Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Luke was rushing. He wasn’t late yet, but he had about five minutes to find his way into the auditorium and find a seat.

Spencer had invited him to a few of his lectures before, but he hadn’t been able to make it due to unpredictable cases.

Spencer had always understood, he knew Luke’s job was important and without him, the results could be detrimental.

Just because Spencer understood, doesn’t mean that Luke wasn’t disappointed.

He desperately wanted to see his boyfriend truly in his element.

He had the pleasure of knowing and loving Spencer, so he knew exactly what he was capable of. But seeing it in the flesh would be a different experience, and Luke could not wait.

This was an important lecture too, with many of the university officials attending as Spencer was being presented with a prestigious Teaching Excellence award.

Luke was so proud.

He was also being secretive, as Spencer thought he was still on a case.

When Spencer found out about the occasion, he had invited Luke, and let him know that if he was in town, he’d love for Luke to be there.

Luke made it a priority to be able to attend. Luckily, they caught their unsub the night before, so the team was flying back home that morning.

Wanting to keep it a surprise, Luke had pretended that they were stumped on the case, and he wasn’t sure when he’d be back.

Spencer had sounded fine, but Luke knew him well enough that deep down he was a little bit sad. Luke nearly succumbed, wanting to rid the sadness out of his boyfriend’s voice, so he nearly told him that he would be there. But he knew the surprise would be well worth it.

They landed the jet, and Luke placed his finished paperwork on Hotch’s desk before anyone else had even sat at their desks. He had cleared his afternoon with Hotch, so he was dismissed as soon as his paperwork was done. Luke had stayed up late finishing it in his hotel room whilst his teammates had gone to a bar to celebrate the end of the case.

His workmates jeered at him, jealous that he was leaving whilst they were still stuck at their desks, just starting their paperwork.

Luke didn’t care. He had somewhere much more important to be.

He had made his way to the florist and the worker there helped him put together a beautiful bouquet, ready to proudly present to his boyfriend.

He had underestimated the time he would spend at the florist, which is why he was now rushing.

He made it to the building and slipped into the big auditorium. It was busy, as expected, but there were still a few seats scattered around the place.

Luke made his way to the middle and sat towards the back. If he had it his way, he’d be sitting front row, but he knew it was an important lecture and he couldn’t be a distraction.

He placed his phone on silent whilst he patiently waited for Spencer to come out and begin.

The quiet chatter died down when Spencer entered the room and approached the front. Luke grinned wide. He was wearing his lucky purple tie, which also happened to be Luke’s favourite.

Spencer scanned the room as he was greeting everyone, and just as he began his lecture, Luke knew the moment Spencer saw him.

He paused, just for a split second, but the smile on his face was suddenly bigger. He had a bounce in his step for the rest of his presentation.

Luke was absolutely enthralled with Spencer. He always was, but there was just something about Spencer talking in front of a large audience, about something he was so passionate about that made Luke feel so gleeful and pleased for him. Luke couldn’t look away if he tried.

Following the end of his lecture, he received a standing ovation from his students, as they knew it was a big occasion, and Luke was delighted to be able to stand and clap along with them.

When Spencer was presented with his award, Luke slipped his phone back out and took some photos, wanting to capture the moment for Spencer to be able to cherish forever.

There were a couple of speeches, and Luke sat and clapped, glowing with pride.

At the end, many students and other professors got up to one-by-one to speak with and congratulate Spencer.

Luke remained seated, waiting patiently for his turn.

It took a while, but eventually Spencer had no-one lined up waiting for him, so Luke takes the opportunity to jump to his feet. He picked up the bouquet, and made his way to his boyfriend.

He held the flowers behind his back, and Spencer’s smile grew even bigger at the appearance of Luke, if that was even possible.

“Luke!” Spencer exclaimed, looking like he was itching for a hug but not wanting to do it in public.

They hadn’t been in a lot of social settings before as a couple, so Luke wasn’t sure how Spencer wanted them to be. Before he could let Spencer overthink it, he presents the flowers to his boyfriend.

“Congratulations on your award, Doctor Reid,” Luke grinned. “And that was a phenomenal lecture.”

“Oh Luke,” Spencer breathed, taking a hold of the bouquet. “They’re beautiful. Thank you. I can’t believe you’re here!”

“Surprise!” Luke’s eyes twinkled.

“Wait,” Spencer’s eyes narrowed, still a smile on his face. “Did you really have a case?”

“Yes,” Luke laughs. “We closed the case last night and got back this morning.”

“So you knew you’d be coming back this morning when we spoke?”

“I knew last night when we spoke. I wanted it to be a surprise for you.”

Spencer beams and bounces on his toes. “Best surprise ever.”

“You are incredible, cariño. I’m so proud of you. I’m glad I could be here.”

Spencer, not being able to resist anymore, flings his arms around Luke’s shoulders. “I missed you,” Spencer breathed.

Luke hugged him back, pressing into him and just being happy he gets to hold his boyfriend finally.

When they pulled away, they idly chat for a little bit longer before someone else approached.

“Sorry to interrupt, guys! Spence, I just wanted to say congratulations. You were incredible,” says a girl with mid length brunette hair, blowing her bangs out of her face.

“Thanks Maeve!” Spencer replies, leaning over to give her a hug.

Spencer had told Luke all about his friend Maeve, who was also a professor at the same college. They had been great friends for years, and Luke appreciated that Maeve had been there for Spencer when he didn’t have any other friends.

Maeve turned to Luke, holding out her hand. “And you must be Luke.”

“I am,” Luke laughed, shaking her hand. “Nice to meet you, Maeve.”

“Spencer has told me lots about you,” Maeve grinned, looking pointedly about Spencer. “It’s lovely that you could make it.”

Luke grinned, and clasped a hand onto Spencer’s shoulder. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

“Here, let me take a photo of you guys!” Maeve exclaimed. “You need memories to commemorate this occasion.”

Spencer passed her his phone, and then Luke puts his arm around Spencer’s shoulder, and holds him close. Spencer holds his flowers in front of them, and they both smile so wide their eyes are crinkled.

Luke is grateful for the photos, as they don’t have many together at all. They thank her, and she leaves them to it, going to her own class.

“So,” Luke says slyly. “It’s Thursday, and I know this is your last lecture of the day. When you’ve finished up, I was wondering if you wanted to come on a date with me?”

“I’d love to!” Spencer replied quickly, beginning to gather his papers. “I just have to pack up here and I’m done for the day. Do you not have to go back to work?”

“Nope,” Luke popped the ‘p’. “I’ve got the rest of the day off. Good thing too, because I’ve got a fair bit planned for our evening.”

Spencer makes his hands move faster, as if he couldn’t get out of his favourite place quick enough.

As they’re wandering out, Spencer is carrying his flowers and getting a proper look at what Luke chose.

“These hibiscus’ are stunning. They represent delicate beauty. I love that you got them in purple!” Spencer rambles. “And the clematis means mental beauty.”

“Yes, they both suit you immensely,” Luke hums along. “Clematis is the perfect flower for you.”

A blush dusted over Spencer’s cheeks. He still wasn’t used to the compliments.

“The amaryllis means pride, because I’m so proud of you. And the marjoram because of the happiness you bring me.” Luke continued.

“You know all the meanings too?” Spencer asked, shyly slipping his hand into Luke’s once they left the campus.

“I did my research,” Luke admits, giving his boyfriends hand a squeeze.

“You make me so happy too, Luke. Thank you for being here. For doing all of this!”

Luke took Spencer out for a late lunch, where they continued to be a sappy couple, sharing bites of food over their hand holding.

After lunch, they swung by the sitters house to pick up Roxy, and took her for a walk through the park, enjoying the afternoon they had off and making the most of the sunny day.

After they returned Roxy home, Luke told Spencer to dress warm, then he took them to a drive in cinema. It was early evening, and the sun had almost set, so the nice sunny day was beginning to get cold.

Luke had a blow up mattress set up in the tray of his truck, and he covered it in pillows and blankets, ready for them to snuggle together.

“This is perfect,” Spencer breathes, gripping onto Luke’s hand. “I’ve never been to a drive in cinema before.”

“Well, get comfy, Doctor Reid,” Luke grins, pulling Spencer into his side. “We have the whole night to enjoy for ourselves.”

—————

Luke trudged up the stairs to his apartment at 1am after the end of the case. They had caught a lucky break the night before, which ended up putting their unsub behind bars earlier than they anticipated.

Spencer had been looking after Roxy, and as much as he wanted to go to Spencer’s to see his two favourites, he knew it was too late and he didn’t want to interrupt their sleeping.

However, as soon as he entered his own house he knew something was up.

Spencer’s shoes were by the front door.

Luke made his way into the living room, bypassing the kitchen and not seeing his boyfriend anywhere.

He finally made his way to his bedroom, and his heart melted at the sight.

The lamp was still lit but Spencer was asleep, curled around Roxy. He had one of Luke’s hoodies on, and his glasses were still on his face, as he had obviously fallen asleep reading his book.

Luke just wanted to jump in and hug them both, but first he grabbed some sleeping clothes for himself and shut the door gently, letting them rest.

He went to have a shower to wash off the day, and it got him thinking.

Spencer had a lot of trust issues after the way Ethan treated him.

He wasn’t ready to be intimate with Luke yet, which Luke was absolutely fine with. All he wanted was for Spencer to be comfortable. However he was opening up to Luke more than ever.

