There was a time
I was everything and nothing all in one
When you found me
I was feeling like a cloud across the sun
I need to tell you
How you light up every second of the day
But in the moonlight
You just shine like a beacon on the bay
And I can't explain
But it's something about the way you look tonight
Takes my breath away
Elton John – The Way You Look Tonight
A/N: It's been forever I know, but I haven't given up! And here's an extra-long chapter to apologise… let me know what you think? Even though I'm an awful, terrible person?
Disclaimer: If only Reid was mine…
Spencer was staring.
Unconsciously, of course, and in his mind subtly. Simply observing. Curious. Almost scientific, really.
But whatever the excuse, he was staring. And the fact that Eden had yet to notice only encouraged his interest: so much so, if it hadn't been for Derek's heavy hand landing soundly between his shoulder-blades, who knows when Spencer would have stopped.
Reid chose not to ponder that question.
"That a little drool I see there, kid?" Spencer's head snapped up and his hand shot to his mouth for reassurance.
"What? No!" He defended, voice a little higher than usual, eyebrows tight together, "I don't know what you're talking about."
Morgan's smile was teasing; "You're staring."
Spencer's posture stiffened. "What? No, I'm not! I'm not staring!" He quickly averted his eyes, meeting Derek's gaze instead and then to his own barely touched glass of punch in hand.
"Hmm, maybe you're right. You weren't staring. Ogling is probably a better word."
Spencer sputtered a little, "Ogling? You think I was ogling? Don't be ridiculous!" He was aware that his voice had yet to return to human decibel and consequently lowered the volume, as though unable to bring the pitch down, "That's absurd."
Morgan chuckled, swirling his own drink, "Ok genius, what would you call it when a guy hasn't blinked or shifted his gaze from a girl in over ten minutes?"
"Eight minutes, fifty-three seconds," he couldn't help correcting, eyes flickering to his shoes rather than the clock inside the kitchen, "and there are many things you could call it. In this case, it would be an experiment."
Derek quirked an eyebrow; "An experiment?" He echoed, not removing his piercing gaze from his friend, something Spencer could feel even through Morgan's shades. "You're gawking in the name of science?"
"I've been observing." Spencer took a swig of punch to wet his drying mouth.
A look of realisation dawned on Morgan's face and it served to worry Reid a little, "You mean you've been profiling." He stated, moving into Spencer's direct eye-line and cutting off the latter's view of Eden, who stood happily chatting away to JJ, Emily and Garcia by the barbecue Hotch and Dave were diligently working at, Will leaning casually beside them.
Spencer could tell he was a little annoyed: unsurprisingly, after the team had had to dig through Derek's own life in order to clear accusations pertaining to a murder charge in Chicago a few years ago. Since then, 'no profiling team members' had become an imposition made on them all.
Though not one always adhered to, that was for sure.
The fact that Morgan appeared so tense told Spencer two things. The first is that he had yet to forgive and forget the circumstances that put him through such objectification in the first place. The second: that he saw Eden as a team member too.
Something that made her all the more interesting to Spencer.
Beneath Morgan's tense brow and hot stare Spencer shuffled, looking down to his feet and tapping a long, repetitive finger against his glass. "Force of habit?"
"Snap yourself out of it, Kid: if you're curious then go over and talk to her, just like anybody else would. You gotta learn to get to know people in a way that's fair to them…" Morgan reached out and slapped him on the arm in an almost consolatory manner.
Spencer shrugged a little, his eyes young and wide, "But I'm not good at that."
Derek smiled in a way that always reminded Spencer of an older brother, his eyes beseeching and sympathetic: "You're not gonna get any better from all the way over here, Reid."
The older agent walked away after that, through the glass kitchen door and into the blinding sun outside. Spencer knew Morgan was right – understood that socialising should come more naturally now that he was older and more settled in himself. And aside from that, between the two of them, the more nervous should have technically been Eden, who was somewhat out of her comfort zone.
