guess who's baaaack!!!
Fanfic commission for @jewish-jason-todd, thanks for buying me minecraft <3
"Mm.. the flowers are wilting again.." You murmured, your fingertips just barely grazing over the rotting petals of your garden.
Jason, your personal knight, trailed behind you, scars adorning his face, the rest covered by his armour. "Shall I inform the royal gardener, your highness? I'll make sure he does his job correctly this time." He said, his voice gruff and stern.
You shook your head. "No need. I'd rather I take care of my lovelies myself. Besides. I'm sure the gardener has already... received your message." You said, referring to the last time the gardener had allowed the flowers to wilt, making Jason give him a fearing earful.
You turned to Jason just as the sun began to set. "Will you be staying over in the castle this time? Or will you be staying in the village as usual?" You asked as you held onto a small glimpse of hope that he'd stay.
"My apologies, your highness. But I'd much prefer to rest in the village. I'll return on time tomorrow for my duties." Jason said, a small part of him also wanting to stay, but knowing well that he could not.
You sighed, hiding your disappointment. "Alright then. As you wish. I'll see you tomorrow morning, Jason."
He nodded. "Goodnight, your highness."
"Goodnight, Jason."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The second Jason knew you were safe inside the castle, he legged it into the woods, away from the castle, away from the village.
A few years prior to his job of protecting you as your personal knight, the poor young man had been captured as a teenager, taken away from his adoptive father, who taught him all he knew about being a knight.
The Joker, a man who used to serve as a royal jester, tired of being the laughing stalk, being nothing but a joke, became hateful, villainous, with nothing but spite and pain coursing through his veins.
Though Bruce, known as the Dark Knight and head of the royal guards, tried to keep the Joker in containment, the jester managed to escape, continuously slipping out of Bruce's fingertips.
The Joker now only appeared occasionally, teamed with a group of bandits, terrorising the village.
But, when the Joker got his hands on young Jason, he cursed the young boy, hexing him into the same fate of turning into a beast, a monster of fury and horror, having the kingdom only fear him for what he is.
A giant, scaly, fire breathing dragon.
Luckily, Bruce managed to find some sort of cure to counteract the effects. By day, Jason remains a ruthless knight, living to serve you. But as the moon rises, he lives as this beast, hiding away, deep into the woods that no one dared to enter. No one knows about this treachery except for him and Bruce.
He'd never tell you, no. You were too innocent and kind. You were kind to him. What people and himself saw in his scars and brutality, you saw beauty. And he made the grave mistake of falling for you.
Jason's lungs hurt as he dashed further into the woods, his swords slicing through the branches in his way. He could feel the scales appearing on the side of his head. He could feel his nails grown into claws.
He fell to his knees, panting. He could only imagine the scared, disgusted look on your face if you were ever to see his transformation. No, he wouldn't handle it. He couldn't. You were very dear to him. So many nights he wished to stay at the castle, to be closer to you.
But he couldn't. Instead, he was here. In the middle of the ghastly woods. Black and red scales covering his giant body, wings tucked to his side, tail flicking back and forth.
He growled at the beast he became, extending his wings as he flew into the air, looking at the distance where he could see the castle.
You're resting. That's all that matters to him.
Except you weren't.
You knew your knight would scowl at you for sneaking out at this time. But you rarely got to see outside castle walls. You wanted adventure, you wanted freedom, you wanted thrill. And you were gonna get it.
Now, you've seen the village plenty of times before. But what you haven't seen were the treasures and secrets hidden within the woods.
You threw your cloak over yourself, your hood over your head as you began your walk through the thick trees.
Sure, you should be scared of the potential dangers, but how could you fear the way the moonlight danced over the branches, the trees creating beautiful silhouettes among the leaves the crunched beneath your feet.
You would've preferred to enjoy this walk with your trusty knight beside you.
But he's resting. That's all that matters to you.
Except he wasn't.
The dragon had, unfortunately, lost his balance when flying, landing onto a bush of thorny vines.
It didn't hurt, of course. Though, the pain of pins and thorns was quite irritable, especially since he was unable to remove them himself.
He seeked refuge in a cave, deciding that he'll just have to remove the thorns once his body shifts back into human again.
The walk was incredibly more peaceful than you thought. Not a peculiar sound to be heard, not a strange shadow in sight.
Though... that sudden low growl might've been a sign for you to turn around and run back to the castle where it's safe.
Unfortunately, your curiosity got the better of you. Bevause what could be possibly making that sound? It definitely wasn't a bear, no. It's too loud.
You crept your way, closer to a cave where the sound was sourced, and peered your head through the opening.
Whatever it was, it was deeper in the cave. You took a breath, carefully walking in as quiet as you could.
And if your eyes gotten any wider, they probably would've fallen out of your sockets. You were amazed at the magnificent creature in front of you.
A dragon, probably bigger than the castle, with beautiful scales and sharp wings, lying at the back of the cave.
Only a fool would approach such an unpredictable beast.
You kept walking.
".... Hello?.." You softly said, a sharp gasp escaping as the dragon growled, trying to scare whoever dared intrude his place of refuge.
Jason's eyes slightly widened, seeing you in front of him. What the hell?
He glared at you with a huff, smoke coming out through his nostrils. What the hell were you doing here? Why aren't you at the castle? Why are you alone?
You glanced down, seeing parts of his body covered with thorns. "Are you hurt?.." You asked softly. You thought if this dragon were to hurt you, he'd to it by now.
He huffed, turning away, hoping you'd go back to the castle.
"I can help you.." You gently offered, stepping closer.
Jason growled, wanting you to be gone already. He didn't want you to see this. To see him as a monster.
You clicked your tongue. "Come on now, now you're just being stubborn." You said, walking up in front of him.
Jason scoffed in his head. He loved hated how persistent you were. Always helping others, getting what you wanted. He laid down, at this point, not caring what you did.
"There you go.." You whispered, your hand flat against him. "This might pinch.." You said before plucking out one of the thorns. You looked up to see he he was in any sort of discomfort. But Jason didn't budge. He's definitely been through worse.
You shrugged and continued to pluck the rest of the thorns.
"I've never seen a dragon before. I almost thought that they were a myth." You said softly as you picked out the thorns. Jason just lied down and listened. "The people of the village said that they were cruel and baked, ugly monsters."
'Yeah, that sounds about right,' Jason thought.
"But you are quite beautiful." You whispered. Jason felt like he couldn't breathe. There's absolutely no way you called him beautiful. Him? Beautiful? To you? He must be dreaming. This is wrong. This isn't how people react.
"There we go. All done." You said, kicking away the discarded thorns. Jason sighed, slightly nodding, appreciating your help, though still pissed that you're out at this hour. "Well, I should head home now.." I murmured. "Although, I do wish to see you again soon." You said, about to make your way out.
Though Jason groaned, quickly making his way beside you. He knelt down, wanting to accompany you on your journey back. No way was he letting you venture on your own again.
You glanced at his back, then back to his eyes. "You.. want me to..?" You said questionably, pointing to his back. He nodded. "Are you sure?" You asked again. And he nodded again.
You gulped before carefully trying to mount his back. Jason raised his wings, creating a border to make sure you didn't fall off.
He then began stalking through the woulds, occasionally using his wings to push away the branches to prevent them from hitting against you.
He reached the edge of the woods, kneeling down. He sighed, not being able to take you all the way to the castle. He refused to leave the woods in this form. It'll be too dangerous.
You slid off his back, resting your hand just at the side of his face. "Thank you.." You murmuted softly. "You're very kind. I promise to visit you again soon." You said. Jason didn't want you to leave the castle this late again. But, oh, how good it felt to have someone, especially you, look at him with awe instead of fear.
Jason nodded with a huff as he turned around, returning back to his cave.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I saw something last night." You said as you and Jason strolled around the garden.
"What? Did you go outside?" Jason said with annoyance, pretending that he had no clue of the adventure you've been up to.
"It was fine, Jason. I wasn't hurt or anything." You reassured him.
"You shouldn't be going outside after dark, princess. It's too dangerous."
"It was a dragon." You bluntly said, waiting for his reaction.
Jason lightly scoffed. "A dragon hasn't been spotted for centuries, your highness. Are you sure you weren't just dreaming?"
You pouted at his dismissal. "Don't mock me, Jason. It was real. I know it was. And it wasn't like those silly stories the townspeople talk of. The dragon was kind. Quite a gentleman, I might add."
"A dragon? A gentleman? Are you sure you're not feeling ill, your higness?" Jason said with a kight chuckle, a faint dust of pink over his cheeks, turning his head slightly so you wouldn't see.
"I wish for you to accompany me tonight, Jason. I want to see the dragon again."
"No."
"Why not?" You said with a frown, looking up at him.
"I'm busy."
"Liar."
"I said no."
You huffed in defeat. "I wish you would. It really is a marvellous creature. Ethereal."
Jason raised a brow. "You should stay inside tonight. Get some sleep. Dream about this dragon again."
"It wasn't a dream!" You retorted, annoyed that your knight doesn't believe you as you stormed back inside the castle. Jason sighed, running his hand through his hair in frustration, praying you didn't go back to the woods tonight.
