𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗 — red or blue?

━━━━━━━

 "𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐎 𝐀𝐆𝐀𝐈𝐍, 𝐀𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍."

 Selena's words were oozing with sarcasm, with a certain smugness that had Adrian Bale's fingers curling inwards atop the table, knuckles as white as snow as he scowled with all of his measly might.

 It appeared that once more Selena Hayes and Jason Gideon were one and the same — Selena had known that their last option in getting the bomb dismantled laid in the hands of Adrian Bale, and much to his chagrin, Gideon knew it as well. So within minutes of arriving back at the station, Selena had been dragged away by Jason; he declared that it would be time for her to meet with Bale once more.

 'You've met him, you've lied to him. You pretended to be somebody you're not just so that you could profile him better than the rest of us. That alone saved you. It saved Hotch, Greenaway and countless officers... I want you in there with me. You'll negotiate with him... we both know what he'll ask for.' Jason said the moment a door closed behind him. He had taken a seat after that, hands clasped upon his knee as he thought of the many possible things Bale would request in exchange for his knowledge — only one thing was front and centre; an acknowledgement from Gideon, a confession.

 So now Selena found herself sitting before the bomber once more, only this time, she was herself. There was no sickly smile painted on her lips in a pretty shade of pink. There was no soothing voice laden with syrup and sugar to rot Bale's teeth until he had nothing holding his words back.

 She teetered closer, inching over the table on her elbows just as she had in their previous meeting. Just as before, Bale was orange from head to toe, a garish colour that all of his fellow inmates were forced to wear during their confinement. His wrists clattered with every movement he took, the shackles coiled around him rattling like snakes.

 It was rather fair to say that Adrian Bale, did not look happy. He might have, before Selena had trailed through the room as though she lived there; but now, as he faced her, he couldn't keep back the ferocious frown from overtaking his thinned lips.

 He seemed to snarl like an unkept dog, "You lied."

 "Did I?" Selena hummed, her voice light and airy, and yet it was entirely her own. She spared a look at Gideon, for her next words were to come at some expense to himself. She echoed the words that Bale himself had spat at Gideon, "You trusted me."

 She could see the struggle within his endlessly black eyes. The way his pale skin stretched over his face like a thin wrapping of cling-film. His skin was now flushed in frustration, the first splotch of colour on his features in months.

 The clearing of a throat had Selena's eyes slowly dragging to the lawyer stationed at Bale's side. He was sleek in every sense of the word; hair combed into some sort of sticky wave, his suit pressed until the shoulders bulged like a soldier stationed before Buckingham Palace; Selena smiled at him, he looked like a penguin... especially when his lips pursed in manner that didn't entirely dissuade her from thinking a beak might just sprout upon his face.

 The lawyer didn't return her blatantly irritable smile, "You don't have to speak to her, Mr Bale. You're here for —"

 "— I know who I'm here for." Bale snapped, his teeth bared like a wolf ready to pounce. But while every occupant of the room knew he was there to watch Jason Gideon crumble like a biscuit, Bale's delicate ego simply couldn't help the desire to bleed Selena dry of answers, "You told me that you didn't trust Agent Gideon with your life."

 His smile was rueful, as though he was trying to cause conflict. For a smart man, he could be impeccably dumb.

 Selena tapped her fingers along the table, "As you said, Adrian, I lied. I choose to play a particular role suited for your particular person. Somebody quiet, submissive, someone who waited for you to tell them when to speak, yet someone still smart enough to acknowledge your own opinions and give them credible standing ground. I lied. You trusted... Had you not, maybe I wouldn't be here right now. I might have been blown up with Agents Hotchner and Greenaway, with numerous officers too... so thank you, Adrian." She watched his smile begin to crack, "Thank you, for trusting me."

 There was a beat of silence as tension encased the room like a murky film; Selena could feel the eyes of those watching them behind the 'mirror' to the side of the room. Behind would be Agents Hotchner and Greenaway watching every inch of their conversation. She could feel the gazes like bugs scuttling over her flesh, and yet Bale's attention was the only one she played for — she had him hooked yet again, yet this time with an entirely different persona.