After all, while it may have been her home, Eden was the one being thrust into the middle of a close-knit family, alone, in a new country, with the added pressure of having to please multiple personality types all, in effect, related to her employer…
And yet, even after having an initial meeting, Reid still felt at a disadvantage.
He didn't really need to over-analyse himself or the situation to draw a conclusion as to why.
Spencer loved his friends, he really did, more than anybody in the world, excluding only his mother. And while being a member of the team meant everything to him, being the youngest member – and the most socially awkward – also meant that he was subject to a lot of teasing. And a lot of observation.
Something he was never quite comfortable with. And the edition of Eden Summers only served to increase the scrutiny.
Following their introduction, Eden had skipped down the staircase, Spencer's long legs having caught up with hers quickly, leaving him only a step behind as they reached the lobby where it seemed everyone was gathered, interrupting their own conversation to watch the youngest adults approach them.
Eden was smiling, shooting a quick wink to Henry who was looking at her curiously from the side of Jack. The little boy blushed and looked down at his shoes shyly, moving closer to an amused JJ's leg, leaving a confused Jack to wander over to Hotch. Spencer empathised with his godson and wished vaguely that blushing was half as endearing on him as it proved to be on Henry.
Or Eden, for that matter.
Rossi was the first to address them, hands in jean pockets and thick eyebrow perpetually raised; "You've been gone a while, abandoning many hungry mouths in their time of need. What were you kids up to?"
Laughing, Eden answered easily, while Spencer tried not to shift on his feet, waving slightly instead to Garcia and Prentiss, both of whom had suspiciously gleeful smiles on their faces:
"Oh, you know, the usual: talking about guns, student stereotypes, reciting Bible passages and name definitions – typical three minute introduction, really."
She danced off of the last step and into the crowd, throwing a teasing smile back to Spencer as she leaned her back on the end bannister, facing the team as Spencer stepped beside her, tossing hair out of his eyes. He noted briefly that a stranger would probably assume Eden was among friends, seemingly relaxed, and he was less familiar. Upon closer inspection though he noticed the jitter in her leg and the way she crossed her arms again, rubbing one briefly.
A nervous habit she was subject to, obviously, being the second time it had come into play in five minutes. Hotch's voice pulled him away from his instinctual observations.
"Did Eden tell you how excited she was when she heard your name, Reid?"
Spencer's eyebrows rose significantly, and his hands found the depths of his pockets again as he turned a fraction to shoot a questioning look Eden's way. He felt immensely uncomfortable with the team watching them interact, as if they were shy teenagers in front of their parents: parents who looked on with scheming glances and expectancy.
"No…"
Eden shot a playfully scathing look directly at Hotch, briefly aiming it towards Derek as he grinned like a cat, before pouting a little and raising her hands jokingly in spirited defence.
"I just thought it was cool! You're literally Dr Reid. As in Dr Read. And you're a genius. And your first name is the last name of one of the most famous Early Modern poets… I'm a literature student, ok? That kind of thing is interesting to me. Don't judge."
Her cheeks had coloured a little again, a hue of pretty pink dashing over the planes of her face, her eyes darting from his and down again in quick succession before she pointed her finger at a laughing Morgan in the final statement.
"Making it kinda hard not to, Princess."
She reached across to shove him, though it only threw her back into her place, Derek remaining firmly planted in place. Only an eyebrow shifted upward.
"You know, Hercules lost in the end. To a woman." She shot at him, cheekily.
"That's half true," Spencer chimed in, almost out of instinct, "While he was hated and driven mad by his step-mother and aunt, the Goddess Hera, to the point of murdering his entire family, he then married again, to a woman who inadvertently smothered his clothing in poison that left him burning but was unable to kill him due to his demi-God status. His actual death was his own, as he convinced a friend to build him a funeral pyre and set it alight so he could then throw himself upon it and end his suffering." He lowered his hands, which, as usual, had come into play to gesticulate as he spoke.
The team were used to this and barely registered his rambling reference: it was Eden he shifted his gaze to, rocking back and forth, trying to contain his nerves.
