Reid and Reid Ship Oneshots

Eye Contact

(I lied apparently about this book being over :D
Honestly thought I was done with this, but I wanted to write this so...
But just saying, there will in no way be regular updates to this book, but you can expect some more stories down the road.)
❤️

Spencer Reid had always been a little different, and when compared to the other kids, a lot different. He couldn't do some things that others could do, but at the same time, he could complete college level math at twelve years old.

One of the things that Spencer was incapable of, was eye contact. He didn't know why it was so hard for him to do, but he just didn't like it.
Eyes were so complicated, and could hold so many underlining meanings and innuendos.
He disliked blue eyes the most, as they were never just blue. They always had to have darker or lighter stripes in them, or a gold ring around the pupil.
It was like looking into the sun. You can't do it for more than a few seconds without involuntarily closing your eyes from the pain and discomfort.

So long story short, Spencer makes zero eye contact with anyone ever. He knows it's proper manners to make eye contact with people when they're speaking to you, but he just can't do it.
All of the BAU knows this, and don't pressure him into it. They know he'll always be listening, so the use of English custom wasn't really needed.
When working cases with new people, he usually tries to accommodate for them by making it seem like he's looking them in the eyes. Like staring past their heads, or at their lips when they talked.

Today wasn't really a typical day.
Strauss was forcing Hotch to conduct a peer review on the BAU after a recent mishap on a case. Of course, he wasn't allowed to disclosed that this wasn't on his accord, so his team found great offense to his question in their abilities. But no one more than Reid.
He flat out refused to even go into Hotch's office for the interview until he was forced to. And even then, he refused to make any remotely positive body language towards Hotch.

Honestly, he couldn't really blame him, because he'd be mad if he was accused and ridiculed for doing his job, but the fact that Reid was much more upset than everyone else confused him.
Reid was usually the calm one; the one that didn't react much to things and didn't care what people thought of him.

"I know this is hard for you, and believe me, I don't want to be doing this either, but we have to." Hotch sighed, readying a pen in his right hand with a a disciplinary form on his desk.

"I didn't do anything wrong." Reid stated sternly, his arms crossed and his head turned to the ground.

"I know, but everyone is being reviewed for how this last case ended." Hotch tried to be sympathetic, especially considering the struggle it was to get Reid to be here in the first place. 

"It wasn't any of our faults. If was the local PD's for ignoring our warnings."

"I know." Hotch said again.

When Reid went silent, he took that as his invitation to start the review.

"Now, let's get started." He straightened out the paper on his desk. "Where were you during the time of the incident?"

"New York City Police Department." Spencer replied quietly, his eyes still to the ground.

"Given context of the reported incident, do you think disciplinary actions should be enforced on the guilty party?" Hotch asked, looking up from his desk to Reid.

"Yes, they'd be guilty." He crossed his arms tighter.

"Are you in anyway responsible for the incident in consideration of your supposed location?" Hotch looked back down to read the question word for word off of the review sheet.
When he looked up he was startled.

"I didn't do anything." Spencer repeated with firm eye contact. Like, really firm eye contact.
Hotch was not expecting to see that. In all his four years with working with him, he has never seen Reid's eyes so up close before; in so much detail. He just assumed they were brown, but they were actually more auburn.
While admiring his eyes though, Hotch could see the tremble in them with the desire to look away.

"Reid-uh-Spencer." Hotch stuttered, "You don't have to do that with me."

"I want you to know I'm serious." He replied, still holding eye contact, but it being much less intimidating than before.

"I know you're serious." Hotch said sincerely. "This was unnecessary anyway. Every NYPD officer can vouch for our whereabouts during the incident." He stood from his desk in frustration. "This is stupid."
With him moving positions, Spencer's eye contact was broken, much to his delight. He hastily stood up himself and walked out of the room behind his boss.

"Get back to work, Reid. This disciplinary review is over." He pointed him back to his desk, and marched straight up to Strauss's office.