Fic: Paperclips and Profiles (Criminal Minds/Castle crossover)
Title: Paperclips and Profiles (Criminal Minds/Castle crossover)
Author: Lauren aka thecowboycliche
Rating: PG, FRT
Word Count: 1224
Characters/Pairings: Spencer Reid and Kate Beckett
Warnings: None. No spoilers.
Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. Criminal Minds and Castle belong to their respective owners and I'm making no money from this.
Summary: Awkward silence leads to Reid profiling Castle for Beckett.
A/N: This was written for the crossover challenge at crimeland. I haven't written fic in.. a long ass time, so please be gentle with me. This was supposed to be a drabble, but I kind of fail at the idea of short. I also fail at titles. the_gubette proofread this, but beyond that, unbeta'ed. Hope you like it!
--
Kate Beckett gazed across her desk at the strangest FBI agent she had ever met. She had no idea that the Feds actually let guys like him out from behind the desk and into the field. Then again, he had a gun on his hip, though not the standard issue Glock. Beckett leaned back in her chair and gazed at him intently.
Spencer Reid glanced up in time to meet Beckett’s sharp gaze and looked away almost immediately, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Kate Beckett of the NYPD was not like most cops-of-the-week that Reid and the team worked with. She was brilliant and had been incredibly insightful so far on the case they were working. Reid thought it would be no small stretch for her to become a profiler. Even at this moment, he could feel her brown eyes taking him in, making various deductions and assumptions. He concentrated on the mindless task he had set himself to: linking paper clips together.
It was the end of the day and Hotch had gone with Ryan and Esposito to see if Lanie had any new developments on the forensics end. That left Beckett and Reid sitting here in a silence that wouldn’t have been so awkward if Reid hadn’t suddenly turned so shy. He hadn’t been shy earlier when he had managed to do something Beckett had been trying to do for months: make Castle go home. Indeed, Castle would probably still be sitting here spouting something charming, yet self-indulgent had he not gotten so fed up with the boy genius who now sat on the other side of her desk. Beckett smiled to herself. Castle was used to thinking he was the smartest one in the room and absolutely hated how many times Reid had one-upped him today. The best thing about it was that Beckett could tell that Reid had no clue of the effect he was having on Castle. Sure Reid was cognizant of the fact that Castle was getting more and more irritated by him, but he clearly had no intent. Reid had gotten under Castle’s skin simply by being Reid. Beckett felt both a sense of amusement towards and admiration for him.
“Trying to make me a necklace?”
Reid’s long nimble fingers quickly dropped the paperclip chain that by now was about 20 links long. It fell to her desk with a light metallic clatter. “Uh.. no..”
“Can’t woo me with jewelry, Dr. Reid,” Beckett continued, a smirk on her face. “Other men have tried and failed.”
Reid swallowed hard, his face a rather deep shade of pink as he tried to quickly undo the chain he had built up. “I-I wasn’t.. trying to do that..” he stammered, not able to even remotely make eye contact.
Beckett shrugged. His embarrassment was quite adorable. “I’m teasing you..” she said softly. Reid was the type of person you had to draw a picture for sometimes.
He continued dismantling his paperclip chain in silence. Now that they were alone and the day was winding down, Beckett had nothing to concentrate on but him. That made Reid feel exceptionally uneasy, as he was fairly sure she wouldn’t draw the same conclusions about him that he had drawn about her. In an effort to interrupt her thinking process, he decided to drop what he’d been holding onto all day.
“I read the books.”
“Oh?” Beckett raised her eyebrows slightly. He didn’t seem like the type to be interested in popular fiction.
“Yes, on the plane over here,” he continued, finally looking up and catching her eye. “Garcia recommended them when she heard we’d be working with you.”
Beckett pursed her lips, nodding thoughtfully at that. “What did you think?”
That was a question you should potentially never ask Spencer Reid if you didn’t want an answer the length of a doctoral dissertation. In this case, she was going to get something similar to that. Beckett sat in amused silence as Reid listed every example of suspended reality and perceived inconsistency in Heat Wave. If Castle were still there, he’d have been up in arms, but the points Reid was bringing up were extremely valid. Gone was the nervous man who had been meekly playing with paper clips a moment ago. When Reid knew what he was talking about, he came off as downright confident. She watched his hands move while he talked, his fingers forming figures in the air that only his subconscious mind understood. Unlike Castle, Beckett found Reid’s insights both interesting and useful.
“And then there’s Nikki Heat herself.”
“What about her?”
