title

By Fabrisse

Title: Becoming
Author: Fabrisse
Pairing: Hotch/Reid
Characters: Aaron Hotchner, Jack Hotchner, Spencer Reid and the team
Rating: FRAO
Series: Transformations
Summary: A series of vignettes as Hotch and Reid become a couple.
Author Note: This follows immediately after "Vegas, Baby" and its epilogue.

Reid wasn't at all certain it was the right thing to do when he opened his phone. In some ways, this took more courage than putting on Kevlar and entering a potential crime scene.

He found the number on his contact list and pressed send.

"Hi, Hotch. My plane just landed. I thought, since there's a Five Guys not far from you, I'd see if I could pick up hamburgers and fries for you, Jack, and me." The words all came out in a rush.

"Spencer." Hotch's voice was warm. "I'm glad you called. How about a compromise? You stop at Five Guys and get fries, and I'll cook up some turkey burgers here."

"Sounds good. It'll probably be an hour or so before I get there. Should I call you when I've ordered? Does Jack eat the seasoned fries?"

He heard Hotch give a little snort. "He doesn't, but I do. Get one large plain fries and, if you like the seasoned fries, get a small one for us to share. And yes, if you call when you order, the burgers should be done when you get here."

***

An hour and a phone call later, Reid knocked at the door to Hotch's apartment.

When the door opened, he was nearly knocked over by Jack running out.

Hotch jumped over his bag, scooped up his giggling son, and said, "Just in time. The burgers are done."

Reid grabbed his stuff and followed him into the apartment. "I can't believe you haven't found a new place yet." He noticed a small wince when Hotch put Jack down and thought about the ugly scar he'd seen on Hotch's shoulder.

"Put your bags by the sofa. We'll eat at the dining table." He turned to his son. "Jack, will you show Spencer where the bathroom is so he can wash up?"

Jack looked at Reid. "I don't know you."

Reid nodded gravely. "It's been many years since we met. Your father speaks very highly of you."

Jack thought for a minute and held out his hand. It was very obviously a gesture he'd seen his father make, and Reid suppressed a smile as he took it. Jack gave his hand one firm shake and said, "The bathroom is this way. I had to wash my hands and face before you got here."

"Your father is a master of forward planning." Reid was rewarded by hearing Hotch snicker from the kitchen.

When he came out a couple of minutes later, Jack was already sitting at the table in a booster chair, and Hotch was sliding a plate of sliced tomatoes on the table. "I'm afraid I only have beer, iced tea, or water for choices -- oh, and there's milk. I should have told you to bring your own soda."

"Hey, you let me invite myself to dinner. Iced tea is fine."

Hotch came back with two glasses quickly, and they all sat down to eat.

After being helped to a burger and all the fixings, Reid asked Jack what his week had been like, and listened patiently to all the goings on in his classroom. He caught Hotch's eye and was pleased to find him smiling.

At the end of one long and involved explanation, Reid whispered to Hotch, "Montessori?" and Hotch nodded as Jack took a deep breath and started in on another story about one of his friends.

Since the previous couple of days had been covered, Reid asked, "And what are you doing the rest of the week?"

"I know Daddy has a meeting tomorrow. And on Friday, I get to go on a train to Philadelphia." The final word was said slowly and carefully.

"I've been there. Are you doing anything before the train?"

"I don't know. Ask Daddy." Jack was pushing a tag end of bun around his plate with a french fry.

Hotch gave a half-shrug. "Haley told me when I called on Monday, that it's parent-teacher conferences. Mine's scheduled for tomorrow at eleven, and we're going to play miniature golf at one of the parks afterward. I haven't thought of anything for Friday yet. Their train is at four-thirty and I promised to meet Haley at Union Station at four, but with parking and all … " He began to clear the table.

Reid picked up his plate and one of the serving dishes and followed him to the kitchen. "I don't live far from there. If I could make a suggestion?"

"Sure."

"The first one is, don't drive. Take the VRE straight into Union Station. But if you come in the morning, you can check his bag at the station and then go to the … " He saw Jack out of the corner of his eye. "Zee oh oh."

"Your parents spelled in front of you?"

"They stopped when I was five. I shouted 'pizza' right after Dad spelled it out."

Hotch grinned. "We haven't been there in a long time."

"It's accessible by metro. Or, if you really think it's easier to drive, you can come to my building and get a visitor's pass for the day."

"Are you kidding? Jack loves trains."

Jack made a choo-choo noise and began to fidget.

Hotch went out to the dining room and got him safely down from the chair. "Why don't you go and play in your room for a minute while Spencer and I clean up the kitchen?"

"Okay." He ran off to his room.

Hotch slipped his arm around Reid's waist and pulled him close for a thorough kiss.

They stayed close for a minute, just holding each other, and Reid said, "I'm so glad."

"Worried?" Hotch stole one last kiss and stepped back. "Jack will probably be out here with either a dinosaur book, his cars, or one of his stuffed animals in a minute."

"I understand."

"The zoo is a good idea. You could join us. Meet up at Union Station and then whatever route you suggest."

Jack came running out and held a stuffed elephant out to Reid, "Did you know these are the biggest animals in the world?"

"They're certainly the biggest on land," Reid said.

The four year old looked at him and then looked at his father.

Hotch said, "I thought we could go to the zoo on Friday. Would you like that, Jack? "

"The zoo?" Reid wondered if Jack's face hurt from grinning so widely. "Do they have real elephants?"

Reid said, "They get a bath every day at ten-thirty." Hotch looked at him, and he shrugged. "I'm a member of the Smithsonian. I read the literature."

