17. love me like you do

𝑆𝐻𝑂𝑈𝑇𝑂𝑈𝑇.thank you to everyone who reminded me of the short film that matthew was in where he was running through that museum with the girl :)) unfortunately i couldn't find a gif of him actually running with her so don't JUDGE ME

There was just something about aquariums that you had always loved.

Maybe it was the different kinds of species that were held on display that interested you, or the way that the fish would swim up to the glass to greet you, or the mini pools where you were allowed to touch the stingrays that had their stingers removed— whatever it was, something about aquariums made you never want to leave. They always brought out your inner child, the biggest smile on your face whenever you gazed around at the many different displays, wanting to run through every exhibit until you'd seen all of them at least twice.

It just so happened that Spencer had taken you to an aquarium.

"I used to come here a lot when I was a kid," Spencer explained, kneeling down beside you as he picked the lock with a paper clip that he'd found. "It was my escape from... well, you know... everything. I'd spend hours here just watching the fish, reading about them and memorizing facts about them."

The lock clicked and Spencer whispered, "Yes," to himself before standing to his feet, pushing the door open. He looked over at you, a hint of blush creeping onto his cheeks as he pushed a hand through his now semi-dry hair, saying to you, "I hope you like aquariums."

You jaw fell open at his words. "Do I like aquariums," you repeated as you reached out, grabbing his hand. "Yes, I fucking like aquariums! Come on!"

Your laughter melded with Spencer's as you yanked him inside, pausing to look around at the exhibits lining the small aquarium, your eyes widening as you took it all in. It was beautiful— the tanks dimly lit, filled with fish swimming around, going about their business. A large replica of a shark hung above you, the ceiling painted to look like the ocean floor, starfish and kelp painted in bright colors. All the lights were off, which made sense— it was two o'clock in the fucking morning. But the lights from the tanks made it bright enough so that you could see where you going, and so that you could see Spencer.

You grinned widely as you looked at him before grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and pulling him down, crashing your lips into his. Spencer laughed into the kiss, his hands moving to your face as he pulled you into him, deepening the kiss. After a moment, you pulled away, grinning at him as you said, "Sorry. It's just... you have no fucking idea how excited I am right now."

"Well," Spencer grinned as he held your hand in his, pulling you behind him as he laughed, "what are we waiting for, then?"

He pulled you behind him, his laughter ringing around you as he led you over to the nearest exhibit— a tank crawling with sea turtles. "Did you know that a sea turtles' lifespan is estimated to be about 100 years old?" Spencer asked. "The cycle starts when a female lays its eggs on a nesting beach, usually in the tropics. They can be found in almost every ocean."

His hand squeezed yours as he spoke and you gasped, pressing your other hand to the glass as you watched the turtles, your eyes widening in awe. "Look at them," you whispered. "They're beautiful."

"Come on." Spencer pulled you over to another exhibit, this one glowing with luminous jellyfish. "These are what are known as moon jellies." Spencer laughed as you pressed your nose to the glass, a grin spreading across your cheeks as you watched the jellyfish swim around the tank, their tails dragging behind them. "Fun fact— they don't have bones, blood, or even a brain. They're basically just saltwater."

"That is so fucking cool," you gasped, your breath fogging up the glass. "Hey—" You paused, turning around, hitting his chest— "how come you haven't taken me to an aquarium sooner?"

"If I had known that you liked them so much, maybe I would've," Spencer replied, smiling at you.

"Maybe!? Spencer Reid, you would've taken me. There is no maybe," you said, grinning at him. Spencer chuckled at your words as he pulled you away from the glass, shaking his head. He took you around to several of the other exhibits— showing you sea otters, stingrays, octopuses, and a few sharks, spouting random facts to you along the way.

Eventually, you came around to the penguin exhibit, the birds squawking loudly at you as they paddled along, diving into the icy water, putting on a show for you. You and Spencer laughed as you watched them, you leaning back against the wall as you said, "I wasn't aware that Derek followed us all the way to Vegas."

"Could you imagine what he'd say if he actually knew what we were doing right now?" Spencer asked.

"Imagine? Spencer, I don't need to imagine. We work with a bunch of fucking profilers who aren't stupid— I think they already know that something's been going on between us. Maybe not exactly what it is, but they have to know something is up. And that's all because of you, little boy," you smirked, ruffling your hand through his curls. "And here you thought it was me who was going to make it obvious."