He needn't have worried, judging by the delighted look she sent his way and the glee in her face as she countered Morgan. "Here that? Insanity? Poison? Funeral Pyre?" She crossed her arms with her own quirked eyebrow. Victorious.
"Well, I'm already halfway to the first after this conversation…" Morgan teased and the team laughed, Eden included, her eyes sparkling through her retort.
"Can I tempt you with another cupcake, Hercules? They're simply to die for."
Another round of laughs and Spencer let loose an amused, subtle smile, pleased somewhat to be of aid to her. Pleased that she hadn't looked at him like he was a freak. Pleased that her smile, so blinding and sincere, had been for him.
He was less pleased that JJ seemed to notice his happiness, not so easily distracted as the rest by the conversation before them. Thankfully, his lovely, wonderful, perfectly-timed godson, came to his rescue.
"I want cupcakes!"
Everyone laughed as Jack joined in too and the team began making their way outside, Eden handing the lighter over to Hotch from her back pocket, while the latter called to Jack to slow down and not spoil his food with sweets. The look he shot Eden spoke a similar warning and she pouted before laughing and sticking her tongue out childishly. Spencer walked with Morgan at the back of the line, and while he couldn't deny the heat a pretty smile over the shoulder from Eden produced as she left the kitchen and made her way to JJ for introductions, he wished he wasn't beside the one person he knew would not let him live it down.
"There you go, Kid: something else for you to tuck away in your back pocket."
The comment had stopped Spencer in his tracks. Forced to swipe a drink from the kitchen table to wet his dry mouth he then proceeded to just stand and breathe indoors. With a perfect view of the barbecue. And by proxy, of Eden Summers.
The same position Morgan had discovered him in, eight minutes and fifty-three seconds later.
The sausages, burgers, chicken skewers and wings, ribs and pork chops were all plated up and ready to serve when Jack approached Eden, his eyes large and confused, in order to enquire about where, oh where, his juicy, yummy, amazing baked beans were?
Laughing, Eden had him use the 'magic word' before jogging quickly indoors as everyone else began seating themselves around the outdoor table, moving the many plates of food around in order to create space for their own plates. She stepped inside the kitchen and breathed a sigh of relief at the cool shade on her shoulders.
It was there she saw Dr Spencer Reid, his eyes roaming over her face nervously as he smiled in greeting, raising his glass slightly. Eden returned it with a grin, trying to supress thoughts involving his beseeching, honey eyes and sharp cheekbones that she felt inappropriate, along with a squirming in her stomach.
"Hey, you! Food's on the table if you're ready to abandon your solitude?"
She crinkled her nose a little to let on that she was teasing as she bee-lined for the top cupboard and pulled out two tins of Heinz finest. Spencer watched her as she tilted her head in deliberation, gnawing on her bottom lip, before pulling out a third.
"Sounds good." He pressed his lips together and nodded, or more-so bobbed, awkwardly. Eden caught his curious look at the tins on the counter as she pulled out the can-opener.
"For Jack," she explained, "I appreciate we all have our vices, and I'm grateful his includes one of his five-a-day at least, but Hotch really needs to invest in easy-pull tins because my hands are just not suited to manual labour." Her voice laughed within itself, displaying a joke, but Reid could see the soft skin of her dainty hands actually struggling to turn the utensil.
Putting down his cup, he stepped in. "Can I?" He gestured to her fight.
"Please." Eden stepped back slightly and allowed Spencer to put her to shame with his quick manoeuvring. She tried really hard not to concentrate on the size of his hands, or the length of his elegant fingers, as she let out a teasing, "My hero."
He laughed a little, flicking hair from his eye as he looked at her standing to his left and just a little behind, weight slightly favouring the right foot, her eyes looking all the bigger in their closeness, looking up at him from her disadvantaged height: "Detriments of the job: takeout and tinned food."
Eden grinned as he stepped back, allowing her to pour the beans into a bowl and then the microwave; "Shouldn't a doctor know better than to eat so unhealthily?"
