Numb3rs/Criminal Minds Fic: Wall to Wall
Written for rounds_of_kink - Round Eleven
6/13/09 Prompt Billy Cooper/Spencer Reid
Wall!sex
Their case intersected with his manhunt, but it doesn't seem as if Billy minds all that much.
Crossposted to bau_fic, numb3rs_slash and n3crossovers
Title: Wall to Wall
Pairing/Characters: Billy/Spencer, Jason, Aaron, Derek, JJ, Elle, OCs
Rating: NC17
Spoilers: Season 1 (Criminal Minds), Man Hunt (Numb3rs)
Summary: Spencer realizes he can't ignore his need for a human connection
Notes/Warnings: Read the disclaimer on my LJ
Other comments are housed at rounds_of_kink.
"Sorry about the weather!"
Sheriff Sherry Polk grimaced as Spencer slopped his way into the sheriff's station and out of the pouring rain, wringing out his measly lightweight cotton jacket, his long hair dripping around his face.
"Isn't California supposed to be warm and sunny?" Spencer asked, only gently sarcastic, accepting a towel the sheriff pulled from the front desk drawer.
"Did you miss the part about Northern California?" Sherry retorted, her homespun accent pleasant with more than a hint of mirth. "This close to Mount Shasta a storm system can change its mind in a heartbeat and decide to dump on us instead of on the Cascade mountain range. Shame because we could really use the snow up there. Too many people down there in the cities depending on the snow pack for their summer water supply."
Spencer finished drying his hair as best he could. "Trust me, I'd give them all this water gladly." He dabbed ineffectually at his shirt and finally just gave up, the small towel almost as wet as he was now. "Where are they holding Richey?"
"We're too small to have a proper interrogation room, so we moved the boards out of the conference room you all had been using so Agents Hotchner and Gideon could question him in there." She shrugged apologetically. "One way glass is for big city cops, you know? Around here we consider a domestic disturbance, a bar fight and a DUI a day for the record books."
"Sounds pleasant." Spencer huffed out a little chortle, more out of politeness.
"Richey's our first genuine murderer," Sherry mused. "I'm just glad he didn't kill any of the locals. Him hiding out here's bad enough." She shuddered. "If it ends up he's a cannibal or something sick like that? Just don't tell me, okay? Job's hard enough as it is."
"Our profile pinpointed an unsub who only engages in personal-cause homicide," Spencer explained. "Which fits. Richey's been systematically eliminating everyone who helped put him in jail in the first place. That's been his sole goal since he escaped from prison - revenge."
As he handed back the towel with a nod of gratitude, the door blew open again, letting in a fresh gust of chilled air, making Spencer's still damp skin instantly turn to gooseflesh.
"Dang! It's ugly out there!" Derek shed his hooded slicker and shook it out before turning his attention to Spencer. "Reid, you look like a drowned rat. Don't you have any rain gear in your go bag?"
"Clearly my go bag isn't up to snuff just yet." Spencer tugged his limp jacket around himself defensively. "It's not like Gideon gave me a packing list when I started with you guys."
"Common sense, kid," Derek teased. "Of course that's not something most teenagers have."
"I'm twenty-one," Spencer protested, even though they'd had this discussion repeatedly in the months since he'd joined the BAU. "Hardly a teenager," he added with a little grumble, more easily annoyed than normal given how cold and miserable he was.
"Ah, I'm just messing with you." Derek gave him a playful cuff on the arm. "Come on, I'm sure the good sheriff can spare us some hot coffee to defrost you with." With a nod to the sheriff, he ushered Spencer into the main room and over to the coffee station where he poured a cup and handed it to Spencer, black.
Spencer looked down into the dark liquid and made a face.
"I'm not sure forcing me to drink coffee black is a adequate test of my manhood."
Derek tipped his head back and roared laughing. "Oh you're precious, my man. Always good for a laugh." He poured himself a cup and then stepped away, making room for Spencer with a flourish of a gesture. "Fake cream and real sugar - fill 'er up!"
As Spencer started to doctor his coffee the door opened again and a bellowing voice was heard in the entryway.
"Morgan! You son of a bitch!"
Spencer glanced over in time to find a man shucking off a leather jacket and cowboy hat, shaking the raindrops from each before he tossed them aside. He had short cropped red hair, a mass of freckles and looked rather like a modern day cowboy: jeans, boots and a scrappy crooked grin that was currently pointed in Derek's direction.
"Coop! Where the hell have you been?"
The two men clapped each other on the back in a manly sort of hug, clearly on affectionate terms.
"Been working my ass off on your case!" he taunted. "You been sitting around drinking coffee with Mr. Pretty Boy over there?"
Spencer flushed crimson when he realized both that the stranger was talking about him and what he was implying about Derek's relationship with him.
"Nah, man. Reid's a rookie. New to the BAU." Derek, almost offhandedly, glanced back to Spencer in casual introduction. "Spencer Reid, Billy Cooper: Bureau's best damn Fugitive Recovery agent."
"And don't you forget it!" Billy crowed, nudging Derek's shoulder. "Even if you guys were the ones who found my fugitive."
"Yeah!" Derek protested. "What were you out doing while we were doing your job?"
"I..." Billy looked smug, proud of himself. "I was off saving Richey's latest victim. My tracking paid off; I found Richey's cabin in the woods. He had Elaine Holliman there handcuffed to the sink. Figured he'd use her as a household slave for a while before he killed her. I just dropped her off at the hospital. She's fine, they're just bandaging up her wrist. That's one spunky woman! She was trying her damnedest to get that cuff off herself."
The door to the conference room opened and Aaron and Jason exited, Jason nodding to the sheriff's deputy standing guard outside the room to go in and keep an eye on Richey.
"He confess?" Derek asked, his voice turning serious.
Aaron nodded curtly, ever grim. "He made a deal: as long as we don't send him back to Lompoc he'd give us the location of every body. Apparently he made some enemies there and is more afraid of going back to Lompoc than going into a maximum security federal prison. He refused to give us Elaine Holliman though, claiming she's not a body so she doesn't count."
"I got her. Don't worry," Billy chimed in. "Found his cabin. She's at the hospital now getting checked out, but she's chomping at the bit to testify against Richey. She was so peeved I'd be afraid to bring her down here. She might go after him herself!"
"Makes sense given the profile," Jason murmured, thoughtful. "He saw her as the mother figure who betrayed him. In order to have power over her before he killed her he had to reinvent himself in a more powerful role relationship to her than surrogate son."
"If she really was as spunky as you say..." Spencer gestured shyly to Billy. "That attitude and failure to comply with his desire to dominate her is probably what kept her alive the last three days. He couldn't kill her until his defeat of her was complete, until she accepted his power over her."
"Look at you..." Billy gave Spencer an appraising once over, focusing on him completely for the first time - making Spencer immediately and uncomfortably self-conscious at his bedraggled appearance. "Little Spencer Reid for the rebound!"
Jason crossed between them in front of Billy, heading for the coffee station, speaking to Billy with a bemused yet superior tone - one he was well known for - as he passed.
"That's Dr. Spencer Reid to you."
Billy, smirking, straightened up as if he was a schoolboy put in line by a teacher. "Dr. Reid! My my! FBI Agent and a medical doctor?"
Spencer shrunk in on himself, mortified.
"No, I'm not an MD. I have a PhD. Two of them, actually," he added, his voice trailing off at the end.
"Excuse me, folks." The sheriff was just hanging up the phone at a nearby desk. "I just got off the phone with the local airstrip. They're shutting down - bad weather and all. So your plane's grounded, at least until tomorrow. Might clear up then. Might not."
Aaron did a good job of hiding any annoyance. "Can you recommend any place in town where we can get a block of rooms?"
"Don't have to recommend," Sherry said with a chortle. "We've only got one: Klamath Inn."
"I've got a room there already," Billy told them. "Not a big place, but they should have a few vacancies."
The door blew open with a bang and women's laughter filled the entryway as Elle and JJ walked in shaking off their wet jackets.
"Okay, that is not my idea of California weather!" Elle was teasing.
"Yeah, I'd rather have snow," JJ piped up.
"Goodness!" Sherry said, amused. "It's wall to wall Feds in here!" She turned to Aaron. "I'll call Regina at the inn and let her know you're coming."
"Thank you." He turned to JJ and Elle as Sherry returned to the phone. "Have you met Agent Cooper yet?"
"Yes, at the hospital," JJ answered for them as she and Billy nodded to each other in acknowledgment. "We just came from there. Elle took Elaine's statement."
"This Richey is one sick puppy," Elle huffed, disgusted. "Ends up one of the ways he tormented her was to tell her everything he did to his previous victims. Unfortunately for him - and her for that matter - she's got a really good memory. Probably enough to get the maximum sentence once her statement matches up with the ME's eventual forensics on the bodies."
"Good riddance!" Billy said with a snort. "He may have only been in for ten years to begin with, but I'm not shedding any tears over them throwing away the key on him." He cocked his head over towards the entrance. "I'm headed to the inn. Anyone want a lift?"
Reid buried himself in his coffee cup, but Aaron still singled him out.
"Reid, why don't you go see about the rooms? Morgan, get Garcia on the line and have her start doing the notifications."
"I'm on it," Derek said, turning away as he opened up his cell phone.
