#calwrites

“Yeah, I mean Jess is pretty-”

“Sensible.”

“-incredible,” Sebastian finished, barely throwing Mackie a glare at his interruption.

Chris nodded slightly. “I gotta say, I’m pretty jealous. She seems like a great person. I’d love to date someone like her. What’s she up to tonight?”

“Look out, Sebastian. Evans is going to steal your girl.” Sebastian shook his head fondly as Chris and Anthony bickered gently.

“I just thought that Wednesday was date night. That’s all.” Chris raised his hands in surrender.

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be, but I told her it was your last night in LA and we wanted to have dinner.”

“And she was fine with it?”

“Yeah, she was cool with it.” Surprisingly cool, actually. Wednesday date night had been Jess’s idea at the start of their relationship. She claimed it would be a good way to make sure they were staying connected, even when work got crazy. Sometimes Wednesday night had to become Tuesday or Thursday if Sebastian had to shoot at night, but Jess always said it was fine. Really, Sebastian couldn’t ask for a better, more understanding girlfriend.

“So what exactly do you do on date night?” Sebastian had barely rolled his eyes before Anthony was throwing a napkin at him. “I didn’t mean like that. Like, do you just eat dinner together? Don’t you do that anyway when you’re visiting her?”

“Yeah, but it’s like special, I guess.” Sebastian shrugged slightly. “She normally makes a reservation at a nice restaurant and we get dressed up. I open all the doors for her. I tell her she looks beautiful.”

“And you like doing that every week?” Mackie pressed.

“Yeah, it’s fine.”

“You taking notes, Anthony?” Chris laughed.

“No, I just think it’s a little boring compared to his dates with Y/N. I feel like she was always coming up with the most random date ideas.”

“To make up for the fact that we could go months without a real date. Most of our Wednesday nights together were dinner at the apartment and then sitting on the couch together while she did work.”

“And you read scripts,” Anthony pointed out. “Besides, don’t act like some of those date droughts weren’t because you were away filming and always forgot when you were supposed to call her.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m bad at long distance. Why do you think I visit Jess so much?”

“New York to LA isn’t that different from LA to San Francisco,” Anthony muttered, causing Chris to kick him under the table.

“I told you, we just couldn’t give each other enough attention. Y/N was busy. She’s not as willing to be as flexible as Jess.”

“More like she doesn’t let you get away with as much crap as Jess does.”

“Mackie, come on. It’s my last night in LA. Let’s not spend all night discussing Sebastian’s love life.” Anthony nodded at Chris’s request, but Sebastian could tell that he still had opinions to share. What did Anthony know, though? Sebastian’s relationship was fine. He felt perfectly fine.

————————

“Where the hell have you been, Y/N?”

She jumped slightly, almost falling out of her heels. And since when did she wear heels that high? Sebastian was sure he hadn’t seen those shoes in their closet.

“Sebastian?” She squinted. The low light in the apartment made it hard to see him clearly, though Sebastian wasn’t sure whether or not she could even see straight at that moment. “What are you doing here? You still have two weeks of shooting.”

He scoffed. “And I thought you were having a chill night in. What happened to takeout and a romcom?”

Y/N’s nostrils flared. They always did that when she was trying not to lash out at someone. The first time Sebastian had noticed that was sophomore year of high school, when she was trying to stop herself from going off on someone who had made an incredibly wrong point about a book they were discussing in class.

“Some people from work were going out to celebrate. It’s been a long week and we finally landed that big deal I was telling you about.”

It would be easier to let it go and just be excited about the deal. Y/N had been stressing about it all week, and even though Sebastian didn’t really understand it, he knew that it was important for Y/N. But he didn’t let it go.

“It’s 2 AM!”

“Ok? I’m an adult. If I want to stay out until 2, I can.”

“You shouldn’t go out without letting someone know. It could be dangerous. You don’t know who else is out there.”

“I was with people I’ve worked with for a year, and I did tell people I was going out. Now stop acting like my mother.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“Because you’re supposed to be in Atlanta! Last I heard, you had to film tonight.” Y/N pressed a hand against her eyes for a moment before glaring at Sebastian again. “And besides, I would have told you if you had answered my call this afternoon. The call that we planned because you’ve been too busy to call all week.”

“I told you that I was coming to visit this weekend!”

She looked at Sebastian like he had just grown another head or started speaking Latin. “What are you talking about?”

“I told you that I was coming to visit this weekend,” Sebastian repeated, a bit quieter this time.

“Are you talking about last month when you said that they might change the schedule so you might be able to come back for a day or two?”

“Yes!”

“You never mentioned that again! You never gave me any dates! I just assumed that they didn’t change the schedule. How was I supposed to know you were coming tonight?”

“I wanted to surprise you! You said you would be here tonight .”

“If you had answered-“

“If I had answered the damn call! I know I know! Damnit, Y/N, you should have been here!”

They were both breathing heavily at this point. Y/N shook her head slightly as her mouth opened and closed as if she was trying to figure out what to say.

“I’m not just going to wait around for you, Sebastian.” Y/N’s voice was quiet, but firm. “I’m not going to sit in the apartment by myself every night because you said that you might be able to come home on some unspecified day. I have a career and friends and a life that’s separate from you. I’m not just Sebastian Stan’s girlfriend.”

“I know!” Sebastian sat heavily on the couch. He ran a hand over his face. It came back wet. Slowly, his shoulders started to shake before a sob finally escaped. “I know,” he repeated hoarsely.

There was a dip next to him, and then Y/N’s head was resting on his arm. “Ok, so what’s really wrong?”

He sighed. How had this night gone so wrong? “It was just a really bad week at work. I just heard back from a part that I really wanted. I didn’t get it. I just really wanted to see you, and when you weren’t here, I started panicking. And then you showed up and you had been having fun and your work is going well and it was just…I don’t know.”

“You needed to blow off some steam.” Sebastian nodded. “I'm sorry that you’ve been having a tough time, but next time I’d appreciate if you didn’t take it out on me.”

“I won’t.”

They sat in silence for a minute before Y/N spoke. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow night.”

“I think that tomorrow we need to discuss our communication problems.”

“Do you really think that’s necessary?”

“I do, Sebastian. Right now, the only reason we ever talk is because I bend over backwards to fit your schedule. I know that you’re busy, but so am I. I want our relationship to work. Like really work long term. But I can’t just not live my life because I’m waiting around for you to call.  It’s not fair if you constantly reschedule last minute after I’ve gone to all this trouble to make time.”

“You’re right.”

“I know I am.” Finally, Sebastian cracked a smile. The sound of Y/N’s laughter from beside him made his heart swell up with joy. “You know, I think that was our first big fight as a couple.”

“I didn’t like it.”

“I didn’t either. From now on, no more bottling up our feelings until we explode. Deal?” Sebastian nodded. “Good. Can we go to bed now, Seb?” Sebastian didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply picked Y/N up bridal style and carried her into the bedroom while she shrieked with laughter.

————————

His relationship with Jess was never as explosive as his relationship with Y/N had been. Surely that was a good thing. There were no 2 AM fights. If Sebastian showed up at her house to surprise her, she would cancel any plans she had to spend time with him. It didn’t matter if he was late picking her up for a date night, she was out at his car in no time. She hadn’t even kept him waiting the one time he had gotten the times mixed up and had gone to pick her up an hour early.

If he said he didn’t want to talk about something, she dropped it. If he said he wanted some space, she gave him space. If he said he was going to call and then ended up having to hang up after a few minutes, she didn’t get mad. She was incredibly understanding about everything. He couldn’t remember the last time they had fought.

In fact, had they ever fought. Maybe? She told him she didn’t like his cologne and had been a little annoyed that he had kept wearing it anyway, but she never pushed the matter with him. Any time she seemed annoyed, she just smiled and told him to forget about it. So much easier than a 2 AM fight.

And yet, Sebastian couldn’t help but remember the 2 AM dance parties in the kitchen because he was jet lagged and Y/N decided that the best use of jet lag was making cupcakes and listening to big band music. And the times that Y/N, who somehow always knew when something was bothering him, wouldn’t let him rest until he told her. He always felt better after he did, even if she had no advice. Even if her advice was to get his head out of his ass because he was the one in the wrong.

Jess only told him to take a sleeping pill and go to bed when he was jet lagged. She wouldn’t dance with him in the kitchen late at night. And she certainly wouldn’t dance with him in the rain.

“What are you thinking about?” Sebastian was pulled from his thoughts by Jess’s voice. His girlfriend settled into the couch next to him. His girlfriend. She was his girlfriend.

“Nothing much.”

“You sure? You looked pretty intense.”

“I’m sure.” Jess returned Sebastian’s grin, but he wasn’t sure if she actually believed him. Either way, she didn’t press.

“I talked to your mom earlier.”

That seemed to come out of nowhere. “My mom? Why?” It couldn’t be anything too important or she would have called him first.

Jess shrugged. “Just to chat. She had some questions about New York Fashion Week. I think she might be hoping I can get her into shows or something.”

“I didn’t know you were going to walk in Fashion Week.” 

“I’m not yet, but there might still be time. Imagine how good we’d look together there. There would be so many pictures of us together.” Sebastian didn’t say anything, so she continued. “I also talked to your stepdad a bit. I asked him if he had any funny stories about you from school.”

Why was she talking to his parents? That seemed a little strange to Sebastian. They had only been dating for a couple months, and she had only met his parents once and that was partly by accident. Of course, Sebastian wasn’t really sure when it was normal for his girlfriend to meet his parents. Y/N had already known them. She probably knew even more embarrassing stories than his stepdad did.

“You ready to watch the movie?” Sebastian asked so he didn’t have to hear her talk about his parents more. 

She snuggled closer to him. “Are you comfortable?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “I’m comfortable.” And he was. That was the perfect word for his relationship with Jess. She didn’t push him the same way that Y/N had. They didn’t hit the same lows, but they also didn’t hit the same highs. It was comfortable.

————————

The air smelled like rain. The weather app had said there wasn’t a chance that night, but it seemed like it would be wrong. Y/N’s heels clicked on the sidewalk with each step, but the noise of the city drowned them out. They didn’t drown out the pleas from her boyfriend.

“Y/N, come on. You’re being ridiculous.” Sebastian jogged after Y/N, who could walk surprisingly fast in heels when she wanted to.

“I’m being ridiculous? I spent the weeks planning everything for your perfect birthday evening and we didn’t do any of it.”

“We got drinks like you planned.”

“Yes, but we were supposed to get drinks, then go to a different restaurant, where I made a reservation two months ago. We were not supposed to stay there to eat, then go out drinking with some random people.”

“They’re not random people. I’ve worked with them before. I haven’t seen them in forever.” They had been about to pay for drinks and leave when Sebastian had caught sight of some actors he had worked with a couple years before. Y/N had hoped that the reunions would end after some pleasantries, but that hadn’t been the case. “And they paid for everything! You should be thanking them.”

“Okay, I know that what they did was nice, and if it had been any other night I would have loved it. But it’s your birthday and you’re only home for a couple days before you have to go back.”

“I know it sucks-”

Y/N stopped so suddenly that Sebastian almost ran into her. She wheeled around and jabbed a finger at his chest. “No, what sucks is spending any free time you have researching restaurants and bars so that you can plan the perfect drinks, then dinner, then a nice walk, then desserts before heading home to watch a movie. Last year, you said that would be your perfect birthday, so that’s what I did. And now it doesn’t even matter.”

“I didn’t ask you to do all that. I would have been fine with dinner at home.”

“I haven’t seen you in person in three months. When you said that I could plan whatever I wanted for your birthday, I wanted to make it special.” “There’s still time to make it special.” Sebastian raised his eyebrows suggestively. When he tried to grab Y/N’s hand, she yanked it back before turning and continuing down the street.

“We wasted all our time clubbing. God, we’re too old to spend a birthday clubbing. It’s almost 2 in the morning, and your flight leaves at 10.”

“So we can really go crazy and pull an all-nighter. I’m sure there are still some fun activities you had planned that we can do at home.”

“I have a meeting at 11. I’ll barely have enough time to prep after dropping you off at the airport.”

“Then don’t bother dropping me off. I can call a car.”

“Sebastian.” Y/N always took him to the airport when he had to leave. It was their little way of squeezing out every second they had together.

“Well if it’s going to be such an inconvenience, don’t worry about it.” This time it was Sebastian who continued to walk when Y/N stopped to look at him.

“It wasn’t supposed to be an inconvenience. I was supposed to have time to wake up early to go over everything before taking you to the airport. If we had stuck to the plan-”

A raindrop landed on Y/N’s nose. Of course, neither of them had brought an umbrella or a raincoat. They were supposed to have been home hours before the rain started.

“Oh my god. The plan this! The plan that! It’s always about your plans.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s like you’re incapable of not having a plan. Everything has to be scheduled. Everything has to have a defined next step. If anyone strays from the plan, all you can do is complain.” Sebastian ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face as the rain started to really come down.

“I’m sorry that I care! I’m sorry that I just wanted you to have a good birthday.”

“That’s not what I’m saying! Sometimes I just want to go with the flow. Like going out with some friends I hadn’t seen in forever. Or going to the first gelato place I see.”

“Oh my god, are you still upset about the gelato?” They had gone to Italy for a couple weeks that summer. There had been a small tiff about which gelato place they should go to one afternoon. “The other place had way better reviews, and it was only around the corner. You still got gelato!”

“Yeah but by then I was so annoyed that I couldn’t enjoy it.”

“Fine! Next time you can get some subpar gelato, while I go get better gelato. In fact, you can eat wherever you want the next time you go on vacation. You want seafood that’ll almost certainly give you food poisoning? Go for it. You want an overpriced salad that’s almost exactly the same as a cheaper one you could get two streets over. Waste your money. I don’t care anymore.”

“I never asked you to do any of that though!”

“Fuck you, Sebastian! I’m sorry that I care!” At this point, the rain was coming down hard enough that it was impossible for Sebastian to see the tears rolling down Y/N’s cheeks. But he could still hear them in her voice. “It’s just that I care about you so much that sometimes it feels like I’m going to explode. And I don’t get to be around you all the time, so I have to put all that energy into so much less than I want to. I know that I can go a bit far with plans, but sometimes I like having a plan.”

“It’s okay.” Gently, Sebastian grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him. She seemed to collapse into him as he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s okay.  I like how on top of everything you are most of the time, but sometimes it can be fun to just see what happens. I don’t mean to upset you when I do that.”

“I know, but it feels like you don’t care about all the work that I did.”

“I’m sorry. Maybe this is something we can work on.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, remember when I was so bad at communication?” Y/N smiled slightly and nodded. “Maybe you can work on going with the flow a bit more. Do something spontaneous. Go for a walk and see where you end up, like you used to when we first moved in together. Take a vacation and don’t make any plans. I know that you like living in the moment.”

“Work is way too busy right now to start being spontaneous. I’ll basically be living at the office for the next couple months.” That was the problem with Y/N’s job. Even though she enjoyed the work and was good at it, there was always so much going on that it made it almost impossible for Y/N to have time to do anything else. “Stop making that face, Seb. I know you don’t like my job.”

“It’s not that I don’t like your job. I just don’t like how stressed it makes you. Maybe you should take the job at that startup. The one with the guy you went to school with.”

“I’m not sure a startup is the best way to be less stressed. Plus, it’s in San Francisco.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be really busy next year, so we’d probably be apart anyway. At least think about it. That’ll be spontaneous enough.”

“Whatever you say, Seb.”

————————

The smile on Sebastian’s face felt fake. Everything about his relationship felt fake nowadays. And Jess had no idea. She couldn’t see it.

His girlfriend sat across from him, his beautiful, kind girlfriend, and he felt nothing. There was no rush of happiness when he saw her. There was no ache in his chest when he was away from her. And worst all, he couldn’t be sure there had ever been.

Had he felt anything for Jess besides physical attraction? Deep down, he didn’t think so. She had just been a way to get over Y/N. It had worked for a while. He had convinced himself that he was happy with her. But then he had seen Y/N. 

He wasn’t supposed to go to the wedding, and maybe he shouldn’t have. Y/N would have had a lot more fun if he hadn’t been there. Maybe it had been a bit selfish, but he had to see her. He missed her. He wanted her back in his life. Even though he tried to pretend it wasn’t true, he wanted her back. He still loved her.

And she still loved him. She probably also hated him, at least a little bit, despite what she said. But she still loved him. Ever since he had heard those words, his world had started to dim.

He hadn’t noticed it at first. Maybe he was slower to laugh at jokes. Maybe he started finding date night tedious, rather than sweet. And maybe he started thinking about what Y/N was doing whenever possible.

You couldn’t blame him, really. Jess was an open book. She was nice. She was, at least partly, using him for publicity. She was pretty. He could guess what she would say at any moment. As great as she was, she wasn’t very deep.

Y/N, on the other hand, was a wild card. Yes, she could be a little plan heavy, but she really shone when she let herself cut loose. When she booked flights to Italy on a whim or decided they should go skydiving during the weekend. Or even when she accidentally found their new favorite Indian restaurant because she wasn’t paying attention when walking home and ended up on the wrong street.

Did she sometimes want to make him bang his head against a wall? Yes. But she also made him a better person. She didn’t let him get away with any crap. And she was the only thing he ever wanted to think about.

“Jess,” Sebastian said, interrupting whatever story she had been telling. “We need to talk.”

————————

It was raining so hard that Sebastian almost walked right past the building. Of course, Sebastian didn’t have an umbrella. Wasn’t it supposed to not rain in California? Or maybe LA rules didn’t apply to San Francisco. Either way, Sebastian was drenched by the time that he stood outside of the apartment building.

The doorman raised an eyebrow as Sebastian dripped on his floor. “How can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Y/N.” Did she even still live in this apartment? He wasn’t sure. She had only signed the lease for a year, so maybe she had moved. Sebastian tried to keep walking towards the elevator, but the doorman was quick to stop him.

“She’s not available right now, but I’ll let her know you stopped by. Goodnight.” Arguing seemed pointless. It was getting late, and he was a strange man as far as the doorman was concerned. But what did not available mean? Was she out? Or did she have someone up in her apartment? If only he had been able to go up. It was his own fault for insisting she get an apartment with a doorman.

Back outside in the rain, he looked up at the window that he knew was hers. Or at least had been the last time he had visited. He had looked up at the window and watched her wave as he drove away. Every time it got harder to leave. Harder to be sure that she would still want him when he came back.

Without any other good plan, Sebastian did the first thing he could think of. “Y/N!” he yelled. Would the other people in the apartment building think he was crazy? Maybe. Did he care? No. Maybe if he yelled enough, she would come down. Would it come off as romcom-esque or just creepy? Maybe he should have brought a boom box or something.

“Sebastian?”

He spun around so quickly that he almost slipped on the wet sidewalk. There she was. She was wearing a raincoat that seemed to almost swallow her, and the hood hid her face. Some part of Sebastian’s mind pointed out that it was his raincoat. He must have forgotten it at her apartment once. She had a backpack on and takeout in one hand, which Sebastian knew meant she was just getting back from work.

“Sebastian, what are you doing here?” She didn’t sound mad, just confused. That was fair, really. After their run in at the wedding reception, she probably hadn’t expected to see him, at least for a long time.

“I miss you.” That was all Sebastian was able to choke out at first.

Y/N started shaking her head and brought a hand up to her eyes, knocking the hood of the raincoat down. She didn’t seem to notice. “No, Sebastian. I told you-“

“I know. I know what you told me.” Y/N’s eyes tentatively met his. “But I do miss you. And I do want you back. Not just as a friend. Breaking up with you was the stupidest thing I’ve ever done.”

“Then why did you do it?” Sebastian hated how small she sounded. He hated that he was the reason for it.

“I was scared.” 

“You were scared? I was the one with a new job in a new city.”

“I knew that you would take it all by storm though. You always do. And it just felt like the more you settled in here, the less you needed me. I knew that one day you would realize that you had outgrown me. I guess I was trying to save myself from that pain, so I ended things first.”

“Outgrow you? Sebastian, I love you. I could never outgrow that.”

“You’re way too good for me. And you're constantly surrounded by people who are smarter than me. People you can have real conversations about your work with. You don’t have to dumb stuff down for them.”

“If I want to talk to them about work, then I’ll do it at work. They don’t make me smile like you do though. I don’t enjoy being around them as much as I enjoy being around you. Who cares if you don’t understand all of that boring business stuff? You’re still smart. And kind. And you’re the one I always wanted to come home to at the end of the day.”

She was close enough to touch now. Sebastian wasn’t sure if he had been walking towards her or if she had been walking towards him. Maybe it was both.

“What about Jess?”

“We broke up.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well it only happened a couple hours ago.”

“Sebastian!” Y/N swatted him on the arm, but she was laughing. “Did you break up with her and then come here?”

“I figured you probably wouldn’t take me back if I was still dating someone else.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Y/N smiled up at him. Gently, he placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her. The feeling was just as exciting as the first time they had kissed. Sebastian couldn’t help but smile. When they pulled away, Y/N was smiling too.

“We’re going to make this work,” Sebastian said. “I don’t care if I have to fly here every day to see you. I’m not letting you go again.”

“Actually, I have a solution that might be a bit easier.” The sly smile on Y/N’s face made Sebastian smile too. “The startup was just acquired by a bigger company-”

“Is that good?”

“For the most part. It’s good for me because I’ll be in charge of expanding our little startup. That means,” she continued, seeing the look of confusion on Sebastian’s face, “that I’ll be doing a lot of traveling around to new offices. Whenever I’m not needed at a specific office, I can work anywhere.”

“Anywhere?” Sebastian was starting to see where she was going with this, but he tried to keep himself from getting his hopes up.

“I was planning on staying here for a couple more months before moving back to New York, but I can work from anywhere as long as I have a computer and wifi. I’m pretty sure they have both of those in places like LA or Atlanta or wherever you’re filming. I’ll still be busy, but we’ll be together.”

Whatever else Y/N was going to say was forgotten when Sebastian picked her up and spun her around. “I’ve missed you,” Sebastian whispered as he put her back down.

“So I’ve heard.” Sebastian laughed and pressed a kiss on Y/N’s wet hair. “I’ve missed you too, Seb. I have one more question though.”

“Ask me anything.”

“Do you think this food is too waterlogged to eat?” She lifted the takeout bag slightly.

