Work Text:
you sit on the couch of your apartment. you nurse a glass of water as you take a peek at the clock, noticing that your boyfriend, spencer reid isn’t home yet. you’ve been up waiting for him all day since he called and told you this case was completed. you could tell from his voice on the phone that it took a lot out of him. you were prepared to make him feel safe and loved.
at four in the morning, you hear the door unlock, causing you to jolt up from the couch. it’s spencer though, he looks exhausted. at first he doesn’t even notice you standing in front of him.
“spence?” you whisper, voice raspy from sleep.
he looks at you and smiles softly, nodding. “hi… it’s me, i’m sorry i wasn’t home when i said i was going to be. we uncovered more information and —“
“shhhh…” you step closer to him and look into his eyes. “just relax… i’ll take care of you. no case talk, at least for tonight okay?”
he nods and sets his bag down, kicking off his shoes. “i had dinner plans, but you didn’t show up so i canceled…”
“im so sorry…” he whispers, looking at his feet.
you wrap your arms around him and bury your face in his chest. “baby… it’s okay… i can make us some pasta?”
“it’s late… maybe we should just go to sleep.” he pulls away from your embrace and walks in the direction of your bedroom.
“doctor spencer reid, do not walk away from me! i don’t care how late it is! i promised to take care of you after a tough case, i promised jj especially, im not letting you walk away like this…”
he stops and turns around, looking at you with tears forming in his eyes. “i’m sorry…”
you nod and take your hands in his. “i laid out pajamas on the bed for you. but first im going to draw you a bath. then we’ll have pasta and go to sleep watching whatever foreign film you want okay?”
he cracks a smile and nods. you head into the bathroom and start a warm bath, adding bubbles to the water. spencer walks in slowly, taking off his clothes and putting them gently in the laundry basket, the pajamas are set on the counter. you can’t help but look over his body, he’s gained a lot of muscle, but he’s still the tall and lanky man you fell in love with.
he steps into the tub and sinks in to the best of his ability. his long legs don’t fit, so his knees and calves stick out. a plastic cup from the kitchen is filled as you take water out of the faucet and dump it gently over spencer’s head. his hair is short, in that “boyband cut” as hotch called it. you run shampoo first through his hair and use the cups of water to rinse it out, and repeat with conditioner. his eyes are closed and he has his arms wrapped around his knees.
“you look like a little kid spence.” you say, cracking a smile.
he opens an eye and almost glares at you, but then closes the eye and smiles softly. “mhm.”
you let him sit in the water until he’s practically shivering, draining the tub and helping him stand. he’s a bit shaky as you dry him off, which he is ashamed of, but you argued with him and told him you wanted to take care of him.
he dresses himself and you walk into the kitchen, starting to boil the pot of water for the pasta. you hear the floor creak and spencer behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your shoulder.
“thank you for the bath. it was amazing.” he whispers, and walks into the living room.
you smile and look at him on the couch, since you can see him as you cook. “tomato sauce or alfredo?”
“you pick.” he says, eyes drawn onto the early morning news.
“i do have vodka sauce i think.” you mutter to yourself, standing on your tip-toes to reach it in the cabinet.
thankfully, you pull it down without the glass shattering and the rest of the meal goes smoothly. looking at the clock you let out a laugh. “pasta at five in the morning…”
spencer stands up and walks back into kitchen, sitting at the small table in the space. he inspects the red wine on the table. “no wine, just a juice please.”
plating your dishes, you nod and set them in your places, fork and knife already placed. he thanks you and you go to the fridge, getting both of you juices.
handing it to him, he smiles. “i love you… thank you for all of this, i’m sorry i wasn’t back when i said.”
you take a sip of the juice and shake your head. “baby, it’s alright. as long as you’re here now.” you take a bite of the pasta and smirk up at him. “oh, i guess i love you too.”