"JJ, coordinate with the media," Aaron continued. "Let them know we've made an arrest, but don't release Elaine's name to the press just yet. Get in touch with her family first and see if you can arrange for them to come here. Elle, Gideon and I will want to see Elaine's statement."
JJ stepped away, pulling out her own phone and Elle and Jason followed Aaron over to sit at one of the desks nearby.
"Looks like it's you and me, Doc," Billy said with a grin that gave Spencer a shiver that had nothing to do with cold. "Grab your go bag and let's hit the road."
+
The drive was so brief Spencer still hadn't thought of an opening line for conversation by the time Billy was pulling into the inn's driveway.
Billy held the front door open for him as they went inside and Spencer gave him a flash of a smile in thanks. The answering smile on Billy's face along with the proximity of their bodies in the doorway sent a flash of heat through Spencer that almost made him forget the chill from his wet clothes.
Billy followed him up to the front desk where a reed thin middle-aged woman with her graying hair pulled neatly into a ponytail waited for him, smiling. "Hi, I'm Regina. Sherry said there'd be more Feds."
"Hello, Ma'am," Spencer said politely. "We're going to be needing some rooms for tonight. There are six of us..."
Regina wrinkled her nose. "Oh dear. I don't have that many rooms left, I'm afraid." She referred to her computer screen. "I've got a regular room with two queens and a suite that's got two kings in the bedroom and a double sized Murphy bed in the living room area. It's a good bed, the Murphy bed," she added, looking reassuring.
"Nothing else?" Spencer asked. "I mean, we'll for sure take both of them. We can put JJ and Elle in the regular room and I can sleep on the Murphy bed in Hotch and Gideon's suite, but we still need a bed for Morgan."
"He can bunk with me," Billy offered. "I've got two beds in my room. Not like it's not the same government footing the bill."
"Great, thank you," Spencer told him, relieved.
"All right then. Two rooms it is." She slid across an old fashioned metal room key with a fob marked 15 on it. "Just write down the names for me, will you, hon? That way I can give them all keys when they come in." She slid a second room key across to Billy, marked 2. "Here's a second key for your room as well."
Spencer quickly filled out the paperwork she gave him and handed it back, pocketing the key.
"Tavern's just started the dinner buffet." Regina gestured to the entry to the inn's bar and dining room. "It's included for folks staying the night, so help yourselves. Tell Earl behind the bar you're law enforcement and he'll give you a pitcher of beer on the house."
"Actually..." Spencer started to speak only to have Billy cut him off.
"Much appreciated, ma'am. Very kind of you. Thank you." Billy nudged him away from the desk and Spencer followed him into the inn's main hallway. "Didn't your mother ever teach you how to accept some good old fashioned hospitality?" Billy asked under his breath. It was clearly meant as a joke, but Spencer stiffened reflexively.
"Not exactly," he demurred. When Billy stopped short, Spencer almost ran into him, finding himself suddenly in the much larger agent's personal space. "What..."
"Room 2," Billy said by way of explanation, opening the door and tossing his hat on the dresser. "Come on in. I'm going to hit the head then we can go eat."
"I-I need to change," Spencer stammered, gesturing down the hallway as he stood in the doorway, keeping the room door open. "I'm in 15."
Billy scoffed. "That's all the way at the end of the hall. Just change in here." He gestured to the bed area as he ducked into the bathroom shedding his jacket and tossing it aside on a chair before he went in. When Spencer hesitated he rolled his eyes. "Promise I won't peek, princess. Now get your ass in here. You're letting the cold air into my nice warm room."
"Oh!" Spencer reflexively closed the door behind him, only coming back to himself when Billy closed the bathroom door and he found himself alone in the room. It took him a second to breathe his way through his nerves and then make his way over to the beds.
He put his go bag on the far one and pulled out a fresh shirt and pants then pulled out a pair of socks from the zippered outer pouch. Pausing to listen and make sure Billy wasn't coming out, he fingered the socks indecisively.
"Don't be an idiot," he mumbled, admonishing himself. He pulled off his gun holster, removed his badge and wallet from his back pocket and removed his handcuffs from his jacket pocket, placing them all on the bed. Toeing off his shoes, he quickly shed his wet jacket and shirt, realizing only belatedly the room was warm enough that he didn't shiver even though he was shirtless.
He slipped his socks off and then his pants, quickly replacing them with a wary glance towards the bathroom door. He left his shirt unbuttoned in his haste as he replaced his socks and shoes, feeling more comfortable instantly.
The door to the bathroom opened and Billy's voice rang out. "Safe? Or are you still armed?" A hearty chuckle followed and Spencer smiled despite his nerves.
"I promise not to shoot if you don't," Spencer called back.
Billy came out of the bathroom, hands raised. "Truce!" he called out playfully. He dropped his hands as he approached. "Look at you. Can't dress yourself yet?" he said teasingly. Before Spencer could react, Billy started buttoning up his shirt for him. "Don't you have any warm clothes, Doc?"
"Side effect of being a desert kid," Spencer offered, trying to keep his heart from beating its way into his throat as his body sparked with interest. It had been a while, since he started working with Derek actually, that he'd been physically that close to a well built man - who wasn't threatening to beat him up, that is. "I'm afraid I still haven't adjusted to having seasons in Virginia."
Billy finished buttoning the shirt and gave him a pat on the chest that nearly rocked him back on his heels. "I get that. I was raised in the desert myself." He dug around in his duffle bag and pulled out an off-white cable-knit sweater and tossed it at Spencer who caught it despite his surprise. "My first Bureau posting was in freaking Nebraska." He pulled out a fine gauge black sweater and pulled off his long sleeve t-shirt, tossing it aside then pulling on the black sweater over his head. "I learned quick how to pack for the cold." He gestured to Spencer who was just holding the cable-knit sweater, still lost in the visual of Billy momentarily shirtless. "Put it on! It's clean... enough."
The sweater in his hands was soft, well worn but in good condition, and looked hand knit.
"Thanks." He pulled it on over his head and was hit instantly with a subtle but distinctive masculine scent; Billy had clearly worn this since it was last washed and the scent of him was heady in Spencer's nostrils.
He'd stolen one of his college boyfriend's sweaters before he left to get his PhD at Oxford. The smell had been a comfort to him for months after as the loneliness set back in. He'd stopped dating in grad school - once the FBI came to recruit him, saying they'd lift the age requirement because he was a special case. Jason had come himself to make the plea, copies of Spencer's published papers in his hand, telling him all about how working for the BAU would put his genius to good use, make a difference, save lives. The speech had so moved Spencer he'd grown paranoid in the weeks that followed, sure the FBI would find some skeleton in his closet and rescind their offer, only relaxing slightly when Jason assured him that his mother's condition wouldn't disqualify him. He'd suffered through a few awkward dates with women before giving up entirely, throwing himself into his work in the hopes of subjugating his desire for a human connection. The flood of memory, the aching it dredged up from deep inside... It took him a second to clamp back down on it and look up to where Billy waited expectantly, eyes watching him closely but not unkindly. If he figured out something was wrong he said nothing and for that Spencer was grateful.
"I think I hear a pitcher of beer calling my name," Billy joshed as he opened up the door, gesturing for Spencer to go out before him. "Let's go do some damage to that buffet."
+
"So I've got my gun on the fugitive's brother while Don's got his gun on the lump in the bed, yelling at who we think is our guy to show his hands and to stand up. You going to finish those?" Spencer was so enthralled with Billy's tales from the road that he almost missed Billy gesturing to the last of the tater tots on his plate. The heavy meat and potatoes meal had left him lethargic at first, but two hours of leisurely dinner, beer and conversation had left him feeling lighter than he had in weeks, the weight of the case finally falling away under the spell of Billy's earthy charisma. He was clearly a natural storyteller and he made Spencer miss the good days growing up when his mother read aloud to him.
"Yeah, go ahead," he said, dismissing the remains of his plate with a wave. "Take them."
Billy tipped Spencer's plate onto his own then popped one of the tater tots into his mouth, barely waiting until his mouth was clear to start again.
"So this kid - and when I say kid I mean like nineteen or so, not a real kind mind you - comes out from under the blanket shaking like a leaf. He stands up and the poor kid is buck naked! Man, you should have seen Eppes blush! I had to wait until we got back to the car to finally laugh my fool head off, but jeez if that rookie wasn't eight shades of crimson, apologizing to the brother and his boyfriend like a dozen times before we left." He popped another potato in his mouth, chewing as he chuckled to himself. "Bastard that I am, I made Eppes write up the report on that hunt just to see him blush all over again trying to find some sort of euphemism to hide the fact that he'd forced an innocent man to do the full Monty in front of two Feds." He shook his head at the memory. "Green as he was in those first few days, he was still a damn good partner in the end."
"Why don't you have a partner anymore?" Spencer asked, genuinely curious.
"Don't really need one." Billy shrugged, staring into his beer long enough that Spencer knew there was more to it than he would say. He decided to return the favor from earlier and not push, not question. Everyone deserved to have thoughts they kept to themselves. As a profiler he spent all his time in people's heads. It was nice to be able to stay out of them at the end of the day. "You guys don't do the partner thing. You're more team oriented."
