Psychopathy

Chapter 84- A Safe Place

When they finally got up to his apartment, Ciara took a look around, chuckling to herself softly. She couldn't have imagined this place any differently- it did have a sort of dark academia feel with the darker, muted colors and the wall-to-wall bookshelves overflowing with books. Though she couldn't help but notice the pop of color in one section of his bookshelf, and when she looked over those few books, she felt a warm feeling in her chest. That pop of color belonged to Isabel Ashe's books. She'd known he had all of them, of course, but seeing them so prominently displayed made a sense of pride swell inside of her, and even Baby B started to kick slightly as if giving their approval.

"Ah, yes, Isabel Ashe. One of my favorite authors. And I don't usually read fiction- not much in English, anyway- so believe me when I say that that's saying something," Reid said as he came up beside her, his gaze also locked on those books. Ciara felt the corners of her mouth lift into a smile. He, of course, knew that Ciara was Isabel Ashe- everyone at the BAU did, except for maybe Blake. Ciara wasn't sure if anyone had told Blake about Ciara's little side hustle. But what made her smile more than anything was Reid finding a way to praise her without it being directed straight at her. He knew that praise made her uncomfortable sometimes, like a vending machine trying to accept a crinkled dollar bill. "Isabel Ashe really is an extremely talented author, don't you think?"

"She certainly has her moments," Ciara answered simply. As uncomfortable as hearing praise made her, praising herself made her even more uncomfortable. Reid laughed softly at her comment, before heading into the kitchen that didn't look like it was used very often, Ciara right behind him.

"You'll have to forgive me, Ciara. I'm not much of a cook, but I'm sure I can manage to make something if you're hungry. If anything, I have a stash of sweets around here somewhere," Reid said, and now it was Ciara's turn to laugh. She knew about Reid's sweet tooth- everyone did. It didn't shock her in the slightest that he had a stash of sweets.

"I'm not really hungry, but I appreciate the offer. And if worse comes to worst, I can always make us something," Ciara offered, knowing that of the two of them, she was easily the better cook. Reid glanced over at her and gave her a look, and she shrugged slightly.

"First off, you're my guest. I'm not making you do anything. And second, when was the last time you ate something?" Ciara's cheeks flushed, and she knew she'd been caught. It wasn't like she was purposefully not eating- she just didn't think about it most times. During Halsey, she'd only been giving food when James decided to. In After, the hospital gave her regular meals and when she went home, Akilah had been the one to make sure she ate. But now that Akilah had moved out and Ciara was on her own... Well, most times, she simply forgot that she needed to eat. It had been a long time since it had been up to her when and what she ate, and she was still getting used to it. "That's what I thought. At least have a snack."

"Fine," Ciara conceded, looking over the snacks and sweets that Reid had pulled out. To be honest, she wasn't a huge sugar person, except when it came to the natural sugar found in fruit. It wasn't because she was some health nut, but processed sugar just didn't taste right to her. She was more a fan of citrusy and sour flavors, anyway, so she was more than pleased when she looked in his fridge and found some oranges, picking two out. Once she had gotten them peeled, she moved throughout the apartment, exploring and looking for a suitable wall to project onto. Mainly, looking to see if there was a single wall that didn't have a bookshelf on it.

"Already trying to get that movie set up, are you?" Reid laughed, and Ciara shrugged.

"I meant it when I said ye had to know 'Deliver Us'," she answered with an amused tone. Reid thought for a moment, before smiling.

"I have an idea. Set up the projector on the coffee table. And yes, I know that faces a bookshelf, but just humor me, okay?" he said, before disappearing into another room. Ciara just went along with it, placing the projector where she wanted it and connecting her laptop to it, before pulling out Prince Of Egypt from her bag, feeding the disc into her laptop. That was when Reid came back, holding a white bedsheet. Ciara couldn't help but laugh as he hung the sheet over the bookshelf, using some spare books to keep it in place. He was making use of what he had, and she couldn't help but appreciate his ingenuity.