You weren’t sure what you were expecting when you walked into the BAU again.

You told yourself it was just a visit to surprise your friends with wedding invitations and smiles and stories about the life you built after you left. But as soon as you stepped inside, you felt it— the invisible thread that once tied you to this place.

You hadn’t been back in years.

You hadn’t seen him in years.

And yet, the second you spotted him from across the room, it was like nothing had changed.

Spencer was standing by the coffee machine, fingers wrapped around a ceramic mug, scanning a case file with the kind of focus that once felt so familiar.

You almost called out to him.

But you didn’t.

Instead, you turned away. You told yourself you weren’t avoiding him. But when JJ pulled you into a tight hug, when Luke grinned and teased you about coming back just to gloat about your engagement, when Penelope wiped at her eyes and told you she missed you so much—you still felt his eyes on you.

Watching. Silent.

You thought maybe he was mad.

You didn’t know the truth until later.

You were sitting in Rossi’s office. It was then that he said it:

“Did you know Spencer went to prison?”

The words knocked the air from your lungs.

You blinked. “What?”

Rossi sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “He was framed. Spent months inside before we got him out. I don’t think he ever really came back from it.”

Your stomach twisted. “No one told me.”

“You were gone,” Rossi said simply. “You left this life behind.”

And Spencer had been left behind with it.

You thought back to being seventeen. To the summer nights spent lying on the hood of his car, staring at the stars, talking about things that mattered and things that didn’t. Back when the world was small and full of possibility. Back when he loved you and neither of you had said it, but you knew. Back to when you both decided to attend the FBI Academy and to join the BAU.

And now?

Now you were engaged to someone else.