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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚍 ❞

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ㅤ𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃𝐍'𝐓 𝐔𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐖𝐇𝐘 she was blasting out Taylor Swift's Speak Now album on shuffle, but the second she landed on The Story of Us, she realized why.

"Oh, I'm scared to see the ending. Why are we pretending this is nothing?" she sang, bopping her head to the beat as she folded her clothes. It was her day off, and she was catching up on some laundry. "I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how."

Technically, it was her fault that Spencer wasn't talking to her. Everyday, when she came to work, he wouldn't even look at her, not even once. They've mostly been working on paperwork considering they haven't had a need to fly to some place for a case, and Hotch gave them piles of paper to fill up, so it gave the team some time to mingle. But there was a palpable wall of uncertainty between them that even the others could feel, disrupting the little bubble of happiness that they usually have when they weren't hunting down bad guys.

Even Hotch could sense it, and had called Emily into his office for a proper explanation, knowing full well that the woman knew what was going on. The raven-haired woman tried her hardest to explain the situation, which left the boss at a bit of a loss for words.

Not that anyone knew, of course.

"I've never heard silence quite this loud," she continued. "Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room and we're not speaking!" She's resorted to grabbing her hairbrush to use as a mic. "And I'm dying to know, is it killing you like it's killing me? Yeah! I don't know what to say since a twist of fate when it all broke down." She ran towards her mirror and sang louder. "And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now!"

She continued to sing to her heart's content, dancing around as she finished putting her clothes into her walk-in-closet. As soon as she closed her closet door, she walked out of her room and up the stairs to the second floor of her apartment, where her living room and little reading area was in. Walking over to her bookshelves that held books from all the other previous occupants, her fingers carefully grazed over the book spines.

Being a lover of fiction, most of what she brought with her were fiction as well, loving the feeling of getting lost in a different world every time she'd flip a page. She brought some of her favorites, including the Harry Potter series and Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, but she's read both of them many times already.

Finley instead settled on a paperback book titled 'The Wrath and the Dawn' by Renée Ahdieh, a retelling of One Thousand and One Nights. As soon as she opened it, she was met with a quote:

𝘐 𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴,
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶,
𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺.

𝖩𝖺𝗅𝖺𝗅 𝖺𝗅-𝖣𝗂𝗇 𝖱𝗎𝗆𝗂

"What is it that I'm hearing about you and Boy Wonder not talking?" Penelope demanded as soon as she made eye contact with Finley.

The brunette had just stepped off the plane after a case in Tallahassee, Florida, where a heavily tattooed man called 911 right before committing suicide. His tattoos were all the faces of the woman he's kidnapped, raped, and killed over the course of a decade, except for one, Rebecca Daniels, who they assumed was still alive because her face hadn't been tattooed on him yet. Of course, after a grueling few days, they were able to close the case and saved not just Rebecca, but also the unsub's innocent baby.

"You know, I didn't expect to be ambushed like this," she raised her hands in surrender, sitting own on one of the redhead's chairs.

"Well?"

"We just had a disagreement, that's it."

"About what?"

"Woman, you are relentless," Finley sighed, leaning back and pretty much collapsing into the chair in exhaustion. She could've just went straight home, but she's developed a habit of visiting the quirky tech analyst after every mission.

Penelope rolled her eyes, halting her consistent tapping on the keyboard. "Of course I'm relentless, do you not know who I am? Now, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me."

The brunette groaned and ran her hand across her face before sighing again. "Okay, fine. Look," she clenched her jaw, staring at the ground as she tried to find the right words. "I realized that Spencer has a crush on me--"

"Oh my God, finally! Oh, you guys are gonna make such beautiful babies--"

"Penny, I turned him down."

"Excuse me what? Are you insane?!"

Finley rolled her eyes. "Penelope."

"Right, right, you're not looking for a relationship, blah, blah, blah," Penelope whined. "But seriously? You could've, I don't know, let him change your mind, at least. Spencer's a great guy."