But, of course, you did.
"You'd think that spending years by my side, he'd believe me." You muttered, basically ranting your frustrations to the dragon lying in front of you.
The dragon let out a low whine, barely rolling his eyes.
"What? Don't tell me you're on his side." You said, crossing your arms. "I didn't come all this way at this time to be told off by a dragon too."
He grumbled, nudging his snout against your hand. You sighed, one hand held under his chin, the other petting over his muzzle.
"Just wished he'd spend time with me. When he's not on duty." You muttered quietly. "He's quite the charmer, you know." You said with a small chuckle.
Now you had Jason's full attention.
"Very handsome, too. Just like yourself." You said, stroking the side of the dragon's face. Jason's heart raced. Maybe he was the one who was dreaming and not you.
"But, I'm sure he's much more interested in women who know how to fight for themselves. You know.. warriors. Not dainty princesses who have servants to do everything for them.."
The dragon let out another low whine. 'No. That isn't true.' Jason thought as he leaned further into your touch
So, for the next few nights, you've been spending your time in the cave within the woods with the dragon. It's been comforting. Because of your royal status and the difficulty of stepping outside the walls, making friends hasn't come easy.
But still. It was nice to have some company during the nights. However, ot has been taking a toll on your energy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Are you alright, your highness?" Jason asked, concerned with how tired you looked. The guilt pooled in his stomach. He hated how much he enjoyed spending time with you, listening to you praise him, as knight and dragon, but simultaneously stealing away your sleep.
"I'm just fine, Jason." You said, waving him off
"Is it because of this dragon again?"
"Would you even believe me if I said yes?" You huffed.
"Yes."
You looked up at him, eyes wide. "What?"
"I believe you. You don't lie. And even if you do, you do a god-awful job at it." He said, looking down at you.
You scoffed. "You even mock me when you try comforting me.." You pouted.
"It's true, though," Jason said, patting your head, the small gesture itself being enough to flush your cheeks a soft pink. "Maybe you should take a nap, however. You look exhausted."
You shook your head. "No, no... I'm fine— oof!"
You accidentally tripped on an overgrown root in the garden, your leg scraping against a rose bush as you fell to your knees.
"Your highness!" Jason exclaimed, kneeling at your side.
"I'm— I'm alright, Jason.." You said, lifting up your dress slightly, wincing at the two thorns stuck in your leg.
Jason sighed, shaking his head. "Come on, let me take you to your chambers.." He muttered, lifting you uo bridle style unexpectedly.
You gasped, wrapping your arms around him. "Ja— Jason! Put me down! It's just a thorn!" You exclaimed, your face now a bright red.
"Do not argue with me, your highness." He said firmly, taking you back inside the castle, straight to your room.
He carefully settled you down onto the bed, kneeling in front of you. He hesitated, gulping as he looked up at you. "I.. May I?"
If your cheeks could've gotten any redder, then they certainly have. You nodded slightly, looking away.
Jason then gently took the hem of your dress, lifting it just enough to see the thorns. "I told you to get more sleep." Jason whispered, grabbing the tweezers off your nightstand.
"Be quiet.." I murmured in response.
"This might pinch." He said before plucking out one of the thorns. You slightly wince as he pulled out one of the thorns. Oddly enough, this seemed quite familiar.
"There we go.." He muttered, taking out the second thorn before taking out a cloth, cleaning away the speckled blood.
You cleared your throat. "So... it's getting late... Will you be staying tonight this time?" You said, just as you did every evening.
"What?" Jason said, his head snapping up to look out the window. "Shit." He hissed as he saw the moon begin to rise. "I must go." He said in a panic. "Goodnight, your highness." He said before rushing out of the room.
"Wait! Jason!" You called out for him, pulling your dress down as you rushed after him. Why did he always leave before sun down?
He laid no mind to you as he dashed out of the castle, straight into the woods. Not onto the path to the village.
"Jason?" You called out as you followed him, but he still kept sprinting.
Your lungs hurt as you tried to keep up, but even with that heavy armour on him, he was still so much faster than you. Where the hell was he going?
But the deeper you went into the woods, the more familiar it looked.
Your eyes widened when you saw Jason dash into the cave.
"No— Jason, wait!" You tried to warn him, not wanting him to disturb the dragon inside.
You ran into the cave, but the dragon wasn't there. Just Jason backing up into the cave wall.
"Your highness?! Go! Go away! Get out!" Jason yelled.
"Jason?—" You stepped forward, but your eyes widened as you saw the scales appearing on the side of his head. You saw his nails growing into claws.
"Don't! Don't look at me!" He screamed, turning away, hiding his face as he transformed into the monster he saw himself as.
You gasped, watching Jason grow into that ferocious dragon you've been spending your nights with.
Jason, now a dragon, roared out in agony, his wings covering his face.
"Jas— Jason, it's okay!" You yelled, trying to calm him down, but to no avail. He turned to you, roaring in your face, fire shooting out in front of you, blocking you from Jason. You gasped as you turned, sprinting back to the castle.
There it was. The panic and terror that Jason anticipated if you ever saw the truth. He panted, lying on the cold stone, his wings going limp as he wallowed in his returned lonliness.
You returned to the castle, back to your chambers, tucking yourself to bed, and closing your eyes, praying that it was just a dream.
But the next morning, when you exited your room, it was Bruce awaiting for you. Not Jason.
"Bruce?.." You said questionably, tilting your head in confusion.
"Good morning, your highness. Please excuse the unexpected change. Unfortunately, Jason is feeling ill, so I shall accompany you until he is better." Bruce explained.
"But, I... I thought he did not get sick." You said, noticing how Jason never had even a small cough ever.
"Today must be an unlucky day, your highness. But, do not fret. He shall return to his duties the second he is better." He reassured as you nodded with a sigh. Guess last night wasn't a dream.
So, Bruce accompanied you through your day, walking around with you around the garden.
"Mm.. the flowers are wilting again.." You murmured.
"I'll let the royal gardener know, your highness." Burce said softly.
"No.. no, it's fine Ja— Bruce." You quickly corrected yourself. You didn't like this. If it were Jason, he'd take great offence that someone dared to allow your precious flowers to wilt. He would've started threatening the gardener again.
Your day went on, but you began to miss the presence of your loyal knight. Maybe if you didn't follow him, nothing would have changed.
"Bruce?" You called out to him as you strolled around.
"Yes, your highness?"
"Has Jason ever gotten sick before?" You asked.
"When he was younger, yes. I always told him to stay inside our home, yet he always snuck out to the pub to listen to the live music." Bruce said.
Your ears perked up at that. Maybe Jason would be at the pub. You look up at the sun. It was late afternoon.
"So... he'd be at the pub?" You asked, double checking.
Bruce nodded, looking down at the flowers. "He always was stubborn. He hasn't been sick in a long while. But I reckon he'd be there right now, your highness— Your highness?" The second Bruce looked back up, looking around the garden, you were suddenly gone.
You didn't even give it a second thought as you raced out of the castle, throwing your hood over your head. You didn't care if Jason scolded you for being outside the walls without permission. You wanted to see him.
You panted as you made it to the village, people setting up for the night market, as you tugged your hood down.
You entered the pub, the place bustling with laughter, music, and drunkards. You glanced at the counter, and lo and behold your beautiful knight, slumping at the bar, his head on the counter.
"Is... he okay?" You quietly asked the bartender, looking at Jason with concern.
"He's been here since early this afternoon, miss." the bartender said, shaking his head. "I'm surprised he's not losing his liver yet. Mighty impressive, to be honest." He said, cleaning the rim of the glass.
You sighed, staring down at Jason's state.
"Jason?.." You softly called his name, lightly brushing the hair away from his eyes.
"What..." The knight murmured, drool drying down his chin, his eyes droopy. But even so, he could still recognise this beautiful eyes of yours.
"You're.. you're not in the castle..." Jason mumbled, his words slurred.
You shook your head. "No, I'm not."
He scoffed, turning his head to the other side. "You're.. go— *hic* going to get in trouble again.." He grumbled, clearly annoyed. You sighed, placing your hand on his shoulder.
"Jason, it is almost sundown." You said worriedly.
Jason scoffed once more, waving his hand, dismissing you. "Who cares? Let everyone find out. That horrible, terrifying dragon they fear of in their stories is really the princess'— mmph.." You quickly covered his mouth before he could finish his sentence, looking around, making sure no one heard.
"Jason, please," you almost begged, "Let's go to the cave, hm? I'll stay with you, I promise." You whispered.
"Yes, just as how you stayed last night, too, huh?" He retorted in spite.
"Well, maybe next time to shoot fire at me, hm? Now, please, come on. I will not take no for an answer." You said stubbornly, swinging one of his arms over your shoulder, lifting him up, though his weight with his armour knocked the air out of your lungs.
"Uhm— Thank you, good sir." You nodded to the bartender, struggling to put the money in the counter before waddling off with Jason leaning on you.
"Get— ngh.. get off of me.. I don't need you.. or your help.." He muttered weakly as you made it into the woods. But, he made no effort to push you away, instead clinging onto you just a little bit tighter. And of course you noticed.
