Title: Date Night
Pairing: JJ/Reid
Rating: KPLUS
Summary: Part of the Deal Breaker 'verse. JJ and Reid's date.
Author's Notes: So this happens between Chapter Four and Five of Breaking the Cycle. It's not really necessary to read to understand. JJ/Reid's date is canon, even though (rant) WE NEVER HEARD ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT IT! (/rant) but you should read the story anyways, because... it needs some love. Ch-Ch-Check it out: Breaking the Cycle Elle/Reid Elle/Morgan!

Spencer looks at his tie in the mirror before tugging it off. Elle had told him that you don't wear a tie to a movie, so he assumed that one wasn't supposed to wear a tie to a football game. What did one wear to a football game? He looks down at himself. He was wearing the jeans Elle had told him to wear, but they were a little snug. He hadn't worn them since he was in college. Ethan, a friend from that time, had made him buy them among other things that made him not look like "his grandpa." He tugs at the loops, wondering if a belt was necessary. There was no way they were going to fall down, but he remembered that his father had always worn a belt, no matter what. He chews on his bottom lip. Maybe he should change his shirt. He didn't have any other t-shirts though. Well, that wasn't true either. Before Ethan had left the academy, he had gotten him a shirt that read FBI in big letters, and in smaller letter under it it read "female body inspector." It had been a joke that Spencer hadn't thought was very funny - but Ethan had always had that sarcastic humor with him. He had another shirt, a red and black ringer t-shirt that read Expendable. It was a Star Trek joke - so he knew that Elle would kill him if he wore that shirt. He tugs on the black polo he's wearing, wondering if he should just wear a button up. Many people wore button up shirts all the time. It wasn't that big of a deal. He moves from the bathroom to grab a pinstripe button up when there's a knock on the door. He freezes briefly before checking his watch. It was 6:30. The game didn't start until 8. He gulped and moved to the door. He opened it to see JJ in a maroon and yellow jersey and jeans that clung to her hips. Her hair was up and she was smiling. He smiled, unable to resist her grin.

"Hey. Wow, you look different." She teases, looking at him. "I didn't know you owned a pair of jeans."

"I… These are my only pair." He mumbles and she smirks. He looks behind him. "Do…you want to come in?"

She smiles at the offer, but declines. "I figured we'd head to the city and eat somewhere close before heading to the stadium. The food's way more expensive inside."

He nods. "Oh Okay. That's…." He pauses, thinking. "There's a lot of restaurants not far from the stadium. There's 5...6 in the 5-mile vicinity." he begins to name them as he locks the door. She raises her eyebrows in fake-interest (He's learned the difference between the two. Raised eyebrows, forced smile - fake. Raised eyebrow, half smirk with a hint of humor in her blue eyes - real. It was a 60 - 40 ratio, averagely. With JJ, at least.)

She gets into the car and he sits in the passenger seat, wondering if he should had offered to drive. It was the more chivalrous thing to do. Drive to their destination, open her doors, pay for the event. He would definitely pay, but what if JJ didn't think this was a date. Was it a date? He looks over at her as she fiddles with the radio before shutting it off entirely. Silence feels the car and he feels like he's suffocating in it.

"Did you know a hedgehog's heart beats 300 times a minute on average. That's five times more than a human's. Well, at rest. When moving, it raises. Or when nervous.
Nervousness or anxiety can produce it's self in multiple ways. Like sweating or difficulty of breathing… even chest pain."

"Does your chest hurt?" JJ asks, turning to look at him.

His eyes widen. "No. No. I'm not nervous at all. I mean, it's just a game right. Football… Everyone likes football." He murmurs, looking out of the window. He hates football. He wishes Gideon would have gotten tickets for Hockey or…anything other than football, but that's a different story entirely. He looks back at JJ who is still looking at him. He turns his eyes to the red light they're sitting at. He swallows with difficultly before cursing himself. Difficulty of swallowing was a sign of anxiety.

"I didn't even think you would know who the Redskins were, honestly."

"I didn't." He says honestly and she laughs as she begins to drive again.

