#i'd actually forgotten that i'd written this tho - found it accidentally

[decisions-at-3am]

Writing down all my fears, Transferring their permanence. Containing them in paper. Folding it carefully. It's partly my delusion, Hoping they'll leave me be. Take a match, and let it catch. Watch those tongues of fire, Slowly devouring. Eventually it's all gone, As if it were never here. I'll collect the ashes, Use it to feed my garden.

[reidsaurora]

"Midnight Muffins" ~ S. Reid

Summary: When Spencer and Reader find themselves pulling an all-nighter for a case and Spencer accidentally reveals that midnight marks his birthday, Reader has the perfect way to celebrate—chocolate muffins at midnight.

Pairing: Spencer Reid x GN!Reader (no use of Y/N, Reader carries a purse tho)

Word Count: 1,888

Content Warning: food consumption, very mild swearing, honestly i think that's it? lmk if i missed anything though!

Genre: chocolatey, sugary Fluff 🥰

Extra Notes: none that i can think of!

Based On the Prompt: "What Doesn't Kill Me" - sleep deprivation (from 2022 Whumptober Prompts)

Originally Written: between 10/11/2022 and 10/12/2022

Beta Read By: @dungeons-are-too-cold 🫶🏻

Criminal Minds masterlist can be found here!

Whumptober masterlist/schedule can be found here!

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Hotch wiped the sleep from his eyes as he let out a loud yawn. "Alright, everyone, it's been a long day. Head back to the hotel and get some rest. We'll meet back here in the morning," he instructed, followed by another yawn.

Everyone headed toward the door sluggishly, being hit with a whiff of night air as Derek opened the door.

"Shoot," Spencer exhaled as his foot hit the second stair.

"What is it?" I managed to ask through a yawn of my own.

"I forgot my bag," he explained, heading back toward the door.

"I can wait here."

A crimson color flushed over his cheeks. "No, that's OK. You go ahead with everyone else. I'll be right behind you guys."

I shrugged my shoulders in response, watching as he disappeared back into the police station. Little did he know I wasn't taking no for an answer, promptly sitting down on the brick steps and pulling my windbreaker tighter to my arms to shield them from the coldness of the October night air.

I nearly fell asleep on the steps as I waited for him, checking my watch just to see how long I'd been waiting. "Twenty minutes is a long time to search for a bag," I thought, pushing myself up.

I wandered through the precinct, eventually pacing into the office we'd been previously working in. I immediately spotted Spencer, who was writing something on the whiteboard and Hotch, who was looking over some files at the desk.

"What are you two doing in here?" I asked, one of my eyebrows cocking upward.

"I'm working," Hotch answered, "He's supposed to be searching for his bag but apparently he's decided to work as well."

My hands flew to my hips. "I thought you were right behind us," I mentioned, directed at Spencer.

He had the face of a child with their hand caught in the cookie jar. "I was…" his voice dragged off.

"Then what are you doing in here?"

"Well, I figured if Hotch was staying all night that he might need some help," he answered, his puppy-dog eyes prominent. "Honestly, I didn't think anyone would notice if I stayed behind."

A pang stung my heart as I listened to his answer. "Of course I'd notice. I promised I'd wait for you."

His brows furrowed as he asked, "You've been waiting out in the cold for me for almost a half hour?"

"Yes, I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me," I answered deadpan.

"Never," he chuckled, "I honestly thought you'd gone with everyone else."

Hotch walked toward the doorway, fist tight around the files he carried. "Well, if the two of you are going to stay, could you actually work and stop gabbing?" he sassed, stalking out the door.

Spencer's cheeks blushed red as he turned back to the board in front of him. He quickly put his attention back on the geographical profile.

I couldn't help but giggle as I placed my bag down and promptly got back to work.

A couple hours came and went, I wasn't sure how long it had been exactly. I found myself combing through the suspect list, my eyes growing heavy as I scanned over each page.

I let out a long yawn as I glanced at my watch. "How is there only a half an hour 'til midnight?" I grumbled, looking up at Spencer from my spot in the office chair.

"This is not how I imagined I'd be spending my birthday this year," Spencer commented nonchalantly.

My mouth fell agape in disbelief. "Tomorrow's your birthday and you didn't remind me?"

He shrugged his shoulders before turning to face me. "I didn't think it was all that important."

"We have to celebrate!" I told him. "I'm not quite sure where I could get a birthday cake at this time of night but I'm sure I could find something."

"You aren't going anywhere," he insisted. "If you leave, I swear my ghost will haunt you forever."

I pouted, the same pout a kid would give their parent when they told them "no" to eating sweets before dinner. "But I wanna celebrate you!"

He rolled his eyes, turning back around. "You act like a child when you're sleep deprived," he commented.

"How about this? I won't leave, but I will treat you to whatever snack you want from the vending machine."

He mumbled something under his breath, just loud enough for me to understand his aggravation. "You aren't going to let this go, are you?" he commented at full volume.

"Nope," I answered, the p popping loudly.

"OK, fine," he muttered, "but you aren't allowed to celebrate until after midnight."

"I'll have my alarm set."

And with that, I turned my attention back to the files in front of me, most of my strength being put into the act of holding my eyes open.

I wasn't quite sure how it happened, but just as soon as I'd closed my eyes to blink, I was awakening from a short slumber.