Before their relationship started, he had told Luke bits and pieces about Ethan. Luke had just thought he was a bad boyfriend. But now, he told Luke everything he went through, the aftermath of the abusive relationship he was put through. They cried together, Luke reassuring him that he would never let anyone treat Spencer like that again.

Knowing that they had built this trust together made Luke feel relieved.

Spencer had been sleeping over for a while, they started that before they were even dating. But Luke didn’t know that he had the confidence to go over when Luke wasn’t even there.

It made Luke feel so happy that Spencer felt safe, and loved enough to leave the comfort of his own home and go to Luke’s. It must have taken a lot for him to do that, and Luke feels accomplished that he has provided what Spencer felt was a secure space.

Once his shower was done, he put his clothes on and shut the lights off in the house, making his way back to the bedroom.

Spencer and Roxy were still in the same position, so Luke gently took the glasses off Spencer’s face, and placed them along with the book on the bedside table.

At the gentle shuffling, Roxy opened an eye and saw her owner for the first time in a couple of days. She wagged her tail but didn’t get up.

He ran his fingers through her fur as if to say his hellos.

As he’s shuffling in behind Spencer, to lie down on his side of the bed, Spencer startles and turns around, eyes squinting up at Luke.

“Luke?” He mumbled sleepily. “You’re back?”

“I am, baby,” Luke soothes his boyfriend. “Go back to sleep.”

Spencer lets out a cute yawn and stretches, then leans in to kiss Luke. “Missed you.”

“You’re like a cute, overgrown kitten,” Luke murmurs into Spencer’s temple, whilst running his fingers through his boyfriends hair. “I fucking love it.”

Spencer hums in response and presses his body into Luke’s. “Love you.”

Luke’s hand stills, and Spencer wakes up properly when he’s realised what he’s said.

Before Spencer can panic, Luke needs to respond. He needs Spencer to know that he loves him too. They hadn’t said it before to each other, but Luke has been waiting for the right moment to utter the three words. Looks like Spencer beat him to it.

“I love you too, Spence,” Luke said sincerely, trying to show the emotions in his face and body language, so Spencer knew it was genuine when they made eye contact.

“You do?” Spencer asked, the doubt that usually plagued him back in his voice.

“I do,” Luke confirms, then he begins to patter kisses all over Spencer’s face. “I love you so much, Doctor Spencer Reid!”

Spencer lets out a surprised laugh, then wraps his arms around Luke’e shoulders.

“I love you, Luke,” he says quietly. “Thank you.”

“Thank you for being here! You’ve made my day, and it hasn’t even really begun.”

“I think we should sleep,” Spencer whispers, eyes starting to droop shut.

“I think that’s a fantastic idea, Doc,” Luke replied, pressing one last kiss to Spencer’s hair, then leaning over to switch the lamp off. “Night, I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Goodnight Luke,” Spencer turned over, and pushed himself back into Luke’s arms so Luke was holding him properly, and they both fell asleep like that.

—————

The flu bug crept up on Spencer so suddenly that neither of them were prepared for it.

It started with Spencer not having a complete appetite at dinner. He felt terrible that Luke had cooked them a meal, and he couldn’t even enjoy it. Luke hadn’t minded, of course. There was often times he himself didn’t have an appetite, so he didn’t think anything of it.

However, an hour after dinner, Luke tucked Spencer into his bed, as he was feeling fatigued and had the beginnings of a fever.

Luke searched Spencer’s apartment high and low for supplies to help him feel better. He came up with zilch though. Spencer didn’t have much at his place, which Luke needed to change.

“Spence,” Luke whispered, sticking his head into the bedroom. “I’m going to head to the shops to get you some stuff, okay?”

“‘M okay, Luke. Really,” Spencer whispered back, as Luke crept into the room.

“No you’re not. I won’t be long. Okay, baby? You need to sleep it off before it gets worse.”

“It’s too late to go out.”

“It’s not, that late night shopping centre is open until 11pm.”

“Okay,” Spencer gets out. “Hurry back, please?”

“‘Course,” Luke replied, patting his leg. “Love you.”

“Love you,” Spencer answered back, his eyes closed.

Luke rushed to the store. He quickly ducked into the pharmacy first, picking up all the medicine he thought Spencer would need, plus some extra things Spencer’s apartment seemed to be out of, like aspirin and contact solution for Spencer’s contacts.

Once paid, he went to the grocery store next. He knew what it was like to be sick, and knew you never wanted to eat with the flu. So he picked up some crackers and bread, as that’s two things that are easy to eat when sick.

He got tissues, some fruit, some more coffee beans, water bottles and Spencer’s favourite ice cream. He also got the ingredients for some homemade chicken noodle soup, that he could make when Spencer was feeling up to eating.

When he finally got home, Spencer was fast asleep. It was late at night but Luke didn’t have work the next day, so he got started on the soup, so it would be ready the next day. Just as he was finishing it up, Spencer opened the bedroom door and started to make his way out of the room.

“Woah, woah, settle down there,” Luke threw the tea towel on the bench and went over to Spencer, who was looking a bit dazed and confused. “Are you hungry?”

Spencer thought for a moment, before shaking his head no.

“Then, back to bed babe.”

Luke tucked him back into bed, and brought him a cold and flu tablet, and some tissues.

“Mmm,” Spencer hums, eyes closed as Luke takes his temperature. “Thanks Lukey.”

Luke chuckles at the nickname. He hadn’t been called Lukey since he was a young boy, by his sisters and mother.

“I’m going to sleep on the sofa tonight, okay? You need rest, and I don’t want to disrupt your sleep. Will you call me if you need me?”

Spencer grunts. “I know logically you on the sofa makes sense. But I miss you already.”

Luke smiles at his sweet boyfriend. “I know, baby. I know. I love you.”

“I love you too, Luke. Thank you for looking after me."

Early the next morning, Luke startles awake, momentarily confused at why he’s on the couch.

Then he hears deep coughs coming from the bedroom, and remembered the previous night.

By the sounds of it, Spencer had gotten worse. Luke pulled himself off the couch, the trudged to the bedroom.

He peeked in, and saw Spencer awake, tossing and turning in the bed.

“Hey, how are you feeling today, cariño?” Luke asks.

“Luke?” Spencer squints at the doorway, then peers at the clock. “Why are you awake this early on a Sunday?”

“Just checking on you,” Luke says, sitting on the edge of the bed, observing his boyfriend. “You’re shivering.”

“I’ve just got a natural cold streak, s’all,” Spencer said, his teeth chattering.

Luke notices that he had been sweating in his sleep, so the fever was clearly still there.

“You feel like a shower, or a bath?”

“Mmm, I could go for a quick bath.”

“I’ll run it for you.”

Luke stripped the bed and put the sheets in the washing machine whilst Spencer was in the bathroom, then made the bed again with fresh sheets and a new cover.

He made some tea, because Spencer would want coffee, but Luke thought he should steer clear from diuretics, which would potentially make him dehydrated.

When Spencer got out, he mumbled a thanks to Luke and got back into the freshly laundered bed. Luke gave him some more medicine, and gave him his tea and some water, and left him to sleep.

Luke went back out to the couch and had a nap.

When he woke again, it was a more reasonable time. He got up, took the sheets out of the washing machine and hung them out.

Roxy was looking a bit restless, so he checked on Spencer and when he saw he was sleeping he decided to take Roxy out. He took her on a brisk walk, not wanting to stray to far in case Spencer needed him.

When they returned, Spencer was awake.

Luke fed him a small bowl of the homemade soup and he went back to sleep.

Luke lounged around for the rest of the day, staying close just in case he’s needed and getting ready for work the next day.

By the end of the night, his nose is feeling stuffy himself. A tad worried, he takes a small amount of medicine in hopes to prevent any sickness.

When he wakes up the next day, Luke feels like shit.

He forces himself to get up and shower, and sits on the bed and whispers goodbye to Spencer, who’s fast asleep.

He’s running late, and he rushes into the conference room at 9am on the dot.

“Nice of you to join us,” Derek deadpans.

“You look like shit,” Emily raises her eyebrows.

“I was caring for a family member who’s sick,” Luke half-lies.

Hotch quickly briefs them for the week, but they don’t have any cases at the moment and Luke sighs in relief. He doesn’t really feel up to travelling. They’re given assignments to consult on cases and everyone goes to their desks, except Luke who’s asked to stay back by Hotch.

“You’re dead on your feet,” he begins. “Go home and sleep it off. We don’t need you here, you should rest in case a case comes up. I’ll call you if we need you.”

Luke nods and mutters out a thank you, before starting the journey home. He had driven that morning for the first time in forever, due to the aches in his body that he could feel coming on.

He gets home and thinks ‘fuck it’, before crawling into bed with a still sleeping Spencer.

He falls asleep right away, but he’s only out for at least half an hour before being shaken awake by Spencer.

“You’re late for work,” Spencer says, worry in his voice.

“Hotch sent me home. I think I’m sick too.”

“Oh Luke, I’m sorry.”

“At least now that we’re both sick I can give you a hug.”

No cases were called, so they spent the next two days in bed recovering together.

—————

Luke was home, chopping up the ingredients to make a meal for himself and his very cute date.

They had decided to have an in-house date night, as they hadn’t had a proper date since the drive in, which was well over a month ago.

Luke was finally home for the weekend; home for the first time all month, so they had decided they were going to make the most of it.