"I know he's a great guy, it's not like I didn't notice," she crossed her arms. "He's a great guy...I'm just not looking for a relationship, like I said. And mind you, I really haven't moved on from my ex."

"Ugh, why not? Didn't you tell me he broke up with you because he, and I quote, 'wasn't good enough for you'? You're doing the exact same thing to Spencer!" The redhead exclaimed, irritation clear in her voice. "You know from experience how much it hurts to hear that, so why would you put Spencer through that?"

"Penelope, James and I were together. We dated for nearly a year and only then did he say that he wasn't good enough for me," she turned away from her, not noticing that the door had opened as she got lost in her thoughts. "He could've told me before we got serious, before I fell in love with him. I'm doing Spencer a favor."

"No, you're doing yourself a favor," Spencer spoke up, causing Finley to immediately scramble up from her chair. The man turned to Penelope. "Garcia, would you mind--"

"Not at all," Penelope didn't even let him finish, shuffling out of the room and giving Finley a look right before shutting the door.

And now the two were alone. Finley, though vulnerable, was quick to put her walls up; her training made her a master at hiding her true emotions. And even with Spencer's profiling skills, he couldn't see past her façade, but he knew her well enough to know some of the tricks up her sleeve. He knew she was hurting, just like he was.

He cleared his throat, unsure of whether to walk closer to her or not. He just stood there awkwardly, fixing his hair before repeating, "You're doing yourself a favor."

"Spencer..."

"No," he shook his head. "You can't expect me to accept that. Finley, I know you--"

"You don't know me--"

"I know you," he emphasized. "You don't think I do? I know you have sweet tooth. I know how you hate having your hair in your face which is why you always have a hair tie on your wrist, I've had one on me just in case you forgot yours, you know?" He gave her a weak smile. "I know about your slight obsession with Harry Potter. I also know that your favorite fictional character is Wednesday Addams because you always quote her lines...I had to ask Penelope for copies so I can watch the movies because some of what she says was a little concerning. I know how much you prefer iced coffee, and how you like eating dumplings when you're feeling sad. There's a lot of things I know about you, Finley." He sighed. "I pay attention to you because I like you."

Finley turned away from him, fiddling with her fingers as she tried to figure out what to say, but she was coming up blank.

"I know you'll say that I don't know you," Spencer rocked on the balls of his feet as his nerves finally caught up to him. "I can't change your mind on that. Is it..." He cleared his throat. "Is it because I'm too weird? Am I unattractive? Am I...am I not good enough for you?"

It was then that Finley finally turned to face him again, mouth agape. "No, no, no, you're good enough for anyone, Spencer. Please don't say anything like that. I'm sorry if I made you feel that way." She licked her lips and crossed her arms. "Anyone would be lucky to have you. I'm the one that--"

"W-Who are you to decide what's good enough for me?" Though his words were confrontational, the way he said it was so...broken. "I haven't even openly pursued you yet but you're already turning me down. Did he hurt you that much?"

"Yes! He hurt me, a lot," she snapped. "We've been through a lot. He's got his own baggage, and so do I. I was ready to help him carry that baggage...I was ready to carry that baggage with him so that he didn't to bear all the weight. But he..." She cut herself off, looking like she was ready to cry.

Spencer instantly back tracked, all the words that he wanted to spit out got stuck in his throat. Because for the first time, Finley Barrett showed true emotion. Ever since she's joined the team, she was there for everyone, and slowly, she became their go-to. For a pick-me-up, for advice, for babysitting. She was their happy pill, and the genius never expected to see her this broken.

"I...I'm--"

"It's not your fault, I told you, I've got baggage," she wiped away a single tear. "Can we just go back to the way it was? I won't tell you off for liking me. I know it wasn't something you could really control. But please, let's just pretend this ever happened and I'll be back to calling you doc."

"...I-I guess."