 It was then, as the dust began to settle, as Adrian's eyes flickered with unquenchable rage... that Gideon interrupted. His hand made a vague gesture, briefly appearing within Selena's peripheral as the signal that she'd done her job. Selena had pissed Bale off, and now he not only wanted revenge, but he needed it — the negotiation would come. A deal would be struck, for Bale wasn't capable of resisting.

 "We'll start with a transfer," Gideon said as he approached the table, his shoes scarcely making a sound as he trudged. His face was passive, the lines around his mouth and eyes looking deeper than before — though Selena supposed meeting ones human personification of a nightmare would age them drastically, "You're in a high-security facility now. We can get you medium."

 Selena studied Bale, watching as he pressed an elbow atop the table, chin perched within his palm. He tried so desperately to appear bored and entirely nonchalant, but if there was one person to see through such a particular disguise, it was Selena. Nonchalance and boredom was her entire schtick, it was quite embarrassing to see somebody try to mimic it ever so poorly.

 Selena had dug her hooks too deep within the man for his show to rain true. Adrian Bale was irritated. He had been bested, and by a woman no less. It was safe to say that he would do anything he possibly could to get revenge... and Selena Hayes knew exactly how he would do it.

 She wasn't sure if Jason was already considering if Bale would lie about the bomb and how to dismantle it, but Selena thought — no, Selena knew that whatever he would spout, would be false.

 Bale shook his head, chin scrunching as it dragged over his clammy palm, "No. I want out of prison. A mental facility."

 "You're asking for something we wouldn't give a bank robber." Gideon countered, pacing to and fro behind Selena, the waft of air behind him ruffling stray blonde strands tickling Selena's cheeks, "There are minimum-security facilities —"

 "— I don't care." Bale snapped, his teeth clattering together while his voice whined like a child. His eyes pinched to a close, the edges crinkling with utter agitation. The man was like a bomb himself, anger ticking away within him, ready to burst, "I want to be able to talk to people who aren't prisoners. I want to access...to people, things, the world. I want to connect again."

 Silence stretched over them like rolling clouds, Selena knew Gideon's answer. It would be yes. It would have to be a yes... but to wear thin, to bide his time before answering would seem all the more like Gideon was hesitating, it would make it seem as though Bale had the upper hand. Maybe he did... Selena was almost too good at understanding Gideon, but there were times in which neither could pull a shed of information from the other.

 Whatever Gideon was doing now, whether baiting Bale, or truly crumbling beneath the realisation that he had to play along with his wishes... Selena had her own ideas in mind. She had angered Bale for a reason, she had tucked away every piece of intel she had on him — if she made him angry enough, if she made him spiteful and prideful, then Selena knew the proceeding plan would work.

 She didn't believe that Bale would make the deal and truly fulfil his end — why would he when it had already been proven that both he and the puppet at the end of his string, would sooner die than accept any other form of confinement? He put up a good show by pretending as though he wanted out of prison and into something less... constricting, but Selena Hayes knew men like Bale, men who wouldn't negotiate or deal. They had to be the decision-makers, for their pitiful egos simply couldn't stand being at all out of control.

 Bale wanted to taunt Gideon, and then he wanted to go down with him — A final card to play, a last nightmare for the man that had bested him. A checkmate.

 Gideon eventually nodded, "Fine."

 "One more thing — without which, there is no deal."

 Selena's brow hiked, a question leaving her lips despite knowing its answer, "And what would that be?"

 Bale's smile was slow, like something you'd expect to find on a predator cornering its prey. His teeth poked through chapped lips as he slowly brought his gaze from Selena and back to Gideon, "I want you... to confess."

 The unfiltered smugness within Bale's voice was like a pair of hands reaching out to close around your throat, squeezing whenever a breath was to be taken. The room was suffocating, and yet Selena didn't once move her line of sight. She surveyed Bale, dark-green eyes scouring every inch of his face from the way his lips twitched as the silence stretched, to the way he ever so slightly cocked his head... as though his ego was too heavy to carry.

 But this request was a foreseen one — from the moment Selena and Gideon had been standing side by side, awaiting Bale's inevitable arrival like an omen sneaking through the darkness, they had known what he'd ask for, the things he would request. Their meeting within the prison had been pivotal in building a better profile than ever before; he'd shown himself, the man buried beneath the bomber... and that man was just as arrogant and smug.