"I couldn't help myself that one time," Spencer sighed, looking at you. "That unsub wanted to hurt you, (Y/N). At least they didn't see when I had to punch that guy for fucking groping you."

"Well, whatever. I don't care anymore," you replied, smiling at Spencer. Heat flooded your cheeks as soon as your eyes met his, squeezing his hand as you said, "Let the team know."

The air sparked between you and Spencer as you gazed into each other's eyes, your hearts beating as one, the sound from the penguins splashing around in the water ringing softly in your ears. There it was— that feeling. The one that washed over you every time, engulfing you in a wave of pure passion and longing. Spencer's hazel eyes peered into yours as if he could see the galaxy behind them, his grip tightening around your hand. Once again, it felt like it was just you two in the world and no one else, leering at each other, your hearts racing in the midst of the uncertainty.

You were suddenly pulled out of your thoughts when you heard a penguin honk loudly at you. You tore your gaze away from Spencer, laughing as you looked at the penguin standing there, staring at you. "Yep. Definitely Morgan," you chuckled.

"Come on," Spencer said, his voice soft, "there's an exhibit I wanna show you that I think you're gonna like."

Spencer pulled you behind him, his hand gripping yours as he led you over to the pools filled with starfish, a loud gasp coming from you. "Yes! I fucking love these things!" You cried as you reached in, poking one gently with your finger. "What can you tell me about starfish?" You asked, looking at Spencer.

He raised a brow at you, a smile overcoming his face as he asked, "You wanna hear what I have to say about them?"

"Of course I do, you idiot! What? Are you gonna tell me that they have no blood and no brain, too?" You asked, grinning at him.

"You're right, actually. They don't," Spencer replied, smiling at you. "And they can live up to be thirty-five years old. There's actually around over 2,000 different species of starfish in the world."

"Damn," you whispered, leaning over the edge of the pool as you gazed down at the starfish, the water glimmering back at you in the dim light. "They're so pretty— look at them."

Pulling your other hand out of the water, a smirk formed on your lips as you said, "Hey, genius— watch this." You flicked your hand at him, sending water his way and he gasped, quickly dodging it, only to slip on a puddle on the floor, falling flat on his ass. You bursted into a fit of laughter as he looked up at you, glaring at you.

"Ha-ha. Yeah. Very funny," he grumbled as you held your hand out to him, grasping it as you helped him onto his feet. "But you're in for it now."

You let out a loud shriek as Spencer lunged after you, spinning around and taking off down the hall, Spencer hot on your heels. Your laughter resounded around the aquarium as Spencer chased after you, his own laughter ringing behind you. "Aw, come on, Spencer!" You called, looking over your shoulder at him. "You can run faster than that!"

Sprinting behind a facsimile of a shark's jaw, you grabbed the edges, laughing as Spencer stood on the other side, panting as he looked at you, shaking his head. "I fucking hate you," he said, grinning at you.

"No, you don't," you giggled, shaking your head at him. "You could never hate me."

"You're such a brat," Spencer chuckled as he ran around to your side. You let out a squeal as he grabbed your wrist before you could run away and bent down, picking you up by your legs and throwing you over his shoulder. You let out a loud laugh as he smacked your ass, leading you away from the shark teeth.

"Where are we going?" You asked, placing your hands over his shoulders as you leaned over, looking at him.

"I wanna show you something."

He brought you over to a small bench in front of a large fish tank, the tank aglow with different kinds of fish swimming around, paying no mind to you. He set you down, and you said, "Woah," as you walked over to the tank. "Look at them. There's so many."

"(Y/N)?"

"Do you see that bench?" Spencer asked as your eyes flicked to his, motioning with his hand to the bench nearby. "The day after I was... well, you know... stripped naked in front of the football team, I skipped school."

"I couldn't face my classmates after what happened," he explained, pushing his hands into his pockets as he rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet, pressing his lips into a thin line. "So I came here and I remember just sitting there, watching the fish, thinking to myself— all I want is to meet someone who treats me like I'm normal."

