Title: Effortlessly
Pairing: Geekywood (Lila/Reid)
Author's Notes: song prompt - You're the Reason I Come Home by Ron Pope. Poem, Lullaby, by WH Auden.

The whole point of this was try to be more descriptive, not rely on dialogue as much. I know that I have written this same sort of scene more than once, but I hope that you all still like it. Please give honest responses, criticisms and even specific spots where you think that don't work or really work - I'm trying to become better. Thank you and enjoy.

Love.

It's what separates us from the other animals. The bond that people create to make it more than just evolution. Brain chemistry sparks that make us feel more connected, that give us something to look forward to. Makes us feel. It's what separates the good from the evil, the light from the dark. It's the one thing that makes one turn into a situation their brain tells them to flee from and makes one walk into trouble. For the ones you love.

Scientifically, it's nothing but chemistry. There's no mystery about it. But psychologically, sociologically, it's the biggest mystery of all. It changes situations. It changes people. It changes everything. Even the most intelligent, rational person can fall victim to the power of love.

It just takes the right person.

At the right time.

In the worst situation.

The September heat of the City of Angels was nothing when it came to seeing her in a bikini, walking into the night. He was supposed to be protecting her from the ones that wanted to cause her harm and all he could concentrate on was how her skin contrasted against the dark was better than any painting or picture he had seen in the last couple of days. And yet, that is not the moment he realizes it's more than just a mission though.

It's not even after the kisses they share.

It's the moment she sits, crying on a couch, talking about trust. In clothes that although flattering on her, are more comfortable and less about making a statement. Her hair is up and messy from the pool. Her face, red and blotched, from crying. And yet, she's still the most beautiful woman he's seen and he physically aches at her pain. It was his job to lie to her. Part of the plan to keep her safe, not let the hunter see the prey was onto him, and yet, he wishes to have thrown it all away, just so that she wouldn't be in doubt of his nature now. He wants to do more than sit across from her and apologize. It's a realization that causes inner turmoil.

Noticing someone's beauty is fine - a natural effect. Wanting to help was a part of the job, one had to be empathic to understand the horrors of the things they faced daily. This feeling - the complete need to take every broken thing in her life and fix it - though, could not be alright, not with a victim of a case. And yet, as he continued to look at her, the emotion only continued to rise in his chest. He's shocked by the touch of his mentor, taken away from his thoughts.

From there, everything vocational begin to line up and he doesn't have an opportunity to even think of it again until she sits in the back of an ambulance, being checked out. The EMT nods at him and he ducks inside, sitting next to her silently. A blanket is wrapped around her, to prevent her going into shock. She reaches out under the brown, her fingers brush against the side of his hand until he turns it slightly towards her, enough to let her hand slide comfortably in his. He looks at their clasped hands before he looks up at her face. Her eyes are red again and she's even more disheveled than before. Her lips curl into a weak and uneasy smile before she leans more against her, her shoulder against his. He pauses, unsure of what to do before he lifts his arm around her. It's the right move he assumes before she curls into him, her free hand wrapping around his chest, her face burying into his neck. He feels her tremble and smells the mix of chlorine and citrus of her shampoo. He offers her the most comforting words he knows, a repeat of things he has heard JJ tell families and victims alike, before he brushes his lips against her temple - something his mother (when lucid) would do when he would race into her room following bad dreams. She moves closer to him, almost in his lap at this point, but he makes no argument about it. He just sits there offering hushed calming words until she feels safe enough to pull back and look at him.

"Will you stay with me?" She asks, voice soft and uncertain.

He gives one brief nod and she smiles again, this time a little less sad, and rests her head back on his shoulder. He focuses on the world outside their self-made sanctuary, listening to officers talking and sirens going off in the distance. A distinct voice makes it self clear, heard through the others and he knows it must be close. Elle asks how Lila is, if he's seen the tall lean man that was with her. He listens for the response and is glad to hear that Lila was free to go, but frowns at his next words: that the 'nerdy guy' was in the back. He focuses on her footsteps and knows she's there before he sees her. He turns to his head to look at the Cuban, who cocks an eyebrow before her face softens into the warm, caring smile. She gives a nod before making her way off to somewhere else, leaving him alone again with the scared woman.

Criminal Minds || Effortlessly

He walks into the hotel room, eyes scanning the room before he looks over his shoulder at her. She raises her eyes, gives another smile, and gives his hand a squeeze. She has not let go since the ambulance. At the thought, she breaks the connection, moving to set her bag on the bed. He scans the room again. It's a small, cheap hotel room, nothing fancy like he would suspect of an actress living in the town of the stars. There's a thud from upstairs and he raises his chin to inspect the sound, but nothing follows it. He turns back to her, seeing her sitting on the bed, staring into space, looking a little lost. He shuffles his way to her and her eyes raise to look at him.

