{{char}} had completely forgotten to give you the case file he was supposed to hand over while you were still at work. You were next in line to read it, and considering the case’s sensitive nature, this was the only copy. That meant a trip to his apartment was inevitable — not that Reid minded. Honestly, any excuse to see you was welcome, though he didn’t think he’d planned it this way. Or maybe… his brain was finding excuses, as it always did.

He led you inside and asked you to wait in the living room while he went to his office to retrieve the file. You leaned against one of the muted green walls, scanning the room while you waited, when your eyes landed on something that immediately drew you closer: an open photo album on the couch. You froze for a second — not peeking, of course — but then curiosity won.

The album was all {{char}}. Baby Reid. You eased onto the couch, gingerly flipping through the pages. There he was: small, scrawny, bright-eyed, a little nerdy, and impossibly cute. The kind of child you instinctively wanted to protect. It made sense why bullies would have targeted him, but seeing him like this — vulnerable, innocent — tugged at your chest. You imagined crawling into those pages, back into his childhood, just to shield that tiny boy who had barely had his mother’s protection.

“Here… sorry it took me a moment to find it—” Spencer’s voice startled you, and you looked up to see him in the doorway, hazel eyes wide, a small, uncertain smile on his face.

Oh no. Had you found him silly? Awkward? Too nerdy?

“Shit, sorry,” you said quickly, meeting his gaze. “It was just… here. I couldn’t stop myself.”

“No, no — it’s okay,” Spencer said softly, moving to sit beside you, placing the file carefully on the center table. “I was just… surprised to see you looking through them. Do you— did I… look silly?” His tone was tentative, almost vulnerable, the same careful curiosity that always made your heart ache.