The ride to the hotel Ethan and Katherine booked was calm after their conversations. The only sound being Sander's occasional mumblings, some regarding Supernatural , some not, and the constant rumbling of the engine. All of it was very relaxing, so Spencer leaned back and let himself relax for the time being, mentally preparing himself for what was to come.
After all, the only person he would know there would be Ethan. Sander seemed nice enough, but that doesn't mean Spencer is comfortable around him. Sure, the friendly smile and open attitude makes him approachable, but there is a certain darkness about him that puts Spencer on edge. He'd felt that darkness on some cases, but the young genius doesn't believe that Sander would do anything remotely illegal. Spencer would get Garcia to look into his file while he was staying here. Spencer's hunch about Sander being harmless could always be wrong, and you can never be too careful, especially when you're an FBI agent with the right resources to do the job correctly.
Spencer's internal rambling was interrupted when Ethan pulled into a nicely sized hotel. It wasn't fancy, but it was far from the dinky motels they passed along the way where the rooms were all booked by exterminators using the rooms to make their year's paycheck.
It was nice, a Victorian style four story with a courtyard and a swimming pool out back. "This is really nice..." Spencer said slowly, still in awe at the beauty of the hotel.
"This is actually Kat's parents' hotel. Back in the day this place was their grandparents house. It's got a studio that we'll use for pictures, dance classes, and the after party. The courtyard is where the ceremony will take place, and everyone will be staying at the hotel, including myself and Kat. The second and third floors will be for bachelors and bachelorettes while the first and fourth floors will be for the couples. Bachelors on one side bachelorettes on the other, a couple of people will have to pair up, but that's because there's only four rooms on the second and third floors, with two on the first and fourth floors. So that's the layout, if you get lost then just yell and someone will help you, it sounds simple, but the hallways can be confusing at times." Ethan explained before taking the keys out of the ignition and throwing the keys on Sander, making him bolt up and stare wide eyed at the space in front of him.
"Sander!" Ethan said, snapping his hand in front of Sander's face, making him eye-ball the hand in front of his face like it was about to kill him. "How about you get out of the car and say hello to Kat?" Ethan suggests making Sander nod.
"Yeah... yeah I can do that..." The man yawned hugely before clambering out of the car slowly, following the two very much awake men into the hotel. "Holy shit..."
"San!" A high pitched squeal made everyone turn towards the desk at the back of the room, where three woman were gathered, two of them older than the third who is a beautiful woman with dark hair and a charming smile. The young woman ran over to the men, dodging Spencer and Ethan and colliding with Sander. He takes a small step back and opens his arms for her, catching her with some difficulty before steadying himself and hugging the woman clinging to his neck.
"That's Kat." Ethan says simply, nodding at the embracing adults, looking as if they had not seen each other in years.
"I'm so glad you made it Sandy!" Kat says with a bright smile unlocking her arms from his neck and stepping back from him in order to assess her friend. Sander didn't change much, but Kat always had an eye for detail. Sander's bangs now covered the scar on his forehead and fingerless gloves were on his hands, covering multiple burn scars. His biker boots that he's worn for years now have some more scratches on them than before, but are still clean. He was wearing his favorite dark green tee and worn blue jeans, she also had no doubt that he had not been clothes shopping since the last time he'd visited. Sander himself had bags under his eyes, but the gleam of humor and compassion were still in his face. She could see it in how he looked at everything softly, as if afraid to piss off a lawn chair by looking at it wrong. He also had crinkles at the edge of his eyes, letting her know that his time on the road wasn't all bad.
While Kat was assessing Sander, he did the same to her despite his tired state. Kat was dressed in simple blue jeans and a blue flannel with her bangs pulled away from her face. She wore no make up except for eyeliner to accentuate her bright green eyes. She still had that kind motherly smile she's had since they were sixteen. She wore reading glasses that made her look younger than her actual age, but she always looked young. Her feet were bare, as they almost always were, with a toe ring on her pinky toe that Sander had given her for her sixteenth birthday.
"It's been a while," he says looking around the hotel, noticing the old fashioned chairs and desk, along with the high arches. Sander whistled, "every time I come here I swear it gets fancier."
"No, your taste just gets worse and worse." Kat says, pulling Sander over to Spencer and Ethan before introducing herself the the FBI agent. "It's nice meeting you, I'm Katherine, but you can call me whatever you're most comfortable with."
"Thank you Katherine, I'm Dr. Spencer Reid, or Spencer, or just Reid." Spencer stumbles out awkwardly, not used to talking with this woman who had stolen his friend's heart. He could see why, she was beautiful, she had a warm personality from what he's seen, and it appears that her maternal instincts are very strong.