"Well, Gideon and Hotch are kind of paired off as our bosses and Elle and Morgan tend to work as a unit a lot. There's just no one left for me to pair off with. JJ's not a profiler; she's media relations, so her job's totally different from mine."
"Sounds kind of lonely," Billy mused. "You don't wish you had someone you trusted with your life, to have your back in every way? Someone you could tell anything to?"
This time it was Spencer's turn to turn his introspective gaze into his own beer. He couldn't bring himself to put words to the little pangs of jealousy he felt when Elle and Derek paired off and left him alone, how their laughter and shared in jokes were like a little knife to the heart every time their camaraderie excluded him.
"I do," he admitted finally. "Wish it, I mean. But we're a team and I like that. I trust my team completely. They'd never let me come to any harm. I'm sure of that."
"It's just not the same as having one person who really knows you," Billy said, choosing his words carefully, blue eyes riveted to Spencer, not giving him an out. "You need that - everyone does. If you pretend you don't, it's going to tear you up in the end. Believe me."
"Spencer... Agent Cooper..." Jason approached their table, standing over them, eyes going between the two of them as he greeted them both.
"Gideon! Did you need me?" Spencer asked, suddenly realizing he'd completely forgotten about his team since he'd checked in other than to text Aaron about the rooms being setup when they first sat down to eat.
"No, no," Jason reassured him, gesturing for him to stay seated. "We're all set. Sheriff Polk brought in some surprisingly good Chinese takeout for us at the station as we wrapped things up and Elle and JJ took Elaine out to eat before they drove her to stay with a friend about a half hour from here. They should be back fairly soon."
"Would you like to join us?" Spencer asked, feeling bad he hadn't already offered.
"Free beer for law enforcement," Billy chimed in. "The locals apparently are good about supporting the troops."
Jason looked between the both of them again, a slight smile playing at his lips. "No, I think I could use a nice glass of wine and a little quiet before bed. The innkeeper tells me there's a lovely moonlit view from the sunroom at the back of the inn. I might just take my wine over there and unwind in peace."
Billy nodded. "Understood."
Jason started to turn away only to come back. "You know," he mused. "Morgan's pretty wiped out, Hotch too. Since you two will probably be up for a while it makes sense for Morgan to take the extra bed in my suite so he won't get disturbed. He's in there now anyway since we came in together so he might as well stay. Spencer, you wouldn't mind staying with Billy, would you?"
Spencer's mouth worked for a few seconds without sound before he could get any words out. "I didn't want Morgan to have to take the Murphy bed, I can leave now, get ready for bed early..."
Jason just held up a hand. "It's a perfectly good bed, the same mattress as the others. Regardless, you've got the same right to any bed as anyone on the team. Being new doesn't mean you get stuck with inferior accommodations. Get that idea right out of your head."
"Yes, sir," Spencer replied obediently, chastened.
"I've got no problem trading roomies," Billy said with a casual shrug. "The Doc and I have been getting along just fine this evening. I promise I won't keep him up past his bedtime," he added with a wink.
"Spencer's a grown man," Jason said calmly, his eyes not leaving Spencer's. His gaze was a message, one that Spencer hadn't expected from his mentor, one his nimble brain hadn't quite grokked yet despite spending two thoroughly enjoyable hours in Billy's company. "He's fully capable of making his own decisions about how to spend his evening." With one last glance to Billy and a nod of farewell, Jason departed. "Good night."
"Night..." Billy tipped his glass Jason's way.
"Good night," Spencer mumbled belatedly, thoughts ricocheting around in his head. Jason knew. He knew everything. He'd been careful never to let on, never to show any interest in men around the team, but still Jason knew. And in his own Gideonesque way had given Spencer his blessing to spend the night with Billy, practically engineered it.
"Earth to Spence!"
The words didn't cut through the haze, but a tiny electric shock of Billy's knuckles brushing his own as Billy nudged him back to the present did.
"Yeah, sorry!" Spencer managed a smile despite how flustered and distracted he was. "Just something about Gideon stopping by got me thinking about the case." When Billy's expression shifted to one of increased interest, Spencer just waved him off. "It's nothing. And we're supposed to not be thinking about the case, right?"
"That's the spirit!" Billy broke out into a wide grin as he rose from the table. "On that note, I'm getting us a fresh pitcher of beer."
Spencer watched him go, the beginnings of an almost goofy grin on his face emerging that had nothing to do with the alcohol he'd consumed.
Billy had called him Spence.
+
"The local police were really hung up on the DNA evidence, but statistics showing that a certain genetic makeup is rare doesn't mean it never happens. I told them - out of every 400 sets of fraternal twins, one set will be made up of babies who have different fathers."
"Which would explain the discrepancies in the DNA," Billy supplied.
"Exactly!" Spencer put down his glass with a little more emphasis than he'd thought and had to quickly put his hand back around it to keep it from wobbling. "Given the brothers' history of abuse at the hands of their stepfather..."
"Yep, raised in a veritable cesspool of sociopathic mother's milk," Billy finished for him. He tossed back the last of the beer in his glass and put it back down with his own little thump. "I tell you, I don't envy you guys in the BAU. My world's far more cut and dried. I know exactly who the bad guy is, he's already been tried and convicted. I just have to find him and drag his ass back to prison."
"But you're on the road like all the time." Spencer wrinkled his nose a little. "Without a partner it seems like it would be boring and, well, lonely I guess."
"It's not so bad," Billy scoffed. "I end up working with the local law everywhere I go so I have plenty of company. Never was much of a homebody. The road's home enough for me."
Spencer flushed a little at the word 'company' - the term bringing up all sorts of visuals, each making him redden a little more as his imagination became more and more explicit. Of course a man like Billy could find himself companionship wherever he went.
"Spence?"
Billy's voice had taken on a concerned note and Spencer realized too late he'd drawn his attention at a really bad time.
"I-I should, um," he stammered helplessly, pushing back his chair in preparation to rise.
"Spencer..." Billy put his hand over Spencer's before he could get up. "You have absolutely nothing to fear from me. Do you understand? Nothing to worry about."
His hand was warm, the pressure light - not insistent, and Billy's face looked at him in all earnestness. In an odd moment of clarity, Spencer knew exactly what Billy was talking about and wanted so desperately to be soothed by the promise that nothing at all would happen between them unless he wanted it to, but his gut twisted and his stomach churned as his nerves protested, anxiety spinning out of control.
"I'm just going to... Bathroom..."
He tugged his hand out from Billy's just as Billy was pulling his away and headed for the men's room. He allowed himself a moment of not thinking at all while he tended to his business, washing his hands so thoroughly afterwards they grew red from the hot water and scrubbing.
He finally looked up and saw himself in the mirror. His hair had dried wavy since it had been towel dried wet and not combed after. His eyes were glassy wide and while he'd clearly had quite a bit to drink he didn't feel drunk, just loose, less uptight.
Jason had pronounced him a grown man, capable of deciding for himself, but he didn't feel capable. He felt like panicking, running away, driving to the next town just to get a room to himself where he could curl under the covers and not make this decision right now, not have to face Jason in the morning knowing his mentor would know how he spent the night just by looking at him.
He laid his forehead on the cool mirror, his anguished breath ghosting the glass.
Why was this so hard? He'd had casual sex before, had sex with men plenty - especially with his last boyfriend. He had proof it hadn't kept him out of the BAU and that it wouldn't affect how his boss saw him.
He closed his eyes and pictured Billy in that brief second or two he'd been shirtless in the room. It was easy, too easy, to imagine that toned muscular body coming near to his, feeling eclipsed by the power of such a well-built man as he surrendered himself. A part of him ached more for mere skin on skin contact than sex, missing even the most basic affection he'd had so much of - growing up with his mother, with his best high school buddy, with his boyfriends... In the BAU they spoke often of the detrimental effects on children growing up in households where abuse was frequent and affection nowhere to be found. He didn't want to grow disconnected, lose his humanity, lose his ability to just feel.
He wanted this; he wanted Billy.
His brain just wouldn't let his body take over.
Realizing how long he'd been, he quickly rushed back out, sitting down again with a bashful apology. "Sorry about that. Got distracted thinking about the case again."
Billy just looked at him for a moment as if assessing him anew. Spencer fidgeted in his seat under the subtle inspection, but tried to keep from speaking if only because he feared saying something stupid or inappropriate.
"I'm not a profiler," Billy finally mused aloud. "But I'm a good judge of people - have to be in my line of work. I walk into some pretty sketchy places on a hunt and have to be able to tell at a glance who in a room of 20 to 30 guys might just decide to pull a gun on me when I ask about someone they don't want to talk about." He cocked his head back towards the rooms. "I bet your boss there, Gideon, is one of the best though. He sized me up in two seconds earlier today and he had my number. Hotch? He takes a little longer and doesn't go as deep, but he gave me the once over when we first met. Even if a guy's subtle about it, I can tell when I'm being sized up."
"Occupational hazard," Spencer tried to explain. "It's hard to turn off when you're a profiler for a living."
"It's not that," Billy countered. "They're doing it on purpose. They're seasoned vets and they know that profiling the LEOs they work with facilitates the working relationship. I'm sure you've seen them give unnecessary praise to certain small town sheriffs and police chiefs. They're doing it to pump up their ego and smooth the way for the Bureau to come in and get the job done. Profiling's not just for perps and it's not just for work either."
