Work Text:
It was after lunch, you weren’t particularly hungry, but some coworkers from another unit invited you to a new cafe, and you could never say no to a cup of coffee. But it didn’t go as smoothly as you had hoped. Ridden with embarrassment, you rushed out of the elevator, holding yourself tight. Not ready to get back to your desk and stare at paperwork that won’t fill itself out, you make your way to the table in the tiny communal kitchen.
With a small huff, you sat down and buried your face in your hands. You didn’t even order a coffee, you just left early, excusing yourself over a fake issue.
Having seen you come back, Reid followed you to the kitchen. “You okay?”
You could feel yourself starting to go nonverbal. If it were anyone else, talking would have been too much to bear. But seeing him sit down in front of you and place his hand on yours, tears started to form in your eyes.
“It’s just so hard sometimes” you managed to croak out in a whisper
His eyes softened, biting his lip, squeezing your hand to encourage you to go on, unsure of what to say in this moment
“I just…” you let out a big sigh
“I just hate that I don’t understand and I hate that people act so mean”
He knew you were like him, it had come up one day as a random comment that you and him were the same on paper, despite seeming so different in person
You continued to vent “like, why did they look at me like that? It’s not like I said anything different than them, but somehow coming from me it’s wrong? Somehow I missed something vital that no one will explain. I’m so tired of having to guess what appropriate or hide so much of myself because who I am isn’t acceptable”
By now, tears were streaming down your face, Reid pulled his chair closer to yours and pulled you into a big hug, he resonated with every word, every painful bit of confusion, every wrong breath that made everyone look at him like he was some alien. He could ignore it sometimes, feigning ignorance, or simply changing the subject. But he couldn’t deny that even his closest friends made him feel so isolated sometimes. That they looked at him in a way that made him want to hide away forever. He knew he was weird, too smart for his own good, had too many emotions, too much interest in seemingly unacceptable things to be interested in. Sometimes it was too hard to bear alone, a fact he knew all too well.
He let you cry it out in his chest, holding you tight, knowing there were no better words right now than to just exist in silence. You both understood, neither of you needed words to understand. But with each other to lean on, it was safe to say that you no longer had to face this cold world alone.