 Gideon was already prepared to accept, he was prepared to allow leniency upon Bale's shackles as long as the bomb was stopped... But Selena, as she peered at the sorry excuse of a man, was prepared to take a chance.

 "I want you to admit that I beat you in Boston," Adrian shuffled in his seat, his cuffs clinking and clanging as his fingers flexed, "That I outsmarted you. I want you to apologize to the families of those six victims you got killed. And I want it all in writing."

 Gideon paused his pacing, pivoted towards the table and laid his palms flat against it. Selena could spy the minute tick near his left eye — a telltale sign that while this had been the obvious outcome, Gideon didn't favour it at all. Still, he drew a breath, "If I do this, you'll tell us how to defuse the bomb?"

 "Only if you do this."

 "How do I know you won't lie to me?"

 Selena's eyes flashed as his lawyer leaned forth. his hands were clasped together, showcasing the prim and proper manicure that had recently been applied, as well as the barest show of pale skin around his ring finger, a definite contrast to the tan surrounding it. Selena almost sighed, for of course this darling lawyer would be antsy to win his case, to provide for his client — he'd been through a recent divorce, likely out of his control, considering the way the fingers on his right hand seemed to smooth over the pale splotch of skin on his left.

 The moment Bale's lawyer caught Selena's pointed stare, he parted her hands and cleared his throat. He reached beside him, the pristine blazer draped over his body creasing and crumpling as he fished out the contract they'd all signed before they'd been allowed to enter the room; their signatures solidified that if Gideon abided by Bale's wished, then Bale would abide by theirs.

 The lawyer straightened his jacket until not a single crease could be seen tarnishing the silk — another method of control, Selena noted as the lawyer began to speak, "It's all in writing, Agent Gideon. If my client refuses to give you information, or if he gives you information that he knows to be untruthful, the deal is void."

 Selena leaned back in her chair, sure to keep her fingers splayed over the table, even if the itch of germs was scattered over her flesh. She kept her eyes on Bale, even as Gideon read through the papers, even as he procured the small yellow notebook he kept snug within his jacket and began to write exactly what Bale wanted. Selena almost wanted to peer over his shoulder, to find how he truly felt about what had happened that day he'd trusted Bale's word... She had guessed, she had observed, but she had never been truly told — Gideon wasn't always one to bare his heart and soul, and neither was she.

 When Gideon's scratching pen came to an abrupt halt, he pushed his recollection of that one fateful day towards Bale, only to be met with a shaking head and carnivorous smile.

 Bale didn't even glance at the paper, or the words scrawled atop, "No. I want to hear it."

 Selena watched as Gideon paused, silence stretching out before he finally reached for the yellow pages, lips parting to repeat the words he'd written, "There was a hostage situation —"

 "No!" Bale snapped, his restraints clinking in sync. His abrupt shout had stolen Selena's attention, yet all she could find on his face was that same type of arrogance that made her fingers curl inwards, pressing against her palm until indents were made, "Don't read it. Say it."

 Selena truly wanted to reach out and smack him, she wanted to do anything that would have his smug little grin crumbling to pitiful ashes... she'd have abided his wishes, had it been herself in Gideon's position. She would have forced herself to suffer as long as the case could be completed perfectly. But Gideon was much the same. He'd sooner get himself shot than let their unsub get away.

 So, of course, it wasn't at all a surprise for Selena when after a moments deliberation, Gideon pushed the notes towards the prima and proper lawyer before folding his hands together atop the table. He leaned closer, eyes never once straying from Bale's. Then he took a steady breath, "There was a hostage situation. I negotiated with Bale. He agreed to give himself up" Gideon's voice seemed to bounce around the room, hopping from the table to the walls, against the two-way mirror... it was loud and clear, not a hint of hesitation, "He came out of the warehouse peacefully, and I gave the okay to send six of my agents in, and...and they never came out."

 Gideon's dry chuckle reverberated like a siren; Selena had never heard anything like it before — After years of guidance beneath Jason Gideon, she had found him to be blunt and straightforward; traits she wholeheartedly enjoyed, but he had never sounded so... so defeated before.

