Title: F is for Frown

Prompt by westmoon

Author: Kuria Dalmatia

Rating/Warnings: NC-17 (sexual situations, profanity)

Characters/Pairing: Hotch/Reid, established relationship. Sequel to E is for Evaluation

ARCHIVING: my LJ... anyone else? Please ask first.

COMMENTS: Part of the The Great A-Z Multifandom Drabbling Meme. Unbetaed.

Feedback always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: The Mark Gordon Company, ABC Studios and CBS Paramount Network Television own Criminal Minds. Salut! I just took them out to play and I promise put them back when I'm done. I'm not making any profit just trying to get these images out of my head.

/***/

Aaron planned to make a Sunday-style breakfast for the Thursday morning, but Spencer…well, Spencer woke him up with a blowjob, which turned into Spencer riding him to an exquisite (and really, there was no other word) orgasm. Aaron tried to reciprocate but Spencer held him down, whispered odes of love and sex, as he worked himself off. When he came on Aaron's belly and chest, Spencer delivered a searing kiss, one that left Aaron's lips a little bruised and tender.

It was an acknowledgment of Aaron's fears, touching and terrifying at the same time. He still wasn't used to a perceptive lover like Spencer, one who took in the details and then searched for the reasons behind the motivations. It was unfair to compare Spencer to Haley and Aaron tried his best not to do it, but occasions such as these made him wonder: would Haley have figured it out?

When Aaron got out of the shower and went to the stand where he had put the clothing he was going to wear out the night before, his trusty gray suit, white shirt and maroon tie had been replaced by the navy pinstripe suit, pale blue French cuff shirt, and dark Chanel tie. It was the suit he usually wore when testifying at difficult trials when he knew the defense was going to be especially tough. On top of the stand were the cufflinks Haley had given him when he had graduated law school and the tie bar he'd received from Rossi during his first year at the BAU. The American flag lapel pin was slightly larger than the one he traditionally wore, and he realized it was the one that Gideon had given him.

It stopped Aaron cold.

He bit his lips together and turned his head sharply to the side. As verbose as Spencer could be, it was these moments of tacit understanding that hit Aaron the hardest.

Aaron dressed quickly, hating the slight shake of his hands but knew he would have himself under control by the time he left the apartment. He went out to the kitchen and cursed when he saw the mug next to the coffeemaker. It was the stoneware one that Jack had given him last year for Christmas, the one with Jack's three year old handprint in paint on the side. Aaron was half-expecting the brewed coffee to be that savory Hawaiian roast that Spencer brought over a few months ago, but one taste confirmed it was Maxwell House.

When Spencer emerged from the bedroom fully dressed five minutes later, Aaron was already on his second cup of coffee and found himself nearly glaring at his lover. Spencer simply brushed past him, filled his travel mug with coffee and sugar, and turned off the coffeemaker.

"Spencer," Aaron started, hating that his voice sounded strained.

Spencer looked at him for a few seconds and then leaned forward, brushing his lips against Aaron's. He didn't have to say, Whatever the outcome is, we'll deal with it. Aaron responded with a desperate kiss of his own, sloppy and shaky, and Spencer clutched the lapels of Aaron's coat to keep his balance.

Aaron couldn't say the words, I love you.

Spencer's shy smile and his thumb stroking gently over Aaron's still-wet lips translated as, I love you, too.

/***/

Spencer buried himself with paperwork that morning. He knew as long as he kept busy, he wouldn't be tempted to check the clock and then the glass doors leading in to the BAU every thirty seconds. It wasn't until Morgan slapped his hand down on the dwindling pile of folders on his desk that Spencer looked up.

"Damn it, kid," Morgan said with exasperation, "could you slow it down a bit? You're making the rest of us look bad." Despite frustrated tone in the other agent's voice, his worry and concern were clear in his eyes.

Spencer glanced at clock on his computer monitor and knew he blanched. Eleven twenty-four. Fuck.

"Let's get you a refill on that coffee," Morgan suggested, which was his uncharacteristically clumsy way of offering to listen.

Yet before he could retort that if Morgan wanted him to slow down, the additional caffeine wasn't the way to go, Hotch strode into the BAU office with a thick folder in his hand, called out "Team? Conference room", and went straight to Rossi's office.

As Morgan, Prentiss and Spencer got up, Garcia and JJ walked into the BAU main office and headed straight for the conference room. They were both loaded down with files, which translated as them having a new case.

Spencer relaxed just a bit; it was perfectly reasonable that Aaron had ended up in JJ's office right after the meeting with Strauss. Initial case briefings were sometimes as short as a minute or as long as a half-hour. Spencer sorely hoped it was the latter.

Once he walked into the conference room, he locked up his personal feelings as tightly as he could. When the briefing started—a child abduction in Schenectady—Spencer knew that there wouldn't be any time on the trip to New York to discuss personal things. It would have to wait.

So he focused on the case and ignored the constant frown on Aaron's face.

He had to.

He had to.

/***/

Seventeen hours wasn't the record for solving a child-abduction case by any stretch of the imagination. The entire Team knew that each hour that passed substantially reduced the likelihood of finding the victim alive. Thankfully, luck was on their side.

The little girl was reunited with her aunt and uncle and the former step-father under arrest.

The post-case adrenaline hadn't worn off by the time the team reached the jet to go home; JJ and Prentiss challenged Spencer to a round of snack-food poker and Spencer's playful reply was, "Good, because I'm hungry."

As they pulled their luggage from the back of the SUVs, Aaron briefly grasped Spencer's elbow, the unspoken request for him to linger so they could talk privately. The rest of the team either didn't notice or pretended not to and they boarded the jet.

Once they were out of sight, Spencer's face transformed from flushed with success and eager to best his colleagues in poker to outright worry. Aaron forced a small smile as he pulled out three playing cards from his inner coat pocket. "I think you'll need these when you play."

They were the three, seven and ten of diamonds.

Spencer's brow furrowed.

Aaron said softly, "You told me once that each playing card had a specific meaning, and those meanings varied from culture to culture as well as over time. This combination," he tugged open Spencer's jacket and slid the card into his breast pocket, "is supposed to mean a secret wish come true."

Spencer stared.

Aaron's hand slid up to trace the line of Spencer's jaw. He couldn't kiss him, not here, no matter how badly he wanted to. However, he knew he would have plenty of opportunities that night when he told him, "It did."

/***/