"Did you know that the term "redskins" come from as early as 1587. It was first-"

"Spence, no more facts tonight, alright?"

He nods. "Sorry."

She reaches out to ruffle his hair before she smiles at him briefly before she turns back to the road. "It's fine. Just relax. We're going to have some fun tonight."

He fixes his hair. "Okay." he says, softly.

Deal Breaker || Date Night

JJ smiles as he opens the door for her to the restaurant they've decided to go to. "Why, thank you."

He smiles before moving into the restaurant. They get seated quickly and Spencer chews on his bottom lip as he looks at the menu.

"So… Derek told me you went on a date with Elle."

He blushes. "It wasn't a date. It was just a night out with a friend. I…"

"It's cute. Do you like her?"

He frowns. "No. Of course not." He liked JJ! It had to be bad if she thought he liked Elle. "I like someone else." He flushes as soon as the words are out of his mouth,. Luckily the waitress comes to take their drink orders. He orders a coke before excusing himself.

He moves to the bathroom hallway before pulling his phone out, dialing Elle.

"Hey, cutie. What's up?" She answers.

"She thinks I like you!" He squeaks.

She laughs. "That's not a bad thing. Maybe she's just curious. Maybe she's jealous." She teases.

He straightens. "You think she could be jealous?"

She laughs again. "Don't sound so hopeful. Have you complimented how she looks?"

"No… I told her I liked someone else."

"What she say?"

"Nothing. The waitress came. What if she asks who? I can't tell her it's her!…..can I?"

She chuckles. "Oh, Spencer. How are you this clueless?"

He frowns.

"Okay, chico. This is what you're going to do. Are you listening?"

"Yes." he fiddles with his shirt. He should have worn a belt. If he wore a belt he would feel more professional. He could handle the situation if he was wearing a tie. Maybe he should tuck in his shirt.

"First, stop being so nervous. Looking like you're going to faint is not attractive."

His fingers pause on the hem of his shirt.

"Second, go back to the table and ask her about her. Girls like that. It makes you seem interested. Listen. Just be yourself. You're a good guy, Spencer. JJ knows that."

"But-"

"But nothing. It's just JJ. She's your friend. Just pretend it was like us. You're over thinking it. It's just two people hanging out."

He breathes out.

"Relax."

"Okay."

"Now go."

"Thanks. Bye."

He returns to the table and smiles. "Sorry about that."

"It's alright." She sips her drink.

"You look great, by the way. Maroon looks amazing on you."

JJ smiles. "Thanks, Spence."

Criminal Minds || Date Night

JJ laughs. It's more than just her slight chuckle that sometimes that escapes at work when Derek's being obnoxious or when Garcia is making lewd comments. It's a real laugh and he feels his face heat up a little. He can't tell if she's laughing at him or just laughing.

"What?" He asks, a smile coming to his lips at the look over her face regardless. He can't help it.

"You!" She giggles. "I'm glad you're getting into the game, but you're going to get our asses kicked if you cheer when the Cowboys make a good play. Cowboys are the enemy. We hate the Cowboys."

"But you said -" He looks at the field again, confused.

"When the 'Skins do something!" She laughs again. Her arm moves around his shoulders. "It's okay. You're a rookie. You're forgiven this time."

He smiles, feeling her close.

"But if the Cowboys score, Jeer. Don't Cheer."

She pulls away and he watches her as she concentrates on the sport. He doesn't even acknowledge what happens next as she jumps up, in anger.

"COME ON! DEFENSE!"

He smiles at the passion. JJ was full of passion. She always cared about each family that was involved in the cases. It made sense that she'd be passionate about her team. She looks over at him and smirks. "What? He totally should have been able to block that."

"Of course." he agrees and she ruffles his hair again. She sits back down, eyes moving to the game before she looks back at him. He's almost amused by the fact she can't look away for long.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

He nods. How could he not? "Yeah. Are you?"

She smiles. "Heck yeah. Thank you for inviting - YEAH! RUN!"

He looks back at the game to see that a maroon player has the ball and is running with it. It's obviously good so he stands up and cheers too. He's eventually taken down by the men in blue, which he makes sure to boo at. JJ looks at him and laughs again, a big real laugh.