 "It was a mistake," Gideon continued, stuffing away the guilt embedding his bones and the sheer shame that engulfed his bloodstream. There was a final flash of pain that ricocheted through his eyes, and then Jason Gideon, the expert profiler was back, "It was my mistake, I was...I was outfoxed by Mr. Bale." He looked up at Bale, his stomach turning, "By you."

 Each word acted as water and sunlight to Bale, showering him as though he were a pitiful sapling. He grew taller with each syllable, leaves of arrogance and confidence lurching forth, unfurling with each second that drifted by. Selena knew Gideon was on the right track... she glanced down at the watch snug around her left wrist — five minutes left.

 Selena swiftly tapped her knee against her mentors, a silent signal that they needed to be quick; Gideon dipped his head, "I sincerely regret having made the decision to send those agents on that day. And I sincerely regret and apologize to those families of all those who died that day."

 It was then, and only then that Adrian Bale let out a heavy sigh, one weighted with Gideon's own misfortune. Bale seemed to revel in it as he leaned back in his chair, lips crooked as yellowing teeth poked through what could have been described as a cheshire grin. It had been enough, that much was evident; Gideon's retelling of his own worst nightmare had Bale hook line and sinker.

 Adrian Bale's eyes felt like needles against the flesh. Selena could feel every caress of them against her cheek, every time they'd flicker to her eyes all to gauge whether her stone-cold mask had slipped enough for him to spy through — it hadn't, it never would.

 From the corner of her eyes, Selena could see the way Bale's fingers twitched, as though they were already inching out towards the bomb and mangled web of wires slithering over thier victim. They watched through a wall of glass, a precaution that sealed the victim and the bomb tech from the rest of the world — a great oad of good it'd do should the bomb explode.

 Selena was silent as she stared, watching the bomb tech assess the explosive contraption one final time before his instructions were to be set. His voice buzzed through the walkie-talkie clutched within Hotchners hands as he stood just a pace away, "Okay. I've isolated the wires connected to the actual device, We've got one shot at this. It's either the blue wire or the red wire."

 The hostage appeared no different now compared to his first arrival. His hands shook, his face was flooded with droplets of sweat that trailed every inch of bronze skin... this time, however, instead of lingering in the midst of a room flooded with officers as he pleaded for someone to save him, the man only slipped his eyes shut, lips just barely moving as he said a final prayer.

 Selena's gaze narrowed. The loss of a victim was something every agent and officer was well acquainted with, it was something that no matter how hopeful they were... they had to prepare for it. But Selena Hayes had scarcely lost before, she could recall only twice in which her brain had failed her, and sequentially, allowed a victim to fall into the hands of death. That would not happen today.

 By the time the sun would set, Selena Hayes would be tying this case off with a pretty pink bow. Her puzzle would be complete; no lost pieces, no bent edges... it would be picture perfect.

 With that in mind, Selena knew what came next. She spared the barest of glances at Bale, "Go on then, which one?" her voice was level, "Red or blue?"

 Adrian inhaled, his chest rising as he cocked his head. His stare lingered on the bomb, trailing over the sight of the wires crawling over the victim like angry veins, "Red." He breathed.

 "If you're lying... Not only do you get nothing, Adrian," Selena pivoted on her toes, finally flashing him a grin, "I'll personally ensure that you rot in a dirt-laced cell all on your lonesome... You'll live, and you'll die all alone, understand?"

 "I understand."

 "Mhm." Selena hummed, scarcely listening to his response. This was the moment in which Gideon would decide whether or not to trust Adrian Bale again... this was the moment in which the words that had saved herself, as well as Agents Hotchner and Greenaway, would come into play.

 There wasn't a world in which Selena could ever believe that the man shackled by her side would pass up the opportunity to watch another life fizzle away beneath the heat of an explosion — Bale wasn't capable of turning away, he'd expressed that much.

 "The emotional release I would feel by pressing that button... Well, that was just a little too overwhelming to pass up."

 Bale had proven such a statement to be true once already, via Walker... now — and Selena was certain about this — he was going to do it again.

 "One last time," Selena mused, "If we cut the red wire... this is all over? You get what you want — to spend your life in a cushy asylum instead of a rotting cell, you get nature, people, freedom... and this man," Selena nodded to their victim, "Leaves here alive."

