1: Meeting
Aaron could practically liken the young man's movement to the baby in his wife's arms. His fingers clasped tightly around the strap of his messenger bag as he watched the writhing creature, grimacing as saliva bubbles erupted from the sleeping mouth. There was no telling what Reid was thinking—sure, he didn't have the best track record with dogs, children, or even women for that matter—but there had to be some sort of merit to his discomfort. Not necessarily because of his own childhood, but Aaron took into account the rules against interteam profiling and let it pass as another one of Dr. Reid's quirks and kissed Haley on the cheek as she left.
2: First Date
A few weeks after the endgame of Foyet, Aaron found himself driving Reid back to his house after a dinner that was originally intended just as a way to get food but quickly became more after Reid shed his sweater vest at the table and let himself relax and Aaron felt as though some sort of veil was lifted away and he felt sixteen again. Reid hadn't seemed to notice the added dynamic of attraction until they walked out of the restaurant and into the parking lot where he felt a strange urge to just go in for some contact. Aaron was practically knocked back as a skinny body collided with his in a desperate hug that he couldn't compare to any others he'd had before, and perhaps that was the way that should stay.
He pulled the car into park and let his wrists rest on the steering wheel, glancing over to Reid, who was staring in wonderment at the house in front of him. It was completely foreign to him, the idea that a three-person (or, now two-person) family would need so much living space (and a staircase, as it seemed by the number of floors of the house), and Aaron could see it in the way his eyes glistened with interest.
"I don't know if Jack is awake..." Aaron murmured.
"He's four now?"
"Five."
"Oh, okay." Reid nodded slowly, distantly, his eyes not straying from the top floor window as he unbuckled himself.
Jack Hotchner was certainly awake. He bounded toward Aaron, flinging himself into his father's arms and babbling about puzzles and how he watched his favorite show on trains (Reid ears, of course, perking up excitedly at the mention of trains). The young boy's eyes strayed from Aaron and he stared curiously at the skinny man in the doorway. "Hi."
Reid waved shyly and gave him a small smile. "Hi."
Reid was silent that evening, watching with silently intrigued eyes as the documentary on trains played on the large flat screen that was tilted awkwardly on the television stand in the middle of the wall. Jack had bounded between them on the couch, bouncing excitedly on the cushions and tugging on his dad's sleeve every time the horn would sound. Somewhere during the night, Aaron had dozed off, and Reid had slipped away.
3: Sammy
Aaron had to brace his elbow on the armrest as Rossi recapped the visit to the victim's household. He didn't doubt that Rossi was telling the truth, but he couldn't help but wish he had been there to experience it. Reid—Dr. Spencer Reid, the man that grimaced at babies and stilled at the slightest brush with a child—had broken through the barriers of Sammy's deficiency and made strides to communicate with him. And he played piano with him. Rossi was trying his best to explain how Reid's voice changed, how much he sounded like a... a mother. Reid's ability to communicate with the autistic child (perhaps by accessing or accepting his own tendencies) had led them straight to where they needed to be.
"Oh," Rossi said with his hand resting thoughtfully on his chin, "And Reid plays the piano."
Aaron's jaw dropped.
4: Discipline
Aaron was exhausted. Henry and Jack had been running circles around him for a few hours, knocking things over and tracking mud in the house and just making a mess of the place. He looked over to the antique chair in the corner and shook his head in disbelief. His partner (ah, yes, the word had warmed his soul as he got used to it) was wrapped up, his matching pajamas falling off of his shoulders and his hair a mop on his head, in a book with his glasses pressed up against his eyebrows. His legs were folded over each other to fit his entire sitting form on the large cushion. The fact that Reid could read in such concentration with all of the destruction happening around him, the pages flipping with no staggering or stuttering, continued to baffle Aaron. He tried to snatch Jack again as he ran past, but he came up empty-handed once again.
"Boys, please..." He begged, his voice rough and his eyebrows drawn upward, "Calm down. Go watch TV or something."
"Don't wanna! Wanna TAG!" Jack cried, jabbing Aaron in the side a bit too hard for his liking and running across the room and into the kitchen to hide. Henry followed, ever the loyal friend, giggling almost maniacally. "DADDY'S THE TAGGER!"
"Daddy is NOT the tagger!" Aaron yelled back, his shoulders slumping and a long sigh breaking through from his lips as he struggled to retain his steady breathing. After a few moments, the distant sound of a crash drew a whimper from his mouth, "Spencer, help me."
Reid hummed quietly, flipping another page, "Have you offered them a bribe yet?"
"So many bribes. I tried to bribe them with things that we don't even have," Aaron frowned. "Nothing's working."
"Bribes often don't work unless the person initiating the bribe is confident in their words. I'm sure if you just puff up your shoulders like you do when you're talking to the analysts at work it'll..."
Aaron glanced up as Reid's sentence tapered off and was met with wide eyes. "What?"
Reid didn't answer. He simply slid his glasses from his nose, folding them and setting them on the stand with his book before pushing himself from his reading chair and disappearing down the hallway toward the kitchen.
When he reappeared, he had Henry thrown over his shoulder and Jack held on his hip, the little boy's cheeks tear stained. He set Henry down to run to the bedroom, but just carried Jack over to face his father. "Jack. What do you have to say to Daddy?"
"I'm sorry that I tagged you real hard and I'm sorry that I accidentally scratched your face," Jack mumbled, his words slurring together as he fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt. "I didn't mean to hurt you and I promise I will help clean up the mess I made, and I love you. And I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Aaron gave him a quiet smile and kissed his forehead before Reid set him down on his feet.
"Start helping Henry clean up the room, please." Reid nodded once and Jack padded down the hallway. Once he was out of ear-shot, Reid sighed and took Aaron's face in his hands, "We really need to declaw your son."
"I didn't even notice he scratched me. Is it bad?"
"Not bad, but it looked bad from where I was sitting. Come to the bathroom, I'll clean it up for you."
Aaron glanced down as Reid took his wrist gently and lead him to the medicine cabinet, pulling out Neosporin, bandaids, and the alcohol pads that they kept in the First Aid Kit. He grinned as he watched Reid's tongue peek out from his mouth as he did his work, one hand holding the alcohol pad while the other rested on the back of his neck, rubbing comforting circles on his skin.
"What are you looking at me like that for?" Reid smiled shyly, tucking the rest of the unused supplies back into the kit.
"You're just like a mom."
Reid rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the familiar aura of confidence at the subtle praise, "Someone has to know how to get things in order around here."
Aaron held the dust pan as Reid swept up the broken plate on the kitchen floor, and when Henry left for the night, Reid gathered Jack and Aaron up in his arms, pressing kisses to their heads and murmuring a quiet I love you into their hair.