You huffed, rolling your eyes at his persistence as you made it to the cave, already noticing how his scales began to appear on his neck.
As you reached the back of the cave, his wings emerged, though the limped to the cold ground. As Jason fully transformed, he laid down on the ground, letting out small, low whines.
You sighed, kneeling in front of his face, gently placing your hands on either side of his head.
"It's okay, Jason.." You whispered. "I'll stay with you.."
The dragon whimpered, only leaning into your touch, not pushing you away this time. Not breathing fire at you or trying to scare you on purpose.
And you did stay with him. Jason was already fast asleep, his snores echoing through the cave. But you? You didn't even get a wink of sleep, but you couldn't care less. You needed Jason to know how much you cared for him, how much he makes your heart swell from his presence alone. How much you love him, knight or dragon.
Eventually, the sun peeked over the horizon, the ray barely making their way into the cave. You watched in awe at how Jason morphed back into human. God, he was absolutely gorgeous.
The knight remained lying down, his head resting on your lap as you threaded your fingers through his hair. You didn't want to wake him. He deserved his rest. And as he slept, you realised.
You finally spent your nught together with him.
Granted, they weren't under the best circumstances. He probably wouldn't even remember you bringing him into the cave, but... It's good enough for you.
Soon, he stirred awake, letting out a quiet groan. But as his eyes opened, he was taken aback to see your face above his. He quickly sat up, hissing as his head pounded, his mind dizzy.
"Your— Your highness—" He said frantically, trying to stand up, but you grabbed his wrist before he could.
"Stop. You're hungover. You need rest, Jason." You said, your thumb smoothing over his wrist.
Jason looked down where you held him, his thoughts scattering, his mind fuzzy.
"Your highness, please.." He muttered. You didn't know what he was asking of you, but if he were honest, he didn't know either.
"Don't be ashamed, Jason..."
"No. No.. this.. thing— this monster. It's vile and disgusting." He spat, looking away.
"You're wrong." You said firmly, giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "It's— It's the most magnificent thing I've ever seen!"
"You don't know what you're taking about." He hissed.
"You're beautiful, Jason." You said, staring right him, refusing to take anymore of his stubbornness.
Jason looked at you with wide eyes and disbelief. Beautiful was a completely new one for him. It's always been dangerous, scary, ludicrous. Beautiful hadn't been in his dictionary.
"Your scales are so sharp and bold, your wings are strong, your colour is gorgeous! Gosh, it's so hard not to love!" You said passionately, desperate for him to believe you.
Jason froze. How could you, such a perfect woman, love such a horrid.. thing?
"Your highness.."
"No... no, please, Jason.. no more of that.. no more honorifics.." You whispered.
He sighed, saying your name, rolling off his tongue so smoothly. Your heart raced hearing him call you by your name for the first time. "Don't do this.." Jason whispered. "Don't pretend to love.. this.. for my sake."
"You don't understand." You said. You tilted his chin up, making him look at you. "I am in love with you, Jason Todd. You have been by my side since day one, and you've never left, even when you had the opportunity to. And even as a dragon... I still can't stop myself from falling in love with you.." You quietly admitted.
Jason's breath hitched. This isn't right. He thought it wasn't right. A royal princess falling in love with a cursed knight. But, god, he'd be lying if he said it didn't make his heart pound.
He barely registered what happened. You barely registered what happened.
His hands somehow found themselves grabbing your waist, pulling you flushed against him before he pressed his lips upon yours.
You melted into the kiss before you could even acknowledge he was kissing you. But no matter. How much you've dreamt before that this moment would happen. And how much it's better than you ever imagined.
His lips were chapped, just as you predicted. His hands felt snug around your waist. It all just felt so natural. So perfect .
Jason pulled away as you both lightly panted, catching your breath.
"I— I'm sorry.." Jason muttered breathlessly. "I—"
"Jason.." You said his name softly, your hands on the collar of his armour, lightly pulling him closer. "Kiss me again... please..." You quietly begged.
Oh, and who was the loyal knight to deny a request from his princess?
He sighed, knowing well that he'd easily comply. This time, the both of you, knowing exactly what you needed, kissed each other once more, lips moulding perfectly together.
The fierce and mighty dragon, falling hopelessly for his dear princess. And the princess falling hopelessly for her dear knight.
@jewish-jason-todd I hope you enjoyed reading!! I haven't written in a looooong while, so I really hope this is good!! If i remember right, this is my first au fic, so I put lots and lots and lots of thought into it just for you! I can't thank you enough, you're the first person to ever commission me, and it really has made my day! I've already spent hours and hours on minecraft. Again, thank you so so much, I really loved writing this, and I hope you like it! <3
70 ideias de Narusasu em 2024 | sasunaru, naruto, naruto e sasuke desenho
Duke is unapologetic for everything that comes out of his mouth. In fact, give him a mic, he'll say it louder.
Some way too old for that guy, trying to flirt with Cass: You know, you seem so mature for your age…
Duke, popping out of nowhere: And you're really fucking dumb for yours, man, fix this puddle of desperation on your head first and only then think about trying to fit into society. If even your hair doesn't want to be with you, what are you counting on?
Cass, who really didn't want to ruin her cute dress with blood: 👍🏻
A really annoying paparazzi: Hey, boy, how does it feel to become rich after, well, whatever you were before? Have your, erm, extracurricular activities changed? What's your favourite thing to do now?
Duke, with the straightest face known to mankind: No, it's still your mom. My favourite extracurricular activity, planning to do her more actually, thanks for the question.
Bruce, trying to parent a whole ass teen: So…
Duke: I really shouldn't have told this terrible, rude, insufferable piece of person to go eat shit. I genuinely regret it. I should have told her to go eat shit and die choking, such a missed opportunity, damn, I'm still upset.
Bruce: ...
Bruce, to himself: Why am I even trying?
There are a bunch of compilations on YouTube and Tiktok “Duke Thomas-Wayne has no PR training whatsoever”. Duke personally likes every single one of them.
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post prison! spencer x genius fem! reader
masterlist | ko-fi | next
summary: all your life, you’ve been second-best. Even now that you’ve been chosen to be an agent of the BAU, you’re just a replacement for Spencer Reid. What could change now that’s he’s out?
cw: there is a bit of an age gap, i imagined reader in her early to mid 20’s, nevermind how it isn’t accurate for working at FBI. this is a criminal minds fic, so there are graphic depictions of violence, as well as implied/referenced child neglect/abuse in readers childhood, reader is somewhat a genius
tropes/tags: slowburn on readers end, Spencer is flirting from the beginning, HURT/COMFORT, angst, bit of a sick fic in one scene, bit of soft dom! spencer as a treat
a/n : this came to me in a prophecy. full disclosure i haven’t actually seen the prison arc yet so if there’s any inaccuracies shhhhhh look at the fluff
also !! this is a LOOOOONG one. strap yourselves in. grab snacks and drinks
slipped in some very slight father figure Hotch bc that’s my crack
title taken from Mirrorball by Taylor Swift
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Spencer Reid is absolutely nothing like you’d thought he’d be.
From how the team talked about him, you’d been expecting a short, slight man. Someone quiet and meek and non-threatening.
And Dr. (Agent?) Reid was quiet. But not in the don’t-notice-me way, but in the I-know-what-I’m-doing-and-don’t-need-to-say-it way. He quietly commanded attention and respect. One look at the man told you he was not somebody to fuck with.
He was also really, really, really hot.
It was unfortunate and difficult, truly, because he’s your senior agent, someone who’s got more than a few years on you in both field experience and general age. He’s a genius- insanely good at what he does and there’s no refuting that.
But most of all, he’s kind and respectful and just genuinely a good person. And also good looking. Did you mention that yet?
He clicks seamlessly into place with the team in a way you’ve never managed to do in the time you’ve been with him. And after all, why would you? You’re just the rookie transfer with a bit higher than average IQ. Nothing to brag about. Nothing like Spencer.
You were a data analyst with the FBI before your boss told you: “The BAU is looking for a temporary genius. I put your name in the ring. Hotchner must’ve been impressed with something, cause he picked you. I know you’ve completed the training courses for their team, so pack your desk. You’ve got a new assignment.”
And just like that, every single one of your dreams came true. And then promptly burst into flames and burned to ashes when you realized what exactly your position on the team was: Temporary and replacing.
It makes sense, you guess. The team grew to rely on Reid’s quick wit and intellect. And beyond that, they’re an agent short. And you fit the bill well enough: swift and intelligent. Nothing more, nothing less. It became clear during the first few weeks that no one on the team had any intention of liking or particularly getting to know you beyond a professional capacity. And you get it, you really do. You don’t name the dog you’re gonna get rid of.
With the exception of Penelope. But you don’t think she has the ability to ignore someone without a clear reason.
So you did your job and you were good at it. Held the team at arm’s length even when they warmed up to you. Kept your head down, stuck to yourself. This way, it’s easier to stop yourself from leaning into JJ and Prentiss’s jokes, or to stamp down the glow in your chest from Hotch’s approval.
