Title: Deja Vu
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: G5, 5_prompts
Prompt: 3, Deja vu
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Spencer Reid, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

"This takes me back," Spencer said, sitting back in his chair and looking around the café. "It's like the first day we met. Even the rain decided to cooperate." He swept a hand at the window by their table, just as the rain began pelting down harder.

"I'm just glad we could run in here out of the rain!" the Doctor laughed, shaking his head. They were both a bit damp; they'd been caught outside just when the rain had started, but they'd gotten into the shelter of the café in the nick of time.

"This is the same place we went to that first day," Spencer said softly, his gaze focusing on the Time Lord. "I can still remember everything you said to me. If I close my eyes, I can even remember every expression on your face, and just how your voice sounded."

"You can even remember the tone of voice that people have spoken in?" The Doctor was amazed by his boyfriend's words. "I knew that you had an eidetic memory, but that is absolutely amazing. You never cease to astound me, Spencer Reid."

"Not nearly as much as you astound me," Spencer said softly, reaching across the table to take the Doctor's hand. "I don't know anybody in my world who would have helped me if they'd found me the way you did. They'd have probably walked away from the situation."

The Doctor shook his head, a frown forming on his features. "I don't think your teammates at the BAU would have done that," he objected, his tone reproving. "They'd have tried to help you in some way if they had known about your problem, Spencer."

"That's not what I mean." The young man shook his head, sighing. "I mean anybody who hadn't known me for as long as they have. You were pretty much a stranger -- and you helped me. Anybody else would have left, or given the responsibility to somebody else."

The Doctor sighed, nodding reluctantly. "As much as I hate to say it, you're probably right about that. Humans don't like to get involved with problems that they don't think involve them personally. At least, most of them don't. There are some humans who would have helped."

"Yeah, there are," Spencer agreed, his gaze still fixed on the Time Lord. "But they're very few and far between. There aren't many people who would go out of their way to help out a stranger these days. That makes you a lot better than humans, in my book."

The Doctor looked down, unable to keep a pleased smile from lingering around the corners of his lips. He knew that he was blushing; he didn't want to look up and meet Spencer's gaze until the pink flush had begun to die out of his cheeks.

"You're awfully cute when you blush," Spencer whispered, his fingers threading through the Doctor's. "I can't get enough of looking at you -- whether you're blushing or not. You're the most gorgeous man I've ever seen. And I bet I'm not the only person who thinks that."

"You're going to give me a swelled head!" the Time Lord protested, laughing. "And there are people who think that I'm already too vain for my own good." He cleared his throat, looking around and hoping that no one else had heard his words.

"I'd rather make the other head swell," Spencer murmured, leaning closer to the Doctor and pitching his voice low so that no one else could hear them. Fortunately, the tables around theirs were empty; the words fell on no ears but the ones that they were intended for.

"Spencer!" The pink blush turned darker, creeping down the Doctor's throat. "I'm not used to hearing you say things like that. Especially not in public. You've certainly changed a lot from the person I met here just a few months ago."

"A few months ago, I wouldn't even have thought that -- much less said it," Spencer said, laughing and leaning back in his chair. "So I guess it's not completely deja vu, is it? I've changed a lot since the last time we were in this place."

"Yes, you certainly have," the Doctor told him, hoping that the blush in his cheeks was receding. "But I don't think it's a bad thing that you have," he continued, his tone thoughtful. "I'd say that you've matured, but you were already an adult when I met you."

"I was still naive in a lot of ways," Spencer said softly, his gaze fixed on the Doctor's face again. "I knew a lot of things, but I was kind of afraid to follow through on them. I think all the ways that I've changed since I met you have been good ones."

"So would I," the Doctor murmured, the blush finally fading. "You were strong enough -- and adventurous enough -- to leave the life that you were comfortable in and come with me. If you had tried to hold on to who you were and refused to change, you wouldn't have done that."

"I thought about asking you to take me back," Spencer admitted, looking down at their clasped hands. "At first, I didn't know if I was strong enough to stay off the junk and be the kind of person you deserved to have with you. The kind of person you needed."

"I never doubted that you were the kind of person I needed to have as a companion," the Doctor said, gripping Spencer's fingers more tightly. "And you should never doubt that, either. I knew from the first that you were much stronger than you gave yourself credit for."

"That's another little bit of deja vu," Spencer said with a smile. "You told me that the first time we were here -- or something like it. You said that I was a lot stronger than I thought. Maybe not in so many words, but it came down to that."

"And I still mean it," the Doctor whispered, raising Spencer's hand to his lips and kissing the young man's fingers. "You're so much stronger than you've ever given yourself credit for, Spencer. That's all starting to come out now. I can see it, even if you can't."

"I think I really started to find out who I was when I was working with the BAU," Spencer mused, looking thoughtful. "But I didn't really know what I wanted out of life until recently. Being with you made me decide where I want my life to go."

"And where would that be?" the Doctor asked, his heart rate starting to speed up. He leaned forward, an expectant look on his face, wondering what Spencer was going to say. He almost dreaded hearing the words, but at the same time, he was eager for them.

"Wherever you are," Spencer said simply, smiling at the look of relief that crossed the Time Lord's face. "What did you think I'd say?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice. "Did you think I'd suddenly want to go back to the BAU? I've already told you that's in the past."

They both looked up as the waitress who'd taken their order approached them, carrying a tray with two steaming mugs of coffee. They fell silent as she set their drinks on the table, smiling across the table at each other as she departed.

"This really is deja vu," Spencer told the Time Lord, picking up his mug and holding it up as though he was going to propose a toast before raising it to his lips. "The rain, the coffee .... just like the first time we met. Only we know each other so much better now."

"And we'll keep getting to know each other over time," the Doctor said softly, picking up his own coffee and taking a sip. "We have such a future ahead of us, Spencer. No need to look back at past times when we have a whole life to step into."

"But y'know, I have a feeling that we're going to come back here again and again -- just to remember what it was like the first time we met," Spencer said, his gaze meeting the Doctor's over the rim of his coffee mug. "That's a nice memory to look back on."

"Yes, it is," the Doctor agreed, his voice soft and husky. "And I don't doubt that we'll be here enough times to create even more memories to look back at." He glanced out at the wet streets, smiling at the thought that this day, this very moment, just might become one of those fond memories.

***