a bad masseuse. Maybe you’re just really ticklish.”
You let out a sigh, and Spencer pats your shoulder.
“...In all honesty though, it’s probably a little bit of both.”
okay this was inspired by the request i sent to @manictickles a little bit ago, so yes, i was the “let me ask you this” anon 😩😩 (but yes, pls check out their blog theyre literally one of my favorite writers on tumblr !!)
also, ive discovered i have 0 idea how to title things, so im just going to leave this here:)
Ler!Spencer
Lee!Reader
“so i've noticed you get jumpy when my hands are near specific areas of your body; let me ask you this y/n, are you ticklish?”
you froze like a deer in headlights and looked at him blankly, trying not to expose any body language that he could use to his advantage to profile you. sadly, you cannot stop the embarrassed blush evading your face.
“uh.. I- what did you say?”
“you're answering the question with another question to buy yourself time to come up with an answer that won't get you tickled, leading me to believe that i've already figured out the answer without you having to tell me. Your body language has also given it away considering you blushed almost immediately. But in conclusion, yes. you, federal agent y/n l/n, are in fact, ticklish. and i'm assuming based on your very flustered reaction that you may even be more sensitive than the average person, correct?”
“wait wait wait spencer i-” you say, slowly inching away from him toward the edge of the couch, embarrassingly red, and struggling to conceal a smile already.
“y/n, it's too late now. besides, you tried to lie to me, so now id say that youre just getting what you deserve!” he says with his fingers spidering deviously out in front of him.
once youve backed up all the way against the couch, you grab hold of his thin wrists to try and hold his hands back.
“im gonna get youuu~” he teases, with the intent that it will make this even worse for you.
already giggling, you try to pry his hands away from your sensitive torso.
“awe, youre so cute! youre already laughing and i haven’t even touched you.. yet!
unfortunately, the giggles that are already shaking your body cause your muscles to weaken, then allowing spencer to dig right into your sides, jolting your nervous system.
“nonono spehehehence hahahaha!”
you twist away beneath him and bury your face into your hands unable to hide your laughter any longer.
“awe cmon, don't try to hide from me!”
he says stopping for a moment, pinning your wrists above your head to the end of the couch.
hes got you pinned as he straddles your waist, and youre face to face. his mesmerizing brown eyes gaze into yours, and your face gets hot as your redness deepens even further. you have never felt so close to him.. and you had nearly forgotten about the rest of the world. but in a flash, spencers eyes leave yours, and before you know it, he blows a gigantic, torturous raspberry just below your jawline. you squeal and kick in protest of the playful torture, denying the fact you loved every second of it.
pairing: spencer reid x reader (established relationship)
summary: spencer experiments when he finds out you've never been tickled before
“You’ve seriously never been tickled before?” Spencer asked you, surprise apparent in his tone of voice. You shook your head.
“No. I mean, not that I can remember. Maybe when I was little, but I haven’t been in the past 25 years. I don’t even know if I’m ticklish,” You shrugged, sighing a bit. Spencer pondered this information around in his head. He’d been with you for almost a year and he’d known you for 6 years before that. He knew that tickling was something couples normally did in relationships, but had never thought to do it himself.
But Spencer couldn’t ignore the faint pitch of disappointment your voice had when you said that you’d never been tickled like the girl in the movie you two had been snuggled up to watch together. So, he smiled and turned on his side to face you more directly, a smile gracing his features.
“Well… do you want to know if you are?”
You blushed a bit under his gaze, but nodded. “Yeah, I kinda do. But go easy on me! I know it can be torture for some people.”
Spencer chuckled. “There are two different forms of tickling: Knismesis and Gargalesis. We’ll focus on Knismesis which is just the light touches that give you goosebumps just to see where you’re sensitive.”
“Okay… yeah,” You breathed out, a bit nervous.
“Lay down flat,” Spencer ordered. You did as you were told, sliding down so that your head was pressed onto your pillow and your body laid flat on top of your mattress, hands resting comfortably at your sides. “Good. Now, we’ll try the most common places and if at any point you feel like it’s too much, just tell me to stop.”
You grinned and relaxed deeper into the bed. “I will.”
Slowly and cautiously, Spencer brought his fingers up to the soft skin just below your ear and gently ran them down until he reached the crook of your neck. A smile broke out on your face immediately and your shoulder scrunched up a bit. As he had described, goosebumps arose all over your body and a shiver ran down your spine.
“Woah. That felt like a ghost was tickling me or something,” You said, resetting your body back into the previous position. “It was weird.”
Spencer didn’t respond. Instead, he put more weight in his touch and used his blunt nails to scratch lightly down your neck again. You giggled this time and shrugged your shoulders up out of pure instinct.
“Okay, your neck is definitely ticklish. Give me your arm,” Spencer stated, holding out his hand. You eagerly held your arm out for him, watching every movement of his hand. He placed the pads of his finger onto your wrist and dragged them up to your shoulder, smiling with satisfaction when he felt the goosebumps return.
