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Spencer never really found it difficult to keep secrets from the team—his migraines, Maeve, his dilaudid addiction. He never had any moments where he wanted to tell them more than they knew, and sure, maybe on some level they suspected things, but they never knew for certain. Spencer had always liked it that way. He liked his privacy. As much as he loves his team, he likes to have some things he can keep to himself. When you work with profilers, it’s quite the feat.
But when he’d met Y/N, that had changed. All he wanted to do was talk to JJ about you, about how beautiful and funny and amazing you were. When he’d finally gotten the guts to ask you out, and you’d said yes, he wanted nothing more than to boast to Morgan and get advice from Garcia. He wanted to tell the whole team about his girlfriend, because he just knew they’d all love her just as much as he did.
You two waited, though. You waited until the relationship developed a bit more, stabilized. But today was the day. Spencer had finally decided that he’d say yes when you offered to bring his lunch up to work for him, and decided that he’d let you come all the way up to the bullpen and officially meet everyone.
From Y/N: I’m on my way upstairs!! I feel underdressed around all of these suits :(
Reid couldn’t help but smile fondly to himself. He knew that you wanted to make a good first impression, and he knew that you’d probably spent forever in front of the mirror trying to pick out the perfect outfit.
To Y/N: You look beautiful.
From Y/N: You can’t even see me!!
To Y/N: I don’t have to.
From Y/N: Cheesy :/
Spencer stifled a laugh, masking it with rubbing his hand over his chin. He caught the way Morgan looked at him a little weird, but figured it didn’t matter. In just a few minutes, they’d all see why he’s been so happy these past few months.
The next time the glass doors to the BAU open, right after Garcia calls out to announce a case, they reveal Y/N, in Reid’s favorite dress of yours, a pink babydoll that made him swallow way too hard because of how good your legs looked. He forced that thought out of his mind and raised his hand so your nervous, curious eyes could find him.
When you finally saw him, you broke out into the widest, happiest smile, and Spencer couldn’t help but smile back. He’d never get used to the feeling of someone being so happy to see him. He grinned so hard his cheeks hurt as you hurried over to him, and stood up just in time to accept your huge hug. That was one thing he’d had to adjust to, as you two became friends and eventually lovers: you were the biggest hugger he’d ever met. It was a learning curve, accepting all of your touches, but now he couldn’t go too long without it. Whenever he was away on a case, he physically craved it.
“Hi, beautiful,” Spencer grins, accepting the paper bag that you hold out to him when you two pull apart.
“Hi,” you smile, pulling back completely and wringing your hands together. He watches as you look around the mostly empty bullpen. “So, do I get to meet your—”
“So, Pretty Boy,” Morgan interrupts her, coming over to Reid’s desk and leaning against it, “you gonna introduce me to the pretty girl, or did you forget your manners?”
Spencer rolls his eyes, and then smiles when he feels your hand find his arm for comfort. “Y/N, this is Derek Morgan. Morgan, this is Y/N, my girlfriend.”
You hold out your hand, a tentative smile on your face. “It’s nice to finally meet you, I’ve heard so much about you.”
“I wish I could say the same, Pretty Girl,” Morgan teases, “but it seems that Reid has been keeping you a secret from us.”
“We agreed that it would be best to wait until our relationship was serious enough,” you explained, though you knew Morgan was only teasing and not actually offended. “Considering Spencer’s whole ordeal with Maeve, we figured it was the best option.”
Spencer comes forward, resting his hand on your lower back. “The rest of the team is in the conference room. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
He and Morgan lead you to the conference room, your hand firmly in Spencer’s. He can feel how you’re shaking, and it hurts his heart a little bit to know you’re so nervous even though you have no reason to be. He knows the team will love you just as much as he does—you’re the best person he’s ever known. It’s impossible not to love you.
When you walk in, all eyes immediately go to the door and land on Y/N. He feels you shyly step half behind him. “Sorry, Garcia, I know we have a new case but I just wanted to introduce you guys to somebody really quick,” Spencer grins, tugging on your hand to pull you out from behind him. “Y/N, that’s JJ, Emily Prentiss, Penelope Garcia, Aaron Hotchner, and David Rossi. Everyone, this is Y/N, my—”
“His girlfriend!” Morgan calls out, and Spencer’s cheeks heat as the entire team reacts in shock.
“You’ve had a girlfriend and didn’t tell us?!” Garcia shrieks, as JJ says,
“She’s gorgeous, Spence.”
Prentiss follows up with, “Why the hell have you hidden her from us?”
“We just wanted to make sure everything went well before we did team introductions. We wanted to be ready,” Spencer explains. “She means a lot to me, I didn’t want to mess it up.”
You squeeze his hand, and when he looks down at you, he finds you smiling up at him. He leans down to press a kiss to your forehead, which you happily accept. Finally, you let go of his hand and let the team address you.
After the initial formalities of getting to know each other, Prentiss asks the million dollar question: “When and how did you two even meet? No offense, Reid, but she’s way prettier than you.”
“None taken,” Spencer says, “it’s the truth.”
You smack his arm lightly, and he just laughs. “We met playing chess,” you explain, and judging by the team’s reaction, it’s not a surprise. “I beat him, and he said he had to get to know the girl who beat him at chess.”
For a long moment, the entire team is dead silent. Spencer feels the tension, feels Y/N’s anxiety, and he knows exactly what they’re going to say before they say it.