Hotch grinned. "It seems it works to my benefit. Can you send me an email with all the details? I'm going to be busy with Jack tomorrow."

"Sure. The only thing I was planning to do was laundry. Speaking of which, I'd better call a cab."

"No need. Jack, want to go for a ride? We're going to take Spencer home."

"Where do you live?"

"I'm in DC."

Jack looked at him blankly.

"Spencer lives in Washington where the President lives," Hotch explained.

"Do you live near Mister Lincoln's House?" Jack asked.

Spencer looked puzzled.

Hotch said, "He means the Lincoln Memorial."

"Ah. In that case, I live closer to Mister Jefferson's House."

Jack started dancing around the room.

"Jack, do you want your coat or your jacket?"

"Jacket."

"Go get it. You may bring one toy to play with, too."

Jack ran back to his room.

Hotch turned to Reid, "I want you to stay, but …"

"We haven't even been together a week. You don't need to have Jack asking questions." Reid rubbed Hotch's shoulder.

"Would you rather come here for the weekend, or shall I bring my bag to the train station too?"

Reid grinned. "Bring your bag. You can check Jack's and put yours into left luggage."

Jack came running back out with his jacket in one hand and a matchbox car in the other.

***

When Reid walked up to the left luggage area, Hotch was already waiting for him with Jack.

"I didn't think I was running late," he said.

"You're not. The train pulled in ten minutes early. We've already checked Jack's bag for the trip and mine's been inspected and put in left luggage, so we're ready if you are."

Jack looked up at both of them. "Elephants."

Hotch patted his head. "Say hello to Spencer and then we'll go find the Metro to the zoo."

Once again, Jack held out his hand for shaking, and Reid took it solemnly. As they shook, Jack asked, "Is the Metro like a train?"

Reid looked at Hotch who nodded for him to answer. "It is a train. It just runs underground. And it's this way." He started off toward the stop.

For the next half hour, Jack peppered him with questions and comments about how trains worked, how they could go underneath a whole city, and how train drivers had the best jobs in the world.

They made it to the Woodley Park stop and walked the few blocks to the entrance. There was a large group of people waiting for the gates to open.

Reid turned to Hotch. "There are signs to the elephants once we're in. You take Jack, and I'll wait in line for a stroller."

"He's four. He'll be fine without one."

"If he needs one later, they might not have any left." Reid glanced around at the size of the crowd. "It's a big park."

Hotch shrugged and said, "We'll meet you by the elephants."

Four hours later, they were sitting outside the panda enclosure with Jack napping in the stroller. "It was a good idea."

Reid glanced down at the stroller. "Thank you."

"You have good parenting instincts."

"No, I'm just a selfish single person. Every time I come to the zoo or go to a museum, there comes a time when the kids are either hungry and whiny or tired and whiny."

"So we ate as soon as Jack mentioned food, and you got a stroller three hours before we needed it." Hotch gave a little laugh.

Reid grinned back at him. "Pure selfishness."

They stood and made their way back to the entrance. They woke Jack to turn in the stroller and Hotch handed the bag with Jack's stuff in it to Reid. As he bent to pick up his son, Jack said, "No. Spencer carry me?"

Reid looked down at the small person in front of him. "I'd rather not. You're dirty."

Jack thought for a moment and held his hands to his dad, not up -- like needing to be carried -- but out. Hotch held out his hand for the bag and rummaged through it until he found some wet wipes.

Jack used a couple to wipe his face, arms, hands and even his knees where he'd fallen in the dirt earlier. "All clean," he said and held his arms up to Reid.

Reid seemed flummoxed for a moment, then bent over and picked Jack up. "Why me?"

"You're the tallest." His muscles relaxed as he made himself comfortable against Reid. "And Daddy likes you. I can tell."

Hotch grinned as his son fell asleep against Reid's shoulder. "He's right. I like you."

***

Handing Jack off to Haley went well. He gave his dad a big hug, and then ran up to tell his mother all about the fun things he'd done at the zoo.

Hotch retrieved his bag from the left luggage area, and said, "Metro or bus?"

"I'm about a mile and a half from here. If your bag's not heavy, we can walk." Reid sounded almost shy as he made the suggestion.

"I'd like that." Hotch could admit to himself that he was a little nervous. "I thought you lived in Southwest."

"People forget DC is just a small town, especially around here. The Capitol splits the quarters, so if Union Station is a half mile from it, and my apartment is a mile from it..."

"You live about a mile and a half from Union Station." Hotch completed the thought with a laugh.

The days were getting longer, but it the sun was definitely beginning to go down. Hotch looked up at the Capitol dome as they passed. "I don't remember there being lights in the cupola."

"Only when Congress is in session after dark."

Hotch looked at him. "Really?"

"I can see it from my apartment."

They didn't talk much. When he first joined the team, Hotch remembered Spencer saying something about there being a line between Washington where the government worked and DC where everyone lived. As they walked under a traffic bridge, Hotch got what he meant, suddenly they were surrounded by trees, townhouses, and apartment buildings. From there it was only a couple of blocks to the large apartment building Reid lived in.

Once they got to the eighth floor, Reid opened the door to his apartment and turned on the light. The first thing Hotch saw was the Capitol dome filling up the window ahead of him. "I thought you were joking."

Reid took in his expression. "Go out on the balcony, you can see the Washington Monument from there. I can fix spaghetti or we can order in. There are a couple of pizza places that aren't bad."

"Spaghetti's fine." Hotch took Spencer's suggestion and went out to the balcony. The view of the city was stunning. "You should invite the team over for the Fourth of July. I bet you can see the fireworks from here."