Then, without announcing what he was doing, he wiggled his index finger into the pit of your arm. You pulled your arm away from him and slammed your elbow into your side with another giggle. Your eyes widened as you made eye contact with him.
“That’s a pretty common reaction. Most people are really ticklish there, even to the lighter touch,” Spencer answered your question without you needing to ask. “Try and keep your arm up.”
You huffed and gave him your arm again. Spencer gently pinned it to the bed with his own and fluttered his finger in the hollowed space for a second or two more. You genuinely laughed this time, your body arching away from his fingers.
“Okahay! That’s bahad,” You laughed, pulling your arm out from under him. Spencer smiled at your reaction and nodded.
“It’s a place not many people can handle,” He replied. He rested his hand on your stomach, looking to you for permission. You bit the inside of your cheek and hummed a small yes.
Teasingly, Spencer lifted his palm so only his fingers were touching the skin through your shirt and he slowly dragged them across every inch of your belly, sides, and up to your ribs. Every once in a while, you’d giggle and shift away out of self-preservation, but tried your best to keep still.
Spencer found a wildly sensitive spot just below your navel and slipped his hand under the hem of the shirt just to flit his fingers across it, laughing himself when you let out a giggly whine and pushed his hands away.
“I think it’s safe to say that you are very ticklish,” He uttered, playfully digging into your side for a second. You yelped in surprise and shifted away from his hand. Spencer laughed again. “There will be another time to explore the other kind of tickling if you’re up for it. For now, how about we finish the movie.”
Smiling, you nodded and snuggled back into him, letting a breathy laugh shoot through your nose when he pressed a ticklish kiss to the back of your neck.
Now that Spencer knew better, he’d be doing that more often.
pairing: spencer reid x reader (romantic) / penelope garcia x reader (platonic)
reader's pronouns: she/her
warnings: none that I can think of
summary: you end up on the very same team as the person you looked up to all throughout school and your friend, Penelope, is there to help you talk to him
author's note: I have one word: FINALLY! I am so sorry this fic took me 2 months to write. I was dealing with some serious writer's block and personal life things. Then, tickletober came around and I was doing that too, so I just had so many things to do and not enough time to do it. But it's here and and I'm pretty happy with it. thank you anon for the prompt! Hope you enjoy!
You’d almost collapsed when Penelope had given you the news. You were in your kitchen making breakfast when your perky-voiced friend called you.
“HE SAID YES!” Garcia shouted through the speaker before you even had the chance to say hello. You pulled the phone away from your ear, wincing at the volume of her voice.
“Alright, first of all, it’s 8 o’clock in the morning. How are you that excited at 8 o’clock in the morning? And secondly, you’re gonna have to elaborate - my brain doesn’t work before I’ve had coffee,” You explained, placing the cellphone in between your head and shoulder as you flipped your eggs.
“Hotch! He said yes!”
You lifted your breakfast out of the pan and onto your plate. “…To what?”
Penelope giggled through a sigh. “To you being my assistant. He’s giving you the job!”
You set your glass plate down with a clunk onto the kitchen counter, steadying yourself before your knees buckled beneath you. Quickly, you yanked your phone from in between your ear and shoulder, placing Garcia on speaker.
“You’re kidding!”
“Oh-ho, I would not kid about this, my friend. You and I are about to become the nation’s greatest technical analysts.”
You smiled at that. “I’m pretty sure you already had that title before I got the job,” You jested, pacing the room just to have something to do. “God, I can’t believe he said yes! I-I’m just someone who works in IT, like, what makes me so special?”
“He probably thinks you’re good for me or something. Someone to reel me in when I become too much, but little does Mr. Boss Man know that I’m the one corrupting you.”
Silence overcame the two of you for a moment. You had to think about everything that had led up to this moment. Your perseverance through school and the program. The budding friendship between you and Penelope after a run in at the coffee cart. It seemed surreal how the stars aligned perfectly for this to happen.
“And…” Penelope drawled out after you’d been too quiet for too long, “…because you’re smart and deserve this job. The title may be assistant, but you’ll be treated as my equal.”
“Ha, that’ll be the day,” You let out a deft chuckle, reaching for your phone and plate to finally sit at your kitchen table. “I’m just thankful enough Hotch sees me as valuable enough to help you—help them catch criminals.”
“You’ve always been worthy enough. Your talents have just been wasted in fixing computers rather than helping me hack them.”
You kindly thanked her for the exciting news, telling her you could wait to start. A few days later, you found yourself walking into the infamous bullpen with Penelope by your side. You’d been in there only once before—having to fix an Agent’s computer—but the BAU had been gone on a case, so it was mostly empty when you were there.
The first thing you notice was how noisy it was. It definitely hadn’t been what you were expecting. For some reason, you thought the room would be filled with silence—only the clacking of keyboards and filing away papers to be heard.
No, the bullpen was rambunctious. Agents were having normal conversations. A laugh or two could be heard from the corner. It seemed out of character for a bunch of FBI agents.
