A/N: Okay, I decided to do another, prequel of such to Brother My Brother. I decided to write one featuring Sean since I do admit to enjoy writing him as a big brother who would be willing to sock anyone who would hurt his younger brother. Hope you enjoy it.
Disclaimer: I wish I owned Criminal Minds, but unfortunately I don't
When Spencer came to live with them, Sean didn't know how to feel exactly. Usually kids his age would be excited to have a younger brother, but Sean honestly felt a combination of anger, jealousy, and fear. Anger because his mom just came home with the kid out of nowhere, jealousy because Aaron had taken the kid so easily, and fear for the kid because of what their dad would do.
Although Sean had been at the receiving ends of his father's beatings, he understood what to do when the man was in one of his moods - aka drunk - and his mom wasn't around. Even during the time his mom had tried to be a mom and his dad seemed as though he was getting help, Sean was on edge; and so was Aaron. Spencer, however, wasn't even aware of what was going on in the house; and didn't think the man that was suppose to be his new father was an abusive drunk who would beat his sons while his wife ran away. Sean felt bad for the kid when that day came when the Hotchner's family secret was revealed, and felt even worse when he came home from a friend's sleepover and saw the bruises around Spencer's neck.
Sean forgot to mention there was also one thing he felt when Spencer came to live with them: confused. How was he suppose to be a big brother? The usual things a big brother did Aaron had taken care of - holding Spencer whenever he had a nightmare, making sure the little guy was safe when their dad was on the warpath, and just being the person Spencer could go to when he needed someone to talk to. Sean didn't have to do anything, and he felt a bit left out, even after the three of them had moved out of their hellhole and into a safe haven. Spencer still went to Aaron when he had a nightmare and he remained someone Spencer would confide in.
Eventually, Sean had learned there wasn't much he could do for Spencer and had settled into his new life. He enjoyed sleeping at night without fear of a thunderous footsteps coming to get him or having to wake up in the middle of the night to head to a neighbors' house. There was no punishment for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. More importantly, there was no more bruises or broken bones that he had to explain away to classmates and teachers. And Sean was okay with that.
When it was revealed that Spencer was a miniature genius who wanted to skip a few grades, Sean realized that there was something he could do. Spencer was going into high school. He was small, clearly smart, and had a problem controlling himself when he spurted out facts - thus came Sean's nickname of Mini Motor one morning - so Aaron asking Sean to keep a better eye on him was a must; and Sean took his job seriously.
Since Sean was still in middle school, he couldn't watch Spencer during the day; but he was quick to check on Spencer once school was out and both boys were in the apartment. It was simple questions like:
"Did anyone give you grief?"
"Do you want me to punch someone?"
"Are the teachers keeping an eye on you?"
Spencer would usually stand there, his face red with embarrassment, as he gave Sean his answers: "A little" "Please don't" and "Yes". Although Aaron was amused and proud of Sean's eagerness with the job, he also had to remind him to not literally punch anyone.
"The only result that would come out of it would be someone got hurt, you would get hurt when he fought back, Spencer would feel bad, and I would have to deal with troublesome parents."
"But if I do punch a jerk for messing with Mini Motor, I won't feel bad," Sean admitted afterwards. Aaron would just smile and ruffle Sean's hair.
"I don't expect you to."
Surprisingly enough, the usual people to give Spencer grief were former friends of Sean's. He wasn't one of those big brothers who was embarrassed about asking his smarter younger brother to help him with homework, and usually he would ask while he and his friends were hanging around the dining room of their apartment. The first guy - a guy named Terry - had always made various nerd comments about him, which bothered Spencer more than he admitted to, but Sean caught on. Sean was quick to warn Terry to knock it off in which Terry, of course, didn't heed to and even convinced several other kids in the group to join in. Spencer rushed out of the dining room, tears obvious in his eyes, and Sean couldn't get the idiots out fast enough. He told Aaron when he got home from his classes, and Aaron had talked to the parents.