“I guess we have to hope the plastic bag did its job.” Sebastian took the bag out of her hand and wrapped his other arm around her shoulders. “I hope you ordered enough for me.”

“I hope so too. I wasn’t exactly expecting you though.”

“I hope it was a good surprise though.”

Y/N squeezed Sebastian’s waist. “The best. I love you.”

“At least then I won’t have a bunch of teenage girls taking pictures of me the whole time. They’re scary. How do you deal with that all the time?” It had been disconcerting to have the group of girls staring at you and Sebastian as you sat and chatted. For a moment, you had thought you were crazy when you noticed them looking. The first thought you had was that you had something on your face or needed to fix your hair, but you realized why they were so focused on your table when they walked over to ask Sebastian for pictures.

Sebastian let out a sigh as he shrugged. For a second you were worried that you had said something wrong. “I just try to ignore it most of the time. I’m polite if they come up to me. I’d rather they like me than hate me.”

“I’m sure you have lots of stories. You’ll have to tell me sometime.” Your eyes widened when you realized what you’d said. What if he didn’t want to see you again? “I mean, if you’re staying in the city long. I’m sure you’re really busy.”

“I’ve got some promo to do soon, but I’m not filming again for a few months. I wanted a bit of the break.” Sebastian waved his hand. “Let’s not talk about my work. What about you? You taking the business world by storm?”

“Well I did just get a raise, so now I can almost afford my rent, groceries, and student loans.” The joys of living in New York City.

“Ah sounds like everything’s going well then. Are your parents still around?” Your parents had basically fallen in love with Sebastian when they first met him freshman year. A group of your friends had come over to your house for a movie night and Sebastian had insisted on staying to help you clean up after everyone else had left. Your mom had spent the next few weeks not so subtly dropping hints that she thought you should date him.

 “Yeah they’re still in Jersey. They tried to convince me to move in with them, but I told them I didn’t want to have to commute into the city every day. Of course, that set them off about how that’s what they’ve been doing my whole life because they didn’t want me growing up without a yard or whatever.”

“So it sounds like they haven’t changed much?” You shook your head slightly to force yourself to stop watching Sebastian as he laughed.

“No they have not.” You bumped your shoulder against Sebastian’s gently. “They’re your number one fans, you know.”

“Oh they are?” His eyebrows raised in surprise, and he was already fighting a smile, no doubt waiting to hear what embarrassing things your parents had done since high school graduation.

“They see all of your movies in theaters.” Multiple times, but you didn’t want Sebastian to think they were weirdos.

“Even the bad ones?”

“Even the bad ones. I did tell them that they aren’t allowed to buy any of the Bucky dolls.”

“They’re action figures.”

You rolled your eyes, but found yourself matching Sebastian’s smile anyway. “Whatever. It’d be weird seeing a mini version of you at my parents’ house. It’s bad enough that they still have a bunch of high school pictures hung up.”

“My mom does too. She’s going to be so excited when I tell her that I ran into you. You were always her favorite of our group.”

You stopped suddenly, grabbing Sebastian’s arm. He looked a little alarmed, but you ignored it. “Are you serious? I was always so scared of her. This is the best day of my life.” You had met Sebastian’s mom a couple of times throughout high school, but had never been able to tell whether or not she liked you.

“Scared of her? Why? Because of the accent?”

“The accent didn’t help, but really it was because she’s hot. That makes her intimidating.”

Sebastian groaned and pulled a face. “No. You can’t think my mom is hot. That’s not allowed. Take it back or I’m sending your parents all of the Bucky dolls I can find.”

“It’s not like I wanted to bang her or anything. I just think that she’s an attractive woman. Which makes sense considering how attractive you are.” Your mouth snapped shut. You weren’t sure who was blushing more, you or Sebastian. “Let’s forget about this whole conversation.” Sebastian laughed slightly and nodded.

It was silent between you two as you continued your walk through the streets. You weren’t really sure where he was going. You were heading to your car, but you couldn’t tell if Sebastian was also going somewhere or if he was just following you. If you had looked up, you would have noticed that Sebastian was watching you carefully. But you didn’t look up. Your eyes were on the pavement, watching the glow of the lights in the reflection from the rain.

“Do you remember that poster that was in our English class freshman year?” you asked suddenly. Sebastian’s brow crinkled slightly as he tried to remember, but then he followed your gaze to the glowing pavement and smiled.

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” The two of you laughed slightly as you remembered your slightly eccentric teacher. “We made fun of that poster so much.”

“It was a stupid poster. But remember it was raining when we were leaving the homecoming dance freshman year and we started dancing in the parking lot-”

“And all of our friends thought we were crazy,” Sebastian finished. “To be fair, we were crazy. That was probably the most fun part of the dance though.”

“Are you saying that I was a bad date?” You gasped and brought your hand up to your mouth as if Sebastian had offended you. Both of you dissolved into giggles.

“I’m saying that I was probably a bad date. I was so awkward. I had such a big crush on you.” Sebastian rubbed his neck uncomfortably. You definitely didn’t notice how the action made his arms look.

“Wait really?” This was news to you. You had always kind of assumed that Sebastian didn’t like you very much. He had always seemed to just tolerate your presence.

“Oh yeah. All the guys used to make fun of me because I got so awkward around you. That’s why I never talked when you were with us.”

“I just thought you were shy or something.” Or that he secretly hated you.

“Well that too,” Sebastian admitted with a small grin.

“You should have just told me. I had a crush on you too. I was so excited when you asked me to the dance.” You were so engrossed in conversation that you almost walked right past your car. “Oh, this is me.”

“Oh.” Was it your imagination or did Sebastian look disappointed? Before you could figure it out, he was smiling again. “It’s been nice catching up. We should hang out again. You still have the same number?”

You assured Sebastian that you did and the two of you exchanged more pleasantries. After sliding into your car, you watched Sebastian continue down the street. The memory of the two of you dancing wildly in the parking lot while the rest of your friends complained about the rain made you smile. You kind of wished you had asked him to dance again.

————————

Part of you already wished that this weekend would never end, even though it had barely even begun. You had finally made it out of the city and still had a couple hours of driving left, but you were already dreading having to go back into the office on Monday.

You and Sebastian had been hanging out more since running into each other last month. Most of the time, you got away without any pictures of the two of you getting out, but recently that had been getting harder and harder to do. Now, through what you could only assume was some sort of social media stalking witchcraft, people had managed to figure out who you were. The hundreds of notifications had freaked you out at first, but after deleting all of the social media apps from your phone, it was totally not a big deal.

Until your coworkers had found out. Some magazine had printed a picture of you and Sebastian, including your name underneath it, so now everyone at the office was either making fun of you by pretending to take paparazzi pictures whenever you walked into a room or constantly asking about Sebastian. Needless to say, you desperately needed this weekend away.

“Hungry eyes,” Sebastian sang, rather poorly though you suspected that was on purpose. You had seen him in musicals in high school. He half turned towards you, reaching out with one hand while the other stayed on the wheel, as he continued to sing along to the music. “One look at you and I can’t disguise these-”

“Keep your eyes on the road,” you scolded, though you couldn’t help but laugh at his bad attempt to hit a high note. “You know, I was worried that you would get us killed at the cabin, but now I know you’re going to get us killed before we even make it there. And stop caressing my hair.” You slapped his hand away for emphasis.

He reached out again to run a hand down your hair. “I am not caressing your hair-”

“Definitely were.”

“-and I am not going to get us killed. We are going to have a nice relaxing weekend at a cabin that I rented and am graciously letting you stay at without paying me back. And we aren’t going to worry about paparazzi or annoying coworkers or random people on the street with cell phones.” There may have been a incident earlier that week where you had almost gone up to a random person in the street to yell at them about taking pictures of you and Sebastian. It turned out they were just a lost tourist who barely spoke English. That was when Sebastian decided that you needed a vacation too.

“I think I’m paying you back by forcing myself to spend time with you. You’re very hard to get along with. Plus, I have no money for vacations. We can’t all be actors in Marvel movies.” The trees blurred by as Sebastian drove down the highway.

“You know, I could probably get you in the next Captain America movie. You might not have any lines, but you could stand in the background.” Had he ever offered any of your other friends from high school roles in his movies? No, you couldn't let yourself get caught up in these kinds of questions.

“Sebastian, thanks again-”

“Stop! I told you to stop thanking me-”

“Thanks again,” you continued loudly, “for inviting me. I know that you were looking forward to a relaxing weekend away before you have press stuff. If you want, we don’t have to talk to each other. I don’t want to ruin your relaxation.”

Sebastian shifted uncomfortably in his seat at your thanks, but then shot you an incredulous look. “How would you ruin my relaxation? I wouldn’t have invited you if I didn’t want to spend time with you.”

“Promise?”

Sebastian sent you a smile that was so full of warmth that you could have melted right there. You were definitely getting caught up now. You tried to snap yourself out of it by thinking about all of the reasons you could never date Sebastian. First, he was Sebastian. He knew what you looked like when you were young and awkward. He had seen the awful bangs you cut yourself sophomore year. Second, he was Sebastian Stan. Surely he’d never date a nobody like you. Not that he was stuck up now. He was surprisingly similar to how he had been in high school. It’s just, he could date models if he wanted to. You were definitely not a model. And you wouldn’t even want to date someone in the spotlight like him. Third, you had been on like two dates with the skeazy guy from accounting. If you ignored most of what he said, he was only a little skeazy. Barely tolerable really. You could work with that.

But then Sebastian ran his hand through his hair, and you had to bite your lip to stop yourself from saying anything stupid. Did he know what he was doing or was he just naturally this cool now? Either way, it was going to be a long weekend.

————————

The dance was not fun. Whoever was writing the prom scenes in all of those cheesy movies was full of crap. The decorations looked bad, your dress was uncomfortable, and you were so busy making sure everything was running smoothly that you weren’t even getting to enjoy your senior prom. You never should have agreed to head the prom committee. Surely the night would be more fun if you didn’t have any responsibilities.

Except you’d probably still be standing on the edges of the dancing watching as all of your friends danced with their boyfriends. You had thought that this would finally be the dance you had a boyfriend for, but then your boyfriend broke up with you less than two weeks before because you were spending too much time working on prom. Great. Wonderful.

It had been difficult to mentally prepare yourself to go to senior prom without a date after working so hard on it.  It had seemed almost poetic when Sebastian asked you. The two of you had gone to your first high school dance together and now you were at your last high school dance together.

Except Sebastian had barely talked to you all night. In fact, he had barely even looked at you. At least, that’s what you thought. Sebastian later confessed to you that he was scared he’d get in the way of your prom committee duties so he watched you from afar as you took care of the last minute issues. But you didn’t know that yet.

“Decided to actually acknowledge me?” you snapped when Sebastian leaned against the wall beside you.

Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. He was probably already regretting coming over to talk to you. “I probably deserve that. You just seemed busy.”

“There were a couple of issues that I had to take care of. I still want to enjoy the dance though.”

“So let’s enjoy it.” Sebastian held his hand out to you and nodded to the dance floor. You smiled gratefully at him and took his hand, letting him lead you out.

Neither of you were great dancers, and the dance floor was maybe a little too crowded, but you made the best of it. After bumping into another couple one too many times, you and Sebastian retired back to the wall, perfectly content to watch the others and whisper amongst yourselves.

“So have you had fun tonight?” Sebastian asked. You had, which was surprising considering how badly the night had started out. Sometimes you forgot how well you and Sebastian could get on. It was so rare to talk to him one on one. You really didn’t know how prom could have gone better. You were kind of disappointed that prom was wrapping up. Already, the dance floor had begun emptying as people left for various after parties.

“I did.” Sebastian grinned, obviously pleased with your answer. “But it wasn’t nearly as good as homecoming freshman year.”

Sebastian's smile faded as he tried to recall the dance you were talking about. “Wasn’t that dance really awkward though?”

“Sure the actual dance was,” you shrugged. “But dancing in the parking lot after was one of my favorite high school memories.”

Sebastian threw his head back to laugh, his hand resting on your shoulder to steady himself. “I’ll admit that I’m kind of glad it’s not raining tonight. My mom was not happy that I got my suit wet. But we can still dance like that tonight. There’s plenty of room on the dance floor.”

“Absolutely not,” you scoffed. “We’d look crazy.”

“Everyone here is either our friend or someone who we’ll probably never see again.” Sebastian held his hand out to you. You bit your lip as you considered before meeting his eyes. He raised an eyebrow in challenge.

“Fine.” Sebastian laughed as you took his hand, once again allowing him to drag you onto the dance floor. He was truly fearless in his dancing this time. Obviously you had to follow suit and ignore the looks people were throwing you as you and Sebastian twirled and spun and jumped around. By the time it was time to leave the dance, you both were red faced and breathless with laughter. The sky was perfectly clear as you walked through the parking lot, but part of you wished it was raining so you could once again dance in a storm in your best dress with Sebastian.

————————

“I thought you weren’t talking to me because you didn’t really want to go with me.”

“What?” Sebastian took his eyes off the road quickly to look over at you. “Why would I ask you if I didn’t want to go with you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe our friends told you to since neither of us had dates.”

“You’re crazy. I was so intimidated by you that I didn’t want to get in your way.” You scoffed and started to speak but Sebastian shushed you. “You’ve always been the most impressive person in the room.”

You weren’t entirely sure how to respond to that. Sebastian Stan thought that you were impressive. But what exactly did that mean? That he thought it was neat that you managed to wrangle high school students enough to plan prom? He said ‘you’ve always’ which seemed to imply that he still felt that way. Right? But he was a successful actor. He worked with people way more impressive than you every day.

The thoughts flashed furiously through your head as Sebastian continued to drive slowly through the town. He had certainly achieved his goal to get away from the city. It was hard to believe the small town you’d spent the weekend in was so in the same state as the city. Paparazzi had certainly not been a worry for the two of you. Eventually, the car reached the end of the road. Rather than turning around and heading back into town, Sebastian put the car in park.

“I don’t want to go back,” he sighed. You had to agree with him. You wanted to stay right there. It had been so relaxing to get away from it all. No paparazzi. No fans. No coworkers. Just you and Sebastian. But it couldn’t last. You had work, and Sebastian had interviews.

“So let’s stay here,” you suggested. “We’ll stock up on food and then barricade ourselves in the cabin. We’ll obviously have to defend ourselves when Marvel comes looking for you and my company comes looking for me, but I have complete confidence that we can take them.” Not that you had reached a position in the company where they would notice you were missing. Maybe after a week or two they’d notice something was off. Marvel was sure to be quicker though.

“Ha ha you’ve made your point.” He sighed again. “This has been the best weekend I’ve had in a long time. Thanks for coming with me.”

“Thanks for inviting me.” Your voice sounded small in the sudden stillness of the car. Sebastian’s eyes flickered over your face, going from your eyes to your lips. “What did you mean earlier?”

“About what?”

“When you said that I was always the most impressive person in the room.” You were a little nervous about his answer. There was a good chance you’d made it out to be deeper than he meant. But then you remembered how fearless and free you felt when Sebastian led you out onto the dance floor at prom, and you knew you had to know the answer.

“Exactly that. I’m constantly in awe of you. The way you were the smartest person at school. I mean, I think you’re still the smartest person I know. I don’t understand anything you’re saying when you talk about work. You always knew exactly what to say to diffuse any of our friends’ drama. You’re kind and funny and always keep me on my toes.” Sebastian paused for a moment. You tried to speak, but all you could do was look at his beautiful blue eyes. “Running into you might be the best thing to ever happen to me.”

“Sebastian,” you murmured. Before you could think of anything else to say, Sebastian’s lips were on yours. You smiled into the kiss as you ran your fingers through Sebastian’s hair. It was the perfect length. You tried your best to capture the memory of this moment. The feel of his lips. His hand on your cheek. The faint sound of birds chirping outside. The patter of rain on the car roof. It was all perfect, and you wanted to remember every second of it.

————————

You didn’t know how life could get better than this. Sebastian’s hand was entwined with your own as you walked through the streets. You had been nervous about this at first. What would his fans think? So far they had been curious but benign when it came to you. Hopefully that wouldn’t change now.

You had almost cancelled when Sebastian showed up at your door. A night in suddenly sounded really good. He hadn’t let you though. Instead, Sebastian had grabbed your hand and pulled you out onto the street. You laughed as he twirled you, causing the skirt of your favorite dress to flow out.

“Good thing it’s not raining today,” Sebastian had laughed. “This would be much less enjoyable if we were getting rained on.”

“I don’t know about that. I think we normally have a pretty good time in the rain.”

 You had managed to walk to the restaurant without being spotted, though you had noticed some people taking pictures as you were eating. By the time the bill had been paid, you were more than happy to take Sebastian’s hand and follow him outside. A short walk later and the two of you were strolling around a park eating ice cream on the way back to your apartment.

“So did you have fun tonight?” Sebastian asked.

“I did,” you admitted with a smile. “It was a lot better than I was expecting.”

“Ouch.” Sebastian made a faux wounded expression that ended up making you both laugh. “I didn’t realize you thought I’d be a bad date.”

“It wasn’t you I was worried about. Your fans kind of terrify me. Not gonna lie. I half expected them to show up at the restaurant and start pelting me with rotten fruit or something.”

“That would certainly kill the mood, but I don’t think you have to worry about people throwing fruit at you.”

“No. I just have to worry about what people are going to be saying about me online.”

“Hey, stop.” Sebastian caught your hand and pulled you back to where he had stopped walking. His hands cupped both sides of your face as he looked seriously at you. “It’s going to be ok. Yeah, there are going to be some people who say some mean things. Just ignore it. It’s why I don’t bother with social media much. It doesn’t matter what they say.”

“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one they’re going to accuse of dating someone just to latch onto their fame or money.” Soon after you and Sebastian had started hanging out, the posts about you trying to use Sebastian’s game to get ahead had started. It didn’t really make much sense. Being friends with an actor wasn’t going to get you promoted any sooner. Still, they had annoyed you and sometimes made you feel weird about being around Sebastian.

“I know that you’re not using me. You know that you’re not using me. Everyone that matters will know that you’re not using me. If anything, I’m getting the better end of our relationship. I’m getting to date the most amazing woman ever.”

“Most amazing woman ever?” you repeated. “I’m not sure I have the necessary qualifications for that title.”

“Would you like to hear your qualifications?”

“Yes I would.” You giggled slightly, feeling like a kid with a crush, when Sebastian slung his arm around you and pulled you close so that he could whisper in your ear.

“You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. You are the smartest person I know. You’re kind and funny and you know all of this already because I’ve told you it before.”

“Yeah but I wanted to hear it again.” Your face was so close to Sebastian’s as you whispered back to him that your noses were almost touching. You hardly dared to breathe as your eyes flickered between his eyes and his lips. 

Sebastian just barely started moving closer when you both heard “Is that Sebastian Stan?” coming from a nearby group of people. You jumped back almost immediately, blushing like a kid who was caught holding hands on the playground. Sebastian sent you a small smile before turning to face the fans who had come up to ask for pictures. Once he was finally finished with that, he took your hand again and led you back towards your apartment. Hopefully, no one had gotten a picture of you two in the park about to kiss. Despite what Sebastian had said, you were still scared of what people would say. Your hands shook slightly as you walked, so you slipped your hand out of his, hoping he hadn’t noticed.

Quicker than you would have liked, you were back outside your apartment building. “Do you want to come up?” you asked when he stopped on the sidewalk.

Sebastian shook his head. “I have to be up early tomorrow, and, if I go up, I’m never gonna want to leave.” Sebastian grabbed your hands, which were still shaking, and pulled you close before resting his hands on your hips. “I had a great time tonight.” He smiled, making you feel a bit more brave. This was just Sebastian. The same Sebastian you had known for years growing up.

Slowly, Sebastian brought a hand up to your face, giving you plenty of time to stop him. But you didn’t want to. He was making you feel a bit fearless. You grinned as he kissed you softly. Even though it wasn’t your first kiss, it certainly felt like it. Although technically, it was your first kiss as an official couple. And it was your first kiss out in public, where someone could take a picture that would make its way through the Marvel fandom.

But that didn’t matter to you now. The kiss was flawless. And despite whatever people online were probably already posting about you, you would never regret this moment. Life with Sebastian was undeniably better than life without him. 

————————

tags

A large bouquet of your least favorite type of flower was sitting at your desk when you got back to your office. Unsurprisingly, a note from Tony was attached, which meant that he had heard about your newest case. Underneath the ugly bouquet were two letters from potential clients asking for your help pro bono. You would take the cases. You always took the pro bono cases, even though you didn’t have the time and could really use the money.

The text was what you thought was going to make you lose it. You had stared at the screen for a minute, wavering between wanting to throw it at the wall and wanting to lay your head down and start crying. Steve was stuck at the compound upstate and wouldn’t be able to make it into the city for date night. He didn’t offer a reason, but he rarely ever did when Avengers things were concerned. There were some things that he didn’t think you needed to know, and you were perfectly fine not knowing them. Still, you had been looking forward to seeing Steve. He had been stuck at the compound for most of the week, and you really missed him. At least he had promised a weekend at the compound, which was the closest thing to a vacation you ever had, to make it up to you.

You and Steve had been dating for a few years now. Though he technically lived at the compound, the two of you basically lived together. Whenever he wasn’t upstate, he was staying in your little Brooklyn apartment. Your friends often teased you that it wasn’t fair that you were the one to snag Captain America when he wasn’t even your favorite Howling Commando. It had been Dum Dum Dugan, but only because eight year old you thought his name was the funniest.

According to Steve, he had known the minute that he saw you, or actually heard you, that he was going to fall in love with you. He hadn’t even opened the door to Tony’s office before he was able to hear you ripping Tony a new one. Perhaps storming into Stark Towers to yell at Tony Stark wasn’t the smartest move, but you were young, it was your first big case, and you were fired up. Plus, the DODC needed to get it together because whatever system they had at that time wasn’t working. You ended up winning the case. Steve had known then and there that he had to know you. And Tony had decided that he needed you on his legal team. Only one of them got their way, and it wasn’t Tony. Not that he wasn’t still trying, you thought, glancing at the ugly flowers again.

It was impossible to be mad at Steve for missing date night because he had superhero responsibilities, but it still bummed you out. You managed to plough through the rest of the afternoon before heading home. As you passed your favorite coffee shop, you thought that you would treat yourself to some caffeine, since you would probably be up late working on the new pro bono cases. Of course, you had dropped the coffee almost immediately, which you took as a sign to just chalk up the day as a loss and head home as quickly as possible before lightning struck you or a tornado swept you up or aliens abducted you.

