SSA Dr. Spencer Reid (
youfeelluckypunk) wrote2016-02-05 06:08 pm
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For Alec
With all the information that's been uncovered for the vampire case, Reid has been busier than usual. Most nights, he comes home exhausted, though he's always grateful that Luke has take-out saved for him or has even attempted to cook him a meal. Today is a rare day off, though it's not one for his boyfriend, and Luke has the store closed for a bit while he goes out to get them lunch.
He should be up in the apartment relaxing, Luke has told him as much, but he doesn't think it'll come as much of a surprise that he's wandered down into the store instead to move inventory from boxes to shelves. Organizing is a form of relaxation, at least for him, though he pauses to get lost in a copy of War and Peace. He's about a quarter of the way through when he happens to glance up to find a familiar face peering through the storefront.
Grinning, Reid returns the book to the shelf and goes to unlock the door, holding it open to allow his visitor inside. "Alec, hi," he greets, "Luke told me you stopped by a while ago." It's been far too long since Reid has seen Alec, and he feels a bit of guilt for that, but he tells himself he'll make more time after the case is over. If ever it does truly end. "He's out grabbing lunch, I'll text him to buy for three."
He should be up in the apartment relaxing, Luke has told him as much, but he doesn't think it'll come as much of a surprise that he's wandered down into the store instead to move inventory from boxes to shelves. Organizing is a form of relaxation, at least for him, though he pauses to get lost in a copy of War and Peace. He's about a quarter of the way through when he happens to glance up to find a familiar face peering through the storefront.
Grinning, Reid returns the book to the shelf and goes to unlock the door, holding it open to allow his visitor inside. "Alec, hi," he greets, "Luke told me you stopped by a while ago." It's been far too long since Reid has seen Alec, and he feels a bit of guilt for that, but he tells himself he'll make more time after the case is over. If ever it does truly end. "He's out grabbing lunch, I'll text him to buy for three."
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"I'm not broadcasting it to everyone or going out of my way to tell people but I'm not hiding him or anything," Alec said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Luke told me I should bring him over here for dinner or something before you came over with food and sweaters."
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Sometimes it catches him off-guard to think of how much has changed for him since arriving in Darrow. He's more open with so many more people here, and he thinks that's because his friends aren't actually also his colleagues. There's a level of professionalism he'd felt he needed to maintain, even with Morgan and JJ, though some situations had called for betraying that feeling. He'd been afraid of putting all his weaknesses and insecurities on display, afraid it would cause a rift, a sense of distrust while out in the field, and Reid certainly hadn't wanted that. Looking back, he thinks he probably should have put more faith in his teammates, but he can't change the past. All he can do is appreciate what he has in the present.
"I'm glad you're easing into it Steps, that's what it takes. Oh, but whether or not you two come over for dinner, which you definitely should, I'll still bring you food and sweaters. There's just no avoiding it."
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He'd managed though even if he still felt the slight trepidation that came along with doing something you'd been afraid of doing for so long. He was managing though. He was.
"The dinner I can understand. I like to eat, I'm sure Magnus does too. He'll love being the center of attention but why the sweaters? Do I need better sweaters?"
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The only thing that hasn't changed is his affinity for wearing his Chucks. Perhaps not the most professional attire he could choose but even in Darrow, nobody's complained.
"They're just a universally acceptable gift," he continues. "It's all I'd get from my Aunt Ethel when I was a kid. Then again, Aunt Ethel also had a tendency to tell me I was too skinny and my hair was too long so maybe she's not the best person to use as a gift-giving model."
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"You don't need to bring me sweaters if you ever want to stop by," he assured Reid with a shake of his head. "I've managed to build up a good assortment of sweaters since I've gotten here."
Sure, they were almost all black and some of them had been ripped and wrecked on trips out with Isabelle but they were all still in one piece. Mostly. "Did you ever have long hair? Longer than it is, I mean."
He tried to imagine Reid with hair down his back and couldn't do it. Alec himself had let his hair get long at time or two but it tended to get in the way and so he'd tried to keep it fairly short as of late.
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That Alec doesn't tend to get gifts really just prompts Reid to want to provide him with more, not out of any need for gratitude or anything in return, simply because he knows how importance it is to feel like someone cares. He realizes that handing out material items isn't the only way to show that Alec is important to him, and Alec is surely well aware by now of how many people are really looking out for him; but at the same time, it's such a small gesture that Reid doesn't see any real reason to put a complete stop to it.
Maybe a subtle gift of a book here, a surprise lunch there, things that can be passed off as casual. He'd like to do the same for Isabelle, as soon as he's able to get a fuller idea of what she may be interested in.
"As for my hair, I'd argue it was never that bad," he says, tucking a loose strand behind his ear. "At a certain point, it was just below the shoulders. Kind of a starving artist situation. In my defense, I'd been recovering from being shot in the knee so hair maintenance wasn't my highest priority."
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Until now.
"I don't think I've ever let my hair get that long," he said, trying to picture Reid with hair long enough that Alec supposed could be tied back. Isabelle's hair had always been long and he tried to imagine Reid with hair like that and then had to shake himself when the two mental images combined and confused him. "It's been down around my ears before but I keep it short. Easier when I'm working."
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His smile tightens briefly, his eyes flickering to the floor before he meets Alec's gaze again.
"Luke seems to like me the way I am, anyway," he says, "that's good enough for me. It's nice to know there's at least one person in this city who accepts me for who I am, no matter the circumstances."
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What he had seen was how Luke looked at Reid and how comfortable they were around each other. Alec was acutely observant sometimes and incredibly oblivious at others but even he could notice that. He just hadn't been able to notice someone who had been looking at him the same way.
"I don't have an Aunt Ethel," he confirmed with a shake of his head. "We don't see our family that often. If at all."
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"To be fair, I think the same could be said of how Magnus feels about you," Reid counters. "And I know it's not quite the same thing, but-- but I can be your Aunt Ethel." He pauses, frowning, because that hadn't come out quite as nicely as he'd hoped. "No, forget I said that. I just mean that when you end up somewhere like Darrow, the only real choice you have is to choose your own family. That's what you've become to me."
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"You're not my Aunt Ethel," Alec agreed with a quick shake of his head. He knew he had family out there, mostly in Idris, but they weren't close. He wasn't sure if that was a consequence of distance or because his parents had been in the Circle, had been Valentine's lackeys for awhile and now people didn't want to associate with Lightwoods because of that taint. "I like you better than any aunts I might have."