Unintended
Title: Unintended
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Hotch/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2122
Summary: Break room dramas with unintended consequences.
Authors note: I just discovered the horrid lack of Hotch/Reid audiofic, and this bothers me. I'll have to fix that sooner or later.
Follows
Expectation
and
Awareness
Unintended (ŭn'ĭn-těn'dĭd)
-adjective
Not deliberate or intentional; unplanned: an unintended slight.
It took a day for JJ and Emily to notice something was different between Spencer and Penelope, it took them 3 days to finally come together and discuss it, and then they laid in wait for 2 more days waiting for the right time. Which was how Spencer Reid found himself cornered in the break room with Penelope shooting him pleading looks and Morgan grinning, because apparently he'd noticed something different too.
It had been a long ten minutes, most of which had been spent poking Penelope to spill since she apparently was the “easier mark” which Spencer hadn't minded too much, since he knew she could hold her own and while she might spill her own secret but he knew she'd never spill his. But the highly amused Morgan who'd slipped in less than 2 minutes prior had sent a lead weight into Spencer's gut, it was obvious that Penelope was getting flustered and he couldn't just leave her like that. So he'd opened his big mouth and now the two women had shifted their considerable attention to him, and the only thing that made the situation even slightly alright was the look of complete and total relief on Penelope's face.
Which left Spencer literally in the corner, facing JJ and Emily who were both glaring. He felt himself gulp and held up his hands, “Listen it isn't anything personal I just would rather not talk about it.”
Then they switched gears, and he was faced with Emily looking wounded and JJ sending him a pout that rivaled his own. “I thought you trusted us Reid!” Spencer heard himself give an inarticulate “ah!” and Derek give a loud guffaw, before Emily finally poked him “We're a team Spencer, secrets can get us killed.”
Spencer felt himself rub his hands together and sent Penelope a glance. She returned the look with a small encouraging smile, and he sighed “Fine! I just....can I at least have some coffee? And sit down? This is just really awkward because I haven't really told people this and...”
Emily cut him off with a swift “Yes!” and JJ grabbed him and pulled him across the room to the small table, “You want us to get rid of Derek?”
Her question was soft and she sent him a small smile but apparently it wasn't soft enough since Derek gave a loud “Hey! If you can tell them you can tell me, man!”
Penelope sent him a glare, “That'd be his choice not your bub!”
Derek stared at her obviously a bit shocked, “You called me 'bub'? I thought I was your 'Chocolatey God of Manness'. I don't know what's going on here, but leaving me in the dark isn't cool.”
Spencer sighed and took the mug of coffee Emily presented him with grateful hands, “Don't be silly, of course Derek can stay.”
Penelope sighed, “If you're sure?” Spencer nodded distractedly as he silently counted spoons of sugar, when he finally was satisfied and looked up the others were staring at him and he blinked.
Emily and JJ had both settled themselves across from him, and Derek was glaring at Penelope from across the room. Penelope was smiling at him encouragingly, and Spencer sighed before taking a deep gulp of his coffee to steady himself. Finally he looked up “Well this is always awkward but um...I'm gay.”
There was a silence before Emily gave a rather loud gasp, and JJ gave an even louder “You're gay and you never told me?!” just as Reid spotted the door opening and revealing a very shocked looking Hotch.. Everyone turned shocked gazes to the older man, except Morgan and Spencer. Morgan was too busy gaping at his friend and Spencer just gave a small whimper of embarrassment before dropping his face into his hands.
Morgan's belated, “But I've been setting you up with women for years! Hell I even tried to set you up with JJ!” didn't help matters at all, and if Spencer had been willing to lift his head he would have seen all three women sending his friend glares that could kill. As it was Spencer couldn't even manage to raise his head when he heard Hotch clear his throat, and move to the coffee maker.
Spencer wasn't sure what to do, he'd never planned on telling Hotch. It seemed too much like something he'd do if he had expectations but now he'd unintentionally let it slip. He was confused, panicked, and slightly resentful of JJ and Emily who had comprehensively outed him to the entire team since it was only time now until Rossi found out. He felt a hand on his arm and allowed himself to snatch a glance and saw JJ mouthing 'sorry!' and felt his small amount of resentment dissipate.
“If Reid has something he wants to talk to me about,” he heard Hotch pause and glanced up further until he'd met the older man's eyes and blinked, “He can talk to me about it, if not” the other man trailed off and looked away shrugging, and if Reid wasn't mistaken he was wearing a slight blush, “as it is, I'm getting my coffee.”
The silence consumed the room as the five of them watched their co-worker do just that and leave. It was unsurprisingly Morgan who broke the silence, “You! Why didn't you tell me man?”
Spencer felt himself groan and buried his head in his arms on the table, before giving a muffled “I didn't tell anyone until Penelope dragged it out of me! It doesn't matter not really.”
“Well, it does and doesn't matter. I mean, we've all been really worried because you're alone and we hate that and we had no idea why no one we suggested worked. Now we do.” Emily's matter of fact tone sounded far too reasonable for Spencer's comfort.
