[A.N: Ok soo this is just a little blip I wrote in my free time. I am probaly going to extend this to a full story, like a case where Maggie is involved. Tell me what you think! Reviews are appreciated and encouraged! I am open to ideas about what I should do with this plot. Enjoy I guess! :D ]
Oh, and I've edited the time they met to fit the story I am currently working on :P hope that doesn't your opinion o.o
It was a pretty average summer day; a few fluffy white clouds were scattered across the Virginia sky, but not enough to obstruct the golden sun that warmed the earth. A silent breeze cooled the air, making the day's heat less intense for the people at the outdoor café.
Spencer sat at a lone table, a pile of four books sitting next to his messenger bag on the glass surface. In his hands, he held a fifth book, running his 3rd finger down the text on the left side, then the right, and proceeded to turn the page. He repeated the process.
A young waitress came from around the counter with a tray in hand. Weaving through tables smoothly, she approached where the agent sat. Her skin was tanned, which contrasted beautifully with her dark hair, falling in soft curls on her shoulders and bouncing with her steps. Bright blue eyes wandered to the pile of books on the table next to the young doctor, which forced the kindest smile to emerge from her soft lips.
When she reached the table, Spencer didn't even notice. This wasn't unusual behavior. Maggie knew that he kind of drifted off into his own world when he read. The environment around him vanished, the people, the noise, it all disappeared, and he was no longer on earth. He was, well, wherever the books wanted to take Spencer Reid. And Spencer obliged.
Maggie set a white glass cup filled with a dark, bitter-sweet liquid on the table by his books. While doing so she smiled and asked, "Good book?"
Spencer took a few seconds to come out of his daze. His finger slowed on the page. Is someone talking to me?
Maggie held the circular tray and mouthed 'three, two, one', her eyes moving up and head bobbing side to side with the numbers. Cue the doctor! And as if on command, Spencer looked up at her with squinted brown eyes. "I'm sorry? Oh! Heh, yeah, very good actually," was his belated response.
Maggie gave a small laugh. "What is it?"
"A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare," he said. "I've read it two times before but it's been a while."
"I thought you had an eidetic memory!" Maggie said teasingly, cocking her head.
"Oh I do. I could recite it actually, I just, um, we-well it's Shakespeare," he said, not real sure how to explain himself reading it a third time. "And I consider it to be a classic? Well I suppose most people do really, but—."
"Spencer," Maggie interrupted. Reid looked up at her. "I'm kidding."
Reid tightened his lips and looked down at his book, and Maggie couldn't prevent a smile from breaking at the genius's awkwardness. They'd known each other for qite some time now, three years, but he still showed signs of insecurity. On weekends he didn't have a case to fly to, he would go there in the afternoon, order some coffee, and read for a couple of hours, coincidentally during Maggie's weekend shift. Their first encounter flooded back to her.
ooooooooooo
Maggie set a tray on the side of the table, removing cups of various drinks to give to the four people sitting there. She said nothing, not wanting to interrupt their conversation, and walked back to the open counter at the edge of the small square.
A few minutes passed. She checked her watch; ten minutes till her break. Time couldn't move any slower. Maggie looked out over the sea of customers, seeing if there were any that were coming in or she had missed somehow, ready to serve. She found her shift went faster when she was serving, still slow though.
Finally, someone walked into the square. He was tall, with brown hair that curled on the ends but stayed well away from his face. He wore a black button-down cardigan and dress pants, a brown messenger bag slung across his chest. He walked in slowly, observing the open area with quiet eyes before deciding to sit at a table, like a puppy that was unsure about the new world he had entered.
Maggie moved quickly to the table, reaching into the pouches that came with her uniform and drawing out a pen and pad to take the man's order. Before she'd even gotten there, he'd crossed his ankle over his knee, pulled out a thick book from his bag and began to read at a ridiculously fast pace. Okay, she thought. That's a little weird.
She reached the table. "Good afternoon, sir. Can I be of service to you?" she asked out of habit. He didn't respond.
Well that's ok, Maggie thought. It's happened before. No big deal. She waited for the man to see her. But his fingers kept running along the pages, turning them when necessary. His eyes never looked up from the page.
Maggie looked around the café for a second. She didn't know why. Maybe to see if there was anyone else she could go to while she waited? But there wasn't, so her attention turned back to her customer.
Her patience started to wear out. She cleared her throat. Nothing. She cleared it again, louder this time. The man's finger slowed on the page until it came to a stop, his brow bending down slowly, like he felt something was wrong. After about three seconds though, his puppy-like brown eyes looked up at her and grew wide. He uncrossed his legs quickly and started apologizing.
"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, I didn't..um I was just..I didn't know anyone was going to um.. h-how long have you been there, exactly?" he stammered, setting his book on the table. Maggie could see the title now, although she didn't understand it. Divina Commedia di Dante was printed on the brown cover in gold letters.
"Not long, sir. It's completely fine," Maggie said, flashing a forced smile. The man gave a tightlipped grin and suddenly showed a great interest in the floor. Maggie did the same, though he couldn't see, and waited a second before repeating the question she asked earlier.
"Oh. Uh, yeah actually. Could I get some black coffee perhaps?" he said, repositioning himself in the seat. Maggie nodded and walked off. That was…interesting.
