Work Text:
You walked into the bullpen with a yawn, your coffee in one hand and the one you got for Spencer in the other. You were arriving to work much earlier than usual, and you were really feeling the lack of sleep. The only thing keeping you awake was knowing you were about to see Spencer and hopefully make his morning with coffee from his favorite shop. Approaching his desk, you paused at the sight before you. There was paper–everywhere.
“It’s not even 8 in the morning, Spence,” you laughed, setting his coffee cup down on the one spot on his desk that wasn’t covered in paper. “What are you getting into?”
Appearing to have broken his concentration on the paper before him, he looked up at you and blinked in surprise. “What are you doing here so early?”
“I wanted to make sure I had enough time to grab you and I some coffee before I got here. I actually thought I’d be late.”
Your mention of coffee brought his attention to the cup you’d placed before him. He smiled softly. “You didn’t have to get me any.”
You shrugged, cheeks burning. The truth was, you’d do anything for him. You’d fallen for him years ago, and that feeling wasn’t going to go away anytime soon, no matter how hard you tried to push it away. Your heart was his. “It’s no big deal. I know you practically run on it, so.”
He nodded in agreement, taking a sip. “That is true.”
“So are you going to tell me what all this is, or am I just gonna have to guess?”
Spencer lowered his eyes sheepishly. “Oh. It’s, uh, kind of an experiment.”
Your interest was piqued. “Oh?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, um, have you heard of the legend of 1000 paper cranes?”
“I think so?” You pursed your lips in thought. It sounded familiar, but you couldn’t quite pinpoint it.
“Well, there’s a legend that says that if you fold 1000 paper cranes, your soulmate will be revealed.”
Your chest turned into a ball of anxiety at the mention of soulmates. You’d given up long ago the idea of Spencer being your soulmate. Of course, you couldn’t know for sure unless you kissed him, but there was no way you had the guts for that. It wouldn’t matter anyway, you didn’t need a kiss to confirm what you already knew–there was no way he’d ever reciprocate what you felt for him. He’d never given any indication otherwise, so a kiss would just break your heart. And because of all of that, you selfishly hoped the legend was just that: a legend, nothing more. Because you couldn’t bear to see him with a soulmate that wasn’t you.
“Oh,” you said lamely. “I see.”
“Yeah,” he said quietly.
You swallowed harshly and tried to chuckle lightheartedly. “So, you’re really gonna sit here all day and fold a thousand paper cranes?”
“Well, it’s certainly going to take longer than just a day given how busy we get with cases,” he began. “But right now I’m trying to figure out the best and fastest way to cut the paper before I start folding. I want them to be as mathematically accurate as possible to ensure it actually works.”
You smiled fondly. “Well, I hope it does work.” Internally, you were conflicted. Of course you wanted Spencer to be happy, but also, you didn’t know if you could handle it if it actually worked. To see him on a daily basis with a person that wasn’t you? The thought alone made your heart clench painfully. You sighed. “I’ll see you later?”
He smiled before turning his focus back to his paper. “See you later.”
***
About half an hour later, Hotch, Rossi and Derek walked in and exchanged looks when they saw about 30 paper cranes and shreds of paper all around Spencer’s desk.
“Reid,” Derek greeted, setting his bag down. “Do I wanna know?”
Spencer looked up and felt his cheeks turn crimson. “Uh, maybe not.”
Rossi narrowed his eyes as he took in the sight before him. “Are–this isn’t the legend of the thousand paper cranes, is it?”
Spencer’s brows raised in surprise. “How’d you know?”
“I’ve been around the block a few times, kid.”
“What is the legend of a thousand paper cranes?” Derek asked.
“It says if you fold 1000 paper cranes, your soulmate will be revealed,” Rossi explained.
Derek gave Spencer a small, fond smile when Hotch interrupted. “And you’re going to fold all of these here?”
Spencer swallowed. “Uh, I don’t have enough space at home…”
Hotch sighed, but gave him a hint of a smile. “Alright. But only in your free time–stay focused on the cases. And try to keep your area as clean as possible.”
Spencer nodded. “Yes sir. Thank you.”
Once Rossi and Hotch walked away, Derek leaned against Spencer’s desk with his arms crossed. “So. Who knew you were such a romantic?”
Spencer nervously tucked a curl behind his ear, clearing his throat but saying nothing.
Derek grinned. “I’m not makin’ fun of you, man. I think it’s sweet. But what happens if you go to all this trouble and it doesn’t work?”