Taking a deep breath, you prepared yourself for your introduction. You’d always been shy growing up and even as you got older, meeting new people never became easier. Not until you met Penelope. She had this way of helping you open up, so you supposed meeting her friends would be no different.
“Relax, they’ll love you,” Garcia muttered under her breath just loud enough for you to hear. You hummed a quiet, “Mhm,” back in response, plastering on a sweet smile as you walked up to a couple of other women.
“Emily! JJ! This is Y/N. She’ll be joining the team as my co-analyst,” Penelope gestured to you as you shot your hand out to shake their hands.
“Uh, assistant, actually. I wouldn’t put myself on her level quite yet,” You corrected, smiling shyly. Emily firmly took your hand into hers as you finished with JJ, giving you a bright and toothy grin back.
“Well, I’m sure you’re a genius if you were hired for that job,” She said.
“Seriously!” Penelope nudged your shoulder. “It’s not like I’m asking you to fetch me coffee. I told you that we’re equals.”
“Having two Garcia’s might mean we can catch the killers faster. I like it,” JJ chimed in, raising her cup of coffee to you. “Glad to have you joining us.”
“Aw, a party? And no one invited me?” A gruff voice sounded from behind the group. The four of you spun around to put a face to the voice. He had a smug smirk gracing his features as he stood with his arms out to his sides. “To think I was starting to feel at home around here.”
“Shut it, newbie,” Garcia shot back. You knew exactly who it was without her having to introduce him to you. Garcia often spent late nights on the phone with you, rambling on about something annoying this so-called ‘newbie’ had done or said. You smirked, holding out your hand.
“Ah, so this is the infamous newbie,” You drawled out. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you. Everything accept your actual name.”
You caught Penelope rolling her eyes, causing a small snicker to come from your lips.
“All good things, I hope. Luke Alvez.”
“Y/N,” You responded. “And no, according to this one over here, you’re… wait, how did you put it?” You turned to Penelope, feigning forgetfulness. “Oh, yeah! You have a way of making her coffee taste bitter just by opening your mouth.”
Giggles from Emily and JJ came from behind you as Garcia scoffed. “Half of what comes out of his mouth is unnecessary, anyway.”
Luke brought a hand to his chest and groaned. “Ooh, words hurt, Garcia.”
The entire group laughed, sans Penelope, who only rolled her eyes for the second time. You knew better than to think she didn’t like him even a little bit. She talked about him too much not to.
As the 5 of you conversed about your new role with the team, your attention was caught by a tall, scrawny man making his way through the glass doors. You knew exactly who he was and since Garcia had spoken to you about this job, you’d been nervous to meet him.
Spencer Reid had been someone you admired for years—work-wise. His thesis was exceptional and carried you through school and all the way to this program. He was basically the entire reason you started working at Quantico.
Now, as your gaze fell to his face and his physique, maybe your longing to meet him had more to do with your admiration for his talented brain. His light-brown hair was tussled, but still neat, and he walked with poise over to where everyone was standing and chatting.
He locked eyes with you, the slightest smile tugging at his lips, which in turn caused your cheeks to tinge pink. Your eyes averted to floor just as he joined the group.
“Ooh! Spencer!” Penelope shouted with a bit too much excitement for 8 in the morning. She stepped aside to make room for him and nodded to you. “This is Y/N. She’s—”
“Your co-analyst, yeah. Hotch mentioned that yesterday,” Spencer interrupted. His knowledge of you came as a shock, your head snapping up to look at him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
You knew about his unwillingness to shake hands—completely valid, you thought—and shyly waved at him. “You, as well.”
“Okay, okay, wait! You have to tell us how you and Garcia met and became friends,” Emily said excitingly as she gripped your shoulder, bringing your attention back to the whole group. You begrudgingly ripped your eyes away from Spencer as you retold the story of how you spilled boiling hot coffee all over Penelope, laughing as everyone chimed in with their own tales of misfortune with her.
Every once in a while, your eyes would flit over to Spencer, taking in his sculpted jawline and the way he chuckled at a few of the comments. By the fourth or fifth time you glanced over, you noticed that he was looking at you, too. Again, you blushed as you made eye contact and again, you looked away immediately.
By then, your mind had started reeling. Did he think you were weird for staring? Did he think you dressed funny? Was he looking at you because he caught you staring at him first or did he gaze over by his own accord?
Too many possibilities and none of them satisfied you. You figured the only way to get you out of your head for the moment was to completely evacuate the situation.
Just as JJ finished her recounting of a story, you spoke up. “Well, it was so nice to meet you all and I can’t wait to work alongside you, but I need to speak to Agent Hotchner,” You smiled at the group right before turning to Garcia. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
As you shuffled away, you let out a deep sigh of relief. You’d barely realized you had been holding your breath back there, but standing next to someone you admired for years and who was now your coworker was life-altering.
You were going to have to learn how to be normal around him eventually, but it was going to take time. A lot of time.