All of this hard work goes sailing straight out the window and spattering on the concrete below when Reid comes back. Because all it took was one case together- one. And then you’re hopelessly in love with the guy you replaced.
And it’s all kinds of terrible, because it’s Reid. He’s not only your coworker —soon to be ex, because now that he’s back you’ll be out of a job— but he’s also so incredibly out of your league it’s not even funny. But he keeps smiling at you and including you in conversations and saying hi to you and asking your opinion on things during cases as if you would have more to add than he does.
It’s very hard to keep him at arms length. And because Reid is Reid he drags everybody else over with him and then you’re bonding with a team you have a week left with, maybe two.
Spencer Reid has weaseled his way into your life one stupid smile at a time.
—
The case is going terribly.
What started as a run-of-the-mill serial killer case in some nowhere town turned into huge investigation because Spe— Reid figured out its relation to a cold case from a neighboring town decades prior. And then, to top everything off, just so happens to be near enough to your hometown that your mom saw you on the news when JJ was giving a statement.
And now she won’t stop calling.
Prior to this, you haven’t talked to your mom in about seven months. Now? She’s calling upwards of twelve times a day.
“Mom,” You say, tucked in one of the police stations back rooms, pinching the bridge of your nose, “I’m working, I can’t just come out to see you—“
“But you’ve never visited! And your finally in town, and—“
“I’m not in town, I’m a four hour drive away from town.”
A sigh crackles through the line, her voice tinny. “You know, your brother always made time to visit family, and your younger brothers—“
“Are younger than me and more successful, yes mom, I’ve heard it all before. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m trying to catch a serial killer.”
You snap the phone shut before she can protest, effectively ending the call. You sag against the wall, sighing deep and weary. Exhaustion clings to your bones. It’s not just your mom. This case, being physically close to your hometown, everything— it’s weighing you down. You spend more time in the hotel bed tossing and turning than sleeping.
Even Em— Prentiss had shot you look when you’d came in this morning- though jury’s still out about whether or not it was an are-you-okay look or a you-better-be-good-for-the-case look. You’re hoping it’s the former.
The room you’re in is empty- the precinct that called for the team went under renovation and remodeling last year, so some of the rooms have fallen into disuse, apparently. It’s dusty, and filled with boxes and papers and weirdly, one or two condom wrappers. You wish you were surprised.
Your phone has been put strongly on silent, and you’re not expecting anyone to find you for at least twenty minutes. Of course, you don’t need twenty minutes. You just need five.
You just need to collect yourself for a moment. A few minutes to breathe, to get your mom’s words and the unpleasant memories they bring out of your head; to will the shake out of your hands and the cold creeping in your lungs.
So when the door opens, you nearly jump out of your skin.
Spencer walks in, phone clasped in one hand and a worried expression on his face.
“We’re getting ready to give the profile.”
“Oh,” You peel yourself off the wall, discreetly wiping at your face. You hadn’t noticed the frustrated tears carving lines down your face, “Sorry, I’m coming.”
He frowns as you come closer, and panic begins to beat like a drum in your chest.
“Is Hotch upset? I just had to take a call, I thought it would—“
“Slow down,” He says, raising his hands. “Hotch isn’t upset. Is something wrong?”
“No,” You say quickly, too quickly, because his frown deepens.
“You’ve been taking a lot more calls recently and you’re always upset after they’re over. Is someone bothering you?”
You sigh, rubbing at your face. “My mom. We’re a four hour drive away from my hometown. She saw me on the news when JJ gave her statement.”
Something flashes in his eyes when you say your mother, but it’s gone before you can decipher it.
“You don’t want to see her.”
He says it flat-toned and blank. Like it’s a fact.
It is a fact.
“No,” You confess, “I’ve never been close with my parents. I haven’t spoken to her beyond a text in years, and I haven’t texted her in months. Then she sees me on the news and I’m back on her radar again.”
You chuckle, but there’s no humor in it. “Oh, the folly of the disappointing daughter.”
He tilts his head, questioning. “You’ve made something of yourself. You’re a special agent. That’s not nothing.”
“Yeah, well. It’s not Doctor or Lawyer or C.E.O or anything else my brothers or cousins have made of themselves, so,” You shrug. “Disappointing.”
“Well that’s stupid,” Spencer says, a small curl to his lips, “You keep all of those stupid people safe by catching serial killers.”
“You’re a doctor. Did you just call yourself stupid?”
He shrugs, mimicking your earlier action. “I’m not that kind of doctor.”
You look down to hide the smile on your face but he ducks down, catching it anyway.
“Hey,” He says, eyes catching yours, “If you want to talk, you know where to find me.”
You (hesitantly) look up to meet his gaze. “Thanks, Reid.”
His face does something weird. Contorts at the words, just for a second. Like he just bit into something sour.
And then it’s gone.
“Of course.”
—
For the rest of the case, everytime your phone rings, Spencer looks at you. You’re getting close to just throwing the damn thing off a roof, if it’ll convince him to stop looking at you like that. You don’t know what to do with it. The look he gives you tastes like worry, and you don’t know what to do about Spencer Reid worrying about you.
You never meet his gaze. You know he’s looking, but you never look back.
Finally, the case comes to an end. Actually, it goes out in a literal blaze of glory— the unsub lights his kill shed on fire.
All of it would have burned to ash if you hadn’t run into the structure and and snatched the murder weapon and the most damning pieces of evidence: the printed photographs the unsub took with the victims.
It’s a win because you saved the evidence.
It’s a loss because Hotch looks pissed while the paramedics check you over.
Well. You assume he looks pissed. You’re staring resolutely at your shoes.
Finally, the paramedic gives you the all clear —just some minor burns here and there, you got lucky— and you no longer have a human buffer and excuse to avoid talking.
The silence stretches out between you two. Eventually, you cave.
“Hotch, I’m sorry—“
He holds a hand up and you clamp your jaw shut.
“Did you not hear me give the order to stay back?”
“I just thought—“
“We are a team, agent. I need to be able to trust not only that you’re going to follow my orders but be able to work together with the team. Now, you’re not doing either of those things.”
You frown. “I do follow your orders.”
He sighs. “You didn’t today. And more importantly, you’re not acting like a member of this team. You don’t call for backup. You don’t ask for help. You do good profiling work, agent. But if you can’t work with this team then we might need to reconsider your position here.”
That… doesn’t make any sense.
Hotch catches the confusion on your face. “Something wrong, agent?”
“I just— I was under the impression that I would only be working with the team for a few more weeks…?”
Now it’s his turn to look confused. “You may have been hired at an inopportune time, and until the first year is over it is a probationary basis, but pending review, you are and always have been a permanent member of this unit.”
You blink. “Oh.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “You didn’t think you’d be staying for long.”
You shake your head, your world turned on its head.
He hums. “You should buy earplugs. Rossi snores.”
You drop your head into your hands.
“And agent?”
You look up.
“You did good work today. You have a team. Learn to use them.”
He walks away, leaving you to process this crisis-inducing information.
So. You’re not leaving the team. You’re a profiler. Forever. This is your job now.
So does that mean you weren’t replacing Spencer? So why were you hired? Anything you can do multiple people on the team can do better. Why would Hotch pick you?
You stare at the pavement, which gives you a perfect view to watch Spencer’s shoes walk into view and hear him settle next to you.
“You’re a little young to be having a mid-life crisis.”
It takes you an embarrassingly long time to respond, partly because you’re not sure what to say, but also, the length of his thigh is pressed against yours and it’s hard to think when he’s emanating warmth and you can’t stop yourself from thinking about how it would feel to touch, skin to skin.
“Well,” You croak, “I did just get some pretty big news.”
He leans back on his hands, raising an eyebrow. “Oh?”
Looking up at him was a mistake. Bathed in the glow of the ambulance and the light from the moon, you can see just how long his eyelashes are, and how his lips move when he says your name.
Oh shit.
“Sorry, what?”
His face twitches in a smile. “I asked if you were okay. You were staring.”
You flush from your neck to the tips of your ears. “Sorry. It’s been a long day. I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
“About?”
See, he always does this. Most people would end the conversation there and move on. And that’s fine. It’s normal. But Spencer asks. Like he’s interested.
You shrug. “I thought… I thought I was leaving the team in a few weeks. Turns out i’m staying.”
He starts swinging his legs on the edge of the ambulance, though where his almost brush the ground, yours swing several inches above it. “Why did you think you were leaving?”
You laugh softly. “My boss told me the position was temporary. And in my excitement of getting it I may or may not have… not read the paperwork?”
He clicks his tongue. “Oh, honey.”
The tips of your ears burn. “I was excited!”
“To get a job staring at gruesome crime photos?”
“To help people.”
“What? Data analysis not helping people enough?”
“Do I even have to answer that?”
He snorts, his body shaking against yours. “You’re a consulting analyst. That’s the big leagues.”
Now it’s your turn to huff. “Is there a big leagues for data analysis?”
He leans his head down to look at you. “Well, maybe miss smarty-pants over here made a league of her own.”
The shade of red you turn must be visible, dark and bad lighting aside. “You have an IQ of 187. Can you really call me a smarty-pants?”
