okay in my defence i wanted some cliche tropey shit in this book cause it's mostly angst

EIGHTEEN. BACK TO TRIVIA

"IT'S NOT THE SAME WITHOUT THEM," PENELOPE POUTED, LOOKING AROUND AT HER GROUP OF FRIENDS. Rhea nodded, hating the fact that the trivia table was so much more empty than it usually was. There was no Daisy, no Aaron, no Derek. They had been replaced by Luke, Marnie and Stephen Walker. Emily was the only returning agent who Rhea had known a little longer.

"I know," JJ sighed, one hand resting on Will's arm and the other wrapped around a glass of rosé. "Who's going to yell at us when we try and steal from the geniuses' first place gift basket?"

"No complaints here," Emily chuckled, though there was a sadness behind her eyes. "They give you guys the best wine."

"You know I have a cellar filled with vintage red, right?" Rossi seemed offended at the fact that she preferred cheap garbage over what he had. "Emily-"

"Are you drinking tonight?" Spencer asked, leaning in so that he could talk to Rhea separately from everyone else. They, of course, sat next to each other, no more hesitation like there had been when the trivia nights started. The badges that read Beanie's Babies had been updated each few quiz seasons, and this round was Penelope's worst attempt yet. They were bright neon and looked horrifically ugly, but everyone loved them. Even Rossi tolerated wearing it on his lapel for the first half an hour of the night.

Her eyes fell to the menu in front of them, despite knowing all the drinks off by heart. She'd been here a hundred times, yet she still had to peruse just in case she'd change her mind. Then, she looked up at Spencer with a suggestive smile, her eyebrows lifting quickly. "I will if you will."

Spencer scoffed, though a smile spread at his lips. "Seriously?"

"C'mon, Doc," Rhea grinned, reaching over and linking their arms together. Neither noticed the smiles they received from the others. "My shout."

Spencer chuckled, knowing that he'd end up finding a way to pay so her bank account didn't get drained. That was one of the perks of getting a big paycheck but not having anything but books to spend it on. "Fine. But I'm blaming you if we break our winning streak."

Rhea cheered, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his cheek. Spencer blushed deeply, but she got too distracted by the menu to notice. Luke kicked Spencer's leg under the table with a smirk, and the doctor shrugged him off bashfully.

"The great Doctor Reid finally gives in to a drink?" Emily teased, a knowing smile gracing her painted lips. "Now that's a beautiful sight if I've ever seen one."

Rhea jumped up and went to the bar to order, which meant Spencer was on the receiving end of a group of profilers. He scratched the back of his head, pretending not to have any idea what they were doing, instead grabbing the pen he'd brought with him and filling out the team name at the top of each section of paper.

"So..." Luke sat up, leaning against the table on his elbows. If he'd been lying down, his feet would be kicked up behind him like a twelve year old at a sleepover. "Are you finally gonna make your move tonight?"

Spencer tapped the pen against the tabletop. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Reid," Penelope reached over to smack his arm. Spencer jumped a little, though he'd come to expect her actions over their friendship. "We all know you like her."

He shook his head adamantly. "Not like that."

"Liar," Rossi hummed, finally having given up on convincing Emily of wine quality.

"I'm not lying," Spencer gave himself away with the small smile that hinted at his lips. Laughs sounded around the table and he seemed to get even more bright in colour, before he got to his feet. "You know what? Maybe you guys don't need the genius on your team."

"Booo!!" Marnie called, throwing him two middle fingers in a joking manner. Luke laughed, his eyes crinkling at the sides. Spencer flushed at their teasing, rushing over to the bar so he didn't have to listen to them any longer. Usually he could stand it, but when it came to Rhea, it was different.

"Everything okay?" Rhea asked, checking over the receipt she'd just been given. Spencer took it from her with a frown. "What?"

"I was hoping you'd put it on a tab," he muttered. "Then I could pay for it."

"I told you this was my shout," she waved him off. "Don't worry yourself."

Spencer was clearly worrying himself. He spared a glance over his shoulder to see the team all watching quite eagerly to see if he was going to do anything exciting. He sighed, and looked back at Rhea. She unconsciously leaned against him as she waited for the drinks, and he found himself inhaling sharply. "What did you order?"

"Sex on the Beach," she cackled, mostly to herself. "You know, it's not as fun as it sounds. Sand gets everywhere."

"Oh my God," Spencer mumbled, the pink tinge on his cheeks returning at the idea of the woman before him sprawled across the sand. Rhea laughed, nudging him lightly.

"Lighten up, Doc," she chuckled, turning around. However, she halted immediately at the sight of someone further down the bar. "Shit."

"What?" Spencer whipped around, but Rhea grabbed him and pulled him back. "What is it?"

There was genuine fear in Rhea's eyes. "It's my ex-boyfriend. Please...just...act like you haven't seen him."

"I didn't see him," Spencer replied, turning his body so that she was out of sight.

Unfortunately, it was too late.

"Rhea?" Hunter walked over, not without looking Spencer up and down. His lip was upturned at how the woman was comfortably leaning into his side, but he tried not to make it too obvious.  "Hey, baby, how's it going?"