***
A week had come and gone since your first day, a sense of pride coursing through your veins knowing that you assisted Penelope and the team in arresting a murderous tyrant in Austin, Texas. It was a high you were still riding on; you ultimately being the one to tell the team where the killer had been residing.
Everyone congratulated you once they got back and officially welcomed you to the BAU. Even Hotch shook your hand, telling you how extraordinary you did under pressure.
Spencer waltzed through the glass doors behind the rest of them, smiling at you slightly as you locked eyes.
“That was impressive for your first case,” He stated matter-of-factly. “You’re very talented.” He stopped directly in front of you and your entire being froze.
His height, among many other things, was flustering. You peered up at him, face on fire at his words of affirmation, and immediately refocused your gaze back to your hands.
“Oh, uh, thank you,” You replied back through a volume not too much louder than a whisper. Spencer took notice of your shyness, knowing that he had a similar issue, and left it at that. He walked by you without another word.
Once he was out of your line of sight, you felt this odd sense of remorse. Remorse for the conversation that could have been had you not completely shut down. You scolded yourself mentally as you left for the day, tagging along with Penelope over to her apartment.
She’d asked you to come the second she received word from Emily that they’d caught the killer and unsurprisingly, wouldn’t take no for an answer. You decided to appease her anyhow. This would be your first moment of relaxation since you’d gotten the job.
Following behind your friend, you were silent the entire drive, thinking and wistfully hoping that you’d be able to buck up and just talk to Spencer. Even if it was only about work—you wanted to take a peek inside his brain.
And if that led to a conversation about other things, then you wouldn’t complain.
A knock at your car door window startled you back into reality.
“Are you going to come inside or are we drinking in your car?” Penelope asked, her voice muffled from the outside. You let a breathy laugh shoot through your nose as you turned the car off and opened the door, careful not to hit her.
“Sorry, I just auto-piloted the entire way here,” You responded while shaking your head. Penelope looped her arm through yours to lead you to her place.
“Still on cloud 9, huh?”
You hummed, smiling and nodding. You weren’t going to reveal the real reason. “Yeah, it’s just so surreal. Hearing you talk about it and then actually doing it is so different.”
“Well, you kicked ass, my friend. This job isn’t easy and we put the purp away in just 36 hours. That’s never happened when I was working alone,” Penelope praised you as she unlocked her front door, leading you both inside. You shrugged your bag onto the chair closest to you, hanging your keys up on the hook. “Grigio or Noir?”
“Noir, please. I need something bitter,” You answered as you plopped yourself unceremoniously onto her couch. Penelope appeared at your side a few seconds later with a half-full glass of wine in front of your face. You accepted it with a hushed “thanks” and took a small sip, relishing in pungent taste it left in your mouth.
“So, now that you’ve met and talked with everyone, what are your thoughts on our little band of misfits?” The blonde asked, sitting down and turning her body to face you. You smiled and nodded.
“Everyone has been really great,” was all you said. Penelope kept her eyes on you, waiting for you to elaborate. After a few more seconds had gone by, she huffed and gently pushed your shoulder, causing your wine to slosh around in the glass. “Hey! Penelope! I have wine!”
“And I need details! I want all the hot goss!” She proclaimed with excitement.
“I don’t have any ‘hot goss’, Penelope,” You giggled as you made quotation marks around her choice of words. “I’ve only been here for a week.”
“Well, then just tell me what you think of everyone!”
Sighing, you took another sip of alcohol before placing it to the side and twisting your body to face her as well. “JJ is very sweet. She’s exactly how I expected her to be after you telling me about her.”
“Isn’t she!”
“And Emily is very funny and smart. She told me a joke just before the team left and I’ve been thinking about it for days,” You continued. “Rossi is wise. Hotch is… Hotch. He’s a definite leader, I’ll give you that… and yeah, everyone is super nice and I’m really glad to be working alongside them.”
You reached behind yourself to grab your glass, smirking slightly as you lifted it to your lips. Penelope glared at you, her head tilted just enough to know that she caught on to what you were doing.
“You’re not sneaky, honey. I know what you’re doing,” She accused you. You gulped down the rest of the pinot noir and sat your empty glass on her coffee table.
“You’re right, I forgot about Luke! He is very charming and funny, I can see why you like him so much.”
“WHA—” Garcia suddenly shouted. “I do not like him. He’s icky and weird.”
“Mhm, yeah, sure, I totally believe that.”
“Okay, fine, miss-weed-around-the-topic-of-conversation! Tell me about Spence!” Penelope shook your arm vigorously.
“I-hi don’t know what you’re talking about!” You laughed despite yourself. Penelope exhaled exasperatingly, sucking on her teeth as her eyes roamed over your body. You raised an eyebrow at her and opened your mouth to ask what she was doing, but whatever words almost came out turned in a squeak as she poked her index finger into the side of your belly and wiggled it around.
You grabbed her hand out of instinct, arching away from her. “Oh-ho no, Penelope, don’t!”
