spencer reid - the presentation

cinderella

(the case develops and y/n finds herself in a weird position.)

[spencer's pov]——

y/n and i get into the suv—and there was a bit of awkward tension. i never liked driving but i figured it would be nice to drive instead of making y/n on her first case.

eventually, she turns to me, but i happened to look at her simultaneously, beginning to say something at the same time she did. i insist she goes first, but she stays silent so i could speak.

"i- it's 5:30 am on the east coast, but you don't seem tired at all."

"i'm a night owl, reid."

ouch. she called me 'reid', not 'spence'—the nickname that she had quickly became comfortable with when i took her out. while it wasn't a huge deal, it did make a difference that she didn't call me a name only she would call me anymore.

i figured she was a night owl to be honest, but i was just trying to make conversation. when i took her to the museum, we stayed up well past 1 am, yet she didn't appear worn out.

she smiles gently, the first one i'd seen her give in three years. it didn't look as happy as it did considering the circumstances, but it still made me smile myself.

i continue, "studies have found that night owls show reduced integrity of the white matter in the brain.. i- it could be a real problem."

i turn the steering wheel guiding us up a secluded area to the crime scene. she just scoffs.

raising her eyebrows, y/n mutters, "i was just going ask how your day has been."

i didn't take this lightly—y/n was asking if my day was going good despite the whole situation of me not calling her after our date. she seemed interested in how i was going.. and that seemed good. i hope.

i clear my throat, "good. i- i mean- not that having to see victims is a good thing- but i've had worse days. you?"

she smiles again, "i'm okay."

—

i pull into the area; the caution tape making it harder to find a parking spot. i finally park and follow her to the victim sprawled on the ground next to a car.

i lift the tape for her, even though it didn't do much and wasn't such a hassle because she was relatively shorter than i was.

we get the smell of a decomposing body and i look at her—seeing if she was freaked out yet. i wasn't sure if she had ever seen a dead body before, but she didn't seem too disgusted.

y/n says, "there's a lot of damage to the car. see, the tires are punctured and all the windows are smashed."

i follow her eyes to the car, seeing how she was correct. i was rather impressed at how quickly she discovered that and made the connection to say, "our killer is getting bolder."

i bend down to the victim lying on the ground to find ligature marks and more puncture wounds almost like the tires of the car three feet away.

"the car is in plain sight. and given the proximity to the earlier crime scene, he had to have known there'd be a police presence in this area," i explain to y/n. her eyes remained fixated on me as i spoke.

she bends down to the opposite side of the victim and makes a weird face. "wait what's in his mouth?"

thankful for gloves, i move his jaw and am able to remove the phone from his mouth. after retrieving the device, i slip it into an evidence bag.