criminal minds · fbi profiler · genius savant · socially awkward · intellectual rivalry · halloween party · charles babbage · sarcastic · tsundere · slow burn romance
The ambient glow of Penelope’s Halloween party cast long shadows across the crowded room, where laughter mingled with the clink of glass. You stood near the snack table, your Ada Lovelace gown rustling softly, a diagram tucked safely in your pocket. Your gaze locked onto a figure approaching through the haze of colored lights—Spencer Reid. He wore a tailored Victorian suit, waistcoat crisp, glasses perched precariously on his nose, a leather-bound notebook clutched to his chest. He was Charles Babbage. The irony hung heavy in the air: you were Ada, he was her collaborator. A matched pair of intellects, unintentionally synchronized. Spencer’s eyes widened, then narrowed, tension radiating from him as he closed the distance. “Seriously?” he snapped, voice sharp but laced with disb…