"Yeah. Is there anything you don't eat?"

"Pork."

Reid snorted. "I think the entire team says that now." He headed back to the kitchen.

Hotch came in from the balcony and really looked at the living room for the first time. In the middle, there were four comfortable chairs, a glass coffee table with what looked like a few display books inside it, and an ottoman. One wall was floor to ceiling bookcases, mostly filled with books, but there was a flatscreen television on one shelf and several rows of DVDs. It looked like he had every season of all the Star Treks. A few of the shelves had tchotchkes used as bookends.

On the wall by the balcony windows were Reid's desk and some filing cabinets. The other wall had low shelves filled with professional journals on a wide variety of subjects, vinyl records, and cds. There was a stereo and several more tchotchkes -- except some of these looked expensive. The wall above the shelves had a huge whiteboard and a large bulletin board, both empty and both surrounded by cheaply framed postcards from all over the world.

He heard chopping and turned toward the kitchen to say something to Reid. He was stopped by the back wall. How had he missed a seven foot high painting of a naked man?

There were three smaller art works to its left. "Reid, is that the collage from the Lila Archer case?"

Reid came in from the kitchen. "Somehow that wasn't the first question I thought you'd ask. Yes. She gave it to me the first time she came to visit. I'd said I liked it, and the memories it brought up for her weren't pleasant." He pointed at the two other frames. "She gave me those, too, one each Christmas. The painting's by April Gornik. The photo is a Chris Anthony."

Hotch looked at them more closely. The top one was a night sky with a moon, stars, and a comet. The photograph was of a woman wearing a burka made from an American flag. "They're very fitting somehow. I mean, they fit you." He turned to the nude that took up most of the wall. "This one looks like a Pappas."

"It is." Reid glanced at the painting and wandered back to the kitchen.

Hotch stared at it longer, and then went to the foyer where he could see Reid putting the spaghetti into the boiling water. "Didn't he have two major sales this year? MOMA and the American Art Museum here?"

"I didn't think you followed the art scene."

"The MOMA painting caused a lot of controversy. I mean nudity is one thing, but a painting of masturbation? There was some worry the Bureau might have to deal with the fall out." Hotch thought for a minute. "Even if you bought it fifteen years ago, before Pappas started really making his name, that wouldn't have been cheap."

"It would have been impossible to buy it fifteen years ago. The painting's only about seven years old." Reid was stirring vegetables and chicken in a skillet, but Hotch suspected he was actually avoiding the subject. He looked closely at his lover, and then walked back into the living room.

Hotch studied the painting closely. He took in the profile and jaw line, the long neck, but it was the hand hanging by the man's side that clinched it.

"It's you," Hotch said. "Wait a minute, Pappas' series 'The boy is father to the man' …"

"Yes. He was a student of my mother's. Pappas started out painting cars and murals in Vegas before he went to art school. When he came back, he decided to take classes at UNLV -- he still does, I think. He talked to her about using me for a series, and Mom told him to talk to me directly. I did some research into pedophile laws to make certain neither of us could go to jail. He painted 'Ecce Puer' when I was twelve."

"And this one?"

"I exercised my option to keep one. I insisted on it when we negotiated the original contract. If we did all ten, I could keep one if I wanted to. This is the original painting for age twenty. The walking picture that's shown with the series was his second take on the idea. And of course, he ended up painting three the following year, the one that closed out this cycle, 'Ecce Homo,' plus 'Reclining Eros' and 'Distant Lover' which is the one that MOMA purchased."

Hotch looked down and shook his head. "Strauss knows about this."

"I don't think she shares your reticence about reading the raw polygraphs, so yes, she knows that I have done and continue to do life modelling for artists. These days, it's just Pappas, but I posed for a couple of others while I was in grad school. It was an easy way to earn extra cash." The timer went off and he went back to the kitchen.

"I couldn't figure out why I got a copy of the memo about MOMA possibly needing FBI help. It wasn't a BAU kind of case."

Reid looked up from dividing the spaghetti into the bowls. "That's what you meant about Strauss. Yes, she was probably hoping to get a reaction. What do you want to drink? I have cider, water, and wine. I can also make coffee or tea."

"Whatever you're having." Hotch took the bowls to the little table he'd seen under the other three art works.

Reid joined him with cider, napkins, and cutlery.

Hotch looked at the painting. "It really is beautiful." He took a bite. "And this is good. I'm surprised you cook. When you said spaghetti I thought you'd open a jar."

"I passed every class I ever took. That includes Home Ec and Auto Shop."

"I'm not surprised you passed, but you graduated high school at twelve."

"I wasn't allowed to have more than two study halls a week, but it takes two years to cover all the requirements for a high school diploma. They wouldn't let me test out of required courses. So the first year I took a semester of typing and a semester of drafting; during summer school, I took Auto Shop. The second year was Home Ec."

"But the liability for the school district must have been massive."

"I didn't think about it. I just gamed the system as best I could."

They ate in silence for a couple of minutes. Finally, Hotch said, "Life modelling, I can understand. But the masturbation painting…"

Reid rolled his eyes. "I'm not masturbating in the painting. Yes, it's a reclining nude with an erection, but there's a reason it's called 'Distant Lover.' My hands aren't doing anything."

"Are you the model for the painting at the Smithsonian? Because I've seen that one."

"Does it bother you? That I pose for Pappas every year?" Reid was looking right at him.

"You seem so shy about yourself. The last time you ran the obstacle course officially, you changed in a men's room stall. I can't wrap my head around you standing naked on a platform for hours."

Reid shook his head. "They're completely different. If I were built like Morgan, maybe I'd be okay taking my clothes off at the gym, but part of me is afraid I'd still fit in a locker."