“Tell me about Reid,” She locked eyes with you, a smug grin forming on her face as your cheeks turned red.
“He’s nice! There!”
“Mm-mm, not satisfactory enough,” She said, snatching her hand out of your grip to pinch rapidly at the soft skin above your hip. You let out a strangled laugh, slapping her hand away.
“Gaharcia, no!”
“I wouldn’t have to resort to this if you would just tell me what you think about the genius boy!” She replied to your protest, scooting closer to you to trap your legs under her own. You made an experimental tug only to find that you couldn’t pull them from under her.
You weighed both your options. You could fully get out of this situation just by telling her about your feelings towards Spencer, but the pang of disappointment you might feel if she didn’t exploit this weakness of yours would be lingering on your shoulders for the rest of the night.
Then again, straight up refusing to provide her with the information she wanted was basically telling her that you didn’t mind being tickled—especially if it was with someone you trusted as much as you trusted Penelope.
But telling her about Spencer would be a one-way ticket straight to embarrassment, knowing without a doubt that Garcia would tell him about it when they were alone. Though, by not telling her, you may never get the chance to be normal around Spencer.
And you couldn’t decide which option you preferred.
Penelope took your silence as her answer, interrupting your train of thought once she began squeezing at your sides. You burst into howling laughter and slammed your arms down to cover as much of your torso as you could.
“WAHAHA! N-NOHO! I-hi wahahas thihinking!”
“Thinking about what? It’s a simple decision. Spill the beans about what you think of Reid or get tickled to death. It’s an easy answer!” Penelope responded as she moved inward to your belly, digging her fingers in next to your navel.
Your entire face burned like fire at her words and Penelope, ever the perceptive one, noticed almost immediately. She slowed her tickling fingers to a light scratching just to keep you giggling.
“It’s not an easy answer, is it?” She asked in amusement. You shook your head, hiccupping as her nails neared your waistline. She smiled endearingly down at you and had your eyes not been squeezed shut from laughing so hard, you might have blushed even darker under her gaze. “Well, seems like I’ll just have to convince you to tell me, then.”
Picking up the pace, Garcia shifted her hands up to the middle of your ribcage, nipping in between the crevices of the bones. Your hands shot up to grab onto her wrists, more mechanically than to stop her, and your head tilted back to rest on the arm of the couch.
“EEHEEAH!” You screeched, only raising in volume when she experimentally slid her hands closer to the back of your ribs, 4 fingers vibrating directly under your shoulder blades. “WOHOHOAH! NOHOT THERE! PEHENELOPEEHEE!”
“Ooh,” She winced in faux sympathy, “bad spot?”
“OHOBVIOUSLYHY!”
“I think a couple more minutes riiiight here should do the trick, then,” She taunted just before laughing maniacally at your expense. Her suspicions of your likeness of tickling were confirmed when you didn’t protest—you simply laid there and let her have her way with you.
Another 30 seconds went by before you broke, violently jolting one final time before asking for her to stop. “OKAY! OKAHAHAY, I’LL TEHELL YOU! MEHEHERCY, PLEHEASE!”
Penelope halted her attack per your request, removing her hands from you and resting them in her lap. You sucked in deep breaths to regain lung function, still giggling intermittently.
“So, Spencer…”
“You don’t plahay fair,” You looked at her while pointing with a half-assed glare. She chuckled as she shifted off your legs to let you sit up.
“Never said I did,” She shrugged. You cleared your throat, huffing out in exasperation.
“Long story short, I’d looked up to Spencer since I was a student at MIT. His thesis papers basically got me through school and now here I am working alongside him and his big, beautiful, brain,” You explained. “It’s just still so surreal that we’re on the same team. I don’t feel smart enough to talk to him, I guess.”
Fiddling with your fingers in your lap, you chuckled in self-deprecation. You didn’t dare look up at your friend; you knew she’d have a look of pity written all over her face. But you felt more than saw a hand rest on your knee.
“You are worthy of talking to him, honey,” Penelope assured you. “You wouldn’t have been chosen for this team if you weren’t the best of the best. The thing with Spencer is that he’s smarter than everyone, so don’t be too hard on yourself. Plus, I think he really wants to talk to you, too.”
“Mm, not so sure about that. Every time he tries, I barely make a sentence and stutter like a complete idiot,” You groan.
“Oh, so it’s more than just you not feeling smart enough. You like him, don’t you?” She asked ducking down to meet your gaze. The second your eyes caught hers you looked away, but yet again, she didn’t miss the color blossoming in your face. “Your secret is safe with me.”
You rolled your eyes playfully. “Mhm, somehow I doubt that.” Standing up, you grabbed your glass along with Penelope’s to refill them. Overall, you were glad your best friend knew about your inner turmoil regarding Spencer, but the thought of him knowing about it terrified you.
“Well, would you upset if I told him?”
“No, not upset, just…” You trailed off as you poured the wine. “I guess, scared.”