“It has to work,” Spencer said with a sigh. He refused to consider any alternative.
“Hey.” Derek lightly hit his shoulder, getting his friend to look up at him. “Why? What’s goin’ on?”
Spencer furrowed his brows with a sigh and looked down at the cranes before him. “I’m just…tired of being alone.”
Derek’s face fell. “Reid, you’re not alone.”
“You know what I mean.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to do all of this, man. If you would just go to Y/N–”
“I’m not just going to go up to Y/N and kiss her,” Spencer interrupted, looking around to make sure you weren’t nearby.
Derek shook his head. “That’s not what I mean.”
“Then what is it?”
“I mean, just talk to her. You’ve been in love with her for years, so just tell her. And then you guys can give it a shot–”
“And ruin our friendship if we find out we aren’t soulmates?” Spencer interrupted once more. “I can’t, Morgan. If I kissed her and nothing happened, I–it would break my heart.” Derek said nothing, looking at his friend with concern. “And I can’t risk losing our friendship that way. This is a much safer way to figure it out.”
Derek shook his head and sighed, putting his hands up in surrender. “Alright, I give up. I hope it works.”
Spencer mumbled a thanks before returning his attention to his cranes. It was going to work. It had to.
***
A week later, Spencer had folded 950 cranes. They were everywhere–every square inch of his desk was covered, as was Derek’s (with his permission), yours (you couldn’t say no to him), and every nook and cranny around the bullpen he could find. Hotch always gave Spencer a look every time he placed a new crane, and Spencer would smile sheepishly. “I’m almost done,” he kept saying.
“So guys, about the new case–whoa,” Penelope began, stopping in her tracks at all of the origami littered around the bullpen. She blinked a few times, taking it all in. “I see Reid is almost finished with his latest project.”
“Just 50 more to go,” he responds, eyes and fingers staying focused on his 951st crane. “49 once I finish this one.”
Penelope smiled fondly. “I can’t wait. So, about the case…” Penelope continued what she was saying, and you were listening, you really were, but your thoughts were elsewhere. Your fingers gently toyed with one of the many paper cranes on your desk. You couldn’t help but smile sadly at the little piece of artwork in front of you. Such love, concentration, and care was going into every single one of his cranes. He clearly wanted his soulmate bad, and the thought made your heart ache. You wanted him to be so happy, but you would do anything for it to be with you.
“Alright, guys. Jet’s waiting.” Hotch’s voice broke through your train of thought, and you blinked. Oops. You’d missed everything he had said about the case. You’d just have to figure it out on the way there.
Standing up and making your way to the jet, you looked over at Spencer, who was begrudgingly leaving his 951st crane. You grinned to yourself and kept moving forward. Whoever his soulmate was, they were one lucky person.
***
The case came and went uneventfully, thank goodness, and you were back on the jet home. Everyone was passed out except you and Spencer, who was sitting next to you deep in thought.
“What’s goin’ on in that big, genius brain of yours?” you asked.
Spencer looked over at you and smiled softly. “Just the crane thing.”
You had figured. “What do you think will happen? When you finish the thousandth crane?”
“I don’t know,” he answered honestly. “Nobody’s really asked me about if it will work. I think they’re just assuming it won’t, and they feel bad for me.”
“Don’t say that,” you said, instinctively putting your hand gently over his. Your stomach flipped when he squeezed it. “I think they’re just worried about you.”
He shook his head. “Everybody is always worried about me. They act like I’m a baby.”
“Well, you are the baby of the team,” you pointed out, pinching his cheek. He laughed and swatted your hand away, and your heart swelled.
“I’m…nervous,” he confessed after a few moments.
You bit your lip. “Why?”
“If it doesn’t work, everything will stay the same. Am I okay with that? And what if it does work? What if it’s not the person I–” he quickly stopped himself, blinked, and tried coughing to cover up his slip-up.
“What if it’s not the person you what?” you asked, internally begging him to continue.
“Uh,” he stuttered, clearing his throat awkwardly. “Just, uh, what if it’s not the person I…expect.”
Your brows furrowed, and your heart sank. “There’s someone you’re expecting to be your soulmate?”
“No!” he said quickly, and you became even more confused. “I’m–I’m just nervous in general. Meeting your soulmate is pretty life altering.”
There was something he wasn’t telling you, but you decided to drop it. You didn’t want to keep pushing in case he ended up saying something that you really didn’t want to hear. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”
The two of you were silent the rest of the way home.