He tilts his head, giving you an assessing look. You recognize it. He gives case files the same look.
A faint shudder runs down the length of your spine at that precise, clinical gaze.
It should concern you, unnerve you.
It doesn’t.
“No, I’m positive. You’re a smarty-pants.”
You look away, unable to hold the intensity of his gaze.
“Hey, no. Come on, you gotta own up to being a smarty-pants. Otherwise you ruin the effect.”
“Am I supposed to start wearing sweaters and Converse, then?”
“Well, that wouldn’t be owning the smarty-pants look.”
“Do we have to keep the smarty-pants thing going?”
“Took your mind off the burns, didn’t it?”
You blink, realizing that you haven’t noticed the dull sting of the minor burns littering your body for a few minutes now.
But that has less to do with Spencer speaking and more to do with the fact that he’s here. Touching you. If you focus really hard, you can feel the chords of muscle lining his arm.
“Uh,” You stutter, momentarily flabbergasted by the way he’s looking at you. Like it’s important to him— you not being in pain. “Yeah, yeah, I guess. Well. I feel them now.”
“Oh, shame. I guess we’ll just have to keep talking.”
You furrow your brows. “Don’t you have somewhere else to be? Shouldn’t you be helping finish wrapping up the case?”
He shrugs. “I’m right where I want to be.”
That’s a decidedly very loaded statement that are not going to unpack.
You’re not going to unpack to jolt of pure electricity you feel from it, either.
—
You may or may not have lied about just how sick you were, exactly.
“You know,” Rossi says after you hack a cough into your elbow for what has to be the fiftieth time in as many minutes, “That’s starting to sound less like the plague and more like desperation.”
You sniff harshly, taking a swig of cough syrup and praying this isn’t the king with codeine in it. You didn’t read the label very well. “What do you mean?”
Prentiss raises an eyebrow. “He’s saying that most people on their veritable death/bed opt to sleep comfortably in their own beds in their own homes rather than on a plane to hunt down a violent killer.”
You think if your apartment— it’s cozy, at least, but still a glaring reminder of the reason you told Hotch you were fine to come in- loneliness.
You have heated blankets and warm lighting and books and tea —boxes and boxes of tea— and all manner of things that make you happy. But no amount of things can replace, tangible human connection.
You knew the ache of spending the day in your apartment would sting worse than the cold. Fever, Whatever you have.
“I’m thinking of a word,” JJ says, mock tapping her chin thoughtfully, “Starts with work, ends with holic.”
“I am not a workaholic,” you wheeze. “I am fine.”
“Yes,” Prentiss says, raising her other eyebrow. Oh no. Not the double eyebrow raise. “Because this is exactly what the picture of health looks like.”
To avoid answering, you take another swig of cough medicine.
“Just do you know,” Spencer says, “You’re about one tiny sip of that away from overdosing. I’d cool it on the cough syrup.”
“But I’m still coughing.”
“Have you given it any time to work?”
“It’s been thirty-ish minutes since I took the first dose.”
He levels you with a look at your usage of dose. “Why don’t you wait a little longer before committing suicide via shallow breathing and seizures.”
You wave a hand. “It’s fine. I know how to take care of myself when I’m sick.”
“Is your version of taking care of yourself just continuously taking medicine until the symptoms become bearable?”
“You’re un-bearable.” You snort at your play on words, but grow quiet because when you look up, the entire team is looking at you. “What?”
“You never joke.” JJ says.
“And I think I’ve heard you laugh exactly two times, and I’m pretty sure one of them was a sneeze.” Rossi says, a look of vague disbelief on his face.
You squirm in place. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Uh, yeah it is. You’re definitely too sick to be on a case if you’re laughing.”
“Come on, it was barely a chuckle—“
Spencer looks around. “Yeah, what’s the big deal? I’ve heard her laugh before.”
JJ and Prentiss snap their heads to him in tandem. “What?”
Now he looks vaguely uncomfortable. “I just don’t get why it’s such a big deal.”
“That’s cause you showed up late to the party,” Em- Prentiss says, “You didn’t meet her when she first came. She was all genius consulting data analyst.”
“I wouldn’t call myself a genius—“
“Yeah,” JJ chimes in, “I only ever saw her smile to be polite.”
“Wait,” Prentiss says, brows pinched, “You heard her laugh and you didn’t tell us? You knew we were trying to see who would make her break first.”
“You guys were trying to make me laugh? Is that what was happening all that time? I almost called Hotch like, thirty times because I was concerned for you guy’s mental wellbeing. I thought you’d had a nervous breakdown.”
JJ snorts. “Nope. Just tried to see if the rumors were true about all data analysts being robots.”
You cough into your elbow. “You guys make it seem like I was some sort of frigid bitch.”
“Frigid, yes. Bitch, no.”
“Hey!” You retort, then wince as the volume of your own voice makes your head pound harder and makes your throat sting worse, “I wasn’t that bad. Also, I was nervous! I’m the youngest person here by like, a long shot. I wanted to be professional.”
“I for one enjoyed it,” Rossi cuts in, “It was all blunt business. Straight to the point. No beating around the bush or gossiping. A few people here could learn a thing or two.”
“See?” You gesture. “Rossi agrees with me.”
Just about everyone on the plane gives you the exact same look. Hotch especially, who’s stayed silent during the entire exchange, looks troubled.
Once you land (an ordeal that normally doesn’t bother you, but today, had you worshipping the porcelain altar) Hotch pulls you aside.
“Agent,” He says before you climb into the car that’ll take you to the police precinct, “I can’t have an agent not at peak performance on this case.”
You frown. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying you’re too sick to work this case—“
“No, no, I can work, I can do it—“
“—In the field. You’re working from the station until we wrap up. Understood?”
You sigh, knowing when you’re beat. “Understood.”
He gazes at you for a second. “You might want to call out of work entirely the next time you’re sick, you know. The less time you spend resting the longer it’ll take to get better. I expect to see you taking care of yourself at the precinct.”
You blink. “Are you… dad-ing me?”
He almost smiles. “Well, I am a father. It’s bound to come out sometimes.”
The joke soothes your concerns of him being upset with you (again.) You suppose it would’ve been warranted —Hotch never gets upset without a reason— but still. He’s the only one you occasionally struggle to read.
The good news is by the time you make it to the station, your medicine has kicked in.
The bad news is when you get to the station your medicine has kicked in.
“Spencer,” You say, spinning in a spinny chair and staring at his blurry face. “Did you know that elephants have prehensile—“
“Do not finish that sentence.” He says, glancing back at the team, all in various stages of concern, disgust, amusement, and annoyance. “Did you take non-drowsy cough medicine?”
“Yes! I didn’t want to be tired.”
He scrubs a tired hand down his face, then nudges a sealed water bottle across the table to you. “Drink that.”
You wrinkle your nose. “But my throat hurts.”
“Drink it anyway.”
You snatch the water bottle, grumbling the whole time as you crack the seal and gulp down the water, not realizing how thirsty you were until this very second.
You lean your forehead on the table head still pounding from the pressure in your sinuses. You feel a prickle in the back of your neck, signifying that the team is still staring at you.
With great effort, you lift your head, tilting your chin up and trying to summon all the self confidence you don’t actually have.
“I am making a fool of myself. Please disregard my actions until I am no longer ill. This won’t happen again.”
Words are hard. Speaking is hard. With a groan, you drop your head back on your arm.
“Ah, there she is.”
“Knew that laugh had to be a fluke.”
“Cold medicine must be working.”
There are other mutterings about stubborn geniuses and workaholics and data analysis and Spencer staying at the station and—
You snap your head up. “I’m fine. I don’t need a baby-sitter. Spencer would be most useful in the field. He’s one of the best shot’s on the team.”
“And when it comes to needing a marksman I won’t hesitate to get him,” Hotch says, “But for now, I need my two geniuses to put their heads together to solve this case.”
Feeling cowed, you avoid Spencer’s gaze as the team files out of the room you’ve all set up in, instead grabbing a file from the center of the table. You really are being stupid. You should’ve stayed home, now you’re a liability, not to mention a walking biohazard. Fuck, why couldn’t you just think before you—
“I can hear you spiraling from over here.”
You lift your gaze, eyeing Spencer who hasn’t even put down the case file he’s reading.
You look back down. “I wasn’t spiraling.”
“You’re really going to lie to a profiler?”
“We’re both profilers.”
“Yeah, well, you have an obvious tell when you’re worrying about something.”
“I do not!”
You hear the quiet shuffling of papers.
A sigh leaves your lips, and you press the heels of your hands to your eyes. “I’m really sorry, Spe— Reid. I didn’t mean to drag you here with me.”
If he notices your slip up, he doesn’t give any indication of it.
“Who said anything about dragging?”
“I know you’re a germaphobe, and I’m a walking biohazard, and now you’re stuck here going over case files and, and I’m a liability right now—“
“Slow down,” He says, interrupting your slew of word vomit. His voice has dropped an octave, gaining a richer note. You should stop thinking about his voice. “I’m fine. You’re fine. The team is more worried than upset. You’re not the first person to come to work sick. And you won’t be the last.”