"Theory and practice are two very different things…" Spencer couldn't stop his smile as Eden laughed loudly, trying not to feel so proud, dismissing the emotion as ridiculous and childish. She leaned back against the counter, her hands clutching it behind her, ready to push away and move any second or jump up to sit on the worktop. She did neither. "And I'm not that kind of doctor."
"No, I know that – Aaron filled me. Impressive." He just smiled and shrugged as her eyes softened, meeting his. He didn't look away as a small silence filled the space. God, he's beautiful… surprisingly, Eden didn't let that pass her mind-filter, and said instead, "Of course, my head still flooded with as many jokes known to human kind…"
Reid raised his eyebrows. "Jokes?"
"Yeah, you know," She shrugged a little, moving her hands to gesticulate, "Doctor, Doctor jokes." She stated it simply, as if no other explanation was necessary. That was certainly not the case.
"Doctor, Doctor…?"
Eden furrowed her eyebrows but turned the other way as the timer rang. She threw her head over her shoulder with a grin, "Doctor, Doctor – I think I'm suffering from déjà vu!" She repressed a hiss as she moved the hot bowl from the microwave, grabbing a tea towel and turning to face Spencer briefly, who looked nothing short of perplexed.
"But we've never met-"
"Ma'am, didn't I see you yesterday?" She cut him off, and a second later understanding flashed over his face, followed immediately by amusement, setting off a twinkle in his eyes and dimples in his cheeks.
Eden felt an inordinate amount of pleasure which she only let show with her own smile, turning to transfer the beans from the hot to the cold tub, ready to serve. She heard what was almost a giggle from behind her, and the smile got wider. "You've never heard that before?"
Reid shook his head as she picked up the beans and began walking towards the garden again, Spencer moving quickly to walk beside her. "No, but I find the play on words very clever and the use of role-play very effective in single personality humour."
"That's probably a good thing," She mused, shooting him an almost-smirk, "because I'm just getting started."
Time slipped away quickly, passing through in a melody of laughter and playful conversation. Before anybody seemed to realise it, the evening had drawn close, the air cooling dramatically as the sky passed from bright, into a pinkish hue before darkness began to set in.
Everyone was full and happy – smiles lingering at the corner of mouths when not in full light, bodies slumped down in chairs and plates empty. When a lull in conversation descended, Eden stood and began piling plates atop one another. Rossi jumped into action, catching her hand in his from beside her.
"Just what do you think you're doing, young lady?"
Eden raised her brow, amused; "Well, I was upholding my reputation as a Domestic Goddess and clearing up – " Hotch let out a deep laugh, earning himself a glare – "but something tells me I'm wrong in doing that?" She asked, guessing the right answer.
"Put it down," Rossi insisted, "And step away. Leave it to us men to do the dirty work – you've done more than you're share today, bambina."
Grinning, Eden backed away with her hands up, "And here I thought chivalry was dead. David Rossi, I think you just single-handedly restored my faith in the species of men." She sent him a wink as he, and the table, laughed.
Spencer sat back, his chair opposite from David, and couldn't stop flicking his eyes from downward and back to Eden, back down, and then right back up. The food had been lovely, the company even better. Eden seemed to slot in so easily with the group; and had managed to hold onto the miniature conversations around, with particular affinity with Rossi, Prentiss, Garcia and Morgan. JJ, Will and Hotch were further up the table, so Spencer had less chance to see her interact with them, but he didn't doubt she'd do so with ease.
"That's more pressure than even upholding the status of Domestic Goddess." Rossi winked at her as she laughed with everyone else, though with slight outcry from the women to which Rossi raised his hands in surrender. "OK, OK! It's equal pressure…"
Morgan, Spencer, Will and Hotch stood too, beginning to shift away the debris of their socialising, and Eden smiled an almost secret smile reserved only for Reid. At least, that's how he felt when she directed it his way. He had yet to see that smile. But he would have definitely liked to see it again.
