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“Is he asleep?”
Penelope’s voice cut through the silence of the BAU conference room as her eyes looked upon the scene before her with slight shock.
There, sitting on the dark blue couch, was Reid dead asleep on Luke’s lap. The latter running his left hand through mangey curls while his right fiddled with his phone. Probably reading some articles or checking through Instagram like he usually did when he was bored. The whole setting seemed oddly intimate as if this wasn’t the first time this had happened.
Luke’s gaze shot to her when she spoke and his body froze in slight shock. Not really expecting to get caught in this predicament. She would give him the benefit of the doubt on that though. Considering everyone else had left to go home; the case they had finished was a long one. Almost a full week away from their beds made all of the BAU agents antsy. So the minute they were relieved from duty the place became a ghost town.
Penelope had only turned back around cause she had forgotten her favorite Berry Pop lipstick and it's always easier just crossing through the conference room than walking the whole way. She just hadn’t expected to see…well a cuddling session going on.
The two just stared at one another. Luke’s eyes widened and mouth slightly agape, trying to think of really anything to say. Though nothing he said would get him out of the interrogation she would inevitably force upon the man. While Penelope’s eyebrows steadily climbed up into her bangs, she kept looking back and forth between the two men before settling back upon Luke. Topaz's eyes contained behind thick glasses staring into a pair of deep mahogany.
Both waiting to see who would take the first move.
“Luke?” A small, sleepy, voice caught both of their attention at Reid's apparent wakening. Panic shot through Penelope as she tried to think of something to do or even say. Considering this was an odd position that she never thought she would be in.
Luke’s eyes snapped to Reid's prone form and quickly he went back to scratching the man’s head, putting his full attention on him. Slightly guiding Reid’s crown back into his lap with quiet, sweet words. Making sure he was as comfortable as possible.
“Hey,” Luke greeted in a soft voice. “Go back to sleep cariño. Your safe, the case is over and I’m right here ok.”
Penelope’s gaze moved from Reid to Luke, watching his every move with calculating eyes. Seeing how the hardened lines of his face melted away with just a simple chuckle as Reid huffed and mumbled something she could not pick up. Probably him cursing or telling his pillow to stop moving. Whatever it could be she knew it would be drenched in either sarcasm or sass. With a couple of scratches to the base of Reid’s neck and the mix of honeyed words, the brunette fell back asleep with little fuss.
Small snores filled the room. The silence was back but now…now it wasn’t overwhelming. The tension and surprise disappear like smoke.
It was peaceful.
Things had never really been like this before. Peace had always been a thing that the BAU strived to have. From the moment every agent opened their eyes chaos and horror filled their minds. She had seen it on everyone's face. From Gideon to Hotch, to JJ, the atrocity never left. It festered in your mind and made your anxieties so much worse. Trying to consume every waking thought and force you down a path that no harmony would ever shine. Manipulating your mind so darkness would become your world and light your enemy.
Some could deal with it better than others. Morgan always put on a brave face. He would body-slam doors down, even knowing that there could be a killer on the other side. Emily risked her life when going undercover and strived so hard to fill Hotch’s shoes when, already, she was a perfect fit from day one. Even Tara, with everything that had happened with not just her family but friends, still was able to smile and laugh.
They had better masks. But the horror was still in their eyes.
Luke…Luke was like them but also not. He still had that look of pain and torment in his stare but somehow it shined differently. It burned and sizzled whenever an agent was in trouble, especially if it was one in their close circle. Luke fought tooth and nail to make sure everyone lived. To make sure the reaper wouldn’t take another person in its grasp due to the monsters who thought they were gods. Trying to control life and death with their own hands.
Luke had the horror.
But he changed it into a passion.
She slightly cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. Being blind to the glances they inevitably threw at one another. Their connection hiding amongst the sea of blood and gore that went with their job. Concealing secrets have always been easy for profilers.
Penelope gave a small sigh. Tightening her hand on the strap of her bag as she slowly began to make her way out of the room. Making sure that her kitten heels wouldn’t click too loudly as to disrupt the two men again.
Just before she left she turned back to Luke. Seeing how he practically cradled Reid as if he was the most delicate thing on Earth. The love that poured out of him with just that simple action gripped her heart. Seeing something so pure, so unapologetically soft, it made tears burn her eyes. For the team knew that Reid was the light of their lives. A fire that burned and kept them looking towards a better day.
If Reid was the fire then Luke was the candle. Supporting and holding up the blaze high so that it would never burn out. Keeping it safe in its wax grip even when it began to melt and slowly deform. It was a dance of love and understanding. For if the fire blazed too hot then the candle would melt. But if the fire to dim it would burn out. They knew what each other needed and how to help one another.
Reid needed that. He needed soft. He needed security.
Reid needed Luke.
Luke needed Reid.
“You hurt him Alvez and I’ll make sure they won’t find your body,” Penelope stated. Her tone was blunt but honest. For there was no lie in her words.
Spencer was the boy who would make everyone smile as he rambled on about anything and everything. He was the one who would joke with Emily and always be the first volunteer to babysit Henry and Michael. Spencer was the one who had gone through so much. Who had been beaten, tortured, and thrown into prison and had not come out the same. He was harsher, rougher…it was jarring. The boy she had first met and the man she saw now were not the same.
He wasn’t Spencer he was Reid.
But for a split second, just a flicker of a moment, she saw that boy. Cuddling into Luke’s lap as if not a day had passed from the first case she had with him. All those years ago.
Spencer was still there, Luke just knew how to see him.
Luke looked up at her with a slight understanding. The small smile that Reid had made grow upon his face stretched out more as he comprehended her words.
As she walked she heard the deep chuckle along with a sentence that she would definitely be using at their wedding. If they didn’t get married, well, Penelope had her ways.
“I’ll give you the gun if I ever do.”