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The thought hadn't really crossed Penelope's mind that she could have been anything other than okay; She was the BAU's queen of happiness, the love carried upon them from a golden chariot, the one people could depend on whenever they needed someone to go to.
They smiled when she smiled, and they laughed along to her jokes whenever they got on calls with her. It was what her life had been structured on until this point.
It was only natural that this mindset of hers would crash when she met Dr. Spencer Reid.
Dr. Spencer Reid was from another unit – one that the BAU unfortunately worked with frequently.
They were the best agent that the Crimes Against Children Unit had to offer. One of the brightest minds, and she honestly still can’t believe that they have an IQ of 187. That amount of intelligence felt so far away from her abilities that Penelope almost felt distant whenever she worked with the doctor.
But there was another thing about them, other than their almost freakish smarts; They were vulnerable. Maybe it was from their job, but Penelope could tell that Dr. Spencer Reid had the biggest heart, almost as big as hers. They’ve cried, they’ve comforted, and most importantly they’ve been there for every child that they have ever saved –
Maybe it was that that made Penelope warm up.
Which led to this.
An almost comforting ending to the rough case that she had been subjected to. There was always something about her being on the field, but the moment she stepped off the jet, everything about the case went haywire.
Her team didn’t even profile the unsub to be a mass shooter, but he was, and he had almost shot her team to death.
Spencer held her close to their chest, their leg comfortingly wrapping around her waist as she cried rivers into their button up. “Shh – it’s okay Penny. You’re doing so good, being so strong for me. It’s alright okay? Your team’s back at Quantico and they’re worried for you, It’s okay.” they mumbled against her hair, pressing a soft and tender kiss at her scalp as she sniffed wetly.
She almost felt bad with the way she leaned into the gentle touch, and with the way they only hummed and pulled her closer when she did, made her want to tear up. It was a strange existence, usually she was in this position and not the other way around.
It almost felt wrong, in a sense.
Penelope took a deep breath, her voice cracking as she did, almost painfully so. “It’s – this isn’t how it was supposed to go. I’m supposed to be the one comforting here!” She complained against their grips, hesitantly pulling away to look at her friend’s face, and she burned in shame as they only gave the most comfortable smile.
She shook her head. “No – I – I’m not used to this.” She whispered, placing her head against Spencer’s lap as her breath started quickening once again. The careful caress of Spencer’s hand was the only thing keeping her sane at this point; she loved the feeling of physical touch.
She had longed for it as equally as she loved it.
“That’s unfortunate. Everyone should be used to being comforted. It’s one of the most simple gestures in life.” Spencer muttered, running their hand on her hair soothingly. “Even I grew up with being comforted. My mother always read to me whenever I had panic attacks.”
Penelope flushed as a thought came to her mind, “My father … uhm, used to sing me songs whenever I was having a bad time.” She trailed off, not finishing her sentence yet they seemed to have gotten the request like lightspeed.
They always did. Another perk of being smart.
They trailed their hands to her shoulders, before pushing her away enough to stare at her. Not in the eyes, thankfully, not in the eyes. “Do you want me to sing you a song, Penny?” They asked curiously, in which Penelope only nodded bashfully.
They chuckled, “Alright. I don't have the best singing voice so I'll sing a nursery rhyme, okay?” they teased lightheartedly, causing her to huff amused.
She went on and joked, “I’ve heard you sing before, It was horrible.” but she found that she didn’t mind.