Spencer was at work, finishing up for the evening then he would join Luke at Luke’s apartment.

Luke went all out, buying Spencer’s favourite wine, buying him another bouquet of flowers (hibiscus and marjoram, obviously), setting the table with beautiful tea light candles, and even scattering some rose petals on the tablecloth.

Luke felt bad, as he hadn’t been around as often. The team had had back-to-back-to-back cases all month, and Hotch finally took them off the roster to give them a four day break.

Luke was exhausted, the whole team was. So he felt like he earnt this time to spend with his boyfriend, and Luke and Spencer were both excited.

Roxy had been at the sitters for the first half of the month, but Spencer had called Luke and asked if he could collect her, as he missed them both and wanted the companionship. Luke’s heart melted, how could he deny that? It was such a change to the Spencer he first met, who was so nervous around Roxy. Luke loved seeing the development.

When Luke returned, he went over to Spencer’s first, using his key that Spencer gave him, and gave Roxy the biggest cuddle, because he missed her and she deserved it.

He took her for a big walk and a play in the park, and then they came home and had a nap together, before Luke showered and then began getting dinner ready.

Spencer was due home any second now, and Luke couldn’t wait.

Eventually, Luke hears a soft knock at the door, then Spencer opens it and sticks his head in.

“You’re home!” Spencer exclaims, opening the door wider and entering before shutting it behind him. He places his satchel and another bag on the floor by the door. “Finally!”

“Hey baby,” Luke grins, meeting him halfway as they embrace in a tight hug, before pulling apart to gently kiss. “I missed you a ridiculous amount.”

“Missed you more,” Spencer mumbled, keeping himself close to his boyfriend.

“Not possible,” Luke confirms, giving him another chaste kiss. “Dinner is almost ready. How was your day?”

“It was good. Better now,” Spencer grinned, pressing another kiss to Luke’s lips and melting further into Luke’s touch.

Luke thinks that Spencer was touch starved before the trust in them was formed.

Luke learnt that Spencer had always had an averse to touch, and it got worse as he got older. Then he got into his first relationship, and Spencer said it started off okay, but Luke thinks that Ethan love-bombed him.

Luke knew that towards the end of their relationship, before Spencer got away, Ethan manipulated him and sexually coerced him. At the beginning of their relationship he hadn’t explicitly told Luke what happened, but Luke had a pretty good idea, and the more he thought about it the more he fucking hated Ethan.

When Spencer eventually opened up to him about how he was physically and sexually assaulted, Luke was seeing red. He remained calm in front of Spencer, but he was enraged at what Ethan had done to him.

Luke reminded Spencer that if he wanted to report Ethan, Luke would be by his side the entire time.

Spencer had shut him down quickly, stating that he didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

Luke understood and dropped it of course, but it didn’t make it any easier seeing his love struggle with the burden of Ethan and how he assaulted him.

So he made it his greatest mission to remind Spencer how incredible he was, and how much Luke loved him.

Spencer also didn’t seek anyones touch in the time between Ethan and Luke. But now, he itched for the touch. Whenever they were together, Spencer wanted, no; he needed to be in contact with Luke. Even if it was just a simple brush of the knuckles against his leg whilst they’re watching a movie together, or their forearms brushing against each other as they walked Roxy down the street.

Luke knew that the touch before had been scary, unwanted. But Luke’s touch made him feel loved and safe, which is why, in a way, he craved it.

And Luke was more than happy to oblige, always holding his hand or pressing a kiss to his temple.

“I have a present for you,” Spencer stated shyly.

“Oh?” Luke hums, a bit blindsided.

Spencer untangles himself from Luke’s arms, and dashes over to his bag, before pulling out a small paper bag.

He wanders back over, and thrusts it in Luke’s direction, as if he will change his mind if Luke doesn’t open it right then and there.

Luke pulls a small black frame out of the paper bag, with the photo of them that Maeve took from Spencer’s award lecture. They’re both grinning ear to ear, and it is honestly Luke’s favourite picture ever.

“I know you have a copy on your phone, because you made me send it to you,” Spencer teased, then lowered his voice. “But I thought maybe you’d want a physical copy too.”

“I love it,” Luke breathes, then presses the frame to his chest, as if to protect it. “I’m going to put it on my desk at work. Can I put it on my desk at work?”

“I, uh, wait, do they know about me? Your coworkers?” Spencer asked, not expecting the question.

“I’ve told a few of them that I’m dating someone,” Luke nods. “They don’t know who yet. JJ has her suspicions. I think Matt does too.”

“Oh,” Spencer says quietly. “Do you want them to know?”

“I do,” Luke confirms, setting the frame up on the bench. “If you’re comfortable with it, of course. I was thinking I would do a dinner or get together of some sort, to introduce you to them properly, as my partner.”

“You would want that?” Spencer asked, his voice still small.

“To show off my super hot boyfriend to my coworkers?” Luke replied, wrapping his arms around Spencer’s waist, pulling him closer. “Of course I want that.”

“Not super hot,” Spencer mumbles self consciously, delicately placing his hands on Luke’s shoulders.

“Super duper hot,” Luke disagrees. “And funny, and sexy, and charismatic, and charmi-”

“I’m none of those things,” Spencer laughs self-deprecatingly.

“You are all of those things. I wouldn’t lie to you, Spence,” Luke replied gently. “And I really do want to show you off to everyone.”

Spencer takes a deep breath. “Ethan never wanted to be seen with me. He never introduced me to anyone, never spoke about me to his family or friends. If I had given him a picture frame, he would probably have laughed in my face and smashed it on the floor. He never would have asked me if he could put it on his desk, for the world to see.”

He had started to weep quietly, so Luke gently uses his thumb to clear a couple of tears away. Spencer looks like he wants to keep going, so Luke waits patiently.

“I’m sorry for bringing him up again. I don’t like to talk about him, and I know you don’t like to hear about him. I just don’t know if I’m doing this whole relationship thing right because of what he put me through. I shouldn’t be surprised that you want me to meet your friends, I just am because I’ve never been in the situation where someone has wanted me like you do.”

“I need you to talk to me about it. I hate him and what he’s put you through, but by you telling me it establishes your boundaries and it strengthens our communication. It also gives me the chance to reiterate to you how much I love you, and hopefully remind you how much I’m not like him.”

“I know. I know you’re nothing like him. I love you, Luke.”

“I love you too. Dinner is almost ready,” Luke says, gesturing to the kitchen. “This has been a pretty intense reunion, yeah? I just want you to relax tonight, so you can enjoy our evening together.”

“I enjoy every moment I'm with you,” Spencer replied, letting Luke go so he can dish up their food. “Thanks Luke. I can’t believe how much I missed you.”

Luke smiled warmly and steered him to his seat, then returned to the kitchen to grab their dinner.

Once ready, he brought it to the table and placed one in front of Spencer, and one in his place. Then, he got the wine from the fridge and poured them both a glass.

Spencer thanked him profusely, and they ate and chatted about the past month. They had spoken on the phone, obviously, but it was nothing like sitting face to face with each other.

After dinner, Spencer insisted on washing up, but Luke convinced him to let Luke help, so it would be done even quicker and they could cuddle on the couch even sooner.

Not wanting to pass up on cuddles, Spencer agreed and they rushed to clean up, before collapsing on the couch together, Spencer in between Luke’s legs, leaning back on his chest.

Luke held him tight, and hoped it would be enough to make him feel loved.

Luke can’t wait to put his frame on his desk, and if takes JJ only two days to discover it and squeal in delight, then so be it.

—————

“So, my man,” Derek said, slinging his arm around Luke’s shoulder, approaching Matt in the break room. “Poker weekend has come around again. We haven’t done it in ages because we’ve always had a case on. My place this Friday?”

“Yeah, I’m in for sure,” Luke replied easily.

“I’m in too,” Matt joined in, refilling his coffee mug and nodding to Luke. “Will Spencer be in attendance?”

Luke looked between Matt and Derek, Matt smiling warmly and Derek nodding with anticipation.

“Yeah, I’ll ask him if it’s cool with you guys,” Luke settled on.

“Hell yeah, invite Spence!” Derek says, oblivious to Matt’s looks. “Even though he annihilates us, he’s fun to have around.”

“Sure,” Luke nods.

He wonders if he should tell them there and then, or wait until later. They hadn’t noticed the frame on Luke’s desk yet, as they didn’t spend that much time at his desk.

He internally debates for a second, but then the moment passes and they move on with their day.

He could either find a time to tell them before Friday, or the day of will have to do.

That night after work, Luke went to Spencer’s place. He greeted his boyfriend, and they sat on the couch together. Luke then casually brought up the subject.

“So,” Luke paused.

“So…?” Spencer responded, stretching it out in question. Luke gently grabbed Spencer’s legs and put them in his lap, and started rubbing his feet.

“It’s Derek’s turn to host poker night, this Friday. Would you like to come?”

“Oh,” Spencer gasped, half in surprise at Luke’s question and half in pleasure at being massaged. “Do you want me to come?”

“You were invited, by name, by both Matt and Derek,” Luke smirks. “And you already know I want you there. I’m the one who invited you the first time.”

Spencer smiles, peeking out from under his fringe. “Okay. It’ll be fun.”

“It will be. Maybe if you’re comfortable we can tell them about us.”

