One shots because I can't sleep

⛈️ Back From Prison (Avery x Reid) ⛈️

It had been a few months now since Spencer had come back from Prison (though he was still yet to be officially reinstated) and it was hard not to notice how different he was. He seemed to have a much shorter temper, he was acting more outwardly aggressive when he was getting stressed and he was clearly on edge almost all the time. Obviously everyone knew why and they were all giving him plenty of space and patience but it made it very difficult to try and help him with anything.

Taking now for example, Penelope and Luke were sat at Luke's desk expressing their exasperation about the case while Spencer was alone in the conference room trying to work on finding Emily. Avery looked up through the window, watching how he paced the room and ran his hands through his hair. They could see he was getting frustrated with it and knew he needed to take a break to clear his mind. With a sigh, they turned to Luke; "You think it's worth going in to the lion's den?" they asked.

"I'd leave him be, he looked like he was about to punch me when I went to check in." he replied with a small laugh.

"Yeah but... I dunno he hasn't come out to eat or drink for the last 3 hours and surely he needs a mental break for a bit." they spoke, tapping a pen against their cheek as they weighed their options.

"Honestly I don't think he'll listen." he stated.

"You're probably right... but I cant sit and watch him stress himself out like this, I'm gonna go and offer him food. Wish me luck." they joked as they stood up, getting a glass of water on their way through the office.

"Jeez you're crazy, be careful please, and try not to make anything worse." Penelope chimed in worriedly.

"Yeah I'll do my best, put a coffee on my desk for when I come back?" they asked with a jokey smile as they headed toward the door. Before entering, they took a few seconds to listen in. The only sound they could hear was some quiet rustling and Spencer's incomprehensible muttering. They took a breath before lightly knocking on the door.

"Spence? Everything alright?" They asked tentatively.

"I'm fine." he snapped.

Avery couldn't help but sigh before replying, "Alright, I've brought you something to drink since its been a while since you came out."

"I don't want it, I'm busy."

"Spence it's been 3 hours, at least let me put it on the desk in case you change your mind." They offered. He didn't respond this time so, reluctantly they decided to go in. "Alright I'm coming in." they said before pushing the door open. There were files strewn across the table and his writing scrawled across the whiteboard. He was stood restlessly staring at a document when they entered. Carefully, they set the drink down before raising their hands in a light hearted surrender.

"I'm not gonna touch anything." they assured as they looked around at everything. As they opened their mouth to speak, he quickly cut them off.

"I know. It's been hours and I'm no further in anything. You don't have to say it." he snapped defensively.

"I wasn't- whatever, I was actually going to ask if you wanted anything to eat. Anything I could get for you?" They offered.

"Nope, I don't want anything. Can you leave now?" he asked impatiently.

Avery hesitated for a second before answering, taking a moment to read some of his scribbles. "Actually no, I'd hoped you'd take up the food offer but since you haven't I'll be direct. You need to take a break." they stated firmly.

"No I don't, I need to figure out how all of this crap connects so we can find Emily. You being here is just going to make it take longer. Now can you please leave?" he asked, though it was more of an order. Avery just rolled their eyes and sighed in response.

"You know what, no. You've been in here for hours and, like you said, you've gotten nowhere. Either you need to take a damn break and think about something else or you need to let the rest of us try and help because this clearly isn't working." they stated stubbornly, their arms crossed across their chest.

"I don't need any damn help! I don't need a break, I can do this fine on my own!" he shouted out in frustration, however Avery ignored him and begun moving toward the whiteboard.

"Have you talked to Penelope about any of this? She might be able to find something useful." They said as they picked up a marker.

"Avery seriously I don't need your help! If I wanted help I would've asked, get out!" he shouted, snatching the marker and pushing them forcefully back toward the door. However, due to the room being so messy, Avery slipped on a pile of paper and fell backward. They whipped an arm behind them to try to break their fall but landed right on the edge of the conference table. A loud crack sounded when their arm hit the wood, barely masked by the clattering of the chair they managed to catch themself on. The pain from the hit was instant and caused them to yell out abruptly. With their free hand, they pulled themself back up to their feet and looked up at Spencer.

"Avery I-" he started.

"Save it. I'll make sure no one comes to help you." They hissed, cradling their arm close to their chest as they felt tears prick in their eyes. They heard him try to say something to them but they hastily stormed out of the room before he could finish, slamming the door behind them. They quickly headed back to Luke, trying to breathe through the pain, when they heard another bang behind them.

"What the hell happened? Why'd he just throw a file at the window?" he asked before turning to look at them. "Woah are you okay? What happened in there?" He quickly stood to try and help them.

"I think he broke my arm, can you or Penelope take me to the hospital please? And tell everyone to leave him the fuck alone, he's being an ass for no reason." they answered through heavy breaths.

"Seriously? That doesn't- we can talk about it later, I'll ask Garcia to get you to the hospital." He assured before calling Penelope back into the room. A few moments later she came trotting into the room with a worried expression.

"What happened? Are you okay? Tell me in the car let's go, come." she rambled, ushering them to the lift.

"He's being a complete asshole. Honestly, you're best just giving him the silent treatment. He clearly doesn't want anyone near him." they grumbled as a few tears rolled down their cheeks.

"Oh Avery... It's alright we'll get you fixed up and I'll give him a piece of my mind." she threatened, the bells on her cat ear headband jingling with her motion.

"I got it, you focus on getting to the hospital safely ok? I've been waiting for a good reason to talk to him." Luke assured with a determined expression.