Morning came too quickly. Though you had gone to sleep earlier than you had anticipated, it was still hard to peel your eyes open. You glared blearily at the clock. It told you that it was still early in the morning, so why were you awake?

The answer came in the form of the creak of your bedroom door. You barely had time to panic about the possibility of an intruder before Steve poked his head in, a smile breaking out on his face at the sight of your sleepy confusion.

“Surprise, honey,” he said quietly.

“What are you doing here?” Despite your confusion, you reached out to him, pulling him onto the bed and snuggling into his chest.

Steve wrapped you up in his arms and settled deeper into the bed. “I felt bad that I had to cancel on date night after you had such a bad day, so I thought I’d surprise you. I’m taking you out and spoiling you today before we head upstate for the weekend.”

“I have work today, Steve,” you protested, though you were too happy to see Steve to really worry about work.

“I’ve already talked to your boss, and he told me that you were taking a half day today. I managed to talk him into giving you the whole day off. One of the perks of being Captain America.”

You hit Steve’s arm lightly. “I don’t know why everyone thinks you're such a golden boy. You’re a bad influence, Rogers.” Steve’s loud laugh caused your heart to soar. You’d stay in bed with Steve all day if you could.

As if he was reading your mind, Steve said, “Why don’t you go back to sleep for a bit? We have a reservation at your favorite brunch place in a few hours. You could get at least another hour of sleep.”

“I won’t argue with you, but you have to stay in bed with me.”

“I like that deal.” Steve kissed the top of your head gently as you snuggled into his side, already drifting back off to sleep.

An hour later, you woke up feeling much more rested. Opening your eyes slowly, you immediately found Steve gazing at you.

“Were you watching me sleep?”

“No.”

“You’re a bad liar, babe.”

“And you’re adorable when you’re sleeping, honey.”

“Ok, Edward Cullen, calm down.” You didn’t really want to get out of bed, but you forced yourself to stand and stretch, leaning down quickly to give Steve a peck on the lips.

“I don’t understand that reference.” It was hard not to laugh at the small pout on Steve’s face as he watched you walk into the bathroom.

“That’s because you refuse to watch Twilight with me. Now, I need to get ready for our day out. You can stay there and pour, or you can take a shower with me.” You didn’t bother waiting to see if Steve would follow you, confident that he was already scrambling out of bed.

After your shower, Steve insisted on picking out an outfit for you while you did your hair and makeup. Once the two of you were ready, you left the apartment and walked down to the restaurant, holding hands the entire time.

It was sometimes a bit strange when you and Steve went out in public. Steve managed to blend in pretty well when he was dressed in casual clothes, but he was occasionally recognized. Many New Yorkers had grown fairly used to seeing Avengers out and about and were content to leave them alone, but tourists were prone to getting over excited and star struck. Luckily, Steve flew under the radar during brunch. You thought that the waiter probably recognized him, but the only sign he gave was charging you for only half of your meal.

As you ate, you caught Steve up on your work, and he told you about some of the stuff the other Avengers had been up to. Bucky was settling into the team well, which you knew was a big relief for Steve. You had only met Bucky a couple times. He wanted to make sure that all of the Hydra brainwashing was gone before you spent much time together, despite both you and Steve trying to tell him that you trusted him.

After brunch, Steve let you drag him into some of your favorite stores. He played the doting boyfriend as you tried on clothes, showering you with compliments and even picking out a few pieces that he thought would look good on you. Despite your protests, he bought you way more than you were planning on getting, and silenced you with kisses when you tried to tell him you didn’t need it all.

You had assumed that you would head back to your apartment to drop it all off and then head up to the compound, but Steve led you into a nail salon on your way home and insisted on paying for you to get your nails done.

“You’re doing way too much, Steve. Honestly, we could have just gone to read in the park and it would have been a perfect day,” you told him. He looked a bit funny sitting on a small chair surrounded by shopping bags.

“I told you that I wanted to spoil you, honey. You work too hard. You deserve a day all about you.” You were about to protest more when your stomach let out a loud growl, causing your face to heat up in embarrassment. Apparently all of that shopping made you work up an appetite. “Wait right there,” Steve laughed as he stood up and made his way out of the nail salon. As if you had much of a choice, considering a woman had just started painting your nails.

The lady had just finished your first hand when the door opened and Steve walked back in, a fast food bag in his hand.

“I got the feeling you were hungry,” he teased as he sat back down next to you. He opened the bag and dug out a couple of fries.

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, babe,” you laughed, nodding your head at your hands that were splayed out on the table.

“That’s why I’m going to feed you,” Steve said as if it was obvious. He held the fries up to your mouth. You shook your head in amusement, but you ate the fries anyway. You knew that you were incredibly lucky to have a boyfriend like Steve, who was willing to sit and feed you fries and chicken nuggets as you got your nails done.

“You’re the best. You know that right?”

“Are you just saying that because I got you food?”

“No. I’m saying it because I love you.”

Steve’s smile spread shyly across his face. “I love you too.”

The two of you had finished the food by the time your nails were done. Steve once again took up all of your shopping bags, and the two of you walked back to your apartment. You packed quickly, eager to leave. To your delight, Steve had ridden his motorcycle into the city rather than taking a car, so you got to press yourself into his back as the two of you rode up to the compound. You loved riding the motorcycle with Steve. It was often too windy and loud to really talk, so you got to enjoy each other’s presence in silence.

“Where is everyone?” you asked when you got to the compound. Normally, you ran into at least one other person on your way to Steve’s room, but it was like a ghost town.

Steve shrugged. “Maybe they’re out. Or training. I think most people should be here this weekend though. They’re all looking forward to seeing you.”

At the beginning of your relationship, you had been nervous about meeting all of the Avengers. Your worth had been needless, though, as all of the Avengers had been happy to meet the mystery girl who was helping Captain America settle into the 21st century. Now, you could comfortably say that many of the superheroes were some of your best friends.

“Weird,” you muttered, but you weren’t really too concerned. They all had their own lives, so you couldn’t really expect them to be sitting around waiting for you all the time.

You didn’t have much time to dwell on it. Steve had decided that the two of you were making your favorite dinner, though you didn’t really do much. You sat on the counter and watched as Steve cooked. Music from the 40s floated gently through the room. You knew from Steve’s slightly wistful smile that he was remembering his old life. It broke your heart a little bit whenever he got quiet like that. You could never understand what he went through, but you hoped that you helped make it more bearable for him.

“What are you thinking about?” Steve’s voice broke through your thoughts and made you realize that you had been staring at him.

“You,” you answered simply.

“Me? I’m flattered.”

“Do you miss it? How your life used to be?” It was a subject you tended to skirt around because you were afraid of the answer.

Steve was silent for a minute, his face introspective. “I used to wonder what my life would have been like if I hadn’t been frozen. Or if I hadn’t been picked for the serum at all, I guess. Now, I don’t think there’s any point in that. I can’t change what happened. I don’t think I would even if I could. I have everything I could ever need here.” Steve took your hands, rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles gently.

“There’s nothing you miss? The food? The clothes? The dancing?”

“Food is much better in this century. We used to boil everything. And we can still dance now just fine, honey.” To prove his point, he stepped back and dragged you off the counter. He pulled you against him, and the two of you swayed gently. You weren’t sure how many songs you danced to before the oven timer went off. Steve wrapped up in a hug and kissed you deeply before pulling away to get the food.

Dinner was delicious. Steve’s cooking had made great strides the last few years. You insisted on clearing the table while he got dessert ready. The two of you sat and chatted as you ate your dessert. At one point, Steve laughed so hard at something you said that he knocked his fork off the table. Shaking your head fondly, you bent down to pick it up.

When you sat back up, you were confused to find that Steve wasn’t in his chair across from you. Instead, he was kneeling on the ground next to you. You gasped, your hands flying up to cover your mouth, when you saw the small box in his hands.

“Y/N, you are the most amazing person I have ever met. I was a man lost in time before I met you. You’re my home. You’re the love of my life, and I hope that you’ll let me spend the rest of my life with you. Y/N, will you marry me?”

“Yes,” you laughed, tears falling down your face. “Yes! Yes, of course, Steve.” He took your hand and gently slid the ring onto your finger. He had barely finished before you were throwing yourself into his arms. 

“I was so nervous,” Steve admitted. His voice was muffled slightly because his face was buried in your neck. “I’ve been trying to decide how to do this for so long. Tony offered to book a private island, but I thought that might be a bit much.”

“Just a bit,” you agreed. You pulled back slightly to kiss him. Your hand shook slightly as you held it out to look at the ring. “It’s gorgeous, Steve.”

“It was my mom’s.” Your head snapped up quickly, your eyes once again filling with tears. You hadn’t known that Steve had anything from his family. “Howard and Peggy managed to keep some of my stuff. I guess they never stopped hoping I’d come back.”

“I’m glad they did.” You leaned in again, letting yourself get lost in the kiss. “I love you, Steve.”

“I love you too. Now you have to win your next case so you can pay for the wedding. Unless you want Tony to pay.”

“I can’t even imagine what that wedding would be like,” you groaned. “You might need to get a real job.”

Lucky for Steve, it didn’t come to that. You won your next case. And the one after that. And the one after that. In fact, your career was on a high leading up to your wedding. Not that you needed much money for the wedding. It was a small affair, only close friends invited since neither of you had any family. On Steve’s side were all of the Avengers and their friends. On your side were your friends from school and some of your coworkers, all of whom looked a bit overwhelmed to be in the presence of so many superheroes. You and Steve decided to have the wedding at the compound so that you wouldn’t have to worry about security or paparazzi or anything like that.

“I’m nervous,” you groaned for the hundredth time that morning. “Why am I so nervous? I feel like I’m going to be sick.” 

“You better not be sick. You just got your makeup done,” Nat pointed out dryly.

“And you need to get in your dress soon so you’re not late to your own wedding,” Wanda added.

You and Steve had agreed on having small wedding parties, so Nat and Wanda were your only two bridesmaids, while Bucky and Sam were Steve’s groomsmen. You opened your mouth to respond, but quickly clamped your lips together and rushed over to the toilet, making it just in time to avoid making a mess on the floor. Fortunately, Wanda was able to use her powers to hold your hair back.

“Are you sure nerves aren’t the only reason you’re feeling sick?” Nat asked as you sat back. “I noticed that you didn’t have anything to drink at your bachelorette party.”

Wanda’s eyes grew almost comically wide. “Oh my gosh, Y/N! Are you pregnant?”

Your mind whirled as you tried to come up with a way to spin this, but you realized it was pointless. “You can’t tell Steve.”

“He doesn’t know?” Nat asked. You felt it was a bit hypocritical of her to be judging you for keeping a secret when she was an actual spy, but you decided to let that slide.

“I didn’t want to tell him until I was sure and then he was so stressed about making sure the wedding was perfect. I didn’t want to make him more stressed.”

“This is amazing, Y/N,” Wanda squealed, wrapping you in a hug. After a second, you felt Nat’s arms circle around you too. “Now let’s go get you married.”

Any nerves that you had melted away when you saw Steve standing at the end of the aisle. His eyes filled with tears immediately when he saw you, causing you to become misty eyed too. You tried to hold the tears back, knowing Nat and Wanda would kill you if you ruined your makeup so quickly. However, you lost that battle once Steve started to say his vows, his voice breaking with emotion.

Most of the non-Avengers guests left after staying at the reception for a couple of hours because they didn’t want to be driving back into the city late. Once they were all gone, Sam started urging you and Steve to start opening up your presents. Eventually, you had to give in.

“Let’s see whose gifts are lame,” Sam cheered as everyone took a seat. The first gift that Sam declared lame was from Scott, who claimed that he had shrunk your gift to make transporting it from San Francisco easier and then lost it somewhere in his room.

“Cmon, small fry! Just admit that you didn’t buy anything,” Sam teased. Scott tried to defend himself, but soon everyone was piling on. You had to move on to the next present to put him out of his misery. Most of the others had given you things you mentioned needing for the bigger apartment you hoped to get soon. Even before you knew you were pregnant, you and Steve had decided that it might be time to upgrade from your small, one bedroom apartment.

Peter was a bit embarrassed by his gift. He couldn’t exactly afford to buy anything fancy. He was a high school student after all. Instead, he had made some sort of toaster, microwave, air fryer hybrid that he assured you didn’t explode...anymore. You weren’t sure how confident you were in that, but you acted thrilled anyways.

Vision bought you what he assured you was the safest baby essentials. You almost choked on your water when Steve opened the box for the crib, which Vision told you he would put together. Everyone else was too busy laughing to notice the panicked looks you, Nat, and Wanda shared. There were a lot of jokes about how Vision must be eager for some kids running around the compound, but he didn’t seem to understand why everyone was laughing. You were sure that he had somehow used his super robot brain to figure out that you were pregnant, but apparently he hadn’t mentioned it to anyone else.

Tony insisted on going last, of course. His gift was a world class realtor showing you some of the best apartments in New York, which Tony insisted he would pay for. Steve tried to refuse, but you stopped him.

“We’ll think about it,” you said. Steve looked at you in surprise. Since the Avengers didn’t get paid, Steve usually had to rely on Tony’s money, but you were the one who was always insisting on paying for things yourself.

“We will?”

You shrugged. “There’s no way we’ll get a fancy penthouse or anything, but we could use a good realtor. And let’s face it, Tony will find a way to end up paying for most of it anyways.” You knew that your family would no doubt spend a lot of time at the compound, but you wanted a nice place in the city where your kids could go and be normal kids. If accepting Tony’s help was what it took to ensure that your family would have a nice place to live, you were willing to live with that. Plus, not having to worry about rent would allow you to take more pro bono work. 

Everyone sat around chatting for a while after the presents were done. Steve had you tucked into his side as the two of you lounged on a couch and watched your friends.

“You wanna get out of here?” Steve whispered in your ear.

“I’ll have to ask my husband if that’s okay,” you teased, enjoying the chuckle you got out of Steve.

“I think he’ll be fine with it. Not that you ever listen to anything he says.” Steve stood, pulling you up with him. Your face burned when everyone started cheering the two of you on, but Steve just laughed and waved goodnight to them. The two of you walked through the compound to Steve’s room in comfortable silence. Tomorrow, you would head out for your honeymoon, so you were enjoying your last peaceful moments at home.

“Do you actually think we need Tony’s realtor?” Steve asked suddenly. “I thought you liked that place we saw the other week.”

“Are you trying to start our first marital fight?” you joked, trying to get Steve to drop it. There was no way to explain why you were second guessing the place you and Steve had both liked without explaining that it wasn’t as child-friendly as you would like.

“I’m serious, honey. What made you change your mind?”

“I don’t know. I guess I was just thinking about how a third floor walkup could make some things difficult. And that place isn’t that much bigger than where I live now. There are also much better neighborhoods. Maybe we could look for somewhere closer to a park with a few bedrooms in a building with an elevator.”

“A few bedrooms? Sounds like you're describing a mansion. This is the city we’re talking about.”

“I’m not asking for a penthouse or a townhouse or anything. Just something that isn’t very cramped.” You tried to pull away from Steve, but he wrapped you up in a big hug.

“Ok, ok, I’m sorry. I just want to know what made you change your mind so much. I thought you said the third floor walkup would ensure we both stay in shape.”

You chewed on your lip thoughtfully, which made Steve know immediately that you were considering something important. Instead of answering, you grabbed Steve’s hand and pulled him down the hallway and into his room. Once you shut the door, you turned to face him. He was alarmed slightly by the nervousness in your eyes. You and Steve hadn’t talked seriously about kids. You both wanted some, but it seemed like both of you thought about them in terms of the future, not right after getting married.

“I’m pregnant,” you said finally.

“What?” Steve had heard you perfectly, even though you had barely whispered it. Perks of being a super soldier. It looked like his brain was short circuiting, though.

“I’m pregnant,” you said again, louder this time. Slowly, you put your hands around Steve’s waist. “Steve? Babe, talk to me. Where’s your head at? I know we weren’t expecting to have kids so soon but-”

“This is amazing,” Steve breathed. He picked you up and spun you around. “Oh my gosh! This is amazing.” He gently set you back on your feet, then kneeled to kiss your stomach. “How long have you known? Does anyone else know?”

“I’ve only known for sure for about a week, but I was suspicious. Nat and Wanda know. And Vision, apparently.”

“That explains the crib,” Steve laughed breathlessly. He hugged you again.

“That explains the crib,” you agreed.

“And the apartment. Honey, I don’t care how much money Tony has to spend. Your kid is going to have the best place in all of New York City.”

“It doesn’t have to be the best. It just has to be home. And just so you know, you’re not allowed to miss the birth because you’re on a mission. You’re taking paternity leave as soon as I’m close to popping.” Steve laughed and agreed before picking you up and carrying you towards the bed.

Steve shouldn’t have been surprised by the text. Of course you would go into labor while he was across the country. You weren’t due for another three weeks, so you and Steve had both thought it would be safe for him to go on one last mission. It had been a quick one, luckily, so he had a chance to get there before you actually gave birth.

A few people gave him strange looks as he ran through the halls of the hospital, almost sliding past your room because he was going so fast. Though the looks might have been because he was still wearing his Captain America uniform.

You couldn’t help but laugh when you saw him stumble into the room. He seemed uninjured, which meant the mission was a success in your books. He was breathing heavily, not you knew it wasn’t from the running. Another perk of being a super soldier. Steve Rogers, who had fought actual aliens, was nervous.

“Thank god I made it,” he gasped, rushing over to grab your hand. “We broke about every speed limit on the way over. Sam thought I should just jump out of the plane and into the roof of the hospital, but I thought that might be a bit much.”

“Just a bit,” you agreed before being overtaken by another contraction. You squeezed Steve’s hand as your eyes screwed shut. “You made it just in time. I’m about to start pushing. I was going to ask them to go find a hot doctor to hold my hand.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Steve laughed, but he did grip your hand tighter. You smiled brightly at him. Despite what you said, it was such a relief to you that he had made it. Your smile faded when the doctor told you to push. This was the part you hadn’t been looking forward to.

Steve was on the edge of his seat next to you. He hated that there was nothing he could do to really make it easier, but he held your hand and reminded you to breathe.

Finally, you were able to collapse back into the pillows. You and Steve watched in amazement as the doctor placed the tiny, crying body in your arms.

“It’s a girl,” Steve breathed.

“It’s a girl,” you agreed. “And she’s perfect.”

“Yeah she is.” You turned to smile at Steve and realized that his eyes were already on you. He leaned in to gently press a kiss on your lips before bending down to press another on your daughter’s head.

That was how you found yourself in this situation. Prentiss continued to work, trying her best to ignore you, as you continued to glare at her. You didn’t even notice that you had been furiously clicking your pen until Reid spoke.

“Uh Y/N, are you okay?” You jerked a bit in surprise, having been so focused on trying to make Prentiss feel your anger. Setting the pen down quickly, you looked over at Reid a bit guiltily. “You’ve been clicking your pen a lot, which you only do when you’re nervous or upset.”

“Sorry, Reid,” you apologized. Reid’s desk was right next to yours. When you had first started at the BAU almost a year ago, it had been obvious that Reid wasn’t thrilled to have someone at the desk next to his, though he tried to hide it. You still weren’t sure if it was because of a germaphobe thing or Reid not wanting to get distracted by a deskmate or what, but, thankfully, the two of you worked together well. Most of the time, you ignored each other unless one of you had a question for the other. You kept your desk organized, so Reid didn’t get distracted by a messy desk in his line of sight. If anything, Reid distracted you more than you distracted him. You didn’t really mind when Reid would start telling you facts about something he had just read, though. It was always interesting.

“She’s just avoiding leaving the office because she doesn’t want to go home.” You turned back to glare at Emily as she spoke. “Oh come on. Really? It’s not my fault.”

“Well you’re the one who won’t let me do your paperwork. I’m going to remember this the next time you ask for some help.”

“Why don’t you want to go home? Trouble with your neighbors again?” Giving Emily one last glare, you turn back to Spencer. He had the most adorable confused expression on his face. Not that you should be finding your coworkers adorable.

“Not my apartment. I have to go to my parents’ house.”

Reid opened his mouth, no doubt to question why you were going and why you didn’t want to and why you were going even though you didn’t want to, but you were saved by Hotch exiting his office. With any luck, there would be an important case that could be your excuse not to go. Although you probably shouldn’t be hoping that there was a serial killer that needed to be tracked down.

Hotch’s eyes met yours as he walked down the stairs. Probably not a case, then. “Y/N, what are you still doing here?” Definitely not a case, then. “You’re going to miss your flight if you don’t leave soon.”

“Tragic,” you mutter. At Hotch’s blank stare, you continued, “I was just sticking around to see if I could be of any help.”

“Yeah, sticking like gum on the bottom of a shoe,” Emily interjected. She gave Hotch an exasperated look. “I keep telling her to leave, but she won’t.”

Truly, this was the officially the greatest betrayal you had experienced. It was one thing to stop giving you paperwork, but telling on you? Unbelievable.

“Well what if there’s a case and I’m at the airport? It would just be a hassle to get back.” Hotch continued to look stoically at you as you pleaded your case. You had always found it a little unnerving how he managed to keep his face like that all the time.

“If there’s a case, then you won’t be going on it either way,” Hotch said slowly, like he was explaining something to Jack. You glared at Emily, who was wearing a smug grin. “You asked for this time off, so you’re going to take this time off. Now, get out of here before you miss your flight. You can’t take the jet. It doesn’t matter how many times you ask.”

“Well it’s just sitting there,” you grumble. Still, you start gathering your things. It was useless to argue with Hotch. He was right. When your mother had asked, well begged really, you to do her one favor, you had foolishly agreed before hearing what the favor was. It was a mistake you hadn’t made in years, but you blamed it on the fact that you were in the middle of a case when she had called.

“Why are you so upset about getting to leave early, sweet thing?” Morgan asked. He had been a silent spectator of your struggle. Maybe if you had gone to him for paperwork first you could have lasted longer. He was probably less likely to cut you off than Emily was. “I would love to be able to start my Friday night early.”

“No one wants to know what you do on a Friday night,” you quipped as you slung your bag over your shoulder.

