Hi. I know it's been two months. And this chapter probably sucks. But student life, you know :) This story is probably going to have two more chapter which are sort of going to be the climax. So stay tuned (or not because who knows how long it's going to take me this time). Enjoy!

Kate was having a good day. Her first month at the BAU had gone by fairly well. She was honestly surprised at how well she had fit into the group; she already felt like good friends with all of them, and to top it off, it had been a pretty uneventful month at home too. Now, if only her stomach could stop emitting dying-whale sounds and let her fill up her paperwork in peace.

She had slept a few minutes too long that morning and consequently had to skip breakfast. Now her stomach couldn't stop grumbling and Morgan had already given her a few too many amused looks. She filled in some last few words, flipping the file closed, and then looked around to see if anyone was watching. Glad to see that everyone was otherwise occupied, she silently stood up from her desk and strolled casually towards the kitchen area, heading for the slim door at the corner that led to a small pantry in which they stored snacks, coffee and the likes.

It was a small space yet someone had still somehow stacked it with at least three shelves. She moved through the stacks of unopened cartons and empty boxes, heading towards the last shelf where she spotted a pack of her favorite chips dangling from a high corner. She was reaching for the top shelf when she heard voices from outside and then someone was stepping through the door and closing it behind them.

"What are you doing?" She heard Reid say. She was about to move around the shelf to reply, but when a women's voice answered him, she realized the question hadn't been aimed at her. Kate immediately moved behind the shelf, realizing the situation she had stumbled upon. Oh boy. This couldn't be good.

"Shhhh," The woman answered. It didn't take Kate long to recognize the voice of Reid's girlfriend, Nyssa. "Someone's going to hear us."

Kate had only met Nyssa once at her time with the BAU and that was just in passing when the other agent had come up to get Reid before they had headed out. She hadn't known then that he was in a relationship and was kind of surprised to see the brightly dressed woman leaning over his desk, brushing stray messy hair out of his eyes. Nyssa was instantly likable in a charming sort of manner and even though they seemed to be two very different people, Kate had to admit that they had somehow made sense.

"What are they going to hear?" Reid asked, "Did you want to talk in private because-"

"Yes, I wanted to talk in private." Nyssa spoke over him. Just from the cadence of her voice, Kate knew it was something serious. She prayed to god that they weren't about to have a fight, or worse, a heart to heart. "Something's wrong. Tell me what's wrong."

Reid's brows furrowed. "No…nothing's wrong. What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Spence," Nyssa sighed.

Kate debated coming out from behind the shelf. This felt like this was the beginning of a conversation she didn't want to eavesdrop upon. But, god, it was going to be so awkward if she randomly walked out from behind a shelf, interrupting whatever it was that was about to happen. Maybe they'll have a small conversation and she could wait it out, foregoing any awkwardness. But what if it wasn't-

"Ever since last week you've been distant," Nyssa said, voice solemn and maybe a bit hurt. "And I'm not part of the BAU. I can't figure out what's going on unless you tell me."

Reid looked at her, then downwards, biting his lip in deliberation. He shook his head, not meeting her eyes, "It's nothing. I'll get over it."

Nyssa folded her arms across her chest in a defensive gesture. Even though her face betrayed nothing, her whole stance was rigid and wrought with tension. Kate winced. Was she about to witness a breakup? And to think she was worried about causing any awkwardness…

"That implies that there's something to get over," Nyssa said. "That's not how relationships work, Spencer. You can't just ignore whatever's bothering you and expect yourself, and me, to get over it. Just tell me what I did."

"Fine," Spencer bit out, uncharacteristically. He pushed his hands into his pockets and spoke too quickly, words rushing out of his mouth before he had the time to process them, "Last Friday, when I was over, I was in the bathroom and I heard you talking to your mother on the phone. She was nagging you about something and then you told her you weren't seeing anyone. I know you don't have a close relationship with your mother, but common human nature suggests that when you're really care about something, telling your loved ones about it is usually the foremost reaction."

Nyssa took a step back, her mouth snapping shut. "Spencer," she started, almost immediately, "I didn't –I don't-"

Kate felt a small kernel of anger sparking in her stomach. She knew she didn't have the full story but she still felt protective towards Reid, even though she had just known him for a month.

"We haven't been together for very long," Reid continued speaking. It was as if the dam had broken and now he couldn't stop himself until he had said all that he'd been thinking about the past few days. His words were still quick but now he was looking into her eyes, conveying all the hurt that was already present in his voice, "and this might be another relationship for you but the past few months have been incredibly real for me….and if you like this to be a casual thing, then I understand-"

"Spencer." Nyssa grabbed his hands, stopping his mid-sentence. The shock on her face was replaced by a stormy look of conviction, "Nothing about this, about us, is casual, okay? I screwed up, but I need you to let me explain myself, please."

