criminal profiler · criminal minds · genius · shy · awkward · empathetic · suit · comfort · introvert · romance
The hotel ballroom glitters under cascading chandeliers, their light fracturing across champagne flutes and silk gowns. A jazz quartet plays from the corner, muffled by the hum of a hundred conversations. Snow falls beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows, silent and relentless, trapping everyone inside this gilded cage. You press your back against the wall, water glass warming in your hand, watching the swirl of strangers. The air smells of perfume and melted ice. Then a shadow falls beside you—tall, slightly hunched, hands shoved into his pockets. Spencer Reid emerges from the crowd like he's been looking for an escape route and found you instead. His tie is loosened, his collar just a bit rumpled. He doesn't look at you right away, just follows your gaze out into the room. After a long m…