AN: Hey everyone. So here's the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds, obviously.
Hanniah opens the door still clad in the yellow dress she was wearing at the restaurant, but in the place of the platform heels are now fuzzy bunny slippers and her naturally wavy hair is now down and looks much like the way it did on the day when they first met. She moves aside to allow Spencer to come in.
The apartment is modern with large glass windows and laminate flooring, but it's apparent that Hanniah is still settling in as there are still a few unpacked boxes scattered about. Spencer pauses for a minute surveying his new surroundings, taking special note of the easel set up in the corner of the living room.
"You can have a seat, Spencer. Would you like something to drink? I was just about to make some masala chai." Hanniah says softly wrapping her arms around herself.
"Masala chai sounds good." Reid says and then takes a seat on the red sofa trying to collect his thoughts.
Hanniah comes back with a serving tray laden with the chai and store-bought biscuits, placing the tray on the coffee table, picking up her own teacup from the tray and gesturing for Spencer to help himself and then proceeding to seat herself in the beige jacquard print armchair, the distance between them not going unnoticed by Spencer.
"So, what exactly did you want to talk about?" she asks once Spencer is comfortable again.
"Are you familiar with the concept of Koi No Yokan?" he asks.
"Uhm… it's Japanese, it's like love at first sight?"
"No, not quite. It's more like a premonition of love, not feeling love immediately but knowing that love is inevitable after meeting someone."
"Okay?"
"Sorry, I'm not explaining this right." Spencer gets up from his seat and moves to kneel in front of Hanniah, he gently removes the cup from her hands and takes her hands into his own and then inhales deeply.
"Hann, ever since we met I haven't been able to get you off my mind and even though we have only known each other for a very short while all I want is to be close to you, to spend hours talking to you. It's as if something within me yearns for you, like you're this puzzle that I would like to spend all my time trying to solve."
"Spence, what are you trying to say?"
"I want a relationship with you, Hanniah."
"But, we just met. You haven't seen me when I'm moody or sleep deprived. You have no idea how cracked and flawed I am."
"We're all cracked and flawed, Hann."
"Are you sure, Spence? You really want to be with me? What about the girl at the restaurant? She's gorgeous and she's this famous actress, I'm not close to that."
"Lila is great, but she's not you."
"Okay." Hanniah says and smiles softly at Spencer who tries to control his wide smile by biting his bottom lip.
"I think I should go, it's getting late and we both have to be at work tomorrow." He says softly getting up from the floor
"Stay a little longer, just another half hour or so? Please."
"Okay."
"I'll make us some popcorn and we can talk for a bit."
"So, tell me more about yourself, Spence. What's your family like?"
"Well, my mom raised me on her own. My dad walked out when I was little; he couldn't handle my mom's condition. She's a paranoid schizophrenic and was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's, but she is intelligent. She was a fifteenth century literature college professor and my dad is an attorney in Las Vegas."
"I'm sorry that your life hasn't been the easiest, Spence. Where's your mom now? Do you still have contact with your dad?"
"She's still in Las Vegas, but I had to have her institutionalised when I was eighteen, I still write to her every day though especially since I can't visit her as often as I would like to. My dad and I aren't on speaking terms; I know that he keeps tabs on me and my career however."
"Well, I guess your dad cares on some level."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Spence, sometimes people love us the only way they know how, it's not always the way we expect them to but sometimes that's the only kind of love they know how to give."
"Sounds like you have experienced it before."
"Yeah, first boyfriend. He always hated how close I am to my family; he always wanted to be first in my life. He would get so angry if I didn't respond immediately to his texts and then would ignore me to try and control me and he would cheat on me all the time and because I trusted him, I always thought everyone else was wrong until I found the texts and pictures on his phone."
"He sounds like a typical narcissist."
"Yeah, it took me years to get over that betrayal."
"He's an idiot."
"I just think he was so accustomed to being loved conditionally that when I loved him unconditionally, he didn't know how to respond because he had never experienced that kind of love before. It was after our relationship ended that I realised you can't be with someone who is unaware of how flawed they are; else they will go on believing that they don't have any growing to do. Okay, but's let not talk about my ex anymore." She says smiling at Spencer.
"What were your biological parents like?"
"My mom was so kind and compassionate and she was always cooking; everyone would always ask her for recipes, even now if I bump into someone she knew they will tell me about my mom's food. My dad was playful, he was always joking and he loved to tease me about anything and everything and he would always encourage me to be creative. They were great; they made me believe I could do anything I wanted to do."
"What about your adoptive family?"
"Well, they're much louder and bigger, because it was always just my parents and myself and then when Julianna and Marcus adopted me it was quite an adjustment, but they're incredible. Julianna reminds me a lot of my mom, she is very loving but can be quite strict but Marcus is a teddy bear, he loves giving hugs and will call me in the middle of the day just because he saw something that reminded him of me."
"And your brothers?"
"Lucas is the eldest and by far the most protective. He's married and has two daughters. Aiden is the middle one and he loves to annoy me, he's married and has triplets, two boys and one girl. Enzo is a year older than me and we are really close, he's my best friend. What about you, Spence, any siblings?"
"No. It was always just me and my mom, but Derek is like a brother to me."
"Uncle Dave mentioned how the BAU is family and if someone messes with one you then they are messing with all of you."
"Sometimes the people who mean the world to you, you meet unexpectedly and without warning." Spencer says smiling at Hanniah who blushes in response.
"I have no interest in the flawless. Give me those whose cracked pieces fit together with my own." –Bryan Sharp
Not really quite sure how I feel about this chapter. But let me know what you think. Is there anything you would like to see?