“Well, she’s obviously based on you as Castle has admitted as much, but it’s clear that he’s turned her into some idealized version of you.”
Beckett leaned forward, very interested to see where this was going. “How so?”
“She seems to be far more sexualized than you are, even in her daily work. You wouldn’t wear skin tight jeans and a plunging neckline on a case. You’re a professional. It’s very apparent that he wants you as a sexual partner.”
Beckett’s eyebrows flew up at that statement. “What makes you draw that conclusion?”
Reid paused, a bit wary of the look Beckett was giving him at that moment. “Uh.. Well, Jameson Rook is clearly Castle’s stand in, as made fairly obvious by the fact that a rook is the formal name for the castle piece on a chessboard. When he and Nikki Heat have their sexual encounter, it’s his way of experiencing sex with you because he can’t.”
“How do you know we haven’t?”
Reid stared at her like a deer in headlights. It was an assumption, actually.
“We haven’t,” Beckett deadpanned. “Keep going.”
“Uh.. anyway.. by doing so he’s utilizing numerous defense mechanisms to cope with with his unfulfilled desire, including distortion, fantasy.. it’s even a form of displacement, in my opinion. He writes those books as a way to deal with the fact that he cannot be with you sexually.”
Beckett was silent for a moment, taking all of that in. It was nothing that hadn’t ever crossed her mind, but it had never been laid out in front of her using technical terms before. She contemplated it, then turned her gaze back on Reid. “Is he dangerous?”
“Ah, no..” Reid knitted his brows as he spoke. “He’s certainly a narcissist, but he doesn’t profile as having narcissistic personality disorder... at least not of the antisocial variety.”
She nodded. “Good to know...”
Finished with his analysis, Reid went back to playing with the paperclips laying on the desk in front of him. Unable to bear going back to that silence, Beckett reached over and grabbed her coat off of the end of her desk. “You like coffee, Reid?”
Reid lit up at that suggestion. “Y-Yeah!”
“There’s a coffee shop on the corner that I usually go to.” She jerked her head over her shoulder as she stood up and put on her coat. “Come on.”
As if Reid could say no to that. He secured his leather side bag over his shoulder, then followed her towards the elevator, a grin on his face. “Did you know that coffee was actually used in religious ceremonies in ancient Africa and Yemen?”
Beckett shook her head, smiling as she pressed the down button.
Author: Lauren aka thecowboycliche
Rating: PG, FRT
Word Count: 1224
Characters/Pairings: Spencer Reid and Kate Beckett
Warnings: None. No spoilers.
Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. Criminal Minds and Castle belong to their respective owners and I'm making no money from this.
Summary: Awkward silence leads to Reid profiling Castle for Beckett.
A/N: This was written for the crossover challenge at crimeland. I haven't written fic in.. a long ass time, so please be gentle with me. This was supposed to be a drabble, but I kind of fail at the idea of short. I also fail at titles. the_gubette proofread this, but beyond that, unbeta'ed. Hope you like it!
--
Kate Beckett gazed across her desk at the strangest FBI agent she had ever met. She had no idea that the Feds actually let guys like him out from behind the desk and into the field. Then again, he had a gun on his hip, though not the standard issue Glock. Beckett leaned back in her chair and gazed at him intently.
Spencer Reid glanced up in time to meet Beckett’s sharp gaze and looked away almost immediately, a blush spreading across his cheeks. Kate Beckett of the NYPD was not like most cops-of-the-week that Reid and the team worked with. She was brilliant and had been incredibly insightful so far on the case they were working. Reid thought it would be no small stretch for her to become a profiler. Even at this moment, he could feel her brown eyes taking him in, making various deductions and assumptions. He concentrated on the mindless task he had set himself to: linking paper clips together.
It was the end of the day and Hotch had gone with Ryan and Esposito to see if Lanie had any new developments on the forensics end. That left Beckett and Reid sitting here in a silence that wouldn’t have been so awkward if Reid hadn’t suddenly turned so shy. He hadn’t been shy earlier when he had managed to do something Beckett had been trying to do for months: make Castle go home. Indeed, Castle would probably still be sitting here spouting something charming, yet self-indulgent had he not gotten so fed up with the boy genius who now sat on the other side of her desk. Beckett smiled to herself. Castle was used to thinking he was the smartest one in the room and absolutely hated how many times Reid had one-upped him today. The best thing about it was that Beckett could tell that Reid had no clue of the effect he was having on Castle. Sure Reid was cognizant of the fact that Castle was getting more and more irritated by him, but he clearly had no intent. Reid had gotten under Castle’s skin simply by being Reid. Beckett felt both a sense of amusement towards and admiration for him.
