A/N Ahoj, my dear readers! It's me, that one chick who's a bitch about updating! Here I am with the ONE AND ONLY (drumroll please)
30
DAY
OTP
CHALLENGE
REIVER EDITION!
Now, there is a sad lack of Reiver fics in the world, so I have taken it upon myself to contribute to them. This shall be my first steps to hopefully a future archive of Reiver fanfics...so LET'S DO THIS!
P.S. While I'm doing the 30 Day OTP Challenge, I will probably be ignoring my other stories, which I do already :/ So just, don't expect many updates (not that you do anyway...)
Disclaimer:
Hotch: Admit it!
Me: I- I WON'T say it!
Hotch: Do it! *fixes me with infamous Hotch glare*
Me: *sweating profusely* FINE! IdontownCriminalMindsitsallpropertyofCBS!
Lawyer: *dashes in* Agent! Thank gods I got to you! You didn't say anything, did you?
Me: Um...
Lawyer (who also happens to be my uncle): Uloo kahi ke! Agar humne tumare ma ko bata de yah to?! Zarur joote se maarage!
Me: I CAN'T WIN!
P.P.S. And also, for the purpose of this oneshot, most of the team is inept at dancing. Kapeesh?
Day 1: Holding Hands
Supervisory Special Agent Doctor Spencer Reid nervously entered the studio. He hated team-building exercises. But this one broke the maximum on the Cruelty of Erin Strauss Meter.
FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHBACK!
"Ballroom dancing?!" Morgan had burst out when Hotch delivered the news.
"I'm afraid so," Hotch said grimly. "Strauss wants us to be prepared for the annual FBI Christmas ball, and it doubles as a team building exercise too."
"B-but," Emily stuttered, momentarily at a loss for words,"I don't have to go, right? I mean, I'm a daughter of a freaking ambassador! I know how to dance!"
"Mandatory," Hotch replied.
"There has to be something we can do about it. This is completely unnecessary," Reid said, a little desperately.
The team turned to Rossi. He looked back at them. "What? Just because I'm naturally charming doesn't mean I can talk Strauss out of this."
"Well, it's obvious you and Strauss had something back in the old days," Garcia fixed Rossi with a piercing stare.
"And we know you're having a secret affair right now," Seaver added.
"So, you're naturally the best candidate," Emily concluded.
Rossi sighed. "Well, I won't deny that she was quite something back in the day," he grinned reminiscently, while the team shuddered at the thought of a young and restless Strauss and Rossi 'going at it',"But I doubt all the endearments in the world would make her change her mind. After all, if we can't dance at the ball, then it'll make her look bad."
"So, what you're saying is, there's no escape." Seaver said flatly, and Rossi nodded. "Don't worry, cara. It won't be that bad."
END FLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHBACK!
He sighed. Well, might as well get it over with.
As he walked in, the first thing he noticed was there was a huge mirror along each wall, so the reflections kept bouncing off each other into infinity. The second thing he noticed was that there was only one other person there.
"Hey, Ashley," he called.
She jumped about 3 feet in the air, and turned to face him. Visibly relaxing when she saw him, she beamed at him. "Hi, Spencer."
He just kind of stared at her for a moment, and then was jolted back to reality when she said,"So. Excited to learn how to ballroom dance?"
"Wha- Oh, oh, um, yeah. Sounds interesting. As a matter of fact, the first authoritative knowledge of the earliest ballroom dances was recorded toward the end of the 16th century, when Jehan Tabourot, under the pen name "Thoinot-Arbeau", published his Orchésographie, a study of la- I'm rambling, aren't I?" Spencer cut himself off.
Ashley laughed - it was music to his ears - and responded with, "Believe it or not, Spencer, but some people really do enjoy hearing you talk." Not that she would admit it if asked, but she found his rambling sort of adorable.
He grinned at her, causing her heart to skip. "You're one of the rare few."
"I think I'm the only one."
"True..."
A silence fell, soon broken by the door opening and Morgan, Garcia, Emily, Hotch, and Rossi streaming inside. Morgan raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "And just what are you two doing in here alone?"
Both rolled their eyes. "Some people like to be on time, Morgan," Spencer said exasperatedly. "More than what I can say for you,"
"Or our instructor, for that matter," Rossi chimed in, effectively cutting off an inevitable debate on the benefits of punctuality between Morgan and Reid as the former opened his mouth to retort.
The instructor in question entered herself at that moment, a woman who looked to be in about her mid forties.
"Hello, class!" she called brightly as she breezed in. "Sorry I'm late, my car broke down and the damn mechanic kept flirting with me, so I had to call a friend to pick me up! What a morning!"
The BAU stared back at her.
"Oh, so very sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. Aubrey Sterling, your dance instructor for today."
The BAU stared back at her.
She brushed it off. "Well, aren't we a chatty bunch? Anyway, let's all start with introductions. You can start." She nodded at Hotch.
"Aaron Hotchner."
"Emily Prentiss."
"Penelope Garcia."
"Derek Morgan."
"Ashley Seaver."
"Spencer Reid."
"David Rossi."
Aubrey scrutinized them all. She had been teaching for a long time, and she knew that sometimes, just by putting two people together, it could do a world of good. That Aaron man kept glancing at Emily, that was a no-brainer. Penelope and Derek, from the banter she had heard between them earlier, were the obvious next choice. Spencer was staring at Ashley, although he was being quite discreet. The poor boy had it bad.