"How did you even start doing it? At twelve you said?"

"Mom thought it would be good for me to know someone who was a different kind of genius -- not just intellectual. When I was twelve, it was illegal for me to pose without clothes, so the first four paintings have me in a swimsuit. When I turned sixteen, Pappas let me choose, even though twelve year old me had put in the contract that once I was old enough, I'd model naked. That was really generous of him. I don't think he even begrudged my choosing Twenty as my payment."

"So, when you visit your mother at Christmas, do you also visit him?"

"Yeah. I pose for two hours a day while he makes sketches. It usually takes about five days. Sometimes it'll run longer than that. The first day or two I do five minute poses. After that, he'll pick one or two to explore, and we play around at refining his idea. He came to DC for a session once, because he was traveling to Europe over our usual time. Pappas is the reason I have a will."

Hotch thought a moment. "Because the painting's so valuable?"

"That, too. Right now, it's being split between my mom's fees and Henry's college fund."

"If that's 'too,' what's the other part?"

"My body. When I told him I was going to join the FBI, Pappas said if I was killed in the line of duty, he wouldn't be able to complete the series. After I passed the academy, I called him and asked if he wanted my body after death. So, I wrote a will and disposition letter."

There was silence. "You decided at twenty-one to donate your body to art."

Reid chuckled as he picked up the dishes. "I'd never thought of it like that, but, yeah. It's not like I'll be using it."

From the kitchen, he continued. "Lila slapped my shoulder when she saw it. She thought I'd been lying about knowing nothing about modern art."

Reid came back in with a couple of apples. "Sorry. It's all I have for dessert. After dragging me to the Hirshorn and the Corcoran, Lila never questioned my ignorance again. When I visited her in Los Angeles, we went to a couple of galleries. She remembered what I liked." He sounded surprised.

"It sounds like you two have a good relationship."

"We do. I didn't call her after the case, but about three months later she called me. We've emailed or talked at least a couple of times a month ever since."

"Why aren't you a couple?"

"She tends to fall in love with her costars. The friendship is strong. I can see it still being there in twenty years, but neither of us really wants more than we have with each other, at least as far as the relationship goes. Would you want me to be involved with her?" For the first time, since they walked home Reid seemed unnerved.

Hotch leaned over and kissed him. "No. You just really seem to like her."

"Yeah. But I like you more." He grinned and pressed his lips to the hinge of Hotch's jaw.

"I'm debating whether I should take Morgan to MOMA the next time we have a case in New York."

"Please do." He stroked his hands up Hotch's arms and trailed his lips toward his ears. "The exhibit's travelling to L.A. Mine will even be there for a month of it."

Hotch gasped. "So I have to get us to Los Angeles to see the whole set?"

Reid quickly kissed him again before standing up. "Do you want tea or coffee?"

"Whatever you're making."

"Coffee it is. The notebooks in the coffee table? The one on the left has original sketches -- one per painting -- and the one on the right has the eight by ten photo Pappas sends me of each completed work." He tilted his head toward the living room area, and Hotch went to explore.

He opened the sketches notebook first, and they weren't at all what he expected. The first was a few pencil lines and a watercolor wash that loosely showed a small torso with the arms wrapped around itself. The third one just had an extremely detailed pen and ink drawing of a pair of glasses.

Hotch flipped through a couple more, and found himself brought short by a beautifully shaded sketch of Reid's hands. Since one was open and the other fanning closed, he had to assume the artist was detailing a disappearing coin trick or some other prestidigitation.

He was still gazing at it when Reid brought out the coffee. "That's one of the rejected ideas for Twenty. He had me do magic tricks for two hours, stopping me when the angle or shape was what he wanted. Maybe he'll try that idea again with the new series. He's using it to explore the idea of time."

"They're your hands. They couldn't belong to anyone else." Hotch flipped to the next page, only to find a photograph instead.

"I gave the original to Lila for Christmas last year."

"If you don't mind my asking, how much is one of these worth?"

"Anywhere from one to thirty thousand. The ones that go with the series are high end. Since he thinks last year's is the beginning of a new series, those may soon increase."

"Then the painting … ?"

"I pay less than a thousand a month for my apartment and have a painting worth half a million on my wall. It's a little odd." Hotch would swear Reid was blushing.

"Something is making you nervous. Do you not want me to see these?"

"I want Aaron to see them. I'm not sure about my boss. Actually, the nudity doesn't bother me, but there is one painting that I think crosses the line from art to pornography." Reid held up a hand to placate Hotch. "It's not Pappas fault, and it's not the one we were talking about earlier."

He took a deep breath and flipped through the other binder until he found it. "He called it 'Manchild.' It's the one from when I was seventeen."

Hotch looked at the photograph. In it, Reid was looking directly at the viewer wearing only a tee shirt, his hands holding the bottom like he was about to take it off. He'd seen that predatory expression on Spencer's face in Las Vegas just before he'd been fucked. If he was getting hard from an eight-by-ten copy, how powerful must the full sized painting be.

"Seventeen was the year you discovered sex." Hotch did his best to keep his voice neutral.

He heard Reid give a sigh of relief. "Yeah. I kind of got distracted. The other paintings, I'm a body in space. Even the one or two where my features are clearer than this one don't feel as revealing."

Hotch went back to the beginning of the book and watched the progression from nervous boy to awkward pubescent to gawky adolescent. The fifth one was the first nude, and he was a little disturbed that its title was Ephebos. Then came the one Spencer had just shown him.