"In that case," She began, "I think it's time a certain someone went to sleep." Gesturing to Jack, who was leaning heavily on Emily's shoulder, beside Henry who was fighting a losing battle with his own heavy eyes. Jack tried to protest weakly, mumbling something about being old enough for adult parties, but couldn't resist laying his head down on Eden's shoulder as she lifted him into her arms.
In a half whisper she asked JJ if she wanted Henry to go up too? Just for a sleep before they head home? Standing gratefully, JJ carried Henry in much the same way from the garden and through the kitchen (shushing Morgan and Reid hurriedly as the former threw bubbles at the latter, who exclaimed as he dodged away swiftly) before heading up the stairs and into Eden's bedroom.
"We'll lay them down in here for now: more space that way and it's closer to the stairs so we'll be able to hear them if they need anything." JJ nodded in agreement, and they laid both boys down on top of the double bed, moving the throw at the bottom over them to keep them warm and comfortable.
They stepped back with matching smiles and just stood there, peacefully, for a moment or two. "They look like angels when they're like this, don't they?" JJ commented, leaning on the doorframe.
"Mhmm. Deceptive, isn't it?" She laughed quietly, and JJ nodded with an amused hum of agreement. "But they're incredibly beautiful. Inside and out."
JJ nodded. "Pure souls." She summarised, as if she's thought about it numerous times before and drawn this conclusion over and over again.
"Exactly." Eden grinned, her eyes shining as she looked upon the little boys. She didn't notice that JJ was actually looking at her, thinking that there weren't just two pure souls in the room.
"Eden, how old did you say you were?"
Snapping out of her reverie, the younger girl turned to look at the blonde beside her, angling her gaze up slightly: "Twenty-three." She replied sweetly, with a little question in her voice.
JJ let loose a soft laugh: "Twenty-three. I remember those days: not knowing what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be. Having enough dreams to be ambitious yet fighting a growing disillusionment with the world…" She smiled at Eden in camaraderie; "You're coping better than I did."
"You say that now," Eden replied, "Give it a few weeks; get to know me a little better. Then it'll probably be necessary for a re-evaluation." She joked. JJ laughed quietly and nodded, though she knew it wouldn't be necessary. Perks of being a profiler.
"Let's head back down before they think we've fallen asleep too and drink all the wine." She widened her eyes a little comically and Eden laughed, following her out of the room and leaving the door open a little. They padded softly down the stairs and took a right at the bottom into the living room, where voices told them everyone had gathered.
As they entered, Will held out an arm to JJ from an armchair, silently calling for her to join him as she settled into the side of his lap. "Everythin' alright? He go down ok?"
"They're both completely out." She looked at the red liquid in his glass, "Tell me there's more?"
Everybody laughed, Eden still stood to the side of the room, slipping out of her shoes. Rossi was tucked into another armchair, opposite Will and JJ and between them was the couch, where Emily, Penelope and Morgan where all lulling in certain directions, overlapping. Hotch had dragged the coffee table from the middle to the edge of the circle, beside Rossi, and was perched comfortably. Which left Eden padding over the soft carpet to perch herself beside Spencer on the rug in front of the mantelpiece.
Without a word, Hotch held a glass of sparkling white out to her and she shot him one of her best smiles, wide and grateful. She noted that Spencer's was half full of red, and raised hers to his silently. With a grin and a quick glance down, he met hers with his own in a quiet 'cheers', and they each took a sip.
From a few metres across, Penelope shot Emily a grin and supressed a squeal.
"So, my British wish-come-true, let's hear more about you! Hotch mentioned that you're studying for your doctorate in Literature?"
Eyes a little wide in surprise, having all attention her way, Eden looked a slight startled and, for some reason, her gaze flitted from Hotch – as if he could save her – and then to Spencer, though she wasn't sure why. To see if he was interested in the conversation maybe?
For the record, he was, if his intense, questioning expression was anything to go by.
"That's right," she smiled, "I get to read for a living right now: doesn't really feel like work." She shrugged a little with happy eyes and another, bigger, sip from her wine.
