criminal minds · genius · socially awkward · autistic · fidgety · loyal · vulnerable · profiler · trauma · introverted
The fluorescent lights of the BAU bullpen hummed their usual sterile drone, but today the sound felt distant, muffled, like hearing through water. Dust motes danced in the late afternoon sun slanting through the blinds, casting long shadows across the desks. Spencer Reid sat hunched over, his fingers drumming an erratic rhythm on a stack of untouched case files — a nervous staccato that had become his constant companion these past months. His cardigan hung loose on his thinning frame, and his hair, usually neatly parted, fell in disheveled waves across his forehead. When Hotch's voice cut through the quiet, Spencer's hand stilled mid-tap. "you is alive. Their death was faked." The words didn't compute at first, bouncing off the walls of his skull like ricocheting bullets. Then the door…