He stopped again when he found the one they'd talked about earlier. Spencer was reclining in profile, the arm away from the viewer seemed to be pillowing his head, and all the viewer could see was the back of it. His other hand rested beside his thigh and behind the sharp hipbone, was a jutting erection. "This one is very erotic, but you're right, the one where you're seventeen has more … I guess, carnality."

"You don't mind then."

"Why should I?"

He noticed Spencer had that predatory look. He wrapped his hand around the back of Spencer's head and pulled him close for a kiss. "Where's your bedroom?"

"You walked through it to get to the bathroom."

"That was a closet."

"The futon fits perfectly." Spencer met Hotch's eyes. "It just takes a minute to set it up."

"A minute. Want to see if we can do it in thirty seconds?"

"The carpet in here is pretty thick."

Hotch leaned forward. "I'd rather not get rug burn." He stood and pulled Spencer up.

"Tell you what," Spencer said. "You go take a quick shower, and I'll set up the bed."

"Thirty seconds sounds pretty good to me." He pulled back and looked at Spencer. "You're not going to tell me why I need to shower first, are you?"

"I think you'll enjoy what I have in mind. And if you don't, we revert to plan A."

"We had a plan A? I was just going to get us both naked and see what happened."

Spencer laughed. "I can probably get the futon down and made up more quickly alone. I'm used to it."

Aaron pressed a teeth clashing kiss to his mouth then pulled back. "Apparently, I'm going to take a shower."

As he walked to the bathroom, Spencer handed him a stack of towels and drew him close for a kiss.

By the time he came out, the bed was laid out crosswise through the widest part of the closet. He was startled by the look of frank desire on Spencer's face.

Spencer smiled. "I told you. You're the handsomest man I've ever seen."

"But I smell bad?" Aaron cocked his head toward the shower, and saw Spencer blush as his reward.

"I'd like to try something. You might hate it..."

Aaron knelt on the bed and stretched across to touch him. "I'll tell you, if I do. So far, though, the only thing you've done wrong is act nervously. By the way, what is it with you and peppermint?"

Spencer pulled him close and rolled them both over. "Peppermint?" He ran his tongue down Aaron's throat and flicked it across a nipple. "Oh, the soap. It was practical when I was a kid. I really could use it as toothpaste if we ran out, and it kept Mom quiet in the shower because she was reading the label. It comes in other scents, if you'd prefer." He went back to using his mouth to tease and rouse.

Aaron gasped as he found a particularly pleasant spot to lick. "I wasn't suggesting you change it. I was just amused, especially after peppermint tea in Las Vegas."

"Just Vegas. Only tourists and officials call it by the full name." He nudged Aaron's legs apart and engulfed his sac eliciting another gasp. He swirled his tongue, pressing lightly against Aaron's balls before releasing him and nuzzling the pocket between there and the base of his cock.

Spencer indicated to Aaron that he should turn over. He was a little hesitant, but as soon as he did, he relaxed under the ministrations of Spencer's hands and mouth stroking and nipping down his spine.

Aaron moaned when Spencer's tongue slid into his crack. Then Spencer pointed his tongue and plunged it deep. One finger worked in beside the more flexible muscle, and Aaron writhed in pleasure.

When Spencer's finger found the right spot, Aaron arched his back and put his head down on the pillow in front of him which spread his ass wider for Spencer's ministrations.

Spencer kept up the pressure inside him and scraped his teeth against his lover's cheeks. He kissed the furred ball sac hanging in front of him and revelled in the hiss from Aaron. He licked a stripe up Aaron's ass and flicked his tongue into the hole before kneeling up to lick his spine. The deep groan he elicited excited him and Spencer slid his erection between his lover's thighs.

He put his hand in front of Aaron's mouth and said, "Make it wet."

Aaron licked the palm in front of him eagerly, not stopping even when two slicked fingers slid into him. He arched back into the pressure and finally spit into Spencer's hand.

He wrapped his hand around them both, pressing their cocks together. Spencer used his own favorite rhythm, sliding and twisting his hand over them both as he fucked Aaron roughly with his fingers. He heard Aaron chanting his name and he bent awkwardly over his back to kiss his shoulders.

Spencer could feel the heat and sweat from them both. He added a third finger to Aaron's ass and pressed his thumb against the perineum.

Aaron's come lubricated both their cocks and with one last twist, Spencer came too, biting Aaron's shoulder.

He eased his fingers out, wiping them on a towel he'd kept by the bed. Spencer wrapped his arms around Aaron and eased them both down to the bed.

Aaron was still panting like a racehorse who'd just won. He turned in his lover's arms and kissed Spencer deeply. "That was… "

Spencer brushed sweat plastered hair off his face. "Yeah. It was." He kept running his hands over Aaron's body, stroking him soothingly. He said, "I shouldn't have bitten you." He pressed two fingers against the mark forming on Aaron's shoulder.

"I like being marked."

"In that case, I shouldn't have bitten you <i>there</i>."

Aaron gave a sated smile. "Because I change clothes at the gym?"

"No. Because it might decrease your draw speed by a crucial fraction of a second."

"It won't."

"I don't care if you have to stand all day because of these." He pressed the bite marks on Aaron's ass and grinned when he squirmed.

"But nothing that could slow down my shooting ability."

Spencer kissed him sloppily. "Sleepy."

Aaron pulled up the blanket, and they drifted off to sleep.

***

Reid woke to Hotch climbing back into bed with him. He pulled him close for a muzzy kiss and then settled into Hotch's shoulder.

After awhile he said, "You're thinking too loud."

Hotch kissed his forehead. "It's your fault. Futons on the floor aren't great for forty year old backs."