 "I don't see how I can be any clearer."

 "Seventeen seconds..." Buzzed the walkie-talkie, the sound racing over Selena's arms like static.

 She ignored the mutter now laced with the beginnings of panic, and instead, turned in the direction in which she could feel a stare pricking at her flesh. It wasn't Adrian this time, no, it was Gideon. His lips were flat, his eyes almost hollow... but he didn't give the word. Even as another second ticked.

 "Make the call." He said, entirely monotonous.

 Selena blinked, "Me?"

 "You made the call before, I trust you to make it again."

 Selena focused on those words Bale had uttered, the words that had prompted Walker to sacrifice his life, the ones that she knew their Boston Bomber couldn't help but stick by. He'd made the mistake of getting caught once, he'd never let it happen again, no matter how lavish his room was, it'd still be a cell.

 Hotchner had already passed her the walkie-talkie, though not without sparing Gideon a rather hesitant glance. Selena brought it to her lips, pressed the button and... "Blue." She said, and turned to Bale, catching his eyes with a hold he could never hope to escape from, "Cut the blue wire."

 Every set of eyes cascaded upon her like a spotlight upon a stage. Looks of wariness, of shock and fear passed by in a blink — All Selena focused on was the sudan flush upon Bale's cheeks. No matter how hardened the criminal, no matter how sadistic and arrogant... they couldn't control the body's natural reactions.

 Outrage pulsed over him like a vile plague, and Selena knew for a fact that had his hands not been cuffed, he'd have tried his luck in securing them around her throat.

 "Are you sure?" The bomb tech asked on the other side of the glass, his throat bobbing.

 "Absolutely. Blue."

 With such resolution in her voice, the bomb tech nodded. He reached forth, wire-cutters clutched within a white-knuckled fist as the blue wire grew closer and closer... and then he clamped them shut. There was a collective intake of breath across the sation, some eyes clamping shut as the wire-cutters snipped clean through the blue wire.

 Nothing happened. No explosion. No fire or embers or smoke... nothing except for the telltale clank that signalled the collar around their victim had fallen free.

 Selena watched as it fell into the waiting hands of their courageous bomb tech — then she turned to Bale, her voice condescending, as though she'd caught him red-handed stealing from the cookie jar, "Naughty boy."

 His rage was a tidal wave, it was a growing cloud of viscous fog that threatened to choke the life out of them all... But Selena breathed as though it was a crisp winter morning flooded with air that flowed like a river.

 Adrian Bale lunged, finally trying to fulfil that desire to throttle the woman before him — the one who bested him and spoke to him like a child. His fingers were outstretched, clawing through the air even despite the shackles binding him — Selena took a single step back, eyes clocking as Hotchner grabbed a fistful of Bale's outrageously orange jumpsuit before he was finally dragged away, ready to be stuffed back within a dreary little cell.

 Whatever insults Bale hurled bounced off Selena with ease. She was used to them... She peered through the glass for a final time as the victim sobbed with his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking with the magnitude of an earthquake; he was alive. They all were... The case was done. The puzzle was complete... and Selena's shoulders slumped. Her fingers flexed and suddenly she could hear the incessant buzzing of the yellow light above her. The chatter of the officers was grating, the sound of fingers tapping at keyboards made her want to —

 A hand found her shoulder, and Selena had truly been so overcome with every invasive sensation, that she hadn't even realised her breathing had grown obnoxiously loud. She peered at the fingers settled on her shoulder, following the wrist to an arm, to a neck, and finally to Gideon's tired features.

 His haunted expression had finally been exorcised. With Bale out of sight, still swearing and hollering from God-knows-where, with their victim now free and alive... He was brighter. His shoulders no longer dipped, the wrinkles by his eyes seemed to have faded, and he smiled. It was small, more of a crooked thing you'd find carved upon a teacher's face when a student had completed the most brilliant of presentations — he was proud, and he was thankful.

 When Gideon removed his hand, he turned to stare at their sobbing victim, the man who had been saved with just seconds to be spared, "How did you know?"

