"…Drabble 2. Enjoy : )…"

Gentle Things

Hotch knew how vulnerable Reid was compared to himself- not emotionally, but physically. He had just recovered from Anthrax, got shot in the leg, and had to deal with his sore leg for a while as he somehow managed to make it on the field without completely crashing. For that, Hotch admired Reid; he honestly doubted he could deal with half the pain his youngest agent had.

Spencer Reid nearly passed out as his body hit the uncomfortable hotel bed, his leg aching from pain. Since there were only two rooms that had two beds, Hotch and Reid had agreed to share the one-bedroom room, since they had been sharing rooms- and a bed- for a few cases now. Spencer could feel his lover's worried gaze on him, making him squirm under the observations. "Aren't you going lay down?" Reid asked.

"Uh, yeah." Hotch nodded. He took his shoes, tie, and suit jacket off before joining his considerately younger lover on the bed. He felt Reid roll into him for a minute, but as he went to wrap an arm around him, he pulled away. "What's wrong?" Hotch frowned.

"I'm sorry, Hotch. My leg….it just hurts too much." he sighed. Reid turned around hiding his face from his lover. Hotch's frowned deepened as he heard a small sniffle from the other side of the bed. Hotch swung his feet around so they were off the bed and planted them on the floor. Then, he shifted his weight so he could stand up and walk toward Spencer. Once he reached his obviously distressed lover, he immediately saw the tears running down his eyes and automatically switched to 'Gentle Aaron' mode.

"Spencer, why are you crying?" Hotch asked. He wanted to touch Spencer, but he knew how Spencer got when he was emotional- he either wanted to be held all night or not to be touched at all, and the one time he had mistaken Reid for wanting to be touched when he didn't, he was rewarded with a freaked-out and nearing hyperventilating version of Reid; to say the least, he didn't want that to happen again.

"I'm sorry; it's just….I don't-don't perform for you in…in bed, and-and now I can't even le-let you hold me. I want to make you happy, Aaron, and I know you can't be happy with a boyfriend who freaks out every time you touch him." Reid sobbed.

"Spencer, you know I don't care that we haven't had sex yet; I want to make sure you're comfortable with it before we do anything like that. There's no way I could live with myself if I knew the only reason why you slept with me was because you thought I'd leave you if you didn't." Hotch soothed. "And I'm happy, Spencer. I'm happy because I'm with you. I know you're still sore from being shot, and I understand that. When I was stabbed, I had a hard time moving my back and chest for a while, and I killed myself doing the simplest things. Luckily, it healed quickly. You were shot in the leg, Spencer. That severely limited your mobility, and you couldn't - and still can't- do a lot of things. I understand that."

"I'm sorry, Aaron- for freaking out on you like that. I don't know; I guess I've just been a little off…emotionally." Reid sighed, letting Aaron rub his arm as he prompted his lover to lay back down. Reid propped up his leg and laid back down as Aaron pushed underneath Reid until his upper body was underneath Reid's. Finally comfortable, Hotch started speaking.

"I know what you mean. It's been one hell of a year-an emotionally exhausting year." he added.

"Well, let's hope things get better." Reid said, a soft, tired smile forming on his face.

Noticing the change in his lover's attention, Hotch started stroking his long, curly hair, signaling to him that it was okay to sleep. As Spencer was lulled into sleep, Hotch's hand gently massaged over Reid's sore leg, something that they both had been accustomed to as a nightly ritual for the last few weeks. Hotch studied Reid's sleeping form, his eyes scanning over every soft curve and every long, thin, visible bone. He had a hard time controlling himself- holding back every hard, vicious grab, scratch, rub, and grope. He had to remind himself to be gentle, knowing that Spencer could only handle so much. And as he himself fell to sleep, a gentle hand reached out for his own, reminding both lovers that everything was going to be all right.