✓ | 𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗗𝗜𝗧𝗘 · ͟͟͞͞➳ spencer reid

CHAPTER 34 ━━━

# ! | CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
- they ring in the new year

━━━ IN THE SIX DAYS FOLLOWING
the team's fragmentation, everyone got up to something a little different. Will and Henry had gone to Florida, so JJ and Emily took a short cruise to the Bahamas. Hotch, Beth, and Jack spent time with Beth's family. Morgan and Garcia went to visit his aunt and cousins, and Rossi spent time visiting with old friends.

Meryl had put every waking moment she had into volunteering at soup kitchens, animal shelters, clothing drives, and any other charity event she could catch wind of. When Spencer calls for the third time on the thirty first, his other two having received her lilting tone in voicemail form, she finally picks up. "Hey, doll. How are you?"

He sighs. She sounds exhausted. "Better now that I hear your voice. What've you been up to?"

There's shuffling on the other end of the line. "Oh, um, I volunteer for this group called Resolutions, it's an organization that helps get other do-gooder places back on their feet before the start of the new year. I've just been... busy. We should do something for the new year, though."

Spencer nods and then remembers she can't see him. "That's cool. Are you at home right now?"

She hums an affirmative and then freezes when her doorbell rings. "Spencer..."

He laughs easily. "I come bearing gifts, angel. Let me in." And with that, he hangs up. Meryl rushes to the door and flings it open, offering Spencer one of those million dollar smiles. He returns it, setting down a steaming bag of Greek carryout and a carton of orange sorbet.

Meryl hugs him enthusiastically, legs cinching around his waist as Spencer closes the door behind him and puts his hands on her ass to keep her from falling. He wears a navy cardigan that looks suspiciously like the one Meryl wears over a fitted tank top tucked into sweatpants. Her hair is in a messy bun and she wears cute horn rimmed glasses.

When he sets her down, he pulls on the sleeve of the sweater she wears. "Is this mine?" She nods and then snatches up the bag of food like a gremlin. "Sure is. Hope you don't mind." Of course he didn't mind. Seeing her in his clothes was something extraordinary. Spencer stops to give Elia a good petting session before ambling into the kitchen. "How long has it been since you've slept?" he asks, already dreading the answer. Her hands were shaky, light purple shadows under her eyes.

She shrugs. "Dunno."

"Meryl."

"Eh, probably about sixty hours by now. I'll sleep tonight, though. I just have to do the donation portion of my commitment. Could you go get the pile of checks off the sofa before El gets any ideas?"

Spencer is about to reprimand her but then does as she asks, finding a pile of about ten checks, all made out to various places with twenty thousand dollars set to be sent to each one. He knew she had money, but after researching her company, Reid knew she had money. Hundreds of millions of dollars from an eight year old company, and about half of it went to her.

He returns to the kitchen where she's gotten out all the food, spanakopita and keftedes, dolmadakia, baklava, the whole nine yards. Meryl hands him a plate and then begins making her own, not grabbing as much as she probably should, but Spencer figured she probably hadn't been eating properly either and didn't want to make her sick.

They sit on the sofa and turn on an episode of Doctor Who, but for once Spencer isn't all that interested in the screen. "I don't sleep near as well without you," he admits when they return to the sofa after cleaning up the dinner mess and brushing their teeth. He sits first, grabbing a blanket with one hand and Meryl with the other. She topples on to him, his head on one arm of the couch as his feet on the other. She giggles and tries to lay next to him but Spencer is firmly holding her in place right on top of him, legs intertwined and her head on his chest.

A lavender candle burns on the coffee table, the television turned off. Meryl sighs as one of Spencer hands runs through his hair. "Obviously, I don't either."

She gets a look as her phone screen and quickly props her forearms on either side of Spencer's head. When 11:59 turns to midnight, Meryl smiles and sinks her mouth against his. It's a sweet, sealing kiss. They both know it's not leading to more, not tonight, but Spencer is just as over the moon when his lover settles down against him once more, eyelids heavy. "Happy New Year," they murmur to each other, falling asleep easily.

ೃ⁀➷

They awaken at two in the morning, briefly, just to move to the bedroom, put pajamas on, and let Elia out. Meryl decides to finish writing her donation checks before returning back to Spencer, who was trying as hard as he possibly could to stay awake for her.

"All done, babydoll," she tells him. Meryl had achieved her second wind but Spencer wasn't near as lucky. He, in his state of tiredness, makes grabby hands for her. Meryl lays back down next to him and gasps as he nudges her on to his back, him still on his side. Spencer kisses her shoulder, neck, whatever he could get his mouth on.

She weaves her fingers into his hair and pulls gently. "Go to sleep, lover."

He smiles lazily against her skin. "And what if I don't, hmm? What are you gonna do to me?"

Meryl knew this was just the exhaustion speaking, but she can't help the butterflies that spark up. "Knock it off." She turns on her side but Spencer just adapts to become the big spoon.

"I bet you like being spanked," he mumbles, kissing the back of her neck, "act all domineering but there's a brat somewhere in there. Like when I called you a good girl back in Montana. I like that. I like every bit of you. Goodnight."

Meryl just bites back laughter, preparing to tease Spencer mercilessly the following day.