“They keep staring at me.”
“Because your current state and manner of behavior are disrupting their pre-conceived notions and set opinions of your character.”
You scrunch your nose. “Don’t get all clinical on me,”
You hear a small huff of laughter across the table. “I’ve come to work far worse than hopped up on cold medicine, believe me. Don’t worry about it. Just focus on working the case.”
Slowly, the itching under your skin settles, and you manage to swallow the lump in your throat. Eventually, you peel your hands away from your face and do what he says.
Hours pass by in a blur of text and you and Spencer occasionally either bouncing ideas off each other or making small breakthroughs. Spencer handles the relay of information because you can’t really go more than three full sentences without hacking up a lung. Seriously, what is cough syrup good for?
Sometime past midday, you start flagging. The words start blending and smushing together and your head gets harder and harder to hold up. You’re jolting yourself back awake every five minutes, forcing your body to just bear through the illness for the sake of productivity. You got yourself into this mess, you deal with the consequences.
You’re just… so tired. Maybe you’ll close your eyes, just for a few minutes. To get energy. And then you can get back to the case.
Just for a few minutes.
—
“She out?”
“Like a light. Powered through for a lot longer than I expected. But dextromethorphan gets us all in the end.”
A low whistle. “Poor kid. The ‘proving yourself to the team’ phase is rough.”
A hum. “I think it’s more than that.”
A beat passes.
“You got her?”
“Yeah,” Something soft and good smelling, like pine and coffee and something almost rich settles over your shoulders, “Yeah, I got her.”
—
When you wake, your neck is sore but you’re not cold, which is strange considering you remember falling asleep in a table.
Oh god you fell asleep on the table.
You jackrabbit up in place, knees knocking against the underside of the table. Hissing in pain, you tug the warm thing further around your shoulders which is—
Holy fucking shit it’s Spencer’s sweater.
Said man is nowhere to be found, and the conference/briefing room you’re in is dark. Not only did someone turn the lights off (you’re pretty sure you can guess who) but it’s dark outside. Meaning you didn’t just take a short nap.
You slept the entire day away.
Cold dread seeps into your shoulders. “Oh my god I’m so fired. Oh shit. Fuck, Hotch is going to be so pissed—“
The door opens and you stand, whirling around to face the doorway and then instantly regretting it when spots dance across your vision and your head swims.
You stumble, grabbing the edge of the chair for support and squinting at the figure in the doorway.
“Hotch?”
“Nope,” Spencer’s voice rings out in the room, “Guess again.”
You groan, sinking down into the chair. “Am I fired?”
He snorts. “Seeing as Hotch bet that you’d fall asleep before dark, I’d say no.”
“He bet against me?”
“Actually, everyone else thought you’d only last an hour. He bet for four.”
“How long did you bet for?”
He sets a mug in front of you, steaming tea wafting up and warming your face. “Three hours. You metabolize cough syrup better than I thought.”
You take the mug in your hands, warming your fingers but not actually taking a sip. “Mmm. Told you I’ve done this before.”
“I don’t think that’s the brag you think it is.”
You chuckle, which quickly turns into a cough.
“Drink your tea,” He commands softly from across the table, sleeves pushed up around his elbows and papers spread about him.
You dutifully take a sip, something restless growing calm in the back of your skull.
You eye is forearms, hoping the look-over you’re giving them is subtle. (It probably isn’t, but come on. A button down with the sleeves rolled up while you’re wearing his sweater is practically sinful.)
“Do you… want the lights turned back on? I’m awake now, so.”
He flips over a piece of paper, then scribbles something on a sticky note. “You were sleeping. And you have a headache. I can see just fine.”
“My headache isn’t that bad, really, I’m fi—“
He levels you with a look, and you sink a little lower in your chair. “Do you at least want your sweater back?”
“No. Keep it.”
“Careful, maybe I’ll just keep it forever,” You joke.
“I’d be fine with that.”
What. The. Fuck.
You stand, pushing out the chair with a loud screech. “I’m just gonna— bathroom,” You splutter, your face blazing and stomach doing a gymnastics routine, “I’m gonna use the bathroom. Bye.”
You’re screaming internally the entire way to the bathroom, and once you get there, open-mouthed silent screaming in the privacy of a stall.
Because. He said. He didn’t even look up. He just. And he. Maybe he—
No, no, no. You are not about to entertain that notion. Not again. He was just being nice. That’s all. That’s all.
Collecting yourself takes about five more minutes, and then you’re walking back to the conference/briefing room when you realize you never took the damn sweater off. He watched you scramble out of that room to the bathroom he has to know you weren’t using, with his sweater on.
This is the end for you, then. That’s it. It’s over.
You mentally slap yourself. Get it together. It’s fine. It’s fine. Everything is fine.
You re-enter the room marginally calmer than you left it. You slide into your seat, sip your tea (that he made you!) and keep working on the case.
You pretend you can’t see him smirking from across the table.
—
The case doesn’t last too long. The team catches the guy in the act of beating his next victim. Thankfully, you manage to save the poor woman before he finishes his plan, and with being caught red-handed, it’s fairly open and shut. Case closed. Which is great, because you really aren’t sure how many more nights you can suffer through trying to sleep in the hotel bed.
You have this thing, when you’re sick. You can’t sleep anywhere but the couch. Your couch. You figured (apparently foolishly) that it wouldn’t be too bad, since the crux of the issue is that you hate sleeping in your bed when you’re sick, but no. You’d spent every night of the case tossing and turning and coughing yourself out. Your lungs were tired. Your body was tired. You were tired.
Spencer raises an eyebrow at you when you board the jet. “You haven’t been near-overdosing on cough syrup again have you?”
“No,” You grouse, rubbing your face with your hand. “I’m like, not even sick anymore. I just didn’t sleep well.” For several nights in a row.
“Mmm,” He hums, non-committal.
You practically collapse into your usual seat on the jet, hunching in yourself and attempting to make yourself comfortable in the seat.
You blink your eyes open when you feel the seat jostle next to you. “Reid?”
He’s already pulling out a book. “What?”
“This isn’t your seat.”
“We don’t have assigned seats.”
“No, but you always sit over there.”
“And now I’m sitting here.”
You narrow your eyes at him, trying to decide if you want to argue him on the point or not. You decide against it, because arguing will draw attention to the fact that you’re sitting next to each other having this conversation at all.
You settle back into your seat. “Whatever. Hope you’re not a loud page-turner.”
“Is that even a thing?”
You shrug, eyes falling shut again.
After a few minutes, you shiver, unconsciously scooting closer to the warmth of the person next to you, your sleep-addled brain barely processing the fact that it’s Spencer you’re pressing your shoulder into.
He repositions next to you, shoulder jostling you. You grumble, dropping your head to his arm. Now much closer, your nose fills with the smooth, all encompassing smell that is Spencer.
The dull chatter that fills the plane, the warm body next to yours, and, despite your earlier complaints, the quiet, gentle page-turning lull you into an easy sleep.
—
“Are you drugging her or something? I’ve seen her sleep more this week than I have in her entire time on the team.”
“The only drugging she’s done was voluntary.”
“Her neck is going to be so sore when she wakes up.”
“Sore? Mine would be broken if I did that.”
“Ah, the joys of youth.”
A beat passes. Then another.
“She’s a bit young, don’t you think?”
“Emily don’t start—“
“Just saying, Spence. HR would get a kick out of this.”
“Not like it never happens. We’ve all walked into supply closet B at the wrong time.”
“This isn’t meaningless sex though.”
“…No.”
Silence.
“Are you sure you’re alright?”
A deft hand re-adjusts your head to a more comfortable angle. “I will be.”
—
Landing jolts you into wakefulness and off Spencer’s shoulder. It’s not embarrassing. It’s not. It’s only weird if you make it weird.
When you’re all back at HQ, you pull Hotch aside.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?”
He nods. “In my office.”
You stalk up the stairs, aware of the eyes following your back. You step into the office, shutting the door behind you and pretending it doesn’t feel like sealing your doom.
He sits, gesturing for you to do so too, but you shake your head.
“I won’t be long. I just wanted to apologize.”
He blinks. “For?”
“I shouldn’t have come in. I was a liability, and it was unprofessional. Next time I’ll act with more discretion.”
Selfish, Your mother’s words echo in your head, your father’s words following suit: Try harder.
He laces his fingers together, resting him on his desk.
“Do you know why I chose you?”
“Because Reid was gone, and you needed a ge— someone smart.”
“Every member of my team is intelligent. That’s not why I chose you.”
He reaches down, opening a desk drawer and pulling out a newspaper clipping.
Your breath hitches when you read the words on it.
“Garcia found it,” He says, scanning the piece of paper. “‘Professor’s Assistant saves college class from school shooter’. You were sixteen.”
You look down at your shoes. “It was the scariest moment of my life. I didn’t— he came in, and I was behind the door getting paper, and he didn’t see me. He… I knew people would die if I didn’t do something. I tackled him. He shot me twice before I managed to kick the gun away. I almost bled out.”