Spencer spoke next, which surprised her for some reason. Maybe because he hadn't been that talkative at dinner: or because his conversation had so far relied on mainly one syllable answers and few rational factoids.
At least to Eden, who was, as often described, 'a talker', that appeared as reserved.
"What are you specialising in?"
"Classical and Biblical references in the 19th and 20th centuries. It's weird, I know, but it makes me happy." She shot him a grin, and the lights caught the green of her eyes, making them glitter. Spencer was glad Prentiss replied, because he wasn't sure anything he said would have been relevant, or even coherent.
"That's something we can all relate to, what with the study of serial killers and all."
There were little, almost disbelieving laughs from Morgan and JJ, as if neither could quite believe they were involved in such activities. As though they still weren't wholly used to it.
Garcia, however, continued as though Emily hadn't even spoken: "When does school start for you?"
Eden swallowed her sip, somewhat surprised the attention had veered to her so swiftly again: "End of September, so a good month and bit to go yet. The perks of being a student." She joked, receiving smiles from the relaxing faces of the BAU team. She was deflecting: using humour as a shield. Undivided attention wasn't something she particularly enjoyed when the conversation included more than two people.
"Really?" Garcia replied, as if she had no idea, though many knew better, "You came across to the States pretty early then: what happened? An adulterous affair with a professor gone wrong? Psycho-stalker ex-boyfriend? Psycho-stalker ex-girlfriend?"
Eden laughed loudly, shaking her head, not noticing as everyone else shot accusing looks at Penelope, who shrugged. She was curious. And she needed to be sure that Eden wasn't a danger to her profilers. A certain profiler in particular, for that fact.
"Not that I'm aware of. Unless Rhys Delauney is still angry at me for playing kiss-chase with the other boys in class when I was six. Though, in my defence, I was peer-pressured into that game…" She trailed off in amusement and Garcia grinned, as if satisfied.
"So you're single?"
Well, almost satisfied.
Derek groaned for beside her, with a deep 'Mama!' Emily scoffed a little in disbelief and Hotch and JJ both shook their heads, looking down. Rossi grinned like the cat that got the cream, clearly enjoying the interrogation. Spencer, however, looked into the depths of his wine, though his interest was solely and completely on the answer of the woman beside him.
He didn't even realise he was so interested in the answer, until the question had been asked.
Eden laughed, shaking her own head, dark curls covering a little flush in her cheeks. "Yup; that's me… single and ready to mingle. Is that it? Or should I get more wine for the next round?" She teased and Garcia had the decency to blush and open and close her mouth a couple of times.
"I- I didn't mean –" She stuttered, and JJ came to her rescue.
"She's just not good with boundaries. You get used to it." Eden laughed, having heard Emily say a very similar thing upon meeting the technical analyst.
"I'm only kidding, I don't mind." She shot a comforting smile at Penelope, who smiled back somewhat sheepishly, "I'm kind of a creep-magnet, to be honest. Though that's beginning to happen less and less with Aaron around." She shot an amused look to the man in question.
"I haven't done anything." He stated simply and she laughed.
"Oh please! Like you don't know you're intimidating!"
JJ and Prentiss shot each other looks of amusement and understanding, as Hotch smirked to himself. "Only to cowards."
More laughs around the room, and Spencer smiled, though he gulped too – attempting to picture standing up to Hotch on the latter's own territory. But Spencer wasn't a coward. And he wasn't a creep.
A nerd, maybe, but never a creep.
"Well most people tend to be pretty cowardly when faced with a gun." She shot out in a sly tone, and the room laughed lightly, Spencer shifting slightly and leaning back more with his legs crossed, trying to keep from going numb. "Except Spencer; he seemed pretty suave in the face of danger." She bumped his shoulder slightly with her own, giving him that amused, intricate smile.
He tried to stop his cheeks from colouring, blaming the heat in his blood on the wine.
Morgan's eyebrows shot up, exchanging glances with Emily while Penelope just looked on in happy curiosity.