"That's it!"

Deal Breaker || Date Night

"That was great." Spencer says as they walk up the stairs to his apartment

"I can't believe you bought me a Chris Cooley jersey. My dad's going to be jealous."

He smiles. "He was the… person who caught the ball right?"

She laughs. "One of them, yeah. Thank you again, Spencer. You didn't have to do that."

He pauses near his door and shrugs. "You looked like you really wanted it."

"I did, but…" She trails off, looking at the jersey in her hands. "Thanks."

He looks at his door before he fidgets. "Ahh, do you…would you like to come in for a drink or…?"

She looks up, looking a little startled, but she hides it quickly. He's not sure if it was even shock he saw. "I.. yeah, sure."

He smiles. "Great." His hand trembles a little as he unlocks the door, opening it.

"It's too bad that they lost, though." He says, turning the attention back to the game. It's safe.

She groans. "I know. I thought they were going to be able to pull it out. Eh. Next week."

He moves to his kitchen looking at her. "I'm sure they'll win next week." he nods, before turning to his fridge.

"I ah.. Have coffee or water, tea…wine."

He looks back at her. She's looking around his living room. JJ's not technically a profiler, but he knows that she knows enough. He looks around his apartment, wondering what she's assuming about him. He knows what his apartment looks like. The mismatching furniture makes him look like he's still a college student. The fact that his living room isn't full of books is probably surprises, seeing the fact he knows so much and his intelligence is so high. The Star Trek and Dr. Who season collection on the bottom shelf of his book case is probably expected, but the Hitchcock and Wells movie collection probably surprises her. He doesn't keep books, other than the ones on the top shelves that belong to his mother. Theres no need to keep any other ones - he only needs to read them once. He does keep movies and music. All of his movies are from decades before - the new stuff in theaters nowadays is mostly crap. The music, a mixture of Cds and records, is mostly classical, but he does own some of Bob Dylan, BB King, and Jimmy Page.

"Wine, please." she says and he nods.

"It's Riesling." he tells her, wondering if that matters.

She shrugs and he nods, pouring her a glass. He doesn't drink much, but he's discovered that the wine goes well with the Thai take out he gets regularly. He gets himself a cup of water, before moving to the living room. She's sitting on the couch.

"You have an excellent movie collection." She says, as he hands her glass.

"Thank you."

"It's definitely you." she says.

He frowns and she shakes her head. "It's a good thing." She sips her drink. "This is good."

"It's better with green curry."

She raises her eyebrows with real interest as she sips again.

"I…." He clears his throat. "We could go to dinner sometime and try it, if you'd like."

She sets down the wine before she looks at him. "I'd like that."

He smiles. "Yeah?" He knows he sounds hopeful, but he can't help it. He is hopeful.

"…as friends." She says and he frowns. She continues to quickly. "Not that I wouldn't want to be…more than friends with you, but… I mean, we work together."

He nods, his mouth feeling a little dry. He sips his water before he speaks. "Right."

She frowns, the first time all night. It makes him uneasy. "I understand." He says. "I wouldn't want to risk our friendship."

She smiles. "Me either! I mean, if something bad happened, then it might mess with the team dynamic and…"

He nods, looking at his glass. "and the team comes first." He finishes.

She frowns again. "No.. Spence…" Her shoulders slouch. "I just… I don't…."

He smiles up at her. "It's alright, JJ. I understand."

She doesn't look convinced and suddenly, it feels as uncomfortable as the car ride. She sighs before standing up. "I guess I should be going."

He stands as well. "Alright." He walks her to the door.

She turns to him. "I really did have a great time tonight, Spence."

"So did I."

They linger before she mutters under her breath. He doesn't know exactly what she says and before he can figure it out, her hands are resting on his chest as she leans up to give him a kiss on the lips. He blushes a little as she pulls back. He swears he sees that her cheeks seem a little pink as well.

"Good night." She says.

He can't speak, he only smiles until she's halfway down the hall. "Night." He murmurs.