"Well, I try not to do it outside of work." Spencer laced his fingers together and unlaced them, nervous energy bleeding out into his hands.
"But you did it with me, maybe even without knowing, right?" Spencer's lack of an answer was answer enough. "So I bet you figured me out almost as good as Gideon: good man, bit of a wildcard, doesn't quite play by the rules but is doggedly loyal to the Bureau, scruffy but goodhearted, a loner who actually does like people and someone with a big hurt in their past they don't want to talk about even if it means it keeps them from getting close to people they'd like to be close to. That about right?"
Spencer paused for a moment, but something - the beer, the late hour, or just some latent courage he'd never tapped before - freed his tongue enough to speak his mind.
"I think you're lonely, that you crave human contact, a connection. You punish yourself for whatever this past hurt is by denying yourself a new partner that you could bond with and while people probably assume you find comfort with a girl in every port - as the saying goes - you really don't hook up anywhere near as much as people think, or as much as you let people think. You want it, but you don't want the emptiness that you feel after it's over and they're gone so you don't, since that way it's just normal emptiness you feel and not the worst of it after you've had what you keep denying yourself - someone to care about you."
Billy pushed aside his empty glass.
"That's a good speech, Doc," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should deliver a version of it to yourself." He fished in his pocket and pulled out the second room key marked 2, sliding it across the table, brushing Spencer's fingers with his own as he gave it to him. "For whenever you decide to show up... Just know that whatever happens - or not - is entirely up to you." He rose, leaving the key behind. "And in case you were wondering, no this isn't some sort of charity case or pity thing or even just your 'guy in every port' bullshit. I'm offering because it's something that I want. I like you, Spence. And you like me too, I can tell. But in your world, in that big crazy smart head of yours? That's not enough. I get that. But I can't tell you what is. So maybe... Maybe if you sit and think a while, you'll figure it out."
His hand came to rest on Spencer's shoulder briefly, giving it a squeeze. The suddenly wonderful warmth of that contact flooded Spencer and he sank into it, craving it the instant it was taken away, Billy's fingertips grazing over the sweater for just a second then gone.
Spencer heard his footsteps as he left the hall, eyes falling shut as he listened even past the point where he heard no more.
He pulled the other key out of his pocket, the one labeled 15. It wasn't too late. He could sneak into that room and crash on their couch or even on their floor.
He stared at the two room keys: 2... 15...
Picking one was only half the battle. Even if he didn't run away, he still had the option for nothing to happen with Billy.
The question was what was it he really wanted. No, that wasn't the question, he corrected himself. Putting aside the scolding voice of propriety and fear, he knew he wanted this, needed this, craved it even - and that thought alone was enough to get him to push the 15 key aside.
So there was only one question that really mattered.
Was he brave enough to go after what he wanted?
+
The key turned silently in the door and Spencer noted with some amazement his heart wasn't racing with nerves.
Opening the door he felt oddly calm and yet exhilarated, finally free of the cumbersome doubts that had plagued him all evening.
Billy was reclining on the far bed, still wearing the black sweater and jeans, but now barefoot - something that Spencer found oddly appealing. He looked up from the paperback he'd been reading, closing it and putting it aside as he watched Spencer stand tall at the entry to the room.
"I've made up my mind."
When he went no further, Billy rose and came to him, expectant.
When he got close enough to touch, Spencer reached out and grabbed him by the sweater, pulling Billy's body to his own, bringing their mouths together in a hungry kiss. One step and his back hit the wall, Billy following eagerly, pressing against him, devouring his mouth in kind.
Wanting skin, Spencer slid his hands up under Billy's soft black sweater, drinking in the feel of flexing muscles beneath his palms, the contact making his skin crackle and hum. Billy's fingers tugged his shirt to untuck it so his hands could roam beneath shirt and sweater, seeking their own connection.
The feel of Billy's powerful form was heady, crushing him, overpowering him, the sense of sweet surrender intoxicating. He let go, tipping his head back to let Billy ravish his neck as Billy's hands roamed his body - every second of skin on skin feeding his need.
Impatient for more, Spencer managed to convey to Billy by tugging on his sweater hem that he wanted it removed. Billy only took a half-step back to tear if off then return to divest Spencer of the borrowed sweater, fingers flying as he unbuttoned the shirt he'd so carefully buttoned hours earlier.
As he finished, Spencer snaked his arms around Billy's neck and Billy, throwing Spencer's shirt open, wrapped his arms around him as they renewed their violent and passionate kisses - now chest to chest, bare skin meeting as heat rose between them to join with their hot panted gasps.
Feeling emboldened and dizzy with desire, Spencer got his hands on Billy's belt buckle first only to have his hands stilled by Billy for a moment. Their eyes met - one asking the question and the other confirming, leaving no doubt.
The smile on Billy's face, the spark in his eyes, it filled Spencer with a rush of almost delirious euphoria. And when he felt Billy's delighted chuckle against his chest instead of just hearing it, he tugged him closer, craving that sensation.
Billy's nimble fingers were faster than Spencer's long clumsy ones, but he wanted to go first. He brushed Billy's hands away, laughing at his own impatience, and shoved Billy's jeans down to his thighs - hands taking an appreciative roam over his round ass snugly encased in boxer briefs before cupping the hardness he sought between them.
Billy's cock twitched at the contact, the jolt running through Spencer as well, kicking his heart rate up a notch. He stroked a few times, almost gracelessly in his haste, then shoved his hand inside to wrap his fingers around Billy's shaft. As Billy groaned into his mouth, Spencer felt the firm flesh respond to his touch, tongues darting playfully into each other's mouths as his long fingers focused on their tantalizing task.
Finally Billy stilled his hand, pulling it away as he pushed his underwear down, kicking them and his jeans aside so he was naked in the dimly lit room.
"My turn," he rumbled into Spencer's ear. Just the sound of his voice, low and raspy, was enough to make Spencer's cock jump in his pants. Braced, he was surprised when Billy slowed things down, letting his lips trail over Spencer's neck and collarbone as he slowly pushed the shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground at his feet.
With what little presence of mind he had left, Spencer toed off his shoes, at which Billy crouched down to remove his socks and throw them and the shoes aside. Rising back up, Billy dragged his body against Spencer's, full frontal.
A nonverbal moan of approval floated out of him and he let his head fall back against the wall as Billy set himself to Spencer's bare skin - mouth traveling all over his chest and stomach as busy fingers worked on opening up his pants, little butterfly strokes teasing him with the promise of more to come.
The brush of Billy's stubbled jaw against the jut of his hipbone made his patience all but evaporate. A little whine escaped his lips and Billy reacted immediately, rising up to silence it with an almost brusque kiss, overwhelming Spencer with its sudden fervor.
His slacks slipped off his slight hips and Billy's hands helped his underwear off until he could kick them away, rough calloused fingers dragging up the underside of his cock in one long breath stealing pass before they came together completely. Meeting full body with nothing between them was like a sigh of relief - a yes finally paired with an electric impulse, charging them up for what was next.
Hands grasping for purchase, hips moving in tandem, locking into a groove as the friction of their bodies fueled a fire burgeoning deep inside. Boiling up, their passion bubbled to the surface in crazed open mouthed kisses, beads of sweat trailing down flushed skin, ardent gasps as twin hard lengths slid together in tandem between their bellies.
Spencer felt deliciously crushed into the wall by Billy's heavy weight as he moved even faster against Spencer's frail form. As his hands scrabbled against Billy's back, trying to pull him closer even though there was already no space between them, he could feel that need for more - just a little more.
Almost as if in response to the unasked request, Billy shifted, pulling back enough to wrap one large hand around both of their cocks at once - jacking them in time as he kept their bodies in contact, kept kissing Spencer senseless.
Billy's hand on him was everything he'd wanted and he quickly spiraled out of control - feeling almost as if his feet left the floor as Billy changed to wrap his hand just around Spencer's shaft - a twisting grip that stole the breath from his lungs as he came hard, sight going almost black, his climax so powerful.
When his knees failed, he let them, sinking down to the floor to kneel between Billy and the wall. He put his hands on Billy's hips to hold him steady and took him into his mouth, swallowing him down before Billy could get a word out.
The salty taste burst on his tongue and a cavalcade of sense memory brought back long repressed memories of weekends spent in playful exploration, of nascent sexuality coming into fruition, of feeding that part of his soul that feared being alone with companionship, contact and connection.
A low groan above him, brought him back to the present. Billy was resting his head against the wall, trembling with effort not to just thrust into Spencer's mouth. Spencer could feel the aborted movements under his hands so he pulled off and used his hands to direct Billy to flip around, shifting so his back was to the wall.
This time it was Spencer's turn to drag his body up Billy's, earning himself a gasp in the process.
"Don't worry," Spencer told him, sealing it with a brief yet tender kiss. "I'll take good care of you."
He dragged himself down his body again for good measure then kneeling, took him into his mouth again. With more room to move he could be more active, head bobbing over Billy's cock - taking him in deep then sucking hard as he pulled off.
He welcomed Billy's hand threading through his hair, guiding not demanding, and let his own hands roam, savoring the bright and alive skin beneath this fingertips.
