Backstory: Basically, I took the Maeve story arc out and replaced it with you and a unique story. Reid deserved a love interest that stayed. i was gonna make this 1 part, but it's too long.

Also, this art is done by @come-on-get-loud  on tumblr!

3rd POV-

Sitting alone in the dark apartment, the brunette stared into emptiness. For once in his life, he didn't know what to do. His mind was silent. A clinical genius, who had memorized every word he had ever read, and yet he had nothing to say. 

10 months. 

437,767 minutes. 26,266,020 seconds, of the most amazing days of his life. And those moments, they could all end. Reid sat with his legs curled up to his chest, leaning against the door, and felt his eyes slowly scanned the apartment. It was also a wreck. All the medical books he'd ever owned were strewn around the coffee tables, counters, and desks. Even though he knew every world and could predict how the sentences would end, he thought that if he could refresh himself on it, he could somehow help (M/n).

It was way out of his capabilities and he knew that, but if he sat there and let his empty brain stay empty, then he knew he would get up. Spencer would waste away in his apartment. But now, he had read them all. And he still didn't know what to do. The vibration of his phone shook the man back into reality. Thinking it was another call from someone on the team, Reid rips it from his pocket, ready to decline in anger. But, his eyes soften as he reads the alarm notification, "Visiting hours".

Slowly getting up from his position, the tall man stretched before walking over to a mirror on the wall. "My eyes," Was his first thought when Spencer saw himself. Pulling his lower eyelid down, he looked at the even darker circles and bags there. "God. Is he gonna want to see me like this?" He thought, running to the bathroom to get ready to leave his apartment.

The brunette did this everyday, since the accident. Everyday he would stay up, reading those damned books, sitting in the same place. And at 5:30pm, was when boy genius went out on his journey to see (M/n). Setting foot into his bedroom, he pulls off his shirt and unbuckled his belt. Grabbing off the rest off his clothes, he stumbles into the bathroom and turns on the first light he's seen since yesterday. 

Wincing, Reid turns on the shower and jumps in, not even waiting for it to be lukewarm. The cold water hit his skin and made him flinch at first, but got used to it. He starts to wash his torso and arms, closing his eyes to focus on the feeling of the water. 

*Small timeskip to after he's done getting ready*

Walking down the street, Spencer kept his head down and his hands in his pockets. His long legs carrying him across the sidewalk and to a glass door entrance. Pulling his head up, he stares at the rod of Asclepius. A staff with a single snack next to big bright bold letters that read, 'Healthstone Medical Center'. Staring up at the sign, he wondered how he got here in the first place.

~———~

"Reid!" Morgan yelled, waking him from his deep thinking. The black man looked down at the other sitting at his desk. Quirking a brow, Derek continues to speak, "Are you gonna go home? Me, Prentiss, and Garcia are gonna head to this new bar down a few miles from here."  

Reid barely had to process the question, before he knew his answer, no. "And before you say that you have plans with a textbook or a new star wars fanfiction, Garcia is bringing a friend of hers. You might want to meet them, you both have a love for literature." 

Reid closed his open mouth and looked around wondering for a new excuse to use and finding none. This earned a chuckle from the others as he smiled down at the agent, "Looks like Pretty boy is going out tonight." Morgan smirks and winks before stalking off back to the kitchen for more coffee.  

~—Small timeskip—~

"Alright, now I want all of you to behave. (M/n) is a GOOD friend of mine and I don't want you weirdos messing that up." Garcia teased, as she arrived at the table the three others were already sat at. A (beautiful/handsome) (ethnicity/skin color) man hooked to her arm and a small smile on his face. Suddenly, Reid felt his heart jump in his chest. 

His eyes were fixated on the newcomer and he swallowed hard. Morgan goes out to reach his hand for a shake, but Spence had already gotten there first. "I'm, uh, D..doctor Spencer Reid with the, uhm, Behavioral Analysis Unit at Quantico." He says, feeling his cheeks heat up and hoping the lights were too dim to notice. 

"It's nice to meet you Spencer. I'm (M/n), a special agent paramedic at the FBI. Garcia told me you're also a literature buff. Have you read East Of Eden?" 

Garcia smiles in the corner of his eye, but it goes unnoticed as the genius begins to go into a detailed speech about the books dialect and other simple details that would've otherwise been forgotten if Reid didn't have an eidetic memory. 

~—8 months later—~

(M/n) snuck up behind the other, hugging him and bending down to rest his chin on Spencer's shoulder. Reid turned his head slightly and smiled as he saw his tired face. "You know you don't have to watch me do paperwork, right?" He asked, a hint of amusement in his tone. 

"The bed is too cold. You know how I hate sleeping alone." The (color(ette)) quietly said, yawning a bit. 

"But you have work tomorrow."  He said, flipping through a folder.

"So do you," (M/n) said, finally turning around the swivel desk chair Spence was sitting at, "You don't have that due for a few days. Come to bed."

Looking into the other's worried and tired (c/o) eyes, Spencer opened his mouth to say how he can't put off work, but the other kisses his lips softly. 

"Please?" (M/n) asked again, in an even softer tone. Not being able to speak, Reid nods and quietly closed the folder.

"Alright. You make a fair point." 

~—Timeskip to a month ago—~

Reid woke to an empty bed, as he usually did. (M/n) was more of the morning person, making the two of them breakfast or going out to get coffee from their favorite nearby cafe. Slowly sitting up, the brown haired man stretches before pulling on a pair of sweats over his boxers. Going to the adjoined bathroom, he looks at his face. He'd been sleeping better recently, but he couldn't take all the credit.

(M/n) had helped him get better with his nightmares and getting to bed at a reasonable time of 10 or 11 pm. Splashing his face with water, Spencer tried to listen and see if he could hear pots and pans clanking. He didn't. "He probably went to the cafe." Reid thought, starting to do his daily necessities. 

After getting ready in the bathroom, he walks out shirtless to the kitchen. "(M/n)?" The man called out to the empty apartment. Usually, this was the time he'd be getting back with the treats. That's when Reid saw the unattended pot on the stove and the open milk and egg cartons next to them. 

A deep sinking feeling sits in his stomach as he calls out his name again, walking over to the stovetop and turns off the flame. Looking around, he searched for any evidence and found a simple white business card under the eggs. It had one word written on there in bold print.

'Zugzwang' 

Reid rushed over to the room and threw on his work clothes, grabbing his messenger bag, he felt tears threaten to spill from his eyes. How could he have let (M/n) get taken? He was just in the room next door. The boy started to hyperventilate softly.

Picking up his cell, he dialed in a number he knew by heart. 

"Hotch. I need help." 

Word count- 1400