puzzles of a heart | spencer reid ✓

seven

When Derek Morgan handed Spencer his usual morning cup of coffee, he commented: "you look like hell."

Spencer had stumbled back into his room at the crack of dawn and fallen into a heavy slumber the moment his head hit the pillow, only to be woken up two hours later. Getting up was agonising and he had jumped unenthusiastically into a freezing shower in an attempt to force himself awake. He got dressed in the usual: ironed collared shirt, a checkered tie, opaque pants and today, a plaid blazer jacket from Hugo Boss. 

The watch on his wrist read 8:03 AM when he stepped out of the elevator and directed himself to his team scattered across the breakfast buffet of the hotel. Spencer made his way across the diverse selections before placing his plates down on the table with JJ and Prentiss, taking a seat on the intricate chair as they both glanced up at him.

"Morning, you guys."

"What happened to you?" Prentiss's fork stopped halfway to her mouth and the piece of egg fell from the suddenness of her movement.

Spencer started cutting up his toast, not daring to meet their observant eyes. "Do I really look that bad? Because this is the second time this morning, Morgan said the same thing."

"Yeah and he was right," JJ watched him in disbelief, her sky-blue eyes travelling over his face and taking in the bags under his drowsy eyes and the creases on his forehead - searching for a clue which could indicate what he did last night. "Seriously Spence, did you get any sleep?"

He was conflicted at the idea of lying to JJ, but he couldn't state something that could be deemed as suspicious then cope under their speculations. Maybe he was just overthinking this, but Spencer had to play it cautiously - for what? He didn't know. It was better to be safe than sorry, explaining to the team about how he was in a girl's hotel room wouldn't go well - especially the well regarded Congress senator's daughter.

Just this once and I'll never do it again.

"Yeah, I did. Just not too well, I suppose. I'll be fine."

Prentiss' eyebrows creased together at his words; he could tell she only half-believed him. "You should try warm green tea before bed, it helps for a night of good sleep. "

"Thanks, Emily," Spencer said gratefully despite knowing that information already.

"Of course."

Spencer drowned out the chatter of the two while he buttered his toast and ate the pieces in slow bites. His mind was clear unlike yesterday despite the minimum hours of sleep he had gotten. He tried not to think about last night, but heck, staying up all night with a girl he just met was beyond anything he could've imagined to do. It was so out of character that he was scared of her, and of himself. And the principal part was that it was purely intellectual, not a hint of a gesture to suggest otherwise. He couldn't ignore the nagging pang of confusion tinted with unsureness in his chest but chose to bury it deeper within himself.

"Henry has been sleeping so well," JJ was speaking animatedly with her hands to Prentiss. "Well, at least he's not waking up Will in the middle of the night or odd hours in the mornings anymore. I'm so relieved, you don't understand."

"Ahh, kids..."

"You guys know how Hotch is doing? Especially with his son and everything." Spencer spoke up quietly at the subject of children, taking a glimpse of Hotch's figure at the cereal stands across the room. Their supervisor had been particularly turbulent lately after his encounter with Foyet and needed support more than ever, yet he wouldn't accept the team's intimacy. Spencer was frustrated, but at the same time, he understood the tough walls Hotch had built around himself - almost too familiar.