Billy tried to push him away as he stiffened, but Spencer stayed firm, upping his efforts as Billy spasmed beneath him, a long moan rising and then dying off in his throat as he sagged against the wall afterwards.
Spencer rose, letting Billy tuck him into his side as he caught his breath. It felt comfortable, felt right, to lay his head on Billy's shoulder - feel his pulse under his hand on Billy's chest, feel a sense of pride that he did this for him and a sense of contentment for himself to have someone close to him again.
He could have this. He should. Denying this piece of himself had cost him and it was no longer a price he was willing to pay - not now that he'd been reminded what he was missing.
Billy, recovered, curled Spencer into his arms and rolled them so Spencer was the one with his back to the wall again.
Billy kissed him languidly and thoroughly, so unrushed Spencer found himself sinking completely into Billy's embrace - enough he might have fallen if Billy had let go.
"Mmm..." Billy's voice rumbling in his ear somehow managed to set off a fresh spark down low in his belly. "How about I drag you into bed and we rest up a bit before round two, hmm?"
With Billy's stubbled jaw brushing his own, his heart beating in his chest in tandem with another's, a smile on his face he couldn't seem to erase, Spencer felt a blissful laughter rise up out of him.
"Let's hope for more bad weather tomorrow, because I really want to lose count."
+
Spencer was roused at dawn by a gentle hand shaking him awake. His eyes opened to slits, protesting the lack of sleep, but opened more fully when he saw Billy standing over him fully dressed, bag in hand.
"I got the call. Prison break just over the border in Oregon. I have to go."
"Go?" Spencer's normally agile mind was having trouble processing, but when Billy slipped a hand beneath the covers, his palm warm and broad against Spencer's bare stomach, it finally hit him that this was goodbye. "I don't want you to go," he muttered, indulging in a momentary bout of petulance.
"You know the job," Billy said apologetically, rubbing his hand soothingly in small circles, easing Spencer awake. "They keep us jumping." He slipped his hand around to Spencer's back and tugged him closer as he leaned down to capture his lips in a reluctant last kiss.
Spencer brought his hands up to cup Billy's face, relishing that final moment of contact, wanting the kiss not to come to an end.
"Stay safe out there," he murmured.
"Always." Billy pulled away, a final caress of Spencer's face their last touch. As he turned to go, he gestured to the dresser. "Left you a little something. Be sure to take it with you when you pack up and go."
Spencer propped himself up on his elbow, blinking at Billy as he went to open the door.
"Billy?"
Billy paused, hand on the door, to look back.
"Yeah, Spence?"
"When you get a minute, put in a request for a new partner, will you? It's time."
Billy huffed out a little chuckle, the trademark crooked grin appearing on his face.
"Profilers..." He shook his head, amused. "Can't hide anything from you, can we, us mere mortals?" he joshed. When Spencer gave him a look of determination, he caved. "All right. I'll let the brass know to set me up. But if he ends up a green ass rookie like you I'm making you pay for the donuts for the whole first year!"
"You got it!" Spencer's smile began to fade and he looked at Billy with a gentle fondness. "Thanks."
Billy just nodded, a serene smile on his own face.
"Give me a call when you get settled back at Quantico," he said on the way out. "I may not make it to home base often, but I know where to find you when I do."
With a wink he was out the door and gone. Spencer let his head fall back to the pillow, his eyes falling closed of their own accord.
It didn't even feel like he slept, but when his alarm woke him two hours later he stared at it, disoriented. He glanced over at the second bed, untouched save his go bag on it, then turned his gaze to the rumpled bed he was in as if he needed confirmation it wasn't all a dream.
He rose and stretched lazily, the room comfortably warm against his naked skin as he padded over to the dresser where he saw a small item on the surface.
It was a zippered pouch about seven or eight inches across made of some sort of slick rubbery material. He unzipped it and pulled out the contents to find it was actually a raincoat designed to fold up into a pouch when not in use: perfect for a go bag.
The note beside it was written in a rushed scribble, but he could make out what it said and the phone number beneath it that reassured him this wasn't all there was between them.
'Stay dry, stay safe, stay in touch. Til next time... - Billy'
=
6/13/09 Prompt Billy Cooper/Spencer Reid
Wall!sex
Their case intersected with his manhunt, but it doesn't seem as if Billy minds all that much.
Crossposted to bau_fic, numb3rs_slash and n3crossovers
Title: Wall to Wall
Pairing/Characters: Billy/Spencer, Jason, Aaron, Derek, JJ, Elle, OCs
Rating: NC17
Spoilers: Season 1 (Criminal Minds), Man Hunt (Numb3rs)
Summary: Spencer realizes he can't ignore his need for a human connection
Notes/Warnings: Read the disclaimer on my LJ
Other comments are housed at rounds_of_kink.
"Sorry about the weather!"
Sheriff Sherry Polk grimaced as Spencer slopped his way into the sheriff's station and out of the pouring rain, wringing out his measly lightweight cotton jacket, his long hair dripping around his face.
"Isn't California supposed to be warm and sunny?" Spencer asked, only gently sarcastic, accepting a towel the sheriff pulled from the front desk drawer.
"Did you miss the part about Northern California?" Sherry retorted, her homespun accent pleasant with more than a hint of mirth. "This close to Mount Shasta a storm system can change its mind in a heartbeat and decide to dump on us instead of on the Cascade mountain range. Shame because we could really use the snow up there. Too many people down there in the cities depending on the snow pack for their summer water supply."
Spencer finished drying his hair as best he could. "Trust me, I'd give them all this water gladly." He dabbed ineffectually at his shirt and finally just gave up, the small towel almost as wet as he was now. "Where are they holding Richey?"
"We're too small to have a proper interrogation room, so we moved the boards out of the conference room you all had been using so Agents Hotchner and Gideon could question him in there." She shrugged apologetically. "One way glass is for big city cops, you know? Around here we consider a domestic disturbance, a bar fight and a DUI a day for the record books."
"Sounds pleasant." Spencer huffed out a little chortle, more out of politeness.
"Richey's our first genuine murderer," Sherry mused. "I'm just glad he didn't kill any of the locals. Him hiding out here's bad enough." She shuddered. "If it ends up he's a cannibal or something sick like that? Just don't tell me, okay? Job's hard enough as it is."
"Our profile pinpointed an unsub who only engages in personal-cause homicide," Spencer explained. "Which fits. Richey's been systematically eliminating everyone who helped put him in jail in the first place. That's been his sole goal since he escaped from prison - revenge."
As he handed back the towel with a nod of gratitude, the door blew open again, letting in a fresh gust of chilled air, making Spencer's still damp skin instantly turn to gooseflesh.
"Dang! It's ugly out there!" Derek shed his hooded slicker and shook it out before turning his attention to Spencer. "Reid, you look like a drowned rat. Don't you have any rain gear in your go bag?"
"Clearly my go bag isn't up to snuff just yet." Spencer tugged his limp jacket around himself defensively. "It's not like Gideon gave me a packing list when I started with you guys."
"Common sense, kid," Derek teased. "Of course that's not something most teenagers have."
"I'm twenty-one," Spencer protested, even though they'd had this discussion repeatedly in the months since he'd joined the BAU. "Hardly a teenager," he added with a little grumble, more easily annoyed than normal given how cold and miserable he was.
"Ah, I'm just messing with you." Derek gave him a playful cuff on the arm. "Come on, I'm sure the good sheriff can spare us some hot coffee to defrost you with." With a nod to the sheriff, he ushered Spencer into the main room and over to the coffee station where he poured a cup and handed it to Spencer, black.
Spencer looked down into the dark liquid and made a face.
"I'm not sure forcing me to drink coffee black is a adequate test of my manhood."
Derek tipped his head back and roared laughing. "Oh you're precious, my man. Always good for a laugh." He poured himself a cup and then stepped away, making room for Spencer with a flourish of a gesture. "Fake cream and real sugar - fill 'er up!"
As Spencer started to doctor his coffee the door opened again and a bellowing voice was heard in the entryway.
"Morgan! You son of a bitch!"
Spencer glanced over in time to find a man shucking off a leather jacket and cowboy hat, shaking the raindrops from each before he tossed them aside. He had short cropped red hair, a mass of freckles and looked rather like a modern day cowboy: jeans, boots and a scrappy crooked grin that was currently pointed in Derek's direction.
"Coop! Where the hell have you been?"
The two men clapped each other on the back in a manly sort of hug, clearly on affectionate terms.
"Been working my ass off on your case!" he taunted. "You been sitting around drinking coffee with Mr. Pretty Boy over there?"
Spencer flushed crimson when he realized both that the stranger was talking about him and what he was implying about Derek's relationship with him.
"Nah, man. Reid's a rookie. New to the BAU." Derek, almost offhandedly, glanced back to Spencer in casual introduction. "Spencer Reid, Billy Cooper: Bureau's best damn Fugitive Recovery agent."
"And don't you forget it!" Billy crowed, nudging Derek's shoulder. "Even if you guys were the ones who found my fugitive."
"Yeah!" Derek protested. "What were you out doing while we were doing your job?"
"I..." Billy looked smug, proud of himself. "I was off saving Richey's latest victim. My tracking paid off; I found Richey's cabin in the woods. He had Elaine Holliman there handcuffed to the sink. Figured he'd use her as a household slave for a while before he killed her. I just dropped her off at the hospital. She's fine, they're just bandaging up her wrist. That's one spunky woman! She was trying her damnedest to get that cuff off herself."
