Brandy & Mince Pies
Ahmose Inarus
Written for the 2015 Christmas Fic Exchange.
Merry Christmas, TheAllonsyGirl!
Two men walked down the quiet street. It was late, and the snow was falling in thick flurries. That morning there hadn't been a flake in sight, but now there was nearly a foot of fresh snow piled up. The pair trudged through it, listening to it crunching pleasantly under their feet. They walked close together, almost huddled together for warmth.
Suddenly one paused, and the other stopped and turned to look at him. Dr. Spencer Reid was staring up at the building they were in front of. The doctor's companion followed his gaze. They were standing before a church that was holding a midnight mass. Aaron Hotchner saw a smile touch Reid's lips; they could hear the choir.
"In The Bleak Midwinter." Reid said, suddenly.
"Sorry?"
"The song." Reid clarified.
"Oh." Hotch nodded, moving to stand beside him. "Do you want to go in?"
"No… I'm fine here." Reid said quietly, raising his eyes to take in the falling snow, painted a plethora of colors in the light coming from the stained glass windows. Hotch just smiled slightly, shoving his hands into his pockets and waiting, more than happy to indulge his boyfriend's quirks. Lord knows he had indulged in plenty of them today, like every day, what was one more?
Today's had all started with Garcia's idea of having a Christmas Eve dinner with Emily via WebCam. Of course it was lunch for the team, so that Emily wouldn't have to have dinner at an obscene hour… In honor of Emily living in England, Garcia had declared it to be a pot luck and everyone had to bring a British Dish… Their Italian Stallion, David Rossi, had been quite annoyed.
Morgan had proudly presented Bangers and Mash… made with Johnsonville brats. Garcia gave him a look. She herself had made Yorkshire Pudding to go with the roast that Rossi had prepared. She was quite proud of them, and the team had been suitably impressed with her efforts.
Hotch had earned himself the title of the Party Loser; he had just bought a tin of Earl Gray…
Kate Callahan, the new kid of the team, had earned Party Winner when she brought the brandy and the Christmas Pudding.
JJ had arrived with some steamed vegetables picked up from the store down the street, and upon asking where her British Dish was she leveled a look on Henry, who had burst into laughter. Will had explained that JJ HAD prepared a dish, but, well… after asking Henry to carry it, Henry had ended up needing a change of clothes, the car door had to be hosed off.
Reid had taken it upon himself to make mince pies. Emily, over the webcam, had grinningly encouraged the whole team to try them, and then sat laughing herself silly for nearly ten minutes at their reactions… Rossi's face had been exceptionally priceless. And then Emily laughed for another few minutes when Reid announced that they were delicious, and confiscated Hotch's abandoned mince pie; the Unit Chief promptly informed Reid that he would NOT be kissing him any time soon.
Leftovers had been divided up amongst the team. Garcia had taken a couple of the little mince pies, but no one else had wanted them. If they had been afraid that they would hurt Reid's feelings, they were pleasantly surprised when Reid had blurted "GREAT!" and shoved another in his mouth as he packed up the rest of them, looking delighted to be taking them home; Hotch didn't look nearly as pleased. Kate had given him the leftover brandy with a sympathetic look. Hotch gave her a look in return, but gladly took the brandy.
The team had eventually gone their separate ways, and Hotch and Reid had taken the metro to get back to Reid's apartment, as he was closer to Garcia's home than Hotch. And that was how they got here, standing in the snow and listening to a church choir, plastic bags of leftovers dangling from their fingers.
Hotch dug out the bottle of brandy and took a quick swig of it, hoping to chase away the cold while he waited for Reid.
The night had grown silent as the song came to an end. The pair linked fingers and continued down the street.
"… Why do things have to change?" Reid asked all of a sudden with a heavy sigh. Hotch looked at him, questioningly. "Why did Emily have to leave? Why did Alex? I mean, I like Kate, but… I liked what we HAD."
"I know." Hotch said with a slight smile. "Why did Gideon have to go? Why did Elle, or Max or anyone? Sometimes, you want things to stay the same. But look at it this way. If Gideon didn't leave, we wouldn't have Dave." Reid blinked, and then smiled. David Rossi was a wonderful friend and coworker. "If Elle hadn't left, we never would have had Emily. You know why things have to change, Spencer. But that doesn't mean you have to like it. Just accept it, and before you know it…"
"You won't want the new things to change." Reid nodded.
"Time only flows one way." Hotch sighed, and Reid slowly felt a smirk come to his face.
"Actually, time is not linear, it's more like a—"
"Spencer Reid, I swear to God, if you give me that 'timey-wimey' line again…" He trailed off, giving Reid a fierce glower that had the genius laughing within a moment.
"YOU brought it up!" He pointed out, and Hotch just rolled his eyes.
They had arrived at Reid's apartment by then, and climbed the stairs in silence. Hotch took Reid's bag to allow him to fish for his keys with both hands, and then they were finally stepping in.
"You have GOT to turn up the heat in here, Reid."
"It's expensive." Reid shrugged, turning on a light, and Hotch gave him a look. "And no, you are NOT paying my bills. They're MINE."
Hotch let out an exasperated sigh and went to put away the leftovers in the kitchen, and put on the hot chocolate. He knew that Reid would be wanting something hot, and knew he would really want coffee, but Hotch wanted to have a relaxing night, not deal with a wired genius hyped up on caffeine.
Reid gave him a frustrated look when he emerged from the shower and was given the hot chocolate with marshmallows. Hotch just gave Reid a look in return that basically said 'you get what I made you and don't you DARE make coffee while I'm in the shower…'
When Hotch emerged, he was relieved that Reid had obeyed the silent command and had merely gone back for a refill of the hot cocoa. He plopped onto the sofa with his own mug and leaned back with a sigh. Reid drew his feet up onto the sofa and leaned against Hotch.
