The Bartender-- On hiatus

The One With Guilt

I'm late to updating again, so sorry. But, thank you so much for reading!

Words: 1,384 - Sorry for the shorter chapters, once I'm done, they might not be longer but I'll update daily.

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When he wakes, Spencer doesn't open his eyes immediately. Instead, he lies there, his arms wrapped around Robin as her head rests on his chest. He didn't want to move. He wanted to stay there forever, with her, feeling the way he does.

A tickle on his side is what has him finally blinking his eyes open. Looking down he sees Robin already awake, her eyes on his face as her fingers trace his ribs. "What are you doing?" He asks sleepily, feeling better rested than he has in a long time.

"Just watching you sleep." She mumbles in response. "In a non-creepy way, I swear." That draws a chuckle from the man under her, the vibrations of the noise racking through his chest. "I want to make you breakfast."

"Mm, you don't have too." Spencer shakes his head, bringing his hand up to run through her hair.

"I know, I want too," Robin tells him but makes no move to get up. "Maybe in a few minutes though."

"Yeah, a few more minutes." Spencer nods in agreement, hugging her closer to him.

A 'few' minutes later, the couple finally pull themselves from the bed and into the kitchen. Robin insists on making breakfast but Spencer wasn't going to let her do it alone, of course, and helps her. She takes the lead, mixing the ingredients he hands her before dumping the pancake batter into the pan.

Walking behind her, Spencer stops short when he sees the dark mark peeking from under his T-shirt that's falling off Robin's shoulder. He hooks a finger over the neck's hemline, and when Robin doesn't stop him, he pulls until he can fully see the mark. A tattoo of a lighthouse sits just behind her left shoulder, right next to her shoulder blade.

"That's a story for another time." She tells him before he can ask.

Humming, Spencer moves on without question and places a kiss to her skin before burying his face in her neck, his arms going around her waist. "If we keep going this way, it'll be your turn to cook next." Robin points out when they sit down to eat.

"Sounds like a plan."

"So, I was thinking," Robin starts after a moment of comfortable silence. "If you're free Thursday night, I'm singing at Roses. I'd love it if you would come."

"I'll be there." He shouldn't promise that he knows, but couldn't bring himself to say anything that would shrink her smile even the smallest but. And he really wanted to be there, he loved listening to her sing.

"Good. Marisa has been on me about meeting you." Robin tells him before taking another bite of food. "She's one of my closest friends."

"Is that your way of telling me to be nice?" Spencer jokes.

"Trust me, you're not the one I need to warn. Marisa is very protective. So prepare to be grilled." Robin points her fork at him, not missing the small look of panic passing through his eyes. "Don't worry, she'll love you. I have no doubt."

Nodding, Spencer looks down at his food. Her words helped but this means a lot to him, he wants to make a good impression. What if one or more of Robin's friends didn't like him? Then what? Would it cause a rift between them, would they break apart? Would she lose some of her friends? He didn't want any of those things to happen.

"Alright, stop your worrying," Robin tells him as she picks up his empty plate, placing it atop of her own. "You go get ready for work, I'll clean this up." Standing, she walks behind him, placing a kiss to the side of his head on her way to the sink.

"You don't have to do that." Spencer says as he ties his tie around his neck.

"I'm not going to argue, I'm washing the dishes, Spencer, finish getting ready for work."

"Yes, ma'am."

Snorting, Robin shakes her head as she places the last dish onto the drying rack. She smiles when she turns back to him, something akin to butterflies filling her stomach as she takes him in. It still seemed impossible to her that he was in her life. "You know, I'm not the jealous type, but you're just so handsome, I don't know how I can't be."

"Because..." Spencer trails off with a thoughtful look as Robin walks into his arms. "I'm already yours?"

"Hm, yes, you make a very good point." She chuckles, wrapping her arms around his neck when he leans down for a kiss. "Have a good day at work, okay?"

"Yeah." Spencer nods, placing one more kiss to Robin's lips before pulling back. "I'll see you later."

"See you later," Robin repeats and a smirk grows on her face before she quickly adds. "Alligator." Shaking his head, Spencer can't help but laugh along with her.

"Wheels up in thirty." Trying to hide how those words make him feel, Spencer stands from his seat at the round table and leaves the room before anyone could have a chance to say anything to him. He'd known not so deep down this was going to happen, he had just been hoping it wouldn't.

Ducking into the men's bathroom, Spencer pulls out his phone and brings it to his ear, listening to it ring until the person on the other end picks up.

"You got a case." It wasn't a question. Spencer hated how she already knew. But her voice was soft, not angry, not upset. Maybe the tiniest trace of disappointment but overall, understanding. That somehow made him feel even worse.

"I'm sorry." Spencer immediately apologizes, closing his eyes with a sigh. "I don't know if we'll be back by Thursday, but I'll try. I promise."

"Oh, Spence, I know," Robin tells him gently. "It's okay if you're not. You can meet Marisa any other time. You can hear me sing whenever. Go catch the bad guys."

"You're amazing." Spencer says with a soft smile. He still feels guilty and he'll never stop, but she still made him feel better.

"I know," Robin responds cheekily, giving a soft laugh. "Stay safe, call me when you can."

"I will." Spencer nods even though she can't see him. "Bye."

"Bye, Spence." Robin responds before hanging up, knowing that if she didn't now, she never would.

Standing for another moment, Spencer heaves a big sigh before leaving the bathroom and heading to his desk to gather his supplies.

After loading onto the jet and going over the case, Reid takes up a seat by himself near the back. He could review the case more, even if he remembers everything they already know, it could help get his head working right. But he can't. Instead, he stares out the window, caught up in his mind.

He's always loved his job. There were times he thought maybe he could be doing more. He was smart, after all. But he knew this is where he was meant to be, he didn't doubt that now. But with Robin, getting on the jet to fly off wherever, whenever they were needed felt harder. He felt selfish in different ways. There are people who needed his help, who counted on him. But what about the other people in his life he was rejecting by doing so? He felt torn.

Guilt eats away at him. He runs Robin's sincere voice telling him it was okay, that she understood over and over in his head, hoping it would help him feel better. He wasn't sure if it was helping or just making him feel that much worse.

Spencer pictures her, waiting for him to get back only for him to leave again. He can't help but think she'd be better off without him.

Sighing, Spencer shifts his eyes away from the window and looks down at the case file in his lap, trying to focus on something else.

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They're such a cute couple but Spencer is having some feelings. He's gonna have to work through those or something bad might happen.

Thank you for reading, I really hoped you guys enjoyed and let me know!

'-'