Poker Faces & Mistletoe Kisses
A/N: Wow! Two stories in two nights! I am officially on a roll! I wasn’t planning to write a Christmas story, but I got a lovely anonymous request to write a Secret Santa story. So without further ado, enjoy!
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader
Warnings: None really except for some almost cotton candy sweet fluff
Request: Hey, could you do a Spence request? Since your masculinity one was sooooo gooooood. It's Christmas at the FBI, and the team has done Secret Santa and you got Spence, your best friend. Presents are exchanged at Rossi's mansion, and you end up being under the mistletoe with Spence when he asks you out on a date. 🎅
“One thing even a poker face cannot hide is love.”
“Alright my lovely crime-fighting superheroes! Gather around the Christmas tree! It is time to open our Secret Santa gifts! And this year we’re adding a fun little twist!”
Penelope Garcia couldn’t have been more excited for the annual BAU Christmas party and it was infectious. You’d only been going for two years, but they were amazingly fun. It helped that the BAU team was such a tight-knit group, but they were also just a lot of fun. It was a good distraction from the otherwise dark world that tended to surround the team weekly.
Everyone slowly made their way to where Rossi had set up the beautiful Christmas tree. (You were fairly positive he had paid for it to be set up, but you weren’t complaining.) The room was cozy and warm, exactly how Christmas should be. It smelled like a mix of mulled wine, apple cider, and the Italian spices Rossi always used to make his traditional Italian Christmas meal.
You carefully balanced your cocktail on one knee as Spencer sat on one side of you and Derek on the other. It was the perfect you sandwich on pretty boy bread and you couldn’t have been more pleased with your couch buddies.
You smiled to yourself as you noticed that Spencer was particularly close to you. It was how you normally sat next to each other. Whether it was on the seats in the jets or each other’s couches during your bi-weekly Doctor Who marathon. It made the cozy atmosphere that much more cozy knowing he was sitting close to you.
“So what’s the twist this year, Baby Mama?” Derek asked a flirty smirk on his lips. “I know it’s going to be fun if it came out of your beautiful mind.”
Penelope practically bounced with each movement as she paced in front of the group who had all sat down on various couches, chairs, and floor cushions.
“It is going to be more fun than bingo night at the Rotary Club. Which is quite fun if you believe it or not,” she quirked. “So, the rules are each person will be presented with their Secret Santa gift. Once it’s been open, everyone will try to guess who’s gift it is. If the group is right, the gifted drinks. If the group is wrong, then the group drinks. Makes sense?”
Everyone nodded in response so she turned and started to rummage through the pile of gifts under the tree.
“First up is none other than Boy Genius, Dr. Spencer Reid himself! Here you go.”
Carefully she placed in front of him a small Christmas stocking and everyone leaned in to see what was in the gift. An awkward and shy smile crawled across Spencer’s lips as he removed the tissue paper and pulled out a deck of poker cards and a tie wrapped in ribbon.
“Oh wow, poker cards! I’m guessing someone wants to try their hand at besting me,” he remarked. You could tell he wasn’t nearly as excited for the gift but was doing his best to hide his lack of enthusiasm. Everyone else however had already started profiling the gifts to guess who they were from.
“Both gifts have a certain whimsy, playful quality to them,” Emily said as she looked up at Penelope.
“Yeah, but the cards look vintage. Maybe even antique. Some thought was definitely put into them,” Morgan added on, reaching across you to grab the box. It did look vintage and you looked over his shoulder in interest.
After a few more seconds of everyone deducing who could have given the gifts, the conclusion had been made that they were from Rossi.
“Nope,” the older man said, popping the “p” and taking a sip of his scotch.
“Well, then who gifted them?” JJ asked, looking around as everyone took a sip from their drinks.
Everyone that is… except you.
When they realized it was you who had gifted the poker cards, everyone looked shocked and it didn’t surprise you. Traditionally you were ah-mazing at giving gifts. It was your love language and you had a knack for giving thoughtful and personal gifts. A tie and a box of poker cards didn’t seem like you. Especially after last year when you’d personally made Rossi a leather-bound book full of the recipes he’d taught you that year.
After shrugging it off, everyone wondered if maybe it had just been a fluke and continued with the game. You knew better though. You had an ace up your sleeve that you planned to play later that night.