“Yeah?” Spencer asks. “If you want to, I’d like it too.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Luke says, putting Spencer’s feet down and crawling up to kiss him.

The Friday night came around quickly. Spencer and Luke discussed in detail how they wanted to be, and how they wanted to act around to Luke’s colleagues.

They were going to be subtle, neither a fan of PDA, but Luke wanted his friends to know.

Matt was already there when they arrived together.

They all greet each other and chat for a while, Derek and Matt catch up with Spencer whilst Luke looked on fondly. Then, Derek gets the piles of gummy bears going whilst Spencer is shuffling the deck of cards, and the banter has already started, Derek trying to psych Spencer out, and vice versa.

Matt and Luke are getting the four of them drinks in the kitchen, when Matt just asks. “So, how long?”

Luke freezes whilst pouring Spencer’s wine. “How long what?”

“You and Spencer,” Matt states, then pauses. “Unless it’s meant to be top secret and if so, I’ll mind my own business.”

“It’s not a secret,” Luke smiles. “When did you figure it out?”

“I didn’t know for sure until tonight. The way you looked at each other just now? Not platonic at all. I had my suspicions when you were shot all those months ago, and he was so worried. And I know you’ve been so happy recently.”

“We actually weren’t together when I was shot,” Luke laughs. “It did blossom from there though. It’s still quite new, but he makes me happy.”

“I’m happy you’re happy, man,” Matt claps him on the back. “It’s a good look on you.”

Luke grins at him and feels himself relax.

He wasn’t worried about how his friends would react, but it’s still a daunting thing, revealing such a private part of you to someone else.

When they joined Derek and Spencer, who were all ready to go, it ended up being a fun night.

Luke winning a few rounds in a row is when Derek caught on.

“Hold on,” Derek said looking between Spencer and Luke. “Am I missing something?”

Spencer smiles. “What do you mean?”

“Are you helping him win?!” Derek sounded scandalised.

“Of course not!” Spencer replied innocently.

“You are! What happened to no friends in the great game of poker?”

“No friends, sure,” Luke replied cheekily, stealing one of Spencer’s many gummy bears and popping it into his mouth.

Derek looked between them suspiciously, then his eyes widened in realisation. “No way.”

Luke grinned at him. “Surprise?”

“You two are…?”

“Dating,” Matt supplied helpfully.

“You knew?” Derek asked, turning to Matt.

“Only confirmed tonight, but I did have my suspicions.”

“I knew he was dating someone too!” Derek exclaims. “I just didn’t know it was pretty boy here.”

Luke grasps Spencer’s hand under the table and squeezes gently. Spencer smiles shyly.

“This is so unexpected, but I like it,” Derek continues. “How long has this been a thing?”

Spencer rattles off the exact amount of days, hours and minutes since their conversation after the cinema, and Derek’s eyebrows raise.

“I’m really happy for you guys,” Derek replied genuinely. “However, I do need you to stop letting Alvez win. I need to keep up my reputation as the best poker player in the team.”

Spencer laughs, and it’s Luke’s favourite sound.

“We are really happy for you guys,” Matt reiterates, making sure that Luke and Spencer know that they are loved, that nothing has changed in their dynamic. Luke knows, but he appreciates the reminder.

—————

“Hey Spencer,” Luke says wearily, aware that his tone of voice was a bit colder and not his usual cheery self. He tried to get rid of the tone whilst talking to the sunshine of his life, but he couldn’t help it.

Spencer knew straight away. “Luke, is something wrong?”

“It’s just the case. I’ll talk to you about it when I get home. We’re on our way back now.”

“Oh, okay. Would you like to do dinner tonight?”

“I’d love that. I’m beat, so takeout sounds good to me. What time will you be finishing up at work?”

“I’ve got about two hours worth of assignments to grade, which I’d prefer to do here so I don’t have to bring it home.”

Luke hums. “Sounds good. Your place or mine tonight?”

“Yours,” Spencer replies shyly. “If that’s okay with you.”

“Of course it’s okay, Doc,” Luke’s voice was quiet. They finished off their conversation quietly, deciding what to do for dinner and promising they’d see each other soon.

“Aren’t you neighbours?” Matt teases. “Yet you can’t decide who’s place you want to stay at.”

Luke gives him a small, half-hearted smile.

Once he’s home and it’s nearly time for Spencer to arrive himself, Luke orders an early dinner to be delivered and makes his way to his bed.

He wants to have a lie down to just rest his body after a big couple of days, but he doesn’t plan on falling asleep.

When he wakes up, he’s in complete darkness. Roxy is no longer in the room, and the bedroom door is shut.

He checks his watch, and it’s 8.30pm. He slept for hours.

He makes his way out into the living room, where Spencer is sitting on the couch with his glasses perched on his nose, reading a book.

“Hey,” Luke clears his throat, getting the attention of his boyfriend. “I’m so sorry Spence, I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

Spencer jumps up at the sound of his voice and makes his way to Luke, where he wraps his arms around him and holds him. “Hi.”

“You should have woken me up,” Luke says. “I ordered dinner and everything.”

“It’s in the fridge. I’ll reheat it for us soon,” Spencer replies quietly, not softening his grip. “Are you okay?”

Luke isn’t really expecting the question. “I, uh, what?”

“I don’t mean to pry, and if you don’t want to talk about it then please say so, and we can just eat our food,” Spencer begins. “But I feel like something is wrong, and I just want to help fix it.”

Luke lets out a sigh before completely melting in Spencer’s arms.

That sweet, sweet boy.

“It’s nothing that can be fixed, Spence,” Luke said sadly. “I’ve just had a bad bout of PTSS lately.”

Realisation dawned on Spencer, and he manoeuvred them to sit on the couch. “Is it about your army days?”

Luke nods, surprised Spencer even remembered that he’s ex-army. Luke had brought it up one time, one of the first few times they’d met. That eidetic memory of his.

“It’s always with me, you know? You can never forget some of the stuff I’ve seen,” Luke begins. Spencer nods along in understanding. “And usually I’m pretty good at managing it. But this last case, well it’s triggered me a lot more than normal.”

They sit in silence for a while, Spencer playing with the curls in Luke’s hair.

“Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Luke doesn’t delve too far into the nitty gritty details. He tells Spencer about a small bomb that went off in an abandoned warehouse that him, JJ and Matt were searching. The unsub had planted it there to alert him if someone stepped on the premises.

“The sound of it going off made me feel like I was back in the past. We were all okay, and we eventually caught up to the unsub a couple of days after, but ever since it went off I’ve felt the symptoms of PTSS has overtaken all of my senses. I don’t feel like myself.”

“You could have told me over the phone,” Spencer says gently. “You always let me ramble on, you could have told me to be quiet and I would have listened.”

“Funny you say that, your rambles are the only thing that made me feel whole, and normal again. Listening to you talk took me out of that place and put me with you instead. It was more than enough to make me feel safe, and it’s exactly what I needed.”

“Oh,” Spencer breathes, gripping Luke tighter. “I just, you always listen to me and my trauma. You always know what to say to make me feel better. I want to be the same for you.”

Luke nods. “I’m not very good at talking about it, I acknowledge that. I usually let it bottle up until I implode, which is what I probably would have done had we not had this chat. So thank you, Spence. It means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

They sit in silence for a bit longer.

Eventually, Spencer clears his throat and asks a question that Luke was not at all expecting.

“Would you like to have a bath together?”

Luke sits up and eyes Spencer. He has a light flush across his face, and he looks embarrassed that he’s asked.

Luke’s about to ask his own question when Spencer keeps talking.

“I, um, I’m ready to be intimate with you. I have been for a little while, but I wanted to be sure before I said anything, in case I changed my mind. And you’ve just described a hard time in your life to me, so I don’t think sex tonight is a good option. But um, intimacy isn’t always sex? So maybe a bath would be a good way for us to have that connection right now.”

Luke digests what Spencer says as he was not expecting the conversation to go this way.

“Hey, I’m really proud of you for speaking about what you want. I just need you to know that if at any point of our relationship you change your mind, you tell me. You say you’re ready and that’s great, but if we’re doing something that triggers you, or you need to stop, please tell me. I don’t want you going through those feelings again that you’ve worked so hard to manage. And you’re right, intimacy isn’t always sex. I’d love to have a bath with you.”

Spencer swallows hard as he’s reminded that he’s safe here, that this entire relationship is built on a connection defined by mutual trust and respect for one another. Spencer intertwines their fingers, then stands up and leads them to the bathroom.

Whilst they’re sitting in the bath, Spencer sitting in between Luke’s legs, with his back pressed against Luke’s strong chest, Spencer talks.

“You remember that night where we were going to do the puzzle, and I didn’t answer your messages? So you came over and hugged me, and looked after me. It was the first night we shared a bed.”

“Yeah, Spence. Of course I remember that night.”

“That day was the first day I’d seen Ethan since I left him. I ran into him on campus, and he cornered me in one of the corridors. It triggered a panic attack.”

“Oh god,” Luke sputtered. “Oh my god, Spence! I’m so sorry, I didn’t kno-“

“What? No,” Spencer interrupts, threading his fingers through Luke’s. “You were perfect that night. You knew what I needed without me even knowing what I needed. You calmed me down, when I honestly thought I was going to spiral. If you hadn’t come over, I don’t know what I would have done.”

Spencer took a deep breath.