"Lovely!" She smiled brightly. "Now, I'll pair you all up. Since there's an odd number, one of you shall end up with me."
The team glanced at each other, slightly fearful of who would end up with the woman of questionable sanity.
"Aaron and Emily." The brunette pair grinned at each other. "Penelope and Derek." Derek winked at Penelope, causing her to giggle. "Ashley and Spencer." Spencer looked at Ashley and blushed, while she gave him a shy smile. "David, looks like you're with me," she said, grinning flirtatiously at him. "Please, call me Dave," he replied.
"Will do," she said, saluting him.
She addressed the class at large. "Now, class, I don't doubt you all know the basics of ballroom dancing, but for the clueless, here's what to do: Boys, place your right hand on your partner's hip, and girls, place your left hand on the boy's shoulder."
Aubrey glanced around the classroom, not disappointed in what she saw. Aaron and Emily seemed to be doing well, Penelope and Derek were already throwing some innuendo back and forth, and Ashley and Spencer...she nearly laughed at their faces. Spencer's hand was barely touching Ashley's hip, and he looked like he was afraid of engaging any closer contact. Ashley looked like she was biting back a huge grin at the expense of the poor man.
"Next, clasp your partner's free hand with your own." This time, after a cursory glance at the other two pairs, Aubrey focused her attention on the youngest couple. Spencer was holding Ashley at arm's length, and grinning wickedly, she decided to toy with them a little.
"Hold your partner closely,"she called. "Spencer, Ashley, arm's length won't do at all." The pair glanced nervously at her, and inched closer to each other by about two centimeters. She sighed, let go of Dave's shoulder - "I'll be back, handsome," she winked - and marched over to the two. Surprising them both, she placed her hands on their backs and pushed. Spencer and Ashley stumbled right into each other. Perfect.
Walking back over to Dave, she clasped his hand once more. "Next, on my count, boys step with their left foot to the left, girls step right with their right foot. Follow up with your opposite foot on the next count. Got that?" The team nodded.
"One, two three." Glancing around again, Aubrey was glad this class seemed to catch on more quickly than most.
"Lovely. Now, let's start working on the whole 'dance' part."
REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!
By the end of class, the BAU was showing significant progress. Aaron and Emily seemed to be having a fine time. Penelope and Derek had been doing well since the beginning (definitely not having trouble with holding each other closely). Spencer had only stepped on Ashley's toes three times which, considering his nervousness-to-clumsiness ratio, was a huge accomplishment.
"Aaaaand that's a wrap!" Aubrey announced as the music ended with a flourish. "Well done, folks, that's the fastest I've ever had a class learn the waltz!"
Aaron, Emily, Penelope, Derek, and Dave all broke apart and congregated together next to the water station. Spencer and Ashley, however...were still clasping hands, his hand on her hip, her hand on his shoulder. They appeared to be staring at each other, lost in some sort of daze.
Aubrey chuckled to herself. They were too cute. She hated to break in, so she just stayed there and watched, setting a timer on her watch to see how long it would take for them to return to reality.
3 minutes and 42 seconds later, both blinked and, realizing that they were still standing in the middle of the dance floor, blushed. Breaking apart (Spencer seemed particularly reluctant to let go of Ashley's hand), they avoided each others' eyes and hurried over to the water station, where miraculously no one had noticed their absence.
Wait.
Too soon.
Derek clapped a hand on Spencer's back. "So, you and Seaver, huh?"
Spencer blushed deeper. "I don't know what you're talking about," he mumbled.
The muscular man chortled, about to reply when Spencer hurriedly turned away from him to the station - and to none other than the lovely Ashley Seaver.
"Oh, hi," he muttered.
"Hey," she replied in a normal tone of voice.
"Um- can I get- water-"
"Oh, right," Ashley said, stepping aside.
As he filled up the conical cup, she said conversationally,"So. Interesting class, huh?"
He looked up at her - finally making eye contact - and replied,"Yeah. Our instructor was very..."
"Perceptive?"
"You could say that, yes."
"What else were you thinking?"
"...Eccentric."
Ashley laughed, causing his heart to skip this time.
"Perceptive is, I suppose, one of the nicer ones," A voice from behind said."Eccentric, positively flattering."
Spencer spun around to see Aubrey standing behind him. "Oh- um- sorry-"
She laughed. "Don't apologize. Over time, I've learned to take it as a compliment."
Ashley piped up, "You must get that a lot, then."
"Oh, sweetie, you have no idea."
REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!REIVER!
After they finished mobbing the water station, Aubrey announced, "Class is dismissed!"
It was so reminiscent of a second-grade teacher they all laughed.
As Spencer walked to his car, he smiled to himself, thinking about how perfectly Ashley's hand had fit in his own, how right it had felt.
Little did the genius know, Ashley was thinking the exact same thing.
A/N Whoo! There we go! I can't tell how long this is, but I feel pretty accomplished right now...Sorry if the pacing is weird, or if two words don't have a space between them, something's wrong with my spacebar :P And before you ask (though I doubt you were going to in the first place), yes, Aubrey's personality is half-based off of me, despite the fact that I would NEVER flirt with David Rossi...Also, I know next to nothing about ball dancing, all my information came from Wikipedia, so sorry if it's inaccurate, I'm more of a Bollywood dancer...Well, you know the drill, click that review button and tell me what you think!