Cinnamon, Old Books, Chamomile

Chapter Three: Twenty Questions On This Feeling

"Spencer? Earth to Spencer!" The genius snapped back to reality with a start, nearly jumping out his skin. This though seemed to still be enough to amuse his teammates and his face flushed as he watched Derek and Emily smirk at him.

They were aboard the jet, which should not surprise him and in all actuality did not; he remembered clearly their meeting about the newest case, the details, their thoughts and agreement on whether they should go, and the group of them all getting ready and getting aboard the plane as they always did in preparation to go join law enforcement in the city the case was in. Hell, he even remembered the mini meeting they had while on the way, talking over the details of the type of serial they were possibly looking at and the usual theories and ideas being thrown around. After that they had slipped into whatever they normally did for the remainder of the flight and he ended up back in his thoughts and the things that had started more recently to occupy it. Well, more specifically, the person and place that had.

Spencer could tell by his teammate's faces that they could tell and it bugged him. There was a team rule against profiling others in the unit, something in place primarily to keep the peace and allow them to actually be able to work together; it was a lot harder to be able to trust each other, to feel comfortable with your teammates when you knew that everything and anything you did would be analyzed and your every secret was found out. Did this stop them from being able to notice things and act on it? No of course not; in many ways the BAU team was like a family and like any family there was a lot of teasing and prodding, and the rule often went out the window when one of them was in trouble or concerned over something. They protected each other and protecting each other did sometimes mean doing things they really shouldn't.

He wasn't in trouble though, or concerned, or upset, or anything like that. In all actuality he felt fine, good even; he had a good book in his bag, he had gotten sleep the night before, even with the terrible things they still had to handle he was pretty happy. But this happiness was, it seemed to him, the problem: they could see it and the sight of it made them want to snoop. His teammates, his friends, wanted to know more but he had thusfar managed to keep his mouth shut for the most part; they teased him, and he could tell they wanted to do more and ask questions but he told himself that he wouldn't answer any of them. He just didn't like the idea of giving them too much information.

"Wow you really were lost in your thoughts pretty deep weren't you?" Emily Prentiss stated.

"Care to share what those thoughts are?" Derek Morgan added, leaning across the small table between them.

"That's none of your business," Spencer answered and leaned back on the small couch he usually preferred to take for his own; it was comfy and beside him was his bag, still closed for the time being.

"Oh come on, Spencer, why won't you tell us?" Emily asked and gave him a look, "We're friends aren't we? What, do you think we're gonna go and steal your new girlfriend?"

He stiffened and furrowed his brow. "She's not my girlfriend."

"But you don't deny being worried about us going and doing something," Derek interjected; Spencer really wished sometimes his teammates weren't so perceptive. But then they wouldn't be such good profilers he supposed.

"You'll probably flirt with her and make her uncomfortable, then I wouldn't be able to go and see her." She'd probably not appreciate being bothered just because of him, because he let his teammates go see her not for books or for conversation but to see who it was he saw when he wasn't with them. Tsuki was his friend, someone he felt like he could relax around and not have to worry; he didn't want to lose that, he didn't want to lose her friendship.

Derek pretended to be offended, placing a hand over his chest. "Seriously, lover boy, you really believe that I would do something like that?"

"I think he's worried we'd both do that," Emily stated, still looking amused.