jupiter aria beauliu

i brush out the eyebrow pigment, leaning in closer towards the mirror as i define my sparse brows.

"watching me like this is creepy, ya know?" i hum out as i place my eyebrow pencil down and picking up my mascara wand.

"art is meant to be viewed." spen shrugs as he pushes himself off of the doorway of the bathroom and sitting on the toilet, leaning his chin on his hand as he continues to watch me.

i stop for a moment, biting back my smile as my heart thumps in my chest and the blood rushes to my cheeks. he had come a long way from the germaphobe genius who was afraid to hold my hand and stuttered whenever he called me pretty.

"i can't believe i got so lucky to have a man like you." i sigh contently as i swipe a light layer of mascara over my eyelashes, completing my routine.

"well, you're beautiful. you're intelligent. you're so incredibly driven. you're the kindest woman i've ever met. you've always been destined for love. i'm just the passably attractive awkward genius who wouldn't have ever spoken to you had i not ended up in your office after...everything." his voice trails off as he begins to twiddle him thumbs.

i step away from the mirror and gently push spen's head to face mine and seating myself onto his lap. he wraps his right arm behind my waist and places his left hand on my thigh. i run my fingers gently through his smooth hair, scratching lightly at his head. i place my hand on his cheek as he instinctually leans into my palm. kissing the edge of my hand. our eyes meet and i fall into a trance. becoming a victim to his gentle eyes that pull me in like a tidal wave. his freshly shaven cheeks providing a smooth canvas underneath my fingertips as i begin to lightly trace his his jaw bone. soaking in every detail of his face as if it was our last moment together. leaning in, i place a gentle kiss on his lips before backing away from him. he gives my thigh a small squeeze before speaking.

"i don't deserve you."

"spencer reid. you are the toughest, smartest, bravest man i've ever met. you are so strong it's ridiculous. any human being who's seen and experienced the things that you have would've broken by now. and sure, you had a little slip up along the way. but you overcame it. you're so compassionate and so kind. such a good head on your shoulders, in both terms of knowledge and moral compass. and not to self-incriminate, but i've met a lot of men. a lot of people. and out of everyone i've ever met, i'd pick you without a doubt. it'll always be you. i picked you, and you picked me. we deserve each other. i was never destined for love. i was just destined for you. without you, there would've been no love in my path and of that i'm sure. i would've never found anyone who learned all about astrology because i said i liked the stars on our first date. and you would've never met someone who...what exactly do i contribute here?" i ask, pursing my lips as i cock my head to the side.

he chuckles, shaking his head.

"you make me happy. i don't have to hide behind my brain with you. i don't have to worry about hiding things or pretending to be put together. i can just be spencer. i can just be a man who loves a woman. i can feel normal for once....you're also a really good cook and i've once set toast on fire"

"well there ya go. you would've never met someone who could cook for you and make you feel normal. ew. that sounds boring, i mean cook for you? what is this, the 50s? can you pick something cooler than that?"

he laughs, shaking his head. he then glances down at his watch and pats my hip, signaling for me to get off.

"we gotta go. we're gonna be late."

"i'll drive, dr. reid."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

the team begins spitballing different ideas as i stare at the photos of the victims. the chords punctured onto their wrists, to be specific. the longer i stare at them, a shock runs through my body and i shoot up from my chair. the chair rolls back into the wall behind me, making everyone stop and stare.

"what is it?" morgan asks, crossing his arms over his chest and walking towards me.

i don't even bother answering before running out of the room and stopping in front of the desk of detective gomez.

"do you guys still keep that guitar in the back of party closet?"

"i mean yeah why-"

before he finishes, i scurry off to the back of the room, pushing through my confused team. i snatch the guitar from the closet, throw the strap around my neck, and run back into the room. i look down at the photos of the wrists and begin to strum the melody. my heart stopping as the familiar tune fills my ears.

"you gonna tell us what's going through your mind right now, mama?" morgan asks, leaning onto the table.

"the chords...they're mine."

"what?" hotch questions, coming to stand next to me.

"if i play them in order of the victims, they're the melody of a song i wrote in college for one of my classes. i mean i wrote it on the piano but i-...you guys were right. he's looking for me. why would he be looking for me? i didn't do anything to anyone. who-" i stutter, my breath quickening and head beginning to spin as tears drop from my eyes.

"hey hey. woah, sit down." hotch says, grabbing onto my arms and placing me into the chair.

spencer walks over, taking the guitar from around my neck and placing it gently on the table before kneeling in front of me and grabbing my hands.

"hey. you're going to be fine. everything's gonna be okay. but right now, we need you to talk to us, okay?"

i nod, and morgan places a cup of tea in front of me.

"jupiter, did anyone else know about the song? did someone write it with you?" emily asks, taking a seat on the table.

i pause for a moment, trying to think back to the moments i began writing.

"for the most part yes."

"for the most part?" spencer questions.

"yeah. i wrote the lyrics after watching p.s i love you. and i..." i pause, my voice wavering and my heart thumping.

"you're okay. keep going." spen smiles encouragingly.

"did somebody else write another part of the song?" rossi asks.

i nod, reaching forward and taking a sip of the tea morgan had brought for me.

"i was struggling with the melody. i had the lyrics down, and i could hear it in my head. but i couldn't...get it out. so i was staying after hours in the piano hall....colin came in after a while. laughing at my mountain of messed up sheet music. and h-he was a music major. vocal performance. he offered to help me write the melody. must've taken us hours. we always ended up laughing over how terrible i was at the actual portion of writing the song. and he kept getting distracted. always trailing off to draw doodles on my hands or-" my voice stops, and my head starts spinning a thousand miles a minute.

