spencer reid - the presentation

war and peace

(spencer and y/n head off for their date, and end up discussing war and peace.)

[your pov] ——

i scramble out the door, trying my best to hide my messy apartment from spencer. i didn't want him thinking i just threw this all together—because i did.

my classes had finished a few hours before, but i was busy finishing a book, and i soon fell asleep after finishing. it was a long book and i was exhausted from learning about mental illnesses all day.

by the time i woke up, i only had thirty minutes to get ready before he'd be at my apartment. and here he was.

i take a deep breath once the door is closed and we stood in the corridor together. spencer looked very nice and smelled good too—not like how rossi smelled on the day of the lecture, coated in too much cologne—but spencer's was just enough.

he had on an outfit which i assumed was his regular dress-wear: he had on a sweater vest that was layered on top of a button-up and tie. he had nice khakis on and a pair of dress shoes. his hair was messy like usual—it looked fun to play with.

we take a moment to lay our eyes on one another. he looks me up and down, i don't think intentionally, but meets my eyes with a small smirk afterwards. i laugh and he says, "you look beautiful, y/n."

my cheeks became hot at his compliment, which created a smile on his red face too. i raise my eyebrows at the man in front of me and say, "you don't look too bad yourself, spence."

he gives me a light chuckle and holds his hand out for me. i take it, despite our 'conversation' about germs, in which i ask, "hmm, what about your phobia of shaking hands?"

as he walks me down the stairs to the outside world, he simply says, "well, i guess i really don't mind when it comes to you."

i pause, taking in the words he'd just said with such ease. i smile to myself at his kind words. i let my fingers relax within his—for i didn't mind germs when it came to spencer.

i didn't see his car anywhere, so i turn to him and i guess he saw the confused look in my eyes. he clears his throat, "i figured we could walk—it's not that far, ya know, since i'm such a bad driver." he smiles at the end of his sentence.

i push his shoulder gently as a joke, which causes him to giggle. he had such a cute laugh which caused me to laugh in return. "you're not a bad driver, spence."

[spencer's pov] ——

she looked beautiful and i really mean it. it took me a moment to process that i was taking this woman out on a date. me. her dress rested perfectly on her body and her makeup sat perfectly on her face—not that she even needed any of it.

i had a few tricks up my sleeve for what we'd do for the night, but i didn't want to tell y/n to build the anticipation.

i noticed that when i took her hand, she asked why i wasn't afraid of her germs. she didn't seem so 'stranger' anymore and she was definitely the type of person that would wash her hands a lot. i knew i wanted to hold her hand for a long time throughout my life and her 'germs' just didn't seem to bother me. while i did hold her cold hand, her rings brushed against my fingers and i liked how she would always rub her thumb against the back of mine.

she turns to me and says, "oh, i meant to tell you that i finished war and peace. you mentioned it in the lesson and i've heard it's good, so.." she trails off. i was rather impressed that she'd read such a long book in less than a week.

a spark of excitement lights up in me as now i could talk to her about one of my favorite books. y/n brought up the fact that she liked reading poetry rather than novels on saturday, but i was glad she made the exception for war and peace.

"i wouldn't be able to read the full russian version, though," she continues. she must not have been fluent in russian enough to understand the original copy, which made me wonder if she knew any other languages. i give her a simple smile, and instead, rub my thumb against hers.

i ask, "well, what did you think?" she laughs and answers, "i absolutely hated the opening and ending sentences," she begins. "i mean, it was a great book and all, but those two sentences were just awful. but.. i really liked how love was twisted in there somehow. i'm a big hopeless romantic."

"i agree, the opening and ending sentences could have been better. but i think it makes the book greater, because you enjoy what's in between more." i pause as she stares at me so gently. "but, yeah, i am too—a big hopeless romantic," i tell y/n in which she looks up and smiles at me again.