"Don't call me that," Rhea muttered, gaze downcast. Spencer adjusted an arm around her waist, holding her close. Hunter's left eye twitched.

"Doctor Spencer Reid," Spencer muttered, his expression perfectly blank. He didn't feel the need for warmth. Hunter seemed to pick up on it, which only made Rhea squirm a little more.

"And how do you two know each other?" Hunter bent down a little to make eye contact with Rhea. She swallowed, her hands gripping a fistful of Spencer's shirt behind his back. "I'm surprised you managed to make a friend. You've had, what, two? Like that fluke, Daisy. Where is she, anyway?"

Rhea gritted her teeth. Spencer went to say something but she puffed her chest out and held her head up high. " Daisy is busy, and if she were here she'd tell you to kindly fuck off. And, if you must know, Spencer's my boyfriend. Not that it's any of your business."

Spencer tried to hide his look of surprise, instead managing a relatively smug smirk as Hunter glared coldly in his direction. "Boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend," Spencer confirmed with a sharp nod. From the way his hand sat on Rhea's hip without her showing any discomfort, Hunter had no choice but to believe them. "And you are...?"

Hunter's posture tightened. Spencer only knew bits and pieces about the man before him, but he also could tell that he was a classic narcissist, who clearly hoped his torment of Rhea would give him some sort of legacy. "Hunter. Surely Rhea's mentioned little old me."

Pursing his lips, Spencer shook his head with a dismissive shrug. If Derek had been here, he would've been proud of how unintimidated he was. "She might have. But clearly you didn't leave a great impression."

"I don't believe you," Hunter's fist clenched. His gaze returned to Rhea, whose grip was tightening as the minutes ticked by. "You and I both know you'd never get over me. That's just how you are. I'd bet all my money you haven't even thought about being with anyone else, about kissing anyone else, about fucking-"

Those words were what drove Rhea to grab Spencer by the collar and pull him down to kiss her. Their lips collided with enough force to feel like her mouth had been bruised, but she was filled with so much desperation that she didn't give the idea a second thought. However, once it started getting heated, all she could think was BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA.

Naturally, Spencer was caught off guard at first, stumbling a little, before he lifted his hand to cup her jaw. His touch was careful, yet filled with determination. Truthfully, what surprised her the most was the fact that he seemed to know what he was doing. It seemed that if he had to go for it, he was going to go for it. He didn't hesitate to slip in some tongue, and she went along with it, the thought of pulling away not even crossing her mind. 

However, she couldn't deny the fact that there was something that sprouted in the pit of her stomach as they parted (after what felt like forever). She opened her eyes before Spencer did, his lips still puckered slightly. She flashed the shocked Hunter a glare as she turned to the bar to grab the drinks, before rushing back to the table where the team was sitting wide eyed and utterly shocked at what they had just seen.

Spencer disappeared to the bathroom, but Rhea's head was so full that she didn't notice. The words in her head were still repeating. BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA, BAD IDEA!!

"So..." JJ was the first to say something, only to be on the receiving end from Rhea's look of warning. The blonde hid her smile behind her glass, clearly the only one who could think of the right words to say. The agent put her glass down, clapped her hands together, and cleared her throat. "Never mind! Let's win this thing!"

★☆

There was obvious tension when Spencer returned. He wasn't exactly close to Rhea, but she felt like she was being suffocated by him. The slightest touch or linger of his body sent her into hyperdrive, freaking her out to her wits end. 

So much so, they weren't winning by their usual landslide. 

"What are the names of the main characters from the 1977 animated classic, The Rescuers?" the host chimed, before looking over at the table of government workers and the elementary school teacher. "Beanie's Babies seem to be slipping tonight, so here's your chance to beat them! Maybe it was that smooch the two geniuses shared over at the bar? We all saw it!"

Rhea buried her head in her hands, trying to hide her flaming red cheeks. She couldn't bear to look at Spencer, who was tapping the pen against the table as he tried to attempt the answer. 

"Do you wanna get some air?" Emily asked, her hand resting on Rhea's shoulder. "It's okay, he'd understand."

Rhea swallowed. She looked back at the Unit Chief, before nodding her head. "Five minutes wouldn't hurt, right?"

Emily smiled gently and stepped aside so that Rhea could get out of her chair. Spencer's head shot up at her movements. He also got to his feet, putting the pencil on the table and following her outside. 

"Wait, what's the answer?!" Luke called, cupping his mouth with his hands. Marnie scratched her head, before she squeaked and snatched the pencil and paper, scrawling in the answer. Luke peered over her shoulder. "Bernard and Miss Bianca? What kind crap is this?"

"You didn't watch it growing up?" Marnie teased, sending him a playful wink. Luke rolled his eyes, his arm stretching so that it hung over the back of her chair. "C'mon, Alvez. Where's the culture? You've gotta appreciate the classics."

"I watched Tarzan and I hated it," he shrugged. "How did he know how to speak English when they came and got him? He'd been talking like a monkey all his life."

"Ape," Marnie corrected, sliding the paper back into the centre of the table. Luke stuck his tongue out at her, and she did the same in response.

★☆

YEE YEE MOTHERFUCKERS