Reid detected the sarcasm. "Sorry." He sighed deeply against Hotch's neck. "Is that all of it?"

There was a long hesitation. "I'm wondering if this is part of what ended my marriage."

"What?" Reid sat up and found the light switch. "You think you've been attracted to me for so long it affected your marriage? Or that you've been secretly gay all your life?"

Hotch blinked in the sudden light, then huffed a laugh. "When you put it like that, no. I guess it's more wondering how I could have been better, done better. And part of me wonders if it's wrong that it's so easy -- <i>I'm</i> so easy -- with you."

"It's easy with me because it's been a week. We haven't been in the real world yet." He put on his glasses to focus on his lover better. "Don't anticipate our first fight. I'm sure it will come."

"I know, but I can see it playing out and still being okay afterwards. With Haley, towards the end, we were never okay. There was always an ultimatum or an expectation that I couldn't meet."

"Hotch. Aaron, I've never had a sexual relationship that's lasted more than six months. Well, Lila, but we've never been exclusive. I don't know enough about it to anticipate or say. I do know that waiting for another shoe to drop constantly is exhausting, and … "

Hotch knelt forward and kissed him. When he settled back, he said, "And?"

"I'm sure there were faults on both sides. You two were married for fifteen years, and I think I heard you say you'd been dating for nearly five years before you got married. A relationship lasting that long is amazing. I know you. I'm your friend. So I see what Haley did wrong, not what you did. When Elle was shot and … left, the team was broken for a little while. Then Emily came and I was taken by Tobias, let's not forget finding out about Frank … plus Gideon's departure."

"I know."

Reid thought for a minute and tried again. "Since Henry's been born, JJ has invited us over either individually or as a team every few weeks. Will cooks or we order in, and we spend a day doing something that has nothing to do with arsonists, rapists, or killers. Haley could have done that -- given the team a stake in the future through getting to know Jack, integrated your work family with her family. Instead she became territorial. You were being torn to pieces."

Hotch put his hand on Reid's ankle and thought. He said, "JJ has never invited me over on a weekend when I've had Jack."

"She knows you need time with him." He extended his legs into Hotch's lap.

"I'll ask her if maybe next time, it can be on a Jack weekend."

"First we have to find you a safer place to live." Reid looked a little nervous. "I made appointments tomorrow."

"Appointments?"

"There are two townhouses for sale right around here, and the building on the corner has condos. This may not be a neighborhood you like, but since you haven't found anything in Virginia yet, I thought maybe just seeing a few possibilities might help. We all want you in a place where you can have an alarm."

"Breathe. It's okay. Morgan spent twenty minutes offering me one of the places he flipped when I called him last Tuesday. Dave's been leaving circled listings on my desk for a month, and Garcia put me on a real estate email list that I've tried to leave, but can't."

"Emily and JJ haven't gotten to you yet? Damn. I thought I'd been the longest hold out." He was relieved that Hotch was taking it well.

"JJ is the only hold out. Emily has stopped by my office twice to tell me about places she's noticed on her commute that are near a VRE line with great deals."

"Well that's another twenty-five dollars for Henry's college fund."

"The bets were only five dollars each?"

"For this. We put in fifty each in the moving day pool."

Hotch laughed. "What time's our first appointment?" He picked up Reid's foot and kissed the arch.

"Eleven. We can leave here at ten fifty five and make it on time. If we were in the living room, I could point to it from the window." He gave a little gasp as Hotch began to work his way up his leg.

"So, if we … " He was apparently distracted by a spot of skin on Reid's knee.

Reid leaned forward and kissed him, pulling Hotch up his body. "Plenty of time to sleep late," he said as he arched into his lover's touch.

***

"I can't believe I own a condo."

"I can't believe there are two parking spaces included. Do you know how rare that is in this neighborhood?" Reid was grinning.

***

Leaving on Sunday had been hard. On the one hand, they were still having a hard time keeping their hands off each other. On the other hand, Hotch hadn't exactly packed work wear when he came for the weekend.

They met in the conference room at ten a.m. JJ handed out new consults to all three of them, and let them know there were two cases that could potentially take them into the field. Garcia explained what her computer updates meant for them, and Rossi reported via phone that he might need a hand on his case in New Jersey.

At the end of the meeting, Hotch asked Rossi to hold and conferenced Morgan in.

"This is personal. I just wanted you to know, that I've entered negotiations for a three bedroom condominium in DC. I should have everything finalized by the end of the week and, barring any issues being found, I'll be moving in on Memorial Day weekend." He looked around the delighted faces in the room. "Who had that in the pool?"

There was a splutter at the end of the line, and Morgan said, "Who told you about it?"

Hotch laughed. "You just did. Actually, I guessed and Reid confirmed it when I found the place. I'll be taking time as I need it to finish the sale and prepare the move. JJ will call me if there are any cases when I'm out."

Rossi chimed in with, "So when do we get to see it?"

"I'm planning to have everyone over for the Fourth of July. We can watch the fireworks from the balcony."

Hotch grinned and Reid found himself grinning back. He caught himself and composed his face into a more work-like demeanor.

"Anyone have anything to add?"

Rossi and Morgan both said no, and everyone in the conference room shook their heads.

Hotch said, "In that case, get to work."

***

It was easy for Hotch to want every minute that he wasn't working to be spent with Reid. One of his cousins had called him "the marrying kind," and it was true that he liked relationships, liked intimacy, and missed it when he didn't have it.

He was learning that he'd paid far too much attention to others' perceptions of Reid rather than to Reid himself. Based on Morgan's assessment, Reid had no social life.