He sat up with a pout, “No don't set me up, please!”
JJ frowned, “But we want you happy! And it seems like all you have is this job and that is not in any way healthy.”
Morgan suddenly stood and pointed at him, “You! You don't have expectations you have hope! You already like someone!”
Spencer stiffened and took another long gulp of his increasingly tepid coffee, hoping beyond hope that they'd drop it. Penelope's sharp “And that isn't going to be discussed right now, since you know it's none of your business anyway.” Spencer sent her a bit of a shocked look as she moved to place her hands firmly on his shoulders.
“Baby Girl did...did I upset you or something?” The slightly wounded sound of Derek's voice didn't prompt much of a response from Penelope, just a slight tightening of her hand on Spencer's shoulders.
Spencer wasn't sure what to do, so of course he opened his mouth “It's nothing Derek, she's just...trying to protect me, honestly and...” Spencer bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment before continuing “and I just don't want to talk about that. I'll tell you, just not right now, okay?”
Derek sent him a slight glare but sighed, “Fine man, but you owe me lunch; we need to figure this out. Got me?” Spencer nodded and Derek looked up at Penelope, “And I don't know what the hell is going on with you but you either need to talk to me, or stop acting like I'm the antichrist.”
Penelope's hands tightened on his shoulders again as Derek left, and Spencer let one of his hands cover hers.
She gave a shuddering breath before sinking into the chair next to his, “I am so sorry Spence.”
Spencer smiled, and grabbed her hand again “Hey it's ok. Like I was going to let that go down.”
JJ cleared her throat, “I'm sorry that you know, happened like that.”
Emily nodded, “It was only supposed to be the four of us but then Morgan showed up and then...” she trailed off and waved a hand briefly to encompass the past 15 or so minutes.
Penelope smiled wryly, “Well if it helps at all, the only reason we hadn't told you already was boy-genius here was nervous.”
“Well technically,” JJ pointed at Penelope “You never came clean, he saved your ass.”
Penelope sighed again, “Yeah, yeah he did. But he did that because um...mine involves Derek.”
There was silence again before Emily poked JJ with a small grin, “I knew it! Pay up! That's $25 big ones!”
And the Spencer began to laugh, and it spread until all four of them were laughing at the hilarity of the situation. As it died down a few moments later, his grin stayed; sometimes even the unintended had pleasant effects.
“Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, but it is very rare because most people are strategists.”
- Anita Brookner
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Hotch/Reid
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 2122
Summary: Break room dramas with unintended consequences.
Authors note: I just discovered the horrid lack of Hotch/Reid audiofic, and this bothers me. I'll have to fix that sooner or later.
Follows
Expectation
and
Awareness
Unintended (ŭn'ĭn-těn'dĭd)
-adjective
Not deliberate or intentional; unplanned: an unintended slight.
It took a day for JJ and Emily to notice something was different between Spencer and Penelope, it took them 3 days to finally come together and discuss it, and then they laid in wait for 2 more days waiting for the right time. Which was how Spencer Reid found himself cornered in the break room with Penelope shooting him pleading looks and Morgan grinning, because apparently he'd noticed something different too.
It had been a long ten minutes, most of which had been spent poking Penelope to spill since she apparently was the “easier mark” which Spencer hadn't minded too much, since he knew she could hold her own and while she might spill her own secret but he knew she'd never spill his. But the highly amused Morgan who'd slipped in less than 2 minutes prior had sent a lead weight into Spencer's gut, it was obvious that Penelope was getting flustered and he couldn't just leave her like that. So he'd opened his big mouth and now the two women had shifted their considerable attention to him, and the only thing that made the situation even slightly alright was the look of complete and total relief on Penelope's face.
Which left Spencer literally in the corner, facing JJ and Emily who were both glaring. He felt himself gulp and held up his hands, “Listen it isn't anything personal I just would rather not talk about it.”
Then they switched gears, and he was faced with Emily looking wounded and JJ sending him a pout that rivaled his own. “I thought you trusted us Reid!” Spencer heard himself give an inarticulate “ah!” and Derek give a loud guffaw, before Emily finally poked him “We're a team Spencer, secrets can get us killed.”
Spencer felt himself rub his hands together and sent Penelope a glance. She returned the look with a small encouraging smile, and he sighed “Fine! I just....can I at least have some coffee? And sit down? This is just really awkward because I haven't really told people this and...”
Emily cut him off with a swift “Yes!” and JJ grabbed him and pulled him across the room to the small table, “You want us to get rid of Derek?”
Her question was soft and she sent him a small smile but apparently it wasn't soft enough since Derek gave a loud “Hey! If you can tell them you can tell me, man!”
Penelope sent him a glare, “That'd be his choice not your bub!”
Derek stared at her obviously a bit shocked, “You called me 'bub'? I thought I was your 'Chocolatey God of Manness'. I don't know what's going on here, but leaving me in the dark isn't cool.”