 "The emotional release I would feel by pressing that button... Well, that was just a little too overwhelming to pass up." Selena repeated the words as though they were verses of shoddy poetry stuck within her brain, clogging the whirring gears and tiresome wires; she'd have to filter them out as best she could, "That's what he said back in the prison; those are the same words that stopped me and two of your agents from getting blown up."

 "It wasn't the words, Selena." Gideon said, his voice a mere breeze, "It was you."

 She said nothing to that, never quite the type to know how one should respond to a compliment. Was it customary to compliment back? Was it something rhetorical? Should she say 'thank you' even if she didn't feel the need to?

 So instead, Selena nodded at their victim, his neck now free of the metal collar and cluster of wires, "Why have me make the decision? I know you figured it out too."

 "I did. I wanted to see what you'd do, what you'd choose. Of course... had you been wrong, I'd have corrected you. You've had less experience with Bale, and yet your profiling skills, your logic and attention to detail... that all led you to knowing the answer and saving lives."

 "Is that why you brought me here? To test me?"

 Gideon let out a small chuckle, his head shaking from side to side, "Maybe I wanted to see how well you'd work with a team — you always work alone. Mostly, I needed someone to rely on, someone I trusted enough to pick up the pieces if my emotions got the better of me."

 Selena felt her head bob absently at his words, her eyes cast to the scattered police officers nodding their heads at one another, clapping each other on the shoulder for a job well done... She spied Gideon's team filing into the room to which they'd formally claimed as their workstation — Gideon was right, she almost always worked alone. Even when her services were exploited by Scotland Yard and its teams, she would inevitably be alone.

 But this team... Selena cocked her head as Doctor Reid lingered by the door, his hand in the air as though to call the two of them over, "Your team is good."

 "Yes," Gideon agreed, his feet already carrying him towards the door propped open by their lankiest doctor, "They are."

 Jason Gideon's team had stolen a moment of respite; the members of his rag-tag team were dotted around the room — JJ stood before the board, pulling away papers and pins before trailing her eyes along the ground where Selena had sprawled out her various documents and snippets of information. Hotchner and Elle reclined in their chairs, each looking far more relieved than they had been, especially Hotchner. Doctor Reid, on the other hand, was tinkering away at one of the counters, fingers flying over the buttons of an old coffee machine, filling the room with that aroma that turned Selena's stomach.

 Selena's nose had evidently scrunched, her lips twisting in a grimace that prompted Elle to snort, "Not a fan of coffee?"

 "Not at all." Selena's swift response had Reid spinning on his feet, gaping as though she'd said something truly blasphemous.

 "So not all geniuses need caffeine to stimulate their poor brains?"

 "Oh, I didn't say that." Selena strode towards her go bag and rifled through the neatly positioned items. Her fingers bypassed a pair of running shoes and gym-wear, glossed over the metal water bottle she carried like a lifeline until she could wrap her digits around a chilled can. She brandished it like a sword.

 "Tea?" Elle deadpanned, "Of course, you Brits."

 "Iced-tea."

 "With enough sugar to rot your teeth," Hotchner piped up, a dark brow climbing the expanse of his forehead.

 Selena merely pointed a thumb Reid's way, "He just dumped thirty grams of sugar in his coffee."

 "It wasn't thirty grams!" Spencer's voice had climbed higher, his coffee sloshing around in the off-white mug he'd viscerally rinsed the moment he'd plucked it from the pile, "It was just six teaspoons."

 To finalise his point, he brought the mug to his lips and took a hearty gulp of, what he had clearly forgotten, was piping hot coffee. His cheeks blistered red as he swiftly swallowed the mouthful and tried to cool his burning tongue.

 Selena's smile was slow, barely there but something all the same. They were a strange little group; all capable of being stone-faced, empathetic and incredibly smart... yet within the snap of a finger, they were reduced to this. Selena watched as Elle laughed at the flustered doctor, as Hotchner shook his head with a smile pulling at his crooked lips.

 Selena swallowed, her feather-light smile dissolving like hail in a puddle. There was an odd sensation within her gut, something small and hollow and aching and unidentifiable — that was the tricky thing for Selena, her own emotions. Did she feel happy or sad, was she excited or... no the only thing she could understand was anger. Blinding, billowing anger.

