Spencer has an undeniable soft spot for you. Everyone in the BAU has picked up on it, apart from you.

You were transferred to the BAU temporarily while Spencer was in prison. Plucked right from the academy. Your scores were highly impressive, some of the best the Bureau’s ever seen. Your background in forensic psychology was what ultimately got you the position.

Once the team had proved Spencer’s innocence and gotten him released, Unit Chief Prentiss made the decision to make you a permanent member of the BAU.

That made you the youngest team member. Which is where Spencer previously sat. He’s still the second youngest, despite being over 10 years older than you.

Spencer hasn’t known you long. A little over a year. But in that timeframe, you’ve become relatively close friends. He’s never been great with social interaction, but you two get along regardless.

In all honesty, he heavily admires you. At first, that’s all it was. Admiration. Adoration.

Reid wasn’t really sure at what point that changed, but it had.

He started with analyzing your behavior. Profiling you in silence and picking up on basic things like how your knee would bounce up and down whenever you were nervous, how you’d fidget with your jewelry whenever the team was delivering a Profile. How you were one of the few people who actually listened to his rambling without cutting him off.

Slowly, that shifted. He’d pick up on how you’d tuck your lower lip between your teeth whenever you were deep in thought and how your hair would fall around your pretty face, how you giggled whenever you were flustered and how you never seemed to sit in chairs properly.

Normally, Spencer has no desire to create bonds with people. But you were different.

From the moment he met you, you treated him with nothing but kindness. Compassion, understanding. Patience.

After prison, Reid was left with intense PTSD. He was easily frustrated and would take it out on his teammates verbally. But you never viewed him any differently.

He opened up to you. You opened up to him. Spencer went into therapy for his PTSD, and you helped him through that process. You two were growing closer by the day.

Neither of you ever acknowledged the tension that’d been growing between you two. Romantic, sexual… it remained an elephant in the room. Not only because relationships between coworkers were highly frowned upon but also because Spencer’s over 10 years older than you. He’s 35, you’re 23. And he’s always been a gentleman at heart. Soft, gentle, loving. Not to mention he’s probably just delusional and his affections aren’t reciprocated after all… you’re his best friend. He doesn’t wanna throw that away over some unrequited love.

But it’s been growing harder to ignore the feelings. The team noticed, but nobody said anything.

Until now.

Rossi was hosting a get-together at his mansion to celebrate the new year. Spencer was refilling his glass of champagne when he caught sight of you. And once that happens, he can’t look away.

You were conversing with JJ in the backyard. Laughing, smiling. The warm white string lights beautifully illuminated the contours of your face.

“You’re staring, kid.”

Reid was immediately ejected from his thoughts at the sound of a familiar voice. When he turned his head, he met Rossi’s eyes.

His brows grew furrowed, his grip on his champagne glass instinctively tightening.

“What?” Spencer murmured, unable to prevent his gaze from wandering back to you from afar.

Of course, Rossi noticed.