Spencer sighed and took the mug of coffee Emily presented him with grateful hands, “Don't be silly, of course Derek can stay.”
Penelope sighed, “If you're sure?” Spencer nodded distractedly as he silently counted spoons of sugar, when he finally was satisfied and looked up the others were staring at him and he blinked.
Emily and JJ had both settled themselves across from him, and Derek was glaring at Penelope from across the room. Penelope was smiling at him encouragingly, and Spencer sighed before taking a deep gulp of his coffee to steady himself. Finally he looked up “Well this is always awkward but um...I'm gay.”
There was a silence before Emily gave a rather loud gasp, and JJ gave an even louder “You're gay and you never told me?!” just as Reid spotted the door opening and revealing a very shocked looking Hotch.. Everyone turned shocked gazes to the older man, except Morgan and Spencer. Morgan was too busy gaping at his friend and Spencer just gave a small whimper of embarrassment before dropping his face into his hands.
Morgan's belated, “But I've been setting you up with women for years! Hell I even tried to set you up with JJ!” didn't help matters at all, and if Spencer had been willing to lift his head he would have seen all three women sending his friend glares that could kill. As it was Spencer couldn't even manage to raise his head when he heard Hotch clear his throat, and move to the coffee maker.
Spencer wasn't sure what to do, he'd never planned on telling Hotch. It seemed too much like something he'd do if he had expectations but now he'd unintentionally let it slip. He was confused, panicked, and slightly resentful of JJ and Emily who had comprehensively outed him to the entire team since it was only time now until Rossi found out. He felt a hand on his arm and allowed himself to snatch a glance and saw JJ mouthing 'sorry!' and felt his small amount of resentment dissipate.
“If Reid has something he wants to talk to me about,” he heard Hotch pause and glanced up further until he'd met the older man's eyes and blinked, “He can talk to me about it, if not” the other man trailed off and looked away shrugging, and if Reid wasn't mistaken he was wearing a slight blush, “as it is, I'm getting my coffee.”
The silence consumed the room as the five of them watched their co-worker do just that and leave. It was unsurprisingly Morgan who broke the silence, “You! Why didn't you tell me man?”
Spencer felt himself groan and buried his head in his arms on the table, before giving a muffled “I didn't tell anyone until Penelope dragged it out of me! It doesn't matter not really.”
“Well, it does and doesn't matter. I mean, we've all been really worried because you're alone and we hate that and we had no idea why no one we suggested worked. Now we do.” Emily's matter of fact tone sounded far too reasonable for Spencer's comfort.
He sat up with a pout, “No don't set me up, please!”
JJ frowned, “But we want you happy! And it seems like all you have is this job and that is not in any way healthy.”
Morgan suddenly stood and pointed at him, “You! You don't have expectations you have hope! You already like someone!”
Spencer stiffened and took another long gulp of his increasingly tepid coffee, hoping beyond hope that they'd drop it. Penelope's sharp “And that isn't going to be discussed right now, since you know it's none of your business anyway.” Spencer sent her a bit of a shocked look as she moved to place her hands firmly on his shoulders.
“Baby Girl did...did I upset you or something?” The slightly wounded sound of Derek's voice didn't prompt much of a response from Penelope, just a slight tightening of her hand on Spencer's shoulders.
Spencer wasn't sure what to do, so of course he opened his mouth “It's nothing Derek, she's just...trying to protect me, honestly and...” Spencer bit his lip thoughtfully for a moment before continuing “and I just don't want to talk about that. I'll tell you, just not right now, okay?”
Derek sent him a slight glare but sighed, “Fine man, but you owe me lunch; we need to figure this out. Got me?” Spencer nodded and Derek looked up at Penelope, “And I don't know what the hell is going on with you but you either need to talk to me, or stop acting like I'm the antichrist.”
Penelope's hands tightened on his shoulders again as Derek left, and Spencer let one of his hands cover hers.
She gave a shuddering breath before sinking into the chair next to his, “I am so sorry Spence.”
Spencer smiled, and grabbed her hand again “Hey it's ok. Like I was going to let that go down.”
JJ cleared her throat, “I'm sorry that you know, happened like that.”
Emily nodded, “It was only supposed to be the four of us but then Morgan showed up and then...” she trailed off and waved a hand briefly to encompass the past 15 or so minutes.
Penelope smiled wryly, “Well if it helps at all, the only reason we hadn't told you already was boy-genius here was nervous.”
“Well technically,” JJ pointed at Penelope “You never came clean, he saved your ass.”
Penelope sighed again, “Yeah, yeah he did. But he did that because um...mine involves Derek.”
There was silence again before Emily poked JJ with a small grin, “I knew it! Pay up! That's $25 big ones!”
And the Spencer began to laugh, and it spread until all four of them were laughing at the hilarity of the situation. As it died down a few moments later, his grin stayed; sometimes even the unintended had pleasant effects.
“Real love is a pilgrimage. It happens when there is no strategy, but it is very rare because most people are strategists.”
- Anita Brookner