“My point is, you helped me when you didn’t even know what was wrong. You’re always there for me. I want you to know that I’m here for you, too. If you want to talk, or cry, or hug it out, I will always be here for you, Luke. I need you to know that.”

Luke gently kissed him behind his ear. “I do know, Spence. Thank you. I love you.”

Spencer spun around, and water sloshed out of the bath.

He placed a kiss on Luke’s lips. “I love you too, Luke.”

—————

“I think it’s time for another night out,” Penelope sing songs, as they’re all sitting in the bullpen, five minutes until they can leave work for the weekend to the comfort of their own homes.

“It’s been a while,” Emily agrees. “I’m in.”

“After my behaviour last time I’m not sure I should agree so quickly,” JJ laughs. “But I could go for a night out.”

“How does tomorrow night sound?” Penelope asks. “The BAU hitting the town on a Saturday night!”

Emily and JJ quickly agree, and it doesn’t take the three girls long to convince Matt, Derek, and even Hotch.

“How about you, Luke?” JJ smiles.

Luke thinks for a second. He and Spencer had planned to have a movie night at home, and he really did want to spend time with his genius. Penelope notices his delay in responding, and narrows her eyes at him.

“Luke Alvez! Is there a reason for the hesitation to hang out with your favourite people?”

“There is a reason,” Derek teases. “It’s because he wants to hang out with his actual favourite person.”

Penelope’s eyebrows shoot up, and Emily and Hotch both looked surprised too. Matt and JJ hide their smirks at Derek’s teasing.

“If you’d like to come, I’m sure we’d all be happy for you to bring someone along,” Hotch encourages, not joining in on the teasing.

“Yeah?” Luke asks. “You guys wouldn’t mind?”

“Of course not!” Penelope exclaims, her voice reaching a higher octave. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were seeing someone!”

Luke grimaces, hoping she’s not genuinely offended.

“No one tells you anything, Pen,” Emily teases, coming to Luke’s rescue. “Because then we’d all know as soon as you did.”

Penelope huffs, and they finalise their plans before dispersing and heading home.

Spencer’s day finished early today, so he’s already home when Luke gets home.

Luke quickly gets changed into his gym gear, then heads across the corridor to pop into Spencer’s apartment.

“Hey babe,” Luke greets his boyfriend who’s sitting at the dining table, his nose in a book with a notepad open beside it.

“Hi!” Spencer smiles, eyes crinkling. “Are you heading to the gym?”

“I am, I haven’t been in a while.”

“Well, you better go then,” Spencer banters, standing up and striding over to kiss his boyfriend.

“Oh? And why’s that?” Luke asks, gently holding his elbow.

“Because if you haven’t been in a while, you must be in need of a workout,” Spencer replied cheekily, yet nonchalantly.

“Oh? Because if I remember correctly, last night you told me how much you love my arms, and you love how strong I am.”

Spencer immediately blushed at the memory of the night before. Luke chuckles at his reaction, and presses their lips together.

Suddenly getting a bout of neediness, Spencer surges forward, pressing his body against Luke’s and kissing him harder.

“I do love your arms, I do love how strong you are,” Spencer says when they pull away, nipping under Luke’s jaw. He lowers his voice and whispers into Luke’s ear. “I love that you can manhandle me.”

Luke groans at the provocative implication, and kisses him again. “I’m meant to be going to the gym. Why must you do this to me?”

Spencer lets out a loud laugh. “I can think of another kind of workout we could do.”

“Yeah?” Luke asks, eyeing Spencer up and down and playing with the hem of Spencer’s sweater vest.

Spencer says no more, just drags his boyfriend to the bedroom.

“You seduced me whilst you were reading and I was meant to be going to the gym,” Luke notes after they’re finished, lying naked tangled up in the sheets together.

“I don’t actually know what came over me,” Spencer admits, hiding his face. “Just seeing you in a tank top well, you already know how I feel about your arms.”

Luke hooks his hands behind Spencer’s lower back, and lifts him to bring him even closer to Luke. He’s showing off now, but the moan Spencer lets out makes it worth it.

“You’re just so strong, it’s so hot,” Spencer pants breathily, leaning in to kiss Luke hard, whilst holding Luke’s biceps. They make out, Luke pressing their bodies together and slipping a leg between Spencer’s and messily kisses him.

Luke knew his looks weren’t terrible. He worked out regularly for his body to stay in shape for work. But it made him feel so sexy knowing something as simple as his arms could reduce his boyfriend to a whimpering puddle.

“I can’t believe I’m ready for another round already,” Luke growled into Spencer’s ear. “Look at what you do to me, cariño.”

Spencer moans and off they go again.

After they’re done, they take a shower together and make their way to Luke’s to see Roxy and settle in for the night.

“Oh! I forgot to ask you, since we clearly had other things on our mind,” Luke waggled his eyebrows suggestively, and Spencer’s cheeks coloured again. “Penelope has organised a team outing to a bar tomorrow night. You have also been invited if you would like to come. I know we had plans, and bars aren’t typically your scene, so I won’t be offended if we don’t go. But the offer is there.”

Luke relayed what happened, as Spencer had asked how Penelope knew about him, knowing Luke hadn’t yet told the other half of the team. After a minute of thinking, he spoke. “I think it’ll be fun. We should definitely go.”

“Alright, done. Derek, Matt and JJ already know, and you’ve met Emily before too, so that’s more than half the battle. Penelope is… persistent, but I think you will get along fine. I know you’ll get along great with Hotch.”

Spencer smiles at him. “Sounds good.”

“If at any point you change your mind, or you want to leave, we can.”

“Thanks, Luke,” Spencer replies.

The next night, Spencer is good at hiding his nerves, but Luke can see through him.

“Hey, they’re gonna love you, yeah?” Luke smiled as they walked down the street to the bar, squeezing his hand.

“Yeah. It’ll be fine, right?” Spencer asked, squeezing back. Luke nods encouragingly.

They enter the bar, and the rest of the crew is already there. JJ and Derek are playing pool, and the rest of the team are standing around a table, all chatting.

Luke and Spencer approach, still holding hands, Luke giving him one last squeeze.

Matt spots them first. “Luke! Spence! Glad you could make it.”

“Hey everyone,” Luke greets, then turns to introduce his boyfriend proudly. “JJ, Matt, Derek and Emily, you all remember Spencer. Hotch and Penelope, this is my partner, Doctor Spencer Reid.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Doctor Reid,” Hotch gives them a rare smile.

“Just Spencer is fine,” Spencer says quickly. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

Penelope is intense, right off the bat, so Luke steers her towards the bar and leaves Spencer with Hotch, who are already getting on like a house on fire.

They get some shots for everyone, and Luke also buys himself and Spencer a drink.

The team cheers when they reappear with the tray of shots, all of them taking one, even Spencer.

Luke knew that Spencer was a very casual drinker, he didn’t drink often nor did he want to. He would have one occasionally with dinner, usually only for special occasions or date nights.

“You alright?” Luke spoke quietly so only Spencer could hear him.

He nodded in response. “I probably won’t have much more to drink than this.”

Luke nodded back, squeezing his shoulder. “Let me know if you want anything else.”

Spencer smiled and went back to his discussion with Hotch.

The group had a fun night, as always.

When they’re ready to head home, Matt and Hotch had already left to be with their families.

JJ, Emily and Penelope aren’t as drunk as last time, so the boys wait with them while they wait for their uber, then Derek says his goodbye and heads home, leaving Spencer and Luke to walk home in the other direction.

They stroll down the sidewalk, holding hands and recounting their night.

“Hotch recommended me this book that he thinks I’ll enjoy,” Spencer bounces on his feet. “I think I’ll go to the library tomorrow to borrow it.”

“Sounds good, baby,” Luke smiles at the prospect of his partner getting along so well with his second family.

“Thank you for inviting me out tonight. I had fun,” Spencer grins. “I love you.”

“Love you too,” Luke kissed his forehead. “So much.”

—————

They’re on a case in the middle of nowhere.

It was a strange one. Males in their late 20s to early 30s were being killed, after their livers were harvested, and there’s another victim, Stan Martin, missing.

The team couldn’t put a solid profile together to determine who or why someone was doing this.

They ended up circling back to the victims families, to ask them some more questions to see if they could make a connection or place their unsub.

Emily and Luke were partnered up, and they were driving down to one of the victims estranged sister’s house. She lived even further out of the town, with no neighbours and nothing for a good couple of miles. They hadn’t yet questioned her, and only knew about her because Garcia had done some digging.

When they got to the house, something seemed off. They knocked on the door, and they heard a very distant voice, but no-one came to answer the door.

Emily gestured that she was going to check out around the back, and Luke followed her.

What they found was a freshly dug grave. All of a sudden they hear a man cry out, coming from inside the house.

They immediately know something is wrong. Emily quickly calls for backup, but with a potential victim inside, they can’t wait. They both take their guns out of their holsters, and make their way back to the front door, before kicking it open and getting ready to clear the house.

They split up, doing their checks. The whole house is only very dimly lit by a single lamp in each room.

Luke’s up to his last room, not yet finding anything, when the light in the room is turned off.

He spins around and is trying to shine his torch on what’s in front of him when he hears Emily faintly shriek.

He thunders down the stairs towards her, but he can’t see anything as the entire house is now in darkness. He can’t hear where her voice came from, and she doesn’t answer his calls back.

Suddenly, a young woman who’s not Emily appears in front of Luke, and that’s the last thing he sees before everything goes black.