The door to the conference room opened and Aaron and Jason exited, Jason nodding to the sheriff's deputy standing guard outside the room to go in and keep an eye on Richey.
"He confess?" Derek asked, his voice turning serious.
Aaron nodded curtly, ever grim. "He made a deal: as long as we don't send him back to Lompoc he'd give us the location of every body. Apparently he made some enemies there and is more afraid of going back to Lompoc than going into a maximum security federal prison. He refused to give us Elaine Holliman though, claiming she's not a body so she doesn't count."
"I got her. Don't worry," Billy chimed in. "Found his cabin. She's at the hospital now getting checked out, but she's chomping at the bit to testify against Richey. She was so peeved I'd be afraid to bring her down here. She might go after him herself!"
"Makes sense given the profile," Jason murmured, thoughtful. "He saw her as the mother figure who betrayed him. In order to have power over her before he killed her he had to reinvent himself in a more powerful role relationship to her than surrogate son."
"If she really was as spunky as you say..." Spencer gestured shyly to Billy. "That attitude and failure to comply with his desire to dominate her is probably what kept her alive the last three days. He couldn't kill her until his defeat of her was complete, until she accepted his power over her."
"Look at you..." Billy gave Spencer an appraising once over, focusing on him completely for the first time - making Spencer immediately and uncomfortably self-conscious at his bedraggled appearance. "Little Spencer Reid for the rebound!"
Jason crossed between them in front of Billy, heading for the coffee station, speaking to Billy with a bemused yet superior tone - one he was well known for - as he passed.
"That's Dr. Spencer Reid to you."
Billy, smirking, straightened up as if he was a schoolboy put in line by a teacher. "Dr. Reid! My my! FBI Agent and a medical doctor?"
Spencer shrunk in on himself, mortified.
"No, I'm not an MD. I have a PhD. Two of them, actually," he added, his voice trailing off at the end.
"Excuse me, folks." The sheriff was just hanging up the phone at a nearby desk. "I just got off the phone with the local airstrip. They're shutting down - bad weather and all. So your plane's grounded, at least until tomorrow. Might clear up then. Might not."
Aaron did a good job of hiding any annoyance. "Can you recommend any place in town where we can get a block of rooms?"
"Don't have to recommend," Sherry said with a chortle. "We've only got one: Klamath Inn."
"I've got a room there already," Billy told them. "Not a big place, but they should have a few vacancies."
The door blew open with a bang and women's laughter filled the entryway as Elle and JJ walked in shaking off their wet jackets.
"Okay, that is not my idea of California weather!" Elle was teasing.
"Yeah, I'd rather have snow," JJ piped up.
"Goodness!" Sherry said, amused. "It's wall to wall Feds in here!" She turned to Aaron. "I'll call Regina at the inn and let her know you're coming."
"Thank you." He turned to JJ and Elle as Sherry returned to the phone. "Have you met Agent Cooper yet?"
"Yes, at the hospital," JJ answered for them as she and Billy nodded to each other in acknowledgment. "We just came from there. Elle took Elaine's statement."
"This Richey is one sick puppy," Elle huffed, disgusted. "Ends up one of the ways he tormented her was to tell her everything he did to his previous victims. Unfortunately for him - and her for that matter - she's got a really good memory. Probably enough to get the maximum sentence once her statement matches up with the ME's eventual forensics on the bodies."
"Good riddance!" Billy said with a snort. "He may have only been in for ten years to begin with, but I'm not shedding any tears over them throwing away the key on him." He cocked his head over towards the entrance. "I'm headed to the inn. Anyone want a lift?"
Reid buried himself in his coffee cup, but Aaron still singled him out.
"Reid, why don't you go see about the rooms? Morgan, get Garcia on the line and have her start doing the notifications."
"I'm on it," Derek said, turning away as he opened up his cell phone.
"JJ, coordinate with the media," Aaron continued. "Let them know we've made an arrest, but don't release Elaine's name to the press just yet. Get in touch with her family first and see if you can arrange for them to come here. Elle, Gideon and I will want to see Elaine's statement."
JJ stepped away, pulling out her own phone and Elle and Jason followed Aaron over to sit at one of the desks nearby.
"Looks like it's you and me, Doc," Billy said with a grin that gave Spencer a shiver that had nothing to do with cold. "Grab your go bag and let's hit the road."
+
The drive was so brief Spencer still hadn't thought of an opening line for conversation by the time Billy was pulling into the inn's driveway.
Billy held the front door open for him as they went inside and Spencer gave him a flash of a smile in thanks. The answering smile on Billy's face along with the proximity of their bodies in the doorway sent a flash of heat through Spencer that almost made him forget the chill from his wet clothes.
Billy followed him up to the front desk where a reed thin middle-aged woman with her graying hair pulled neatly into a ponytail waited for him, smiling. "Hi, I'm Regina. Sherry said there'd be more Feds."
"Hello, Ma'am," Spencer said politely. "We're going to be needing some rooms for tonight. There are six of us..."
Regina wrinkled her nose. "Oh dear. I don't have that many rooms left, I'm afraid." She referred to her computer screen. "I've got a regular room with two queens and a suite that's got two kings in the bedroom and a double sized Murphy bed in the living room area. It's a good bed, the Murphy bed," she added, looking reassuring.
"Nothing else?" Spencer asked. "I mean, we'll for sure take both of them. We can put JJ and Elle in the regular room and I can sleep on the Murphy bed in Hotch and Gideon's suite, but we still need a bed for Morgan."
"He can bunk with me," Billy offered. "I've got two beds in my room. Not like it's not the same government footing the bill."
"Great, thank you," Spencer told him, relieved.
"All right then. Two rooms it is." She slid across an old fashioned metal room key with a fob marked 15 on it. "Just write down the names for me, will you, hon? That way I can give them all keys when they come in." She slid a second room key across to Billy, marked 2. "Here's a second key for your room as well."
Spencer quickly filled out the paperwork she gave him and handed it back, pocketing the key.
"Tavern's just started the dinner buffet." Regina gestured to the entry to the inn's bar and dining room. "It's included for folks staying the night, so help yourselves. Tell Earl behind the bar you're law enforcement and he'll give you a pitcher of beer on the house."
"Actually..." Spencer started to speak only to have Billy cut him off.
"Much appreciated, ma'am. Very kind of you. Thank you." Billy nudged him away from the desk and Spencer followed him into the inn's main hallway. "Didn't your mother ever teach you how to accept some good old fashioned hospitality?" Billy asked under his breath. It was clearly meant as a joke, but Spencer stiffened reflexively.
"Not exactly," he demurred. When Billy stopped short, Spencer almost ran into him, finding himself suddenly in the much larger agent's personal space. "What..."
"Room 2," Billy said by way of explanation, opening the door and tossing his hat on the dresser. "Come on in. I'm going to hit the head then we can go eat."
"I-I need to change," Spencer stammered, gesturing down the hallway as he stood in the doorway, keeping the room door open. "I'm in 15."
Billy scoffed. "That's all the way at the end of the hall. Just change in here." He gestured to the bed area as he ducked into the bathroom shedding his jacket and tossing it aside on a chair before he went in. When Spencer hesitated he rolled his eyes. "Promise I won't peek, princess. Now get your ass in here. You're letting the cold air into my nice warm room."
"Oh!" Spencer reflexively closed the door behind him, only coming back to himself when Billy closed the bathroom door and he found himself alone in the room. It took him a second to breathe his way through his nerves and then make his way over to the beds.
He put his go bag on the far one and pulled out a fresh shirt and pants then pulled out a pair of socks from the zippered outer pouch. Pausing to listen and make sure Billy wasn't coming out, he fingered the socks indecisively.
"Don't be an idiot," he mumbled, admonishing himself. He pulled off his gun holster, removed his badge and wallet from his back pocket and removed his handcuffs from his jacket pocket, placing them all on the bed. Toeing off his shoes, he quickly shed his wet jacket and shirt, realizing only belatedly the room was warm enough that he didn't shiver even though he was shirtless.
He slipped his socks off and then his pants, quickly replacing them with a wary glance towards the bathroom door. He left his shirt unbuttoned in his haste as he replaced his socks and shoes, feeling more comfortable instantly.
The door to the bathroom opened and Billy's voice rang out. "Safe? Or are you still armed?" A hearty chuckle followed and Spencer smiled despite his nerves.
"I promise not to shoot if you don't," Spencer called back.
Billy came out of the bathroom, hands raised. "Truce!" he called out playfully. He dropped his hands as he approached. "Look at you. Can't dress yourself yet?" he said teasingly. Before Spencer could react, Billy started buttoning up his shirt for him. "Don't you have any warm clothes, Doc?"
"Side effect of being a desert kid," Spencer offered, trying to keep his heart from beating its way into his throat as his body sparked with interest. It had been a while, since he started working with Derek actually, that he'd been physically that close to a well built man - who wasn't threatening to beat him up, that is. "I'm afraid I still haven't adjusted to having seasons in Virginia."