Or what I thought was a short slumber.

I frantically rubbed the sleep from my eyes as I pushed myself up from my previous position of resting my head on the hard, wooden desk. I looked down at my watch, registering that the clock had somehow magically skipped from 11:45 to 2:15.

"You let me sleep for two and a half hours? And miss your birthday?" I whined, sleep heavily coating my throat.

"To be fair," he answered, pausing for a yawn, "I wasn't born until the afternoon so technically you didn't miss it."

I pushed myself up from the office chair, stretching out my arms as I plodded toward him. "What would you like from the machine?" I asked, pulling my wallet out of my purse.

His mouth scrunched as he thought, presumably attempting to figure out his answer. "What's your favorite?"

"No," I argued, "it's your birthday. I wanna buy you a snack."

"Buy something we can share," he instructed.

And with that, I trudged out of the office and over to the vending machine. My eyes scanned all the options, contemplating what he'd like most.

My eyes landed on a bag of those mini chocolate muffins. Bingo. Sure, it wasn't a traditional cake or cupcake, but Spencer liked chocolate more than anyone I'd ever met.

I punched in the number, watching eagerly as the bag slid down to the bottom of the machine. After marching back to the meeting room, I held out the muffins in front of the birthday boy himself.

"You like these?" he inquired, his eyebrows ruffling.

"Why? Do you not like them?" I fretted, my eyes darting away from him.

"No, they're my favorite," he answered reassuringly. "I just wanted to make sure you didn't buy them just for me."

I shook my head. "They're for us to share. If you want to share them, that is."

"Of course."

And with that, he ripped open the package, placing a muffin in my hand before popping one into his mouth.

I tossed the muffin into my mouth, savoring the taste of chocolate and sugar. I watched as Spencer turned his attention away from the muffins and back to the files in his hand, mentally deciding that he worked himself too hard.

"Coffee delivery," Hotch said as he paced through the door with a drink carrier, three steaming hot cups of coffee being held in place.

"Where the hell did you find coffee at this hour of the night?" I asked, taking the cup marked pumpkin spice latte from the cardboard carrier.

"You'd be surprised how many twenty-four-hour coffee shops New York City has to offer," he chuckled, taking his presumably plain black coffee from the container and pressing it to his lips.

Spencer took the last drink, looking over the label on the side. I assumed it was most likely a caramel latte—Spencer's favorite—my suspicions being confirmed when he commented, "Thank you for remembering my order. Morgan and JJ usually get it wrong."

My heart felt heavy when I considered Spencer's comments throughout the night—his comment about nobody caring if he stayed behind, his comment about how his birthday wasn't important, and now his comment about everyone forgetting his coffee order. If it hadn't been considered weird, I might've given him a reassuring kiss just to let him know that even if no one else did, I cared.

I pushed my feelings to the back of my mind, placing them in the "to figure out later" box in my mind. One good thing that came from this job was learning how to be good at compartmentalization.

One hour turned into two, two turned into three, and before we knew it, the sun was on the brink of rising, light orange colors painting the sky outside the slightly ajar window (Spencer had claimed the fresh air from the window helped him think better).

"You two head back to the hotel," Hotch instructed.

"What about this?" Spencer fretted, motioning to the stack of files that sat on the edge of the desk.

"I've got this. The others will be here in about an hour. You two go rest up. Enjoy your day off."

"Day off?" I questioned. "Hotch, we don't-"

"Go," he commanded, "you two have worked harder than I've seen anyone work in a long time. If I see you come back within the next twenty-four hours, I'll have to write you up and then Strauss will get involved. Do you guys really want that?"

The two of us shook our heads, managed a quick, "Thank you," before heading out into the coolness of the morning air.

Luckily, our hotel was only a ten-minute walk from the precinct, prompting us to not drive in our exhausted state.

I watched as the sunrise glistened over Spencer's skin, the rays practically sparkling on the dark freckles of his arms. The oranges and pinks in the sky nearly illuminated his lips, making them look even more plump and pink than they did before. He looked pretty like this.

"What?" he said, a chuckle sitting at the edge of his tongue.

"Nothing," I answered, internally embarrassed that he'd caught me staring.

We walked a few more feet in silence, a comfortable kind of silence that I'd probably only enjoy with Spencer.

He ended up being the one to break the silence, initially letting out a verbal yawn before saying, "Thank you, by the way."

"You're welcome," I replied, lightly nudging his shoulder with mine, "It's the least I could do. I'm sorry you had to spend your birthday pulling an all-nighter and sifting through suspect files."

"Eh, it's OK. At least I got to do it with you."

For a second, I thought he might kiss me. To be honest, I was hoping he would. Instead, he just looked down at my hand for a moment before looking back up so as to ask for permission.

I nodded in approval, a half-smile finding its way to my lips as he wrapped his fingers around mine. He caressed the back of my hand with his thumb, his silent way of saying, "Thank you again."

I lay my head against his shoulder as we continued our trek, my silent way of replying, "You didn't even have to ask."

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Happy birthday, my favorite libra boy!! You really have completed 41 trips around the sun!

Alright, I know you aren't real in this universe 🥲 but someday, I'm gonna shift and get to tell you all this in person.

I love you so much Spencer Reid, happy birthday my chocolate-loving genius 🫶🏻

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