IV.

At work on Monday, before Hotch had even let the engraved glass doors of the BAU close behind him, Penelope Garcia had come bustling up to him, her face stricken.

"Is Reid okay?" she asked. "He called everyone and told them about his mom and hesounded okay, but you know him—he can fake it when he really needs to. Do I need to bake—"

Hotch held up a hand to signal Garcia to stop rambling. "I talked to him after work on Friday and on Sunday. He's as okay as he can be right now, Garcia." She nodded and dabbed underneath her eyes with a lacy handkerchief.

"It just seems so unfair, Sir," she said. "Its only been eight months since he lost Maeve and now he's lost his mom... Why does all the bad stuff happen to my Junior G-Man?"

In an uncharacteristic move, Hotch hugged Penelope and she squeaked in surprise. "He'll make it through, Penelope. He's strong." Garcia nodded again and headed over to Emily's desk. They began to talk quietly amongst themselves as Hotch headed to his office.

—

The next two days passed slowly. Hotch had no idea how much he looked forward to seeing Spencer at work until he wasn't there.

On Wednesday morning, Reid walked into the bullpen. Hotch had been heading for the coffee machine but he stopped at the sight of Spencer. He detoured over to Reid's desk where he was setting down his things. Hotch touched his shoulder gently and Reid smiled. "How are you holding up?" he asked, his hand still on the thin shoulder.

"I'm... okay, I guess," said Reid. "Mom wanted to be cremated. I've got her ashes at home." He was silent for a moment. "MY dad showed up for the service. Needless to say, it was highly uncomfortable."

Hotch knew that Spencer didn't want to hear he was sorry. "I'm glad you're back," he said truthfully. Reid smiled again and Hotch's heart fluttered.

"Me too."

Hotch had just noticed that his hand was still on Reid's shoulder when JJ came through the bullpen, arms laden with files. "Conference room, please!" Spencer sighed.

"I'm barely back for five minutes and you're already putting me to work," he mumbled as he picked up his coffee and slung his bag back over his shoulder. When they were all seated around the table, JJ began to brief them.

The case had been relatively easy compared to many of their other ones. They had solved it within three days and had gotten a mother back to her children. Everyone on the BAU jet was working on getting some rest before they landed in Virginia. Emily and JJ were dozing along with Rossi, Morgan was listening to his headphones, and Spencer sat next to Aaron on the couch. Even Hotch had abandoned paperwork to rest his eyes.

As he began to relax, a weight settled on his left shoulder. Reid had tipped to the side in his slumber. Aaron's shoulder tingled and Reid's cinnamon scent wafted toward Aaron's nose. Carefully, he leaned to the right, putting them both in a half-reclining position. Much of Spencer's body now rested against his side; the warmth was incredible. It saddened Aaron that this would be the only time he would be "sleeping" with Reid in the foreseeable future. Wanting to make the most of it, he closed his eyes again and allowed himself to drift.

When he awoke to t he chime of the seat belt light, everyone was staring at him and Reid. Aaron ignored his teammates and shook Reid awake.

"Wuzgoinon?" Spencer mumbled sleepily, pulling away from his boss and rubbing his eyes. Hotch smiled.

"We're getting ready for descent," he told Reid who nodded and stumbled to a seat to buckle himself in. Hotch sat down across from Reid and tried to ignore the looks coming from his team.

When they landed in Dulles, Aaron and Spencer were the first ones off of the plane. Reid nudged his boss' shoulder. Hotch raised an eyebrow in question.

"Do you have Jack tonight?" he asked.

"I'm picking him up from Jessie's house around ten tomorrow."

Spencer smiled. "Do you have time for a movie tonight?"

"Do you want to Netflix something?" Spencer nodded. "Thirty minutes?" He nodded again and they headed to their respective cars. Aaron could hear Emily and JJ whispering behind him.

"What do you expect that was about?" Emily whispered to JJ.

"Dunno," she replied.

"Do you think that something might be going on between them?" Emily inquired. JJ snorted.

"Not in a million years."

Hotch chuckled and climbed into his Escalade. Fifteen minutes later he walked through his front door and hopped in the shower. He had just finished tugging a green cotton t-shirt on when a knock sounded at the door. Reid was dressed in a worn pair of slacks and a sweater. His hair was wet.

Aaron fired up Netflix on the Wii and went in search of a movie. Eventually they settled on Forrest Gump. They were halfway through the movie when Reid leaned over and pressed his lips to Aaron's neck.

Hotch jumped in surprise—Spencer never initiated contact. Yes, he would ask for it but he never made the first move. Reid kissed his neck again, this time biting lightly with his teeth. Aaron groaned quietly and he felt Reid's lips turn up into a smile. Aaron leaned back until his head was resting on the arm of the couch and Reid was straddling his waist. They kissed roughly, all tongues and teeth. Reid slid his hands underneath Hotch's shirt, allowing his fingers to trace the scars left by Foyet. Hotch's breath stuttered—no one had ever touched the raised lines in such a manner. His doctor touched them in a clinical fashion, Beth had avoided them all together. They had never been caressed with love.

"Is this okay?" Spencer asked, his voice muffled by Aaron's collarbone.

"It's okay, yeah," he gasped as Reid's tongue flashed over the most sensitive part of his neck.

Spencer slipped the t-shirt up to Hotch's armpits and left it there. He bent down and pulled a dark nipple between his teeth. Aaron's hips bucked at the sensation. He quickly slipped his hands under Reid's sweater and tugged it off, leaving the brown hair rumbled. Reid quickly divested them of their trousers, and to their astonishment found that neither man was wearing underwear.

"Do you have lube out here?" Reid asked slyly.

"It's in the coffee table," Aaron said. He had put a small vial of slick in the drawer in case they never made it off of the couch one night... much like this. He briefly wondered if Reid was going to prepare him—he hadn't bottomed since he was at least twenty one.

Reid lifted up on his knees instead and moved a lube-coated finger behind himself. At the sight of Reid biting his lip in pleasure and rocking back against his own hand, heat raced through Hotch and his cock twitched in anticipation. Spencer moaned quietly and a few moments later he withdrew his fingers and slicked up his boss's cock.

"A-are you sure?" he asked. Again, they weren't using a condom. In answer, Reid slid down on Aaron's erection. He threw his head back in pleasure and rolled his hips.

"God, yes, I'm sure," he groaned. He gripped the back of the couch with one hand and dug his nails into his thigh with the other as he began to ride Hotch. Aaron couldn't keep his eyes off of the man in his lap. Spencer's head was tilted back, his eyes closed and his lip pulled tightly between his teeth. His chest and face were flushed and his skin was covered in a light sheen of sweat. The sight of his cock disappearing in and out of Spencer helped stoke the slow burning fire in Aaron's abdomen. Reid leaned forward a bit and cried out on the downward thrust. The change in angle had caused Aaron to strike his prostate.

It only took a few more thrusts for Spencer to cry Hotch's name loudly and come across his boss's chest. Hotch followed suit seconds later, his hands digging into Reid's hips so hard he knew he would be leaving bruises.

Reid lay on top of Hotch for several moments, pressing butterfly kisses to his sweat-tainted skin. A thrill of longing surged through Aaron's body at every press of Spencer's lips; he wanted this to be a normal occurrence. He wanted Spencer to kiss him like this every day; he wanted to sleep beside him; he wanted to hear the three words he hadn't hear in nearly four years save for his son; he just wanted.

When Spencer finally moved off of him and began to re-dress, Hotch was ambivalent. He was immediately lonely but he was also relieved. They bade each other goodnight and Aaron retreated to his room where he lay awake until two in the morning, thinking.