Forgotten Words
Spencer Reid x BAU ! reader You’ve always cared for Spencer Reid, but the words never seemed to come out right. When he starts closing himself off, you realize he’s been hiding more than just the stress of work, he’s been hiding from you.
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You’d known Spencer for years. Not just as your teammate at the BAU, not just as the genius who could memorize every statistic known to man, but as Spencer, the quiet, brilliant, infuriatingly awkward boy who somehow managed to make your chest tighten whenever he laughed. You’d cared for him from the very beginning, though you weren’t sure he’d ever noticed.
Lately, though, something had changed. He was quieter than usual. More withdrawn. The way he used to chatter about his obsessions—astronomy, classical music, random historical facts—had dwindled to curt nods and distracted murmurs. You tried to ignore it, telling yourself he was under stress from cases, but a small voice in your chest whispered otherwise.
Tonight, you found him in the lab, alone, hunched over a stack of case files. The overhead light cast harsh shadows on his sharp features, making his dark circles look deeper than usual. You hesitated, unsure whether to interrupt him or give him space.
“You okay?” you finally asked, sliding into the chair across from him.
He looked up, startled, and blinked at you. “I… I’m fine,” he said, but you didn’t believe him.
“Spence…” you murmured, leaning forward. “You’re not fine. Something’s wrong. You’ve been… distant.”
He shifted uncomfortably, eyes darting to the papers in front of him, then back to yours. “It’s nothing,” he said finally, voice tight. “Just… a lot on my mind.”
You sighed. “You’ve always done this. You hide things, you isolate yourself, and you expect everyone else to just… understand.” Your voice softened. “But I don’t just want to understand, Spencer. I want to help. You can’t shut me out like this.”
For a long moment, he said nothing. You watched as the tension in his shoulders eased slightly, and finally, he spoke. “I’m scared,” he admitted, almost in a whisper. “Scared of… messing things up. Scared of losing the people I care about.”
“You won’t lose me,” you said firmly. “I’ve cared about you for years, Spencer. That’s not going to change because you’re scared.”
His lips pressed into a thin line, and for the first time in days, he looked at you like you were the only person in the room. “I’ve… I’ve been hiding from more than just stress,” he confessed. “I’ve been hiding from you. I didn’t want you to see me… like this. Vulnerable. Afraid. Maybe broken.”
A pang hit your chest. “Spence,” you said softly, reaching across the table to cover his hand with yours. “You don’t have to hide from me. Not ever. I don’t care if you’re scared or broken. I care about you—all of you.”
His eyes glistened, and he finally gave a small, almost shy smile. “You… really mean that?”
“I do,” you said, and when he didn’t respond right away, you leaned closer. “Spencer, I’ve always cared about you. I’ve just… never been able to find the right words.”
He swallowed, taking your hand in both of his. “I think… I think I’ve been waiting for someone to say that. And now that you have… I don’t want to hide anymore.”
You smiled, letting the tension drain from your chest. “Then don’t. Not from me. Not ever.”
For the first time in a long while, the quiet genius sitting before you didn’t seem so unreachable. The weight of unspoken words lifted, replaced by something tentative, fragile, and promising—a connection that had been there all along, waiting for the courage to be acknowledged.
And in that moment, you knew that no matter how many cases came, no matter how much chaos the world threw at the BAU, you and Spencer Reid would face it together, no longer hiding, no longer afraid.
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