Luke feels himself fall in and out of consciousness, when all of a sudden he feels his vision blurred but he can make out that he’s in a room that looks like a basement, strapped to a table.

He struggles, still not being able to see properly but knowing he needed to get off the table and find Emily.

After he calms himself down, he sees two figures standing in the corner of the room, pointing at something on a desk and talking quietly. Part of him wants to yell out, but another part of him knows he should not draw attention to himself.

He studies the two of them as well as he can. One was the woman who was standing in front of him in the house. The other is a man. Both look like a similar age to Luke, way too young to be so professional at this.

They hadn’t profiled that this was two unsubs. But Luke starting putting the pieces together.

He doesn’t know where Emily is. He doesn’t know if that other victim is here, as he couldn’t see anyone else in the room. He knows he is the one at the immediate threat. They’re stealing livers off men Luke’s age.

He tries to not panic. Panicking is the worst thing that he could do right now. To calm himself down, he thinks of sweet, sweet Spencer. He thinks of his parents, and his sisters. He thinks of Roxy. He thinks of his team. It works.

Suddenly, the two figures turn around and walk towards Luke, the woman holding a syringe.

“What are you doing?” Lukes gasps, still trying to break his hand free. “Why are you doing this?”

The woman pauses. “Why? No-one ever asks us why.”

Luke needs to use the hesitation to his advantage. “I’m asking why.”

She looks briefly to the man, before looking back at Luke. “He’s dying.”

Luke looks at the man, who is glaring daggers at Luke.

“He needs a liver transplant. He’s dying, and no-one in this good-for-nothing town will do anything about it,” she spits. “So we took matters into our own hands.”

“This isn’t the way to go about it,” Luke replies. “I’m an FBI agent. I can get you the help you need.”

They ignore him, so he keeps talking. “What did you do to my partner? Is she still alive?”

“We don’t need her,” she sneers. “We need you.”

“Please,” Luke begs. “Just tell me she’s alive.”

“You’re on a table, about to have your liver taken out, and you’re asking about your partner?”

Luke nods furiously, desperately needing to know but also trying to stall. “I need to know, please.”

“She’s alive,” the woman confirms, before sticking the syringe into Luke’s arm. “For now.”

He calls out, but then goes under as he can’t fight off the sleep.

When Luke shudders awake he can’t place where he is.

All he can see are bright lights, but his vision is severely impaired and he can’t make out where he is.

He registers he’s not in the same dark basement-like room he was in before. He feels himself on a bed, rolling along a corridor, and he watches the bright lights as they go by, looking like bright stars in the night sky.

Seeing the lights as stars reminds him of Spencer, where they would go for night walks with Roxy and count the stars. Spencer would name all of the constellations, and Luke would try to find them.

On their date to the drive in cinema, whilst all the other cars were driving away at the end of the movie, they lay in the tray of Luke’s truck for a while longer, just stargazing and holding each other close.

He loved all of those nights with Spencer.

Oh god, Spencer!

“Spenc,” he mutters out, trying to find the words to say he needs Spencer.

“Shhh,” he hears, and then there’s an oxygen mask over his face and he’s falling back to sleep.

When he wakes up again, he’s in a bed in a hospital room. There’s a nurse in there with him, writing on a chart at the end of the bed.

At his grogginess, she immediately steps back and waves out the window, and someone walks in.

“Luke,” came Hotch’s voice. “Thank god you’re okay.”

“Hotch,” Luke’s voice is hoarse. “Where’s Emily?”

Hotch begins talking, but Luke didn’t even hear his answer. He can’t concentrate.

“Where’s Spencer?” Luke cuts him off, jolting upright. “Hotch, you have to call him.”

The pain that sears through his body makes him cry out, and he’s suddenly gasping for breath, and he wants to be anywhere but in that room.

The nurse ushers Hotch out at Luke’s panic, and quickly puts the oxygen mask over him to send him back to sleep.

The next time he wakes up, there’s no nurse in the room with him. It’s dark out, so it’s clearly night time. He sees a light coming from his left, so he turns and sees a lamp on, with Spencer curled up on the chair next to it.

Luke looks down, and Spencer is holding his hand.

“Pence,” He gets out, his voice rough. He squeezes Spencer’s hand, who jolts awake immediately.

His eyes are bloodshot, he has bright purple bags under his eyes and his mop of hair is skewed all over the place.

At the sight of Luke, a sob bursts through, and he’s all of a sudden right next to Luke.

Neither of them can speak, Spencer just holding onto Luke for dear life.

“‘M still really tired, Spence,” Luke gets out, his eyes already drooping.

“Go back to sleep,” Spencer whispers. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

“‘Kay,” Luke hums. “Love you.”

“I love you Luke,” Spencer sobbed. “So much.”

Luke wants to stay awake, wants to comfort his obviously distressed boyfriend, but despite his will to stay awake, he succumbs to sleep.

His eyes open and it’s light outside. Spencer is ruffling through a bag that’s on the ground, and hasn’t yet noticed Luke’s awake.

Luke clears his throat. “Hey, Spence.”

Spencer immediately drops his bag and spins around. “You’re awake.”

“I am, I’m feeling much better than the last time I woke up.”

“I’ll get the nurse,” Spencer replies. “They want to talk to you.”

As soon as they hear Luke’s awake, a nurse and Hotch are both in the room with him. Spencer returns to his side, sitting on the chair. The nurse lets him know that they’ve paged the doctor down to catch him up on what’s happened.

Hotch quickly runs through the jist of it, to keep Luke up to speed.

“Whats the last thing you remember?” Hotch asked.

Luke recounts going to the sister’s house, and he tells them how him and Emily heard what they thought was the distressed victim, so they called for backup then rushed in. He told Hotch how the lights went out and then the next thing he knew he was on the table.

Hotch nods. “You were at the unsubs house. We didn’t realise until after it happened, but as you know now they were partners working together. The unsub killed her own brother for his liver for her boyfriend. They were going to kill the next victim, Stan Martin, until you and Prentiss showed up.”

“Emily!” Luke exclaimed. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine,” Hotch replied gently. “She’s sick to her stomach at what happened to you.”

Luke looks down. “What happened to me?”

That’s when the doctor steps in.

“Hi Luke, I’m Doctor Robinson.” She says, a small smile on her face. “You gave us all a scare. We had to do a mild operation.”

“The unsub drugged you, as you know,” Hotch further explains. “Luckily you and Prentiss had called for backup, and we were right behind you. We found Emily knocked out cold, and we cleared the house and found them in the basement with you also knocked out cold.”

“Unfortunately, they had started their experiment,” Doctor Robinson said distastefully. “They had cut into your stomach. They hadn’t extracted anything when your team caught them. But they did enough damage to warrant us going in and checking up on all your organs. Luckily, it was all fine. And we’ve stitched it up. You’re going to be in a fair bit of pain for a while there, Luke.”

Luke grimaced as the story is told back to him.

“From the basement, Matt’s the one who went down first. The male unsub surrendered immediately, the female one didn’t. But we took them both into custody, and they confessed to the murders of all of those men, including her brother, and the attempted one of you, Luke. We had you air lifted out of there and back home, which is where we are now.” Hotch finished.

“You must be exhausted,” Doctor Robinson finished up. “We want you to stay in hospital for at least a week, just to monitor you. I’ll come in each day to check up on you, and if I think you’re good to go after a week, I’ll clear you to be discharged. I will also have to clear you before you go back to work.”

Luke nods in understanding. “Thanks, Doctor Robinson.”

“Rest up, Luke. Call a nurse whenever you need. You’ve got a great team who will be looking out for you,” She nods to Hotch and Spencer.

Hotch has the normal stoic look on his face, whilst Spencer grimaces meekly.

Doctor Robinson and the nurse leave them to it, and Hotch speaks. “You and Prentiss saved Stan Martin, Luke. You put yourselves on the line. If we hadn’t shown up, well, I don’t want to think about what would have happened. But they nearly killed him, and they didn’t. They couldn’t. You must be exhausted. I will leave you two alone for now. The rest of the team will want to see you too, if you’re up for it.”

Luke nods. “I want to see them too. I’ll have a chat with Spencer first, then I’ll send for them. Thanks, Hotch.”

Hotch nods and bids his goodbye-for-now.

When they’re gone, Luke turns to Spencer and realises he has tears in his eyes.

He gives Luke a wobbly smile, and Luke knows he’s not okay.

“Spencer,” he whispers. “Hey, talk to me.”

“It’s fine,” Spencer croaks, wiping a hand down his face. “Are you okay? Do you need anything? I can get you food or water, just tell me wh-”

“I’m all good, thank you though,” Luke cuts him off. He detests cutting Spencer off, but he feared that if he didn’t, Spencer wouldn’t calm down.

“Are you sure?”

“I need to know that you’re okay,” Luke says. “Thats all I need right now.”

Spencer’s face crumples. “I don’t want to be the one that needs comforting. You’re the one who needs comforting. You were nearly killed!”

“Yes, but you went through something traumatic too. Not knowing about me would have been awful.”

“I thought you died, when I got the phone call.” Tears were streaming down his face.

“Who called you?”

“Matt did. He was the one who found you. He wanted me to hear it from him. He kept me updated the whole time, and when you were finally allowed visitors he vouched for me to sit in here with you.”

