Work Text:
The team is gathered in the conference room, seated around the table, with case files scattered in front of them. She sits shoulder-to-shoulder with Penelope, who has her laptop open in front of her.
He’s gone on a usual Spencer-style rant about the significance of pillowcases or something equally random. She's too entranced by the way he motions with his hands and sporadically licks his lips while he talks to remember what his rambles even regard.
Spencer is suffocating in the boredom emanating from his colleagues. Emily nods along without really listening and says, “That’s nice, Reid.”
"What're you on about, man?" comes from Derek.
It's like he has no control over his mouth when this happens. He can tell that his colleagues aren't interested in what he has to say, but a part of him thinks that if he just keeps talking, then eventually he'll say the magic words that'll get everyone engaged.
He only feels worse when he sees her giggling with Penelope. “Blah blah blah, proper name, place name, backstory stuff,” she lowly says in a sing-song tone, and Penelope only laughs harder.
She doesn't know that Spencer could hear her.
He wishes he knew how to do disappearing tricks so he could evaporate into thin air. He can handle the rest of the team ignoring him or making jokes at his expense. He can handle it when the teasing comes from literally anyone... except for her.
He cuts himself off mid-rant. averts his gaze to the floor, and feels heat spreading up his cheeks and into his hairline. Pretending to fiddle with the file in front of him, he mentally begs for literally anyone else to start talking.
Daring to look up at her one last time, his lips fall apart in shock. If he didn’t know any better, he would define the look in her eyes as doting? Maybe even fond? But she was just making fun of him, so that can’t be the case.
Spencer talks as little as possible throughout the rest of the briefing. He furiously scribbles down his thoughts in place of speaking them out loud. Having retreated into his head, he doesn't notice when the team has scattered elsewhere, leaving him alone with her, until he hears her sweet voice right next to him.
"You okay, Spence?" She's sat right next to him now and has her hands folded in her lap, her eyes slanted with concern. He hates how his heart palpitates in reaction to her being in his proximity.
He sets down his pen and takes his time aligning it with the edge of the manila folder, stalling before he deeply sighs. "I know that I talk a lot, probably too much, and I'm sorry that it annoys you, but please don't make fun of me..." He's still fiddling with his pen, unable to make eye contact with her. "At least don't do it right in my face, I'd almost rather you did it behind my back..."
"Wait, what?" She wants to reach out to steady his trembling hand, but she refrains, in fear of adding to his current turmoil. Turning so she's fully facing him, she ducks her head to try to sincerely meet his eyes, "I've never made fun of you, at least not on purpose."
He finally meets her gaze, and her heart sinks at the sadness drenching his pupils. "I heard you mocking me with Penelope."
Her cheeks flush pink, knowing that he heard her gushing to Penelope. A small smile teases her lips as her eyes dart around the room, not knowing how to describe what she was referencing. "I promise, I was not mocking you. I was quoting this meme that's floated around on TikTok. I don't even know what it's from, but people use it on videos about their crushes." She nibbles at her lower lip, hoping he doesn't dawdle on the last part of her explanation. Unsurprisingly, nothing gets past Spencer Reid.
"...their crushes?" His eyebrows dart upward, and he struggles to suppress his excitement at what she's implying. He still doesn't understand why people would say that about someone they like; it doesn't seem like a very nice thing to do.
"Look, um... You looked really cute when you were talking. I lost track of what you were even talking about because I was so distracted by you." She's searching his eyes for any signs of discomfort, reciprocity, anything at all. He still looks shocked, so she frantically adds on, "I can't believe I just admitted that to you – this is really embarrassing. Just please know that I wasn't making fun of you."
"Ohhh... so people say the proper name, place name, backstory stuff as placeholders because they've gotten too distracted to remember what their crush was saying?" Of course, his priority is understanding this new concept. He can't go on living in the land of unknowing for long.
"Sometimes, yeah, or it's like they think that their crush is so attractive that they could be saying anything at all, and they would still just be focused on their... attractive...ness." She tucks her hair behind both ears.
"Okay, I think I understand... so you think I'm attractive no matter what I'm talking about?"
Her short-lived relief that he had skirted around her confession comes to a screeching halt. "Um... yes. I do. But it's whatever, we don't have to talk about that." She tries to wave it off like it's nothing. "I wasn't insulting you or trying to put you down, though, that's the important part."
She nods as she finishes her sentence, like she's trying to convince herself of what she's saying as it comes out. She quickly rises from her chair to collect her belongings from the table. Holding them to her chest, she makes her way to the door. This was not how she wanted to confess her feelings to Spencer Reid, and she’s more than ready to get out of this room.
"Oh, we're wheels up in-"
"I think you're cute, too, by the way."
Their voices overlap, but Spencer's returned confession prevails.
Her eyebrows rise, and her lips part in astonishment. "What?" she breathes out.
"I said that I think you're cute too, also attractive."
"Oh, thank you, um..." She doesn't know what to do from here. Should she ask him on a date? Should she run over and kiss him? The latter is definitely not the proper thing to do while they're at work, but his admission has turned her brain to mush. She wonders if the heat on her face is capable of permeating her skull to melt her cerebrum. She can’t think properly; he’s reverted her mental functions to those of a teenage girl.
"Would you want to get coffee with me sometime? You could show me those... memes? If you want?" He's worrying at his bottom lip, hoping that accusing her of taunting him hasn't ruined his chances.
She smiles and nods fanatically, "I would really like that."