The air in the SUV was tense and slightly awkward. Spencer looked out the window, watching the trees go by as Aaron drove. Neither of them spoke. The only sound in the car was that of the air conditioner.
Something had changed between them while they had been on this case. The hotel that they had had to stay in whilst in Atlantic City had been nearly full to capacity, and everyone had to double up. Reid had wound up sharing with Hotch. When they got their room assignments, Spencer didn't know whether to cheer or rip out his hair in frustration. The only rooms left had single beds.
That night, when it was time to settle in, Spencer had offered to sleep on the floor, but Hotch was having none of it. Again, Spencer didn't know whether to be pleased by the consideration his boss was giving for his back, or whether he should scream and flee from the hotel and sleep in the SUV. He had been harboring feelings for Aaron Hotchner since before his marriage fell apart. Spencer had always been able to manage them, to keep them quiet and at bay. What helped make it easier was the fact that he almost never shared a room with Hotch, and when he did, they managed to get double beds. It was still torturous, but it was manageable.
This time, however? The bed was only a queen size, and as he lie in bed next to his boss, he could feel the body heat radiate off of him, could feel him breathe. He could even smell the hotel shampoo from his hair. Spencer had tossed and turned for nearly an hour when Hotch spoke out.
"Why are you still awake, Spencer?" he asked, his voice muted with sleep. Reid froze. Hotch rarely called him Spencer, and hearing his first name come from those lips made him shiver. He was currently facing the same direction that Hotch was, because he was definitely not going to fall asleep while facing him.
"I can't get comfortable," Spencer said, and Hotch snorted.
"Obviously."
"I can sleep on the floor," he offered again.
"You're not sleeping on the floor, Reid," Aaron told him, and then wrapped his arm around Spencer's waist. All of the air rushed out of Spencer's lungs as if someone had knocked him to the ground. "Just relax and try to get some sleep. We have an early morning."
"O-okay," he said quietly. He found it much easier to relax with Hotch's arm draped across him. He fell asleep ten minutes later.
The pattern had repeated for the entire week they were in Atlantic City. Spencer would toss and turn, and eventually Hotch would either wrap his arm around him or pull him close. Hotch had chalked it up to stress from the case and needing human contact for comfort until the morning when they were supposed to drive back to Quantico. He had woken up to find Spencer wrapped around him. Hotch lie on his back, and Spencer had pillowed head on Aaron's arm. His hand was clutched in Hotch's t-shirt, and his legs were twined with his boss'.
Aaron really had no idea what to do. He knew that he couldn't move without waking up his subordinate. He swallowed the lump in his throat, and silently prayed that the lump that was arising in his boxers would go away just as easily. He had been able to keep his growing feelings for the younger agent under lock and key for some time now. He had honestly thought that sharing a bed with Spencer wouldn't be an issue. Boy, had he been wrong.
Knowing that he couldn't change positions without waking Reid, he'd waited for the other man to wake up. He managed to stay calm when Spencer's breathing sped up and he shifted as he came into awareness. When Spencer opened his eyes and found himself mere inches from his boss' face, he jerked away as if burned and promptly fell off of the bed. Hotch sat up and looked down at Spencer, who was growing pinker and pinker by the second.
"Hotch, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to—" Hotch held up a hand as a signal for Reid to stop, and he closed his mouth.
"It's okay, Spencer," he told him, and Spencer's cheeks darkened further at the use of his first name. Hotch vowed to use Reid's first name as often as possible if that was the reaction he got. He glanced at his phone. "We need to check out in an hour." Spencer nodded, and they had begun their morning routines, and were out of the motel in forty-five minutes. JJ, Emily, Rossi, and Morgan had taken one SUV, leaving Hotch and Reid to their own vehicle. That put them where they were now.
Spencer chewed on his lip. He had been observing Hotch for the past five minutes. His hands were tense on the steering wheel, and he stared straight ahead. "I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable this morning," said Reid quietly.
"You didn't make me uncomfortable," Hotch replied. Spencer frowned.
"Then why won't you look at me?"
Hotch spared a glance at Reid. "I'm trying to concentrate."
"What, you can't concentrate on driving while looking at me?" he asked, growing slightly agitated. If he had made his boss uncomfortable, he wanted to know so that he could formally apologize for it.
Hotch swallowed nervously. "Actually, no." Spencer was absolutely dumbstruck.
"What?" His voice squeaked embarrassingly. He cleared his throat and tried again. "What do you mean?"
Aaron sighed in exasperation. "Sometimes you are incredibly thick." Spencer's eyes widened. He wanted to ask 'What'? again, but he had a feeling it would only piss his boss off. "The problem," he began, "was that you didn't make me uncomfortable."
Spencer knew that if he had been driving, he would have careened off of the road and into a tree at this point. "I-I didn't make you uncomfortable?" he asked incredulously. "But I was draped across you like a blanket!" He blushed again at the memory of being pressed flush against Aaron Hotchner. Hotch looked at him for a moment, hoping that it would sink in and he wouldn't have to spell it out for him. A moment later, it dawned on Spencer. "Oh. Oh."
"Yes, oh."
"What-what now?" Spencer asked, twiddling his thumbs. Hotch liked him.
"We could start with me taking you to dinner," Aaron proposed, a small smile on his face. Spencer returned it.
"I'd like that very much."
The rest of the drive was completed with their hands clasped together on the console between them.