Billy finished buttoning the shirt and gave him a pat on the chest that nearly rocked him back on his heels. "I get that. I was raised in the desert myself." He dug around in his duffle bag and pulled out an off-white cable-knit sweater and tossed it at Spencer who caught it despite his surprise. "My first Bureau posting was in freaking Nebraska." He pulled out a fine gauge black sweater and pulled off his long sleeve t-shirt, tossing it aside then pulling on the black sweater over his head. "I learned quick how to pack for the cold." He gestured to Spencer who was just holding the cable-knit sweater, still lost in the visual of Billy momentarily shirtless. "Put it on! It's clean... enough."
The sweater in his hands was soft, well worn but in good condition, and looked hand knit.
"Thanks." He pulled it on over his head and was hit instantly with a subtle but distinctive masculine scent; Billy had clearly worn this since it was last washed and the scent of him was heady in Spencer's nostrils.
He'd stolen one of his college boyfriend's sweaters before he left to get his PhD at Oxford. The smell had been a comfort to him for months after as the loneliness set back in. He'd stopped dating in grad school - once the FBI came to recruit him, saying they'd lift the age requirement because he was a special case. Jason had come himself to make the plea, copies of Spencer's published papers in his hand, telling him all about how working for the BAU would put his genius to good use, make a difference, save lives. The speech had so moved Spencer he'd grown paranoid in the weeks that followed, sure the FBI would find some skeleton in his closet and rescind their offer, only relaxing slightly when Jason assured him that his mother's condition wouldn't disqualify him. He'd suffered through a few awkward dates with women before giving up entirely, throwing himself into his work in the hopes of subjugating his desire for a human connection. The flood of memory, the aching it dredged up from deep inside... It took him a second to clamp back down on it and look up to where Billy waited expectantly, eyes watching him closely but not unkindly. If he figured out something was wrong he said nothing and for that Spencer was grateful.
"I think I hear a pitcher of beer calling my name," Billy joshed as he opened up the door, gesturing for Spencer to go out before him. "Let's go do some damage to that buffet."
+
"So I've got my gun on the fugitive's brother while Don's got his gun on the lump in the bed, yelling at who we think is our guy to show his hands and to stand up. You going to finish those?" Spencer was so enthralled with Billy's tales from the road that he almost missed Billy gesturing to the last of the tater tots on his plate. The heavy meat and potatoes meal had left him lethargic at first, but two hours of leisurely dinner, beer and conversation had left him feeling lighter than he had in weeks, the weight of the case finally falling away under the spell of Billy's earthy charisma. He was clearly a natural storyteller and he made Spencer miss the good days growing up when his mother read aloud to him.
"Yeah, go ahead," he said, dismissing the remains of his plate with a wave. "Take them."
Billy tipped Spencer's plate onto his own then popped one of the tater tots into his mouth, barely waiting until his mouth was clear to start again.
"So this kid - and when I say kid I mean like nineteen or so, not a real kind mind you - comes out from under the blanket shaking like a leaf. He stands up and the poor kid is buck naked! Man, you should have seen Eppes blush! I had to wait until we got back to the car to finally laugh my fool head off, but jeez if that rookie wasn't eight shades of crimson, apologizing to the brother and his boyfriend like a dozen times before we left." He popped another potato in his mouth, chewing as he chuckled to himself. "Bastard that I am, I made Eppes write up the report on that hunt just to see him blush all over again trying to find some sort of euphemism to hide the fact that he'd forced an innocent man to do the full Monty in front of two Feds." He shook his head at the memory. "Green as he was in those first few days, he was still a damn good partner in the end."
"Why don't you have a partner anymore?" Spencer asked, genuinely curious.
"Don't really need one." Billy shrugged, staring into his beer long enough that Spencer knew there was more to it than he would say. He decided to return the favor from earlier and not push, not question. Everyone deserved to have thoughts they kept to themselves. As a profiler he spent all his time in people's heads. It was nice to be able to stay out of them at the end of the day. "You guys don't do the partner thing. You're more team oriented."
"Well, Gideon and Hotch are kind of paired off as our bosses and Elle and Morgan tend to work as a unit a lot. There's just no one left for me to pair off with. JJ's not a profiler; she's media relations, so her job's totally different from mine."
"Sounds kind of lonely," Billy mused. "You don't wish you had someone you trusted with your life, to have your back in every way? Someone you could tell anything to?"
This time it was Spencer's turn to turn his introspective gaze into his own beer. He couldn't bring himself to put words to the little pangs of jealousy he felt when Elle and Derek paired off and left him alone, how their laughter and shared in jokes were like a little knife to the heart every time their camaraderie excluded him.
"I do," he admitted finally. "Wish it, I mean. But we're a team and I like that. I trust my team completely. They'd never let me come to any harm. I'm sure of that."
"It's just not the same as having one person who really knows you," Billy said, choosing his words carefully, blue eyes riveted to Spencer, not giving him an out. "You need that - everyone does. If you pretend you don't, it's going to tear you up in the end. Believe me."
"Spencer... Agent Cooper..." Jason approached their table, standing over them, eyes going between the two of them as he greeted them both.
"Gideon! Did you need me?" Spencer asked, suddenly realizing he'd completely forgotten about his team since he'd checked in other than to text Aaron about the rooms being setup when they first sat down to eat.
"No, no," Jason reassured him, gesturing for him to stay seated. "We're all set. Sheriff Polk brought in some surprisingly good Chinese takeout for us at the station as we wrapped things up and Elle and JJ took Elaine out to eat before they drove her to stay with a friend about a half hour from here. They should be back fairly soon."
"Would you like to join us?" Spencer asked, feeling bad he hadn't already offered.
"Free beer for law enforcement," Billy chimed in. "The locals apparently are good about supporting the troops."
Jason looked between the both of them again, a slight smile playing at his lips. "No, I think I could use a nice glass of wine and a little quiet before bed. The innkeeper tells me there's a lovely moonlit view from the sunroom at the back of the inn. I might just take my wine over there and unwind in peace."
Billy nodded. "Understood."
Jason started to turn away only to come back. "You know," he mused. "Morgan's pretty wiped out, Hotch too. Since you two will probably be up for a while it makes sense for Morgan to take the extra bed in my suite so he won't get disturbed. He's in there now anyway since we came in together so he might as well stay. Spencer, you wouldn't mind staying with Billy, would you?"
Spencer's mouth worked for a few seconds without sound before he could get any words out. "I didn't want Morgan to have to take the Murphy bed, I can leave now, get ready for bed early..."
Jason just held up a hand. "It's a perfectly good bed, the same mattress as the others. Regardless, you've got the same right to any bed as anyone on the team. Being new doesn't mean you get stuck with inferior accommodations. Get that idea right out of your head."
"Yes, sir," Spencer replied obediently, chastened.
"I've got no problem trading roomies," Billy said with a casual shrug. "The Doc and I have been getting along just fine this evening. I promise I won't keep him up past his bedtime," he added with a wink.
"Spencer's a grown man," Jason said calmly, his eyes not leaving Spencer's. His gaze was a message, one that Spencer hadn't expected from his mentor, one his nimble brain hadn't quite grokked yet despite spending two thoroughly enjoyable hours in Billy's company. "He's fully capable of making his own decisions about how to spend his evening." With one last glance to Billy and a nod of farewell, Jason departed. "Good night."
"Night..." Billy tipped his glass Jason's way.
"Good night," Spencer mumbled belatedly, thoughts ricocheting around in his head. Jason knew. He knew everything. He'd been careful never to let on, never to show any interest in men around the team, but still Jason knew. And in his own Gideonesque way had given Spencer his blessing to spend the night with Billy, practically engineered it.
"Earth to Spence!"
The words didn't cut through the haze, but a tiny electric shock of Billy's knuckles brushing his own as Billy nudged him back to the present did.
"Yeah, sorry!" Spencer managed a smile despite how flustered and distracted he was. "Just something about Gideon stopping by got me thinking about the case." When Billy's expression shifted to one of increased interest, Spencer just waved him off. "It's nothing. And we're supposed to not be thinking about the case, right?"
"That's the spirit!" Billy broke out into a wide grin as he rose from the table. "On that note, I'm getting us a fresh pitcher of beer."
Spencer watched him go, the beginnings of an almost goofy grin on his face emerging that had nothing to do with the alcohol he'd consumed.
Billy had called him Spence.
+
"The local police were really hung up on the DNA evidence, but statistics showing that a certain genetic makeup is rare doesn't mean it never happens. I told them - out of every 400 sets of fraternal twins, one set will be made up of babies who have different fathers."
"Which would explain the discrepancies in the DNA," Billy supplied.
"Exactly!" Spencer put down his glass with a little more emphasis than he'd thought and had to quickly put his hand back around it to keep it from wobbling. "Given the brothers' history of abuse at the hands of their stepfather..."
"Yep, raised in a veritable cesspool of sociopathic mother's milk," Billy finished for him. He tossed back the last of the beer in his glass and put it back down with his own little thump. "I tell you, I don't envy you guys in the BAU. My world's far more cut and dried. I know exactly who the bad guy is, he's already been tried and convicted. I just have to find him and drag his ass back to prison."
"But you're on the road like all the time." Spencer wrinkled his nose a little. "Without a partner it seems like it would be boring and, well, lonely I guess."
