Neighbors (Spencer Reid x Reader)

Three

Reid woke up early enough that his alarm clock hadn't even gone off yet. As he rolled over to check the time, he groaned. The sun wasn't even up yet, it was barely past five. He'd only gotten a few hours of sleep, and he knew that's all he'd get that night. With a sigh, he started getting ready for his day. No new texts from Hotch or anyone else on the team. Hopefully this meant it would be an easy day. He walked out of his bedroom and remembered the plate of food L/N gave him. Might as well eat it... No, it was too early. He put the plate in the fridge. There was a 24-hour coffee shop down the street, they probably had some breakfast he could try. Spencer grabbed his bag and locked his apartment as he left, then started walking. It was getting colder. He let out a sigh and walked faster.

When he walked in, the man froze. Of course L/N worked here. Just his luck. "Welcome to All Day, Every Day! Let me know when you're ready," a short man said cheerfully. Too cheerful for this early, honestly. "Uh, yeah. Just a minute," Spencer said politely, refusing to look in L/N's direction. The menu had a surprising amount to offer, actually. Donuts, croissants, kolaches, espressos, lattes, teas... If it weren't for one specific employee, he might come back sometime. "Excuse me? I'm ready now."

L/N turned around, much to Spencer's dismay. How was she that cheerful so early? "Oh! Hey, Doc! You're up early. Before you order, our espresso machine broke, it should be getting fixed in a couple days, though. What can I get ya?" Doc? Was that what she called him in her head or something? The fact that she had a nickname for him indicated that she thought of him to some degree. He couldn't decide how he felt about that, honestly. "I've never come here, do you have sugar packets somewhere?" L/N- or Y/N, as her nametag said- nodded and offered him a handful with a small giggle. "If all you wanted was sugar, you could've asked me last night," she teased. "I was just asking because I didn't see any," he responded, not hiding his annoyance. Y/N smirked. "It's called a joke, Doc. What I get ya? Wait, can I guess?"

The more she spoke the more annoyed he got, but its not like he had anywhere else to be. "Fine. Take your best guess." He watched with a smirk, finding it funny that she was essentially trying to profile a profiler. After a few minutes of looking at him, his neighbor spoke. "Alright, I have a guess. You like black coffee with medium... no, high sugar. I'm going to assume I'm spot on because I always am with this stuff," she said, reaching over the counter to gently push his jaw shut with her finger. He couldn't remember when it dropped. Despite his annoyance with her, the action was so unfamiliarly intimate to him that he couldn't help but blush. (A reaction that bothered him.) "Y-yes actually, L/N, are you always this bold or do you think you get sp-special treatment with me because we're neighbors? I'm pretty sure that's unprofessional."

"Unprofessional would be your tie. You might want to fix it, it's slightly askew," she said, writing something on a cup and walking away. She turned back to look at him with a soft smile. "Let me get you a snack, on the house. You've got a..." L/N hesitated for a second before continuing, "taxing job. Let me help, just a little." Embarrassed, Spencer looked down to fix his tie, which was in fact slightly crooked. He appreciated her silence about his job. Her ability to read his coffee order made him curious, though. What else did she know? "Thanks."

A few minutes later, L/N walked back to the counter to pass him a medium cup and a bag with some mystery snack in it. He'd check when he left, not wanting to reveal anymore about himself than he apparently already had. As he pulled out his wallet a sugar packet smacking his chest stopped him. "Wha-" L/N was laughing quietly at his confusion. "Don't worry about paying. It's on me, Doc. Really. Good luck at work today, see ya when I see you next." Spencer nodded in thanks and turned around to leave. He could've sworn he heard their coworker saying "so, that's the guy" followed by a fit of L/N's laughter.