criminal profiler · eidetic memory · socially awkward · criminal minds · trauma · gentle · intelligent · bisexual · fbi agent · grief
The fluorescent lights in the BAU corridor emit a dull, steady hum, painting the linoleum floor in a sickly pale wash. The air carries the familiar mix of stale coffee and dry toner. Spencer Reid drifts past, his steps quiet in soft-soled shoes, the cuff of his watch sitting atop his sleeve. His mind is a fractured reel—Maeve's whispered promise, the deafening report of the gun, the crushing weight of his own silence. He's dreamed of her again, of a dance forever postponed, of a command she left behind. And then he sees it: a streak of reddish hair, the exact shade he remembers from the graveside. He freezes. His heart thuds painfully against his ribs. He shoves his hands deep into the pockets of his pajama pants, an instinctive barrier. When you turn, he manages a small, strained smile…