(A/N: New Years!

P.S: also I'm Scottish so Auld Lang Syne is a staple of 'Hogmanay' for me, had to mention it! This is also why I won't be writing any 'thanksgiving' stuff or even necessarily describe much food on Christmases in this story - in Scotland we don't have thanksgiving and traditionally turkey is eaten on Christmas day. To avoid any errors between cultures just imagine what you like tbh.)

Chapter Twenty Six

For Auld Lang Syne, My Dear

Penelope's colourful apartment was decorated with all sorts and twinkling lights, booze being poured and music playing as friends gathered for her New Years party. It felt like they'd managed to avoid all the major holidays but knowing the curse of the BAU they'd likely be hit with a lot in January but they were willing to just focus on the celebrations for now and desk work in between. Penelope was encouraging people to have snacks and drink up, also with a family atmosphere there was plenty of cuddles and games. Phil was there along with puppy Lou who had quickly grown so much, JJ had brought Will and Henry while Michael was staying with her mother, Derek was in attendance but Savannah on nightshift while Hank was with a sitter, Emily and Tara the two single ladies hitting the booze and finally Spencer and Luke had joined too. Rossi having his own celebrations with Krystall's family and Matt with his own.

Reid stood talking to Derek who was proudly showing off the most recent baby videos of his son to anyone who would watch when he felt a tug on his arm, "Uncle Spence" he heard and turned to see Henry, the boy happily beaming up at his favourite uncle "you wanna see a magic trick I learned?" he asked.

"Of course I would" Spencer replied excitedly and giving the boy his full attention and noticing he already had his hands cradling a full deck of cards for just such a display.

"Okay, uh…as you can see this is a normal deck" the blonde said a little slowly, keeping all the steps of the trick in his mind. In his small hands he started to splay the deck out showing it was indeed a regular deck of cards, Derek was watching them with a smile too and both Penelope and Luke who were nearby started to watch as well, before Henry flipped the deck over so only the backs could be seen "pick a card, memorise it and don't let me see it."

Spencer did as asked and plucked one from the pile and drew the King of Diamonds, "you can show it to people" Henry reminded and Spencer's smile widened at the showmanship as he let the other adults glance at the chosen card, meanwhile Henry appeared to be shuffling the deck to randomise further in his hands. "Now you can place it in my hand" the boy laid out his palm and Spencer was already onto how the trick was done as he did as told, but the others were still curious and Spencer was just happy to see the boy finding joy in magic.

Henry then placed the rest of the deck on top and said "now I'm going to close my eyes and I want you to cut the deck once and it back together, okay Uncle Spencer?" the boy checked he had explained the part well enough and the genius just nodded as the boy used his free hand to cover his now closed eyes, keeping to his word of not peeking while Spencer cut the cards and then placed them together again in their new order. "You done it?" he asked and Spencer voiced that he had. Next the boy started to casually filter through the cards and Spencer could tell Penelope was trying really hard to figure out how the boy might be able to tell which was was the chosen card, the blonde was smart in her ways but magic she could never quite get her head around - they were called 'tricks' after all.

The boy rearranged the cards, he hadn't quite gotten the gift of the gab yet to distract from these parts of the magic trick while concentrating on the task but the main part of the 'trick' had already been used, just not displayed and then he presented the newly arranged set of cards and said "okay, so tell me what your card was." Spencer answered "the King of Diamonds" and when Henry asked him to hold out his hand he did, the boy then placed a card on Spencer's palm and said "K", then another and said "I" before spelling out the whole title of the chosen card and placing them down with each letter. Eventually he reached the last card "S" and grinned "you can turn it over."

Spencer did so and true enough the card on top of the pile on his palm was the King of Diamonds and the adults immediately responded in impressed sounds, surprised to see the trick pulled off and some puzzled to it while others were slowly figuring out at least a possible solution but were still enjoying the show. "Whoa, well done Henry!" Spencer reacted and ruffling his hair affectionately, the boy smiling from ear to ear at having pulled it off successfully before he added "I practiced on dad and he still can't figure it out!"

"Well…it is magic" Spencer said making the boy giggle.

Penelope's expression was impossible not to find funny as she was trying to find out when or how the overall simple trick was done. "Can you do it with me Henry? I need a better look at this witchcraft" she said and the group laughed before the boy happily agreed and started to shuffle the cards again to keep the appearance that the thing was totally randomised.

Spencer stepped aside and let the bubbly woman take part and it was Luke that quietly sidled up to him and said out of earshot "when he placed the card on your palm and he put the deck on top, he had memorised the bottom card that went on top of the selected card…right?" the agent supposed with a smirk "that way he didn't need to know your card, he just needed to know what was next to it?" but true to form a magician never reveals his secrets and Spencer just shrugged and chimed "believe in magic, muggle" with a grin. For his silliness Luke just chuckled before kissing him on the cheek sweetly and putting an arm around his waist as they returned their gazes to the trick being played out again, Garcia if anything more shocked that it happened again and revealed in her very own hand.