"last night, we had suspected that colin may be the unsub. we didn't want to tell you until we had a substantial case built against him." hotch says.

my voice catches in my throat and i shake my head. my eyes trail over the teams as the memories come flushing in. the giggling over piano keys, the subtle cues and gentle collision of fingertips. his fluttered appearance, the intense eye contact, his doodles on my hands and the minuscule notes written on my sheet music.

"you...colin?" i laugh out as tears brim my eyes.

"what was the song about?" emily asks.

"it was about meeting the one. about being sure that there'd be nobody else after them, even if you're not the one for them, they're the one for you. i still have the sheet music at the apartment. i can bring it. we can analyze the handwriting on the sheet music to the note he sent." i say, already grabbing my things.

"what? no. jup, somebody is after you right now." spencer argues, following after me.

"yeah jupiter i-" rossi begins, but i quickly interrupt.

"no. he wouldn't hurt me. and i'm not saying that out of bias. i'm saying that because i know people. he's only killing these women because they're not me. it wouldn't make sense for him to hurt me."

"no. you're going home. end of story. and you're not working the case." hotch states.

"i'm sorry, what?" i scoff.

"you're a victim now and-"

"i am no victim, hotch. and i..." i trail off, taking a deep breath and calming my thoughts.

"it's just protocol. we all know you, and you wouldn't be able to be very objective." spencer says, running his fingers through my hair.

"baby, your heart is as big as spencers head. it's what makes you good at your job. but just like him, it gets in the way of yourself sometimes." morgan says, that gentle loving look on his face.

"yeah. i got that...get casey to bring the sheet music. she'd would know exactly where it is." i explain to hotch, his eyes softening as they meet mine.

"reid, take her home."

spencer nods, grabbing the keys from the table and leading me out of the room. the ride home was silent. for the first time in the years that i'd known him, spencer reid had nothing to say. no knowledge to share and no advice to give. but that was fine with me, his presence had been enough. i twirled the diamond ring around my finger as my mind wandered to the moment he proposed. nothing extravagant. we had both woken up abnormally early one morning and decided to get pancakes from the diner across the street from spencers apartment. and as i had my mouth full of pancakes and whipped cream, he simply got up and onto one knee beside my bench at the booth. it couldn't have been more perfect than that. before i knew it, we pulled up to my parents home.

"wouldn't this be the first place he'd go? it's my parents house, spencer." i sigh, looking over at him.

"has he been here before? did you ever tell him where you lived?" he asks.

"no. i was living in an apartment with casey at the time."

"then he wouldn't think to come here. your parents left town for the weekend so he wouldn't think you'd have a reason to be here. plus, it's likely he knows which hotel we're at, so we couldn't take you back there. justin's stationing a few patrol cars in the area soon. you'll be safe. i'll be here later with our things, okay?"

i nod, and we get out of the car. i take out my keys, unlocking the door and i step into the doorway before turning back to spencer.

"i love you. turn the alarm on as soon as i leave."

"i know spen. i love you more. now go catch him so we can go home, please."

he nods, leaning in and pressing a gentle yet firm kiss on my lips. he walks away and i close the door, locking it and immediately turning the house alarm on. i take my jacket and my gun holster off, placing them onto the coat rack.

"not how i wanted this to turn out." i sigh, down the hallway and into the kitchen and towards the dining room.

"me either."

my head snaps around to see colin, smiling at me from across the dining room.

"colin..." i gasp, the color draining from my cheeks.

"hey jb."

play it cool, jupiter. he doesn't know that you know.

"you scared me. what're you doing in here?" i chuckle nervously.

"oh. well i house sit for you parents when they're gone. water the plants and check the mail. standard stuff. ya know?" he smiles widely, gesturing to the mail now on the table.

"really? i didn't know that....why didn't you park in the driveway?" i ask, discreetly pulling my phone out of my pocket and speed dialing the first number that i could press.

"i came by when your parents were still here. so i parked across the street."

"oh, do you still drive that blue mustang?"

"no but i'm surprised you remember." he chuckles lightly before a small silence covering us.

i glance down at the phone, seeing that i had dialed hotch and the call timer already running. i then slid the phone back into my pocket.

"so colin, considering you've checked the mail for my parents. i'll walk you out." i say, enunciating my words loudly and clearly.

"you know...i used you have a crush on you. but i see you've...moved on." he says, his jaw clenching slightly at the sight of the ring on my left hand.

"colin...i-"

"shut up! shut up shut up shut up! i loved you. and you...you broke my heart." he chuckles sadly as the tears begin to run down his face.

"colin please let's just talk about thi-"

"i'm not letting him take you from me."

"w-what?"

"you're mine. you belong to me. i know you love me. i can see it. i could feel it. you told me with your song, and that's all i needed."

"colin that song...i got the inspiration from a movie. i didn't write it about anyone. it-"

"no! that's a lie. you're lying. he turned you into a liar, baby. but don't worry. i'll fix it." he nods, wiping his face.

"what do you me-"

he quickly cuts me off, lunging forward and wrapping a cloth around my mouth. i begin wrestling his arm off, letting out screams as i got the cloth off of my mouth. i could hear the sirens in the distance as i begin flailing my legs around, knocking over things on the kitchen bar. i push off from the counter, backing him into the wall before he hits the side of my head against the wall. i could feel the blood drip over my left eye as i start to feel more and more woozy, and small whimpers leave my mouth as the sirens get louder. he grabs my hands, sliding my ring off of my finger and i hear it hit the counter. the sound fades out for a moment, then i hear the alarm start to go off, meaning he must've opened a door, most likely the back. my consciousness starts floating in and out and i feel him gently lay me across a cushioned seat.

"sleep, preciosa. i'm taking you home."