Not too long after, everyone had been given their gifts and everyone was starting to get tipsy. You weren’t too bad yet but the vodka in your drink was starting to give you the type of warm fuzzies you generally avoided. After graciously thanking JJ for the beautiful pair of boots she’d given you, you quietly stood up and escaped to the kitchen for a glass of water.
While you were helping yourself to the iced water and a few cubes of fancy cheesy you felt someone behind you. Turning, you discovered it was exactly who you thought it would be.
Spencer smiled and walked up to you so you two were close.
“Hey. What are you doing in here?”
You shrugged and held up the glass with water in it.
“Just hydrating. Trying not to get too drunk.”
Spencer nodded before starting, “Actually drinking water doesn't prevent a hangover. In fact, studies have concluded, the only way to prevent a hangover is to drink less alcohol.”
He finished his little factoid with a quirky smile and it made butterflies erupt in your stomach. You didn’t know why, but sometimes you felt like you were the only one who actually enjoyed it when Spencer quoted one of the many facts that he knew off the top of his head. His intelligence and passion for knowledge and learning made him uniquely him and you loved it about him.
“Well, it’s a little late on the drinking-less-bit, but staying hydrated during a party has never hurt someone,” you responded with a shrug.
A comfortable silence fell over the two of you as you popped another cheese cube into your mouth.
“You know, I’m kinda surprised at your Secret Santa gift. It’s not what I expected a gift from you to be like.”
Spencer’s face turned red and you hoped your poker face hid the laugh you were failing to suppress.
“That’s because it’s only part of the gift, Spencer.”
“There’s more?” Spencer asked, raising his eyebrows.
Nodding, you put your glass down and took his hand. “Here, come with me.”
With your best sneaky, flirty smile, you slowly led him out the backdoor and to a spot you’d scouted when you’d first arrived at the party. Rossi’s property was massive, but you’d taken notice of the invasive plant covering a tree near the garden and knew it was the perfect location. Christmas lights had been strung throughout the yard and it held for quite the romantic ambiance.
Once you’d gotten settled under the tree, you turned to Spencer, pleased to see he was oblivious to what the two of you were standing under.
This was it. This was the moment you’d been planning on. You were going to reveal to Spencer your feelings. There were some anxieties about if he didn’t like you back, but you were confident Spencer reciprocated those feelings. His poker face wasn’t nearly as good when it came to relationships.
“That deck of cards is more than just your typical poker set. Yes, they’re vintage, but they’re more than that too. Open the box and see for yourself.”
Spencer tilted his head in confusion as he pulled the box out of his jacket pocket. Carefully he pulled the lid off of the tin box and read what you had written on the first card.
“52 Reasons Why I Love Spencer Reid.”
His head popped up and his eyes went from confused to bewildered to shocked to pleased to uncomfortable in a matter of seconds. It was a whirlwind for you to watch and try to interpret his emotions.
“You love me?” he asked as he took the cards out of the box. Slowly, he shifted through the cards which listed the various reasons why you had started to fall in love with Spencer over the two years that you had been working together.
“I think I do. Yeah. I don’t know if I actually know what love is, Spencer, but the feelings I have for you are more than just attraction.”
When you didn’t get a response, you started to panic.
“I’m sorry. It’s a stupid and unprofessional gift. I shouldn’t have done all this… especially if it’s going to ruin our friendship. I just needed to tell you how I feel and—“
You were cut off by a pair of lips pressing into yours. You could feel yourself practically melt but as soon as they were there, they were gone.
You opened your eyes and looked up at Spencer.
“I think I have feelings for you too, Y/N. I have for a while now, and I’ve wanted to ask you out on a date, but I didn’t want to ruin our friendship if you didn’t feel the same way,” Spencer explained as he tucked a piece of hair behind your ear.
His hand came to rest on your shoulder and you hoped the smile on your face was cute and didn’t feel as big and goofy as it felt.
“So you like my gift then?” You asked hopefully.
Spencer chuckled as he nodded. “I do.”
“That’s good then. Otherwise, I would have felt awkward placing us under a tree full of mistletoe.”
Eyes wide, Spencer tilted his head up to confirm that what you said was true. Sure enough, the parasitic plants were covering the tree. Some of the branches were low enough to be right over your heads.
“Well, I guess we should kiss again?” Spencer suggested as he stepped closer to you and leaned in.
“I guess we should,” you agreed before pressing your lips into his.
“She was in the only place she wanted to be right now.
She was home.” Tilly Tennant