Spencer Reid | Oneshots

Thermal Energy 🔥 (E)

Summary: Reader and Spencer have to simulate sex. Things get a little heated.

Rating: Explicit (18+ ONLY)

Content Warning: Grinding (clothed), kissing, dub con (mutual pining, but one party is unaware), unprotected sex, penetrative sex

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According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, the average normal body temperature is commonly considered to be 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. However, the normal range of adult humans is somewhere between 97 to 99, with younger children having higher averages thanks to a higher surface area relative to their weight a more active metabolism.

Fevers can be good, though. An average adult human needn't worry about their body temperature until it breaches 103 — well over the 100.4 degree mark that defines a true fever — unless they are also experiencing a number of troubling symptoms. Headache, unusual skin rashes, sensitivity to bright light, stick neck, mental confusion, persistent vomiting, or difficulty breathing and chest pain, to name a few.

This is all to say that I was positive that I was going to die.

While I was pretty sure that I was free of viruses and bacterial infections, I still couldn't help but feel like my brain was melting and my body was on fire. Logically, I knew that fevers usually elicited the opposite sensations, and I should feel cold if my temperature regulation was truly on the fritz, but there was just no ignoring the fact that my head was pounding, my face was flushed, and I felt like I was going to throw up or pass out.

I hadn't decided which just yet.

I hadn't talked to anyone about these thoughts and concerns, but luckily, I didn't have to. Luke was already staring at me like I'd grown three heads, and I wouldn't have even questioned that conclusion if it had turned out to be true.

"Are you sure you wanna go through with this?" he asked, but I didn't answer.

The answer was too complicated to explain in any other way than 'Yes, and no.' I certainly wouldn't be able to expand on that idea in the little bit of time we had left. Instead, I simply covered my face with my hands and let out a frustrated groan, which he accepted as a 'no,' and solidified my belief that he wouldn't understand.

"I can do it. Penelope won't mind," he offered, like that would help.

"I'm fine. It's fine," I answered with enough cracks in my voice that even the most pothole ridden road would seem pristine in comparison. "Everything is fine. Besides, I'm already here, so..."

My mind was still racing. I knew that Luke was just trying to help, but something about his persistence began to dig at deep-seated insecurities. I had already been close to my breaking point when he spoke again. Nothing but a calm statement of fact.

"Yeah, so am I."

And I snapped.

"I said I'm fine! Why the hell do you want to do it so bad?!"

An uncomfortable silence took the place of my raised voice, and I realized that I was doing nothing but proving his original point that I was, above all else, not fine.

"Listen, I just..." Luke paused. He considered his words carefully, and then continued, "I don't want anyone to get hurt. And I know, you're both adults and professionals but..."

I dared him with my continued silence. I demanded that he just say the truth that we all knew, to rid me of the last bit of hope I had left. To finally grant me the freedom to move on from the woman I'd never be able to love the way I so desperately wanted.