in another universe

— peter pan au

જ⁀➴ ♡

Peter Pan had always believed that growing up was something people did without noticing. It happened slowly, quietly, until one day children who once believed puddles were oceans and shadows were monsters stopped looking for magic in ordinary things. They traded curiosity for schedules, imagination for expectations and somewhere along the way they forgot that they had once been fearless enough to believe anything was possible.

Neverland existed because Peter refused to let that happen. It was a place where nobody had to apologize for being too loud, too curious, too hopeful or too impossible. It was a place where children could exist without constantly wondering what they were supposed to become.

That was why Spencer Reid confused him.

Spencer had arrived in Neverland unlike anyone else Peter had ever met. Most children came running toward it, desperate to escape the rules and responsibilities waiting for them in the real world. Spencer seemed as though he had already carried those responsibilities for years. He did not come here searching for freedom. He came here carrying a weight he had never learned how to put down.

The Lost Boys admired him immediately. They thought Spencer was fascinating. He could remember every path through the forest, identify plants they had never seen before, explain the stars above them and repair things that seemed impossible to fix. To them, Spencer was someone extraordinary.

Peter noticed something else.

He noticed how Spencer always counted everyone before leaving camp, making sure every Lost Boy was there before he allowed himself to relax. He noticed how Spencer always gave away the warmest blanket during cold nights and pretended he was not freezing afterward. He noticed how Spencer laughed during their games but always kept part of himself distant, watching carefully in case something went wrong.

Spencer was always preparing for a disaster that had not happened yet.

Peter wondered if Spencer even knew how to enjoy peace when it finally arrived.

That was why he followed him to the lagoon one evening instead of joining the others around the fire. The moon reflected against the water and the entire forest seemed quieter than usual. Spencer sat beneath an old willow tree with a book open in his hands, though Peter had been watching him for several minutes and knew he had not turned a single page.

Peter dropped down beside him, intentionally scattering a few leaves onto Spencer’s shoulder.

Spencer looked up with the tired patience of someone who had already expected this.

“You know,” Spencer said as he removed a leaf from his sleeve, “most people who want to surprise someone usually attempt to do it quietly.”

Peter smiled. “Most people who want to be alone also don’t choose the same hiding place every time.”

“I am not hiding.”

“You always say that when you’re hiding.”

“That does not make your conclusion accurate.”

“It makes it accurate enough.”

Spencer looked back at his book, but Peter noticed the small smile he tried to hide.

It was different from the polite expression Spencer usually gave people. This one appeared before he remembered to control it, before he could analyze whether he should show it.

Peter leaned against the tree beside him. “You know what I think your problem is?”

Spencer sighed softly. “I have learned that asking you not to continue usually has the opposite effect.”

“Probably because you’re curious.”

“That is a generous interpretation.”

“It’s the correct one.”

Spencer shook his head, but there was amusement in his expression.

Peter studied him for a moment before speaking again. “You forget you’re allowed to be happy.”

The amusement faded.

Spencer looked down at the book in his lap. “I don’t think happiness is something you simply decide to have.”

“No, but I think sometimes you decide you don’t deserve it.”

Spencer became quiet.

Peter had seen Spencer explain complicated theories, solve impossible problems and talk about things that most people would struggle to understand. But whenever the conversation turned toward himself, Spencer became careful. Like every word had to pass through a filter before he allowed it to exist.

“When I was younger, people always told me I was mature,” Spencer finally said.

Peter listened without interrupting.

“I thought that meant I was doing something right. I thought it meant I was intelligent, that I understood things other children didn’t. I thought being mature was something to be proud of.” Spencer ran his fingers along the edge of the book cover. “I didn’t realize that sometimes adults say a child is mature because they notice how much that child has already had to handle.”

Peter’s expression softened.

“My mother was sick when I was young,” Spencer continued. “But I don’t want you to think every memory I have of her is painful, because it isn’t. She was brilliant. She encouraged me to ask questions. She made me feel like being different was not something shameful. She taught me that curiosity was something worth protecting.”

A small smile crossed his face.

“Some of my favorite memories are because of her.”

Then his expression changed.

“But there were also difficult moments. Moments where she needed help and I didn’t know how to give it. So I learned. I learned how to recognize when she was struggling. I learned when to stay close and when to give her space. I learned how to make things easier.”