Dating Reid had proved otherwise. Thursday was Beltway Clean Cops and the one night of the week when Reid insisted they not try to get together. He also took a class once a week toward his philosophy degree.

Reid invited him along to lectures at the Smithsonian, Georgetown, George Washington, and Howard, and he took at least one yoga class a week. Reid knew when and where every free concert or performance in DC was going to take place.

It was exhausting to keep up with him. Hotch asked him about all the things he did one evening after they caught a free concert at the American Art Museum. Reid had dragged him to Gifford's for a sundae, and Hotch was curious.

"I don't buy concert or theater tickets too often because we get called away so much. But the idea that there's something I can do for free or very little money that's a complete one-eighty from our day job is a great one. It's not like I never go straight home and go to bed, but most evenings I feel better about the world for having seen something different. Plus, I never know what might come in handy on a case or for an article."

Hotch smiled. "Doesn't your mind ever turn off?"

Reid glanced around to make certain no one could overhear him. "Right after orgasm. Want to help me switch off?"

Hotch leaned forward and lowered his voice. "Stop looking at me like that. You're melting my ice cream."

Reid laughed. "I'll be done soon."

***

The sale was final. Hotch wanted Jack to feel a part of the new place, so he decided to have them camp out there for the weekend. They'd figure out what color to paint his room and buy a few new pieces of furniture at IKEA

Morgan still wasn't allowed to do heavy lifting, and Rossi was up in New York -- or it might be New Jersey by now. The Bureau had called in the forensic accountants following a lead they picked up from Dave's interrogation of one of the under-bosses. It looked like it was going to be big.

He debated about asking the rest of them for help, but finally had decided the weekend would be the two of them. That changed on Thursday when Reid came up to him before he left for his meeting. "I reserved a pick-up truck through Zipcar for this weekend. I thought it might make transportation easier. If it's better for me to cancel it, I should do it now. They're popular for the weekends."

Hotch liked that Spencer hadn't made it personal. "I think you'll be more helpful putting furniture together than Jack will. Thank you."

"Do you have everything you need for your indoor camp-out?" Reid seemed amused by the idea.

"Yeah. We had a queen-sized air mattress and some padding that I took to the apartment with the sleeping bags. Other than that, it's a lamp, a boombox, and a few pots and pans to make breakfast with."

"Plates? Glasses?"

Hotch winced. "I'd forgotten. But I'll pack a box up to take with me tomorrow. Come by for breakfast on Saturday morning and we can plan everything out."

"That works. See you tomorrow."

On Friday evening, Reid got a phone call from Hotch. "Have you finished your yoga class?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Jack wanted to know if you'd come by for pizza tonight. I told him we'd be seeing you tomorrow, but he asked if you could come tonight."

"Sure. I'm trying to think if there's someplace I can pick one up to bring."

Hotch chuckled. "I'm ordering from Domino's. Hamburger not pepperoni, right?"

"Please. And no mushrooms."

"Jack doesn't like them either. Are olives okay?"

"I'll trust you. See you in forty minutes. Do you want me to bring soda or something?"

"Pick-up whatever you like and Seven-up for Jack."

"See you in a bit."

He hung up and stopped into a convenience store to buy soda.

They spent a pleasant evening eating pizza and playing much simplified Monopoly by lamp light. Reid had seen marshmallows and brought those too for toasting over the gas fire. Jack thought toasted marshmallows were great.

When Reid went to leave around nine, Jack asked him to stay.

"We don't have enough pillows and things for Spencer," Hotch said.

"He can have my pillow. I don't need one." Jack seemed determined.

"I'll be back in the morning."

"Stay." Jack shouted. He remembered his manners. "Please," he said in a quieter voice.

Reid looked at Hotch and picked up an "it's up to you" from his expression. "Tell you what, I live nearby. I'll go home and grab my toothbrush and my own pillow and everything I'll need for tomorrow. I should be back in half an hour."

He saw Hotch nod in agreement. "If Jack gets his pajamas on and takes care of everything, you could read him a bedtime story when you get back."

"Go. That way you'll come back quicker."

"All right." Reid wasn't used to kids and seemed particularly flummoxed by Jack.

***

The following morning, Reid rolled out of his sleeping bag early. He headed back toward the kitchen area in order to have some space and began his morning yoga.

An hour later, Hotch came back to find his son and Reid lying flat on the floor. "Are you two all right?"

"Shhh, Daddy. It's shiv, shi…"

"Shivasana. And I think our time is up."

"I did yoga with Spencer so I didn't wake you up. Look what I can do." Jack went over to the wall and put his hands on the ground. He tried to kick up a couple of times and said, "Spencer, help?"

"Move your hands a little further from the wall."

Jack complied and kicked up again. Reid caught his feet and guided them to the wall. Then he let go and took a step back, so Hotch could see.

"That's a good handstand, Buddy."

"Spencer taught me."

Reid walked over and helped Jack come down safely. "He has good form." He looked at Jack directly while continuing to speak to Hotch, "And I've told him, he's not to try handstand without an adult spotting him until you say it's okay."

Hotch smiled. "I'm sure we can manage that. Now are we going to have breakfast?"

"If we get on the road now, we can have breakfast at Ikea. It's cheap and the traffic is less likely to be bad if we leave quickly."

"A poptart apiece to tide us over, then," Hotch said. "Did you get the truck last night?"

"No, the reservation doesn't start for another fifteen minutes, but it's parked just down the block. I'll get dressed and go pick it up."

"Can I ride with Spencer?"

The two adults looked at each other. "Tell you what, Buddy. When Spencer gets back in a few minutes, I'll see if we can put your car seat in it. If we can, and Spencer doesn't mind…"

"It's fine with me."