Luke squeezes Spencer’s hand. “Matt’s great. Thank you for being here. It was very reassuring waking up with you here, twice.”

“I’m so sorry you went through that.”

“I’m so sorry you went through that!” Luke repeats Spencer’s own words back to him.

Spencer shakes his head. “No. No, you just went through something so traumatic, and here I am crying.”

“Spence, seeing me like this would not be easy for you. I know if the roles were reversed, and you were in a hospital bed, I would be a mess myself,” Luke reassures. “But just know that I really am okay. I’m going to get through this.”

“We’ll get through this, together,” Spencer determines.

Luke nods. “Now, can I have a kiss from my boyfriend?”

Spencer gives him a shy smile. “I should call your team in. They’re all outside the room, and they’re just as worried as I was.”

“I know they are. But first, I’d like to kiss my sexy boyfriend, because he’s all I thought about when I was fighting to get out of there.”

Spencer swallows hard, before leaning over and pressing a chaste kiss to Luke’s lips, then to his forehead. “I love you, Luke.”

“I love you too, Spence.”

Spencer gives him one more kiss, before going to let the team in. They came in in pairs as to not overwhelm Luke, Emily rushing in first.

“Luke,” Emily exclaims. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry we split up.”

“Em, it’s fine. We followed protocol, we never profiled them to be partners. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“I’m so glad you’re okay too. You’re a tough cookie.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” Luke grins, trying to make the grim room more upbeat with a joke.

“Shame,” Matt jokes, stepping out from behind Emily.

Emily rolls her eyes and Spencer glares at Matt’s joke, but Luke just grins and holds his arm out for a fist bump. Matt laughs and complies happily, bumping his fist. “Glad you’re okay, man.”

“Thanks for getting us out of there, Matt.”

Emily, Matt and Luke quietly chat, debriefing what happened and placing the missing pieces together, whilst Spencer just sits by Luke’s side, staring into space.

After five minutes, Matt and Emily bid their goodbyes and say they’ll send in the next two.

When they’re briefly alone, Luke nudges Spencer with his hand. “You alright, cariño?”

Spencer hums and nods, running a hand down Luke’s forearm, but Luke knows better. He’s about to say something else when Penelope comes bustling in, with Derek a couple of steps behind her.

She has tears in her eyes, and seeing her like that makes him want to cry.

She approaches his bed and attempts to throw her arms around Luke, until Derek bellows, “Penelope! He’s just had a surgery. Settle down, yeah?”

“Sorry! Sorry, Luke,” Penelope mumbles, stepping back, eyes shining.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. I’m fine!” Luke says, trying to sit up but grimacing at the pain.

Derek raises an eye at him with a small smirk on his face. “You don’t look okay, man.”

“Thanks,” Luke grits his teeth. “It must’ve been that surgery.”

Derek grins, then his face softens. “Good to see you, Alvez.”

“Please do not scare us like that again,” Penelope cuts in. “But I’m really, really happy to see you alive.”

As they’re chatting, Matt sticks his head back in. “Sorry to interrupt. Spencer? You got a minute?”

Spencer blinks, bringing his attention back to focus and zeroing in on Matt. After a second, he nods and gets up to follow Matt, but not before leaning down to press another kiss to Luke’s forehead.

Matt leads him out of the room, and the three of them watch them leave, Luke feeling helpless.

“I didn’t realise how serious you guys are,” Penelope notes. “He’s been a mess, Luke.”

“I know,” Luke sighs. “I don’t know how to make him feel better.”

“He’ll be alright,” Derek promises. “It’s been a really intense 48 hours. We’ve all gone through a roller coaster of emotions. The main thing is that you and Em are okay, and the unsubs that did this to you are behind bars. We’ll work through the rest, as a team.”

Luke nods, feeling at a loss for words.

“You must be tired, yeah?” Penelope says. “We’ll let JJ in so you can rest. We’ll come and visit you tomorrow, okay! Please call if you need anything.”

“Thanks, guys. I appreciate it,” Luke replies. “Pen?”

“Hmm?” She asks, dabbing at her eyes.

“I could use a hug.”

She gasps and gently leans over, giving him a very delicate hug.

“Thanks,” he whispers.

Derek pats him on the leg and they bid their see-you-tomorrows.

Luke stares into space for a second, and then reaches over to try and get a cup of water. Suddenly, he’s parched.

The pain sears down his abdomen, and he grits his teeth again.

“Woah, woah, slow down there,” came JJ’s voice, as she entered the room and reached over to pour Luke a cup of water. “I’ll do it for you.”

“Thanks,” Luke mutters, annoyed that he couldn’t do it himself.

“How are you feeling?” She asks, handing over the cup.

“I was okay before, but I’m feeling it now.”

JJ nods. “You’re exhausted. You need to rest, not have all these nosy coworkers butt in and disturb your sleep.”

“It’s nice,” Luke smiles.

“I know,” JJ continues, smiling back. “And I’m sure they’ve all told you this already, but I just want to reiterate how much you scared us but how happy we are you’re okay.”

“Thanks Jayje.”

“You need sleep. Get some rest, okay? We’ll all be in throughout the week.”

“Sounds good. Do you know where Spencer went?”

“Matt’s just checking up on him. Seeing what he needs. He hasn’t been home since he heard the news. He refused to leave your side.”

“I’m kinda glad,” Luke admits. “Waking up with him by my side made me feel a thousand times better.”

JJ smiles. “You guys have a really special relationship. It’s really nice to see. I’ll see you soon, okay?”

“Bye JJ, thanks.”

As soon as she leaves he settles back down, honestly ready to sleep again.

He wanted to wait for Spencer to come back, and he must’ve fought sleep off for at least ten minutes before he couldn’t help it anymore, and he drifted off.

When he awoke next, he didn’t open his eyes. He could already tell the lights were too bright, and he felt groggy and gross.

He couldn’t hear any activity in the room, but he was kind of glad as he couldn’t really be bothered making conversation with anyone; not even Spencer. Which made him feel cross with himself, because how could he not want to talk to Spencer?

He knew why he was so agitated; he never stayed still. And being stuck in a hospital was the worst thing for a person like Luke. He needed his independence, but now he couldn’t even get out of bed.

Luke lay there with his eyes closed, hoping sleep would take him again quickly.

In all truthfulness, he desperately wanted a shower, and maybe even something small to eat. But since he didn’t want to open his eyes, sleep was the winner.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, just thinking about everything.

Eventually, he heard shuffling in the room and he got the shock of his life when he heard JJ’s voice talk softly.

“How is he?” She asked.

Spencer cleared his throat from beside Luke. “He’s still sleeping, it’s been four hours and nineteen minutes since I’ve been sitting here, and he hasn’t woken up yet.”

They were talking about him.

“His body would be exhausted,” JJ reminds him gently. “He looked extremely fatigued when we were all speaking to him before.”

“Sleep is one of the most important aspects of recovery,” Spencer lectures. “Growth hormones need to be released in greater amounts when bodies are healing from trauma. They are released during the deep sleep phase of your sleep cycle, which recurs approximately every 90 minutes.”

“That’s good, that means he’s healing just by sleeping there.”

“Yes, I suppose.”

They were silent for a long time, it was so long that Luke thought maybe they had left the room.

JJ goes to speak, but because they hadn’t talked in a long time, her voice needed to be cleared before she could. “Did you know that once he ran into a burning building to save my life?”

Spencer lets out a soft noise in surprise. “He’s never told me that before.”

“I may just be the liaison, but I’m the one who builds a rapport with the victims and their families. There was one case, where there were two young kids who were witnesses. To cut a long story short, they were kidnapped after speaking with us and taken to an abandoned building they had spoken about. They were strapped down and the unsub lit the place on fire. I didn’t- I wasn’t even meant to be in the area. But I had a gut feeling. So I went to the abandoned building. I saw it was on fire, and I just knew they were in there. So I did something that got me into a lot of trouble. I ran in, completely unprotected and only just calling for backup. I nearly died,” JJ lets out a shuddered breath, and Luke could tell she was on the verge of tears. “I got one of the kids free. But then I passed out from smoke inhalation. Luke ran into the burning building, found me, then carried me out.”

Luke could hear Spencer softly weeping.

“That was about two years ago. Luke has been a hero for as long as I’ve known him. And he was in the army before. He has a natural protective streak. I know it's scary for you, seeing him like this. But I need you to know that Luke is the best at his job. You need to trust that he has all the right training, and he has the natural instincts at excelling at his job. Sometimes it means injuries. It’s just a part of the job unfortunately.”

Luke wants to chastise JJ for being a bit harsh, knowing how Spencer wasn’t that experienced in the world of the FBI agents and he had a right to be upset. Spencer speaks before he can even open his eyes.

“You’re right,” he says meekly. “Logically, I know that. He’s been in the field for years, years before he even met me. I trust him completely. I’m proud of everything he does, and everything he has and will sacrifice. It doesn’t mean that I won’t feel sick with worry. He doesn’t know this, but I used to stress even before we were together. When I knew he was away, I would be riddled with anxiety. It was always such a relief to see him walk into our building, or when he’d knock on my door to say hi after we hadn’t seen each other for a week. Every time he leaves on a case, it feels like a little piece of my heart goes with him.”

“I get it, I do. I’m not in the field all the time like they are,” JJ replies. “But I know my husband Will stresses whenever I’m gone. It’s the fear of not knowing, yeah?”

“And the fear that I’ll never see him again.”