“What about if I slightly nudged him in the right direction without ever mentioning that you like him?” Penelope gave you another option. She reached her hand out to grab the stem of her wine glass, keeping her eyes on you as you rounded the couch to sit next to her again.
You pondered for a few seconds, the pad of your thumb circling the rim of your glass. “Fine, but if you tell him anything embarrassing about me, I’ll kill you in your sleep and the team will have to track me down.”
The two of you laughed, finishing the rest of the night with late night reality TV and an empty bottle of pinot noir. Nights like this were your favorite. You loved your job and wouldn’t trade it for the world but nothing beat lounging around lazily and talking until you have nothing to talk about anymore.
You longed for the day that you’d get to do it with Spencer. If you ever got to do it with him.
But Penelope was true to her word. Sort of.
It was only 5 days later when the team was out on another case and she began developing her scheme.
You sat in the office chair to her right, steadily typing away to try and find the suspect’s place of employment when Penelope’s chair wheels slid over to you. “I am asking you this because you’re my friend, but will you pretty please get us some coffee?”
You looked over your shoulder to see her put on her best pouting face, raising an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one that said a couple weeks ago that you would never send me out to fetch you coffee?”
“Hey! It’s not just for me. You need some, too. We’ve been awake for 15 hours. I got the purp’s address already,” She told you. You swiveled all the way around, arms thrown out to the side.
“How do you do it so fast? Hotch asked less than 10 minutes ago!”
“Years of practice,” She waved her hand in the air. “Coffee? Please?”
You chortled a bit before sighing exasperatingly and evacuating your seat to head for the door. You glared at her non-threateningly. “You owe me later.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ll make it up to you.”
You grunted just before leaving the office and shutting the door behind you, giving Penelope about 5 minutes to execute her plan.
Immediately, she called Reid’s personal phone, hearing it ring twice before he answered.
“Hey, Garcia. What do you have?” He asked through the other line.
“What? Oh! I got the address, uh, looks like he works at an auto shop, ‘Buddy’s Body Shop’. It’s on 8632 Frontier Street. That’s not what I called for, though,” She said. Shuffling could be heard on Spencer’s end as the voices around him became quieter until they could no longer be heard, telling Penelope that he stepped away from the team.
“Okay… what did you need then?” He questioned, sounding unsure.
“What do you think about the new addition to our team?” Garcia interrogated, getting straight to the point.
“That’s what you called me for?”
“Yes! And you have about 3 minutes to answer. I sent her on a coffee run.”
“So she’s not in the room listening secretly?” Spencer whispered through the phone.
“No! I’m strictly a third party here. Now, hurry up! You have 2 and a half minutes!”
“Okay, well, uh, she’s really sweet. She’s shy and I like that about her, but I want to get to know her more.”
“So, you like her?” Garcia bluntly asked.
“Like her?”
“Do you think she’s cute?”
“Uh… well, uh, I mean…”
“I’ll stop you right there, boy genius. I get it. Luckily for you, you have me, her best friend, so I will tell you everything I can about her in the time we have left so that you can strike up a conversation with her the next time you see her, okay?” Garcia responded in a hurry, leaving Spencer no room to accept or decline. “Uh, so, she’s a Virgo, she likes pastries, she drinks an insane amount of sugar in her coffee—says the caffeine just isn’t enough—uh…”
Spencer giggled through the phone as Penelope continued.
“She loves cats, doesn’t care for dogs, she is a sucker for art museums, she’s super ticklish everywhere, but especially on the backs of her ribs, she can solve a rubik’s cube in under a minute, she went to MIT, and she’s coming back right now, okay, gotta go, bye!”
She didn’t give Spencer a chance to respond before she abruptly hung up the phone call. Less than 2 seconds later, the office door swung open where you balanced the two coffees on top of each other so that you could turn the doorknob.
Penelope smiled innocently once she turned to face you, her hand reaching out to grab her own coffee. “You are a life-saver.”
“Yeah, yeah,” You begrudgingly grinned back, sitting back down and taking a swig of coffee. You had to stop yourself from spitting it out once it hit your tastebuds. “Ew, ugh, this one is yours,” You cringed, holding the cup out to her.
Penelope furrowed her brows as she grabbed onto the other cup just as you snatched the one she was holding. You shrugged before drinking your own cup, moaning in contentment this time. “Much better. Yours didn’t have any—”
“Sugar,” Penelope let a breathy laugh shoot through her nose, finishing your sentence. “Got it.”
***
Since that day, you’d been none the wiser that Penelope had even spoken to Spencer about you. Everything carried on as normal for a week or two after that. Truthfully, you had forgotten about what you and Penelope had discussed—everyone on the team going on as normal.
You’d had a few spry conversations with Emily and Luke before leaving for the night and smiled shyly at Spencer as he did the same. No progress had been made and honestly, maybe it was for the best.
If you still couldn’t strike up a conversation with him almost a month into being his teammate, then maybe the two of you weren’t meant to be friends, let alone romantic partners.
