55. Kisses

Rating: T

Author: rogueandkurt

Fandom: Criminal Minds

Happy continuing holidays, everyone! A shorter fic this time, as real life has been interfering lately and I've been busy organizing the 'Criminal Minds Fan Fic Awards' (shameless plug), but I didn't want to leave readers hanging for too long.

Seeing as how I'm attempting to write 100 fics about Reid (1/4 of the way there!!), I had to do something with Lila Archer. I'm well aware that many people disliked her (I've even heard fans refer to her as 'canon Mary Sue'), but I didn't find her to be all that bad (not as great as Austin, but not bad). Nevertheless, her appearance shall be brief.

This was started June 2007 and went through several revisions, to the point where I'm entirely sick of looking at it and have posted it largely out of a desire to get it the heck off my harddrive. Spoilers for 'Somebody's Watching'.

Disclaimer: I asked for the characters for Christmas, but all I got was a bunch of socks and a new book. So, no, I still don't own 'Criminal Minds' or its characters.

The first time, Reid is still in high school.

A guy he used to know from his old elementary school invites him to a party, and at the last minute, he decides to go. This is what normal kids do, he thinks, and his mom can look after herself for a few hours.

It's awkward - he stands in the corner of the front room by himself, the (escape plan) door in-sight, surrounded by kids he barely knows anymore. There's a punch glass in his hand (spiked with god-knows-what) and he hasn't had the guts to sip it yet when a girl in the crowd catches his eye. She smiles at him and he knows her from somewhere - Cindy, he thinks her name is - but his brain can't offer any more information than that because she breaks away from the group and walks towards him.

He watches in confusion as she gets closer, and he notices she's stumbling a bit (probably from the punch). She greets him loudly, with a quick glance over her shoulder. Spencer tries to see what she's looking at, but the next thing he knows, she grabs his shoulders, pushing her lips against his. It's quick, and it's forced, and before he can fully wrap his head around the concept (is this what it's supposed to feel like?), she lets him go.

His head spins and his grip on the glass triples, and he struggles to find something intelligent to say, but soon realizes it's useless as she's already back with her friends. They laugh and crane their necks in his direction, and Cindy wipes her mouth ostentatiously as another friend pats her on the back. Spencer finally understands the joke (him), and his face flushes with embarrassment as others from the crowd turn to look.

He pushes through a sea of kids and runs out the door, the drink falling from his hand to splash all over the carpet.

- ~ * ~ -

The second time, he's in university, trying for his Physics PhD.

Her name is Erin, and she's the smartest (prettiest) girl in his class at Cal Tech. She's only a few years older than him, and they both work as teaching assistants for Professor Morettin. They wrote a paper together once, and she's the closest thing he's had to a friend in years, so when her boyfriend breaks up with her a week into finals, it takes only a minimal amount of convincing for him to accompany her to the bar.

The bouncer doesn't even check his I.D., and Erin quickly pulls him towards an empty table. He's not usually one for crowds, and after ten minutes in the dark, loud, drunk-infested hole of a club, he has no trouble remembering why. But Erin starts doing shots in the seat next to him (looking more depressed than ever) and when she pushes one towards him, he gives a weak smile and gulps it down. The rush is instantaneous, and he coughs from the strong taste, but the result is not wholly unpleasant, and it's not long before he's matching her shot-for-shot.

His face feels red, and he wonders if it's the alcohol or the fact that Erin's hand is resting high on his thigh (probably both). Before he can decide, she tilts her head and kisses him. It's sloppy, and it's passionate, and she tastes like alcohol, and at some point her tongue works its way inside his mouth. He sits rigidly, wondering fuzzily where to put his hands, and whether they have enough money between them for another round.

It ends faster than he expects, as Erin suddenly pushes him away and gives in to the overwhelming desire to puke on his shoes. She slurs an apology, and he calls them both cabs.

The next day, it's awkward, and he realizes they're both relieved convocation is only a few weeks away so they won't have to see each other anymore.

- ~ * ~ -

The third time, it's Lila.

She's beautiful, and she's famous, and he knows there's no way she could possibly be interested in him, even though Morgan insists she's been (making fun of him) flirting with him these past two days. He shakes the water from his hair, lamenting the state of his wet and clingy clothes that make his skinny body more noticeable than ever.

They're alone, and it's dark, and in spite of the fact that there's a murderer on the loose and she got his gun wet pulling him into the pool (Hotch is going to kill him), he's never felt so at ease. She grabs his tie and pulls him, their lips meeting, a hand snaking around his neck to hold him there (keep him close).

It's wet, and frenzied, and mind-blowing, and his faster-than-lightning brain is frantically throwing off (excuses) reasons for why they should stop, which he stutters to her when they part to breathe, hardly listening to them himself. She smiles at him (she has a great smile) and tucks a hair behind his ear. She's not listening either.

He pushes the hair out of his eyes, his hands moving to either side of her face to pull her towards him, enjoying the taste of her. Enjoying that it's him she's kissing, not a dare or some ex-boyfriend, but him.

And this time, he kisses back.

Fin.

Again, sorry it's so short. I'll try and get one of my other ones edited quickly and have it up soon. I promise I am trying to write, but a lot of things keep getting in the way.

Hated it? Loved it? Mad at me for waiting so long between updates? Please let me know - take a moment of your time to review. All feedback (especially concrit) is greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Keep Smiling! ;)

rogueandkurt