"I can't believe that…." She starts, but shakes her head, ending her words, staring out again. He knows what she means, though. The unsub had been a friend. There had been many cases when they had spoken with a wife, husband, child of a serial killer who always said the same thing. I can't believe he/she would do something like that. He has a speech with statistics and multiple facts about the average serial killer, but it doesn't seem helpful right now. He sits down next to her, silently, out of his element. He was never the one victims of crimes turned to and had never really been good at reaching out to others to give or get comfort. His mother had been the one exception and even that had ended almost seven years ago. And yet, again, he feels the strong need to do something for the woman next to him. He looks at her again, unsure of what it is he can do, before she begins to move. She stands, grabbing the bag and setting it on the floor, and walks to the other side of the bed. He shifts, turning to look at her, the swift change in actions confusing. She pulls off the dark brown zip up, exposing the white tank that lay under which outlines her curves perfectly. He feels his cheeks burn as he turns back around, wanting to give her privacy. The weight on the bed changes again and he looks back to see her in the bed, holding a pillow, looking at him.

"Lay with me." She says. He nods before kicking off his shoes and laying near the edge of the bed, not wanting to crowd. She smiles and reaches out, tugging him closer, so he scoots a little closer. Her hand lays flat on his chest, above his heart. The smile on her face widens.

"Does your heart always race like that?"

He flushes, trying to slow his heart beat. "My resting heartbeat is around 78, but, uh… being around you might be causing a bit of tachycardia."

"tachyca-what?"

"a faster than normal heart rate." he explains. "Especially over 100 beats per minute."

She nods before silence overtakes them again. He wonders if he should speak again, but decides against it. He watches her as she continues to lay there, watching him. It's a little bit unnerving, the silence and the stares, but it's nice too. He debates on which is more, before deciding it's similar to the experience out of the pool and in the ambulance again. The emotional response mattered more at the moment than his unease.

He's not sure how much time has passed as her eyelids start to droop at first. He finds himself holding his breathe as they fall, before she blinks and reopens her eyes. Her hand clutches at his shirt and he frowns, wondering what she sees when she closes her eyes. He scoots forward a little and wraps his arm around her. She takes in a deep breath and rests her forehead against the hand that lies on his chest. His sense are overtaken by the smell and warmth of her. The softness of her skin, as his fingers rest where her shirt has ridden up slightly. He takes a deep breath before he begins to speak, saying the first thing that comes to his mind in the moment.

"Lay your sleeping head, my love,
Human on my faithless arm;
Time and fevers burn away
Individual beauty from
Thoughtful children, and the grave
Proves the child ephemeral:
But in my arms till break of day
Let the living creature lie,
Mortal, guilty, but to me
The entirely beautiful."

He continues to recite the poem until it's finish and she breathes in deep, her whole body expanding before she lets out of the breath.

"More." Her voice comes out mumbled against her hand and his chest. He nods to himself and begins to recite every lullaby he knows until she falls asleep.

Criminal Minds || Effortlessly

He stares at the picture from outside the police department. Lila's head resting on his hand before he had to leave her. Leaving had never been so hard as it was in that moment. Only one moment rivals it and it's of his mother, watching her be taken away and begging him to stop it. But he had to let her go as he had let his mother. She was a star in another galaxy, their future as crossed as Shakespeare's famous couple. It would not work and the tragedy would be too much to bare. He tosses the magazine into the trash before he pauses. His mind full of the memories of the night before - the woman curled against his chest, needing him in a way he has never experienced, her hands clutching his chest, making sure he had never left, the look in her eyes as they stood, trying to make a fleeting moment linger. He leans over and grabs the magazine out of the trash and places it in his bottom drawer. If anything, it was a memory worth keeping. It was the moment he first felt that all the talk of 'love' could be more than just a chemical response in the prefrontal cortex. He grabs his bag and begins to walk towards his beat up car, driving to the apartment he lives in. His phone begins to ring as he walks up the stairs and he ruffles through his bag to find it, answering it on the last ring.

"Reid." He says.

"Hey." The voice is easily recognizable and makes his stomach muscles tighten, immediately.

"Lila?"

"Yeah." There's a long pause and he continues up the stairs, making his way to his door, before she speaks again. "This is silly… I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called."

"No." He says before her words fully reach him and he pauses at the door with a frown when they do. She's silent again and he stands outside of his home, waiting for her to say something else. A minute of silence passes and he checks his phone to make sure she hasn't hung up. She hasn't.

"Hello?" He says, trying to get her to speak.

He hears her sheets ruffle through the phone and then a sigh. He continues to wait, knowing she's there, trying not to rush her again.

"Do you think you could read to me again." She asks, her voice soft and timid - like when she had asked him to stay the night. He nods before he speaks.

"Yeah. Of course. Let me get inside." He says, inserting the key into the door before he unlocks and opens it. He sets his bag at the door and walks into his bedroom. He sits on the bed, kicking off his shoes before scooting up the bed, still seated.

"What would you like for me to read?" He asks, looking at the bookshelf near his bed that holds his mother's treasured books he had never been able to throw into storage.

"Anything." She says. Again, he nods and reaches for his mother's favorite book to read to him as a child. He opens to the first page and begins to read.