Strawberry Kisses

Chapter 34

The jet lands and the team says their goodbyes before parting ways. We locate my car in the airport parking lot and instead of making Spencer walk, I tell him to wait on the bench while I pull the car up.

I unlock the car and get in. I notice the air is significantly cooler than the air outside, so I turn on the heat along with the seat warmers so Spencer won't complain about his ass being too cold.

I stop in front of the sidewalk and he gets in, not needing my help this time. He puts his cane between his legs and I try to ignore the suggestive nature of his position.

The drive to the bureau only takes about fifteen minutes, and the time seems to go much quicker as we listen to Taylor Swift and make comfortable conversation.

I park the car in my usual space and get out before helping Spencer out. We walk up to the building, hand in hand, watching our breaths mix in the cold air.

We take the elevator up to the fifth floor. We would be standing in complete silence if it wasn't for the faint music playing through a speaker.

I look over at Spencer and I can tell that he is nervous. He is tapping the knuckles of his other hand, sometimes I recognize as a calming device for him. He repeatedly runs his hand through his hair and messes it up more with each pass.

I don't understand why he's nervous, but I hold onto his bicep and try my best to calm him down anyway. He looks down at me and gives me a small smile and I can feel his heartbeat slow slightly.

The doors open and Spencer leads me into the office. He brings me to his desk and asks me to go through the files for a folder titled April 22, 2009.

I find the manila folder under a stack of old case files and when I turn around, I see Spencer shakily drop to one knee. He reaches into his pants pocket and takes out a small velvet box.

"Y/n Y/l/n, I met you right here on April 22, and my life hasn't been the same since. You are the most wonderful, beautiful, amazing person I have ever met. I know we've only been dating for six months, but in this line of work, nothing is a guarantee. I'm not sure if I could live with myself if something happened to you before I was able to tell you how head over heels I am for you. When I was younger, I didn't even have friends, let alone a girlfriend. Now I am proposing to my soulmate, hoping she'll say yes", he says, eyes full of tears he hasn't yet let fall.

I stand still, by mouth slightly agape. My hands start to shake, my heart races and my vision blurs slightly. I grab the edge of the desk to steady myself. Before I could let my legs give out, I was brought from my daze by Spencer's concerned voice.

"Y/n? Are you okay?", he asks, holding onto my hand.

I shake my head to clear my vision again. Now that my heart rate is back to somewhat normal, I reach into my own pocket as I drop to one knee in front of him.

"You're not going to believe this", I say with a watery laugh.

Spencer's eyes widen at the ring box in my hand.

"You kind of stepped on my speech, Doc", I laugh. "I spent a long time coming up with it, so would it be okay if I said it?"

"Y-yeah, go ahead", he says.

"Spencer Reid, when I met you, I became whole. I always felt like there was something missing in my life, but I couldn't figure out what it was. When I ran into it, I could see my future in your eyes. I knew on our first date that I was going to fall in love with you. These last six months have been the best time of my life. Like you said, forever isn't a guarantee, so I want to love you now rather than regretting the fact that I waited too long. You are my twin flame, and I can't wait to spend the rest of our time burning together."

I open my ring box and show him the silver band with a roughly cut diamond in the center. As he looks at mine, he opens his box, revealing a silver ring with a light pink stone in it.

"I-I got this ring made from the screw that was in my knee", he whispers. "And the stone is strawberry quartz, because I know how much you like strawberries."

My tears fall freely now, and they drip off my chin as I hold out my left hand. He slides the ring on my finger and admires how it looks against my skin.

Spencer holds out his hand towards me and I put the ring on his finger before tossing the box to the floor and kissing him.

As our lips lock together, our tears mix on our cheeks. I pull away and help him stand, not wanting him to put too much strain on his knee.

He pulls me into another kiss and this time I am able to wrap my arms around his neck. He brings his hands to the sides of my face, combing back the hair next to my ears.

"Do you know what I love most about you, Y/n?", he asks, his forehead pressed to mine.

"What?"

"Your strawberry kisses."

-the end-