"Doctor? What did you study?" Katherine asked him, elbowing Sander when she noticed how his mouth dropped open and he had no intention of shutting it. Sander quickly composed himself before looking back at the young doctor.
"I have PhD's in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering and I also have BA's in psychology and sociology."
"Son of a bitch!" Sander exclaimed loudly, making multiple heads turn toward them, but when the people noticed it was Sander, all they did was shake their heads and smile at the childish behavior. "What are you, some kind of super computer?"
However, Spencer was not familiar of Sander's lack of brain to mouth filter, completely taking him off guard, making him say uncomfortably, "I also have an eidetic memory, and IQ of 187 and can read twenty-thousand words per minute."
"So yes, you are a super computer." Sander nodded resolutely, wincing when Kat elbowed him in the ribs. "Geez, I was just..." Sander was silenced by what he called the 'mom look', he believes that every woman has one, while every man has a 'dad look'. Made to silence unruly children and keep people in line, those looks were what kept Sander from getting himself killed. "Sorry Kitty..."
"Why don't you go to your room and unload yours and Dr. Reid's bags. You two are okay with rooming with each other, right?" Kat asked, looking at the two men critically.
"You know I don't mind." Sander said simply, staring at Spencer with a raised eyebrow. "If you're not comfortable with me in the room I can just take the lobby, I have to be up early anyway to get ready for dance lessons."
"No, it's alright, as long as you're okay with me keeping a light on." Spencer said, shifting on his feet , getting ready for the rejection or teasing about to come.
"Nah it's fine." Sander said, making Spencer look at him in surprise. "What? Everyone's got their little phobias, if it makes you feel better, I'm terrified of the teletubbies. And clowns." On that note, Sander left to go get the bags from his car, coming back shortly, carrying a medium sized duffel and Spencer's small suitcase and messenger bag before starting up a large staircase and yelling down, "if you don't want to get lost, I suggest you hurry up!"
"He is... strange." Spencer said, walking to the staircase before climbing it.
"Something tells me Sander made quite the impression." Kat said, looking at the two men climbing the staircase together, laughing when Spencer tried to take a bag from Sander and having his hand slapped away.
"Well, at least they're getting along." Ethan added, noticing the wicked gleam in his fiance's eyes. "Please don't tell me you're going to play matchmaker again..."
"Oh then its best I stay quiet then..." Kat said before running over to a group of her friends and whispering among them, no doubt trying to get them involved in her little scheme. Kat wasn't one to interfere in people's relationships, but when she did, her sister got a loving husband and child, so now she believes anything is possible.
Now her mission is to get Sander and Spencer together before the end of the week, and she needs the help of her friends, who are also tired of Sander's bitching about wanting a guy that wants more than a one night stand. It was getting tiring for everyone.
"Well, this is it!" Sander announced dramatically, heaving the heavy oak door open with his shoulder and spreading his left arm, from which his duffel and Spencer's bag was dangling while the right dragged the rolling suitcase across the floor.
"You seem familiar with this place." Spencer noted as Sander placed his duffel by the bed nearest to the door and placing Spencer's on the bed across from it.
Sander smiled tightly at him before nodding, "yeah, when Kitty and I were living together we worked here."
"You lived with Katherine?"
"Yeah, when I was sixteen the Davis's took me in and gave me food and shelter, didn't ask for anything in return. So, I got a job, put half of my paycheck into the Rainy Day jar. It was the least I could do." Sander said pulling a small laptop out of his bag and clicking away before turning it to show Spencer a young teenage girl with brunette hair being held bridal style by a scrawny blond teenage boy, both of them smiling brightly. "That's me and Kat when we were seventeen."
"You two looked happy together, why did you break up?" Spencer asked, resulting in Sander laughing raucously. "What?"
"Kat and I weren't dating, it would be a little awkward for both of us if we did though." Sander said all of this before laughing manically at something his mind thought up.
"Why is that funny?"
"Dude I'm gay, have been since I was fourteen and I thought Jan from Bring It On was hotter than all the cheerleaders."
"Oh."
"That a problem? If it is I'll leave." Sander said, grabbing his duffel and laptop before standing.
"No! It's not a problem, I was just shocked is all." Spencer said, clearly embarrassed by his not so perfect profile of the man standing before him.
Sander smiled brightly at him before sitting down on his bed and shutting his computer. "So Spencer, any strange habits I should know of before I go to bed?"
