Break My Back Like a Glowstick And Call Me A Whore: A Series of One Shots

A Celebration

(Author's note: This story takes place after the events of Season 8, so if you haven't watched it, I am going to try to be as vague as possible. <3 )

It had been a day. Whenever Y/N got home, the first thing she did was text and let Spencer know she'd made it home. It eased his mind at work and it gave her a routine to stick to everyday. A sort of safeguard to keep her thoughts from traveling to the many dangers his job would put him in. She knew he did his best to keep himself safe, but she couldn't help but worry, even still.

The sound of her phone going off took her thoughts out of focus for a second and she saw a response text from Spence that just read 'Thank you, on the way home.' Her eyes lit up when she read this and she immediately texted him back, letting him know she was going to be up when he got home. They had just wrapped up a minor case he'd been giving her small details about and that meant that, until something big came in, he got to be home for a little bit.

Y/N walked around her apartment, thinking about what she could do to make this evening special for them. A small celebration to all his hard work and all the people he saved with that big brain of his. After some thought, she got an idea to put together a lovely dinner for the two of them, and, after some planning, she got a rough idea of how she'd want it to go. Taking into account the amount of time between the plane ride home, the debrief, the ride home, and the ride over, she estimated that she'd have about 3 hours to put this all together, which meant she could do a fancier dinner than just tv dinners or Asian takeaway.

Around an hour into the setup, Y/N had dug out some old candlesticks that she dusted off, a tablecloth from the last time she'd had dinner with her parents, and some moderately priced wine from her liquor cabinet. She'd already set the table, so that meant she had at least 2 hours left to cook something amazing. Y/N loved to cook, even if she wasn't great at it sometimes. But then, no one is really a master chef, right? And she knew Spencer would probably appreciate something homemade.

Settling in to cook, she heard her phone go off and she checked it. It was a text from Spencer telling her they were entering Virginia airspace and that he'd have to drop his stuff off, but that he was coming over to see her. This filled her tummy with butterflies and she quickly responded before setting her phone down and turning to the recipe book that Rossi had given her, opened on her counter from her frantic flip through during the setup process. She approached it with a more calm mind and casually turned a few pages before settling on spaghetti bolognese. She'd made it a few times before, so she had a grip on what the recipe entailed, but she was going to make it without shortcuts this time.

Typically, when one makes the recipe, one would use fresh ingredients. In the past, that one was not Y/N because of the low paying job she'd had for a while. Recently, after switching to a cozy desk job with the college down the road from her apartment, she'd been able to afford a better living environment and better ingredients, amongst other things. The thought was at the back of her mind to thank Spencer for his recommendation letter he wrote her for the job while she started washing the veggies for the recipe. Once she'd finished washing the veggies, she set a pot to boil on the stove and zoned out as she started to cook.

Sometime during her setting the table, she'd turned on music and it was playing quietly in the background of her apartment as she put the finishing touches on the meal, garnishing the top with basil and setting a small grinder full of parmesan cheese on the table afterwards. When she was completely finished setting the meal up, she checked her phone as it had gone off while she was cooking and hadn't been able to check it. Spencer had texted her to let her know they'd gotten off the plane, and then again to tell her he was through debrief. Her lack of response had caused him to worry apparently, because pretty soon she heard a hurried knocking at her door. She froze a moment, checking the time and realized it was about 30 minutes before he was supposed to be there.

Y/N quickly headed to the door and opened it, a slightly panicked looking Dr. Reid on the other side of it, his bag still slung over his shoulder. Upon seeing her, he visibly relaxed and pulled her into a hug, something rare for him due to his germ habits. Taken a bit by surprise, she felt butterflies rise up inside her tummy again and she threw her arms around him. His voice was coming across her ears, asking her why she didn't respond and explaining that he was worried when she didn't respond. Y/N slowly withdrew from the hug and bit her lip, smiling at him until he stopped talking, giving her a small questioning "What?" before he peered over her shoulder and saw the table set, candles lit, and soft music playing in the background.

"Is all this.. For me?", he asked as she stepped aside to let him in, the smell of freshly prepared bolognese filling his nose as he entered his love's apartment. Y/N nodded quickly. "I wanted to do something special for you, to celebrate all your hard work. And.. I'm sorry I didn't answer, the recipe is a lot more complex when you aren't cutting corners with ingredients." Her voice was filled with a warmth that made Spencer feel safe, even if he knew that she didn't have much in terms of security around the place. "Let me guess. Spaghetti bolognese from that recipe book Rossi got you for your birthday?" A blush covered her face and she smiled real wide, nodding excitedly. "I feel like I made him proud today, even if I didn't drink wine while preparing it. Oh! That reminds me, I got some Stella Rosa. I know it's not expensive, but it's what I had at the time, so--" "I'm sure it'll be perfect since you're the one that picked it out.", Spencer interrupted.

Once they had sat down, Y/N filled their glasses with Stella Rosa and scooped piles of spaghetti on their plates before raising her glass and smiling at her loving boyfriend. She took in his appearance, his curls, his smile, the way his eyes held the warmth of the candlelight in them. She even took in the fact that his clothes were still a little disheveled from the ride home and the possibility that he slept on the plane. "A toast to you, Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU. A hero of our time, and my personally favorite person." She said, tilting her glass forward ever so slightly. "And to you, Miss Y/N. The most amazing woman I've had the pleasure of sharing a life with." He responded, tilting his own glass forward and gently clinking it against hers before they both took their sip and began to eat, conversating about life, love, work, and their little troubles throughout the day, their shared happiness echoing into the fading hours of the night.

End.