He nods, putting the clipping down. “That’s who I chose. Not the genius. Not the consulting data analyst. Someone who wants to help people.”
He puts the clipping back in his drawer. “I’m not going to write you up for not having a healthy work-life balance. No one in this bureau does, and if they say they do, they’re lying.”
You sigh, rubbing at your face. “Now I look stupid for asking to talk.”
“It’s not an imposition. You’re a member of my team. That makes your wellbeing when you’re on the job my responsibility.”
Unable to form a response to that, you manage to stutter out a thank you, and then flee from his office, collapsing into your chair at your desk with a sigh.
A mug is set in front of you. Different mug, same tea, same hand.
“I think you need to reevaluate your opinion of Hotch and what kind of person you think he is.”
You take the mug with a glare. “I was reasonably concerned.”
“You thought you were going to get written up for coming to work sick?”
“It was a logical conclusion to draw,” You pause, taking a sip of the tea, which is just as good as it was last time. Actually, it’s slightly sweeter, and it soothes your throat more. “And stop profiling me. What’d you put in this?”
“Stop being so easy to profile,” Spencer says, crossing his arms. “Honey. They didn’t have any at the station.”
It’s quiet for a few moments: him staring at you, you pretending he’s not staring and sipping your tea.
“You should go home.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re still sick. Don’t tell me you just can’t wait to write all this paperwork.”
“Maybe I am.”
“No you’re not,” He picks up your jacket from where it’s hanging off the side of your cubicle and plops it in your lap. “Go home. I’ll sick Hotch on you.”
You stand, shrugging your jacket on and pointing an accusing finger at him. “You’re a cruel man.”
“Mhm. Sure. Go home.”
You grumble all the way to the door, but quiet when you look back to see him watching you fondly. He gives you a little two finger wave, and with the sheer amount of heat that rushes to your cheeks, you have no choice but leave immediately.
Stupid genius co-workers.
—
The next week brings wellness and a lull in cases.
Unfortunately, that also means you don’t have an excuse to put off your paperwork any longer.
Spencer taps the top of it with a slender finger. “Did it get bigger since the last time I saw it?”
He’s hanging around your desk for… some reason. He came to drop off paperwork from your last case, and then stuck around for some unknown purpose.
“No,” You groan, setting your mug of coffee aside and grabbing the first paper off the stack. “Still the same pile I’m procrastinating on.”
“Good luck,” He huffs, finally turning and walking back to his own desk. It’s still in your eyeline, if you crane your neck a little.
You sigh, grabbing your earbuds from your desk, knowing you can’t put the paperwork off any longer. You’re pretty sure Records is going to start sending you death threats soon.
Making your way through the pile is slow going. It’s terrible. The only part of working with the BAU you hate is the paperwork. It’s tedious and never-ending and it always gives you a headache.
The only times you get up are to use the bathroom and get more coffee. JJ kindly tells you that you should probably leave your mug in the break room after your sixth or so trip. Spencer, somehow, appears in the room, and rattles off the symptoms of caffeine overdose.
You leave the mug there.
You continue working well after everyone else leaves. It gets dark, people go home, office lights go off, and while the pile has largely decreased in size, it’s still not finished.
You have to finish. Hotch had made an offhand comment about turning in your paperwork on time and now you have to finish it. To show him you’re not lazy.
You’ve only got a little bit of paperwork left when a hand taps you on your shoulder.
You yank your earbuds out, blinking blearily. “Wha?”
Spencer’s face swims into view. “Come on, time to go home.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Making sure you didn’t fall asleep and forget to go home. They do lock the doors at a certain point. Ask me how I know.”
Your brain is moving like sludge, and it takes you several minutes to process what he says. He continues standing in front of you, patiently waiting for you to respond.
“But… the paperwork.”
“Will be here tomorrow. Come on, up we go.”
You whine as he takes your hands, hauling you to your feet. You attempt to scrub the sleep out of your eyes while messily moving papers about so your desk doesn’t look like a copy machine threw up all over it.
He pushes your jacket into your hands and you shrug it on, grumbling all the way through the doors and out to the parking lot, Spencer in tow. He follows dutifully behind you, and everytime you look back at him to voice your complaints all he does is smile.
“It’s cold.”
“That does tend to happen in winter.”
When you get to your car, he reaches out, tugging on your wrist.
“Hey,” He says, looking down at you, eyes deep pools of some emotion you can’t identify, “Drive safe, okay? It’s icy.”
“My commute isn’t that bad. And I’m,” You break off with a huge yawn. “Not even that tired.”
“That doesn’t inspire much confidence, smarty-pants.”
“Oh, so we’re locked into the smarty-pants thing, huh?”
“Yep.” He says, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and popping the P.
“Well then what am I supposed to call you? Robot-Reid?”
“How about Spencer?”
His words hang in the night air, mingling in the puffs of air from both of your mouths.
“…What rhymes with Spencer?”
“Sensor, denser, dispenser—“
“Dis-Spencer,” You say, smiling to yourself. “I like the sound of that one.”
“You know dis comes from—“
“The latin word dis, and the prefix is used to denote a reversal of absence of an action, expressing negation, or expressing completeness or intensification of an unpleasant or unattractive action.”
He chuckles, smiling down at his shoes. “That’s why you’re the smarty-pants.”
“Oh please. You know all of that and then some.”
He shrugs. “Maybe, maybe not.”
You both stand in the cold of the parking lot, neither willing to leave yet.
Before you can think better of it, you dart forward, throwing your arms around Spencer’s neck and mumbling “Goodnight, Dis-Spencer.”
You step away quickly, awkwardly giving him a small wave before hurrying into your car and driving away.
Smooth.
—
The next case is… really rough.
Two spree killers, working as a team. A father and a son; the son was groomed into the lower position.
Not anything you haven’t seen before. Trained for. Studied.
No amount of studying could have prepared you for the cold grip of dread that gripped your throat like a vice when you finally confronted the unsubs, and heard eerily familiar words uttered from the father:
“You’re a good for nothing son! I wouldn’t have had to do this if you weren’t such a disappointment of a child! Why couldn’t you have just been more like your siblings?”
The son was killed before anyone could intervene.
Wrapping up the case left you shaken— you’d watched with hollow eyes as the boy’s body was zipped in a body bag.
A hand landing roughly on your shoulder shoves awareness back into your body and you flinch, hard, whirling around with your shoulders raised to meet the oncoming threat.
Only it’s not a threat. It’s Hotch. And he looks concerned.
You force your body to relax. “I’m sorry, I’ll go help question the rest of the family—“
“Are you okay?”
You blink. “What?”
“Are you alright?” He asks again.
“Yeah, I’m, I’m okay. It just… reminded me of something.”
Hotch purses his lips but doesn’t say anything. He looks he’s going to say something, but then decides against it.
“Help Reid get the last of the evidence. Once you two are finished head back to the station. We’ll meet you there.”
You nod, inwardly relieved about not having to deal with the family members. You might start actually crying.
You sidle up to Spencer who’s tagging blood splatters on the carpet. He wordlessly hands you a pair of gloves. He doesn’t ask. You don’t tell.
You work side by side for the better part of two hours, occasionally conversing with the local police or helping the crime scene investigators tag evidence.
If he knows what’s bothering you, he doesn’t say. You wouldn’t have an answer anyway. You’re far too gone in your own head.
You follow Spencer to the break room back at the station, watching him quietly make two mugs of tea. He presses one into your hands with a gentle command to let it cool for a few minutes. The mug is warm in your hands. Spencer is standing next to you, a mug of his own in his hands. Your parents aren’t here. You’re fine.
You chant this mantra in your head while you wait for the rest of the team to come back.
Your parents aren’t here. You’re fine.
Spencer doesn’t ask before sitting next to you on the jet. He just does. He hands you a book, then opens his own.
You don’t read a single page. He must know. Still, he says nothing, just presses a little closer to you when he sees your hands shaking.
The team gives the two of you space when you finally land. You stumble off the jet, trip backpack slung over your shoulder, legs wobbly and breath uneven.
You’re not sure why the case upset you this much. Your parents don’t upset you this much. They just— they make the same kind of comments, and so did that father, except now his son is dead because he killed him—
“Hey,” Hotch approaches you slowly, makes sure you can see him. You hate that he feels the need to do so. “Take tomorrow off. Stay home. Recuperate.”
“I’m fi—“
“We all have tough missions and I would do the same for any agent,” He says, clasping you gently on the shoulder. “Besides. We both know you haven’t been sleeping well.”
Your lips twitch. “Isn’t there a rule against profiling each other?”
“That rule is for all of you. Not me.”
He gives your shoulder one last squeeze before departing.
You manage to haul yourself into HQ and out to the parking lot, cursing as your cold fingers fumble with your keys. Frustrated tears begin to well in your eyes and you press the heels of your hands to your face, sucking in a shuddering breath and begging it all to just stop.
Someone gently pries your hands open, pulling your keys out of your clenched grip. Your shoulders shake as you heave, gasping for cold night air that burns on the way down.
A hand finds its way to the back of your head, pressing it forward into something warm and solid. Another arm wraps around your waist, keeping you close, while the hand on your head drifts down to your neck, squeezing and rubbing intermittently.