That realization was something you were slowly coming to terms with, though it didn’t help that every time you saw Spencer in passing, he’d wave or send a short ‘hello’ in greeting. Your heart would flutter every single time.
But still, you were too shy to come up with anything to say to him in response. You were sure that after a while, Spencer would give up trying to interact with you at all, which would be the last thing you’d want to happen. So, you were just going to have to pull yourself together and talk to him the next chance you got.
You just hadn’t known it would be right that second.
A knock on the door of Penelope’s office was heard from behind you as you were packing up your belongings for the night. It startled you, causing you to gasp and whip around quickly, only to find Spencer standing in the entry way.
“My apologies,” He stated, his hands out in front of him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”
Gathering your composure, you set your purse down into your chair and leaned against the desk. “It’s… okay. I scare easy, anyway,” You admitted to him. Once you’d caught your breath, you glanced up at him, finding a small grin gracing his features. You shrunk into yourself self-consciously. “…What?”
“Oh! Uh, nothing, you just… finally told me something about yourself,” He responded, biting his bottom lip through a smile. Your face burned hot at the realization and you chuckled quietly.
“I’m not intentionally trying to keep things from you, Dr. Reid. You just… intimidate me a little,” You mumbled the last part quietly, coiling up even more. Spencer stepped fully into the room to stand closer to you, getting a read from your body language.
“Please, it’s just Spencer,” He corrected you. “Also I think you’ve spoken more words to me today than you have since we met. It’s nice.”
You hummed in response, not being able to think of anything to say. You could feel Spencer’s gaze on you even if yours was on the carpeted floor, and somehow your face hadn’t burst from the heat rising into it.
“Why are you intimidated by me? I’m just me,” Spencer continued. You scoffed as if he wasn’t the most interesting one on the team, as if he wasn’t Spencer Reid: Boy Wonder.
“Just you…” You repeated, nodding. “Well, just you is pretty amazing.” You began fiddling with your fingers, anxious at the mere thought of saying anything more than that. Spencer shuffled his feet over to where you were standing to lean against the desk, as well. Your shoulders were only inches apart and it was as if you could feel electricity coming from his skin and into yours.
“That’s very kind,” He said, a breathy laugh shooting through his nose. “But what makes me different than anyone else here?”
Shaking your head and keeping your focus on the floor, you sighed. He didn’t get it. He couldn’t see that he was everything to you.
“Come on! Tell me,” He sang out, giving you a quick poke to your side, causing you to squeak and arch away from his finger. Your eyes widened, looking between his hand and his face. Spencer wore an uncharacteristically smug grin that paired well with raised eyebrows. “Oh?”
Your entire body felt like it was on fire with how flustered you were that Spencer Reid had just accidentally tickled you. And with the way he stared at you predatorily, that accident was about to become purposeful.
“Uh… I—”
“Are you going to tell me why I intimidate you?” Spencer questioned you rhetorically, knowing you wouldn’t get the chance to answer before he seized this opportunity. You found that you couldn’t move, couldn’t think. You couldn’t believe that what was going to happen was actually about to happen. Your mouth opened and closed, as if you were trying to respond, but your words wouldn’t formulate.
Spencer took that time to scoot closer so that he was basically hip to hip with you and slid one behind your back to pinch rapidly at your waist, sending you into a proper giggle fit while leaning into him. With his free hand, he dug into your belly and grinned at the way you screeched in surprise.
“I-hi… just—Spehencer!” You whined through your laughter and even he couldn’t deny the butterflies he felt when you said his name. Your hands pushed his away with little difficulty; Spencer had mostly removed them from your torso before you could fully touch him. In that moment, you were reminded of his disdain for physical contact, especially with his hands. “Oh, uh, I—I’m sorry, I—”
“I don’t mind you touching me,” He assured you. “I mean, I did start tickling you on my own accord. It’s just people I’m not really comfortable with… and handshakes. I hate handshakes.”
Your cheeks burned bright as you realized what he’d admitted, another shy smile finding it way to your face.
“You intimidate me because… I looked up to you all throughout school. I read all of your papers and dissertations and I just can’t believe that I’m on the same team as you. It doesn’t feel real, yet,” You shakily said, sighing in relief that at least half of the truth was out in the open. You still couldn’t bring yourself to look at him, afraid he might have a disgusted expression adorning his face.
Out of nowhere, a fluttering sensation sparked up on the backs of your ribs, causing a loud yelp to escape your lips as you jumped up and practically ran across the room. You turned to face him with a stunned look. There’s no way he could have known that was your worst spot. Unless…
Spencer had an insufferable smirk plastered on his lips and immediately, you knew who had spilled your secret.
“I’m going to kill Penelope,” You whispered, shutting your eyes tight. With your sense of hearing now heightened, you instantly clocked the moment Spencer stood straight on his feet and took a couple of steps toward you. You gasped, eyes reopening as you took a step back.