Finley walked over to him, barely a foot between them. They were practically toe to toe. She scanned his face, from his hazel puppy dog eyes, his button nose, to his plump lips. To her, he was gorgeous. But she couldn't taint him when she's got red in her ledger.

"Are you angry with me?" She asked in a whisper.

Spencer's eyes fluttered close as he breathed in deeply. "I can never be angry with you."

"Please tell me you and Spencer are back on speaking terms," Hotch nearly pleaded as he sat with Finley in the plane. They were on their way to Franklin, Alaska, and had just finished with their usual brainstorming session. It had been a few weeks since the two younger members' disagreement. "Having you two distracted makes everyone else lose braincells."

"Does that include you?" Finley joked, her eyebrows raised. He only rolled his eyes, but the slight quirk of his lips told her that he was amused too. "To answer your question, yes, the doc and I are back on speaking terms. You won't lose anymore braincells."

"Well thank God for that," Rossi commented from where he sat. Only then did Finley realize that everyone was actually listening in. Spencer could only smile bashfully at her, while giving her a shrug. "Having you two fight felt like the end of the world," he teased, smirking as his gaze flitted between her and Spencer.

Penelope whooped, excitedly slapping Spencer arm as she sat beside him. She ignored his complaints as she said, "Hallelujah, finally!"

"Does that mean you'll go easy on me when we spar now?" Derek raised his eyebrows at her, eyes swimming with amusement.

Finley glared playfully. "You wish."

"Hotch, you should come with us next time," he turned to look at his boss. "I wanna see her kick your ass too."

"You wish," Hotch scoffed, copying Finley.

"Oh, I do."

Emily laughed. "Is she really that good?"

"Derek, please answer that question truthfully," Finley grinned.

The man in question rolled his eyes, turning to Emily. "You should just come too. I swear, Finn and I are the only ones in this team who cares about hand to hand."

"Hey!" JJ protested. "I care too."

"Then come to the gym," Derek tsked. "About time someone else gets their ass handed to 'em. I swear to God, it's like Finley's an Avenger or something."

"Oooo, which Avenger are you, Derek Morgan?" Finley asked, still smiling.

"Definitely Captain America," he boasted.

"I don't think so," Spencer disagreed. "I think Hotch is Captain America."

"Well, Rossi's definitely Iron Man," JJ laughed.

"I agree," Emily nodded.

Derek groaned. "Come on, am I seriously not Captain America?"

"I hate the cold," Finley shivered as she pulled her coat closer, climbing up the dock while shouldering her duffle bag. Having mostly grown up in a tropical climate made her a little more sensitive to the cold compared to most, and her hands were almost always freezing. 

For the first time, Finley was wearing an all-black outfit to absorb as much heat from the sun as possible. A black, long-sleeved turtleneck; black slacks held up by a belt; a black trench coat; and a pair of black Doc Martens Jadon boots which covered her somewhat embarrassing pair of fluffy socks that were designed to look like cat paws. She had her typical accessories and makeup look on and she left her hair down, using it to cover her ears.

"It's not even that cold yet," Rossi told her, chuckling in amusement. His sleeves were pulled up to his elbows.

"For you," she groaned. "Can we please just finish this case quick?"

Eventually, she found herself in the tavern, leisurely standing next to the fireplace with her coat off. She went to the crime scenes with Emily and Derek earlier this morning, the three slowly becoming somewhat of a 'Golden Trio' in the BAU. She playfully pushed Rossi away from where he stood right by the fireplace, laughing at his equally playful offended expression while waving the fire poker at her.

"He's already experimenting with his victims," he said, quickly turning serious as he faced the others, still by the fireplace. "He violated Brenda Bright with an arrow."

"And he's inciting panic..." Finley trailed off.

"People who have lived here most of their lives are packing up to leave," Derek followed her train of thought.

"Can you blame them?" JJ asked rhetorically. "We have a psychopath whose hunting ground is a town of fourteen-hundred people."

