Coffee, Tea // Spencer Reid

Chapter 24 - Family

Sorry for taking so long to update! Here's a long-ish chapter as an apology ;)

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The Park family residence was a charming suburban house, with the touch of eccentricity Spencer had expected from a family such as Lilith's. The porch was invaded by many plants, some so exotic the doctor himself couldn't recognise them. The shutters had all been repainted in vivid colours, from coral pink to a shade of baby blue, giving the house a certain liveliness.

"I like it. The house, I mean." Spencer said to Lilith as she took out her luggage from the car. The girl was surprised, as she expected the doctor to be perhaps a little weirded out. She giggled.

"Thank you, my lord, I see you behold great taste. Shall we presently step inside?" Lilith said, with an exaggerated posh tone. Spencer snickered.

"Of course, Milady. Could I perhaps take care of your luggage?" The young man continued.

"How gallant." Lilith smiled as she handed over her bag.

The friends walked up to the front door. The girl rang the bell, and they both waited on the porch, surrounded by the plants.

"Thank you for everything, again." She said.

Spencer smiled.

"You're my friend. I'd do anything to help."

Their conversation was interrupted by an opening door.

"Lilith! Come here, darling!" A short and heavy woman squealed at the door.

"Aunt Marthe! Je suis tellement heureuse de te voir! So happy to see you!" The girl replied, taking the woman in an embrace. As they let go, Marthe eyed the man standing next to her niece.

"And who is this charming young man?" The woman asked, with a smirk and a thick french accent.

"This is Spencer. He's, um..."

"I'm her boyfriend. Nice to meet you." He slightly nodded with a smile. Lilith's heart skipped a beat as the man pronounced the words.

"Come on, get in, you lovebirds!" The sturdy woman said, pulling them inside as she closed the door behind.

As soon as Lilith had stepped into the house, everyone cheered, and a dark haired man ran to her. He wrapped his arms around the girl, and lifted her off the ground.

"Dad! Put me down!" Lilith giggled.

"Oh, I'm just so happy to see you, my little girl!"

The man put down his daughter, and turned to the doctor.

"Hello Spencer. I'm Takeshi. I'm looking forward to spending the next couple of days with you guys. Let me take your bags to your room!" The father said with a smile.

He was a charismatic man, probably in his fifties. Spencer looked at him and Lilith, and smiled at their resemblance. She had the same mannerisms.

Another woman approached the two friends, and took the two of them in her arms.

"It's so good to see you two! I'm Isabelle, this charming young lady's mother." She said, with a similar french accent.

"Moooom..." Lilith grinned, embarrassed.

"Nice to meet you, mrs. Park."

He reluctantly took out his hand, but to his surprise, the mother didn't shake it.

"Just call me Isabelle. My daughter told me about your germ problem. Don't worry, my husband is the same as you." She smiled. "Well, Lilith, you should probably see the rest of the family? They all seem eager to see you!"

Lilith introduced him as her boyfriend to the rest of her large family: her grandmother, a few of her young cousins, as well as a handful of aunts and uncles. Most of them gave the young woman a series of discreet smirks and knowing looks. Lilith was embarrassed, but Spencer couldn't help but laugh. Her family formed a jolly group, and the doctor already felt at place thanks to their warmth and quirkiness. Takeshi was soon back downstairs, and he tapped on the shoulders of the two friends.

"Ok lovebirds. Your room is ready, so I advise you guys go up and get ready for dinner."

"Of course, Papa!" The daughter placed a kiss on her father's cheek, and took the doctor's hand before leading him upstairs. As she closed the door to their room, she spoke.

"Sorry, my family is a bit overwhelming sometimes." She smiled as she gave a little sigh.

"I think they're really charming people. I've never really had such a close family, so I'm a little envious."

"Oh, Spencer. You're welcome here anytime."

"As your 'boyfriend', or...?" He joked. The two of them laughed.

"As anything, honestly." She gave him an indecipherable smile. "Well, we should probably unpack fast and get changed, before my family starts wondering what we're doing."

"You're probably right." The doctor replied.

The two friends were soon back downstairs, ready to join the family for dinner. They sat next to each other.

Isabelle, Lilith's mother, started. "First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for coming. I'd also like it if you guys treated Spencer with kindness, as he's now part of the family."

Spencer was touched by these words.

"Wow, I am really honoured. I don't even know if I deserve it."

"Of course you do, silly." The grandmother told Spencer. "You know, you're the first person Lilith has ever brought home. And it's not like she hasn't dated before, I mean look at how pretty s-"

Lilith felt her cheeks turn red. "Okay Grandma, that's enough. Could we, uh, start serving the soup?"

The large bowl was passed around, and everyone served themselves to the pumpkin soup.

"So, Spencer. I heard you go by Dr.Reid. Do you practice in a hospital? Or do you have your own clinic?" Lilith's father asked.

"Actually, no. It's a title I earned from a doctorate."

"Oh." Marthe replied, impressed. "And what is it in?"

"Maths, chemistry, and engineering. I have B.A's in philosophy, sociology and psychology." He replied, humbly, while taking a spoon of the soup.

The whole table was astonished. They had known Lilith was a genius, but they did not expected her to find someone so alike. Most of the family members had to close their gaping mouths.

A teenage cousin of Lilith shook her head before asking,

"Wow. What? What even is your job?"