They had barely made it through lunch when Reid was about to break. He liked to consider himself patient, and usually he thought he was. But if Hotch growled at him one more time, he was going to take drastic measures. It was upsetting the dynamic between the LEO's and the BAU. No one was used to dealing with a tetchy Alpha who growled every time he saw Reid trying to speak to any of the males at the station—including his own team members, Rossi and Morgan. Reid was regretting having ever shared his sexual preference with the older man.

And yes, Reid knew it wasn't like Hotch could control the response just yet. It was always that way when a new bond formed, typically for both people involved. In most cases the newly-bonded pair wouldn't even leave their home until the first few days were over. It just made things easier because neither one could stand the idea of something interfering with the bond in any way. But that wasn't the case; they couldn't afford to take two days off; and Reid was finding it more and more difficult to keep calm because he hadn't bonded with Hotch.

So when he walked into the main conference room (making sure to stand next to Hotch) and started speaking to the team about something important, only to hear Hotch growl when he dared to look at Rossi after the senior profiler had asked a question, Reid stopped trying to fight it. With a growl of his own, the Omega muttered, "Oh, for the love of—" before rounding on Hotch and pulling him into a hot, angry kiss. The Alpha went rigid in shock, but Reid didn't relent, and he quickly found himself being backed up against a wall as he allowed Hotch to kiss him breathless. Reid was glad he didn't have to fake how much he enjoyed the kissing. They didn't quite have the same affect on him as they did during his heat, but damn if they weren't still enough to make his skin buzz pleasantly.

When Hotch finally lifted his head, his pupils were dilated, and his scent of cinnamon and cloves teased Reid's nose. "There," Reid whispered hoarsely. "Everyone knows now, all right? So will you please stop growling every time I talk to a male who isn't you?" With a nod and a soft rumbling in his chest, Hotch took one more quick kiss before stepping back and allowing Reid to take a few steps away from the wall. The younger man sighed softly at the looks he was receiving and chose to ignore them, answering Rossi's question as if he hadn't just had their superior's tongue in his mouth.

Of course they managed to wrap the case around the time Hotch was slowly starting to act more like himself. They'd apologized to the LEO's for him already, explaining the situation as well as they could without giving away too much detail, and thankfully the LEO's had been understanding. But even though Hotch was acting more normal, he still wasn't quite there yet.

Reid and Rossi found that out the hard way.

Rossi was an Alpha who had a Beta-like air about him when it came to people he was close with. He almost always had a calming affect, and he tended to display his affection with small touches that mostly went unnoticed. It was practically second nature for him to slip past one of the team from behind, his hand unerringly landing on an elbow for barely a second or two. So when he moved past Reid (who was making a cup of coffee) on the jet in an effort to get to the snack box, his hand briefly settled on Reid's left elbow out of habit, and Reid sent him a quick smile almost reflexively.

The low, warning growl sounded just in time for Reid to quickly set down his coffee and turn, barely intercepting Hotch as he went for the other Alpha even as Rossi held his hands up placatingly, essentially yielding. "Hotch," Reid stated his name like an order, and his boss's head turned to look at him. "It's all right. Rossi was just being..." Reid floundered for a word before finishing, "...fatherly. You know he does that with everyone. It doesn't mean anything."

Hotch's gaze swung from Reid to Rossi, who wisely kept his mouth shut and nodded silently in agreement. Hotch's posture started to shift, and Reid made the mistake of releasing the breath he held just a moment too soon. The Alpha growled again, misinterpreting the sound, and bared his teeth at Rossi, who quickly whispered, "His mark, Reid."

With a slight grimace because there was no way anything unembarrassing was going to come from what he was about to do, the Omega reached up and loosened the knot of his tie, taking note of the fact that Hotch's eyes were on him again, and not on Rossi, which was a good sign. After unbuttoning the top two buttons of his collared shirt, he slowly exposed the right side of his neck to show the still-unmarked skin before he tilted his head and presented the mark Hotch had made on the left side.

Reid tried to brace himself for what he knew was coming when Hotch growled once more, in an almost pleased way, but that was impossible. He yelped in surprise when he found himself shoved against the wood paneling, and then Hotch's teeth were at his neck, gently scraping over the two-day-old mark. Reid's breath caught in his chest as he shivered, and Hotch purred before biting down hard on his mark. Reid had expected the flare of pain, but nothing and no one had ever prepared him for the white-hot jolt of pleasure that followed even outside a heat; he couldn't stop from keening loudly, his back arching as his hands gripped tightly onto Hotch's suit jacket. "Hotch," he whimpered, tugging and trying to pull the Alpha's body closer as he felt a hard suck at his skin.

