Reid looked around at the fancy table in front of him, slightly disappointed that he was underdressed for the occasion, but after getting out of the hospital, and Hotch immediately driving him over he just didn't have the time to make the reservation AND get dressed up to the nines… Hotch kept reassuring him, telling him he looked fine, that he was gorgeous, and that his earlobes were begging for his scrutiny, which he proved after closing the few strides of space between them and sucking on his left ear, tonguing it enough to get Reid flustered and frustrated at his buttons when his fine-motor skills were made questionable.
Hotch's fingers took up the dexterity challenge to do something counter-productive as he did up Reid's buttons.
"I love you Spencer." He mentioned, pulling back just a little to look at the shirt and be sure he aligned the buttons and their slots correctly.
"And I love you too Aaron." Reid draped his arms around Hotch, vengeance was a bitch, he kissed Aaron's hairline, smelling his cologne and feeling yet again underdressed for the occasion. He slipped from the hold and went to the bathroom, putting on a warm, earthy cologne that combined a woody scent with cinnamon and subtle hint of vanilla, a smell Aaron had once described as 'coming home' before looking at his shaggy appearance in the mirror. He took up his brush and began working his hair when Hotch came in behind him.
"We're going to have to leave soon if we're going to make it…" He almost thought he heard Aaron say something about how unfair it was for him to say he loves him and then go into the bathroom, but he was too busy processing how to make what he looked like now and into formal-attire in under ten minutes, he was currently on minute 8. Reid grabbed a sleek, narrow styled tie, his black shirt was more faded and warm than the deep, obsidian black of his tie and he thought it was a good balance against the light khakis. His left sock was red and white with a valentine-day themed heart print over argyle pattern, his right sock was solid tan except for the heel, toe and border at the top which were darker brown. He slipped on a pair of suede loafers before fixing his watch.
"Should I grab my sports jacket or a vest…?"
"It isn't cool, you probably don't need one."
Reid pondered for a moment, then as he started to close in on his closet doubting his entire ensemble, Hotch snagged him around the waist and pulled him in for a kiss. "You look amazing, and if we're late, they'll give the table away. We really have to go now if we're going to make it."
Feigning a pout, Reid played with Hotch's hair, "I just don't want to make you look bad, you're dressed perfectly… and I look, well, sloppy at best."
Aaron gave him a look, begging to disagree. "Let me be the judge of that…" He gave him a once-over with very lecherous looking eyes, and a pinch of lust before adding, "Nope, you still look far too good to be with me. Come on, we have to go."
Half-pulled out of the apartment and down the hall, Reid finally managed to keep pace with Hotch as they made a brisk walk to the car, no second-guessing about whether these pants really went that well with the shirt and tie to be further entertained. Hotch came around to the passenger door and opened it for Reid, the younger man blushed a little at the gesture.
It wasn't a gesture Hotch did often, because both realized their lover as a man may dislike the idea of being treated like the softer sex, but at the moment all Reid could think of was how charming Hotch was.
The drive to the restaurant was a bit hectic, despite Hotch playing Moonlit Sonata to set a romantic mood, romantic thigh-squeezing at 70mph was a bit of a mixed message, but Reid loved the contact regardless.
Despite the delays, they made it to the front of the restaurant in time for their reservation. A valet opened their doors for them then moved the car, Hotch tipped the man and got the plastic cap with his key's number before taking Reid's arm at the elbow, interlocking it with his own. It made Reid's breath hitch to be so overt about their relationship. Between work, and that gay still seemed to be a bit of a taboo, they just didn't get a lot of moments where they could just flaunt being together, not to say they didn't have movie dates or go to dinner and flirt… but usually those places were more down-to-earth. This was a five star restaurant.
Even though intellectually Reid knew it was a normal reaction for a couple, it was still a pleasant, warm feeling to be doing it. The two were escorted to a table underneath one of the several beautiful chandeliers that gave mood-lighting for the table. There, waiting for them, was a bottle of champagne and two glasses, a basket of freshly baked breadsticks, olive oil and butter. Hotch pulled a chair out for Reid, who eagerly took his seat before scanning the décor, about three tables down was a beautiful mural on the wall depicting what Reid suspected to be a Bacchus ritual. Hotch took his seat and looked around before locking his eyes on Reid as Reid still got used to the surroundings.
Truthfully, Hotch had probably committed the place to memory already, after waiting there for over an hour the other night. He smiled softly, Reid still looked tired, but his eyes were shining, something that yesterday he had not seen. Yesterday was one of the scarier moments in his life. He squeezed the box in his coat pocket, it was better not to think of that, it was better to think of this. This moment, Aaron knew he was a bit of a perfectionist, but damn it if there was ever a time to want things to go right, it was tonight. "Spencer, honestly… how are you feeling today?"
Reid stopped looking around in awe to watch Aaron's eyes on him, suddenly. The world fell away as he watched dark obsidian orbs sparkle in his own eyes. How did someone as cunning, assertive, and brave fall for him? Spencer smiled, "I'm coping…" he ran his fingers through his hair nervously, pulling a stray bang back toward his ear. His hair no longer long enough for it to actually tuck behind it neatly. "I can't say it's easy, I don't know what Gideon was thinking… probably that he didn't want to die alone… but, it hurts… you know, that he wanted to die in front of me. He didn't even realize my feelings in the matter… which makes it even more sad that he was that far gone. That… and the lengths he was willing to go to…" Reid's eyes felt wet forcing him to blink a bit trying to fight back any tears.