"Wow, you are so smart, Henry" Derek complimented.

The boy said "thank you" with a smile before turning to his favourite uncle, his young eyes travelling over the genius embraced by Luke for a moment and he tilted his head, he'd been told the pair were a couple by his mother but hadn't seen it yet so it was only now the information fully processed. He didn't mention it but did go to Spencer and say "do you have any tricks to do?" the question regarding what he could possibly prepare if he hadn't arrived with intention to perform any magic.

"Well I think I can, can I use your deck?" Spencer asked and Luke let his arm drop from the man's side letting him crouch by the glass coffee table and Henry nodded, suddenly very eager to see the man's spontaneous trick as he went to hand the cards to him. Instead Spencer held his hands up proving he wasn't touching the deck and said "could you place them face down on the table?" The boy did as told and this time all the adults leaned in close to see just what he might do, a rather tipsy Emily and a curious JJ joining the mix. Spencer smirked as the audience grew but he performed towards Henry when he said "alright, so I haven't influenced the order of these cards, so far I haven't touched them, right?" and the boy as well as some adults nodded, giving their full attention.

Only then did Spencer skilfully run his fingers over the deck, splaying them out in roughly equal distance and asked "so Henry, could you pick a card and don't let me see, but show everyone else" and the boy happily did so, the Three of Spades, and meanwhile Spencer picked up the cards and shuffled before cutting the deck seemingly randomly and asking the boy to place the card in between the two halves. Spencer then spoke as he shuffled "so I clearly shuffled before the card was placed back in the deck, I have no indicator cards to go by and no way to place it, right?" the audience nodding but suspicious "and then as you can see I'm shuffling this to the point that any order I could have is lost…now you can shuffle" he said before handing the deck to the boy fully who did as told "you may all shuffle if you feel the need to" Spencer said confidently.

The deck of cards was passed around the group who all took their turns and trying to figure out the trick, even Luke gave it a small rearranging before handing it to an excited Henry who went to hand it over to the genius. "Again, I'm not going to touch it, but I will ask you to place it on the coffee table but I invite you to inspect it first" Spencer said holding his hands up and the boy obliged, Penelope very curious given it was her glass coffee table and she certainly didn't expect it to play a part in any magic goings on or that it could without her knowledge. Henry ran his hands over the table and its underside through the transparent top, lightly knocking on it and so on, adults leaned in closer too to watch. "Now place the deck anywhere you like on it, facing down."

Doing so everyone watched, fixed on what the trick would be or how he would do it, what they didn't expect was for Spencer to say "alright, now…I believe the chosen card happens to be at the bottom of the deck, but that's too easy" he said "sure it's a magic trick that I would know that at all but let's do one better shall we?" he said like true showman and said "how about I get you your chosen card without touching he deck at all?" he proposed before reaching a hand under the glass table and knocking on it, proving its material remained solid and the transparency let them see clearly before he seemingly plucked from the bottom of the deck, and through glass, the three of spades. Loud awes and gasps from both Henry and Penelope filled the room as Spencer smugly presented the chosen card, the child immediately asking "wait, how? can you show me, Uncle Spence?" practically bouncing on his heels.

Spencer chuckled and said "how about next time I visit, it takes practice but I reckon you could get it" he offered and the boy said a loud "thank you!" and was immediately asking his mom when the next time Uncle Spence could visit making everyone find the boy's enthusiasm adorable. Luke was still trying to figure the trick out exactly, he knew part of it had to be slight of hand, maybe all of it, though if that was the case the showmanship was the biggest factor and he didn't feel confident enough in his theory to voice it, instead leaving that one to be a mystery. When Penelope inspected her own coffee table it inspired quite the giggle as she remained thoroughly confused and stared at the genius like he was a real life wizard for a moment.

Part way through the evening Auld Lang Sign started to play over the speakers, filling the apartment with the merry and nostalgic tune, Spencer was on the sofa with Luke, both enjoying their first New Years together and getting to kiss at midnight with someone special, and to be surrounded by loved ones was only all the better. Emily had been telling a story about one Hogmanay she was able to spend in Edinburgh, she had fairly gotten into her bottle of wine she had become besties with as she explained the aspects of her visit, fittingly it was about being drunk with friends in Princes Street and one friend getting lost, the guy so over done on whisky he couldn't stop laughing that there was a street called 'Cockburn,' the silly immaturity getting a few giggles. Other New Years tales were shared and Spencer found himself thinking over the song in the background, while he had enjoyed the works of Robert Burns and other Scots Poets he had never paid it too much thought before as he snuggled a little more against his boyfriend.

