Façade//Spencer Reid

24. Staying close

Y/N
2 months had passed since you started looking for a job, a school and an apartment.

You had successfully found a school for Carter to attend. You did all the payments, forms and other paperwork that was required. He was only a week late starting school, but you didn't care. You got him all the required supplies, and made sure that he was ready for his first day. Spencer was quite confused at first, wondering where he was, but when Carter came home from school with his first ever page of homework, Spencer realised and congratulated him on going to school.

Now that school was sorted. You looked around for apartments and a job. A job wasn't exactly the easiest thing to find, and was taking a lot longer to get than you expected, but you kept looking anyway.

An apartment was the next task. You spent weeks looking for an apartment and eventually, one apartment fit your needs and budget. You wanted to move out - find a place that would grow to become your home with Carter. But, on the other hand, Carter had become so close with Spencer, you felt weird moving him away. Carter loved the bedtime stories Spencer read to him. He loved the facts that Spencer would ramble about. This apartment that you'd found, it was close enough to Carter's new school, and it was close to Spencer's apartment, which meant that you and Carter could visit him, and he could visit you.

SPENCER
I smiled as I watched Y/N place Carter's backpack in his hand. Before long, Y/N and Carter were out the door, Carter going off to school.

I grabbed my phone and clicked on Y/N's number.

Me: I'm off to work. Enjoy your day.

Y/N: Enjoy your day at work. Good luck with any case you get.

I placed my phone in my pocket and grabbed my bag, leaving and locking the apartment.

———

The day was okay. It was a paperwork day, which meant that I spent half the day trying to get through at least 12 different cases. As the day went on, I messaged Y/N, asking how her day was going. She said her day was going good, but wasn't going into any details.

At 2 PM, Penelope followed Hotch to his office, asking for permission for something, much to everyone's confusion.

"Can I please leave, sir? I've done all my paperwork. If you need me for another case, I'll come straight back." Penelope asked.

"Drop the paperwork in my office, and then you can go." Hotch instructed, nodding.

"Yes. Thank you sir." Penelope smiled, nodding.

Within 10 minutes, Penelope had grabbed the paperwork, placed it in Hotch's office, and left the BAU bullpen.

At 4 PM, I left work for the day, heading back to my apartment. What I didn't expect was to see Penelope's car parked outside the apartment complex. Peeking inside her car, I was confused when I saw boxes - like the type you'd find when purchasing appliances for an apartment. There was a box for a coffee table, a box for some chairs and a box for what looked to be a microwave.

What was Penelope doing outside my apartment building with boxes?

As someone who spent each and every day profiling people, putting the pieces together, I was unsure as to what Penelope would've been here for. I hastily entered the building, grabbing my the keychain that identified my apartment key.

Getting up to my floor, I stopped when I watched Penelope carrying another box toward the apartment at the end of the hall. I was behind her, which explained why she hadn't seen me. After a few moments, I waited, unintentionally scaring Penelope and Y/N as they exited the empty apartment.

"H- Hey, boy wonder!" Penelope almost jumped in fright. I smiled, looking between her and Y/N in confusion.

"What are you doing here, Penelope? And what's with all the boxes?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, I was, uh- I was helping a new tenant move in." Penelope gestured to Y/N, who smiled.

"Huh?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Y'know, for a genius, you're pretty stupid." Penelope rolled her eyes.

"What Penelope was trying to say, is she's helping me move into the apartment just there." Y/N revealed, my heart dropping. I wasn't worried, or hurt, or angry. It was more like my heart dropped in surprise. I expected her to move out, and to move somewhere close by, but not as close as the same apartment building, let alone the same floor.

"W- Wow. That's...amazing!" I was truly shocked.

"In hindsight, I figured that Carter would miss seeing you all the time, so I thought, why not move in down the hall? The apartment itself is two bedrooms and it's right in my price-range." Y/N explained, letting Penelope get back to putting boxes into the apartment.

Y/N guided me into her new apartment. As I expected, it wasn't furnished or decorated. A few boxes covered the wooden floor, strewn all over the place. The kitchen was right next to the front door, similar to the layout of my apartment. Going past the kitchen, I could see a medium sized bathroom, perfect for the use of two people. Right beside the bathroom was what seemed to be Y/N's bedroom. Directly across from Y/N's bedroom was another door, most likely Carter's bedroom. In between the two doors was a TV - one that Penelope had given to Y/N after having bought a new one for herself and a brand-new rug.

In each of the bedrooms was two boxes and a mattress. The larger boxes in each of the bedrooms were the bed frames, ready for the perfectly white mattresses that rested against the far walls. As for the smaller boxes, they seemed to be a bed-side table or something similar. Clothes had been left in large brown boxes labelled New Clothes.

Back in the kitchen, there was one box that was inhabited by a kettle. I watched as Penelope walked into the apartment with two more boxes, placing them on the kitchen counter.

"Alright. I've got 2 or 3 more kitchen appliances, and then we can start putting things away in their spots. I've also messaged Derek, and he'll be here to help build the bed frames in about 20 minutes." Penelope smiled.

"Great! Thank you so much for all your help, Penelope." I watched as Y/N gave Penelope a huge hug, which Penelope was happy to return.

"My pleasure. Now, boy wonder, put yourself to use and go to the book store. I want Carter to be able to grow his learning outside of school, and who better to help grow his knowledge than you?" Penelope turned to me, a smile on her face.

"Sure." I nodded, looking at Y/N for permission. She nodded and smiled, watching as I hastily exited her apartment, excited for my trip to the book store.