spencer reid | one shot scenarios

merry christmas to me

(the team has their annual secret santa.)

[your pov:]
"okay, okay, line up," penelope says. i honestly feel bad for penelope — she's been trying to gather everyone in the debriefing room for the past ten minutes but she's barely been able to get four people inside.

eventually everyone quiets downs and she explains to us the rules. so far, i've learned that it's the team's tradition to use the "babygirl" hat that derek bought for penelope a few years ago for drawing names. and that spencer has never had much success with games like these, so it's acceptable to bully and tease him for this. encouraged, even.

i've also learned that cheating is obsolete and that once a name is drawn, there's no going back.

rossi goes first, his hand swirling amidst our names. he picks up a folded piece of notebook paper from the notorious hat, and penelope continues down the line.

when she reaches me, i grab my paper quickly and hold it tightly in my hand, finding myself to be a bit nervous. when i found out that we'd be doing a secret santa, of course, my mind immediately to things i could buy for him. i hate to say it, but i hadn't even thought about what i'd get for anyone else.

we're not allowed to open them just yet, but the line then finishes at jj. penelope takes the last piece of paper and we all unfold them in unison.

i read through penelope's pink scribbles to find that i have emily.

—

all throughout the week, i go on a hunt for things i could buy emily. i'm not very close with emily as i am my other teammates, so it's been quite the struggle.

i think back to what penelope and hotch were saying about cheating and trading. "disqualified."

i think they were saying it with sarcasm, but with hotch, it's hard to understand sometimes. maybe it was a warning. i still didn't want to risk it, though. i could figure something out.

jj walks past my desk and almost as if she could read my thoughts, whispers, "who'd you get?"

she waves off my fear, "it's also tradition for us to trade people. we do it every year and no one notices a thing."

i laugh and answer her, "i got emily." her eyes light up, but she tries to hide it. "i got spence." perfect.

let's hope the disqualification rules were bullshit.

—

[spencer's pov:]
i got penelope... again. i love her with all my heart, don't get me wrong. she's been there through tough times and she's been like an older sister for last 10 years of my life.

but she's extremely — and oddly enough — hard to shop for.

all i wanted was her. i'd already had it planned out — i knew what i was getting her beforehand that i didn't take time to think about what i'd get for anyone else. i suppose they were right when they said i have terrible luck when it comes to games around the holidays.

i get up from my desk and approach morgan. this should be great. he probably got her, while i'm stuck with penelope. but i figured, since he would do almost anything for penelope, it might be worth a try.

"who'd you get?" he asks. "penelope," i sigh. he smiles and says, "what a coincidence. you get my girl; i get yours."

i try to hide my excitement. i have to convince him to let me be her secret santa. "you've got something planned, don't you?" he asks.