Luke smiled and moved his arm over Spencer's shoulder and kissed his cheek affectionately when Spencer started to share what was on his mind "do you know what Auld Lang Syne means?" he opened and Luke faced him with a gentle smile, surely about to get a Dr Reid level schooling on the topic and he loved to be a part of it. "Please do tell" the ex-ranger invited and the genius was quick to oblige "it basically means 'old long since', referring to 'times gone by' - it's about sparing a moment to reflect on the past" he explained softly and both men smiled at the answer.

"I like that" Luke said "I can see why it's played at New Years."

Spencer nodded and started on his beloved ramble "I know, right? Like - 'should auld acquaintance be forgot' tells you to remember friends, 'and there's a hand, my trusty fiere, and gie's a hand o' thine,'" Spencer managed to say though he didn't attempt the Scottish accent beyond the appropriate pronunciation of the words "means 'here's my hand, my trusty friend, and give me your hand too,' and then in the chorus 'we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne' is basically saying 'let's raise a glass to fond memories.'" Part way through his analysing the others in the group had turned to face him and were listening to the lovely exploration of the song, this ramble settling nicely into the collective who were indeed doing just as she song suggested.

"I suppose Robert Burns knew what he was talking about" Emily said dreamily, the wine getting to her head a little but she smiled.

Spencer's ever informative brain unable to stop the reply "actually, it's highly likely Robert Burns didn't actually write Auld Lang Syne, instead it was a popular song of the time for festivals and celebrations and he just put it into writing." This got a giggle from the group, more at how cheerily Reid would share anything and everything he knew with enthusiasm and Luke felt his love for the man swell in his chest.

This only inspired them even more to tell stories and now with vigour search their brains for just who to bring up and reminisce over, Luke able to chip in after seeing the photo album Reid had put together for his Christmas gift and ask about previous agents in the BAU with ease, while Tara was playing catch up despite having been in the team longer than the 'newbie'. The apartment filled with cheer and warm souls raising a 'cup o' kindness yet for auld lang syne' while music continued in the background, moving them ever closer to another year to make even more memories in.

As midnight approached Penelope had her television showing gatherings of people in the streets, ready to see the fireworks going off and listening to the countdown as it started, the hostess for the evening excited with her budding new romance with Phil the being the perfect opportunity to get a cheeky peck at midnight with someone sweet. Derek sat on a sofa between Emily and Tara, the two single ladies of the evening, and would be giving them a kiss on the cheek each at midnight given his own lovely wife was busy saving lives in hospital. Henry was busy playing with Lou and Sergio, the boy a little tired but was determined he would be staying up until midnight. JJ and Will were smiling at each other, likely a bit tired given the late night and two children to look after but the enjoyment was clear on their faces.

Then there was Spencer and Luke, the pair were stood at what would be considered the back of the room given the group of people facing the television in front of them, in their eye line they saw people sharing smiles and small gestures, how everyone grouped together to see the new year in and share the moment so important there was a countdown to it. Spencer reached out to Luke's hand and gave it a squeeze before both looked at each other with warmth in their eyes, both with excited butterflies fluttering about in their chests and no words were needed. They'd only been together a short time as an official couple, and Luke found himself reflecting on it a little more than expected.

He remembered last year to the day how oblivious he must have been, his past self unable to see the absolute treasure he would find before the next New Years in the wonderful friend, coworker and now boyfriend. It made him wonder all the more strongly just how unpredictable life would continue to be and how gracious despite its darker moments, but whatever was in store if he got to share it with Spencer he looked forward to it. Spencer meanwhile thought similarly, though he had long since learned not to be shocked by the immense difference even a little time could make in people's lives, and he had to admit the recent months with Luke had reminded him just how great those changes could be.

Both men faced each other as the countdown got closer to the new year, understanding smiles over both and Luke brought their joined hands up and placed a kiss to Spencer's hand for a moment, almost like a teaser to what would come next. He then placed the other up to his boyfriend's cheek tenderly and gazed into brilliant hazel eyes just as lovingly as they looked into his. "Three." They said in unison in time with their friends and masses filtering through the television, though they didn't look anywhere but the other in that precious moment. "Two." Smiles grew wider and Spencer's hand too raised and found its way to Luke's hair sweetly before they inched closer. "One."

And amongst the cheers and loud hurrahs the couple joined in a kiss, heightened by the energies around them and yet in their own private world. Throughout the world some kisses that night would be silly or cheeky, some curious or light hearted, but there got to be that kind they'd only ever heard about before, the kiss to celebrate the year gone and the kiss to promise the coming year with. The kiss remained innocent though it did last, emotion and hopes fuelled into the single gesture and neither could stop smiling into it, hearts thumping happily and tingling with excitement. Eventually they parted but couldn't tear their eyes from one another, even as others started to shout and cheer around them, both just taken by the other's presence.

"Happy New Year, Luke" Spencer said just loud enough for his boyfriend to hear.

"Happy New Year, Spence."

Quote: "Should auld acquaintance be forgot…And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot…And days of auld lang syne?"

- Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne