✓ | sick of losing soulmates [SPENCER REID]

3.2

3.2
( reparations. )

☆ ★ ☆

iris

The next few days go by quickly, as they normally do when Iris is overwhelmed by a case at work.

In the past few years, she's worked hard, moving up the ranks of the FBI — through specialising in hostage negotiation, and into major crimes unit, and then into the BAU — fairly quickly — well, very quickly, really, but she likes to be modest — to her place in the BAU. And she's finally here — which means that nothing, not even the seemingly impossible task of finding evidence to put Brian Matloff away, and certainly not Spencer Reid's callous attitude toward her, can dampen her spirits in the first few days.

But then a few days, turns into several. More than a week. And that's when it starts to get to her.

On her third day with the BAU, they close the case on Brian Matloff, and Morgan accompanies Hotch and Rossi — who she's rarely spoken to, but he seems nice and shares her hatred of technology — to the final day in court to watch him be sentenced. Out of her all her days settling into the BAU, that one she heralds as the most difficult; with the case closed, they've returned to their desks, and with Morgan gone and when Emily disappears to the toilet or to grab coffee, Iris is left alone with Spencer.

She supposes that she should have brought up what his problem was when they were alone, but at that point she's too happy about the fact that she's in the freaking BAU to care. Whatever his problem is, she dismisses, he'll get over it soon. Spencer isn't the type to hold grudges. At least, she doesn't think he is. And she is the type to ignore a problem until it inevitably disappears, so she waits.

On the fifth day, after work, Garcia, Morgan, Emily and JJ all plan to go out for a bite to eat, maybe a burger or some Chinese food, and they invite her too. Spencer is naturally asked to come along, but when he sees Iris lingering at the side of the group of his friends, he shakes his head and goes back to his work.

Okay, five days, she thinks, beginning to grow worried and even a little nervous, especially in his presence. It's a long time to hold a silly grudge. But still, she has a good time with her new friends, trying not to think too much about Spencer Reid.

But apparently her new colleague Emily Prentiss has a different idea. She joins Iris at a table for two in some bar they ended up at, the others half-tipsy and spread out around the place, lounging with strangers. She slides a cocktail across the mahogany table. "So, how is the girl who's got Spencer Reid feeling like he's god's gift to women?"

When Iris blinks up at her, confused, Emily smiles at her conspiratorially, as if they're sharing secrets.

"I'm not blind," she says. "I've been seeing the way he's been treating you. So I got you a mojito."