Ultimately, it’s Rossi who does. “You beat him in chess? Reid? Nobody ever beats Reid.”
“I’ve beat him in cards sometimes,” Prentiss pipes up, “but never chess. How in the hell did you lose a game of chess, Reid?”
Spencer blushes hard, shuffles awkwardly on his feet and refuses to look at them. “She’s really good. And I was, uh, a bit flustered and distracted. I was playing the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen, you know.” He turns to you, and can barely stop himself from kissing the blush that’s now on your cheeks.
“I’ve beat him plenty of times,” you shrug, when you can finally tear your eyes away from his. “We play a lot, and I think I win more than he does.”
“Really?” JJ asks, trying to make eye contact with Reid. But Reid avoids it. “That’s… impressive.”
There’s more silence, and then Y/N is letting go of Spencer’s hand. “Well, I know you all have a case, and I have to get back to work, too. So it was nice meeting you all, maybe Spencer and I can host a dinner or something soon to get to know each other better?” You offer, and the whole team enthusiastically agrees. Just as Spencer had suspected, they loved you. He was so proud.
You two step out of the conference room to say goodbye. You wrap your arms around his neck and his go around your waist, tucking his face in your neck. “Be safe, okay?” You whisper to him, and he nods. “Come home to me. I love you.”
“I promise,” he murmurs back. “I love you, too.”
“I love you more.”
“I love you most,” Spencer whispers, pulling back to press your lips together. It’s a chaste kiss, because it’s in the middle of the office, and not nearly enough for a goodbye before who knows how many days of not seeing each other. “I’ll see you later,” he says, to avoid saying goodbye. He knows you hate goodbye.
You smile at him, and kiss his nose. “See you later, my love.” One more quick kiss and you’re leaving, and Reid has to force himself to go back into the conference room instead of following you.
When he walks in, the entire room is staring at him. “What? Didn’t you like her?” He asks quickly, sitting down at the table. He knows why they’re staring at him.
“She beat you in chess?” Prentiss asks, and Reid stares down at his case files. “Reid.”
“Nobody’s that good at chess, dear,” Garcia adds in.
“Plenty of people have beat me,” Reid defends weakly. “Gideon, Rossi, even Elle did one time—”
“Reid,” Morgan interjects. “You let her win, don’t you?”
Spencer blushes harder, and flounders for an excuse. “N-No, I— She’s just— I was just distracted by her.”
“Oh, my God, that’s the cutest thing I’ve ever heard,” Prentiss grins, and Reid looks up to shoot her a glare. “You thought she was pretty so you let her win.”
“And now you keep letting her win because it makes her happy, and you like seeing her happy more than you like winning,” Morgan fills in the rest. He smiles brightly, clapping Reid on the shoulder. “You’re a lucky bastard for getting a girl like that, Pretty Boy, but she’s a pretty lucky girl too.”
“The luckiest,” a voice from behind them says.
Everyone turns to see Y/N standing there, Spencer’s lunch sitting in her hands.
“Sorry to interrupt,” she continues, her voice soft and shy. “I just… You forgot this,” she murmurs, stepping forward to hand it to Spencer, who accepts it dumbly. “You’ve been letting me win?”
Oh no. There’s a crack in her voice, and her bottom lip is wobbling like it does before she cries. The one thing Spencer hates most in the world is seeing her cry, especially if he’s the cause of it. His heart drops to the floor, and he quickly reaches for her hand and presses a kiss to the back of it.
“I’m sorry,” he hurries out, kissing her hand again. “You were just… The prettiest girl I’d ever seen, and as we talked I could tell you were smart, and funny, and just… I wanted to get to know you better. And as cute as your concentration face was, I wanted to make you smile. I’m not very good with flirting, so the only way I knew to make you smile like that was to let you win. And… And like Morgan said, I like seeing you smile more than I like winning.”
You blink a couple of times, and then crack a smile. A smile so wide that a tear actually falls, which Spencer is quick to wipe away. “You are the sweetest man in the world, Dr. Reid. That’s the most romantic thing anybody’s ever said to me.” Spencer’s entire body floods with relief, and he knows he’ll be embarrassed about this happening in front of the entire team later, but for now he doesn’t care. So he just pulls on your arm until you lean down to kiss him properly. “But you do owe me a real game of chess as soon as you come home, so I can kick your ass fair and square,” you say when you two pull back.
Rossi chuckles, “I think you’ve been challenged, Reid.”
“Definitely,” Morgan agrees. “I put my money on Pretty Girl kicking your ass.”
The rest of the team bets against him, too, and Reid can’t even find it within himself to pretend to be put off and offended, because they’re making you smile. God, he loves your smile.
“As soon as I’m home,” he nods. “I promise.”
“Good.” You kiss him one last time, and then head back towards the door. “And all of you are invited, okay? When you guys get back, Spencer and I are hosting a dinner party where the chess match of the century will take place, and I will take down the Mighty Professor.”
“Oh, my God!” Garcia squeals, “You call him that too?! Oh, Reid, you have to keep her!”
Spencer smiles despite the blush, and turns to look at you as you blow him one last kiss. “I plan to,” he murmurs, mostly to himself. You smile and wave at him as you leave, and Spencer waves back.
Yeah. He was definitely going to keep you.
“Her smile, I’m sure, burnt Rome to the ground.” -Mark Z. Danielewski