“I’m sorry,” You cry, rubbing your face and smearing your tears across your hands, “I don’t know why, it just—“
“You don’t need a reason,” Spencer says, spreading his hand out wide so it covers the entire nape of your neck, “Sometimes it all just gets to you.”
You nod into his chest, lowering your hands from his face to wrap around his torso, clutching it like a lifeline.
“I don’t want to go home tonight,” You whisper, ashamed. “I’ll dream of it. And them. And it’ll be cold and alone—“
“Come home with me,” He says, voice a little breathless while he holds you closer, “Come home with me.”
He says the last part a little desperate.
You sniff. “Okay.”
You hesitantly pull away from the hug, but not before Spencer’s hand moves from your neck to your face, his thumb brushing away the tear tracks on your face. He drops his head down, and you feel the gentlest brush of lips against the skin in between your eyebrows.
“Let’s go home.”
He tugs you along by the hand, helping you into his little old car, tucking your bags into the backseat. He lets the radio play softly while he drives, loud enough to quiet your thoughts a bit but not so loud as to overwhelm you.
He helps you out of the car when you arrive to the apartment building, carrying one of your bags up the stairs- you’d insisted on carrying the rest of your stuff.
He unlocks the apartment door, ushering you into the warmth and comfort that is Spencer’s home.
It’s exactly like you pictured, if not tidier. A bit more modern than you’d imagined. Books are everywhere of course, but so are knick-knacks and trinkets and other little bits of things that are so decidedly Spencer. There’s even a quilt on the couch.
He sets your bag down by the door. “The shower is down that hall to the left. Use whatever products you need to. Do you have any clothes to change into?”
You chew on the inside of your lip. “In my luggage, yeah, but they need to be washed.”
“I can put them in the wash while you shower. In the meantime, you can borrow something of mine.”
You shuffle in place. “I don’t wanna impose—“
“Please let me do this for you.”
The raw, rough edge to his tone makes you pause. You nod in acquiescence.
He takes your hand in his again, tugging you into his bedroom. With one hand, he opens drawers, handing you his smallest pair of sweatpants, and a large, worn, and incredibly soft Caltech sweatshirt.
“I’ll have to cuff these,” You mumble when he hands you the sweatpants, “My legs are half the length of yours.”
“You’ll make it work, I’m sure. Now shoo. I’ll have laundry and food finished when you get out of the shower.”
The bathroom, like the rest of the house, is clean and neat, and to your relief, houses more than just a five-in-one in the shower. Spencer actually owns multiple products for you to choose from and it hits you while you’re lathering the body wash you chose because of how good it smelled that you’re in Spencer’s shower, showering with his body wash, about to put on his clothes.
You’re going to smell like him. His clothes will smell like him. Everywhere in the apartment smells like him.
You decide to blame the near permanent flush on your cheeks on the heat from the shower.
When you exit the shower, fresh and drowning in Spencer’s clothes, he’s standing at his kitchen island, putting the final touches on two bowls of soup.
You almost tear up again. “You made me soup?”
“It’s widely regarded as a comfort food for people who are ill or otherwise sad, and is most commonly made in the wintertime.”
He gives you a little jazz hand, gesturing to the soup as if saying ta-da!
You really do tear up then.
He’s in front of you in an instant, hands poised to help. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Do you not like soup? I can make something else, or we can order in, or—“
You scrub at your face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. “You’re just, you’re just really sweet.”
His face softens. “Oh, honey.”
He envelops you in the second hug of the night, except this time you’re crying in earnest now. Your crying about your parents, about the nights you went to bed hungry because your Dad told that you were smart, and to figure something out, but you were too young to work any of the kitchen appliances. You’re crying about your first best friend, who ditched you the second your brother asked her out. You’re crying about all the classes and friendships you missed out on while you were in the hospital with gunshot wounds. You’re crying about how your parents didn’t visit you once. Not even when you were in the ICU.
Spencer holds you through it all, a steady rock against the battering waves crashing in your head.
After a few minutes, you wear yourself out, quieting down to sniffling, your shoulders hitching.
He pulls back, studying your face. “Are you ready to eat some soup now?”
You nod, blinking the final tears out of your eyes. “I got snot on your shirt.”
“That’s why we invented washing machines.”
He keeps up a stream of idle chatter while you eat, explaining all the different major soups in the world and where they came from. It’s a balm against your weary mind, lulls you into peace and safety.
Or maybe that’s just the effect Spencer has on you.
When you finish your food, he takes your bowl, deposits it in the sink, and then takes your hand and leads you to his bedroom.
“I don’t have a guest room, so you can take the bed,” He says, voice soft. “There’s extra blankets in the closet next to the bathroom if you get cold.”
He turns to leave, but a stab of panic slices down your chest, and your hand is reaching out and grabbing his wrist before you can stop yourself.
He pauses, turning back around. “You want me to stay?”
You take your lip between your teeth. “I don’t want to be alone.”
He studies you in the dark of the room— clad in his clothes, face puffy from crying.
The muscles in his jaw work.
“I can’t do this platonically. If we do this—“
You surge up on your toes, grabbing his face and smashing your lips together so quickly your teeth clack.
He goes rigid, then kisses your right back, hands coming up to cup your face, squeeze your neck, smooth over your shoulders.
You pull away first, looking at him through your lashes with hazy eyes. “I can’t do this platonically either.”
He traces the planes of your face with his thumb. “You have no idea how long and how much I’ve wanted to have you right here, just like this.”
“Crying and sad?”
“Dressed in my clothes, in my apartment, in my bed.”
You pause. “You know, tonight, I can’t, I’m not going to have—“
“I’m not interested in sex with you tonight,” He says, reading your mind, “I just want to get that empty look in your eyes gone.”
“Just?”
“Well,” He says, tugging you down onto the bed with him, crawling under the covers and covering you both, “There are other things. A lot of other things, Like this,”
He presses a kiss to your forehead.
“And this,”
He pulls you flush against him under the covers, tucking your head under his chin.
“But mostly this.”
He presses one last kiss to the crown of your head.
“Really?”
“Really.”
It’s quiet for a moment before his voice breaks the silence.
“After I got out, all I wanted was something soft and gentle. Having something, someone soft and lovely to hold was all I looked forward to. And then I came back and I met you, with your polite introductions and the way you care so deeply about so much and I knew. I knew who I wanted to hold.”
“Wow,” You breathe, “Yours sounds so poetic. Mine is much less so.”
“Mmm,” He hums, “And what might that be?”
You press your face against his chest and mumble so quietly you’re wondering if he can ever hear you:
“I just wanted you to choose me. I wanted to be someone’s first choice.”
He’s so quiet after that you think he must not have heard you.
You’re on the verge of sleep when you hear his whisper:
“There couldn’t be anyone else for me.”
જ⁀➴
EDIT: if you want to be tagged in the sequel when it’s posted, please comment “tag me please!” or some variation of THE POST LINKED HERE !! if you comment asking for a tag on this post, you will not be added to the tag list. tag lists are hard to keep track of, so please keep them all in one place !! :)
EDIT TWO: THE SEQUEL IS UP !! It is linked at the top of this post under “next” :)
I hate the way that you walk, the way that you talk I hate the way that you dress
I hate the way that you sneak diss, if I catch flight, it’s gon’be direct
LIVE BAU REACTION:
Me at 3am clicking “keep reading” on the most jaw dropping, earth shattering, pantie dropping, smutty fic when I have to be up in 3 hours
red hood! geto suguru x reader | 18+, batman au
cw: blood, slight violence, graphic content, mentions of guns/bullets
Is this how he was going to die—again?
Suguru thought, leaning against the grimy walls of the ally way, painted in all kinds of piss and vomit from strangers after a drunk night out. A gloved leather hand clutching onto the gaping bullet wound in his side, blood seeping through his fingers.
Of course, he could always call Satoru—or even him. But Suguru's ego wouldn't allow that. He'd rather eat shit and glass before even thinking of calling his deadbeat adoptive dad.
Suguru felt like he was hallucinating, or maybe the blood loss was finally getting to his head. Because even in this state, all he could think about was you.
His helmet-clad head leaning against the brick wall as he feels lightheaded, thoughts clouded by your honey-sweet lips and soft hands. Thoughts of how you would take care of him, his every bruise and cut with your featherlight touch and sweet kisses. Lips pressed against his scarred skin, with a promise to "help it heal faster."
Never once did you question where—or how—he got them. And yet, with each new injury, you became worse at concealing the worry in your eyes, or the furrow of your brows every time he came to your care.
It was selfish of him to rope you into his life. But even now, clad in his Red Hood gear, bleeding out in a filthy ally, Suguru Geto wanted to be selfish.
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They match each other's freak
Old money!Gojo Satoru spoils you with so many rings every other week that by the time he presents you with your wedding ring, you’re just waving him off like “aw, that’s nice, honey.” You’ve never had to console a grown man like that your entire life (you said yes either way though.)
𝄞No tengo idea que estoy haciendo. Disfruta lo que leas aquí, comenta y comparte ^^
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