“That’s a completely understandable fear. Have you spoken to him about any of this?”

“Not really,” Spencer sniffles. “I don’t want him to think he has to choose between his job and me. I would never make him choose, but he’s just so fiercely loyal that it would put him in a terrible situation. I don’t think he’d ever quit his job, but I don’t really want him to know how I feel, because I don’t want him to have the doubt in his mind whether he should be working or not.”

“Maybe you need to sit down and discuss how you feel. Because your feelings are completely valid, Spencer. And relationships require constant communication. He may be a profiler, but profiling can also be completely jaded within our own relationships. He probably has no idea that you feel this scared.”

“I know. I just don’t want to tell him. I know that he’s good at his job, I know he loves his job. I just love him so much, and I know it’s selfish of me to have these thoughts.”

“I don’t think it’s selfish. He won’t either. He’s a very understanding man, and I know that he has been smitten with you for a long time. I promise you’ll feel better if you tell him, when you’re ready.”

Spencer hums in response, and they go back to sitting in silence. Luke hears pages turning, so he knows that Spencer is reading, which is oddly comforting to Luke. At least Spencer hasn’t been spooked enough to not do something he loves.

“Look at the time,” JJ eventually says, using a teasing tone. “You promised Matt that if Luke wasn’t awake by 3pm you’d go home to shower. Off you go.”

“I’m not actually upholding that promise,” Spencer grumbles out.

“Oh yes you are. I’m not dealing with Matt’s wrath.” JJ laughs. “He’s picking you up. I’ll stay here until you’re back.”

Spencer lets out a dramatic sigh, and Luke would chuckle if he wasn’t so exhausted. Back to sleep he went…

Luke jolts awake and he’s surrounded by darkness. He blinks, trying to adjust to the lack of light, seeing if he can make out any features in the room.

He’s alone.

Spencer’s stuff is all there. His bag is there, with a lamp on and a pile of books on a small table. There’s also a trundle bed on the other side, which wasn’t there before. They must have negotiated with the hospital to get that bought in here.

Suddenly, the bathroom door opens and Spencer falls out of it.

“You’re awake!” Spencer exclaims, rubbing his hands on his pants to dry them. “You slept for over thirteen hours.”

Luke tries to speak but needs to clear his throat before he can. “I woke up a couple of times but I was just so tired, I would fall back asleep.”

Spencer nods and joins him by sitting on the edge of his bed.

“Hi,” Spencer says.

“Hi, you,” Luke replies, his voice still thick with sleep. “I’m hungry. And I need a shower.”

“I can feed you,” Spencer replies, hopping straight off the bed to rummage through his bag. “Showering might be a problem though. It’s 11.30 at night, and I don’t think I should be the only one to help you.”

“Great, so I can be humiliated in front of you and a nurse.”

Spencer grimaces. “Sorry,” he says, not really sounding sorry at all.

Luke watches as Spencer places a packet of baby wipes on the bed, then offers Luke some food.

“The kitchen is closed, so what I have is what will have to do until the morning. I have your favourite muesli bars, a banana, an apple, jell-o in raspberry or grape flavour, those cheddar dry biscuits that you really like, and Cheerios. I don’t have any milk, so you’d have to eat them dry.”

Luke thinks for a moment. “An apple, a muesli bar, and the grape jell-o, please.”

Spencer nods and grabs the requested food, placing them on the tray for Luke. He also makes him drink two cups of water, and slowly begins munching on his food.

“May I?” Spencer gestures to the wipes and then to Luke’s legs.

Luke shrugged. He did feel embarrassed about being washed, but he hated feeling not clean.

Spencer hesitated, then Luke nods, giving a more definitive answer.

He grabs out a wipe, and gently lifts Luke’s blanket and robe and begins wiping him down. He does most of Luke’s body whilst Luke eats.

“Thanks, Spence. I love you.”

“I love you, too. Now, are you still tired? Or I bought your laptop and some of your favourite DVDs, we could watch a movie? I also bought an activity book full of crosswords and word searches we could do?”

“That’s nice of you,” Luke murmurs. “Maybe we could do some puzzles later. But right now, I’d really like to be held by you.”

“In the hospital bed?” Spencer asks, confused.

“We’re fallen asleep on my couch before, Spencer. There’s enough room here for two of us.”

“I don’t know,” Spencer worries, biting his lip. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“I’ll be fine. I just really need a cuddle from my boyfriend.”

Spencer melts, and Luke scoots over so Spencer can settle in, and that’s how they fall back asleep.

—————

When Luke eventually gets out of hospital, Luke can tell Spencer is more than relieved.

Luke has tried not to be unbearable, but he was just so frustrated, and bored, and Spencer didn’t want to leave his side, so he had barely been home.

They were both so ready to leave the hospital.

Luke had to take some mandatory time off, as he was still not cleared to work at all. He had to take a compulsory two weeks off, Hotch and Doctor Robinson’s orders. After two weeks they would reassess, where he would hopefully be cleared for desk duty. Then another couple of weeks he would be ready for the field.

Surprisingly, Luke was excited for the time off now that he was out of the hospital. Spencer had taken sick leave when Luke was in hospital, but now it was semester break so he had his own time off.

They have never had coordinated time off, and even though Luke was supposed to be resting, he wanted to make the most of their free time.

Spencer, however, was the one who surprised him.

On the third day off, Spencer wakes Luke up before the sun has risen as they needed to get an early start.

Luke has no idea what his genius has planned, but he follows along like a good boyfriend.

They shower together, to help Luke manoeuvre himself in the shower of course and not for any other reason, which ends up making them leave later than Spencer wanted.

Spencer ushers Luke into the car, their bags already packed and put into the tray of Luke’s truck.

Spencer drives Luke’s car, partly because Luke was still battling injuries and partly because it was his plan to have a surprise road trip.

Spencer didn’t really drive much, but Luke was being a very encouraging teacher and once they got out of the city, he was fine.

“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” Luke asks as they’re in the middle of nowhere, scratching Roxy’s head who is also with them along for the ride.

“Nope!” Spencer says cheerfully, eyes trained to the road. “Because then it wouldn’t be surprise.”

“C’mon Rox, I bet he’s told you where we’re going. You can trust me,” Luke coos at Roxy.

Roxy just pants, not giving anything away.

“Traitor,” he grumbles and Spencer laughs at him.

Eventually they pull up to a small cottage, far away from civilisation.

Spencer shuts off the engine and turns to Luke. “Surprise!”

“What is this place?” Luke asks, looking out in awe.

“I’ve rented us this little cabin for the entire week. Just you, me, Roxy and nature.”

“Spence, this is amazing! Thank you,” Luke says, leaning over to kiss his boyfriend.

They get out of the car and carry their bags inside, plus some grocery shopping Spencer had bought in advance.

They get the fire going, and Luke prepares them some lunch, which they eat quietly in front of the fire.

They spend the day lounging around, doing puzzles and crosswords and just enjoying each others company.

Then they sit out on the porch and play silly little games like I spy and fetch with Roxy.

It’s a really enjoyable day.

Towards the end of the day, they take Roxy for a very small walk, as Luke still isn’t allowed to do any strenuous exercise.

Roxy is excited to have a new walking track, and they idly walk by as she smells all the trees and flowers.

Spencer prepares dinner, as he wants Luke to rest, and they curl up on the couch and watch a movie to round out their perfect day.

As they’re getting into bed, Luke chucks Spencer his hoodie as he’s visibly cold, and nothing warms Luke than seeing Spencer grin and pull the hoodie over his head, sweater paws and all. He loves seeing his boyfriend in his clothes.

“Thank you for doing this for me, cariño,” Luke presses a kiss to the corner of Spencer’s mouth. “This is a really nice place. And I’ve enjoyed this quality time together.”

“I’ll have to bring you back when you’re fully fit and not injured,” Spencer replied, running his hand down Luke’s bicep. “Then we can go for a proper hike through nature.”

“That would be really nice,” Luke agrees. “But I’m not mad that I get to spend a week in a cute cottage with my cute boyfriend. If we had unlimited food and Roxy had a backyard, we would never, ever have to leave.”

Spencer smiles. “You’d miss your job and your family and friends too much.”

“I would,” Luke agrees again. “But getting to spend the most time with you? So worth it.”

“Maybe we can make it a regular thing?” Spencer questions. “Every time one of us has holiday leave, we can go somewhere fun together. It’s a good way to make sure we relax.”

“Sounds perfect to me,” Luke replies, nosing at Spencer’s neck. “I’ll take time off whenever you have your term break.”

Spencer breathes deep as Luke has started to suck on his neck, obviously trying to seduce him.

“Doctor Robinson said no sex for two weeks,” Spencer chastises. “You still have to wait four more days, mister.”

“Aw c’mon,” Luke whines. “You’re looking so sexy and you just looked after me in hospital for over a week. I want to repay the favour.”

Spencer kisses Luke chastely. “I didn’t do you a favour. We’re a team, so I’ll always look after you. However, I will grant you one make out session. No sex though!”

Luke laughs and they kiss and it feels so good and so perfect and so right.

They still had things to discuss. They hadn’t yet had the conversation that JJ and Spencer spoke about when they thought Luke was asleep in the hospital. They needed to compromise and work together, as they were a team. But they had two weeks before Luke had to go back to work, so it could wait.

“I love you, Spencer.”

“I love you too, Luke.”