Proxy ||Spencer Reid||

context of 'spice', please

"Sex scenes, String Bean." Damn it, this conversation was going too many directions at once because I could not leave either of those things behind.

"You guys choose books that specifically have sex scenes?" I questioned. "And could you not call me that, please?"

"Yes we do, because they're fun to read and learn from." Learn from? Why had that thought never occurred to me? "And it's fine if you don't want me to call you that, but what would you like me to call you instead?"

"Learn?" I questioned, and she tilted her head to the side. "And I would rather you call me literally anything else. That name is from a serial killer, in case you forgot."

"Well, they provide a safe space to explore what you might like. If you don't like reading it then you don't do it in real life, but if you do enjoy reading it then you can try it with someone. Opens up a world of possibilities." Oh, that is a good point. There wasn't any risk of trying something with someone and them not listening to your concerns, you were just reading. If you didn't like it, then you closed the book... or shut off your Kindle like Kory. "And alright, Pretty Boy. I won't call you String Bean anymore, I promise."

"How long have you been reading this spice for?" I questioned. "And thank you, I appreciate that."

"I've been reading it for years now. It was a struggle to get back into reading, but I guess it was a positive of being temporarily paralysed. I read a lot because there wasn't much else I could muster the energy to do... between the exercises and my studies and my depression, reading was just easy to do and entertaining. I used to read all the time in high school, although I mostly read fan-fiction back then." She looked at me for a moment as she realised she was handing me information about herself. Something in her told her to keep going, and I wouldn't argue against it. "I actually still read quite a lot of it. A whole bunch of the books on my shelves, I made them by hand because I wanted physical copies of my favourite fan-fics."

"You hand-bind books?" Didn't that take hours of work to do? And how had I not been able to tell which ones on her shelves were hand-made and which ones were bought?

"Well, I hand-bind fan-fiction, and only the ones I really like because that shit takes a long time to do and I will stop a project halfway if I lose interest." She ran a hand through her hair as we came to a stop at a red light.

"They're still books, the content doesn't matter." I replied, and she looked over to me with a strange smile on her face. "I'm just confused over which ones on your shelves are the ones you made. I didn't even pick up on it when I saw them."

"Well, maybe next time you come over I can show you one." Her voice was quiet, too quiet. Almost like she thought I wouldn't want to go into her home again. I guess we hadn't discussed any of that yet, how close of friends we would be. "If you ever want to come over again, that is."

"Well..." I took a deep breath as I thought over my options. Only one of them kept Kory around in my life in a greater capacity than just a co-worker, which meant there was only one that I could really choose. "How else am I meant to see Kody again?"

She shook her head and laughed. "It's good to know where I stand on the scale of things."

***

"Everyone, conference room," Hotch said as he walked out of his office, a file in hand and a look on his face that told us we had a case. While the others immediately stood up and began walking, I had to tap Kory's shoulder since she was wearing her headphones.

"Hmm?" She hummed, and I pointed to the round table room. "Right." We both grabbed our things and walked up side by side. As we did so I looked back at the mini chessboard I'd had on my desk for the last week.

Someone had been moving the black pieces whenever I left my desk, which meant I was playing an anonymous opponent. I had every suspicion that it was Kory, even though she'd never mentioned playing chess before. The only reason I thought that was because the person was an aggressive player, while still being calculated. Judging from everything I knew about her, it seemed to suit her personality.

But she'd denied it every time I'd asked, and whenever I questioned if she'd seen who it was she told me she didn't realise I'd even left my desk. It seemed like lies to me, but without evidence it was hard to prove.

"We have a case," Hotch stated the obvious as we all took our seats.

"I don't like that look on your face..." Kory trailed off, and Hotch shook his head.

"Appalachian Trail," he replied. That was enough to know that this wasn't going to be simple. "A group of hikers found the remains of four victims when their dog ran off. The bodies are too decomposed to have a cause of death yet, and the closest town to the burial site don't have the resources to handle this alone."

"How small is the town?" Rossi questioned.

"Less than 1000, including an estimate of those who live in the mountains." Garcia answered. Okay, that was not much to work with.

"Because of how remote it is, Garcia will be coming with us so she can set up a link to civilisation. Cait will be running point from back here if we need her." So, Hotch called Cait by her nickname again... I caught Kory's smirk as she picked up her file. Maybe this case would be the one the bet would finally come to an end on. "Kory and Dave, I want you two at the burial site when we arrive. Reid and JJ to the morgue, the coroner will probably need help determining cause of death so be patient with him, he's never dealt with murders before. Tara, Garcia and I will head to the station and get set up there. Any questions?"

No one said a word.

"Wheels up in twenty."

°•°•°

AUTHOR NOTE

As promised from the last chapter, I present an exquisitely average drawing of Kory and Spence. You're welcome.