Chapter Text
“You’re staring again,” Garcia whispered behind you, causing you to jump. It had been the third time that month she’d caught you, you swore you were just lost in thought, but she never bought it for a second. “Yeah, sure, lost in thought about a particular boy genius maybe.” She nudged your shoulder as she leaned against your desk. Groaning, you closed your eyes, knowing Garcia didn’t plan on leaving you alone this time.
You loved her, you really did. She was quick to take you under her wing when you first joined the BAU, and for that, you were forever grateful. If there was one thing you found nerve-racking, it was navigating new territory. But within the last few months, she began to notice your lingering glances.
It would be a lie to claim you hadn’t been looking forward to working with Spencer, ‘the boy genius’ as Garcia put it. But you’d been looking forward to meeting the whole team, worried in fact. You had heard how tight-nit they were and fitting in hadn’t always been your strong suit. However, once Garcia swooped in, everything else seemed to fall into place and the team quickly made room for you. The only problem was that maybe you’d gotten along a little too well with them, mainly a particular someone who’d talk your ears off if he could. And if Garcia was able to see it, that meant everyone could probably see it.
“Relax,” She sighed, noticing your shoulders tense. “You’re not being obvious about it, I don’t think anyone’s noticed…yet.”
“Yet?” Your wide eyes snapped towards her.
“Ah, so you admit it.” A smile began to creep at the corners of her mouth, she could be so sneaky some times. If it wasn’t near 12am, you would have tried to push her out, afraid of anyone overhearing your conversation, the first thing you learned while working here was that gossip had a tendency to spread like wildfire. But the bullpen was near empty save the two of you and Reid across the room, filling up his third cup of coffee, seemingly in another world. You always wondered where his mind went when he was left to his own devices.
“Garcia, it’s late and I’ve spent hours trying to finish up this paperwork, that plus my lack of sleep, it’s no wonder you’ve found me gazing. I’ve probably learned to sleep with my eyes open and just haven’t realized it yet.” You said with a laugh in an attempt to humor her. Narrowing her eyes, Garcia bit the side of her mouth and in that moment, you knew you messed up.
“You know, if you’re so tired, you probably shouldn’t be driving home.” Before you could rebuttal, she was sealing your fate. “Hey, Spencer.” She called across the room, drawing him out of his mind and over to you. “Y/n is practically falling asleep at her desk, I told her she should really go home and get some sleep, but she’s too exhausted to drive and I can’t take her.” She barely finished her sentence when Spencer opened his mouth.
“Oh, well I can take her home, I was just about to leave anyway.” His gaze shifted to you now, adding. “That is if it’s alright with you.”
“I-I don’t want to burden you, I’m sure I can drive.”
“You’re not a burden,” Spencer stated as if it was obvious, flashing you a quick smile before he began to down what little coffee he had left. “Besides, your apartment is on my way and it’s dangerous to drive while drowsy.” He pointed out, moving to pack up his things.
“Thanks,” Returning his smile, you turned back to your desk to clean up. “You smart son of a bitch.” You muttered under your breath towards Garcia.
“Don’t say I never did anything for you.” She whispered, grinning before heading back to her office.
“Are you ready?” Reid asked, walking back towards you with his satchel and jacket.
“As I’ll ever be,” You sighed, putting away one last file before grabbing your belongings.
The two of you walked in silence for a moment, something that was slightly unusual, since he knew he could talk to you without being told to be quiet, but it wasn’t altogether uncomfortable. And It was rather late. But you missed his rambling, it was one of the first things that made you begin to fall for him. It was amazing how many tangents he could get into when he went on uninterrupted, mainly you just found what he had to say fascinating. The two of you had a lot of similar interests, you were quick to realize. However, you were most intrigued by his knowledge of statistics or other various random facts he had stored in his ever-growing mind. On top of this, the thing you loved most about his rambling, is how it never felt like he was talking down to you or trying to explain, just simply sharing information he felt you might enjoy. You should have known the silence wouldn’t last, the moment the two of you reached the car, he began to talk.
“Did you know that it’s estimated that there are up to 6,000 fatal crashes each year due to sleep-deprived drivers?” Spencer asked as he began making his way down the nearly deserted streets. “There was even a study done that estimated 1 in 25 adult drivers admitted to falling asleep at the wheel in the previous 30 days. And it’s actually a major problem in the United States.”
“I had no idea,” You answered honestly, though you knew it wasn’t safe to drive while tired, you had never realized it was that big of an issue.
“Yeah, it’s really interesting actually, driving while sleep deprived was even proven to be just as bad as drunk driving.” The soft sound of the air conditioner began to blend in with the ticking of his blinker and his gentle voice, causing you to yawn, drawing one out of him as well. He paused before changing the subject. “You’d tell me if you were having nightmares again, right?” Spencer asked, glancing at you before focusing back to the road.
It was one of the first things that the two of you bonded over, it hadn’t taken long after joining the BAU for the horrific things you saw on the daily to seep into your dreams. You guessed Spencer had recognized the lack of sleep on your face, the dark circles getting darker with every case like bags you couldn’t put down, but desperately tried to conceal.
He’d told you about his nightmares, so you shared your own. Pretty soon the two of you grew into the habit of texting the other when it got bad, then texting when you actually had a nice dream, then texting just to say hi. Which then turned into the two of you hanging out on your free weekends. It made sense that you’d become friends, being the two youngest on the team. Though some days, your mind couldn’t help but wonder if he was just being polite.
“Yes, I would tell you.” You nodded your head.
“Promise?”
“Pinky,” Sticking your pinky out for him to link with his own, he complied, a soft smile appearing on his face. You both lingered for a moment before you finally pulled back, the contact suddenly becoming too much.
“I guess you’ll be needing a ride to work since you left your car,” He pointed out. “I’ll pick you up at seven?” Spencer asked as he made one final turn before reaching your apartment.
“I’d really appreciate that.” You said in earnest as you began digging for your keys, thankful to be home, but sad to be going. Another yawn escaped him. “Are you sure you’re good to drive?” A simple question, but the implications felt too heavy on your tongue as you rested your hand on the door handle. Are you really about to invite him inside? To spend the night?
“Don’t worry about me,” He waved you off with a small smile in an attempt to reassure you. “I’m only a couple of minutes from my place.” With that, you opened the door, slipping out before turning around, bending over to see him.
“Well, thanks for driving me home Spence, I appreciate it.”
“No problem, let me know when you’ve made it into your apartment.”
“Same goes for you.” You replied, trying not to read into it, he was just a concerned friend,…a concerned colleague. “Goodnight, Dr. Reid.” He was definitely going to read into you calling him that. Good going.
“Goodnight, y/n.” He returned as you closed the car door and began walking towards your apartment.
Making your way through the building, you unlocked your door and swiftly stepped inside, making sure to lock It back up the second you closed it, checking your home for any signs of an intruder before letting your guard down with a sigh. Sending a text to Spencer, you noticed a notification from Penelope.
How are things going? - Penelope Garcia
Shaking your head, a faint blush began to creep its way across your face.
I’m home safe…and alone. Goodnight, Penelope. - y/n
You sent the text before placing your phone down on your bed as you began changing, your body begging to lay down and drift off into oblivion. The screen lit up with two texts, drawing your attention.
Good, so am I. See you in a few hours. - Spencer Reid
And
I guess we’ll just have to work on that. Sweet dreams, y/n ;) - Penelope Garcia
With a slight groan, you fell face-first into bed, sighing at the way it molded around you. You were hopeful that by next week, Garcia will have moved onto something more enticing, but the skeptic in you knew it would take something big to pull her focus away from you. Little did you know that that something was just around the corner.