Two High IQ's Make One Great Romance

"Sorry I was so upset today." He said immediately after answering the phone. I wondered if he was still with the team or had retreated into his hotel room. It made sense for Spencer to want to leave the group early and head in to read.

I laughed lightly at him as I stirred my cup of hot chocolate and settled onto my couch to read. I had some Chopin playing in my kitchen and was making myself comfortable. "Don't be sorry. I know how it is when you're on a case. I don't take it personally." I sipped and set the cup down, having had burned my lips at the hot liquid.

"I thought you might have been upset with me." His voice trailed. He was probably deciding on what books to read for the night.

"I'd never be upset with you for focusing on a case. You know how I get sometimes when I'm really into my work."

"Dancing or analyzing?"

"Either one." I shrugged. I attempted to sip my drink again and smiled when it felt just right.

"Good point." It was clear now that both of us were sitting with our books opened, but our minds not focusing on the words. My book was in my hands, but my eyes were cast onto my floor.

"How's Ohio treating you?" I asked. He sighed.

"As good as it gets, I guess. I miss you."

I giggled as I took another sip. "You've been talking to me all day."

"It's not the same. Don't you feel the same way?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do. But this is comfortable for me, you know? I kind of like being professional with you and then being completely normal only hours later." I laughed at my own confusing words.

"As interesting as that sounded, I completely understand." Spencer sighed. I could tell how tired he was, as I was as well.

"I'll let you go to bed sweetie, you need to get some sleep to finish up the case." He yawned as I spoke.

"I love you. I'll call you tomorrow morning before I head into the station."

"I love you too. Good night."

"Night."

It was one of the shortest conversations that I had ever had with Spencer, but every conversation I had with him was one I cherished. I needed to hear his voice while he was away in order to stay calm. It's always frightening to have your boyfriend away solving murder cases.

XXXXXX

"Thanks Piper, keep looking into that." Hotch said before shutting his phone and surely running off to investigate something else. We were coming close to catching the unsub, and it would only be a matter of hours before the suspect was revealed and surely caught.

Surprisingly I didn't have much to focus on. Penelope was managing to keep up with most of the technical stuff, and I was acting as somewhat of a back-up, for which I was very thankful. It had been a while since I had gotten this nice of a technical break. It gave me some time to think about returning to teaching my classes on Saturday. Spencer would probably be returning on Friday, and then we would spend the night together before I had to teach on Saturday morning.

"Piper? Little girl?" Derek's smooth voice called over the phone.

"Yes dear, what is it that you need?"

"The last time Mike Syca used his credit card."
Ten seconds later I gave Derek the answer and continued looking into what Hotch had instructed me to. After I relayed all of the information, I took a minute to lean back and glance down at the necklace nestled between my skin and my shirt. The silver on it was flawless, and I suspected the Spencer had spent a lot of time picking out one that would not only suit me, but represent our relationship in a way as well. He knew me better than I knew myself, I concluded, as no one could ever pick out such a perfect present. This one would be hard to top, I thought as I giggled to myself. I also began to think of how Spencer's birthday was approaching and I had not thought of what to get him yet, but he was not a person who would be hard to shop for.

My lips curled into a small smile as I answered his phone call for the third time that day.

XXXXXX

He buried his face in my neck and breathed in the familiar scent of my black cherry and vanilla perfume. One of his hands grabbed the back of my head to secure it in place while the other rested gently on my lower back. It felt so good to be back in his arms again.
I took in his scent, like old books and cologne and smiled, feeling awe-struck that I was with the man of my dreams. He hugged me tighter for one more second before pulling back and pecking me lightly on the lips. I made him linger for a moment longer before he could pull back again and look down at me.

"How was your flight?"

"It was okay. I slept." Spencer said as we both turned to walk to my car.

"Hey little girl! Where do you think you're running off to?" Derek's voice boomed from behind me. I rolled my eyes sarcastically and turned to my close friend.

