Title: The Best Of Friends
Rating: PG
Pairing: Hotch/Reid erm, kind of friendship. IDK
Summary: Aaron sneaks a late night visit with his friend Spencer.
A/N: Watching a programme about police dogs and this came out O.o
Aaron was laying comfortably on his bed, not sleeping but resting, when he heard it. That little yelp of a bark. The other's in the kennels heard it too, and perked their ears. They didn't react much though, even the trained police dogs where used to this happening at least a few times a week.
Aaron jumped up immediately, going through the heavily practiced routine. use his nose to lift the latch, hold and jump, pushing the gate open with his front paws. He couldn't repeat the process for the main gate because it was locked with a padlock. So, giving one little tail wag to his colleagues - who had grown bored of Aaron's late night excursions - before leaping, as high as he could.
Thankfully, and as usual, he made it. The moment Aaron's paws hit the pavement, his excitement swelled and he sprinted at full speed around the corner and too the ally he knew his friend would be waiting. His tongue was wagging out the side of his mouth and his tail wagging, he was so happy to be seeing him again.
Aaron finally caught sight of him, Spencer. His best friend.
Spencer darted from his hiding place and when the two came together, Aaron jumped, almost tackling Spencer. In return the shaggy dog spun around, nudged him with his nose and jumped to place his paws across Aaron's back.
"Spencer." Aaron laughed, "You haven't been around in days." When the two finally stilled and faced each other, they where panting and their tails where wagging so strongly, their whole bodies wiggled. A worried tone crept into his voice, "Are you okay?" He asked even as he sniffed the other dogs body for signs of injury.
Spencer, seeing his fussing, nudged Aaron's nose with his own, causing Aaron to swipe playfully at Spencer's front legs, "Nothing, I'm fine. I ... got lost." Spencer seemed to be hiding something.
When a light switched on over the road, both dogs tensed, looked at one another and ran. They retreated to a small but well concealed park and slowed to casually walk together.
"Spencer, how did you get lost?" Aaron asked, concerned.
Stopping beneath a tree, Spencer walked around once before laying down on the dry grass. He seemed really down and that worried Aaron. He trotted over, gently nudged the bridge of his friends nose with his own and laid close to him, placing a paw over one of Spencer's leg. "What happened."
Hesitating a moment, Spencer finally answered, "Animal control caught me, I know I shouldn't have but I was eating chicken out of the trash behind a cafe." Turning his eyes to Aaron's, Spencer whispered, "I was starving." Aaron whimpered in sympathy, nudging him again. Spencer lowered his eyes for a moment before raising them, forcing himself to cheer up, "But, I managed to escape. I played dead and they opened the kennel." He sounded proud. Spencer was probably the smartest dog Aaron knew, he never had trouble outsmarting the humans who seemed determined to lock him away.
Aaron leaned heavily against his his friend. He hated that Spencer had to scavenge for food, that he had nobody to pet him and call him a good boy like Aaron did. It made him so sad that he never wanted to go back, he wanted to stay with Spencer so he'd never be alone. He remembered when he met Spencer. He'd been chasing a suspect through the park and the guy was just about to get away when suddenly, a large, light brown and shaggy haired dog jumped up and knocked him over. Aaron had thanked the stray and talked with him as he waited for his handler to catch up. The man had been rendered unconscious so he never knew that Spencer had been the one to take him out and Aaron had told his new friend to run when he heard the other officers arrive.
The stray had been lonely however and so had followed Aaron's scent back to the kennels. That night had been the first Aaron had ever escaped the kennels, making sure to return on time the next day. It had been a common occurrence for the past few months. Aaron had never cared about another like he did Spencer, though his handler was probably the closest thing to a match. He only wished there was some way for Spencer to come work with him. He longed to spend ever day with him, to know, without question, that he was safe. To know that he didn't have to risk capture just to eat.
Once again, an involuntary cry worked it's way out of Aaron's muzzle.
Spencer must have known what Aaron was thinking because he pushed back heavily, forcing Aaron to roll onto his side. With his tongue out, Aaron watched with amusement as Spencer turned onto his back, paws bent up to his body and looked at Aaron upside down.
"Don't worry, you're not getting rid of me that easily." He said with a smile in his voice.
Allowing Spencer his distraction and letting it go, Aaron readied himself into position and said, "Oh yeah. Well, I'll bet you can't catch me." Before jumping up and running away. He heard Spencer chuckle as he followed, his long legs giving him an advantage. Aaron darted back and forth, trying to make it harder for Spencer to catch him, but inevitably felt a heavy body colliding with his own. He tumbled to the ground laughing heartily.
When they'd stopped laughing, Aaron looked up at Spencer, still stood over Aaron who was laid on his back. Suddenly, Spencer leaned down and licked Aaron on the nose. Aaron was speechless, they'd never shown such ... intimate affection to each other.
He found he didn't mind at all.
Spencer however, looked horribly embarrassed. Looking to the side, avoiding Aaron's eyes he said, "Erm ... Catch me now." Before running.
Aaron stayed still for a moment, still amazed by Spencer's gesture. He happily flipped back onto his front, watching Spencer stop, turn around and cock his head questioningly. Aaron felt full of energy when he jumped up and chased his friend.
His absolute, best friend.