***
An hour later the team walked off the jet and back into the bullpen, everyone exhausted and yawning. Spencer, however, walked right over to his desk, sat down, and began folding.
“Reid,” Derek called, walking over to him. “It’s almost 1 in the morning, man. You’ve gotta get some rest.”
“I’m almost done,” he responded, not even looking up from his origami. “Shouldn’t take me more than 20 more minutes.”
Derek quirked a brow. “You think your soulmate is just gonna waltz through here at 1am once you’re finished?”
Spencer said nothing, fingers furiously folding.
Derek sighed but said nothing and kept walking. He was too tired to argue. “Night, Y/N,” he said, clapping a hand on your back.
“Night,” you replied with a smile. Walking over to your desk, you put all of your things down and checked a couple emails before deciding to head home for the night. “Spencer,” you said, walking over to him on your way out of the door. You placed a hand on his shoulder, and he tore his eyes away from his paper and looked up at you. “I hope it works.”
He gave you smile but the look in his eyes was almost sad. “Thanks, Y/N. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
***
Closing your car door, you sighed and rested your forehead on the steering wheel. You were tired, exhausted even, and sad. You wondered what was going to happen tomorrow morning when you walked in. Would all 1000 cranes be there? Or would he have taken them all down if it didn’t work? What if he walked in tomorrow with some random person that he claimed was his soulmate? There were too many what-ifs, and you were anxious about it all. All you wanted was to go home, get in bed, and sleep it all away. You’d worry about it tomorrow.
Reaching for your phone to check the time before you drove home, your hand came up empty. Brows furrowed, you searched all through your car and purse, and your phone was nowhere. “Damn it,” you whispered to yourself. You’d left it on your desk. With a groan, you begrudgingly got out of your car and headed back into the bullpen.
***
Spencer was on his 1000th crane, and his heart was pounding furiously. He was being ridiculous and was starting to get angry at himself. It was–he quickly looked at his watch–1:12AM, and Morgan was right. What did he think was going to happen? That someone was going to appear once he finished? No, he wasn’t being ridiculous–he was being stupid. Did he really think he was going to find out who his soulmate was by folding pieces of paper into a random shape? What on earth was he even thinking?
Fingers tucking back one final wing, he finished. One thousand paper cranes. Shaky hands placed the final crane on top of his computer, the only space not covered in cranes, and he sighed, rubbing his face. His shoulders fell, and his stomach sank. All of this work…for nothing. Embarrassing.
And then someone walked in.
***
The moment you stepped foot into the bullpen, Spencer’s head shot up from where he sat at his desk. He stared at you with wide eyes.
“I uh,” you began, brows starting to furrow as he stood up and continued to look at you with an unreadable expression, “forgot my phone.”
Spencer wordlessly began making his way towards you, his stride focused and determined. Your heart began to race as he quickly approached you. “Spencer, what–”
And then he kissed you.
You’d heard stories about what it would feel like the moment your soulmate’s lips touched yours, but none of it compared to what you were feeling the second that he kissed you. It started at your toes, an inexplicable warmth that spread slowly up through your legs, your stomach, your chest, until it honed in over your heart. If you could touch fireworks, you were certain that it would feel like kissing Spencer, only much, much better. It was everything, and nothing like you could’ve imagined.
His fingers were in your hair, your hands cupping his cheeks, and neither of you wanted to pull away until the need for air became too much. Pulling back, the tears in his eyes matched your own.
“It’s you,” he whispered, and a wide grin spread across his face.
You laughed, a joyous, tearful, laugh, and you rested your forehead against his. “It’s you,” you repeated. “I wanted it to be you so badly.”
He pulled back again to look at you in wonder. “You did?” You nodded. “Y/N, this whole process I was terrified because I wanted it to be you.”
You couldn’t believe how wrong you both had been. Neither of you could help but laugh from how unbelievably happy and giddy you were, and he kissed you again. You’d never get used to the feeling.
“How did you know it was me?” you asked.
“It worked,” he said breathlessly. You looked at him with wide, surprised eyes, and he continued, the smile never leaving his face. “You walked in as soon as I finished my 1000th crane, and it was the sign I needed. I knew then that it was you. It really worked.”
“If anyone could make it work, it’s you,” you said with a smile.
He quirked a brow. “Even an ancient legend with no science or statistics to back it up?”
You laughed, nuzzling his nose. “Even that.”
And you couldn’t wait to rub it in everyone’s faces tomorrow.