"My car! I've got to get this sleepy boy home before he collapses on top of me." I patted Spencer's chest.

"Oh I know what you've got to get him home for," He winked, "I won't get in your way." Derek rubbed my shoulder and left me with an open mouth.

"Did you..." I began to ask Spencer once I knew Derek was out of ear-shot.

"No! Well.. kind of... He guessed it. He honestly reads me so well." Spencer began speaking with the hand that was not wrapped around my waist.

I slapped my forehead, not angry, but frustrated. It wasn't Spencer's fault that Derek found out that we had sex, but it didn't make me feel any better about it.

"He doesn't care. He's happy that we finally did it... those are his words, not mine."

"He would say something like that. Ugh." I groaned as we climbed into my tiny car and began to leave the FBI secured unit.

"Please don't be mad." Spencer reached over and reassuringly rubbed my leg. I sighed, feeling better about the situation ever since he touched me. He always knew how to calm me.

"I'm not. It's not like he didn't see it coming anyway."

The next fifteen minutes were filled by a pleasant ride to my house where I had already packed some things from Spencer's house for him to stay over. Well, not that there weren't things already secured at my house that were sure to stay for weeks if not months, but he needed some fresh pajamas and clothes. Tomorrow was Saturday, so I made sure to bring a casual outfit for him instead of his usual work button-up, tie, and occasional vest.

He stretched and yawned heavily as we entered my dimly lit house. I flipped on the lights and we headed for my bedroom, both of us wondering the same thing. Would we make love again tonight? But one look at the deep purple lines creasing his eyes was enough of an answer for me. We both had busy days, and there was nothing either of us would enjoy more than laying in bed and falling asleep side by side.

Spencer's smile was not well hidden when he saw that I had picked out pajamas for him.

"Really?" He asked.

"Really." I responded, slipping into my own bed-time outfit. He put on the blue and white stripped pajama bottoms and pink tee-shirt that I had found thrown at the bottom of his dresser. I laughed once he had put everything on.

"You look funny." I said as I pulled over my black tank top to match the tiny black and white plaid boy shorts I had gotten into.

"You picked this out!" He pulled the shirt out to look at it. "I never even wear bottoms to bed." He sat down on my comforter and groaned.

"It's not like you have to be embarrassed," I kissed the top of his head, "I know that I picked it out, so obviously I thought it would look cute on you." I paused. "There's a pair of clean boxers in the second drawer. You left them here last week. There's a different shirt too, but don't even think about changing into that too or I'll be seriously offended that you didn't like my choice." I winked. He changed into the boxers and looked at me with his hands on his hips, feeling as if he had won.

"Thanks Piper." Spencer climbed into bed next to me and flicked off the lamp on his side. We curled into our usual position, my head resting on his chest while his arm pulled me in tightly, and I felt normal again.

Talking to him on the phone eased my anxiety about him being away, and being one of the team members that helped him at his work was definitely a plus, but truly being by his side and being reassured that he was with me was what really made me feel at home. Hotch and I had talked about this briefly before, when he was visiting me at Spencer's house months ago.

Hotch told me that it would always be difficult to know that he was in the line of danger and to completely trust that he would come home in once piece. It would always tear me apart at night to know that when I woke up, Spencer would still be in another bed. It wouldn't get easier. That was part of the reason of why Hotch and his late ex-wife separated.

But then, she didn't understand exactly what we did everyday. And being a part of what Spencer experienced on a day to day basis was what made me believe that I could stand being away from him for countless nights in a row, as long as I knew that eventually he would come back to me and lay by my side, just like he was now.

His fingertips gently caressed my shoulder. "What are you thinking about?" He asked after noticing my awkward silence.

"Nothing important. Just... case work." My fingers rubbed his chest smoothly, letting him know that it nothing serious was on my mind.

"I love you. More than you'll ever know." He said before leaning over and kissing the top of my head. My cheeks got warm, just like they always did.

"I love you too. More than you'll ever know."