Title: Be Mine Tonight
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: 100_tales
Prompt: 31, Valentine's Day
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.

***


"I've always hated Valentine's Day," Spencer muttered, frowning down at the console of the Tardis. He didn't look up when the Doctor raised his head from the opposite side of the console where he'd been concentrating intently on one of the readouts.

"Why ever not?" he asked, sounding surprised. "You're a very good-looking man, Spencer. And I don't doubt that you were a lovely child. I'm sure that you had those little candies with the words on them from a lot of people, and all the cards you could read."

Spencer shook his head, straightening up and crossing his arms over his chest with a sight. "No, I didn't. And you're wrong. I wasn't a lovely child. I was looked at as being a real freak of nature because I'd rather stay inside and read than go out and play cops and robbers."

"And yet you were the one out of all those children around you who actually became a cop -- of sorts," the Doctor said with a smile. "If it's any consolation, I wasn't exactly popular with my peers when I was a child, either. I was too much of a loner."

Spencer looked surprised at the Doctor's words, raising an eyebrow in question as he turned his full attention to the Time Lord. "Really? What were things like for you as a kid?" It was obvious that he was trying to change the subject.

"Oh, no, you don't," the Doctor laughed, raising an admonitory finger at Spencer. "No changing the subject. I want you to tell me why you dislike Valentine's Day so much."

"Because it's just .... a stupid holiday," Spencer muttered, looking away. "It's just something that card companies created and built up to sell their merchandise. I don't believe in using one day out of the whole year to tell someone how you feel about them."

The Doctor looked thoughtful for a few moments before nodding as he placed both hands on the console and leaned over it. "All right, I can understand that. You feel that people should express their love for each other every day, not just one day out of many."

"Exactly." Spencer's voice grew a bit louder as he continued to speak, warming to his topic. "What's the use of saving it all up for one day? That's not fair to the person you're with. You should be willing to do special things for them every day."

"I'm not going to argue about that," the Doctor told him, his eyes still on his young lover. "But that doesn't really explain why you seem to have such a grudge against the day. Did you have some sort of bad experience with a particular Valentine's Day?"

Spencer shook his head, a wry smile crossing his features. "Not just one particular Valentine's Day. All of them," he said simply, his eyes meeting the Time Lord's gaze across the console. "I've never had a Valentine's Day where I was actually in a relationship."

The Doctor returned the smile with a wistful one of his own. "You aren't the only one," he murmured, shaking his head. "I haven't either."

"Did they even celebrate Valentine's Day on Gallifrey?" Spencer asked, sure that this was a tradition that other planets wouldn't even have heard of, much less adopted as their own. "From what you've told me about your people, it doesn't sound like they would."

The Doctor shook his head, another wistful smile curving his lips. "No, they didn't," he admitted with a soft sigh. "I didn't learn about Valentine's Day until I became a Time Lord and started studying humans. But it's a concept I always liked."

"Why?" Spencer's question came out sounding more blunt than he'd wanted it to, and he hastened to soften it somewhat. "I mean .... it's not particularly fun for people who are single. I think it's something that was created to make people pair off, like pairs of animals on Noah's Ark."

"Because it seemed like such a romantic idea," the Doctor said softly, his voice sounding dreamy and faraway, as though his thoughts had gone beyond Spencer and what they were discussing. "Something to share with someone you care deeply for."

"That's what people say it's supposed to be," Spencer said, his eyes on the Doctor as he spoke. "But for a lot of people, it's not like that. Unless you're in a relationship, Valentine's Day is more depressing than anything else. I know that from experience."

"It's hard imagining you not having people falling at your feet on a day like that," the Doctor said, turning his attention back to Spencer. "I certainly would be."

Spencer gave a soft laugh, making his way to the couch against the wall and sitting down, stretching out his long legs in front of him. "Not only did nobody ever fall at my feet, I never got a single one of those Valentine's Day cards when I was a kid."

"Not one?" The Doctor looked surprised at his words. "What about those little candy hearts with the words written on them? Surely you got some of those. Even if you didn't get any when you were young, you must have gotten some in later years."

Spencer shrugged, not meeting the Doctor's eyes. "Sure, I got them from my colleagues in the BAU. From friends. But not from anyone special. That's why I hate Valentine's Day so much. I was always the odd man out, the only one who didn't have someone in their life."

"I'm sorry, love," the Doctor said softly, his voice very close. Spencer looked up, startled to realize that while he'd been studiously avoiding the Doctor's gaze, the Time Lord had come across the room to stand right beside the couch.

Spencer shrugged again, feeling slightly uncomfortable. He hadn't meant to make such a big deal out of his dislike for Valentine's Day; somehow, it had turned into something bigger than he'd meant for it to be. He didn't want the Doctor to feel sorry for him.

"It's no big deal," he murmured as the Time Lord sat down beside him, reaching for his hand and twining their fingers together. "It's just one of those disappointments life throws out."

"You deserve to have wonderfully romantic holidays," the Doctor told him, squeezing his fingers in a gentle grip. "I wish that I could have given you all the romance you'd liked to have had. But you know, I may be able to make up for that."

"You don't have to make up for anything," Spencer told him, his voice soft. "It's enough for me to be here with you now. When I'm with you, I'm not that gawky weird kid who nobody wanted to send a Valentine's Day card to. It's all in the past now."

"I can at least get you Valentine's Day candy," the Doctor told him, his dark eyes lighting up. "And one of those big cards with the romantic sayings on them. Though ...." he frowned, looking thoughtful. "I have no idea where I'll get the money for one."

"Money?" Spencer shook his head, laughing. "Don't worry about that. I'm assuming I still have a bank account on Earth. That won't be a problem. I can buy us anything we might need. Or --" A sudden idea struck him. ".... Could we get them on another planet?"

"I'm not sure that other plants have things like that in their culture, sweetheart," the Doctor said, his voice regretful. "So we may end up spending Valentine's Day on Earth, after all. Though now that you're with someone, would it really be so bad?"

Spencer shook his head, a smile spreading over his face. "No, not at all. My first Valentine's Day when I'm actually in a relationship. It might feel like a vindication."

"For all those years that you spent without having anyone." The Doctor nodded, looking please. "I'm only too glad to do that for you, love. And I do still insist on getting you those candy hearts. The ones that say things like 'Be Mine' and 'I Love You.'"

"You already say that to me a lot," Spencer murmured, leaning close to the Time Lord and brushing his lips across the softness of the Doctor's mouth. "Well, the 'I love you' part, anyway. I don't think you've ever actually said 'be mine.' Not out loud, anyway."

"Well, then I'll say it now." The Doctor laughed, sliding down from the couch to rest on one knee in front of Spencer. Laying his hand on his chest, he proclaimed, "Spencer Reid, will you be mine tonight? And not only tonight. Be mine for the rest of our lives."

Spencer laughed along with the Doctor, standing up and pulling the other man to his feet. "Do you even have to ask? I'm already yours. I've been yours since that day you first brought me here and helped me get past the worst part of my life."

The Doctor wrapped his arms around Spencer's waist, drawing him close for another kiss. "And I've been yours since that first day we met during that thunderstorm," he said softly, his dark gaze meeting Spencer's. "I'll be yours for as long as you want me."

"I think I want you to be mine right now," Spencer answered, his voice soft and husky with desire. Taking the Time Lord's hand, he headed for the corridor that he knew led to their bedroom, the Doctor following him with a smile on his lips and a spring in his step.

***