"I… uh… I'm sorry, this is a bit embarrassing…" He wiped at the edges of his eyes swiping back the tears, "…especially since this is so amazing… I mean, you found a beautiful place, Aaron. I love it. So, is it an Italian restaurant or French…? The décor hints Italian but the name…"
Aaron grabbed Spencer's hand and squeezed, "I want to spend the rest of my life with you."
Spencer's mind stopped working. His eyes went wide before blinking back to normal size, he smiled sheepishly at Aaron then looked at the bottom corner of the table, "I'd like that too…"
"Spencer, I know it's a bit cliché of me, but…" Aaron gracefully maintained a hand-hold with Spencer as he kneeled to the side of the table, closing the distance to Spencer. He withdrew a velvet box from his left jacket pocket, squeezing Spencer's hand as he felt it tremble with excite… he knew it was a good sign, it was the same excited tremble Reid would get when he was about to climax when they'd both hold hands as Hotch pound into him taking him missionary style, a position they did on occasion. "Spencer, would you marry men?"
Reid's eyes went wide, mouth slack for a second time. For several long moments he didn't breath, blink or say anything. When he finally started to try to speak it came out in jumbled stutters, "B…but I thought… that with work, that we couldn't… I thought maybe it would be a dedication ring… but… but… you- you really want to… and officially… how would with work… could we even… … …" silence for a few moments, Hotch just let him gather the steam. He was glad he managed to dumbfound the genius, it was a rare feat and his stomach was butterflies, especially because he knew what the answer was going to be. After all, he was one hell of a profiler.
"You have to meet my mom first. You know that, right? I can't just write a letter about this. Yes Aaron Hotchner, I would love to marry you! I'd be honored…" Reid decided to stop his own rant by pulling Hotch's face to his to lock lips. There was a mix of claps from some other restaurant goers and some gawkers who looked disgusted, the wait-staff approached after a moment and after a few congratulations mentioned their recommendation of the day and then described the dishes on the menu.
Reid half listened as Hotch slipped a platinum band around his left ring finger. The band was a masculine, minimalist design. Not surprising to Reid, since it would be the most efficient, least likely to snag, but he suspected that inside the ring would be different. He suspected inside to be engraved with some epiphany or quote. Hotch let go of Reid's hand and Reid instantly was fiddling with the ring. "When should we you know…?"
"How does an October wedding sound to you?"
Reid blushed a bit, he never really had put much thought into a ceremony, and even now just the idea of a wedding on top of getting married to Hotch was making him light-headed and euphoric. By the eighth cycle of spinning the ring on his finger to make it accustomed to the new appendage, their waiter had returned with their first course.
A light keish with artichoke hearts and ham went with Aaron's entrée while Spencer had a tuna tartar with an avocado, spicy garnish that reminded him a bit of guacamole. The abbreviated five course meal had two appetizer courses, a main course followed by a salad and then dessert. They had chosen the second course to be the house soup, and while Aaron's main course had been filet mignon, Spencer had ordered lamb. Each course tasted delicious and was paired perfectly with each wine the sommelier suggested, the champagne helped to keep a constant buzz among the men, and at the end, when Spencer's flan came out and Aaron's truffle-flavored ice cream came out Spencer posed the argument that the Napolean pastry was actually of Italian design.
Immediately following dinner, the two decided to walk around the area for a while, stumbling upon a theater, they even managed to get balcony seats for a dance troupe performing a ballet based off of what Hotch suspected to be Giselle. Spencer laid his head onto Aaron's shoulder, right hand entwined with his lover's left hand, his left hand on top of them both, squeezing softly. He could only see one additional thing to add to the agenda for tonight to end perfectly, and after they went back to the restaurant to pick up Hotch's car, they headed back to Spencer's place where Aaron was quickly pulled inside and against Spencer's lips.
Within the small apartment, Reid had managed to make his back contact every wall he had that landed in between the entryway and his bed, that was a total of 10, he thought in this instance that it was 9 too many, but he'd deal with it.
He didn't care that his back ached dully, he deduced drinking after an OD of acetaminophen was probably a very stupid thing to do, but he couldn't care about that as Aaron took possession of his bare skin, raking his fingers over his back, his sides, his hips down to his thighs… he meanwhile took the time to maneuver his hands up and down Hotch's torso, appropriating his neck to bring it closer as he sucked on the muscular line dividing the front left side of his neck from the back, his tongue moved lower toward his collar bone and he began to leave love bites there as well, marking the territories as he went.
"Oh god… Spencer… I want you so badly right now."
Spencer smirked through his ministrations, he let his tongue trail down Hotch's chest sucking and kissing and nipping as he dipped lower, Hotch pushed him onto the bed, climbing on top of him.
"I'm hot for you…" Reid mentioned with a wolfish smile no one would expect to be in his repertoire except for Hotch, which was how Reid preferred it. Hotch let out a soft grunt as he climbed on top of him.
TBC.