When Maggie got the coffee and was on her way back to the table, she saw the man reach for his phone. As he reached into his back pocket, his cardigan got pushed back a little bit, revealing a silver revolver in its holster at his side.
Maggie stopped in her tracks, eyes wide. He had a gun. He had a gun. She almost turned to go tell someone before she saw the golden badge on his belt, and she relaxed. Oh. He's a good guy.
"Reid... Yeah… Ok… Yeah, I'll be right there. No problem," he said with a sigh, looking up at Maggie. "See you there."
Maggie reached the table when 'Reid' stood up and reached into his pants pocket. "I'm so sorry, ma'am," he said hastily. "I have to go." The young sir retrieved a five dollar bill and placed it on the tray Maggie was still holding and started walking away.
Maggie turned around quickly, startled at the amount she was given. "Sir, don't you want change? This is more than twice the amount owed plus tip!"
"Have it on me…" he said, barely turning his head and rushing through the maze of tables. He kept his head low and brow furrowed as he left the café area. He looked genuinely concerned about something.
Maggie frowned and looked down at the bill. She never got tips. Not this big. She wasn't sure if he was being sweet on her, or he was just in such a hurry that he didn't have time to receive change.
Maggie decided she didn't care. It was her break anyway. She sat down on the opposite side of the table and sipped the hot coffee. She never got tips…
ooooooooooo
Maggie smiled at the comforting memories of the following times she'd seen the genius at the café and looked back down at Spencer, who was still avoiding eye contact and now showing great interest in the hem of his sleeve. She decided to change the subject.
"How's the team doing?" she inquired. That got his attention.
"Oh, fine I think. The last case we had was, uh, definitely unnerving for all of us but we're recovering."
"Good, good…"
They waited in silence for a little bit. Maggie waited for an eternity. She waited for the question, the simple words she had been wanting to hear for so long, but it never came. How hard was it to ask a girl if they wanted a drink?
Maggie finally gave up and sighed silently. "Well, enjoy the coffee, I have to go. See you later I guess." And she walked off, disappointed in him—in herself—for the millionth time. At the last second though…
"Maggie?.." She turned around quickly to see Spencer standing up and moving to her, hands stuffed in his pockets. He looked up at her, squinting because of the sun, and took a deep breath.
"I was uh, wondering… when do you get off today?" he asked shyly. It was happening. It was finally happening! Maggie could hardly contain herself as she turned to face him directly and answered, "Six. Why?"
Spencer rubbed the back of his neck and looked down. "Well I was just wondering that, if you wanted, we could, I don't know? Go get a—cup of coffee together? Or dinner? I was just thinking. After all this time we've known one another we've never really hung out. Not that it's required or anything, and you might actually find it really creepy but—"
"Are you asking me out?" she interrupted. Maggie couldn't contain her smile anymore.
Spencer snapped his gaze back to her. "What? No, no, no—not- not if you don't want me to…"
"Spencer," she said. "I do. I do want you to."
Spencer laughed a little and looked her right in the eyes for the first time in a while, and answered, "Great! Um, great. So.. where do you want to go?"
"How about we go for a drink? I'm around coffee all day and I haven't had something different in a while. I know a place. That ok?" Maggie suggested.
"Oh yeah, sure! Sorry, I didn't even consider that you might not want to go for coffee. Makes perfect sense." He added an embarrassed laugh.
Maggie looked at him for a second, finally content with the world. "No, it's fine! I appreciate the offer."
They stood in silence for a moment, Spencer staring at the ground, Maggie staring at him. No words could describe her joy in that moment. Three long years of working at that café and watching him come in and out. Three years of getting to know this awkward, intelligent, clever, perfect genius from the FBI and wishing he would hint that the feeling she felt was mutual. Three years of reading the books he recommended and discussing them the next time they met, glad she could share something with him. And three extremely long years of secretly loving Dr. Spencer Reid.
It all paid off in this moment.
Spencer cleared his throat and shifted on his feet. "Oh! Here." He went over to his bag and brought out a piece of paper and pen, scribbling something on it. When Maggie saw what it was, she brought out her own paper pad and pen and wrote. They exchanged numbers.
Maggie told Spencer the place she had in mind for the date and they said their see-you-laters. Maggie walked back to the counter calmly, like it was a regular work day, so her superiors couldn't tell she was overly excited. They didn't take too well to happiness among workers.
She walked to the kitchens, where it was unusually empty, and let her joy show just a little before entering a pantry in the back. Closing the door behind her, Maggie took in a deep breath, covered her mouth, and squealed. This then led to laughing, then a series of quiet phrases like, "Finally"; "Oh, I can't believe that just happened"; "Wait till I tell Jessica".
She sat down on a small stool when the door opened. A fellow worker with blonde hair in a ponytail looked down at her and smiled. "I saw…" like she was waiting for an explanation.
"Oh Jess! We're going for drinks tonight!" she leaped into Jessica's arms. "He asked me out! He asked me out!" And Jessica squealed with her in pure delight for her friend. They stood in the closet for a while, Maggie telling Jessica all about what had just happened at the table, not caring that it was still their shift and they were losing tips every minute.
Nothing mattered. Because Maggie had a date.
Maggie had a date with Spencer Reid.