"Ohhh, no. You two are not doin' this on the jet," Reid barely heard Morgan say before little, cold, and wet drops sprayed across his face and neck. Almost immediately Hotch jerked away, and Reid's own nose wrinkled at the smell of antiseptic. He glanced at Morgan to see that the Beta was holding a familiar spray bottle, and then his gaze returned to Hotch, who grimaced and turned away, walking back to his seat.

"Thanks, Morgan," Reid managed to whisper, buttoning up his shirt and fixing his tie. He didn't look away from Hotch, who was staring out the window with a slightly ashamed expression on his face. Almost resignedly, Reid picked up his cup of doctored coffee and made his way to the seat beside Hotch, slipping into it like it was normal. When Hotch tensed next to him, he sighed softly, reaching a hand out and placing it on the older man's before squeezing gently. Hotch's posture didn't really change, but he also didn't pull his hand away, so Reid considered that a victory and sipped at his coffee with a small smile.

It was almost a relief to knock on the door to Hotch's apartment later that evening, after having done laundry so he could pack a suitcase full of clothes and a few other essentials he'd need. (And if he found he was missing other items, he knew he could easily drop by his apartment and get them.) Hotch would most likely be acting more normal, and it would be helpful to figure out where the Alpha's mindset was in regards to everything when there wasn't a brand-new bond causing issues. They could figure out what would be needed from Reid in the coming months.

When the door opened, the Omega smiled and greeted the older man with a, "Hi."

Hotch offered a smile in response, tilting his head slightly. "Good evening, Reid." His gaze dropped to the rolling suitcase beside Reid, and before the younger man could protest, Hotch was reaching for the handle and pulling it inside. "Come on in," Hotch ushered, opening the door wider so that Reid could slip inside.

It was weird being in Hotch's apartment. He and the others had very rarely been to it, and he wasn't quite sure what to do without everyone there, so he simply stood just inside the doorway as Hotch closed the door. He turned to look at Hotch the same time Hotch faced him, and both men were startled by how close they were standing. Reid took a few stumbling steps back, stuttering, "S-sorry," as Hotch took a step forward. Reid held his breath while Hotch warred with his instincts, and it was only when Hotch shook his head with a brief flash of hurt crossing his features that Reid released his breath.

"It's all right. We're bound to have instances like that again. May as well see if I can fight the urges now," Hotch explained with a small smile, and Reid could only nod in agreement. "Have you eaten yet? I thought we could attempt to have a pleasant, late dinner before our inevitable discussion."

"Uh, no, actually. As you can probably guess, most of my dinners are take-out. I was too busy tidying up and packing everything around a load of laundry," Reid replied with a sheepish smile.

Hotch grinned, surprising the younger man. "We were wondering why you were wearing a purple shirt the other day."

Reid felt his face flush, and he cleared his throat awkwardly. "I spilled coffee on my last clean white shirt, and I didn't want to use my black or navy ones in my go bag. Hence the purple one that I look even more awful in because I feel awkward wearing such a bold color." Hotch's sudden growl was unexpected, and Reid stared at the Alpha concernedly, forcing himself not to scramble away as Hotch took several steps toward him. "Hotch?" he squeaked, swallowing nervously as the older man cupped his jaw.

With a gentle pressure, Reid allowed Hotch to turn his head, and he saw Hotch bend his own head down slightly. "You look breathtaking in purple," Hotch murmured huskily, bathing Reid's ear in heat and causing him to shiver slightly. "It's my favorite color on you." The soft words were followed by a teasing nip to his ear, and then Hotch was walking away, leaving Reid slightly baffled by the behavior as the older man flashed a boyish smile at him over his shoulder.

"I—you—what—Hotch," Reid stammered, stumbling as he tried to catch up to the dark-haired man. As he turned the corner into the dining area, he was caught around the waist and emitted a surprised yelp. Hotch's low chuckle had him frowning and shoving at the arm around him with a muttered, "That wasn't funny, Hotch. I'm kind of out of my element here, so I really don't know what to expect from you. And I won't be able to learn if you pull stunts like that."

Hotch's arm fell from his waist, and the Alpha took a few steps back. "You're right. I'm sorry." There was an odd tone in his voice that Reid couldn't quite pinpoint, but it was gone when Hotch continued, "The first part was not my doing. Your self-degrading comment spurred a response I couldn't control. I found it was easier to regain control if I tricked myself into thinking I was teasing you."

Reid mulled over the words before nodding. "All right. So I should be expecting responses like that?" he queried, tilting his head.

"Reid, a lot has changed for me since my last bonding. Even I don't quite know what to expect during this," Hotch explained with a sigh. "Already, several things have been confusing for me. You and Haley don't act even remotely the same, so you trigger different responses than she did. I can't tell you definitively that each time you do action x, you'll get response x. We aren't wired like that."

