Cold Hands ✔️

thirteen

chapter 13; freeze, we are police colleagues

I can't believe I'm the one who has to do it. And with kid genius nonetheless. You two are the youngest  Hotch had said it'll be believable if you two are in the park. You don't look like agents. I scoffed out loud, drawing the attention of boy wonder. I shivered, looking up the tree we were next to.

"Why are you in the FBI?" Reid suddenly inquired, taking me back.

"I uh, I just always wanted to help people."

"So why not go into the field or to any other agency. Why the BAU?"

"I wanted a challenge, to be tested. I have the knowledge to do it and wanted to prove it."

A beat passed between us.

"Prove what?" He asked, staring at me intently.

"I didn't know we were playing the newlyweds game." I laughed, hoping to distract him. "I could ask you the same thing."

"But we aren't talking about me." He shrugged. I didn't think an answer so simple like that could bristle my feathers and yet he defeats all odds.

"Alright well, if you must know. When I was younger I had an accident, which left me with a brain injury, which consequently left me with acquired savant syndrome. It improved my memory recall and breadth of knowledge." I didn't mind telling anyone about this, I was an open book. For some reason I felt uneasy, maybe it's because I know whatever I tell him can be weaponized.

 "What happened?" His tone was light.

"I was swept away and kept in a big tall tower guarded by a dragon."

~~~

Spencer hated how she used humour to deflect hard questions. The one time he was being cordial and she was yet again being cocky and arrogant. How could anyone on the team like her? Adeline on the other hand felt the opposite. She didn't mind the team knowing about her life, but she hated telling it to Dr. Reid.

The rest of the team was scattered around the park's exterior in different cars or hidden behind trees or foliage. They all inspected everyone on the streets with their equipment, but it was a pretty dead night. Hotch was the first one to see him, although disappointed he was alone. He spoke into the relay device.

"Ripper, Reid, suspect coming in from the North." 

Reid and Ripper nodded slightly at the command, although they knew Hotch couldn't see them. They stood just 50 feet from the drop site, but they looked awkward. JJ was the next closest, and spoke into the microphone next.

"Can you two maybe look like you tolerate each other? You're going to spook off our unsub." JJ whispered urgently as he got closer.

Adeline looked at Reid, not knowing what to do. From the corner of her eye, she could see the unsub hesitate in his steps, she looked at Reid with worried eyes, knowing what she had to do despite her hating it, which she made sure to express.

"I hate this, I'm so sorry."

Reid didn't know what to expect, maybe a punch in the gut, acting like a drug dealer or anything other than what she did. He didn't understand it until it was happening.

Dr. Adeline Ripper, his now sworn enemy, was kissing him.

She had pushed him hard against the tree, using it as a way to reach his lips with her own. He hated how he knew exactly what her lips would feel like against hers, and yet was still taken by surprise. Not that he's been thinking about it, because he hates her, it just happened to be included in his mental inventory when she first arrived.

Adeline hated it too. She had to stand on her toes ever so slightly and at seeing her struggle, Reid steadied her with his hands on her waist. Adeline slightly shoved her knee into his leg and he moved, kissing her back with force. If this was happening, he wouldn't make it pleasant.

And yet, to some sick degree, Adeline liked it. She chalks it up to not having kissed anyone in a long time. It's like how people watched car accident videos, it revolted them yet something made them keep watching. That is what she felt while kissing Reid. Even if he was being rough against her lips, she enjoyed it. She opened her eyes slightly to see the man had continued his path towards the briefcase next to the bench. 

JJ was shocked, to say the least. She didn't expect that to happen. She was so blown back by the move that she watched them for a beat too long. They were the most unlikely pair, was she not going to watch for a second? She started creeping out of the tree line towards the unsub, trying not to get distracted.

Reid's kiss was full of force, which Adeline only felt she should return. She wasn't someone who could be pushed around. She tugged at his hair for a moment, a noise coming out of Reid. She doesn't know why that sound made her flush, but it did. It told her that she caused him a little bit of pain, and she liked being able to still ruin something for him.

The unsub had now reached the briefcase and Adeline could see JJ had made it the same distance away from him as they were.

"FBI, put your hands in the air!" JJ bellowed, the unsub turning to look at her. Adeline broke the kiss and drew her gun, blocking his path her way while Reid split off to complete the triangle. When the unsub turned around she was there, albeit with red lips and out of breath, but she had a gun pointed to him and that was all that mattered to him.

The unsub grimaced and dropped the case, raising his hands and putting them behind his head. Reid came up behind and cuffed him, telling him his rights. During this time Hotch and Rossi had pulled the car closer while Morgan and Prentiss came in on foot. Reid led the unsub to the car while JJ walked over to Adeline, who had had better days.

"Is that always your go to distraction technique?" JJ joked as Adeline wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Damn girl, I didn't know pretty boy could get that much lovin'" Morgan laughed, clapping her shoulder. She groaned.

"Well let's hope that never happens again, I'm pretty sure I just stole his first kiss." She joked, smiling towards Prentiss who threw her head back in a laugh.

Reid, on the other hand, was not having a laugh. He also wiped his mouth, disgusted that he had to go through that. Disgusted that, despite his better judgement, he had liked it. Rossi gave him a look as did Hotch, but they stayed quiet. His face was flushed red, and he was thankful he was with the two quieter members. Rossi thought about teasing him, but thought it best to leave it alone. Morgan will probably do enough to cover the both of them.

---

Hey everyone! Thank you for reading this, I am always grateful for every read.
Also b99 is one of my fav shows and I love putting in pop culture references so look out for more

cheers, M