“You are worthy of this team. Worthy of working with all of us. You’re smart, cunning, funny, beautiful, and I’m the lucky one in this situation because I got to meet you,” Spencer truthfully muttered. Speechlessness was all you could feel after his declaration. “Garcia told me some things about you—to help me get an insight of who you really are behind this shy façade—and I’ve come to understand why you’re her friend.”
“Spencer, I—”
“So, really I came here to talk to you today because I was hoping that maybe you’re too shy to talk to me because you might share the same feelings as I do.”
Your heart felt like it could beat straight out of your chest with how honest you knew he was. A fire starting in your chest, your cheeks, your whole body. Nodding, almost imperceptibly, you breathed out slowly.
“I do, yes.”
“Come out to dinner with me, then,” He said. It was a statement rather than a question. A sentence said so confidently that you had no choice but to say yes because you knew he meant every word. He gave you no reason to doubt that he wanted to take you on a date.
“I-I’d love to,” You stuttered, fingers fiddling with themselves. Spencer reached forward to grab your hands in his, again showing you proof that he felt at ease with you. His skin felt cold against your warmth, somehow calming your heartrate down enough to finally lock eyes with him. “You meant all those things?”
“Every word.”
And as you sat and ate together, you believed him. You could tell that he was falling for you just as you were for him. The way you two bonded over things that no one else could understand, how his hand never left yours for more than a few minutes at the time, how with each passing moment you became less nervous—it was easy with Spencer.
It only got easier as the weeks went on. By the fourth month you’d known him, you’d given him a key to your apartment. At the end of the year, 6 months after you’d met, you’d asked him to move in. It might have been a bit taboo, but he was over at your place more than he was at his own, especially after he returned back from cases.
Eventually, you did thank Penelope for all her interfering, even if it was embarrassing at first. She was ultimately the one to get you and Spencer to admit your feelings to each other, so you gave her a hug and spent a whole night telling her about your adventures with him (it didn’t matter if those adventures were mostly spent lounging on your couch. You loved them all the same).
Your most recent adventure consisted of watching a movie in your bed, though you weren’t really paying attention because of the roaming hands and lazy kisses being placed in those sweet spots you loved so much.
You never thought of Spencer being handsy, but damn, you were glad he was. Despite being a little awkward, he was assertive with you, making sure you were well taken care of in any and all ways.
You laid partially on top of him while kissing him chastely as his hands gripped your waist, happy sighs and quiet moans filling the room. Relaxing into him, Spencer’s hand lost some of its weight, consequentially dragging his fingers featherlight across the backs of your ribs.
“MM!” You squeaked into his mouth, rolling off of him in reaction. “Spence! You know I’m ticklish there!”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Ihit was an accident. It’s not my fault you’re so ticklish.” Spencer found a way to wrap his arms around you, intentionally digging into that same spot, making you cry out in hysterical laughter.
You jolted in surprise, then tried to squirm out of his touch. “SPEHEHENCE! NOHOT THERE!”
“Ooh, right. Not there,” He clicked his tongue in faux realization. “How about here, then?” He cheekily asked, wiggling his nimble digits into your sides—still unbearably ticklish. “Seems like a good spot.”
“You’re—AHAH! Yohou’re ruining a mohoment!” You yelled at him, your elbows clamping down onto his hands out of pure instinct.
“Tickling you is my favorite activity to do, though. Want to know why?”
“Whyhyhy?”
His hands worked their way into the soft skin of your belly, lightly spidering around to keep you giggling rather than cackling. Your cheeks burned hot under his gaze—still a common occurrence even to this day—and from how easily he took you apart with just the lightest of touches.
“Because…” He drawled out, “It was the one thing that got you to talk to me.” Spencer ceased tickling you, now holding you tight to his chest for a different reason. You melted into his arms, letting out a few residual giggles.
“I thihink I’d categorize it as coercing, but…”
“Either way, it got us to where we are now and it makes both of us happy.”
“Woah!” You pulled back to look at him incredulously. “I never said that!”
“You didn’t have to. I can tell by the way you never fight back or run away,” Spencer called you out, poking your ribcage a few times. You laughed through a groan, but you both knew you weren’t annoyed or offended by his words.
“Ugh! Fihine! I guess I don’t mind it since it was kind of the thing that brought us together,” You slapped his wrist gently before wrapping your arms back around him. “But that’s all you’re getting out of me!”
“That’s all I needed,” He divulged, placing a fast peck to your forehead. Silence settled among the two of you for a while after that before Spencer spoke up again. “Did you ever think we’d be here 6 months ago?”
“Definitely not,” You answered quickly. “Sometimes, I still can’t believe it now. I still see you as that scrawny kid whose thesis papers I studied throughout grad school.”
“I obviously did a great job with those papers since it led you straight to the BAU.”
“Yeah, you did alright,” You smiled, kissing his neck sweetly.
As you fell asleep in the arms of the man of your dreams, you reminisced on how perfectly the stars had aligned to get you to this moment. It wasn’t luck, it was fate. At least, that’s what you’ll always believe.
Because being with Spencer Reid didn’t just fall into your lap. He was destined to be yours.