And that was when Reid realized that Hotch was just as anxious about their one-sided bond as he was, if not even more since Hotch was the one who did the bonding. With a slight smile, Reid reached out and gently took the older man's hand in his. He could tell the action surprised Hotch, but he didn't comment on it. "I'm sorry. I didn't really think about it from your perspective. At least, not that far. Look, I'm here to help you as well as I can without making things uncomfortable between us. But since we don't have a normal bond, I can't tell what you're feeling about certain situations, which means I need you to trust me enough to tell me what you're thinking or feeling, if you can. Your anger makes itself known, so there's no need to worry about that, but otherwise I can't tell anything.

"That definitely applies to cases or work. I need to know how you're feeling so that I can keep you from dropping because of a simple comment or reaction to you. If you'd like, we can set up easy codes for you to remember to make it less intrusive. You wouldn't have to explain exactly what the issue was, unless I needed to know, in which case I would ask, of course," Reid added as an afterthought. He opened his mouth to continue when Hotch's hand squeezed his.

Hotch was smiling fondly as he answered Reid's unspoken question. "We'll discuss it, all right? But for now, we should really be concerned with dinner. I know I started the conversation, and I know it's important to address everything, but not on an empty stomach. Do you have an idea of what you'd like to eat?"

Reid shook his head, shrugging a shoulder. "Something quick, preferably. I'm still feeling the after-effects of my heat, so I'd like to call it a night rather early if we can."

"You're sore?" the older man queried, his eyes narrowing, and the Omega tensed, cursing silently for not thinking things through.

"Not... exactly," he hedged, wetting his lips nervously. "I'm fine. Really. Mostly just tired." The disbelieving look Hotch was giving him caused him to pout slightly. "Honestly, Hotch, I'm really not that sore."

A brow quirked, and Hotch repeated, "You're 'really not that sore'?"

Reid hissed a curse at the emphasized distinction, and Hotch's brow only shot up even more. "Are you serious? This isn't even a response from your bond," Reid snapped, feeling his face heat up as Hotch's other brow rose to the same height as the first, an amused smile playing at the Alpha's lips. Reid's free hand curled into a fist that he lightly thumped against Hotch's chest. "Stop that! It isn't funny. I really only have to put up with you when you're reacting instinctively, you know." A low, rumbling chuckle hit Reid's ears just before Hotch pulled him close, causing his face to burn in a darker blush as Hotch pressed a kiss to his temple. "Hotch?" There was a multitude of questions in that one word.

Hotch suddenly released him, taking a few steps back and fisting his hands at his sides, his expression almost quizzical. "I'm not sure what just happened," the dark-haired man admitted, seeming troubled.

Reid swallowed back his initial response because it would likely only upset Hotch further, and the entire situation was weird enough already. "So far, your responses have been fairly playful, but just now you were acting like your typical self. At least, at the beginning when you picked up on my word usage. I wasn't expecting the rest because of that."

"If possible, we may need to request at least one day of leave," Hotch sighed, changing the subject fairly abruptly. "I never experienced a total loss of control like this with Haley, and we can't have this happening at work. I don't know if it's because I know this bond is one-sided, and some part of me is trying to force you to bond with me even though it's pointless, or if it varies so differently from each bond to the next—"

"Hotch, calm down," the Omega ordered quietly, framing Hotch's face with his hands against his better judgment. Brown eyes cleared a little and met hazel ones. "There are literally dozens of reasons for why this is happening. Maybe the fresh bonding period hasn't finished, yet. The two-day rule most people go by is really only an average. If you believe you need a day of leave, then we'll take one. Legally, Strauss has to give it to us."

Hotch's lips quirked into a wry smile as he murmured, "How many times do you think we'll be in this sort of position before our three months are up? It's already happened at least twice."

Chuckling softly, Reid dropped his hands. "I don't think it'll happen very often after we get things settled, if it happens at all. Now, we can call Strauss in the morning, but food is definitely a necessity at the moment. We'll also need to put our discussion on hold until we're sure the newly-bonded phase has worn off." After a pause, during which Hotch nodded in agreement, the younger man hummed softly. "I truly don't have a preference, aside from it being quick and easy to get or make. So that means it's your choice."

"Chinese?" Hotch suggested, and Reid waited for a moment, expecting some sort of teasing about chopsticks or forks, but when Hotch simply waited for a reply, the Omega was pleasantly surprised.

"That sounds perfect. Is there a particular place you like to eat?" Reid inquired with a smile.

Hotch shrugged. "There are quite a few nearby. I should have menus somewhere. You can take a look and see which one you like best." The slight twitch of his lips had Reid watching him suspiciously, and then the older man added, "And don't worry. I have plenty of forks," before walking past Reid and further into the kitchen.

Reid scowled and crossed his arms. "For that, you get to pay for my dinner."

"I was already planning on it," Hotch answered easily as he started rummaging through a drawer, and Reid silently vowed revenge.