Only Human ༯ Spencer Reid

6.1

Guest-starring Sebastian Stan as Lucas Silver
[i live to serve]

The plane ride was quiet. On most days, Skylar would've considered it a gift. Though when she looked into the group of profilers, silently taking notes on the case, she felt the silence crushing her alive.

She stood in the small kitchen and waited for the coffee to finish brewing. She found herself staring at Spencer from the distance. Her eyes ran over his slouched figure, foot tapping every so often. He read through the paper file in inhuman speed, his long finger trailing the lines as he went. The free hand held a pencil to take notes with. His notebook seemed ancient, the pages a slight coffee color. It suited him.

The coffee machine beeped, signaling that the beverage was finished. Quickly, she poured sugar into the cup to seek busy. She lost count at how many white drizzles landed in her coffee. When she lifted the warm cup, Spencer's eyes were back on the notebook. His cheeks were colored a slight shade of pink. So it wasn't just her after all, stealing glances and hoping somehow the issue would resolve on its own while knowing damn well it never could.

Against her better judgment, Skylar slid into the empty seat across from the genius. She placed the cup on the table, pulled out her file, and started to read. Or at least she pretended to.

"This is a pretty unusual case, you know," Spencer said. Her heart stopped.

She looked up and asked him, "How so?"

"Well, most contract killers don't go to such lengths to kill their victims. They get the offer, they get paid and then they get rid of the target. It's like a simple business trade. A lot bloodier. They don't care about signatures or making the deaths look natural like the unsubs did in this case. It strikes me... odd, so to say. Like we're missing something."

"I never bought that either," she said. "But the evidence doesn't suggest anything and so we just had to settle for the most reasonable explanation. Back then, things were different. I was different. After everything that happened, I jumped into work like it was nothing and I got so obsessed, it blinded me. So maybe there is something we missed, who knows. That's for us to find out now, am I right?"

"Right." He looked back down at the file, but he didn't read it this time. Then, his eyes snapped back to her. "You look... different."

That startled her. "Beg your pardon?" She said.

"Not in a bad way, of course not. I would never- you still look beautiful as always. That didn't come outright. I just... you have this glow about you. I've never seen it before. It suits you."