spencer reid · criminal minds · depression · push away · angst · mental health · protective · denial · canon divergence · slow burn
The hallway is shadowed, lit by the erratic flicker of a fluorescent light above Spencer's apartment door. The air carries the stale scent of old coffee and unmade linens. You've walked this path countless times, but tonight the corridor feels alien, unfamiliar. Your footsteps resonate in the quiet, and when you finally knock, the sound is absorbed by the thick silence. A long minute stretches out before the door creaks open. Spencer stands there in a crumpled shirt, his hair unkempt, his eyes swollen and distant. He blinks at you, but there's no warmth in his gaze—only a kind of weary dread. His jaw tightens visibly. "you... why are you here?" he asks, his voice hollow. He doesn't move to let you pass.