“Trying to make me a necklace?”
Reid’s long nimble fingers quickly dropped the paperclip chain that by now was about 20 links long. It fell to her desk with a light metallic clatter. “Uh.. no..”
“Can’t woo me with jewelry, Dr. Reid,” Beckett continued, a smirk on her face. “Other men have tried and failed.”
Reid swallowed hard, his face a rather deep shade of pink as he tried to quickly undo the chain he had built up. “I-I wasn’t.. trying to do that..” he stammered, not able to even remotely make eye contact.
Beckett shrugged. His embarrassment was quite adorable. “I’m teasing you..” she said softly. Reid was the type of person you had to draw a picture for sometimes.
He continued dismantling his paperclip chain in silence. Now that they were alone and the day was winding down, Beckett had nothing to concentrate on but him. That made Reid feel exceptionally uneasy, as he was fairly sure she wouldn’t draw the same conclusions about him that he had drawn about her. In an effort to interrupt her thinking process, he decided to drop what he’d been holding onto all day.
“I read the books.”
“Oh?” Beckett raised her eyebrows slightly. He didn’t seem like the type to be interested in popular fiction.
“Yes, on the plane over here,” he continued, finally looking up and catching her eye. “Garcia recommended them when she heard we’d be working with you.”
Beckett pursed her lips, nodding thoughtfully at that. “What did you think?”
That was a question you should potentially never ask Spencer Reid if you didn’t want an answer the length of a doctoral dissertation. In this case, she was going to get something similar to that. Beckett sat in amused silence as Reid listed every example of suspended reality and perceived inconsistency in Heat Wave. If Castle were still there, he’d have been up in arms, but the points Reid was bringing up were extremely valid. Gone was the nervous man who had been meekly playing with paper clips a moment ago. When Reid knew what he was talking about, he came off as downright confident. She watched his hands move while he talked, his fingers forming figures in the air that only his subconscious mind understood. Unlike Castle, Beckett found Reid’s insights both interesting and useful.
“And then there’s Nikki Heat herself.”
“What about her?”
“Well, she’s obviously based on you as Castle has admitted as much, but it’s clear that he’s turned her into some idealized version of you.”
Beckett leaned forward, very interested to see where this was going. “How so?”
“She seems to be far more sexualized than you are, even in her daily work. You wouldn’t wear skin tight jeans and a plunging neckline on a case. You’re a professional. It’s very apparent that he wants you as a sexual partner.”
Beckett’s eyebrows flew up at that statement. “What makes you draw that conclusion?”
Reid paused, a bit wary of the look Beckett was giving him at that moment. “Uh.. Well, Jameson Rook is clearly Castle’s stand in, as made fairly obvious by the fact that a rook is the formal name for the castle piece on a chessboard. When he and Nikki Heat have their sexual encounter, it’s his way of experiencing sex with you because he can’t.”
“How do you know we haven’t?”
Reid stared at her like a deer in headlights. It was an assumption, actually.
“We haven’t,” Beckett deadpanned. “Keep going.”
“Uh.. anyway.. by doing so he’s utilizing numerous defense mechanisms to cope with with his unfulfilled desire, including distortion, fantasy.. it’s even a form of displacement, in my opinion. He writes those books as a way to deal with the fact that he cannot be with you sexually.”
Beckett was silent for a moment, taking all of that in. It was nothing that hadn’t ever crossed her mind, but it had never been laid out in front of her using technical terms before. She contemplated it, then turned her gaze back on Reid. “Is he dangerous?”
“Ah, no..” Reid knitted his brows as he spoke. “He’s certainly a narcissist, but he doesn’t profile as having narcissistic personality disorder... at least not of the antisocial variety.”
She nodded. “Good to know...”
Finished with his analysis, Reid went back to playing with the paperclips laying on the desk in front of him. Unable to bear going back to that silence, Beckett reached over and grabbed her coat off of the end of her desk. “You like coffee, Reid?”
Reid lit up at that suggestion. “Y-Yeah!”
“There’s a coffee shop on the corner that I usually go to.” She jerked her head over her shoulder as she stood up and put on her coat. “Come on.”
As if Reid could say no to that. He secured his leather side bag over his shoulder, then followed her towards the elevator, a grin on his face. “Did you know that coffee was actually used in religious ceremonies in ancient Africa and Yemen?”
Beckett shook her head, smiling as she pressed the down button.