Derek raised an eyebrow at you. “Are you jealous that I’ll be spending my evening with someone else? Are you just going to miss me that much this weekend?”

You put your hands over your heart as dramatically as you could manage. “Yes! Whatever will I do? I won’t be able to see Derek Morgan all weekend. How will I survive?” If your mother had been there, she would have scolded you for being overly dramatic. Your team, however, rolled their eyes and smiled.

“Get out of here, sweet thing. And have a good weekend.” You glared at Derek, then Emily, then Hotch, but you couldn’t keep it up. A small smile tugged at your lips as you made your way to the elevator.

“I hate you all. I hope you have a boring and safe weekend.”

“What did I do?” you could just hear Reid ask as the elevator doors closed.

-------------------------

“Oh I’m just so happy that you finally took time out of your busy life to come by for a visit. Of course, I would love if you came to see us in the city. New York is so much closer to DC than the Vineyard is. It is so nice to have all of my girls here for the weekend. We really should do this more.”

You tried your best not to look like you were ignoring your mother as she continued to chatter while she finished doing your hair. It had been a long day and you hadn’t even made it to the gala yet. Your mother had insisted on having an early morning tennis tournament with your sisters. It was something you had done most weekends growing up, but it didn’t work as well now. It was a little hard having a tournament when two of your sisters were pregnant and the third never woke up before ten. So you woke up at 7 to play against your mom.

At least afterwards you had gotten to have brunch with your family at your favorite brunch spot in Martha’s Vineyard. It had been nice to catch up with your sisters, though you mom still had a tendency to rule over all conversation. Brunch was more chaotic than it had been in years. Your older sister already had two kids, with the third on the way. Luckily, her husband was always quick to chase after them whenever they tried to make a break for it. You wished you could run away with them.

You had tried to act surprised when Kelly announced that she and her boyfriend were engaged, but you had known for two months. Kelly had let it slip when you were talking on the phone. You had also known exactly what your mom would say after the congratulations stopped.

“Well, I guess it’s Y/N’s turn.” All eyes turned to you. Your father and sisters looked apologetic, though Kelly also seemed a bit annoyed that you were stealing her thunder. Not that you wanted it. “Rachel, my first born, is about to have her third baby. And now my babies,” she smiled at the twins, Lily and Kelly, “are both going to be married. I just want you to be taken care of, Y/N.”

“I can take care of myself.” You tried to sound as civil as possible, but this was a conversation you and your mother had already had. You didn’t think she meant anything by her comments, at least that’s what you chose to believe. She just had antiquated ways of thinking. Growing up, you hadn’t realized just how antiquated. It wasn’t until college, when you and your roommate had been watching Gilmore Girls. The two of you had laughed about something Emily said. Of course, she was laughing because of how ridiculous it seemed that anyone would think like Emily. You were laughing because your mother had done the exact same thing the other month.

“We know that,” your father tried to save you, but your mother cut him off.

“You’ve just been so focused on your job. Now you’re in the BAB-”

“BAU.”

Your mother waved her hand like there was no difference. You had to focus on steadying your breaths to keep yourself from interrupting your mother as she continued her speech. It wasn’t anything new. You’ve reached a good spot in your career. You’re almost 30 and not getting any younger. Surely you wanted kids soon.

“So is there anyone in DC you’re not telling us about?” Kelly asked. You shook your head as you continued to eat. Any minute now your family would remember that you were the middle child and therefore should be ignored.

“What about that Spencer guy?” Rachel asked, immediately making you regret telling her about Spencer. Unfortunately, you couldn’t stop your cheeks from heating up as you thought about him. You had had a crush on Spencer since you started at the BAU. After almost a year of working with him, you thought you had it under control. “You talk about him a lot.”

“We work together. I spend a lot of time with all of my teammates.” Hopefully, they would let it go and start talking about baby showers or something. Of course, you weren’t that lucky.

“Not all of you teammates are hot geniuses who are the same age as you.” Of course Rachel had looked him up. She seemed to think that it was her duty as your older sister to find a boyfriend for you.

You were saved from responding by your phone beeping. “It’s a text from Spencer Reid!” Lily gasped, leaning over you to look at your phone.

“It’s work,” you snapped. You quickly excused yourself, going outside before opening the text. The team had a case. Hotch wanted you to be aware, but had forbidden anyone from telling you any more than that so that you wouldn’t hop on a plane to meet them. He seemed determined to make you spend time with your family.  Not that he knew what he was subjecting you to. The only person who knew that you came from a family of Manhattan socialites was Emily, and you had only told her because the two of you had actually met at some event your mothers were both attending before you started working at the BAU.

So now you were stuck here, sitting still while your mother pulled your hair in an attempt to style it. About to be forced into a dress that your mother had assured you was “absolutely perfect.” Emily had shuddered in sympathy when you told her that. It didn’t get any better once your mother was done making you look presentable. She rounded up you and your sisters, so that she could take pictures. Luckily, you all still knew the drill so pictures didn’t take too long. You couldn’t wait for this night to be over. The dress was uncomfortable, the shoes pinched your feet, and you had already been reprimanded for touching your hair and face.

“Oh look at my girls. I feel like I’m in Pride and Prejudice.” You mother fanned herself as she looked at the four of you.

“There are five girls in Pride and Prejudice. You’re thinking of the four girls in Little Women. And both of those families were poor,” you corrected her before you could stop yourself. Your mother threw you a glare, but then ignored you, choosing instead of focus on getting everyone out the door and to the gala.

-------------------------

The night didn’t get any easier once you were there. It was just like all of the other events you had attended at the Vineyard. A bunch of snobby people you had known since you were little pretending to like each other. It was the first event you had attended since joining the BAU. You passed the time profiling whoever your mother was talking to. She seemed determined to keep you with her at all times tonight. It was becoming increasingly apparent why.

“So what did you think about the Malcolm boy?” she asked as said boy walked away.

“I thought he was boring. And I think you should stop trying to set me up with all of the men at this party.”

“I’m not trying to set you up with all the men. Just the single ones who are around your age.” You tried to respond, but your mother was already off to the next man, dragging you along behind her.

“Thomas,” she called, approaching a group. Your breath caught as the man turned around. “Y/N, you remember Thomas Barnes?” You smiled politely, though you wanted nothing more than to wring your mother’s neck.

“Of course,” you replied tersely. Your smile became much more genuine when you met Tommy’s eyes.

“That’s a relief,” he joked. “We only dated for six years.” The two of you embraced warmly. It was the first time you had seen him since you broke up. He looked even better than he had back then. “How’s the FBI? I don’t know how you do it. I get nervous just reading about your cases.”

“You read about my cases?” you asked in surprise. Part of you had always assumed that Tommy would resent you for joining the FBI. After all, that was what had caused you to break up after you both graduated from college.

“Of course! I get to brag about how my ex girlfriend is a badass FBI agent. It gets my friends to shut up when they start telling me that I was an idiot for letting you go.” You were so caught up in your conversation that you didn’t even notice your mother slipping away into the crowd, a pleased look on her face. She had never made it a secret that breaking up with Tommy was the worst mistake you ever made as far as she was concerned. Joining the FBI was a close second.

You cleared your throat a bit uncomfortably. “The FBI is good. Keeps me busy. This is the first time I’ve seen my family in months.”

“Oh, I can let you get back to them.”

Your hand shot out to grab his arm as he began to turn away. “Please don’t,” you begged. When Tommy laughed it felt like you were kids again, sneaking champagne glasses when your parents weren’t looking. “How’s New York? I’ll admit that I don’t read about your financial world, but I hear you’re doing very well in it.”

“New York is good. We don’t have to talk about my job. It’s boring.” The two of you stood in an awkward silence for a few seconds. You tried to ignore some part of your brain that was telling you that there were eyes on you. No doubt your family was watching you like a hawk. Not to mention all of the other guests who were probably curious about the FBI agent. “I heard that Kelly is engaged. Tell her congrats.”

“I will. So anyone back in New York? I’m hoping that my mother hasn’t resorted to trying to set me up with men who aren’t single.”

“No. No one in New York. You know, my parents tell me all the time that I should have married you when I had the chance. They want grandkids.”

“I get that. My sisters have the grandkids taken care of already, but my mother won’t rest until I’m finally married too.”

The two of you laughed and chatted. It was strange. It felt like no years had passed and suddenly you were eighteen again, but it also felt like there was some unspoken gap between you two now. Despite all of your history, your lives had taken you to such different places. Still, it was nice to have a friendly face.

Tommy sighed before taking a big gulp of his champagne. Your stomach suddenly twisted when you realized what he was about to do. “I should have just said screw it to New York and moved to DC with you. I was an idiot for letting you go. And none of my relationships have worked out because I think I’m still in love with you.”

Any words that you could have said were stuck in your throat. You thought about how you had turned down a position in the New York field office after you graduated from the academy because you didn’t want to be tempted to go back to Tommy. You thought about how you had turned down the chance to run the New York field office a month before you made it into the BAU. And suddenly, you were thinking about Spencer. How he smelled like coffee and old books all the time. How fun it was to annoy him by arguing about the interpretation of books. How cute he looked when he was working on a particularly hard crossword. How he was looking right at you right now.

You blinked in surprise. Across the room was Spencer Reid. Standing there in a suit like it was obvious that he was supposed to be here. Surely that wasn’t real. It had to be your brain playing tricks on you. Why would Spencer be here?

“Y/N?” Your eyes snapped back to Tommy before flicking back over to where Spencer was standing. There was no one there. Shaking your head a bit, you focused on Tommy again.

“I...I, uh…” You just couldn’t say any words. Tommy’s face fell as your mouth continued to open and close.

“Hey, sweet thing.” An arm was casually thrown around your shoulders, causing Tommy to frown at the man now standing next to you. You didn’t even need to look to know who it was, though it made no sense for him to be there. “I think we need to talk.”

“Hey man, leave her alone,” Tommy said, puffing out his chest a bit. Your heart warmed a little bit for Tommy, who was trying so hard to seem like he could protect you.

“It’s okay,” you told him, causing him to frown even more, before turning. “Derek, what are you doing here?”

“Come with me and I’ll tell you.” The look in Derek’s eyes made it clear: this was not something Tommy, or any of the people eavesdropping, should hear.

“Y/N, do I need to get security?”

“No, Tommy. This is my friend Derek. I have to go. I’ll see you later.” Before Tommy could say anything else, Derek was leading you away from the party and into the kitchens, where the rest of your team was gathered.

“If you missed me this much you could have just asked me to meet you for the case,” you said as they looked up at you.

“Y/N? What are you doing here?” JJ asked. Her eyes widened as she took in your dress. “Are you a guest?”

“My mother organized this gala. I have to be here. What are you guys doing here?” You didn’t need to ask. You knew what the answer would be.

“Trying to catch a serial killer.” Hotch’s face was as stoic as ever as he answered. “Morgan, did you see anything?”

“No. Reid is still out there, but I saw Y/N and thought that we should bring her up to speed. She could have some valuable information about the unsub. I also thought that she could use an excuse to get away from lover boy out there.”

You groaned as everyone raised their eyebrows. “My ex just told me he still loves me, but I think we should focus on the serial killer first.”

JJ pulled out a picture of the unsub. “She’s been killing men around New York City that we believe are surrogates for a man here. The overkill is getting worse, so she’s devolving. We think that tonight is her endgame. Profile says she’s after an ex boyfriend.”

“We haven’t been able to find her here though,” Emily added.

You kept looking at the familiar face. “Yeah and you won’t. She’s banned.”

“What do you mean?”

You looked at Hotch. “Two months ago she caused a big scene at a charity auction. She’s been blacklisted from basically all events thrown at the Vineyard. My sister was telling me about her a few weeks ago.”

“The killings started two months ago. Y/N, do you know why she caused a scene?”

You shook your head. “Something about her ex being there. I don’t know who her ex is though.”

JJ pulled out another picture and handed it to you. A string of curses fell out of your mouth.

“What’s wrong?” Emily asked urgently.

“This is my sister’s fiance.” Everyone’s faces paled. Your mind started running a million miles a minute. “They got engaged two months ago. She had to have been stalking him to know that, though. They didn’t tell anyone until today. They didn’t even tell my family until this morning. I have to go find Kelly.”

“Morgan, go with her. Prentiss, JJ, and I will come up with a plan in here and let security know what’s going on. If you see Reid, get him up to speed, but don’t be suspicious.” Everyone nodded as Hotch gave the orders. You were a little grateful when Derek took her arm, steadying you as you wanted to rush out to get to you little sister. But it was important that you look like nothing was wrong. While the unsub shouldn’t be able to get inside, that didn’t always stop them.

Derek, like Spencer, was dressed in a suit, so he didn’t stand out. The two of you meandered through the room in search of your sister and her fiance. Finally, you managed to locate them. Of course, your mother was with them too. Her eyes lit up when she saw you walking arm in arm with Derek.

“This is my coworker-” you began before your mother cut you off.

“You must be Spencer Reid, the hot genius my daughter was talking about earlier.” Your cheeks felt like they were on fire and you could basically feel the grin on Derek’s face.

“Spencer Reid the hot genius?” he questioned, turning to look at you. You refused to meet his eyes, but you knew that he wouldn’t let it go later.

“First, Rachel doesn’t know what she was talking about. Second, this is Derek Morgan.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I can see where Y/N gets her beauty.” You elbowed Derek, but the damage was done. Your mother would definitely try to set you up with him.

You looked at Kelly’s fiance. “Have you seen your ex here?” He looked caught off guard by the question, which was fair to be honest. Kelly looked furious.

“I can’t believe you. Are you trying to ruin our night? You know that she can’t be here after that fit she threw a few months ago.”

“We also know that she has been murdering men who look like your fiance, and she’s probably here tonight. Does anyone want a drink?” You followed Derek’s eyeline to the bar, where Spencer was standing.

“Do you need help with the drinks?” your father asked. It wasn’t clear whether he was trying to be helpful or whether he just wanted an escape from the serial killer conversation.

“I’ll find some help at the bar,” Derek told him. Then he was off, leaving you with your family.

“Are you saying my ex is here to kill me?” You met his eyes, a look of practiced sympathy on your face.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. My team is here to make sure that doesn’t happen. So I need you to tell me everything that happened with your breakup. My team will be listening.” You brushed your hair slightly to show the earpiece you had picked up when you were in the kitchen. “I also need you to act like everything is fine. Grab Kelly’s hand and smile.”

Thankfully, he seemed to understand the importance of what you were saying. The quick explanation was nothing that the team didn’t already know, but it was helpful to hear it in his own words. Maybe there was something in there that could help them. Kelly’s glare continued to be fixed on you, but that was kind of normal. If anyone saw anything, they might think that it was just two sisters fighting.

“Is that the only reason you came?” your mother asked once he was done. “You’re just using us to catch a killer?”

“Be quiet.” It was hard to force the words out without breaking your pleasant smile. You let your eyes harden for a second as your mother met your eyes. It was the same look that had made a number of unsubs confess during an interrogation, but it was the first time you had used it on your mother. “I didn’t know that my team’s new case was here. I came to this stupid gala because you asked me to. Now I need all of you to pretend like everything is fine.”

“Drinks for everyone. And I found an extra set of hands to help me at the bar.” Derek and Spencer passed everyone a glass. As he handed one to you, Spencer let his other hand rest on your lower back for a moment. His eyes seemed to ask you a question. Are you okay? You nodded once. Your mother, of course, was looking quickly between the two of you.

“Is this one Spencer?” she asked. You had to press her eyes closed tightly to keep yourself from glaring at her again. Someone was trying to murder her future son-in-law and she was still worried about setting you up.

“Yes, this is our resident hot genius,” Derek answered. You both ignored Spencer’s “What?” as you turned to Derek.

“Morgan, go with my parents to get my other sisters. If the unsub gets desperate, she could go for them. Reid and I will stay here. Thank god the kids aren’t here.”

“Kids?” Spencer asked as your mother led Derek away. Despite the threat to your family, she continued to pause to give a quick words or smile to her acquaintances. She certainly played her job of host well.

“My niece and nephew. They’re at home with a nanny. My other sisters are pregnant though. I want to make sure they’re safe in case anything happens.”

“How many sisters do you have?” Spencer asked at the same time Kelly questioned, “Aren’t you going to get us out of here? I mean, there’s a psycho on the loose.”

“The profile actually doesn’t suggest that she’s a psychopath.” That did little to calm Kelly, but it was a typical Reid response.

“I have three sisters, Reid. Kelly, we can’t get you out of here without setting the unsub off. If she thinks that you know anything is going on or that she’s losing her chance to get even, she could devolve even more and this could all get much worse. We have to keep you here, pretend everything is fine, and catch her before she has a chance to hurt anyone. If you see the unsub, don’t react. Just calmly tell us where she is. Reid and I will be right here.” The tone of your voice made Kelly’s eyes narrow. It was the tone you had always used when you both were younger and you were telling Kelly to do her homework or to pick up her mess. Now it was also the voice you used when you were trying to calm down a victim while still trying to get them to do as you told them.

Still, she listened to you. If anyone had looked at her, holding onto her fiance’s arm and sipping champagne as she gave a running commentary of everyone’s outfits, they wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong. The fashion commentary was a good excuse to inspect everyone, so you put on your best snooty face and critiqued accessories with your sister. It was hard not to focus on Spencer. After seeing you act like this, would it change his opinion of you? Would he think that you were just some spoiled rich kid? You hoped not.

After a few minutes, your parents and Derek returned. “Your sisters are on their way back to the house now. Officers will be staying with them until we catch the unsub.” You nodded a thanks to Derek. “Mrs. Y/L/N, the security knew explicitly not to let her in, right?” They were well aware now, but it was important to rule out her points of entry from earlier in the night.

“Of course.” She said it like it was an insult to her to even think that security might have let her in.

“It’s not that hard to sneak in. All it takes is a decent wig, some colored contacts, and maybe a new makeup style. It probably wouldn’t fool the guests for long, but it would get you past security.” Kelly nodded in agreement. It wasn’t uncommon for teenagers to try to see how long they could stay inside without getting caught by someone they knew. All of your sisters had done it many times growing up.

“Everyone here knows about her, though,” your mother protested. You nodded in agreement. “If she did sneak in here using a wig, someone would recognize her within minutes. They’d tell me.”

“So it’s unlikely the unsub came in that way,” Derek concluded. “What about the back? Guests can wander the garden and there’s no security at the back door. If the unsub climbed the wall, she could get in through the back easily.”

“The wall is ten feet high. It would require athletic ability that the profile doesn’t suggest the unsub has to get over it. And even if she did, her hair would be covered in leaves or vines. Her dress might be ripped. It would ruin her appearance, so she couldn’t blend in.”

“Actually, Reid, you don’t have to climb the fence. There’s a gate along the southern wall. It’s hidden a bit by some bushes. Teenagers use it to sneak out of boring events here. The unsub would probably know about it. I remember seeing her around when we were younger.”

“You get that, Hotch?” The three of you heard your boss’s affirmative. They would go check the gate to see if it looked like anyone had used it that night. Until then, there was nothing your group could do except look for the unsub.

“You know, this isn’t what I imagined when I thought about meeting your family,” Reid said quietly to you. Not quietly enough, though. You could almost see her mom’s ears perk up, like she was a dog who had just heard the word treat.

“You’ve thought about meeting my family?” Reid’s face turned red as he realized what he had just said. The butterflies in your stomach made you almost forget about the serial killer on the loose, but you blamed that on all of the champagne you had earlier in the night.

“It seems to happen sooner or later with this team. I guess I just hoped I, the team really, would meet your family because you were giving them a tour of the office or something. I should know better, though. I didn’t meet Morgan’s family until he was arrested.”

“Wrongfully arrested,” Derek interjected, more for your family’s benefit than yours or Spencer’s.

“You know, Spencer, I’m throwing a wonderful fundraiser at an art gallery in the city next month. You should have Y/N bring you.” It was a testament to your mother’s persistence that she continued to worry about your love life even when your sister’s fiance was being targeted by a serial killer. Of course, she was also probably trying to pad the guest list.

“I’m not going to that,” you told her. “I already told you multiple times. Besides, we’ll probably have a case.”

“Hopefully not at the fundraiser,” your mother huffed. Her face brightened again. You didn’t like the sly look she shot at Spencer. A voice crackled in your ear. The gate was open. The unsub was probably here. The three of you perked up slightly, eyes focused on the crowd around you.

Of course, your mother didn’t know the news you had just received, so she continued. “Y/N, I saw Thomas when we were looking for your sisters. He looked quite glum. He asked me to tell you that he wanted to finish your conversation from earlier before you leave. You two were looking very cozy. It reminded me of old times.”

“That conversation is already finished. I don’t have an answer that he’d like.” You felt Spencer jerk slightly when he interpreted the meaning of your words. He had seen you two together. He knew from your body language during that conversation that you were comfortable with Tommy.

“I will never understand why you didn’t just move to New York with Tommy after college. You could be married with kids by now, you know. That boy was mad about you. Goody Williams says that he still is. I haven’t been able to get his mother to confirm it, but you should see her face any time you get mentioned. Oh, you two would have been such a successful match. Such a shame.”

“Quiet,” you hissed, not because of how tense Spencer had suddenly gotten, but because of the face you had finally spotten. “Unsub is wearing a black dress. She’s across the room, heading this way. Stay behind us.” You turned to look at your sister and her fiance. The profile suggested that the unsub would be focused on the fiance, but considering how much she had devolved, you had to be prepared for her to lash out at your sister.

You could see security moving in on her as she made her way across the large room. They weren’t being subtle about it, but she seemed too focused on the man behind you to notice them. You could see the rest of your team moving towards her too. Just a few more seconds and Hotch would reach her.

It was unclear whether the unsub realized she had been caught or whether she couldn’t wait any longer to strike. Suddenly, she was holding a gun. You could see Derek and Spencer both reacting beside you. Your hand immediately went to your waist, where your own gun would normally be sitting. Of course, you didn’t have it though. It wasn’t exactly black tie appropriate.

They wouldn’t have a clean shot. There were too many people between them and the unsub. But through some bad luck, the unsub had an almost clean shot of Kelly’s fiance. The only thing standing in her way was you.

Some part of you minds realized all of that in the fraction of a second it took for the unsub to shoot. Without thinking, you pushed Kelly’s fiance to the floor, waiting for the bullet to strike you instead of him.