“You were a child, Spencer,” Peter said gently.

Spencer looked at him. “I know.”

“I don’t think you do.” Peter’s voice softened. “You know the fact that you were young, but you don’t understand what that should have meant. You should have been worried about ordinary things. You should have been upset about losing toys or making mistakes or wanting something just because you wanted it. You shouldn’t have been measuring every desire by how much trouble it might cause someone else.”

Spencer looked away.

After a moment, he said quietly, “There was a chemistry set I wanted.”

Peter turned toward him.

“I saw it in a store window when I was younger. I remember everything about it. The experiments included, the equipment, the things I could learn from it. I would stop and look at it every time I passed by.”

His voice became softer.

“I told my mother I wanted it.”

Peter waited.

“She checked her money.”

The words were simple, but the meaning behind them hurt.

“She couldn’t afford it.”

“And you said you didn’t want it anymore,” Peter guessed.

Spencer nodded.

“Why?”

Spencer took a moment before answering.

“Because she looked relieved when I said I changed my mind.”

Peter looked down at the grass beneath them.

Spencer said it as though it had been the obvious choice. As though a child giving up something they loved to protect someone else’s feelings was normal.

“You thought giving something up was the same as loving someone,” Peter said quietly.

Spencer did not argue.

For once, he did not search for a logical explanation or try to correct the way Peter saw things.

Peter finally understood that Spencer had not lost his childhood because he had grown up too quickly. He had given parts of it away because he believed someone else needed them more.

“That’s why you’re here,” Peter said.

Spencer looked confused. “Because I don’t want to grow up?”

Peter shook his head. “No. Because you already did.”

The forest was quiet around them. Spencer looked down, but this time he did not try to explain why Peter was wrong. He simply sat with the truth.

“I don’t know how to stop being the person who always knows what to do,” Spencer admitted. “I don’t know how to stop feeling responsible for everything.”

Peter leaned his shoulder gently against his. “Maybe you don’t have to stop being that person. You’re kind because you care. You help people because that’s who you are. But you’re allowed to have moments where nobody needs anything from you.”

Spencer looked at him.

“Neverland was never really about never growing up.” Peter continued. “I think people misunderstand that. It’s not about staying exactly the same forever. It’s about remembering the person you were before everyone else started telling you who you had to become.”

For a while, Spencer simply listened to the sound of the lagoon and the wind moving through the trees. Then he closed his book and rested it beside him, not because he had finished reading, but because he realized he had been using it as something to hide behind.

He leaned back against the tree and looked up at the stars. There was no problem waiting for him to solve, no responsibility calling his name, no reason to prove that he belonged.

The stars above them stretched endlessly across the sky, bright enough to make even Spencer stop searching for explanations. For once, there was no problem waiting for him to solve, no expectation he needed to meet, no reason he had to prove that he deserved to be there.

He was just Spencer, a boy sitting beneath the stars of Neverland, allowing himself to exist without needing to earn it.

Pairing: S. Reid x fem!reader Word count: 1154 Warnings: none! (other than pinning after reid and his gorgeousness) Summary: Reader is obsessed with Spencer and his long hair. This is how each member of the team finds out. A/n: not proof read. lwk kind of lost the plot at the end. Not the best but enjoy

You couldn't stop staring at his hair. You couldn't not imagine it brushing against the inside of your thighs as he...

You couldn't not love Spencer's long hair. And yet, everyone but him noticed your new infatuation.

*squeaky toy noises*

Inspired by the Go for it Nakamura! Comic cover

Spencer Reid pulling everyone

Also me struggling with alvez like broooo I could t get it to look right today I guess, still think it looks off but I gave up -_-

Garcia-red panda

morgan-dog

Emily-cat

JJ-bunny

Alex-otter

spencer-ferret

hotch-hyena

rossi-racoon

Gideon-badger

Criminal minds!!! Finally finished all of them lol! Rossi is about to be introduced where I am in the show, so I'll have to add him

feel free to use as profile pics or something idk

Criminal minds cats!!! I do this to every show omfg

Me and my brother argued about what cat Morgan would be for like thirty minutes, but I like what I settled on

my wives ... i love them i love them they r such cuties