"Spencer," you quickly said, looking at him, "you don't have to-"

"-I want to. Do you know why I said I wanted to show you how much you mean to me?" Spencer continued, smiling down at you. "It's because you— you make me feel like I'm normal."

"You are normal," you replied, wrapping your arms around yourself as you looked at him, sympathy in your eyes.

"You make me feel safe," Spencer continued saying to you. "Like I can be myself whenever I'm around you— and no one's ever done that."

"Not the team?" You asked.

"You see the way that they are. They always interrupt me whenever I try to talk," Spencer shrugged, sighing. "They always tell me to shut up— that my facts are annoying. No one ever wants to hear me speak. Except you. You don't care. You always listen to me. You always wanna hear what I have to say. You make me feel like I can be myself whenever I'm around you— that I don't need to be afraid."

His words made your heart thunder inside your chest. "You don't," you said to him, gazing into his eyes as he looked back at you, offering you up a sad smile.

"When I was 12," Spencer said, motioning to the bench, "sitting in that very spot after what had happened, I didn't realize it until now... but I had wished for you. Too bad it only took twenty years for that wish to come true."

You cocked your head to the side, looking at him. "You know I'm always gonna be here for you, right?" You asked, your voice soft. "No matter what. Spence, you mean so much to me. You've been there for me when others haven't. You... You've made me feel safe."

Spencer looked at you, opening his mouth to say something until he quickly closed it, shaking his head. "What is it?" You asked.

"It's nothing," he replied.

"No, tell me," you said, unfolding your arms. Spencer shook his head at you, and you reached out, pushing him lightly. "Spencer. Come on, tell me!"

"It's just..." Spencer's voice trailed off as he sucked in a deep breath, looking at you.

"I- I think I'm starting to fall for you." His voice was quiet as he spoke, his cheeks bright red. "And... I- I'm pretty sure that I don't want it to stop."

His words sent a shockwave pulsing throughout your body, your heart pounding against your ribcage as butterflies exploded in your stomach. You looked at him, your eyes meeting his as he smiled hopelessly at you, his cheeks bright pink with embarrassment. Turning around to face him fully, you smiled at him, your own cheeks heating up.

"I think I'm starting to fall for you, too," you spoke softly, seeing his eyes light up at your words, "and I... I don't think I want it to stop either."

Spencer wanted to kiss you. He wanted to kiss you so bad— you could see it in his eyes. And maybe he would've, if it hadn't been for the voice that came over the loudspeaker, booming at you, "Spencer Reid— what in the hell are you doing at my aquarium at 3:45 in the morning?"

You gasped as you spun around, your eyes searching for the source of the voice, but you didn't see anyone. "I'm at home," the voice continued, "and I can see you on the fucking security cameras. You couldn't have waited to visit until the morning?"

"Sorry, Mr. Gibbs!" Spencer called loudly, his hand grabbing yours. He looked at you, saying, "He's the owner that I told you about. We should probably go."

You nodded your head at Spencer before he pulled you outside, his fingers lacing through yours as he led you over to the car, both of you not speaking as he opened your door for you, waiting for you to climb in before closing it behind you and going around to his side. Spencer drove to the hotel, his hand in yours the entire time as you both sat there, a wave of silence washing over you. Once you arrived to the hotel, you both climbed out, walking over to the elevator and riding it up to your room, your hands still clinging to one another's.

Spencer inserted the key card into the lock in the door, pushing it open before letting you in first and closing the door behind him, locking it. You both changed into pajamas, climbing into bed beside each other and just laying there, unsure of what to say to each other until Spencer leaned over, cupping your cheek as he planted a kiss on your forehead, pulling you into his arms as he whispered, "Goodnight, (Y/N)."

Curling up beside him, you rested your head over his shoulder, whispering back to him, "Goodnight, Spencer."

~~~

𝐴𝑈𝑇𝐻𝑂𝑅'𝑆 𝑁𝑂𝑇𝐸.NOT LOVE ME LIKE YOU DO AS THE SONG- I KNOW THIS WAS CHEESY AS HELLLL don't worry, the seggsy stuff returns in the next one ;)) I'M CACKLING because y'all thought they went to a museum😭 i've never seen an aquarium used in a fic before so i went with an aquarium!! i hope you guys liked this chapter despite how fucking cheesy it is djskdhd