But the bullet never got to you.

Instead, Spencer was on the floor in front of you. You dropped to your knees as Derek tackled the unsub before she could get off another shot. You barely even heard the screams around you as you ripped open Spencer’s shirt. 

A kevlar vest.

A sigh of relief escaped your mouth. The tension left your shoulders as you helped Spencer sit up.

“Thank god you’re wearing a vest,” you said. Spencer’s eyes met yours and your breath was taken away by the earnestness in them.

“I would have done it even if I wasn’t.” His voice was quiet. Serious. No one was meant to hear his words but you. In that moment, you didn’t care whether or not your mother was listening. You didn’t even know if she was still standing there or if she had already been led away.

“You would have jumped in front of a bullet even if you weren’t wearing a vest? Spence, do you know how stupid that is?”

“I’d do anything for you.” The two of you just stared at each other. You had never heard Spencer sound that vulnerable. Your hands found his, squeezing tight. You had to make sure that this was real. This was real life. You hadn’t been shot and this wasn’t some cruel trick your brain was playing on you before it shut off.

A look of panic shot across Spencer’s face when he realized what he had said. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I think it’s just the adrenaline from, you know, jumping in front of a bullet. I’ll go. You probably want to finish your conversation with Thomas.” He stood up quickly, and you followed. Neither one of you let go of the other’s hand.

Instead, you pulled him closer to you, your other hand grabbing his suit jacket, like you were trying to make sure he couldn’t run away. And maybe you were. You wouldn’t put it past Spencer to try to run away from this. To just ignore it. He would show up for work on Monday and act like he had never said anything.

But that wasn’t what you wanted. And you didn’t think it was really what he wanted either.

“Do you want to get dinner sometime?” The shocked look on Spencer’s face made you laugh. 

“Like a date?”

You nodded, smiling widely at him. “Like a date.” Spencer’s grin melted your heart. He nodded eagerly before wrapping you in his arms.

“Wouldn’t the presence of the FBI just make them think that the government killed him and we’re there to cover it up?” Emily asked.

“The idea is that if both the FBI and his children say that he died of natural causes, the conspiracy theorists will have to believe it. If the government killed him, his children wouldn’t let that go. If someone else killed him, we find out who. We treat this like it’s any other case.”

“Are his children suspects?” Derek asked carefully. Hotch levelled his gaze at him.

“They grew up as vigilantes working outside the law. At least one of them still does that. They all have reasons to be upset with their father. We can’t rule them out.”

“I can’t believe I’m finally meeting the Umbrella Academy and I have to investigate them for murder,” Derek muttered as he flipped through the file.

“I can’t believe Y/N isn’t going to be there,” Spencer sighed. Immediately, everyone’s eyes were either rolling or staring at him.

“Maybe you should just ask her out already,” JJ suggested in a tone that made it clear she had made the suggestion before.

“You take her on enough dates,” Derek teased. Spencer’s face grew red, but he didn’t respond. Instead, he sped through the files.

The varying levels of knowledge about each member of The Umbrella Academy was strange. On the one hand was Allison, who was now famous enough that everyone knew everything about her life, and Vanya, who had revealed everything about her childhood in her tell-all book. On the other hand was The Illusion, who had left the team when she was 17. Nothing was known about her, not even her name. Even the other three didn’t have a lot about them in the files. One never left The Umbrella Academy. One was a vigilante. One was in and out of rehab pretty regularly.

Based on what they did know about Hargreeves’s adopted children, it could be difficult getting anything from them if they were hiding anything. Based on their childhood, it would be doubtful that they would turn one of their own over to outsiders, even if one of them did kill their father. It was more likely that they would sort it out amongst themselves after pushing the outsiders away. That would make the BAU’s job difficult.

“Wheels’ up in 30.”

--------------------------

“Nice house,” Emily commented as she, Derek, and Spencer got out of the car. They had been sent to talk to Hargreeves’s kids, while the rest of the team set up at the local PD. The three FBI agents walked up the steps and knocked on the door. They waited for a minute, but there was no answer, so Derek knocked again, harder this time.

The door flew open. “Can I help you?”

Spencer blinked in surprise. Standing before them was Allison Hargreeves. Spencer was normally pretty lost when it came to celebrities, but Y/N had taken him to a few of her movies over the years. Even though he knew that he would probably meet her during the case, it was strange to see her in person.

“FBI, ma’am,” Derek said, showing her his badge. Emily and Spencer followed suit. Allison’s eyes widened and it looked, Spencer thought, like she was worried about something. “We’re here to investigate your father’s death.”

“My father died of natural causes. That’s what the coroner told us.” Voices floated through the door. It sounded like some people in the house were having a very loud conversation.

“That’s what the coroner told us too. We’re just here to make sure local PD didn’t miss anything that could set the conspiracy theorists off. Stop them before they can really start,” Emily explained.

“Do you have to do it now?” Allison asked. “We were in the middle of trying to plan a memorial for our father.”

“We realize that this is a difficult time for your family. However, we really need to take a look around before the scene is any more contaminated than it already is,” Derek said. The voices coming from inside the house were growing louder.

“You think one of us did it, don’t you?” Spencer hadn’t noticed the woman standing behind Allison. Vanya, the normal one. She didn’t sound surprised or angry, like Spencer had expected. She just looked weary. Allison too didn’t look shocked by the news that they were suspects. It was like someone already told her.

“I think it would be better if you came back tomorrow,” Allison said firmly. “This has all been a shock to us. We just want to spread our father’s ashes and then get back to our lives.”

“We’d like to look around now. We won’t disturb you until you tell us that you’re ready to talk to us, but we really need to look at the scene now. We have a warrant.” Emily held up the warrant. Allison and Vanya looked at it with distaste, but didn’t say anything. They were trying to figure out a way to get them to leave.

The voices suddenly became screams coming from inside the house. Probably cause. Derek and Emily immediately had their guns drawn and were making their way towards the noise. Spencer followed slightly behind them. They reached what appeared to be the main living room. Two men were screaming, clutching their heads. On the ground, her back to the FBI agents, was a familiar figure. Spencer couldn’t see her face, but it looked so much like Y/N. The hair. The posture. But it couldn’t be her.

Allison made her way in front of the agents. She shook her head slightly, like she was a mom about to have to deal with misbehaving kids. “I heard a rumor that you stopped.”

Immediately, the two men collapsed on the floor. A third man was at the woman’s side quickly, keeping her from falling completely onto the floor. He handed her a drink, which she drank quickly.

“Remind me not to mess with Y/N again,” one man said. Y/N? It couldn’t actually be Y/N. It was just a coincidence.

“I guess I got a little carried away.” That was definitely Y/N’s voice. And the laugh that followed was Y/N’s laugh. Spencer looked in shock at Derek and Emily. Their eyes were wide as the two men started to laugh with Y/N.

“Y/N?” Spencer asked before he could stop himself.

--------------------------

You stared in shock at Spencer. Emily and Derek were next to him. It didn’t make any sense, though. There was no reason for them to be here. From the looks on their faces it didn’t look like they were expecting to see you either. Which meant, you realized, that they were here to investigate your father’s death.

“You can’t be serious, Luther.” Evidently Diego came to the same conclusion. “I mean, you got detectives here? Or PIs? You’re really that sure that one of us killed Dad.”

“Diego,” Luther responded harshly. “I didn’t hire any PIs. I don’t know who these people are.” Diego’s eyes widened. He and Luther both stood up quickly. Klaus helped you up. Your legs were still a bit shaky, but you tried not to let it show.

“FBI,” Derek said. The three of them showed their badges. Spencer was still staring at you. Emily and Derek were trying to focus on your brothers, but their eyes kept glancing at you every few seconds.

“Oh, maybe you know my sister-”

“Klaus,” Luther and Diego both interjected quickly.

“-my sister Allison,” Klaus corrected himself. “She’s very famous. Do you know of her?”

“Don’t worry, Klaus,” you said. “They’re on the BAU. Agents Derek Morgan and Emily Prentiss and Dr. Spencer Reid. My coworkers.” You looked awkwardly between the two groups. “And these are my siblings. It looks like you’ve met Vanya and Allison. This is Luther, Diego, and Klaus.”

It was very awkward watching your friends meet your siblings. These were two groups that were never supposed to meet. Derek quickly explained that they were going to look around the house and then talk to each of you individually. It seemed like their presence made your siblings remember why you all were mad at each other in the first place. Once Derek was done talkings, you all started to go off in your own way.

“Y/L/N,” Derek called, stopping you. You sighed and grabbed a bottle of some kind of fancy alcohol from the bar before going over to your friends. You ignored the looks when you took a drink directly from the bottle. You knew what they were going to try.

“We couldn’t say anything while the rest of your siblings were here, but we obviously know that you didn’t do anything, so-”

“Morgan, stop,” you said. You were suddenly so tired. What you wanted more than anything was to just be alone. You couldn’t deal with whatever angle the BAU was trying to play. “Yes, I was with you guys working a case when he died, but I could have helped plan it. I could be helping to cover it up. I could very easily be an accessory. Not that there’s anything to be an accessory to, but whatever. I know that the team has a job to do, but I don’t want to know what it is and I don’t want you playing games with me. I’m not here as a member of the BAU, but don’t try to establish a connection with me like I’m some random victim. I just want to get through this memorial and then get back to my life. So whenever you want to talk to me about why I hated my father and what I think about my siblings, I’ll be in the courtyard.”

Without a second glance, you walked away, grabbing a second bottle on your way out. This was certainly not how you expected the day to go. You sank to the ground once you reached the gazebo, taking another couple sips from a bottle. It was hard enough dealing with all of your siblings, but now you had to deal with the fact that your team was investigating your family.

Music started playing. Coming from Luther’s room, no doubt. He had done something to his record player when you were children so it played so loudly that you could hear it throughout the house. It drove you crazy when you were young, but now it made a small smile tug at your lips as you shook your head.

It was such a familiar occurrence when you were younger. An argument would break out during training or lessons. You all would go off on your own to cool down. Someone would start playing music or watching TV or playing a game. Normally the noise would cause someone to get even more mad. More often than not it was you yelling at Luther to turn down the music. It was one of the few things you and Diego always agreed on. There was something nice about it now though. Something familiar.

Another drink and you were on your feet, swaying slightly to the music. Before you knew it, you were dancing around the gazebo. It didn’t matter that your siblings were somewhere and might think that you were crazy if they saw you. It didn’t matter that your coworkers could walk out at any minute and would definitely think that you were crazy.

CRACK

Thunder started booming around you as a strange blue light grew. A temporal anomaly, if you had to guess. Maybe a black hole. You backed up quickly as the doors behind you opened and your siblings came rushing out.

“What is it?”

“Don’t get too close!”

You huddled together. Then, Klaus came running out and chucked a fire extinguisher into it.

“Well what’s that going to do?” you asked, pulling him away from the light. Some part of your brain registered your friends come running out too.

“I don’t know,” Klaus responded. “Do you have a better idea?”

You all watched in disbelief as a figure seemed to start emerging from the blue thing. An old man, but you didn’t recognize him. Before your eyes, his face began looking younger and younger until-

“Five?” you whispered in disbelief as the small figure dropped to the ground. As suddenly as it started, the thunder and blue light stopped.

“Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is that just me?” Klaus asked as you all moved closer to what appeared to be your missing brother.

Your brother’s explanations made more sense to you than they did to the rest of your siblings. From a young age, your father had decided that you were the smart one, so you knew all about his theories about time travel. You had tried to figure out yourself what had happened to Five after he disappeared, but you had never quite been able to fully wrap your head around the nuances of time travel. 

What made slightly less sense was how nonchalant Five was. Sure, he was 58 now, but he was also your brother who hadn’t seen you in years. Yet, he acted like he couldn’t care less that he was back with his family now. It made you think that there was something Five wasn’t telling you all. Part of you was tempted to press Five about it, but it wouldn’t do any good. Even as a child, Five had been stubborn. All of that time in the future would only have made him more so.

“Well,” Luther said as Five left the kitchen, “that was interesting.” Interesting was certainly one way to describe it.

--------------------------

“Y/N, why didn’t you tell us about your family?”

You regretted getting ready for the memorial so quickly. After changing into a different outfit because the one you had been wearing got dirty during the little fight earlier, you had gone to sit in the living room. That’s where Hotch had found you.

Apparently Derek had called him after they found out you were one of the Hargreeves siblings. Now you were sitting across from him in the living room. Spencer, Emily, and Derek were also perched around. You weren’t sure if they were all there because they felt like they needed to be close, or if they were just all curious.

“I didn’t think it mattered, Hotch.”

“You didn’t think it mattered?”

“If I had known that the team was going to investigate my father’s death, I would have told you before I left. It’s never affected a case before. I never thought it would.”

“You see anything wrong with using a false background to get into the FBI?” Hotch pushed.

“Everything from college onward is true. I use a fake last name and a fake childhood. I don’t think that really changes anything. I’ve still been a member of the BAU for years.”

“You realize that it looks bad that you didn’t tell us.”

“Hotch, I really thought that there would never be a need for anyone to know.”

“You didn’t think that we should know that you have powers?”

You sighed and rubbed your head tiredly before taking another few gulps from the bottle still clutched in your hand.

“Maybe you should take it easy on the booze,” Emily suggested cautiously.

“My father just died. I have to deal with my crazy siblings. And now I’m being questioned by my friends. I think I more than deserve this.” You didn’t drink much normally, even when the team went out together. Some part of your father’s “You must always be prepared for danger” teachings had stuck with you, despite your best efforts to forget them, so you knew it was alarming for your friends to see you drinking so much. It was only with your siblings that you allowed yourself to let go. That way if your father somehow appeared to lecture you, he would have to focus on all of your siblings rather than just you.

“I never told you guys about my power because it doesn’t affect how I do my work. Today was the first time I’ve used my powers in years. Besides when Klaus visits and I talk to Ben.”

“Ben?” Spencer asked. “Isn’t he dead?”

“Doesn’t matter.” You waved your hand to emphasize moving past it. Spencer’s brow stayed furrowed. “I’ve never used my power on a suspect. I know that you guys were talking about how reading someone’s mind would be helpful when interrogating a suspect, but I’ve never done that. I do my job just like the rest of you.”

You stared into Hotch’s eyes, forcing yourself not to break eye contact. You knew what he was wondering. What they were all wondering. It was another reason you never told them about your powers. It was bad enough growing up with your siblings always wondering. You didn’t want to have to deal with your coworkers not trusting you too.

“I’ve never read your mind either,” you said quietly. You glanced at Derek and Emily before your eyes landed on Spencer. “Any of you. I’d never do that. I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that.”

“We’ll need to speak more about this back at Quantico. I’m sure they’ll want to do an investigation about this. But let’s move on.”

“Your brother Diego said that your brother Luther thinks one of your siblings killed your father,” Derek said. You rolled your eyes. “You don’t agree?”

“No, I don’t. The coroner’s report says heart failure. It looks legit.”

“You’ve seen the coroner’s report?” Emily asked.

“Diego stole it from the coroner’s office,” you told her. “He does stuff like that sometimes. The point is, I looked over the scene. No forced entry. No sign of a struggle. Luther thinks that someone killed Dad because he doesn’t want to admit that Dad died because that would mean that he has to move on. If someone killed Dad, then there’s a new mission for The Umbrella Academy, so he can hold on for a little bit longer. The rest of us, except for Vanya kind of, have moved on. We have real lives. I bet none of us, except for Luther, even remember the last time we talked to our father.”

“It doesn’t sound like you think too highly of Luther,” Derek prodded.

You thought about it for a few seconds. There was no way that your friends could really understand what it was like for you all growing up like you had. “Luther is Number One. Dad never let him forget it, so Luther never let us forget it. Even now, when the rest of us have left the team and moved on, Luther still feels the need to act like Number One. I think it’s annoying. I always have. At first, maybe it was because I was jealous because I was ranked so low. Now, it’s because I just want him to grow up, get a life, and stop trying to control ours. We all deserve to be happy. I just wish Luther would realize that before it’s too late.”

“Is it normal for your siblings to speak for each other like you speak for them?”

“Dad valued us more as a unit than as individuals. When we were young we all spoke for each other because we really didn’t know that we were different people. As we got older and began to develop our own personalities, they all stopped. Growing up, I always spoke for my siblings because I knew how they felt. I spent as much time in their heads as I did in my own. I know how they think. I knew how they were feeling about everything. I haven’t read their minds in years, but I know what they thought. I can still guess what they’re thinking now.”

“Did your siblings ever resent your father for making you train on each other?” Hotch asked.

 You scoffed. The memories flashed in your head. The hand to hand combat. The agility courses. The survival training. The foreign languages. Everything. You were a master of martial arts by the time you were 6. You were fluent in 5 languages by the age of 4. You had a handful of PhDs by the time you were 13. 

“Of course. We were children being forced to fight against each other and with each other. We would have much rather been going to school and playing sports or doing anything normal kids do. He stole our childhoods, which is why we all left. He wouldn’t take our adulthoods too.”

“Y/N?” Allison stood in the doorway. “It’s time.”

“Except for today.” You stood slowly. You met your friends’ eyes one more time. “He’s taking today.”

--------------------------

Of course it was raining. You all filed out into the courtyard. Klaus had managed to find a clear umbrella somewhere. Very Klaus. Luther and Diego had both forgone umbrellas for some reason. You could sense your friends standing at a window, watching you all. You tried to reign your consciousness in, but it seemed like confining it to just your mind was too claustrophobic suddenly. It was like you had remembered what it had felt like to use your powers and now they wanted more room to stretch.

You would box it all back up in the back of your mind later. Reginald would have loved it though. Even from the grave he was influencing your life.

“Did something happen?” You felt a stab of worry at your mother’s question. It didn’t take a mindreader to know that Diego was lying when he said that she just needed to recharge. Leaving your mother here with just your father and Pogo had always made you feel guilty. As far as you knew, her whole purpose was to take care of you and your siblings. What would your father do if he no longer saw a use for her? And now that your father was gone, what would she do? She and Pogo were now without a purpose, as far as you knew. If she needed maintenance, who would fix her?

Those were questions for later though.

You watched as Luther poured your father’s ashes out. They landed in a pile on the ground. You nodded slightly as you stared at them. Even in death, your father was being difficult. No doubt he wanted your siblings to have to clean it up and do it again, but right this time.

“Probably would have been better with some wind,” Luther noted. You all stood around for a second, unsure of what to do next.

“Does anyone wish to speak?” You avoided eye contact with everyone else. You had nothing kind to say about your father, but you wouldn’t make a fuss now. Pogo sighed before he started to speak. It was strange listening to what Pogo said. Somehow, despite everything that Pogo had seen, he remained loyal to your father. You could feel Diego reaching the end of his string. “He leaves behind a complicated legacy-”

“He was a monster.” Diego said simply. Beside you, Klaus laughed. “He was a bad person and a worse father. The world’s better off without him.”

“Diego!” Allison interrupted.

“My name is Number Two.” That made Allison snap her mouth shut. She couldn’t argue that, to your father, you all were just numbers, ranked by how useful you were to him. “Look, you wanna pay your respects? Go ahead. But at least be honest about the kind of man that he was.”

“You should stop talking now.” Diego glared at Luther, who returned the look. Of course one fight wasn’t enough for them. There had to be another. You and Allison met eyes, silently agreeing to stay out of it.

“He had to ship you a million miles away.”

“Diego, stop talking.”

“That’s how much he couldn’t stand the sight of you.” Luther batted away the finger that was pushing into his chest before swinging at Diego. Allison rolled her eyes. Vanya guided your mother away from the two. Klaus tried to shield you and Five, but you both pushed him off. Pogo sighed and walked off as the blows increased in power. The door behind you opened. Probably your teammates coming out to make sure no one got killed.

“Hit him! Hit him!” Klaus cheered. He grabbed your hand and squeezed. You laughed and joined in his calls. “Five bucks on Luther.”

You considered the offer. As quick and strong as Diego was, he was no match for the new monkey Luther. “Ten bucks Diego pulls a knife pretty soon.”

“We don’t have time for this,” Five muttered. You almost followed him inside, wondering what he was talking about, but you weren’t going to miss the end of this fight.

Diego managed to dodge out of Luther’s way, causing Luther to knock over the statue of Ben that your father had made after his death.

“And there goes Ben’s statue,” Allison sighed, turning to go back inside.

“Good thing Ben’s not here to see that,” Klaus muttered to you. You frowned slightly, a little upset that Ben wasn’t there.

“Diego, no,” Vanya yelled when Diego pulled a knife out. You cheered as Klaus groaned. The knife sliced the edge of Luther’s sleeve. Nothing serious. Even now, Diego wouldn't want to actually injure Luther. The yelling behind you reminded you that your teammates were still there.

“You never know when to quit, do you?” Vanya asked Diego as she followed Luther inside.

“Got enough material for your sequel yet?” was Diego’s response.

“He was my father too.”

Diego looked at you as you sat on the bench next to Klaus. “She doesn’t understand.”

“I know,” you replied. You watched as he gently took your mother’s arm and led her back inside. Hopefully she would sit, recharge, and be good as new tomorrow.

Klaus stood and walked over the pile of ashes still sitting on the ground. You couldn’t hear what he said, but you saw him stick his cigarette into the pile before walking away. He threw an arm around your shoulders as you both turned to go inside.

Your teammates were still standing by the door, shock on their faces. “I hope you understand why I didn’t want to talk about all of this,” you said as you passed them.

--------------------------

The kitchen had always been your favorite room in the house. It was one place where your father never bothered to go. Naturally, it’s where you and Klaus sat to decompress from this awful day. Five rummaged through the shelves, muttering to himself occasionally.

Without Diego and Luther, you were able to exist together without the threat of an explosion. Even when Allison came in, the four of you managed to keep a civil conversation going. Granted, it was about the lack of coffee in the house. You had to agree with Five. It was a crime that your father banned coffee from the house. You basically lived on it since joining the BAU.

You would have gone with Five to get some coffee, but he had teleported out of the kitchen before you could say anything.

“All right. Guess I’ll see you guys in, what, ten years? When Pogo dies?” Diego said as he walked through the kitchen, a bag over his shoulder.

“Not if you die first,” Allison retorted.

“Yeah, love you too, sis,” he replied. “Good luck on your next film. Hope it turns out better than your marriage, huh?” Allison’s jaw clenched as she watched Diego leave, Klaus trailing behind him.

