Disclaimer: I own nothing Criminal Minds related!
A/N: Just a short little Reid centric oneshot I wrote while I was bored.
He knew he was young, at least younger then the majority of FBI agents, he knew he wasn't as well versed in social situations as Morgan, sometimes his genius level IQ got in the way more then helped, and maybe he could be a bit blind to certain aspects of common social interaction, but he still saw a whole lot more then people gave him credit for.
He knew, for example, about how Morgan tended to sneak off during lunch breaks into Garcia's bunker and show up an hour later much more relaxed. He saw how the corner of Hotch's lips twitched up ever so slightly when he was peering out his office window and looking down into the bullpin. He even noticed how Emily would occasionally look up at the same time and meet the team leader's eyes in an understanding look.
And, whether people believed it or not, he wasn't completely inept with the opposite sex. He may not be as smooth as Derek Morgan or as charming as David Rossi, but he had his own brand of charm. JJ had once told him that, while he didn't pick up many girls, the ones he had were the ones worth keeping.
But that was besides the point. The main thing was that he wasn't as naïve as he was when he first started at the BAU or as naïve as some people assumed he still was. Oh no, Spencer Reid had grown up quite a lot over the years. Not by choice and not in the blink of an eye. It was a slow, gradual process that very few people seemed to notice. Even he didn't notice it at first.
It really dawned on him how much he'd changed on a day similar to today. All was relatively quite in the BAU. No heart wrenching case, just the pull-out-your-own-hair type of telephone consults. At one point Morgan's cell phone had rung with the oh so familiar tune that indicated Garcia was summing him.
The other agent had stretched, obviously pleased about the distraction, and casually answered the phone. Within two minutes he was getting up and heading for the hallway with a highly amused grin on his face. JJ, who had been handing out files in the bullpen, made a whipping noise as Morgan walked by, earning a chuckle from Emily and a gentle shove from Morgan who continued on his way generally unaffected.
That was when Reid realized he didn't need to ask what that odd noise meant or why it was funny. He already knew. He understand the reference that it implied and it was at that point when he suddenly wondered when he had obtained this new knowledge. After a few seconds consideration he'd shrugged it off and got back to work.
No one noticed it, no one pointed out this new understanding of things once foreign to him, and even he didn't dwell on it. But the fact still remained...he had grown. He was still the same person with the same characteristics, but his insights had expanded without him even realizing when, how, or why. It just happened.
And he liked the feeling of being included and the sense of belonging it brought. It was only later he realized that he had evolved as a person because of those he now felt a part of. The team, his friends and family, had been an essential stepping stone in his personal development. He knew and understood them as well, if not better, then he did himself.
That was why, as he sat in the bullpen watching other agents working steadily, he also knew he could never leave. The team had become his 'in-group', his closest friends and his extended family. This bullpen was his home away from home, even his comfort zone if he really thought about it. Because this is where he fit it and this was why he was forced to grow up…to become more then just facts and statistics.
He might change over the years, grow in character and intelligence, but in the end it didn't matter. He was Spencer Reid, member of the unbreakable BAU team and forever a member of the BAU family.
A/N: What do you think? Review please!