 "So," Elle began, pushing herself from the chair she'd pinched as she strolled over to the coffee Doctor Reid had brewed. She poured herself a cup, eyes closing as she savoured the warmth, "Where will you be off to next?"

 Selena hiked her go-bag atop her shoulder. The sleeves of her pale turtle neck were back to her wrists, her mary-janes clattering on the ground with every step she took, "I'm sure my brother will have something for me to do."

 Selena knew she sounded exasperated, bored even... but really, despite her irritation at Matthew every time he called, she couldn't help but crave another case. Like morphine to an addict, every case was a puzzle, something to stimulate her brain and keep away that frustration that mingled within her bloodstream. It kept the bubbling bottle of rage, irritability and explosiveness secured.

 It was then, that Selena's mobile began to ring. There was no jingle or chime of a bell, just the simple rattling sound of the vibration setting. She fished the device from her pocket, well aware of Elle's wry grin as she spied the pink case covered in strawberries, and the little charm smothered with pink crystals and lilac gems.

 "Matthew." She said into the phone the moment her finger pulled away from the call button.

 The room fell silent at her distant tone.

 "Sister." Matthew drawled on the other end, the sound of his fingers against a keyboard ringing loud and true, "Are you done?"

 "Yes, I'm 'done'."

 "Good, I need you in New York in three days time... A rather high-standing —"

 "I'm not getting involved in your political squabbles again, Matthew," Selena hissed into the phone, sure to spill venom over each of the buttons, "Call me with a case, or don't call me at all."

 She jabbed her thumb against the red button, and her mobile drew silent. That had always been the agreement, between Selena and Matthew, estranged siblings that didn't pretend to care about one another all the while working together. Matthew was supposed to send cases — just cases — to Selena's inbox. The rapport she'd build with smaller towns, or even the larger ones made voting period far far easier for Matthew; it made him look good.

 They both benefitted — Matthew received praise on Selena's behalf, as well as a high position looming over Britain as a whole, while Selena received distractions, anything to keep her from remembering that she was, indeed, a human being who couldn't always push away numbness resting atop her skin like ice frozen over a lake.

 Gideon was the first to speak. His glasses were perched upon the bridge of his nose, a pen clasped in hand as he jotted down several notes pertinent to the case they'd wrapped in pristine paper, "When was the last time you were home?"

 Selena blinked at the question, for Gideon knew that she was never in one place for long, "A while..." Her eyes drew to the ceiling and back again, "One hundred and three days."

 "Take a day off."

 Selena grimaced, "No."

 Before Gideon could offer a rebuttal, JJ, who had disappeared from the room mere minutes ago, popped her head back in. A flash of blonde trailed behind her as she smiled at her team, "We're all good to go."

 Elle stretched her hands overhead, seemingly purring like a feline as her muscles pulled taut, "An early arrival... think I can convince Morgan to do some of my paperwork?"

 "Doubtful." Spencer spoke over the rim of his mug, "He doesn't even want to do his own."

 Selena lingered as the team finished up their mugs of coffee and water, as they pottered around the room for stray papers and slivers of information that needed to be safely tucked away. Their go-bags rested atop their shoulders or dangling from their hands, each of them looking tired and worn even despite the positive outcome of the case.

 Still, the weight lifted from their shoulders was more than apparent as they each shared a tired smile and finally heaved themselves to their feet. Elle, as ever, was the first to pipe up, her smile wide and her eyes creased as she addressed Selena with sincerity, "If you're ever close by on another case... Come say hi, alright?"

 Surprisingly enough, it was Hotchner who graced them all with a response, "You've been a great help to this team today..." His gruff demeanour faded for a short while, like a fog-laden sky parting way for the barest glimmer of light to shine through, "Thank you, Hayes."

 Selena could find herself only capable of nodding, her lips remaining flat and thinned; once again reminding her that no matter how smart she was, situations such as those would forever have her brain in a tangle, in a tug of war wondering if she should act true, or if the mask slathered over her features should put on a show.

 Their praise was uncomfortable, and yet Selena couldn't help but feel the slightest blossom within her gut. Nobody else liked to recognise her work, nor did they like to entertain her cold demeanour — it was an odd change but as Selena watched both Elle and Hotchner leave the room, she realised it wasn't entirely unwelcomed.