But she wasn't to hear a reply, as at that moment Henry came trudging down the stairs. "Mommy? Daddy? Where are we?"
JJ grinned at her son's tired yawn and placed down her barely touched glass on the side-table, hurrying over to gather her son in her arms, Will following quickly. "Jack's house still, little guy," his dad answered, "You ready to go to bed?"
The little boy just nodded tiredly, burying himself into JJ's shoulder against the light.
"Well, that's our cue!" She said with a laugh, tossing back her blonde locks as she looked to Reid, who was sat on the carpet, eyes darting from her to Eden and back again. "Spence, you ready to go?"
Before he could nod, Prentiss stood; "I'm gonna head out too, before I get too comfortable and you can't get rid of me." Agreements went out among all of them as they stood, though Derek having to somewhat force Garcia to the exit and Reid standing in disappointment. Eden kissed the cheeks of Emily and hugged Penelope, promising the latter that she hadn't been scared off and shopping would be a wonderful idea for the following week. She had to tip-toe to award Morgan the same courtesy, promising next Sunday, if not before.
Rossi gave her a very European double-cheek kiss, thanking her for the wonderful evening and promising to attempt to remain, always, her Knight in Shining Armour.
After gathering the many toys Henry had brought with him the four of them were ready to leave, last of all the guests. She hugged Will and told him not to be a stranger, before gently pecking JJ's cheek, not wanting to wake Henry, the agent reminding her also of the girl's day the week following.
Eden was so excited about it she couldn't have forgotten if she wanted to.
And then there was Spencer.
Hotch was distracting Will and JJ, helping them carry the rest of Henry's things out to the car as Eden turned towards the youngest agent.
"Doctor, Doctor," she began and Reid couldn't help but smile, unsure of the way he should say goodbye. She had hugged the others – kissed them on the cheeks – would he be awarded the same courtesy?
Was he the same as everyone else?
"Yes?" He answered, trying to repress his smile.
"Every time I stand up quickly I see Micky Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy!"
She left him hanging for a moment, his mind working a mile-a-minute, unable to retrieve an answer the back of his mind. She smirked as she put him out of his misery.
"How long have you been getting these Disney spells?"
They laughed together for a minute, Spencer nodding as if to convey his enjoyment.
Then a silence again.
"I'm sure I'll see you soon." Eden attempted, shrugging a little and letting the statement hang in the air.
Softly, Spencer smiled, tucked some hair behind his ear before ringing his hands together in front of him, "I hope so."
Rather than tip-toeing to hug him as she had with the others, Eden simply stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Spencer's waste, shocking him for a moment. He had to remind himself that she was just breeding familiarity – that she had a friendly disposition. But he couldn't breathe the whole seven seconds she held him. His own hands seemed to move slowly, settling around her shoulders for only a moment before she pulled back.
Her face was pink again, and Spencer was sure his was a similar colour. They stood for a moment once more, just looking at one another silently, before Hotch came back in and broke the tension.
"Reid, they're all set to go."
Spencer snapped out of it, and Eden lowered her head, timid. "Oh, of course. Happy Birthday, Hotch." He nodded to the older agent. He turned to Eden again. "Thank you." He said simply, but his tone was gentle and sweet.
Eden smiled, "See you later."
"Yeah." Reid nodded, and after lingering for just half a moment more, left the house, Hotch waving as he closed the door behind him.
An eyebrow raised, Aaron looked at Eden, who shook her head.
"Nope." She stated, turning to the living room to grab the wine glasses.
Hotch, smirking, followed her with the excess she couldn't manage alone: "What?"
"I know what you're going to say and the answer is no." She smiled cheekily and began loading the dishwasher. He did the same from the other side.
"And what was I going to say?"
Eden just shut the door of the machine, reached to kiss his cheek and walked out of the kitchen: "Goodnight, Aaron." She called.
Downstairs, Hotch shook his head. It was going to be an interesting year.
Are you guys happy I updated? Or should I just let go of my baby? Let me know what you think! Next one out next week!