"Um, no not really, I just like to keep a light on." Spencer said uncomfortably, tilting his head at Sander as the younger male climbed onto his stomach and crossed his legs in the air, looking like a stereotypical teenage girl, completing the image when he balled his hands up into fists and rested his head on them.
"Come on! Everyone has weird habits, doesn't have to be something you'll do when you're here, but just give me something!" Sander whined, giving him a look that can only be described as a teenager getting something he had wanted for a long time only to open the box and realize it was empty.
"I drink more coffee than everyone I know."
"Gross," Sander shuddered, "can't stand it myself, anything else?"
I like Doctor Who and Supernatural." The man said, looking at Sander and grinning slightly when his face lit up and dimples became prominent on either side of his face.
"Yes! I love those shows more than you can imagine!" Sander said excitedly, nearly vibrating he was so excited.
"I know."
"How?"
"You talked in your sleep."
"Aw," Sander said, his face now burning a bright red. "What did I say?" His question was muffled because he had buried his face in his hands.
"Mostly you just quoted Gabriel word for word." Spencer said, not bothering tp bring up the few times Sander brought up his almost dislike for Dean and his fondness for Sam and Crowley.
"Naturally, the guy is my favorite character, who's yours?" Sander asked him, his face now back to normal and returning to his faked teen girl impression.
"I haven't really thought about it much, but I like Kevin and Castiel." Spencer says looking at Sander as a look of approval appeared on his face.
"Very nice, I too share a certain fondness for stereotypical tiny Asian geniuses." Sander says jokingly, nodding his head over-exaggeratedly and chuckling along with Spencer when the older male laughed at his description.
"That is the most offensive and accurate description I've ever heard." Spencer says, noting the proud look on Sander's face.
"I try my best."
"What about you, what quirks do you have?" Spencer asked him, noting the way his shoulders tensed and he bit his lip.
"Well, I love my car, in case you haven't noticed."
"Anything else?" Spencer just knew that he was holding back far more than he was letting on.
"Hm, I have a Colt New Frontier in my bag and a machete. Both of them legal, I have a concealed weapons permit." Sander said, nodding at his bag next to him.
"Why a machete?"
"Well, back when I first started watching Supernatural, Kat noticed how much I got into it and got me one for Christmas, said just in case a vampire decides to ambush me in a club." He said smiling fondly at the memory. "You wanna see them?"
"I don't see why not." Spencer answered, "as long as the gun isn't loaded."
"No it's not, I only use it at the shooting range." Sander replied while rifling in his bag pulling out a long case and opening it, revealing a machete, obviously new, and a revolver that looked like it had seen better days, but still clean enough to let Spencer know that Sander knew what he was doing.
Sander picked up the revolver and held it out to Spencer, pointing it toward himself. "Uh, no thanks, I'd rather not."
"Alright," Sander shrugged, putting it back in the case with his machete and snapping shut the case.
"You seem comfortable with those."
"Drifting can be dangerous," Sander shrugged. "I don't exactly have scheduled times I call Kat, and I only visit once every year or so. If I were to be in trouble, nobody would know, so I'm happy I have these. If I need to use them I will."
"Are you a good shot?"
"I'm no marksman, but I can hit where I'm aiming."
"That's better than I was," Spencer said looking down at his shoes and grinning. "When I first joined the BAU I couldn't shoot the right side of a barn."
"You got better right?"
"Yeah," Spencer nodded, looking up to see Sander's tilted head and bright eyes. "I find that I'm a better shot when I'm experiencing extreme terror."
"Probably the opposite with me, when I'm scared the only thought in my mind is run like hell and never look back." Sander says chuckling, looking up at Spencer before folding his arms on top of each other and resting his head on them.
"Is- is that why you're a drifter?"
"Spencer, you're a very intelligent man, so I can assume that you already know the answer to that." Sander said tiredly, giving Spencer a dry smile before yawning and looking at his phone. "Damn, ten already, I gotta get some sleep. I need to get the studio ready for my classes in the morning. Goodnight Doctor."
"Night Sander."
Maybe half an hour later, Spencer could hear Sander's incoherent mumbling starting up again. Mentally debating himself, Spencer pulled out his phone and dialed the familiar number.
"Garcia, could you do a background check for on a guy named Sander Mason?"
Sorry for the wait, but like I said, three reviews before I update again. If you couldn't tell, I really like Supernatural, and I keep mentioing it in the story so I don't end up accidentally making it a crossover. (My mind does that sometimes)
Reviews:
TazzieLuv13: Thank you very much!
guest: THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENT! WHY ARE YOU YELLING?
guest:Thank you for the awesome compliment! Did'ja see what I did there?