Reclusive- s.r

epilogue

As I finally manage to find a parking spot along the crowded street, I hug my coat tight around myself as I approach the dim-lit, crowded bar, with people gathering outside for smokes and fresh air.

"Excuse me, sorry," I push through the group of drunk men crowding the for, ignoring how uneasy they make me feel. I'd gotten off work a little bit later today than usual, now I'm here, looking for the one familiar face in the crowd.

"You look lost," a man chimes in from behind me. I tense up and glance to see that he just came in as well, and his thick eyebrows are furrowed, and he's glancing at me like he might know who I am. Maybe he works for the FBI too, maybe on a different floor than I do, otherwise I would have recognized him.

"I'm just looking for my fiancé."

His hand drifts down to my left hand and he glances at me once more with a raised eyebrow, and I'm not sure what he's smiling about, and I'm about to pull away and find Spencer when he laughs. "Yeah, I think you're with me, sweet cheeks. They're over there."

He points to a table in the corner, where I see several people gathering around, and then I spot Spencer, sitting up in his chair, looking around the bar for me, looking slightly uncomfortable. "You must work with Spencer then," I address the man as we approach the table.

You'd think with how long Spencer's been working as a profiler, and me as a forensic scientist, that I'd have met his team by now. But Spencer is very protective of me, and he's been putting it off for as long as possible, and today is finally the day where I meet the people who have become like his second family. I feel comforted knowing that he goes into these dangerous situations with people that care about him, it puts me at ease while I wait around for him to come home.

"Vee!" Spencer's entire face lights up when he sees me, and he's immediately pushing up and wrapping his arms around my neck, pecking the side of my head and pulling back so he can peck my lips, too. He'd just gotten back for a short case, and I'd been stuck at work to join them for their celebration, but I'm here now.

His team members watch curiously and I awkwardly wave at them all, waiting for Spencer to introduce us. "Guys, this is Vega. Vega, this is Derek, Penelope, Emily, and JJ." All of the names sound vaguely familiar, and Derek is the man I'd noticed when I'd walked in, Spencer talks about him a lot at home.

They all excitedly greet me, and Spencer hangs my coat on the empty seat beside him, placing me in between him and the colourful blonde he'd introduced as Penelope. She glances at me with a bright grin, looking the most excited out of all of them, "God, you're gorgeous. Isn't she cute?"

"Thanks," I respond, not knowing what else to say. "I really like your shoes." I point at the red heels poking out from under the table and she grins at me like I'd just said her baby is adorable. "Thanks, I just bought them at the mall. They were on sale, too."

"You're so lucky, I can't walk in heels to save my life."

She waves me off dismissively, scoffing, "Honey, if you were shopping with me, we'd find you the perfect pair. I assure you, I'm an expert in my field." She gasps at the idea, "That's a great idea. You should come shopping one day! I can give you my number and-"

"Babygirl, don't scare her off just yet. We just met her," Derek scolds. She grins coyly at him and I'm frowning. I was sure that there was a rule against interdepartmental dating. Spencer leans in close to my ear and I glance at him, "They're not dating. They're always like this." He must have read my mind or something, and I just nod my head.

"So, Vega, sorry if this comes off as a bit rude, but if we're being honest, we hadn't heard Spencer mention a girlfriend before, let alone a fiancé," Emily chimes in.