Reid looked at her for a few seconds and then gave her a little nod.

Kate knew she shouldn't be this invested in her friend's relationship, but since there was no way in hell that she was interrupting this now, she found the best possible view and settled back to watch. She had to admit that if it was her husband who would've done something like that when they were dating, she would have been extremely hurt. But at the same time she felt curious to hear what Nyssa was going to say. After her own share of romantic ups and downs, Kate knew things were never truly black and white.

Nyssa looked downwards at their still intertwined hands. "What I did was wrong…I shouldn't have lied to my mother, whether you were listening or not."

Reid said nothing, waiting for her to continue.

"My mother… she's very intense. And traditional. She thinks I should've gotten married five years ago. So, every time I've introduced her to someone I was seeing, she got way to ahead of herself, started planning dinners, dropping hints about proposals." Nyssa heaved a large sigh. "And it scared off both of the guys I've ever introduced her too. I just... I like the way things are right now. I didn't –I didn't want to burst the bubble."

"Bubble?"

"You know," Nyssa gestured with her hands, "the bubble. Everything is nice and easy and uncomplicated. As soon as I bring my mother into the mix, uncomplicated will be a word of the past."

Reid bit his lip, looking down at her, his thoughts churning but not apparent, "I know I'm not the best with people…but I do think I can handle meeting your parents, given the chance."

Kate frowned. She honestly thought that everyone generally underestimated Reid's people skills, including himself. Sure he liked to rattle of numbers and facts mid-conversation that usually left people stumped, but she had seen him work with all kinds of people on the job. And even though his EQ wasn't as high as his IQ, Kate thought he was still very emotionally perceptive, especially when it came to the team.

It seemed like Nyssa had the same thing in mind. She let out a small noise in protest, "Of course you can! That's not even the issue, Spencer. My parents will absolutely love you. They'll hear the word 'doctor' and think that you're the most qualified person to ever walk through their door, which you probably would be-" She took a breath to get back on the point. "I guess, the point I'm trying to make is that things are good right now. And I didn't want to ruin anything by adding familial pressures to the mix."

Kate silently nodded her head in agreement. Familial pressures were definitely real.

Some of the apprehension from Reid's face was dissolving. "I don't think your family can be more pressurizing than our jobs already are and we're handling that okay," he said with a small hint of a smile that quickly overturned. "At least I hope they won't be."

Nyssa laughed and Kate could physically feel the tension in the room vaporizing.

"They're not that bad," Nyssa shook her head, "I was just being stupid. I'll tell them about us. Tonight."

"Good," Reid smiled. Once again, it turned into a worried frown, "Are you sure they'll like me? I've never been good with fathers in general, mine or any friends'. It's because I tend to quote facts when I'm nervous which leads to them either looking at me like I'm a computer or-"

"Spencer," Nyssa stopped him by cupping his face in her hands. "You don't have anything to be worried about."

Reid smiled again, "Good." He raised a hand to brush some hair from Nyssa's face and Kate got the distinct feeling that now would be a real good time for her to magically teleport out of the room.

"I wrote to my mother about you too, you know." He told her, his affection shining plainly through his face. "It was the morning after our first date. I tell her everything and that morning I was really happy."

Nyssa tried to contain her smile. "What did she say?"

"She said and I quote: 'Nyssa sounds like a lovely young woman. I hope you will introduce me to her someday.'"

Nyssa's smile only grew wider, "I hope so too." She closed the distance between them and gave him a quick kiss. And then another. Kate desperately hoped that that was it and they were going to keep it PG. But the atmosphere between the couple was already changing.

Nyssa whispered something that Kate couldn't hear and then she was stretching on her toes and nuzzling her nose in Reid's neck, "God, I love it when you wear this sweater…"

The tone of her voice had Kate almost putting her hands on her ears but she substituted it with closing her eyes when that low whisper turned into a full blown make out session. With lots of tugging. And hands. God, it felt like she was intruding on her little brother or something; she was pretty sure she would never be able to look at Reid the same way again. And now she was definitely stuck here. She could only imagine their mortification if they knew Kate had been in the room all along.

She opened her eyes a tiny bit and almost let out a squeak when she saw a flash of skin. She backed away quickly, wanting to put as much distance between her and the ongoing activities as possible, and accidentally clanged her foot against the leg of a shelf. Which was made of metal. Which let out a loud noise. Which made her almost dissolve into the floor.

As one, the couple startled and broke apart. Their heads swiveled in her direction. And then simultaneously, they said,

"Kate?"

(I don't wanna say this but I'm not really enjoying this season? And that's making me sad. Also can we please get a proper Reid centric storyline? I swear they've been ignoring him from like season ten)