paint and literature ♡ [spencer reid]

part 6- the birthday girl

Sunday came quite fast and Lacy was all set to throw a memorable 10th birthday.

She had bought decorations, small pink and blue streamers, napkins and plates, the two favourite colours of her niece that always led to heavy debates about which was best.

Lacy had spent her Saturday at home with the music blaring and working on commissions. The paintings that she was doing for others were paying the bills and yet, something was becoming swiftly unfulfilling about painting the visions of others. The end goal had always been a gallery for herself, one that she could curate with pieces she truly loved and ones that came from her soul.

Still, the pay cut from a law firm to a commission-based artist was extreme and so, these jobs put food on the table.

Saturday night was spent unpacking one of the last boxes from her move, the box of all her old baking equipment. Lacy had a love for baking, anything sweet would go a long way for her. When trying to make ends meet, baking because a quick and wholesome way to earn some extra money.

With her unpacked equipment in hand, she baked a small cake, icing it with pink and blue buttercream and adding small hearts around it. She set it out on a cake stand, putting a small cover over it and heading to bed.

The next morning, she was up bright and early, all in preparation for the arrival of her niece. When eleven o'clock rolled around, she heard the doorbell ring.

"Is that a nine-year-old Rory Campbell?" She smiled as she opened the door, seeing the bright blonde with blue eyes beaming back up at her.

"No, I'm ten!" She cheered back up at me.

"I know! Come on inside," Lacy opened the door further, allowing her to run into the apartment and leave Aiden standing before her.

"Thank you so much for doing this, you are all she will talk about." He smiled, pulling his best friend in for a hug.

Out of the corner of her eye, while having her arm wrapped around Aiden, the allusive D4 was seen. Again, he had a cup of coffee in hand, leaning against the doorframe with a grin.

"You head inside, make sure she does not eat that cake." She stared him down, Aiden seemed to get the message and left his friend to it.

"D2," He smirked, "Are you having a party? If you are, I'm going to work on my day off."

"Relax, it's my niece's birthday so, not that much chaos." She laughed back at him, he seemed content with those answers

"So, that guy is your brother?" He asked her, she had started to move closer to him. Still, D4 stayed in his position, leaning against the doorframe.

"No," She spoke, his smirk dropped. "He's my best friend from college. That's his kid, she's ten today."

"Huh, I see." He had an unnoticed look of disappointment on his face, "Well, I'll let you get to it."

"You can join us if you'd like?" She seemed to find the smirk that he had lost.

"Oh yeah?"

"If you tell me your name, D4," The smirk overwhelmed her to turned into a small giggle.

"Not a chance D2, not a chance," He smiled back, closing the door, leaving her standing on the other side with a giant grin on her face.

Back at the apartment, the birthday girl was eager to dive into her cake. Even while singing Happy Birthday, the urge to dive into the cake was most definitely becoming too much for her. She became a lot more content with herself once the slices had been cut.

"So, Auntie Lacy, is that guy your boyfriend?" The birthday girl asked a question that caught her off guard.

"No Rory, he's just my neighbor. I don't have a boyfriend," I responded to her, she seemed okay with that answer.

"Do you know him at all?" Aiden chimed in.

"I don't even know his name, he calls me D2," She explained to him. The comment struck an innate interest in Aiden.

"You don't know his name? Do you know anything about him?" He had an almost concerned look on his face.

"He's a part of the FBI," She explained further, "So, he's not a crazy stalker. You have to get a background check to get in, he isn't a murderer."

"Or so you think, you never know," He sighed.

"Auntie Lacy, I don't think that the FBI man is going to murder you, he looks like a noodle," Rory spoke up, making her laugh.

The rest of the day was spent with movies and candy, laughing together. Lacy was able to give her the day she had asked for and before long, it came to an end.

"Alright Rory, it is time to get going," She called out, knowing the young girl was in her room digging through her art supplies. She was always gentle with Lacy's things and so, she didn't mind.

"Listen, Lace, be careful about this and this guy. I mean you never know what could happen so, just be careful," Aiden explained to her.

"Aiden, I will be fine and I'm not sure if it is something, he's just a neighbour," She clarified with him and he seemed to accept that as an answer. Rory came running towards him, her jacket on and the rest of the candy in hand.

"What do you say to your Aunt?" He looked down at her.

"Thank you for having me," She said as if it was almost memorized. It was adorable.

"I'll have you back here anytime," She smiled as she opened her front door.

"Thanks again for this, she had a great time," Aiden spoke as he stood in front of her, she leaned against the doorframe, crossing her right leg over the left. "Just be careful Lace."

"I will be fine, Aiden, trust me."

Hey!! I hope your enjoying so far. I have another book that I just dropped for Hotch, "Man Eater", so feel free to read that while you wait for chapters here!

Also please comment and vote if you like this so far, thanks!