Title: Peas
Author: Pants
Rating: FRC
Pairing: Reid/Gideon
Summary: Peas, a pile of cashews, butterflies and a lone macadamia nut.
Spoilers: No Way Out

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A quiet young man sat on an uncomfortably ergonomic chair in the break room of a building located at the Marine Base of Quantico. He was chewing pensively on a macadamia nut.

"Something troubling you, Dr. Reid?" Jason Gideon walked to the far counter of the break room and poured himself a cup of coffee. While Gideon sat down, Reid began to answer.

"It's just something about the last case." Reid paused before continuing, looking for anything that would indicate Gideon didn't want to talk about it.

The other man sat down and leaned back in his chair, "Go on."

So Reid did. "Jane said she no longer felt fear, and that's when Frank stopped and she woke up in her own bed. If she stopped feeling fear, that might explain why he stopped, because he wouldn't have derived any pleasure from it, but it doesn't explain why he kept coming back to her year after year. It doesn't explain why he actually fell in love with her." Reid furrowed his brow and stared at his bowl of peas on the table.

"You're right," said Gideon, smiling slightly, "it doesn't seem like enough, does it?"

"She had to do something, say something in order for him to be so affected-"

"You have beautiful eyes."

Reid dropped his spoon and it clattered back to the bowl, splashing pea-juice onto his tie.

"She told him he had beautiful eyes." Gideon elaborated. Reid laughed sheepishly and began to rub at his tie in vain.

"Peas." Gideon stated, graciously changing the subject.

"Yeah I," Reid gave up on his tie and laid his hands on the table, "I had a craving."

"And some cashews." Gideon said, nodding at the small pile of nuts next to Reid's bowl of peas.

"Actually, they started out as a couple handfuls of deluxe mixed nuts, but I decided to save the best for last." Reid looked up from the small pile, "Would you like some?"

Gideon shook his head, turning his attention back the peas. "Do you crave peas often?"

"Um, yes, actually."

"What is it you like about them?" Gideon asked, he had never much cared for peas. He glanced at the clock on the wall behind Reid and began to stand as the other man collected his answer.

"I'm partial to their exquisite color, taste and texture." Reid said with the trace of a smile upon his face. He reached to pick up his spoon once more.

Gideon smiled back and reached across the table to pluck a cashew from the small pile before walking to the door and turning to face Reid. The other man smiled back expectantly, and Gideon couldn't help himself, "You do have nice eyes, Dr. Reid." He smirked as the spoon clattered once more into the bowl.

He turned and walked back to his office, leaving Reid to rub once more at his tie, and wonder where the butterflies in his stomach had come from.

***