“I’m going with Diego. Want to come?” Klaus asked as he ran through the kitchen again.

You shook your head before letting it collapse onto the table. Alone in the kitchen, you yelled in frustration. Your perfectly falsified past was now ruined. When you returned to work, you would probably have a trial of some sort to determine how much trouble you were in. Worst of all, your friends might not trust you anymore. They would be worried constantly that you’re reading their minds. They had gone back to the local PD after the fight in the courtyard, so you hadn’t had to deal with them yet. By now, you were sure Penelope had already pulled everything about The Illusion and was in the process of putting your past together.

The ringing of the doorbell pulled you out of your self pity. You weren’t sure where anyone else still in the house was, so you decided to answer the door yourself.

“Reid,” you said in surprise as you pulled open the door. Spencer stood in front of you, alone. That was maybe a good sign. If they were going to arrest anyone, they wouldn't send Reid by himself.

“Hotch wanted me to tell you that we’re going to the DC. Jet leaves in 30 minutes if you want to come back with us.”

“God, yes,” you groaned. “I just need to grab my stuff. You can come in, if you want. Diego’s gone and I don’t know where Luther is, so there shouldn’t be any more fights.” Spencer stepped in slowly. His eyes were wide as they took everything in. It was probably different getting to see the house now that he wasn’t working. “You can stay here or come up with me.”

Spencer hesitated, obviously torn about what to do. 

“There’s some really cool artwork upstairs. I bet you can’t name it all,” you offered, smiling slightly. To your great relief, Spencer smiled back and followed you up the stairs. “I put my stuff in my old room. I wasn’t sure how long I would be here for, but it seems like we’re all leaving.”

Spencer slowed as you reached the paintings. It took you a second to realize why. You mom was sitting in her chair, wires coming out of her to connect her to the chair. “What-” he started to ask.

“She’s recharging,” you told him gently. Taking his hand, you led him past. “Bye, Mom,” you said softly. She didn’t respond.

“Your mom’s a robot,” Spencer said as you turned down the hallway toward your bedroom.

“Reginald made her to take care of us. Technically, I don’t know who my real mom is.” You opened the door to your bedroom. You watched Spencer take everything.

“I didn’t realize other kids were so interested in time travel growing up,” Spencer commented as he quickly read everything. An entire wall in your room was covered in everything you and your father had come with regarding time travel.

“I wanted to find out what happened to Five,” you told him. “It seems like I was surprisingly close, if I understand his explanation correctly.”

“Why,” Spencer hesitated, looking at you for confirmation to continue. You nodded. “Why doesn’t he have a name?”

“He disappeared before Mom named us.” Spencer’s shocked look almost made you laugh. Instead, you smiled sadly at your childhood room. “We were just numbers for a long time growing up. So really, Y/N is a fake name too. Just like Y/L/N.”

“Don’t say that,” Spencer said. He took your hands in his own, making you face him. “You are Y/N Y/L/N. Your childhood is just a little different than we thought. Based on what I saw today, I don’t really blame you.”

You laughed joylessly. “I hope everyone else is as understanding. I think I might have really screwed this all up.” Looking into Spencer’s eyes, you knew you weren’t just talking about your job.

“They’ll all come around. It might just take some time to get used to the fact that you’re a superhero.”

“I was a superhero. And not by choice,” you reminded him. You squeezed Spencer’s hands tightly. “I meant what I said earlier. I never read your mind. I’m not sure I’d be able to keep up with your thoughts anyway.”

Spencer smiled slightly. “I think everyone knows that you wouldn’t do that. We just have to get used to it. They all know that.”

“It’s really important to me that you know that.” You looked into Spencer’s eyes, trying to tell him what you couldn’t say the words for. You could basically see his brain moving at a million miles a minute.

“Y/N?” Allison was at the door. Spencer dropped your hands quickly and picked up your bag. Your sister looked between the two of you for a second. “Did Klaus leave? I was going to suggest getting some dinner.”

“Klaus left with Diego. He might be back soon. I doubt Diego lets him stick around for long. My team is headed back to DC, so I’m heading to the airport to meet them.”

Allison’s face fell slightly. You crossed the room to pull her into a hug. “You seriously have to come to DC sometime. I have a guest room. Whenever it’s not being used by Klaus or Diego, you can use it. If you see Five, tell him that he’s free to crash there too. I don’t know what his plans are, but I don’t think anyone will let him rent or buy any property. He is thirteen again.”

“I guess it’s just me and Luther,” Allison sighed. Your face automatically twisted into a grimace, causing Allison to blush and Spencer to look confused.

“Don’t get into any mischief,” you told her. “I’ll see you soon, hopefully.”

You led Spencer back through the house, reading to leave and go back to your normal life.

--------------------------

For the third time that morning, you contemplated taking Hotch up on the offer to take a couple more days off. They had already scheduled your trial for next week. Until then, you were stuck on desk duty. Hotch had suggested you take a few days off, but you had insisted on coming back immediately.

Yesterday already seemed like a bad dream. There was no way that half of your team had seen your childhood home the day before. No way that less than 12 hours ago you and Spencer had been standing in your childhood bedroom.

But then you would catch someone’s eyes on you and you were forced to accept that your secret was out. It seemed to have spread like wildfire through the whole FBI. There were people you never saw on this floor walking by multiple times, eyes on you the entire time. You’d think FBI agents could be more subtle.

The worst was how weird your teammates acted around you. Emily managed to act the most normal, probably because she could kind of relate thanks to her background with Interpol. But Derek could barely look at you, JJ kept starting to say something before stopping herself, and even Rossi seemed unsure about whether or not to give you any more pearls of Italian wisdom. Spencer’s eyes had been on you almost all morning. It was almost a relief when the rest of the team went into the briefing room, no doubt to go over your father’s death again. You had been told that there would be severe consequences if you even looked in the direction of anything pertaining to that case.

You heard a familiar sound, one that you had thought you would never hear again until yesterday. “This is a lot more boring than I thought the FBI would be.”

You turned to see Five leaning against a desk. “You need to get some new clothes,” you told him, eyeing the Umbrella Academy uniform he was still wearing. He rolled his eyes. “Did you talk to Allison?”

“Allison? No. I waited around your room at the house for a few hours, then Pogo told me that you left. I got some weird looks on the highway, but I made pretty good time.”

“Still haven’t managed long distance teleportation?”

“I just made it back here. The last thing I want is to end up on another continent or in a different year.”

“That’s fair. Well, I told Allison to tell you that my guest room is free if you need a place to stay while you figure everything out.”

“Actually, I need you to come back to the house with me.” 

You looked at Five incredulously, waiting for him to tell you he was joking. His face was serious though. “You’re joking.” He shook his head. “Why would I do that?”

Five sighed. He moved closer to you and lowered his voice so no one would be able to overhear. “There’s something big going on. I’ve decided that you’re the only one I can trust.”

“Why me?”

“Beause you’ll listen. You’ll believe me.” There was a look in Five’s eyes that frightened you a little. You saw it sometimes in very determined unsub’s. You saw it sometimes in the mirror. 

“Okay. But I get to bandage your arm while you do. I don’t want you dripping any more blood onto my desk.” Five nodded, so you pulled out a small first aid kit you kept in a drawer and began to clean the wound.

“When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future,” Five started, “do you know what I found?” You shook your head, your eyes flicking up to meet his while you worked. “Nothing.” You looked up sharply, your brows pulling together in confusion. “Aboslutely nothing. As far as I could tell, I was the last person alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but I did find something else. The date it happens. The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.”

You breathed out sharply, your head spinning with the implication of what Five just told you. Your head moved to the briefing room as the door opened and Hotch stepped out. “Y/N? Everything all right?” He eyed Five’s arm, which still had some old blood on it. Your brother pulled his sleeve down quickly.

“Everything’s fine,” you lied. “I think I will take those extra days off, though. I’m going to go back with my brother.” Hotch nodded and went back into the briefing room. Everyone turned to look at you, so you waved slightly.

“There’s some coffee in the break room. It’s not the best, but it’s better than nothing and I think we’re going to need a lot of coffee,” you told Five.

“You’re coming with me?” You nodded. “And you didn’t tell them about what I saw.”

“Do you want me to?”

“They would just think I’m crazy.”

“Probably.”

“But you don’t?” You considered it for a second. It would be much easier to just brush off Five’s warning as the ramblings of a crazy person, but you knew your brother. You shook your head. “Did you look already?”

“I don’t need to see your memories to know you’re telling the truth,” you told him. “Let’s go.” You packed up your stuff and began to head out when you turned back around for another look at your friends. If this was the end of the world, then…

You forced yourself to stop thinking like that as you caught Spencer’s eyes through the glass. You gave him a small smile, but you couldn’t stop the tears that welled up as you took your last look at him.

“Y/N, wait.” You paused by the elevators as Spencer came rushing out. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“I’ll go start the car,” Five said, slipping into the elevator and leaving you with Spencer.

“Nothing’s wrong,” you said thickly, tears still threatening to spill out. “I’m just really going to miss you guys. Especially you, Spencer.”

“Miss us? You’re not leaving forever. It’s just a few days, right? This isn’t goodbye.” Spencer’s face was concerned as he studied you. He glanced back at the rest of the team, probably wondering if he should warn them that you were acting strange.

“It’s just a few days,” you agreed. Eight days to be exact. “It’s just, between my family stuff and the trial, I’m just not sure what’s going to happen.”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” Spencer insisted. He grabbed your arm gently, like he was trying to hold you there.

“But just in case it’s not, there’s something you need to know.” You took a deep breath before taking Spencer’s face in your hands. “I love you, Spencer Reid. I love going to all of your niche activities. I love listening to you talk about subjects that interest you. I love how kind you are. I love you.”

A tear slipped out of your eyes as Spencer looked at you in shock.

“I have to go now,” you said hoarsely. “I just needed you to know that.”

You pressed the button for the elevator, but before the doors could open, Spencer took your face in his hands and pressed his lips to yours. You kissed Spencer until you heard the elevator ding behind you. You pulled away sadly, aware that there was a good chance that would be your first and last kiss with Spencer. The smile on Spencer’s face broke your heart. He couldn’t know that it was a goodbye kiss.

“I love you too,” he breathed as you stepped into the elevator. You let the tears fall freely as the doors closed between you two.

“You’re also the one who told me to get out there and forget about Kevin,” Penelope countered.

“Yeah well I didn’t think you’d drag me along.”

“It’s not just you! I convinced some of my friends at the BAU to sign up too. Besides, I know you’re excited for the party. You already bought two dresses.” She pointed at the dresses still laying out on your kitchen table. You were trying to decide whether a black dress or white dress would be better for your costume.

“I’m always excited for a Halloween costume party. I just never thought I’d be one of those sad people who signs up for a matchmaking party.”

“Y/N, you are one of the smartest people I know. And I work for the FBI. I know a lot of smart people. The only reason you’re still single is because whenever you get time off from teaching you spend it trying to solve impossible math equations. And I thought you said your match sounded nice.”

You sighed. “Trying to solve an impossible math equation is arguably the most important part of my job. I think the university cares more about that than the courses I teach sometimes. I guess he does seem nice. He’s either very smart or he’s very good at using google to sound smart. Either way, when you look at the data, the likelihood of finding a long term partner through a survey is-“

Penelope groaned. “No! I get enough info dumping at work. Let’s just talk about the party. It’s next weekend and you’re buying clothes for it so I assume you and your partner decided on your costumes. What is it?”

When Penelope had invited you to a Halloween costume party, you had been quick to accept. She then told you that it was a matchmaking party where you had to fill out a survey and were then matched with another attendee. Pairs would have to decide on costumes and then find each other at the party. Until then, pairs wouldn’t know who the other person was. Definitely not your usual definition of fun.

“I’m not telling you,” you teased. Penelope gasped on faux anger before the two of you burst into laughter and decided on a movie to watch.

——————

You stared at your computer screen intently, willing the message to change.

I’ve been out of state for a work trip for the past few days. I didn’t mention it earlier because I was hoping that we would get back in plenty of time. It took a couple more days than we were anticipating though. We’re about to take off, so I’ll make it back in time for the party but I won’t have time to put out on my whole costume. I can just wear the cape or something if you don’t have any better suggestions. I’m looking forward to meeting you tonight.

You chewed your lip thoughtfully before an idea popped into your head. And you began typing back a response.

That’s a shame. I was looking forward to seeing your Masque of the Red Death costume. I have a new idea though. What character refused to wear a costume to a costume ball?

The response came back almost immediately.

And I was looking forward to seeing your Leonore costume. I’m sure that there are a number of characters who fit that description. Would you like a list?

You smiled and rolled your eyes.

It’s another gothic story. He’s throwing the fancy dress party, but he refuses to dress up. His new wife’s costume causes a bit of a stir. Enough clues?

The reply caused you to get up quickly to begin sorting out your new costume.

I’ll see you tonight, Mrs. de Winters.

A few hours later found you ready to leave. You were thankful that you still had the white dress you had previously purchased with the idea of using it for Leonore. You were even more thankful that you still had a wig from a few Halloween’s ago that worked for your costume. So now, with a white dress and curly dark hair, you were ready to leave.

“Ok I give up,” Penelope said when she opened her door. “What are you supposed to be?”

“I’m the narrator from Rebecca,” you told her. “It’s kind of a last minute costume. I’m glad your case wrapped up today. I would be bummed if I had to go without you.”

“Well it’s a good thing it didn’t come to that.” Penelope looped her arm through yours and pulled you down the hallway, the two of you laughing as you went.

——————

Thankfully the room wasn’t too loud when you and Penelope arrived. Jack-o-lanterns and bowls of candy sat on tables around the edge of the room, and bats and ghosts hung from the ceiling. You and Penelope made a circuit around the room, trying to find your matches.

“Maybe ours guys are running late,” Penelope suggested. The two of you had moved to a snack table while you surveyed the sea of costumes around you.

“Or they’re ditching us.” Penelope gave you a playful swat. You were saved from another attack by Penelope’s phone dinging.

“Oh! Some of my friends are here. Come meet them.” Before you could protest, Penelope was dragging you across the room. Two people stood against the wall talking, but broke into smiles and waved when they saw Penelope approaching.

“Y/N, this is Derek and Emily. Guys, this is my neighbor Y/N.”

You smiled and shook hands with the two FBI agents.

“So you’re the famous Y/N,” Derek grinned. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Famous? If anyone is famous it’s Derek “chocolate thunder” Morgan. The way Penelope talks about you, I was imagining a superhero. She wasn’t wrong.”

“I like her,” Derek laughed.

Emily groaned. “He does not need a bigger ego.”

“Where’s Reid?” Penelope asked. “Don’t tell me he bailed.”

“He said he needed to stop by his apartment first. We came straight from the plane. And don’t worry, Hotch and JJ both assured us they would take pictures of the kids in their costumes.” Penelope squealed and clapped her hands excitedly.

You chatted with Penelope and her friends for a few more minutes before Penelope spotted a man wearing a matching costume to hers. She waved bye to your little group and rushed off to meet him, leaving you with the two FBI agents.

“Oh there’s Pretty Boy,” Derek cried.

“I was kind of expecting you to show up in an intricate costume. You love Halloween, Spencer,” Emily said.

You turned to find a handsome man approaching your group. He was wearing a nice suit and had a leather satchel slung over his shoulder.

“No time, unfortunately.” The man shrugged. “I just had to pick up some books from my apartment. Hi. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. You must be Garcia’s friend.” He turned to you, but didn’t extend a hand. You realized that this must be the young genius Penelope mentioned from time to time.

“Y/N,” you replied. Spencer’s eyes took in your costume carefully. You tried not to shift uncomfortably.

“Are you planning on doing some reading tonight?” Derek asked.

“No. My date and I were discussing a volume of poetry that I have, so I wanted to bring it to show her.”

“What a ladies man,” Emily teased. “How’s she going to know it’s you though? You’re not wearing a costume.”

“Actually, I am.” Spencer smiled slightly at the confused looks on his friends’ faces. What he just said clicked for you suddenly.

“Maxim?” You asked before you could stop yourself.

Spencer blinked at you in surprise before smiling widely. “Mrs. de Winters?”

Emily and Derek looked between of you in slight confusion, but you and Spencer smiled at each other in delight. “We’ll leave you two to it,” Derek teased as he and Emily walked away.

“I’m glad that you’re a friend of Penelope’s and not a complete stranger,” you admitted. “I was a little worried I’d get stuck with some weirdo. Not that you sounded weird when we talked!”

“Well our first conversation was about the statistics of meeting a murderer when online dating. That’s a little weird.” The two of you laughed slightly.

“I’m a math professor, so I’m interested in anything statistics,” you admitted. “I’m kind of a nerd.”

“Same,” Spencer laughed. “You know these last minute costumes were a good idea.”

“I still want to see your Masque of the Red Death costume sometime.”

“Deal, but only if you tell me what you teach.”

You waved your hand. “Oh nothing exciting. Just some upper level math that nobody wants to take. The fun part of my job is trying to solve the Riemann hypothesis.”

“You’re trying to solve one of the Millennium Prize problems?” Spencer asked in surprise.

“I’m surprised you know about it.” Most people you talked to had no idea what the Millennium Prize problems were. You were sure they wondered why a university would tenure you just so you could keep trying to solve a math problem.

“I’ve looked over them before,” Spencer admitted shyly, like he was waiting for you to make fun of him.

“No luck?”

“Way beyond my level.” The two of you laughed slightly. A slower song began to play and couples danced slowly across the dance floor.

“Want to dance?” you suggested. Spencer hesitated and you worried for a second that you had overstepped, but then he smiled and held out his hand.

Neither one of you were very good dancers, but what you lacked in talent you made up for in smiles. You continued to discuss everything from mathematical theory to what working at the FBI was like to classic literature.

“Do you think this is how the Manderley fancy dress party would have gone if Mrs. Danvers hadn’t sabotaged the narrator?” you asked. “They could have been as happy as us dancing.”

Spencer thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I don’t think they could have been truly happy together with all of the secrets still between them.”

“True,” you agreed. “So you think we’re happy?”

When Spencer smiled at you, your heart fluttered. “I’m pretty happy. This is going a lot better than I expected. Not that I didn’t think you sounded great when we talked online! But Derek said something about you sounding too good to be true, so I started to worry that you wouldn’t be as amazing in person, but I shouldn’t have. You’re even better in person.”

You smiled gently back at Spencer. “You’re better in person too.”

Spencer studied your face intently for a few seconds, a look of uncertainty on his face. “Can I kiss you?” he asked quickly, like he was afraid he would lose his nerve if he waited.

Your smile grew. “I’d like that,” you responded.

Spencer put one hand gently on your cheek, the other still resting on your waist, and brought his lips down to meet yours. When the two of you broke away, still smiling widely, you were totally oblivious to the looks of shock and delight on the FBI agents’ faces.

“I think we might have to do this again sometime, Mrs. de Winters.”

“I think so, Maxim.”

You weren’t really sure if you two had been on any actual dates or if you were just two friends hanging out. He always had some reason why he was inviting you specifically. You knew Russian, so he wouldn’t have to translate the movie for you. You knew Roman comedy, so the two of you could discuss whether the performance was historically accurate. You knew Japanese art history, so you could carry out a conversation about the new exhibit. None of those reasons stopped the crush that you had on Spencer Reid.

But you couldn’t say anything. Besides the fact that he was your coworker, you couldn’t risk him getting dragged into any family drama. None of your coworkers knew about your family. As far as anyone was aware, you didn’t have a good relationship with your family, and you certainly didn’t like to talk about them. They probably had their own theories about why. What had your family done that made you not flinch when cases took a turn like this last one did? Why weren’t you surprised that a father could kill his child and then pretend to be the picture of grief? Because as far as you were concerned, your father had killed two of his children and had killed everything good about the other six.

These thoughts ran silently through your head as you helped the team pack everything up. Soon, you would be on the jet, heading back to DC. And tomorrow, you would see your sister’s new movie. Hopefully, with Spencer.

A noise from the TV in the corner of the station shook you out of your thoughts. Breaking news, apparently. You turned back to the papers you were organizing, prepared to ignore whatever celebrity cheating scandal they were about to break.

“...the death of the world’s most eccentric and reclusive billionaire…”

The words made your breath catch. There was only one person they could be talking about. You made yourself look at the TV. Staring back at you was your father’s face. Or a picture of it, at least. Though really, you saw pictures of your father more than you had ever actually seen your father in person.

“Wow.” JJ’s voice beside you startled you a bit. “Reginald Hargreeves. I haven’t thought about him in forever.”

“I can’t believe he died. I kind of assumed he would live forever,” Emily said from your other side. It seemed the TV had caught everyone’s attention. “I mean, he was a crazy billionaire. Aren’t they supposed to find the secret to eternal life?”

“Y/N, are you okay?” You met Spencer’s kind eyes, but couldn’t find any words for a few seconds. Finally, you managed a smile.

“Of course. It’s just kind of shocking, I guess. Why?”

“You’re rubbing your arm. You do that when you’re upset.” You hadn’t even realized that you were doing it again. Had you always done it? You must have, if Spencer had noticed.

You could still remember the first time. It was a few days after you had gotten the stupid tattoo. Your skin was still sore, but you had scrubbed and scrubbed, trying to get the tattoo to wash off, until your skin was red and raw. You knew it wouldn’t wash off. You knew, yet you tried constantly. Even now, apparently. Now your father was dead and you would still have that stupid tattoo that marked you as one of his. As one of the Umbrella Academy kids. A freak. A soldier. A pawn.

Shaking your head a bit to clear your thoughts, you looked at Spencer. “I think I’m just ready to be home. It’s been a long case, and this is weird news to get at the end of it. I’m just tired.”

You weren’t sure if Spencer believed you, but he nodded and didn’t question it. The team continued packing up in silence. It wasn’t until you were back on the jet that anyone brought it up again.

“So who was your favorite Umbrella Academy kid?” Derek asked, breaking the silence of the jet.

“Let me guess, yours was Spaceboy. You wanted to be super strong like him,” Emily teased lightly.

“For your information, my favorite was The Kraken. If he was that good with knives, imagine how good he would be throwing a football,” Derek corrected her, an easy smile on his face. How strange that everyone else could talk so casually about them. Of course, as far your team was concerned, they were just names and faces from TV or trading cards. They weren’t real people.