"Most of them grew up learning to kill animals and start fires," Spencer added.

"Sounds like your basic survival skills," Sheriff Rhodes pointed out.

"No," Rossi countered. "They're hunting skills. Think about it. The marksmanship, the urine, it makes sense."

"The urine makes sense?" Derek asked him with a frown.

"It's a hunter's trick. You urinate downwind to keep the animals away."

"He tried to preserve Jon Baker's body so it would be discovered intact," Hotch spoke up.

"Alright, so we've got a psychopath with hunting skills who knows the routines of everyone in town," JJ summed up. "How are we supposed to keep everyone safe?"

Hotch turned to look at the sheriff. "Sheriff, I suggest you institute a curfew until we have the unsub in custody. Nobody out after dark."

"I'll have one of my deputies patrolling around the clock," the sheriff agreed.

The boss then turned to their tech analyst. "Garcia, how's it coming with town records?"

"I've run everyone who's been printed through CODIS, nothing's come up so far," she replied. "I'm gonna pull an all-nighter, finish going through the town records. Should have background checks by sunrise."

"Good. The rest of us should get some sleep. Start fresh in the morning."

"I've got four of the upstairs rooms available," Carol, the owner, spoke up while holding a coffee pot.

"Uh, four?" Spencer hesitantly clarified.

"Come on, that's the best we can do," the sheriff defended. "Your team is double the size of my department. I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight," Hotch politely told him as he walked away. He then looked at his team. "Looks like we'll have to double up."

"I'm not sleeping with Reid," Derek immediately said, gesturing at the genius while smirking at Finley. "I suggest Finley should share with him."

"But--" Finley opened her mouth, but was cut off.

"Okay," Hotch nodded, doing his best to hide his smile as he looked at her. "JJ and Prentiss, Garcia and Morgan, me and Dave, you and Reid. I'll see you all in the morning."

Everyone but Spencer, Finley, and Penelope clambered up into the rooms. She glared at Derek who was wiggling his eyebrows at her before disappearing from view. She ignored Penelope's grin, looking at Spencer who was still sitting down.

"Come on, doc," she shrugged. "We better get a goodnight's sleep."

"O-Okay," Spencer stuttered, clearing his throat while standing up rather clumsily from where he sat. He too ignored Penelope's grin, and followed Finley up into their shared bedroom.

He couldn't control himself from gaping in horror when she pushed open the door.

"There's only one bed," he stated weakly.

"No shit, Sherlock," Finley laughed. "Honestly, I'm cool with it. I genuinely need some body heat right now, it's so cold."

"R-Right."

"You can go ahead and use the bathroom first, I need to make a call," she couldn't help herself from chuckling at his expression that ranged from nervous, to apprehensive, to downright devastated at the thought of sharing a bed with her. "Don't worry, I won't bite. Go on."

He pursed his lips, nodding as he grabbed his go-bag and went into the bathroom. The last thing he heard before closing the door was Finley making a call.

"Hey, Steve..."

author's note: the amount of easter eggs i've been giving out...oof

anyway, there you guys go! this is probably the longest chapter to date. i wanted to drag out the angst a little bit more, which i technically did, but at the same time, i didn't wanna drag out the episodes, so i tried my best to compromise. the argument between finn and spence was pretty long, tbh. if you guys have an idea about finn's true identity, you guys will probably realize why she acted this way towards the whole situation. 

let me tell you this though, there's more to it than just her not looking for a relationship ;)

i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! honestly the hardest part about writing is figuring out what finn will be wearing. because, hello, style icon of the entire bureau.

i'll definitely add more scenes of her hanging out with the team outside of work, including scenes of her and derek sparring because brotp and maybe a scene with anderson bc anderson needs more screen time.

love y'all and thank you for 7k reads!!

question: which member of the team corresponds to an avenger?? rossi is def iron man AHAHAHHA