 Then, it was Gideon's turn to approach. Over his shoulder, Selena could spy Doctor Reid shifting on his feet, hands curled around the leather satchel hanging over his body while his eyes scanned the walls with undisguised disinterest — he clearly didn't know whether he was intruding or not.

 Gideon's sigh was heavy and laden with the stress he'd accumulated over the previous few days; his eyes were drooping, tiredness pulling them down like barbaric weights... and yet Selena knew Gideon wouldn't rest until the case was perfectly written up — They were the same in so many aspects.

 "Selena..." He breathed, fingers rising to caress the wrinkles embedded within his forehead, as though chasing away an already blossoming headache.

 "You don't have to thank me again."

 "Yes, I do." He responded with ease, "Without your help..." He shook his head to banish the thought, to banish the mere prospect that they could have lost Elle and Hotch in the explosion simply because Gideon hadn't come to the same conclusion as she had quickly enough, "Thank you for coming, for helping, and — well done. I'm proud of you."

 'Look at my little Sherlock! I'm so proud of you!'

 Selena batted those words away and stuffed the grizzly voice that had once sung her praises into a box kept under lock and key. The sound always managed to weasel out when Gideon was feeling particularly... fatherly.

 Selena waved a hand and yet the movement was only a means of diverting her audience's eyes while she ensured her mask was still perfectly intact, "I'm happy to help with cases, you know that... And if I'm close by while you're working a case, I'll be there if you need me."

 "I know," Gideon said, fondness in his voice almost fully smothering the slight lilt of caution.

 He was well aware of Selena's methods, of the way cases were puzzles and hardly anything more. Could he perpetuate that bad habit of using them as a means of resistance against the fallout that would inevitably occur if her brain wasn't stimulated? But then again, he'd seen how she'd conversed with his team, how despite Aaron's resistance, she'd prospered all the same. Perhaps... perhaps a team would be a good thing. Maybe working with them was exactly what Selena needed.

 His hand bumped against her arm, a little pat that she had easily seen coming, "Take care of yourself," Gideon muttered, wholly too invested in his own thoughts, "I'll talk to you soon."

 Selena's eyes only drew themselves away from the doorway when Gideon had vanished entirely. She looked at Spencer, still standing there fiddling away with a stray threat poking from his brown satchel, "You're not staying to thank me too, are you?"

 "Well..." Spencer said, in that awkward sort of way that he had mastered. He indeed had remained behind to thank her, to tell her that he was somewhat in awe of the way she'd so quickly solved a case that she had no prior involvement in. He'd been stunned at the scene of Clurmans dismantled car, he'd been dazzled within the dreary halls of the prison... and now, with a victim alive and free of vires and explosives, he was — well, he didn't quite know... He'd never met someone like her before, "I was going to thank you, actually... but —"

 Instead of anything else, Spencer curled his fingers inwards, short nails pressing against his palm as his hand made a fist. His smile grew lopsided, a dimple appearing on one of his cheeks as he held it up for her to bump.

 An amused huff of air departed Selena's nose as she mirrored the Doctor's actions, and bumped her fist against his own, "Keep an eye on Gideon, will you? He's not as tough and nonchalant as he tries to be."

 "Are you?"

 "Excuse me?"

 Spencer flushed, realising too late that he'd asked a rather invasive and rude question, "Oh — uh, no, don't worry. It's nothing. Sorry. Yeah — yes, I'll do that — keep an eye on Gideon, that is..."

 "Take a breath, Doctor Reid."

 Even Spencer could hear the wryness of her voice, and it only served to make his cheeks grow evermore pink, "Right." He cleared his throat not once, not twice, but three separate times until he was sure that words, rather than squeaks would depart his inwardly curled lips, "Thanks."

 Selena's brow climbed the length of her forehead, disappearing behind the stray whisps of blonde that had fallen from her fastened updo crafted from a cluster of braids, "See you next time, Spencer."

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DATE:

:･ﾟ★ dayum almost 7k words? 

i feel like this chapter kinda slayed? selena certainly did. and yes, ofc i had to have a final selena x spencer moment towards the end - as ever with my stories, i do love a good slow-burn <3

I KNOW IT HAS BEEN AN AGE... sorry pookies <3

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