Sean had stopped hanging out with Terry and those boys, but he had felt the overwhelming urge to punch Terry whenever he saw him at school.
When Sean entered high school, his self-control had been thrown to the wind after he saw how much Spencer was actually being bullied. Apparently high schoolers - people who thought they were adults and should be treated as such - thought it was okay to gang up on a twelve year old kid that was less than half their size and didn't even have it in him to even back talk. They didn't even have enough common sense to not do it while the older brother was around. Sean wasn't exactly the biggest, but he was well-built and had learned enough from rough play with friends to apply.
The first time his fist met a bully's face wasn't even that long after the first day of his freshman year. Spencer was a senior, but even that wasn't enough to protect him from this lanky guy who was shoving Spencer around in front of him. The little guy was trying to just keep walking and trying not to cry. Sean remembered a steaming anger in his chest as he stormed up to the guy - later revealed to have been a junior - and shoved him away from his younger brother. Spencer was looking at him with wide brown eyes, and begging Sean to just let it go.
"What, you little worm, you need your big brother to protect you?" the jackass said as he walked up to Sean, trying to use the fact that he was a few inches taller than Sean to intimidate him. He jabbed a finger in his chest as he snarled, "You think you have what it takes to play with the big dogs, boy?"
Sean wanted to snort at how cliched this guy was being, but he kept a tough face up - he had learned that much from Aaron, "Yeah, apparently you can't since you think it's fun to pick on a little kid. Bet, you can't handle someone closer to age and size."
"Sean, don't," Spencer begged as he was trying to pull Sean away from the scene by his arm. He was probably cursing his small size, "Please, let's just go."
Sean glanced towards Spencer and saw the pleading look in his eye. He knew Spencer was worried about Sean getting hurt as well as him getting in trouble with Aaron. Aaron was placing more responsibility on him since the two had literally talked him into getting more of social life and taking Hailey out more ("I'm fifteen, Aaron. I can look after Mini Motor while you sneak away to make-out with your girlfriend for a few hours." "Mature, Sean, but I do agree with him Aaron). Spencer didn't want Aaron's trust in Sean to disappear.
Unfortunately the stick before him didn't give a crap as he smirked and jabbed a finger into Sean's finger shoulder this time, "That's right, listen to your baby brother. He probably needs you to change his diaper anyway."
Okay, that caused something to snap and before Sean knew it, he was grabbing the bastard by the shirt and pushing him against one of the lockers and his fist connected with some part of the guy's face. Spencer yelled at Sean to stop, and Sean could vaguely hear the sound of running footsteps before he was being pulled away from the guy. The anger muddled Sean's senses enough for him to breeze through being dragged to the principal' s office, Aaron's pissed off expression as he talked with the principal, and the drive home. The cloud decided to lift when the three of them were back home, and Aaron turned to him.
"You're grounded during your suspension. No friends, no movies, and no leaving. You'll also be stuck with double chores for the next two weeks. Do I make myself clear?"
As much as Sean wanted to yell, he knew it was no use. Aaron was scarier than any high school bully. Instead he held his hands up in surrender, nodded his agreement, and excused himself to go to his room. Aaron sighed before explaining to the two that he had to study for an upcoming test and told them to keep the noise level down before dismissing them both. Spencer didn't hesitate to follow Sean.
"I'm sorry," Spencer said when they were in Sean's room. Sean just plopped on his bed and gave Sean a smirk.
"Mini Motor, there's no need for you to be sorry. The asshole deserved it, and I would do it again." Spencer's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something. Sean stopped him, "Look, I'm your big brother too, and one of my jobs is to protect you from those cowards who pick on you."
"By punching them?"
"If needed," Sean waved his hand, his smirk still plastered, "Next time, I just have to make sure I'm not on school grounds."
Spencer was completely speechless.
A/N: All right, people let me hear what you think