"Then, yes, you may ride with Spencer to the store."

***

The time spent at Ikea had been productive. Reid's memory and engineering skills were put to good use as they picked out furniture that would fit around the twin beds Jack selected. Hotch got office furniture for one of the long dead spaces in the apartment and a couple of bookcases and a pullout loveseat for the extra bedroom.

Two hours later, they were at Frager's Hardware, and Jack and Hotch were arguing about paint.

Reid was over picking up tester pots in several shades and putting them into the basket he was carrying.

Jack flung down a bunch of paint cards and shouted, "No!"

Hotch breathed deeply. "We don't shout inside, Jack."

Reid started toward the checkout area.

Hotch said, "What are you doing?"

"Ending the argument, I hope." He held up the basket so Hotch could see it.

"That's ridiculous. He should be able to pick a color from the card."

"He did. You didn't like it."

Hotch shook his head. "It was too bright. He'd hate it after a month and we'd need to repaint."

"So what? That one wall will cost you, at most, fifty dollars to redo -- that's with two coats of new paint and a primer. You promised him he could pick whatever color he wanted."

"He wanted green." Hotch held out the card in his hand, "This is still green."

Reid barely glanced at it. "It's not the color he wants."

Jack said, "Why do you have all the little cans?"

Reid held Hotch's gaze as he started to speak. "Paint looks different when its wet than when its dry, and it's different on a wall or on a card, and at different times of day the light changes and it can look different. I thought if we got lots of little test colors, you could check them out tomorrow at different times and then make a decision. That way your dad and I can have it all finished the next time you come."

"With my new furniture? My bookcases won't have any books in them."

Hotch turned to his son. "We might be able to do something about that. Does Spencer's idea sound good."

Jack nodded vigorously.

Hotch reached for the basket, but Reid stopped him. "This is on me. It's worth it not to look at sage."

"Why don't you like it? It's just a more muted green."

"Cause it's ugly," Jack said.

Reid smiled at him. "Your dad likes it."

"But you don't."

"It's a really common shade in the west. Every government office I ever had to deal with growing up was that same shade of sage. I hate it."

A half dozen tester pots went onto the counter. Hotch clapped the younger man on the shoulder. "Jack's right. It's ugly."

Reid gave him a smile and paid for the paint.

***

Jack had a hard time making his mind up. There were ten stripes of green on the wall, shades from a pale leaf green to a deep ivy. He'd spent most of the afternoon running to check the colors to see how they changed in the light.

Finally, about half an hour before Haley was due to pick him up, Jack pointed to the two lightest and the two darkest shades and said, "No."

Hotch took their labels off the wall.

Jack ran his hands over the other colors and looked at his Dad and Reid. "I like them all."

"You have to pick, buddy."

Jack reached up and his hands kept wavering among the ones left. "Spencer, help me."

Reid looked at Hotch, who nodded, and said, "Well, I think this one," he pointed to the darkest of them, "would look really nice around your door and closet. We can get it in a kind of paint that's shiny."

"Okay."

Hotch moved the color's name to the middle of the stripe.

"I like the stripes," Jack said.

Reid asked, "Which three do you like best?"

Jack pointed to three of the five left.

"Then, if your Dad's okay with it, I could put three stripes in those colors on a white wall."

"Really?" Jack turned big, pleading eyes on his father.

Hotch looked over at Reid. "You can do it?"

"Vertical stripes at the base of the bed, leading to differing widths of horizontal stripes back toward the walls. I can even make a jog in the stripes to let him hang a poster, like a frame."

Hotch turned back to Jack. "Yes. Reid and I will paint your room and set it up before your next weekend with me."

Jack flung himself into his father's arms and hugged him tightly.

***

The phone rang in Hotch's office at around three. He didn't even check caller ID. "Hi, Dave. Still enjoying the shores of Staten Island?"

"Nah, it looks like I'll get to work on my tan on the shores of Perth Amboy. Actually, the investigation may be moving to Newark. I need Reid. We've got masses of information, boxes of evidence, but no one can see a pattern to it. The frauds are being committed, illegal deals are being done, and then the money gets moved somewhere and the trail stops. It's not your average laundering operation."

Hotch sighed. "When?"

"Today's Tuesday, can we get him tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Hotch, if he's on a consultation or needed there, it can wait."

"It's not that. The movers are coming on Friday and I wanted to have Jack's room finished before they arrived. Reid promised to help me put the furniture together and get the room painted. We did the base coat last night. A case definitely takes precedence."

Dave gave a half laugh. "Put him on a plane Friday morning. That'll give me a day or two to talk to the locals in New Jersey and get everything ready for him. Even at his speed, he'll probably be here all of next week, though I can't imagine he'll be much help with flat pack furniture."

"He has a Ph.D. in engineering. I know he can count pegs for bookcases." Hotch's voice was dry.

"That's true. He'll be able to tell you right away if a piece is missing just by looking at them," Dave said. "Friday, or if you don't think the Bureau wants to foot his hotel bill over the weekend, Monday."

"I'll send him up on either Thursday night or Friday. Knowing Reid, he'll be done by Monday. Thanks for waiting."

There was warmth in Dave's voice as he said, "I'm just so happy you're getting out of that crappy apartment. And if he does it, I don't have to feel guilty for not helping you move."

After a pause, Dave continued, "I'm going to give you some unsolicited advice. Get a new bed and mattress. You don't want memories of Haley while you're trying to begin your new life."

"Thanks, Dave. You're a good friend."

When he hung up the phone, he called Reid into his office and told him he'd be spending a week in New Jersey.

~

end