"When does Jack come home from his grandparents'?" He asked.
"Sunday." Hotch replied. "I wonder how he's doing?" Reid looked at him. "He's with all his cousins, and is seeing them all with their parents. And he doesn't have either. Will he resent me for it? For the job?"
"Maybe." Reid said. "But I think that eventually, he'll understand, he'll forgive, and he'll respect you for it." Reid smiled into his hot cocoa. "I know I do." Hotch looked at Reid.
"… Thank you." He said softly, staring at the little tree in the corner that was covered in white lights and Daleks of various colors with a TARDIS tree topper. He smiled, loving his boyfriend's quirky tree. "I love you, Spencer."
Reid smiled up at him. "I love you too…" He said, and the pair kissed.
"Spencer! Did you eat another mince pie?!"
"Of course! They're delicious!"
"Don't kiss me after eating those." Hotch grumbled, making a face and shaking his head.
"… Oh really?" Reid asked, then stood. "Well fine! YOU can just stay on the sofa then!" And he got up and headed to his bedroom. Hotch stared after him, sighed and heaved himself off of the sofa to follow. Reid was sitting cross legged in the middle of his bed, reading a book. When Hotch entered, Reid slowly raised his eyes and glared… but Hotch could see that sparkle in his eyes behind the glare. He grinned and approached, sliding onto the bed.
"Come here…" He murmured, curling a hand around the back of Reid's head and pulling him into a deep kiss that left his lover swooning in his arms. "The mince pies aren't enough to keep me from you."
"Good to hear. For that, I'll buy you another bottle of brandy."
"Hmm… that sounds great."
"Heh… Good ol' positive reinforcement… works with children, dogs, and you."
"… Shut up, Spencer."
"Be nice to me or I'll toss you out into the snow and keep the rest of the brandy for myself." Reid warned, flicking off the light and smiling as he felt the arms curl around his body and draw him in close and under the covers.
"Sure you will…" Hotch chuckled, and a moment later Reid was giggling and there was clothing being flung across the room. Then Hotch was fumbling in the bedside table and pulling something out of the drawer and under the blankets, chuckling, telling Spencer to "Stop wiggling!"
"You're tickling me!"
"Oh, is that what I'm doing?"
"Yes, you're- Oh God!"
"You sure?"
A low moan…
"That's what I thought." Hotch grinned, and continued to prepare his lover, who was writhing beneath him in delight. He hummed in approval, bowing his head and kissing over Reid's throat, nuzzling at his fluttering pulse and then nipping at his collar bone. Reid twitched and shivered, curling his leg around Hotch's hips.
"Ready, Aaron…"
"Are you sure?" Hotch asked, pausing.
Yeah… 'M ready… please."
"I think I'm ready for more brandy." Hotch announced, moving to slide out of the bed.
"No you don't!" Reid laughed, catching his arm and pulling him back against his body. Hotch was grinning.
"Alright, alright…" He sighed, feeling Reid's body shaking as he continued to giggle, only to have that end abruptly in a hiccup. "… Have YOU been into the brandy?"
"I MAY have put some in my cocoa." Reid admitted with a devilish grin. Hotch gave him a look, and Reid just shrugged, going from devilish to angelic in the blink of an eye.
Hotch just shook his head, captured his lover's lips with his own and moved into position, pushing into him. Reid mewled into the kiss, gasping in delight as his body was gathered up in his lover's arms and he was lifted to perch on the elder's lap instead of lying beneath him. The blankets slid off to pool around their legs as the pair sat with foreheads pressed together, breathing in the others' breath. Their chests were flush up against each other and Hotch had one arm curled around the small of Reid's back while the other tangled its fingers in his hair. Reid's hands rested on his lover's biceps, then slid up his shoulders and neck to stroke his cheeks and then cup his face as Reid kissed him again, purring as he began to move himself on his partner's erection.
"Mmmm…" He sighed as Hotch rolled his hips, matching his movements in a delicious way.
"No more mince pies…" Hotch murmured.
"I'll have as many as I want…" Reid smiled, letting his head fall back with a hiss as his lover's hands now gripped and massaged his buttocks. "Aaron… God…"
"Only when I'm not spending the night with you." Hotch said, petulantly.
"I'll eat what I damn well want to eat." Reid told him through his soft gasps.
"Hm…" Hotch hummed, smirking. "This is the most sexy conversation we've ever had."
Reid paused, and then burst into laughter, the pair tumbling down into the blankets and ending with Reid on his side, Hotch hooking one of his legs over his shoulder and pinning his wrists down over his head with one hand while using the other to fondle his lover between his legs.
Reid writhed and groaned, turning his head to accept another kiss as Hotch continued to thrust into him over and over. Hotch felt Reid's body begin to quiver and he ran his fingers over the doctor's abdomen, feeling the muscles tighten and twitch. He smiled and gripped Reid's length again, giving it one long, luxurious stroke. Reid cried out and threw his head back as his vision whited out and his muscles spasmed.
Moments later and he felt his lover push into him and hold, and deposit his heat into his lover's belly. Reid sighed, savoring the warmth that was wrapping around him in the form of Hotch's body. Soft puffs of hot breath were felt on his shoulder, and then he saw smoldering eyes gazing at him as Hotch lifted his hand and began to lick away Reid's mess from his fingers. Reid shivered in response, then moaned when he was kissed and found himself tasting his own essence on his lover's lips.
Then they were both entwined under the blankets, feeling their heartrates slow and their minds become drowsy.
Hotch was beginning to drift to sleep when Reid shuffled around, and then he heard him chewing something… and then the smell…
"Spencer… you had better not be doing what I think you're doing…"
"Mince pies are delicious."
"… Uhg… I need more brandy."