“Well I wanted to be The Rumor. Imagine how much easier sneaking out would be if you could just tell your parents to let you go.” Emily laughed as she said it. She didn’t understand how easy it was to get caught up in that power. You had seen it happen, though.

“I always liked The Illusion. I mean, making people see whatever you wanted them to would be so cool. Plus, reading minds would be helpful. It would make interrogations go a lot quicker.” It was only because of years of practice that you didn’t react to JJ’s words. The rest of the team began discussing how helpful it would be to be able to read an unsub’s mind. Not that you would know. You refused to do it.

“Project your consciousness into their brain. Know their thoughts. See what they see.”

Those words were some of your earliest memories. You would stand across from one of your siblings, reading their thoughts, seeing through their eyes, hearing through their ears, feeling what they felt, while your father kept repeating those words. That was before you had realized the true extent of your powers.

“Y/N, who was your favorite?” You blinked in surprise at Derek’s question. Everyone’s eyes were on you.

“It changed, I guess.” It was a lame answer, but they accepted it and continued to argue amongst themselves about who was the best. It was the truth, though. You had always been close with Allison. That had never changed. The girls had to stick together. You guessed that you were probably close to Vanya when you were younger, but you saw her less and less as you got older and training began to occupy more of your time. You certainly weren’t close to her now. Not after what she had written about you.

You and Five had been close for a time. Both of you were desperate to prove to your father that you were more powerful than he thought. That you weren’t worthless just because you were on the lower half of the rankings. But then Five had disappeared, and you discovered a new aspect of your powers. 

It was because of Luther. A few weeks had passed since Five’s disappearance, and Luther, in a horrible attempt to “be a leader” and “boost morale” had said that Five brought the disappearance on himself because he hadn’t listened when Dad told him not to try time travelling. Something in you had snapped. You wanted Luther to experience what you had imagined Five did. Lost in darkness, unsure of where or when you were. Just an expanse of nothingness. 

You didn’t even know you were doing it at first, but Luther started to scream. It was over as quick as it began, thanks to the shock of Luther’s yell. He shivered as he explained that suddenly he couldn’t see, hear, or feel anything. It was like nothingness. Luther never quite forgave you for that, but you would never forget the joyful look in your father’s eyes as he realized that it was your doing. That not only could you tap into another person’s brain. You could manipulate it.

But it was harder to control. And after you accidentally left one criminal permanently blind, you were scared of your powers. Klaus and Ben understood how you felt, and the three of you became inseparable. Even after Ben died, that didn’t change. None of your siblings knew that Ben was still around, but you did. Klaus would let you use his eyes and ears so that you could talk to Ben. You missed them. Klaus would show up at your apartment sometimes, looking for money. You would get him to stay for a few days and take some time off work so you could watch him. The three of you would hang out like old times. But eventually you would have to go back to work, and you would come back to find an empty apartment and missing cash.

Despite the fact that Diego was the one you talked to most often now, you two hadn’t gotten along as children. There were rare times when you would click, but for the most part it was constant bickering. You two were too much alike. Quick to anger and slow to forgive.

You were stuck in these memories for the rest of the flight. No one said anything about your silence, but you did feel Spencer’s gaze on you often. You continued to rub your arm, like you would be able to rub off the tattoo that was always covered by your sleeve.

Most of the team left the office pretty quickly once you arrived back in DC. They dropped off whatever needed to be dropped off, then headed home. You lingered, wanting to catch Hotch alone. It would be easier if there was no one around to question what you needed to talk to him about.

“Do you want me to wait up, Y/N? We can take the metro back together.” You smiled genuinely at Spencer’s question. The two of you lived close to each other, so you often left together, either carpooling or taking the metro together.

“No, it’s fine. I need to talk to Hotch before I leave. I’ll see you soon.” Spencer gave you a small wave as he left. You watched him go, feeling strangely sad. How you wished you could walk out with him and ask if he wanted to go see a movie tomorrow night. It seemed so long ago when that had been your plan.

“Hotch.” You knocked on his door, waiting for his answer before opening the door. He was looking over paperwork, as usual, and barely looked up when you came in. “I was wondering if I could have a few days off.”

That made him look up, his eyes drilling into yours. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes.” No. “I just need a few days. I don’t want to be gone long. It’s my brother.” It was the same thing you said whenever Klaus or Diego showed up. You waited for Hotch’s answer, a carefully blank look on your face. There were always a few seconds where you would worry that he had somehow figured out who you were. That the fake last name and fake childhood records weren’t enough. But they always were.

“Of course, Y/L/N. Take as much time as you need. And we’re here if you need anything.”

“Thank you, sir.” You smiled at him as you walked out of his office, though smiling was the last thing you wanted to do. Now you had no reason not to go back home. You would have to try to mourn your father. You would have to see your siblings.

--------------------------

The house looked exactly like you remembered. Big and empty. The sound of the door echoed as it closed behind you. You wondered if anyone else was here yet. You heard the steps of someone walking towards the entryway. Allison, if you had to guess, based on the footsteps.

“Y/N!” You were right. The smile that lit up your face was mirrored on Allison’s as you two rushed to hug each other. “I’ve missed you.”

“You too. I hope you don’t mind if I don’t make it to your movie this weekend.” The two of you laughed for a few seconds before remembering why you were there. “How are you doing?”

Allison shrugged and shook her head slightly. “I already lost my husband and I’m not allowed to talk to my daughter. Now my father is dead. It’s been a rough year. How are you? How’s the genius you’re almost dating?”

“I’m good. We just finished a rough case yesterday, so I’m a little bummed that I don’t get to relax this weekend. Spencer is also good. The other week we went to a shadow puppet theater festival. He said that he was glad he had a friend who was willing to go to stuff like that with him, so I don’t think he’s interested in me.”

Allison linked her arm through yours. You walked slowly through the halls, not talking. It was comforting enough just being with someone who understood what you were going through. With Allison, actions spoke louder than words.

“Is anyone else here yet?”

“Diego and Luther. I haven’t seen Klaus or Vanya. Who knows if they’ll show up.”

“Klaus will show up if he knows about it and isn’t in rehab. I wouldn’t be surprised if Vanya doesn’t show. She’s already said a lot about Dad. I don’t know if she has anything more to add.”

“You’re still mad.” It wasn’t a question, but you nodded anyway. “You know how excluded Vanya was growing up. Can you blame her?”

“That wasn’t our fault. If she wanted to tell her story, that’s fine. If she wanted to drag Dad’s name through the mud, that’s fine. He more than deserved it. She didn’t need to write about the rest of us though. I mean, my coworkers read that book. One detail that’s too specific and they could have figured out who I am. ‘So desperate to prove that she’s worthy of being called a hero that even now she devotes her life to fighting crime.’ She might as well have told everyone that I’m an FBI agent. I’ve tried so hard to build a normal life, and she could have ruined it all.”

A car pulled up outside the house as we passed by a window. You paused, watching as Vanya got out of the back. “Speak of the devil.”

Allison gave you a disapproving look. “I’m going to go see her. Coming?”

“Definitely not. I’ll see you later.” You could hear the door open and Vanya’s voice come floating up. You continued walking until you found myself outside of your father’s room. You could hear the floor creaking inside. Too heavy to be Diego. Must be Luther.

“What are you doing?” You asked as you walked into the room. Luther was standing by your dad’s bed, inspecting it. He was a lot bigger than the last time you had seen him. And his mind seemed to be screaming about why. You tried not to read his thoughts, but Luther’s head had always been a bit of an open book.

“This is where he died. Where Pogo found him.” Didn’t really explain what he was doing, but you could guess.

“No sign of a struggle.” You walked over to a window. It was locked. All of the windows were locked. “No sign of forced entry. No way someone could sneak in without Pogo or Mom knowing.”

“She’s right.” Diego entered. His eyes widened when he saw Luther. “Oh, you got big, Luther. What’s the secret, huh? Protein shakes? Low carbs?”

“What do you want?”

Diego pulled some paper from his pocket, holding it out to Luther. “The autopsy report.” Of course, being Diego, he pulled it back when Luther reached for it. Anything to rile up Luther.

“And you have this why?”

“Well, that’s because I broke into the coroner’s office. And surprise, surprise, Dad’s death was normal.”

“Y/N, he’s not allowed to do that,” Luther said, pointing an accusing finger at Diego as he looked at you. “You’re an FBI agent. Arrest him.”

“I’m not arresting my brother at Dad’s funeral. And I’m not on the clock. Grow up, Luther.” You took the report from Luther, glancing over it quickly. Heart failure. Normal. No reason to question it. But Luther would, and you didn’t want to be there when he and Diego started to fight. “I’ll leave you boys to it. I’m going to see if I can find Klaus.”

You left quickly. Where would Klaus go if he was here? You rolled your eyes when you realized the obvious answer. Dad’s office. Not only would there be valuables there, it would also be like giving the old man a giant middle finger. Typical Klaus.

Sure enough, you could hear him rummaging around the desk before you could see him. “Looking for something?” His head popped up, a grin splitting his face when he saw you. You wouldn’t stop him from taking anything, and he knew it. You didn’t need to enter his mind to know that he was high. You could see it in his eyes just as clearly as you could see the fresh rehab bracelet on his wrist. “Fresh out of rehab and already high? I don’t know how you manage it.”

“I guess I’m just incredible.” You rolled your eyes at him, but still accepted his hug with a smile.

“I know that this is hard for you, but Ben should be here. Even if the others can’t see him. He should get a chance to say goodbye.”

Klaus’s eyes were glued to the floor as he spoke. “I know.”

You didn’t get a chance to say anything else before Allison came in. It was nice, just the three of you. You three never fought. Mostly, you and Allison used to just laugh at whatever bit Klaus was doing.

“Number Three,” he was saying in a bad impression of your father’s voice when he was interrupted by Luther.

“Get out of his chair.” Of course. Perfect Number One was still so worried about following your father’s orders. Even now, he made Klaus empty his pockets as the two of you tried to leave so Luther and Allison could talk in private. But once you two were out of the room, you grinned and handed Klaus some things that you had snuck in your pockets before Luther came in. Nothing important or too valuable. It was really just a gesture to tell Klaus that you were on his side.

“And whatever is in your pants, make sure it’s nothing important before you sell it.” Being Klaus, he pretended to have no idea what you were talking about, but he shot you a wink before he wandered away.

--------------------------

You stood at the bar next to Klaus, wondering who was going to speak first. Your money was on Luther. You accepted the drink that Klaus handed you without bothering to ask what it was. Any alcohol would help you get through this.

“I guess we should get this started.” You were right. You took a seat as Luther stood up. You mostly tuned Luther out, as you always had. He was talking about scattering your father’s ashes.

“Dad had a favorite spot?” Allison asked.

“You know under the oak tree.” Everyone looked blankly at Luther. You remembered watching your father and Luther talking there when you were younger. It used to make you jealous. Now, it just made you mad. “We used to sit out there all the time. None of you ever did that?”

“No, Luther. We didn’t. He didn’t like any of us.” You gestured to the rest of your siblings as you spoke. You shouldn’t be doing this. You shouldn’t be lashing out. You were an FBI agent. Surely you were better than that. But there was something about being in this house with your siblings with the focus on your father that turned you into a child again.

And it didn’t matter whether you added fuel to the fire or not. Someone was bound to set everything off. 

“Listen up. There’s still some important things we need to discuss.”

“Like what?” Diego asked. You knew what Luther was going to say before he said anything.

“Like the way he died.”

“And here we go,” Diego muttered.

“I don’t understand. I thought they said it was a heart attack,” Vanya said, confusion evident in her voice.

“Yeah according to the coroner.”

“Well wouldn’t they know?” You hated to agree with Vanya, but you had to.

“Luther thinks that there was foul play,” you explained. “However, there was no sign of forced entry and no sign of a struggle.”

“Well, Y/N is an FBI agent. Why don’t you trust her?” Allison asked Luther.

“Look, I’m just saying something happened. The last time I talked to Dad, he sounded strange.”

“Oh, quelle surprise,” Klaus interjected as he gurgled his drink. That wouldn’t help Luther’s anger.

“Strange how?” Allison asked.

“He sounded on edge,” Luther explained. “Told me I should be careful who to trust.”

“Luther, he was a paranoid, bitter old man, who was starting to lose what was left of his marbles.” Of course, Luther defended your father before turning to Klaus.

“Look, I know you don’t like to do it, but I need you to talk to Dad.”

Klaus laughed. “No I can’t. I’m not in the right frame of mind.”

“You’re high?” You didn’t know how Allison was surprised. It was obvious.

“Then there’s the issue of the missing monocle.”

“Who cares about a stupid monocle, Luther?” you groaned. You noticed the way Diego’s face shifted for a second. So he had the monocle. Or he at least knew what happened to it. “No one is going to break in without alerting Mom or Pogo, kill Dad and make it look an accident, then take the stupid monocle. No one that smart would be that dumb.”

“Exactly! It’s worthless. Whoever took it, I think it was personal. Someone with a grudge.”

“Where are you going with this?”

You shook your head as Diego said what you were thinking. “Isn’t it obvious, Klaus? He thinks one of us killed Dad.” The stunned faces of your siblings looked at Luther. You shook your head in disgust.

“Way to lead, Luther,” you said sarcastically. Allison and Vanya both got up and left the room.

“Can you blame me? I mean, you’ve never tried to hide how much you hate Dad. And Diego’s some sort of vigilante now. Both of you could easily sneak in and kill him.”

“You’re crazy, man. You’re crazy.” Klaus shook his head as he got up and headed back to the bar.

“I can’t believe you, Luther.”

“Do us all a favor and go back to the moon, monkey boy.” Luther’s eyes widened at my words before his face turned red with anger.

“Get out of my head,” he growled.

“I don’t need to be in your head to figure it out. Besides, your brain is so empty that your thoughts come floating out begging to be heard.”

“Neither of you are denying it,” Luther said finally. You threw your hands up and Diego stood up suddenly.

“Why would either of us decide to kill Dad now. What’s the trigger? It doesn't make sense. Unlike you, Luther, we moved on with our lives,” you explained slowly, like he was a child.

“Don’t talk down to me just because you’re an FBI agent.”

“You think there’s a murder. I catch serial killers. You should be begging for my help.”

“Unless he thinks the two of us teamed up to kill Dad,” Diego said. The two of you turned to look at Luther. He at least had the decency to look a little ashamed that he was thinking that exact thing. At that point, everyone’s voices had risen so much that you barely noticed the knock at the door.

“I’m out of here,” Diego said softly when Luther didn’t respond.

“No you’re not. Not until we figure out what happened.” Luther grabbed Diego’s arm, so Diego, of course, punched Luther in the face. Within a few seconds, they were fighting in earnest. Diego had his knives out and everything.

“Oh, you guys, don’t do this now,” Klaus whined from the bar. “Y/N, will you do something? Take away their sight or something. I’m too sober for this.”

You hadn’t used your powers in years. Ideally, Allison would come in and rumor them to stop, but you didn’t know where she had gone. Taking a deep breath, you focused your consciousness like your father had taught you. You were careful to only enter Diego’s and Luther’s minds, leaving Klaus out of it.

Darkness.

You focused on darkness, blocking out everything that your brothers were seeing. You could do this. You could control it, at least until Allison was back. Of course, being unable to see didn’t stop your brothers from blundering around.

“Y/N, stop!” Luther’s words were accompanied by a sharp blow to the back of your head. “Oh no, Y/N, I didn’t know you were right there. I can’t see anything. Just stop this, Y/N.”

“I’m just trying to stop you two from destroying the house. Besides, isn’t this a great way to honor Dad’s memory? Fighting with each other is what he always made us do.” You tried to stand back up, but your head was spinning from the blow and from the strain. There was once a time when you could hold ten people in the darkness with ease, but you weren’t used to using your powers anymore. You no longer had to spend hours each day inside other people’s minds. You could feel your control slipping, but you couldn’t stop. Your head hurt.

“Y/N!” Klaus yelled in terror. “I can’t see, Y/N.”

You had to stop. You had to stop. You couldn’t. Your head hurt and you couldn’t seem to find a way out of their minds. You were aware of other minds in the house. More than there should be. But why? And why did your head hurt so bad?

“Y/N, what are you doing? Ahhh my head!” Diego yelled. He sounded like he was in pain. You were making him feel your pain. Since when could you do that? Your Dad would have been so happy.

“I heard a rumor that you stopped.” Allison’s voice rang out. Suddenly, you were back in your own head and the splitting headache was just yours. Diego and Luther both collapsed on the floor with you. Klaus was by your side almost instantly, a new glass in hand for you, which you gulped down quickly before handing it back to him for a refill.

“Remind me not to mess with Y/N again,” Diego sighed. You met his eyes with an apologetic smile. It felt so much like you were kids who got a little carried away during training.

“I guess I got a little carried away.” The two of you laughed, and even Luther joined in eventually. The laughter stopped abruptly when a new voice spoke.

You could see some officers muttering amongst themselves. They were being a little slow to follow your orders. It was pushback that you were used to getting. Local officers often didn’t love the FBI showing up and telling them how to do their job. But it just so happened that in some cases they were doing their job wrong.

You were about to repeat your order when a loud voice behind you yelled, “You heard the agent. Get to it and get out.”

You allowed yourself a small smile as you turned to find Derek and Emily walking into the store. It was possibly that you had never been so relieved to hear Derek yelling before.

“You know, if you were going to drag us back here, you could have at least warned us. Imagine how much time we could have saved if we weren’t flying back and forth.” You rolled your eyes at Derek’s teasing, but a weight lifted off your chest at his words. At least for now, Derek was going to act like everything was normal. And if Derek was willing to ignore the whole super hero thing, chances were everyone else was too.

“Hey, I had no part in picking this case.”

“Oh, so you didn’t give the detective Hotch’s card and tell her to call if she wanted out help?” The heavy sarcasm in Emily’s voice made you grin, but you didn’t get a chance to answer before Detective Patch approached your group. She quickly shook hands with Derek and Emily.

“Detective Patch. Was all of that really necessary?”

“All of what?” Emily asked carefully. While it was usual to get some resistance from most of the local officers, the person who called the team in to help was usually pretty helpful, if not friendly. You weren’t surprised by Patch’s less than friendly demeanor. She struck you as a person who liked doing her job well on her own.

“That little display of power.” She gestured to the now mostly empty department store. Crime scene techs were still taking pictures, but the rest of the officers had cleared out.

“Detective, that was to make sure that no crucial piece of evidence gets destroyed because too many officers are stumbling around the crime scene.” Morgan raised his brows at Patch as he spoke. “We don’t play power games with officers that we’re supposed to be working with. We hope your guys will do the same. So, what do we have here?”

“Got a report of shots fired. So far, we don’t have anyone who’s seen anything. I’m not sure if this is even connected to the donut shop shootings, but I figured I’d check it out.”

“You were at another crime scene when you got the report of the shot here, right?” Patch shot you a look you couldn’t quite decipher. You could tell she was dying to ask why you were here.

“Yeah. I went by to question the tow truck driver from the donut shop, but he was dead when I got there.” For a moment, Patch looked tired and maybe a bit frazzled. This case was turning into more and more of a mystery. It was already stranger than most cases in the city were.

“Rossi and Reid are heading to that scene,” Derek told you. You tried to ignore the butterflies in your stomach at the mention of Reid’s name. You had to focus on the crime scene in front of you.

“I guess you should have listened to me earlier.” You and Patch both rolled your eyes at the voice coming from a few rows over. Derek and Emily, on the other hand, were immediately alert, quickly following the voice. Diego knelt on the ground, inspecting a bullet. Derek and Emily both looked over his leather outfit critically.

“I’m sorry. You are?”

Diego looked up at Derek. “You don’t recognize me? You crashed my father’s memorial. Got to see a pretty good show. I would’ve thought it’d be hard to forget.”

“But what are you doing here?”

“And do you seriously still not understand the chain of custody? If you touch it, I can’t use it.”

“Let me save you some time running ballistics,” Diego started like Morgan and Patch hadn’t said anything. “These nine millimeters haven’t been manufactured since-”

“1963. Odd. I know.” You tried not to smile at the exasperation in Patch’s voice, but it was nice finally having someone else be more over Diego than you usually were.

“They match the casings at the other scene?” Morgan asked. He took the bullet from Diego. “And, unless you’re a detective, you need to get out of here.”

“Y/N said I could be a consultant.” You started shaking your head before Diego had even finished his sentence. He tried to sling his arm around your shoulders, but you promptly pushed him away.

“I never said that.”

Diego ignored you. “What other scene?” He looked at Patch for the answer, most likely figuring that she was more likely to give him information than Morgan or Prentiss were.

“Ishmael’s Towing. The driver from the donut shop. I found him hanging from the ceiling.” Patch sighed. “I guess he must have known something after all.”

“Told you.” Diego sang.

Patch turned to look at your teammates. “There are other agents there, right?”

“That’s right. Between Rossi and Reid, hopefully they can find something useful.”

“I’m sure by now Pretty Boy has already read through any and all paperwork there. Maybe we’ll be lucky and he kept detailed accounts. Maybe a planner.”

“How did they get stuck going there?”  You tried hard to keep your voice level. “I can’t imagine Rossi would be happy going to a garage when it smells like burnt flesh.”

Derek laughed, shaking his head slightly. “Well it wasn’t his idea. He and Reid were supposed to meet you here, but Reid kept telling Prentiss and I that it wouldn’t be so bad at the garage. Smell is the weakest sense, so we’d be able to ignore the scent after a few minutes. Hotch told him that if that was true, then surely Reid wouldn’t mind going to the garage.”

“Poor Rossi.” You could imagine the scene perfectly in your head. Reid probably thought he was being encouraging. You were sure Rossi wasn’t very happy with him.

“Poor Reid. The kid looked like Hotch had taken away his puppy.”

“I think he wanted to see you.” You narrowed your eyes at Derek’s teasing, but you could feel your cheeks heating up. Luckily, Patch saved you.

“In the span of 24 hours, I’ve had attacks in three different places across town. Whoever this is, they’re not slowing down. That’s why I asked for the BAU’s help.” She paused, clenching her jaw slightly before turning to Diego. “And that’s why I’m also going to ask for your help, Diego. If you actually give a shit, and you have any fresh ideas.”

