Hotch shook the young genius awake by the shoulder the next morning

"Reid. We have to go to the station. Do you want to go or stay here?"

Reid sat up

"I can go with, I just have to get ready. It will take me about 45 minutes to put on my makeup and get ready."

Hotch stepped back as Reid stood up

"The rest of the team should be here in about 30 minutes."

Reid looked up at the man alarmed, "What?! Shit- I have to-" Reid tripped over the strap on his duffel bag sticking out from under the bed, grabbing on to the first thing he could.

Hotch watched everything happen in slow motion as the young man grabbed onto his shoulders, Hotch wrapped his arms around the younger man's waist, trying to steady him before they both went crashing to the floor.

"Oof!"

"Hotch- I'm SO sorry! I-" Reid looked up and paused, body tensing

Hotch looked closer at the young man's face, looking for signs of pain. His eyes glanced over the genius' lips, that soft, pink cupid's bow, so close...Hotch felt his hands move higher on the thin waist on top of him as the hands on his shoulders tightened…

"Are you alright? Did you get hurt?" Hotch looked into the amber depths...were they getting closer?

The man on top of him whispered "I'm fine…I…" Hotch felt them get closer before Reid tensed again

"I...have to go get ready…"

Hotch nodded in affirmation as Reid quickly got up, grabbed his duffel bag and shut himself in the bathroom.

Hotch laid his head back down on the carpet below him. God, what was wrong with him? Did he just almost kiss Reid?! No, no. This can't happen, he's my subordinate and it would be an abuse of power. Besides, Reid would never feel the same way...look at me. I'm much too old for him. And he's obviously already in love with someone else…

Hotch quickly dressed, having showered the night before. He was putting his shoulder holster on as the young man came out of the bathroom wearing his pale makeup with heavy eyeliner, dramatic fake eyelashes, a pale purple wig, and tight, high waisted leather pants that left little to the imagination. Hotch wasn't quite sure how Reid managed to walk in knee high black high heeled boots. Hotch looked at the young man's chest as he crossed the room, going through his suitcase. Reid pulled out an extremely tight black button up shirt, surprisingly modern, contrasting with the black brocade swallowtail coat he put on over it. He placed a wide black lace choker around his neck tying it in the back, the lace had a velvet violet ribbon around the center of it, contrasting with the striking blue contacts Reid was wearing. He then donned a silver raven ear cuff. If Hotch hadn't seen it for himself, he would never have believed this to be the young genius he had worked with for so long. He was...beautiful.

"I'm almost ready" the man shouted running around the room

"Kasper- it's fine. We have plenty of time." Hotch laughed behind him.

"I still have to put my lipstick on!"

"Which is a sentence I never thought I would hear you say." Hotch laughed at the craziness of his job...and life in general sometimes. Reid came out of the bathroom smoothing out the front of his coat before facing Hotch

"I'm ready. I think that is the fastest I've ever had to get ready. Did I miss anything?"

Hotch looked him over and noticed that he had a smudge of his black lipstick near the bottom of his lip.

"Your lipstick is-"

Reid ran his finger around his lip trying to clean it up

"Did I get it?"

Hotch pointed to his own lips "It's right here."

Reid got most of it off, but Hotch could still see just a barely there smudge.

"Here, let me…" Hotch steadied Reid's face with one hand while the thumb on the other hand caressed the lip line of his bottom lip slowly in an effort to remove the stray color. Hotch held the man's chin and tilted his head up "Perfect…" He watched as Reid bit his bottom lip, azure eyes flashing up toward Hotch's own, momentarily stunned before a knock at the door distracted them both.

"You ready?" Hotch asked

Reid sighed heavily "I hope so. Yeah, lets go."

Hotch opened the door as the rest of the agents piled in, noticing the exact moment that Reid slipped his mask on.

"Good morning dearies! I hope everyone slept well."

Prentiss greeted back. "I did. How about you Kasper?"

"Like the dead." He replied before laughing. He grabbed a violin and a black portfolio before looking back to the group, "Ready when you are."

Hotch worried momentarily; he knew that Reid had been up at 2:30 in the morning writing something. How could Reid lie so easily to the rest of his team? Did he lie like this often, or did it simply come naturally as a part of Kasper? No, with how truthful he was last night with everyone, he probably lied in order to avoid worry or attention. After all this was still the same man he had known for years, right? Hotch wondered just where Reid ended and Kasper began...

The team worked for hours while Kasper sat in the corner, minding his own business unless needed. He took up a small desk that was shoved in the corner, barely making noise except for the distinct shuffle of papers and writing, and the occasional tapping of his heels to keep rhythm. JJ had tried to get his attention at one point, not knowing that he was wearing headphones, startling him; there were apologies but the laughter that followed helped to break the tension of the room.

It was only hours later when a bottle of water was placed in front of his face that he finally looked up with a smile. Hotch smiled back at him as Rossi spoke up "You've been working intently for a few hours. I can't say that I've ever seen a musician at work before."

Kasper looked at the mess around him, music sheets several deep, taking up the table and spilling onto the floor "I'm so sorry! Sometimes I get carried away and get stuck in my own little world. I'm not in your way am I?"

Rossi helped him to pick up the papers from the floor "Not at all. We just wanted to come see what you would like for lunch. We were thinking of ordering in, if that's alright?" Kasper looked at each page that Rossi handed him putting them in order with the rest of the pages on the table.

"That would be wonderful. I didn't realize it was lunch time already."

"Can I ask what you're working on?"

"Of course! I'm writing a symphony for my next album. Isaac and I began it together...I think he would want me to finish it. It is written for 2 violins, but...I think it's only going to end with one.."

Rossi nodded solemnly. Hotch put his hand on Kasper's shoulder, Kasper immediately placed his hand on top, for just a moment, before quickly removing it. "I want this killer to face justice for what they have done." Rossi was shocked at the burning determination in the violinists eyes. "I'll do whatever you need me to do."

"We're doing everything we can. For what it's worth, I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, but enough sadness for now." Kasper waved his hand dismissively.

"Why don't I give you a few minutes. We'll meet you in the courtyard." Rossi closed the door behind him as he walked out of the room, winking to Hotch, who returned it with a sharp glare.

Kasper turned to look at Hotch

"Sorry, I didn't mean to bring down the mood."

"S-Kasper, you're going through a loss. It's perfectly acceptable, and healthy, to grieve." Reid whispered next to Hotch's ear

"But I'm not just Kasper. I need to stay focused on the case. There will be time to grieve after."

Hotch leaned down and whispered back "Reid, however you need to express it, I'm here for you. I hope you know that."

Reid looked into Hotch's eyes "I do. Thank you."

"Another thing...Kasper. Are you always this...outgoing?"

Kasper smirked up at the older man "Not usually to this extent. But they're profilers. What better disguise than a completely different personality?"

"Well, I highly doubt they would ever guess who you really are." The men smirked at each other, not realizing that they were still so close.

They both looked towards the sound of the door opening as Morgan popped his head in

"We were going to go ahead and order…" Kasper took a step back and exclaimed "Wonderful!" before going out to meet the rest of the group.

Morgan raised an eyebrow to Hotch, the older man vehemently stating "It's not what it looked like."

Morgan raised his hands in surrender as his boss walked past him.