“What about the guy’s kid? From the donut shop?” Suddenly, Diego’s bravado was gone. The cocky smirk was replaced by a seriousness you hadn’t seen since you were seventeen. That’s how it had always gone. The second the mission was on, Diego stopped playing around.

“We have our technical analyst looking into extended family. Once they’re found, we’ll question them and, in case anyone goes after them, we’ll give them some protection,” Prentiss answered.

“I’m surprised she hasn’t already called. Something like finding children should be easy for Garcia. Plus, she’s always looking for an excuse to talk to the Derek Morgan.”

“Ha ha. Very funny, Y/N. I am going to call her though. Make sure she hasn’t found something, and Hotch just didn’t tell us yet.” Derek took out his phone and stepped a few feet away. You could see both Patch and Diego raise a brow at the flirtatious way Morgan spoke, but you ignored it. 

Instead, you took a careful look around the room. “They really didn’t care whether or not they trashed this place, did they?” 

Prentiss huffed in agreement. “Any security footage?”

“Nothing from in here. Outside cameras caught two shooters fleeing. Get this, they were wearing some creepy kids masks.”

“This town really is going to shit,” Diego sighed.

“Coming from the guy dressed in spandex.” Prentiss’s eyes once again looked critically over Diego’s outfit.

“It’s leather.”

“And don’t act like you didn’t wear an outfit like that in high school. I’ve seen your yearbook pictures, Prentiss.”

“All right. You guys go fill out your forms. I’m going to go catch these animals.” Diego paused as he walked to the doors, turning to look at Patch. “And Eudora, I do give a shit.”

“Let’s hope he does,” Emily mutters as Patch leaves you two. “If your brother does something to screw up this case, the brass are going to be all over you.”

You sighed, nodding slightly. You had figured as much. It would be best for you if this case was solved quickly and quietly.

--------------------------

You chewed your lip thoughtfully as you studied the crime scene pictures stuck to the board. The room that your team had been given at the police station was empty currently. Hotch and JJ were dealing with the press. Rossi and Reid were heading back from the garage where the tow truck driver had been found. Derek and Emily had gone to the medical examiner’s office to see the body of the tow truck driver. Based on the pictures in front of you, that wasn’t going to be a pleasant sight.

It was clear that the man had been tortured. He had severe cuts and bruising. Not to mention the electrocution. Placing the clamps on the man’s nipple to electrocute him was an...interesting choice the unsubs had made. 

You glanced outside into the bullpen to see Hotch and JJ talking to Patch and the other detective working the case. Beeman, you thought his name was. He was much more receptive to you than Patch was. It wasn’t that she was hostile, per say. It was more that you could tell that every time she looked at you, you could tell that she was assuming that you were going to behave just like Diego. You had kept yourself busy in the small room by looking over all of the information so that you didn’t have to talk to her.

As you watched, Rossi and Reid walked into the bullpen, making their way over to Hotch. After a few words, Reid looked up sharply in your direction. You looked away immediately when he caught your eye through the glass, feeling like a kid who got caught staring at their crush as your cheeks heated up.

You didn’t look up from your papers when the door opened, but you could tell that it was Spencer who sank into the seat next to you.

“So I was thinking that maybe, if you wanted to...I mean it might be a good idea if we, maybe-” The softness of Spencer’s voice pulled the corners of your mouth into a small smile. You looked up at him, watching how his hands moved as he continued to ramble nervously.

“Spencer, do you want to talk later today? About what happened yesterday?” Spencer looked at you gratefully and nodded.

“What happened yesterday?” The tone of Rossi’s voice made it obvious that he had his own suspicions. He, Hotch, and JJ took their own seats around the table. Hotch, of course, was pretending he hadn’t heard anything. JJ and Rossi, on the other hand, both wore victorious smiles. On many occasions, both of them had encouraged you to ask Spencer out.

“Garcia called when we were on our way back from the ME’s office.” For the second time that day, you thanked the timing of Derek Morgan. He and Prentiss walked into the room and took the last two chairs. “The bullets from the department store definitely match the bullets from the garage.”

“But not the bullets from the donut shop?” Rossi asked.

“No. All of the bullets found at the donut shop match guns found at the scene.” Hotch checked his notes. “Did Garcia run the prints found on the knife?”

“Yep. They don’t match the driver’s prints. And she ran them through all of our databases. The only match is the cold case that local PD told us about.”

Hotch looked at Prentiss for a moment, going over her words. “Tell her to run them again.”

“She already did. Multiple times. She said that she could try to get access to some international databases if we wanted her to check those.”

“That won’t be necessary for now.”

“Hotch, you should also know that Garcia said she can’t find any records of the driver having kids. He’s married. Wife lives in town. No kids though.”

Hotch nodded, but you could tell by the way his eyes shifted that he was stumped by this. “Might not have been his child. Maybe the child of a family friend. Morgan, you and Prentiss go interview the wife after we’re done here. Try to find out who the child is and whether her husband might have had any enemies.”

Your team was quiet for a few seconds. The case didn’t make much sense yet. You were still missing a few pieces. Hopefully, you could start figuring out the puzzle before more people died.

“Say the driver was the target,” Rossi began slowly, thinking off the top of his head. “Whoever’s after him sends a bunch of local goons to the donut shop. He manages to get away, but they find him at his garage. Then they torture him for information.”

“They probably killed him after he gave them the information they needed.” Derek threw his pen down onto the table. 

“Or after they realized he didn’t have the information they needed.” Your team looked at you in confusion. “The woman working at the donut shop said she heard the tow truck drive off before the shooting started.”

“She could have been misremembering.” You nodded slightly at Derek’s suggestion, but you didn’t agree. 

“Someone should head over there to interview her after this.”

“I’ll go,” you volunteered quickly after Hotch spoke. He hesitated a second too long before nodding. Most people wouldn’t have noticed, but a room full of profilers definitely did. He didn’t want you out in the field. But was it because he didn’t trust you or was there another reason?

“Take Rossi.”

“Actually, Hotch, I was hoping to look over the file for the cold case. JJ and I were wondering if there might be anything in there that’s similar to this case.” Hotch missed the quick look of confusion that JJ shot at Rossi, who cut his eyes between you and Reid in response.

JJ’s brows raised in realization. “Yeah, we were hoping some fresh eyes might shed some light on the case.”

“Fine.” Hotch looked between you and Reid. You tried not to shift your body language in any way that might make him suggest something was going on between the two of you, but you immediately started overthinking it. Did you always sit so much closer to Reid than you did to whoever was on your other side? Was your head usually turned ever so slightly to face him more. “Reid, you go with Y/L/N.” Hotch turned his serious gaze to you. “Why do you think they weren’t after the driver?”

“Well, say the woman at the donut shop is misremembering when the car drove off, it still doesn’t make sense. Looking at the pictures of the driver, I wouldn’t think he would be able to fight off all of those men by himself. Were any of the wounds on the body gunshots?”

Derek shook his head. “No. The ME said there were no gunshot wounds. All of the wounds were made well after the attack at the donut shop.”

“And you’re right,” Emily said slowly. “There’s no way the driver could have overpowered all of those men.”

“So when the driver left there must have been someone else in there. Whoever that is was skilled enough to take out all of those guys. I doubt he did it without injuring himself though. Garcia should check hospitals for any gunshot wounds after the attack.”

“So then why torture the driver?”

“Maybe…” You were distracted from Prentiss’s question by your phone buzzing in your pocket. You dug it out quickly, but declined the call when you saw it was Allison. It was the third time she had called since you got to the station. You had sent her a quick text telling her you were busy, but apparently she didn’t care.

“Everything okay, Y/L/N?” You nodded quickly to Hotch, pocketing your phone once more.

“Fine.” You sighed as you thought over the situation quickly. “Maybe whoever killed the driver didn’t know that he wasn’t the target.”

“What do you mean?” Rossi asked, leaning back and steepling his fingers as he studied you.

“What if whoever killed the driver just assumed that he was the target? What if this is some sort of organized crime? Whoever is in charge hired some local goons to kill the target at the donut shop, but he kills them all and gets away. So they send in two new people, who are maybe the next tier up. All these people know is that the target was at the donut shop, but got away.”

“So they assume it was the tow truck driver, and then torture him for whatever information they’re after.”

You nodded at Morgan. “But then they realize that he’s not the target, so they kill him. I bet whoever they’re after was at the department store, but got away again.”

“There’s only video of two people leaving the store, though. Looks like a man and a woman.” Prentiss frowned at the picture in front of her. “And what’s with the weird masks?”

“Maybe the target knew another way out. The security system at the store wasn’t exactly top notch,” Rossi suggested.

“Do the masks mean anything to you, Y/L/N?” You looked up at Hotch in surprise. “Are they local mascots? Characters from a local business? Something like that?”

“I don’t recognize them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t mean something to the community. They could still be from a pizza place or a school. It’s not like I got to spend a lot of time at either of those places.”

For a second, it was like the wind had been sucked from the room. Everyone sat still, once again aware of how different your upbringing was. As your team had gotten into the groove of trying to work out his case, any of the remaining awkwardness had started to dissipate. Now, it was back in full force.

“We can ask local PD if they recognize the masks,” Rossi suggested after a second of silence.

“You know it’s common for children to be scared of people in masks. While most kids grow out of it with time, many adults are naturally unsettled when faced with strangers in masks. It’s one of the reasons so many horror movies feature villains wearing masks.”

“Good to know, Reid,” Derek muttered.

--------------------------

The bell rang clearly through the empty store as you and Spencer entered. The mess from the attack was gone, but the store was still devoid of customers. The door to the back swung open and an older woman came out.

“Hello,” she greeted cheerfully. “What can I get for you two?”

“We’re actually with the FBI.” The woman’s face fell as you and Spencer both flashed your badges. “I’m Doctor Reid and this is Agent Y/L/N.”

“You two are here to ask about the attack the other night.”

“We are.”

“I’ve already gone over it with both of the detectives. Do I really need to go through all of this again?”

“We wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important,” you answered gently. “We’re trained to see things differently than local detectives. It would help us greatly if we could ask you some questions.” You could see that the woman was still unsure, so you put on your best smile and hopped on one of the stools. “And since we’re already here, we’ll go ahead and take two monster donuts.”

The woman’s eyes lit up as she looked over you once again. “You must be from around here. You didn’t even have to look at the menu to know that the monster donuts are the best donuts. Let me go grab your donuts and then we can talk.” With another smile, she disappeared into the back again.

“What exactly is a monster donut?” Spencer slowly sat on the stool next to you.

“When they mess up a donut, they decorate it to look like a monster instead of throwing it away.”

“So we’re paying for the misshapen donuts that no one would buy without a gimmick?”

“No.” You smiled sweetly at Spencer, watching in delight as his cheeks reddened. “You’re paying for the misshapen donuts. After all, the guy is supposed to pay for the first date.”

Spencer grinned at your teasing. “So this is a date? Here I thought we were on the clock.”

“We can multitask.” You took Spencer’s hand in yours, squeezing it slightly. The back door swung open again and you two sprang apart.

“Here we go. By the way, my name is Agnes.” She placed a plate in front of each of you. Grinning, you inspected the donuts.

“Oh I got Frankenstein. You know, my brother used to beg for a Frankenstein one whenever we came here. Lucky you, Reid. The vampires were always my favorite.”

“We can trade if you want.” You started shaking your head, but Spencer was already switching your plates. You tried to frown at him, but couldn’t stop the corners of your mouth from turning up.

Agnes’s eyes flicked between the two of you. “Well aren’t you two a lovely couple.” You and Spencer both sat up straighter, leaning away from each other slightly. This was still work. You couldn’t afford to do anything unprofessional right now. Spencer muttered something about not being a couple, but Agnes didn’t seem convinced.

“So can you take us through what happened that night?” Spencer seemed relieved that you interrupted his ramblings. He took a big bite of Frankenstein’s head as Agnes began to talk.

“It was a pretty slow night. Only the one man and his son. The man ordered an eclair. His son got coffee.”

“Decaf?” Spencer asked through another bite of the donut. Anges shook her head. “How old would you say the son was?”

“About 13, I’d guess. He seemed so serious though. Very mature for his age. He was wearing a school uniform, but not one that I recognized. I don’t see many private school kids in here. I remember thinking that they looked like an odd pair.”

“Odd how?”

“Well the boy looked perfectly put together. The man, on the other hand, looked a little dirty. Not that there’s anything wrong with getting a little dirty while you’re working. Heaven knows that I can work up a sweat making donuts all day.”

“All right, so you give the two of them the eclair and coffee. Then what do you do?”

“I went into the back to start getting ready to close. I figured I might as well call it a night once those two left. While I was back there, I heard a car start up outside. I looked out the window and saw the tow truck driving away. Then people started shooting. I hid under the desk until I thought it was safe to come out.”

“How much time would you say passed between when the truck drove away and the shooting started.”

“Oh not long. Less than a minute.”

Your phone buzzed in your pocket. You dug it out, ready to decline another call from Allison, but instead you were greeted with a text from Prentiss. Spencer met your eyes, waiting for you to talk.

“They’ve talked with the widow. The driver didn’t have any kids.” 

Just then, Spencer’s phone started ringing. “It’s Hotch. I’ll be right back.” You watched as Spencer quickly exited the donut shop before turning back to Agnes.

“That boy was not the driver’s son. Did you see him leave with the driver?” Agnes shook her head. “Can you describe him for me?”

“Dark hair. Maybe lighter eyes. I didn’t really look very closely to be honest. Very serious demeanor.” You nodded slightly and began to get up from your seat. It was unlikely that you would get anything else useful. Still, it had been nice to have another Griddy’s donut, you thought as you popped your last bit into your mouth. “Oh wait. There was something else. He had a tattoo on his wrist.”

Your blood ran cold. You looked at Agnes, trying to control your facial expression. “A tattoo?”

“Yes. It was an umbrella. I remember thinking it was strange that someone so young would have a tattoo. Is that helpful?”

Without thinking, you pushed yourself into her head. It was easy to find the memory of that night. And sitting there, at the corner of the bar, was Five. Blinking quickly, you exited her head as quickly as you had entered it.

Well it definitely made your life more difficult. “Yes. Thank you, ma’am. And thank you for the donuts. They were delicious.” You dropped some cash onto the counter and walked back outside.

“Did she have anything useful?” Spencer asked as you approached the SUV.

“No,” you replied without missing a beat. “Nothing she hadn’t already told Patch. What did Hotch want?”

“He wants us back at the station to start working on a geographic profile for the potential target. He thinks that if we can find the target, we’ll be able to find the unsubs.”

You nodded slightly before sliding into the driver’s seat. Without any hesitation, you began making your way back to the police station. 

Another car pulls into the parking lot as you’re pulling out. “At least she has some more customers coming,” you say, trying to ignore Spencer staring at you from the passenger seat. Finally, you glanced over, eyebrows raised in question.

“Sorry. It’s just a little weird seeing you here. I mean, it makes sense that you would be familiar with the city since you grew up here, but you didn’t need directions to the donut shop even though we ran into construction. It’s like you know the city off the back of your hand.”

“I do. We had to memorize the layout of the city as kids. We had to be able to come up with the quickest routes between any two points.”

“Oh. And here I thought I was weird for learning classical literature and theoretical physics as a kid.”

“We had to do that too.” Spencer didn’t respond. Instead, he looked through the window as you continued to drive. For a second, you almost looked into his head to see what he was thinking. It was almost second nature, like it had been in the donut shop.

You had to stop whatever was going on with you. It had been a mistake to come back to the city. It had been a mistake to agree to work on this case. You were regressing too much. Wanting to look in everyone’s head just because it would make your life easier. Putting your siblings above all else. You had just lied to Spencer for crying out loud. You should have told him about the tattoo. You should tell your team that Five was at the diner. That he’s probably the target.

But you can’t. You won’t. At least not yet. You have to talk to Five first. Because as much as you hate to admit it, saving the world is probably more important than solving this case. Even if that means you might lose your job.

All of this is running through your head as you pull up at the police station. Your phone buzzes again as you enter the bullpen. “You go ahead, Spence. I need to take this.” Spencer hesitates slightly, but you urge him on with a small smile. You accept the call. “What, Allison?”

“Y/N finally! Where are you?”

“Where am I? I’m at work. Now why do you keep calling me?”

“You have to come home. We’re having a family meeting.”

You run a rand through your hair, trying not to snap in the middle of the bullpen. “Allison, I am working. I can’t go back to the house right now. I’ll probably be by later, once we’re done for the night. I don’t even know if the team got me a hotel room, so I might be sleeping at the house.”

“Y/N, you have to come now. It’s about Mom.”

“About Mom?” you repeat. “Look, whatever it is, I’m sure she’s fine. Let her recharge or ask Pogo about it. I’m busy, so please stop calling. We’ll talk later.”

“Please, Y/N. Diego should be on his way to the police station. Just go with him so we can all talk about this.”

“Diego should be-” You turn sharply to look at the room your team is set up in. Sure enough, Diego is in there, gesturing wildly while Patch seemingly tries to get him out. You hand up on Allison, stuff your phone back in your pocket, and stomp over.

“Y/N, there you are,” Diego says when you walk in. The rest of your team takes in your stoic face and clenched fists without a comment. They know you’re pissed and they know better than to mess with you. “Come on. We need to go home.”

Diego tries to take your arm, but you grab his wrist before he can. “No, Diego, you need to go home. And you need to tell Allison to stop calling me. Because I don’t care about what she and Luther have to say.” Diego tried to get his wrist back as you dragged him out of the room, but to no avail.

“It’s about Mom. It’s serious.”

“I think whatever is going on with Mom can wait until later. She’s a robot. Now, leave me alone. I’m working on the case. You know, the one you’re supposed to be giving a shit about.”

Finally, you let go of Diego’s wrist. He looks at you for a minute and you wonder whether he’s going to try to pick you up and carry you back home. Instead, he shakes his head. “Fine. But if we make a decision that you don’t like, you can’t complain.”

“Ok fine. Goodbye, Diego.” You watch as he stalks out of the police station. You groan into your hands before turning back to the room. Cases were so much easier before your family was involved.

Without looking at anyone, you drop into a seat in between Morgan and JJ. It’s quiet for a moment before Hotch speaks. “Is everything okay, Y/L/N?”

“Everything’s fine.” You push yourself up to look at your boss. “Sorry about him. Diego has no boundaries, professional or personal. He’s also just a general pain in the ass.” If you aren’t mistaken, there’s the littlest movement of Hotch’s mouth. It’s probably the most you’ve ever been able to make him smile.

“So I know that we should pretend like we didn’t hear that, but did you say that your mom is a robot?” You turn to JJ, who’s trying not to smile. However, she can’t help herself when you nod, grinning back at her. “Ok, once this case is over I’m going to need to know more about that.”

“Until then, let’s go over what we just learned.” You sat up straighter, giving Hotch all of your attention. There’s an uneasy feeling in your stomach, reminding you that you have important information. You just need to talk to Five first.

--------------------------

“All right, everyone, let’s stop for the night. We’ll go back to the hotel, then come back fresh tomorrow.” Everyone groaned in relief as they began to gather their things to leave the station. You stood slowly, cracking your neck as you did. Next to you, Reid was doing the same thing. The two of you had been hunched over a map for most of the evening, trying to work out the geographical profile of the unsub’s target. It was easy to make yourself forget that it was Five you were profiling, though your breath caught every time you saw your house or the eyeball factory on the map. You just hoped that Spencer bought it every time you turned it into a yawn.

You hesitated for a moment, unsure whether you should follow them out to the SUVs or take your family’s car, which had been sitting at the station all day, back to the house. Spencer paused at the doorway, looking back at you, which caused Hotch to turn back too.

“Oh, Y/N, we couldn’t get you a room when we checked in. You can come with us to the hotel and try for yourself. Or I guess someone might be willing to share.” Spencer opened his mouth, most likely to volunteer his room. The two of you had shared rooms before when the local hotels didn’t have enough rooms for everyone to have their own, but you weren’t sure if it would be weird now that you two were kind of a thing.

“I’ll just go back to the house. My sister has been calling me all day, and I told her I’d be back tonight.” Right on cue, your phone started buzzing. “Speak of the devil,” you muttered as you answered your phone. “Hey, Allison, I was just-”

“Y/N, you have to get back quick. We were just attacked.”

“You were just attacked?” Your voice rose in alarm, drawing the attention of your team. They quickly returned to the room, watching you with concern. “What do you mean you were attacked? What happened?”

“We had a family meeting earlier and then afterwards some freaks in masks showed up and started shooting up the house.”

“Masks? Like creepy animal masks?” Your team’s eyes widened. They quickly began putting their stuff back down. It looked like it would be a longer night than any of you anticipated.

“Yeah some woman in a pink mask and a man in a blue one. We managed to fight them off.”

“Who’s ‘we’? Is everyone okay?”

“Me, Luther, Diego, and Vanya.”

You made a face before you could stop yourself. “You had a family meeting when half the team wasn’t there? But you included Vanya?”

Allison huffed on the other end of the line. “Yes, we included Vanya. Mom was her mom too. And you and Five wouldn’t come. Klaus was here for the meeting, but he’s gone.”

“He’s gone? Was he there when you were attacked?”

“No he probably left to go get high.”

You hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to let the matter of Klaus go. You’d know more once you got the house, you finally decided. You headed out the door, your team following close behind you. You stuttered for a moment as something Allison had said finally landed. “Did something happen to Mom?”

Your team glanced at you as everyone piled into the SUVs. Allison’s voice sounded small on the other end of the line. “What makes you say that?”

Answering a question with a question. She was deflecting. “Allison, what happened to Mom? You said that she was Vanya’s mom too. Past tense. She is our mom.” Your team was doing a good job acting like they weren’t listening, but you knew they noticed how your voice cracked with panic.

“They killed her. We don’t know what happened. We lost them for a few minutes.”

“They killed-they can’t have killed her. She’s a robot. No they can’t have just turned her off. It can’t just work like that.”

“It can, Y/N. And they did.”

You clenched your jaw, forcing the tears to stay back. “I’ll be there soon.” Without waiting for a reply, you ended the call. Your fingers moved restlessly as the drive continued, until Spencer took your hand in his. He gave you a comforting squeeze. Looking up at him, you managed a small smile before letting out a shaky breath. Whoever these masked freaks were, they were going to be sorry they had messed with your family. You would make sure of it.

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