"It's not so bad," Billy scoffed. "I end up working with the local law everywhere I go so I have plenty of company. Never was much of a homebody. The road's home enough for me."
Spencer flushed a little at the word 'company' - the term bringing up all sorts of visuals, each making him redden a little more as his imagination became more and more explicit. Of course a man like Billy could find himself companionship wherever he went.
"Spence?"
Billy's voice had taken on a concerned note and Spencer realized too late he'd drawn his attention at a really bad time.
"I-I should, um," he stammered helplessly, pushing back his chair in preparation to rise.
"Spencer..." Billy put his hand over Spencer's before he could get up. "You have absolutely nothing to fear from me. Do you understand? Nothing to worry about."
His hand was warm, the pressure light - not insistent, and Billy's face looked at him in all earnestness. In an odd moment of clarity, Spencer knew exactly what Billy was talking about and wanted so desperately to be soothed by the promise that nothing at all would happen between them unless he wanted it to, but his gut twisted and his stomach churned as his nerves protested, anxiety spinning out of control.
"I'm just going to... Bathroom..."
He tugged his hand out from Billy's just as Billy was pulling his away and headed for the men's room. He allowed himself a moment of not thinking at all while he tended to his business, washing his hands so thoroughly afterwards they grew red from the hot water and scrubbing.
He finally looked up and saw himself in the mirror. His hair had dried wavy since it had been towel dried wet and not combed after. His eyes were glassy wide and while he'd clearly had quite a bit to drink he didn't feel drunk, just loose, less uptight.
Jason had pronounced him a grown man, capable of deciding for himself, but he didn't feel capable. He felt like panicking, running away, driving to the next town just to get a room to himself where he could curl under the covers and not make this decision right now, not have to face Jason in the morning knowing his mentor would know how he spent the night just by looking at him.
He laid his forehead on the cool mirror, his anguished breath ghosting the glass.
Why was this so hard? He'd had casual sex before, had sex with men plenty - especially with his last boyfriend. He had proof it hadn't kept him out of the BAU and that it wouldn't affect how his boss saw him.
He closed his eyes and pictured Billy in that brief second or two he'd been shirtless in the room. It was easy, too easy, to imagine that toned muscular body coming near to his, feeling eclipsed by the power of such a well-built man as he surrendered himself. A part of him ached more for mere skin on skin contact than sex, missing even the most basic affection he'd had so much of - growing up with his mother, with his best high school buddy, with his boyfriends... In the BAU they spoke often of the detrimental effects on children growing up in households where abuse was frequent and affection nowhere to be found. He didn't want to grow disconnected, lose his humanity, lose his ability to just feel.
He wanted this; he wanted Billy.
His brain just wouldn't let his body take over.
Realizing how long he'd been, he quickly rushed back out, sitting down again with a bashful apology. "Sorry about that. Got distracted thinking about the case again."
Billy just looked at him for a moment as if assessing him anew. Spencer fidgeted in his seat under the subtle inspection, but tried to keep from speaking if only because he feared saying something stupid or inappropriate.
"I'm not a profiler," Billy finally mused aloud. "But I'm a good judge of people - have to be in my line of work. I walk into some pretty sketchy places on a hunt and have to be able to tell at a glance who in a room of 20 to 30 guys might just decide to pull a gun on me when I ask about someone they don't want to talk about." He cocked his head back towards the rooms. "I bet your boss there, Gideon, is one of the best though. He sized me up in two seconds earlier today and he had my number. Hotch? He takes a little longer and doesn't go as deep, but he gave me the once over when we first met. Even if a guy's subtle about it, I can tell when I'm being sized up."
"Occupational hazard," Spencer tried to explain. "It's hard to turn off when you're a profiler for a living."
"It's not that," Billy countered. "They're doing it on purpose. They're seasoned vets and they know that profiling the LEOs they work with facilitates the working relationship. I'm sure you've seen them give unnecessary praise to certain small town sheriffs and police chiefs. They're doing it to pump up their ego and smooth the way for the Bureau to come in and get the job done. Profiling's not just for perps and it's not just for work either."
"Well, I try not to do it outside of work." Spencer laced his fingers together and unlaced them, nervous energy bleeding out into his hands.
"But you did it with me, maybe even without knowing, right?" Spencer's lack of an answer was answer enough. "So I bet you figured me out almost as good as Gideon: good man, bit of a wildcard, doesn't quite play by the rules but is doggedly loyal to the Bureau, scruffy but goodhearted, a loner who actually does like people and someone with a big hurt in their past they don't want to talk about even if it means it keeps them from getting close to people they'd like to be close to. That about right?"
Spencer paused for a moment, but something - the beer, the late hour, or just some latent courage he'd never tapped before - freed his tongue enough to speak his mind.
"I think you're lonely, that you crave human contact, a connection. You punish yourself for whatever this past hurt is by denying yourself a new partner that you could bond with and while people probably assume you find comfort with a girl in every port - as the saying goes - you really don't hook up anywhere near as much as people think, or as much as you let people think. You want it, but you don't want the emptiness that you feel after it's over and they're gone so you don't, since that way it's just normal emptiness you feel and not the worst of it after you've had what you keep denying yourself - someone to care about you."
Billy pushed aside his empty glass.
"That's a good speech, Doc," he said thoughtfully. "Maybe you should deliver a version of it to yourself." He fished in his pocket and pulled out the second room key marked 2, sliding it across the table, brushing Spencer's fingers with his own as he gave it to him. "For whenever you decide to show up... Just know that whatever happens - or not - is entirely up to you." He rose, leaving the key behind. "And in case you were wondering, no this isn't some sort of charity case or pity thing or even just your 'guy in every port' bullshit. I'm offering because it's something that I want. I like you, Spence. And you like me too, I can tell. But in your world, in that big crazy smart head of yours? That's not enough. I get that. But I can't tell you what is. So maybe... Maybe if you sit and think a while, you'll figure it out."
His hand came to rest on Spencer's shoulder briefly, giving it a squeeze. The suddenly wonderful warmth of that contact flooded Spencer and he sank into it, craving it the instant it was taken away, Billy's fingertips grazing over the sweater for just a second then gone.
Spencer heard his footsteps as he left the hall, eyes falling shut as he listened even past the point where he heard no more.
He pulled the other key out of his pocket, the one labeled 15. It wasn't too late. He could sneak into that room and crash on their couch or even on their floor.
He stared at the two room keys: 2... 15...
Picking one was only half the battle. Even if he didn't run away, he still had the option for nothing to happen with Billy.
The question was what was it he really wanted. No, that wasn't the question, he corrected himself. Putting aside the scolding voice of propriety and fear, he knew he wanted this, needed this, craved it even - and that thought alone was enough to get him to push the 15 key aside.
So there was only one question that really mattered.
Was he brave enough to go after what he wanted?
+
The key turned silently in the door and Spencer noted with some amazement his heart wasn't racing with nerves.
Opening the door he felt oddly calm and yet exhilarated, finally free of the cumbersome doubts that had plagued him all evening.
Billy was reclining on the far bed, still wearing the black sweater and jeans, but now barefoot - something that Spencer found oddly appealing. He looked up from the paperback he'd been reading, closing it and putting it aside as he watched Spencer stand tall at the entry to the room.
"I've made up my mind."
When he went no further, Billy rose and came to him, expectant.
When he got close enough to touch, Spencer reached out and grabbed him by the sweater, pulling Billy's body to his own, bringing their mouths together in a hungry kiss. One step and his back hit the wall, Billy following eagerly, pressing against him, devouring his mouth in kind.
Wanting skin, Spencer slid his hands up under Billy's soft black sweater, drinking in the feel of flexing muscles beneath his palms, the contact making his skin crackle and hum. Billy's fingers tugged his shirt to untuck it so his hands could roam beneath shirt and sweater, seeking their own connection.
The feel of Billy's powerful form was heady, crushing him, overpowering him, the sense of sweet surrender intoxicating. He let go, tipping his head back to let Billy ravish his neck as Billy's hands roamed his body - every second of skin on skin feeding his need.
Impatient for more, Spencer managed to convey to Billy by tugging on his sweater hem that he wanted it removed. Billy only took a half-step back to tear if off then return to divest Spencer of the borrowed sweater, fingers flying as he unbuttoned the shirt he'd so carefully buttoned hours earlier.
As he finished, Spencer snaked his arms around Billy's neck and Billy, throwing Spencer's shirt open, wrapped his arms around him as they renewed their violent and passionate kisses - now chest to chest, bare skin meeting as heat rose between them to join with their hot panted gasps.
Feeling emboldened and dizzy with desire, Spencer got his hands on Billy's belt buckle first only to have his hands stilled by Billy for a moment. Their eyes met - one asking the question and the other confirming, leaving no doubt.
The smile on Billy's face, the spark in his eyes, it filled Spencer with a rush of almost delirious euphoria. And when he felt Billy's delighted chuckle against his chest instead of just hearing it, he tugged him closer, craving that sensation.
Billy's nimble fingers were faster than Spencer's long clumsy ones, but he wanted to go first. He brushed Billy's hands away, laughing at his own impatience, and shoved Billy's jeans down to his thighs - hands taking an appreciative roam over his round ass snugly encased in boxer briefs before cupping the hardness he sought between them.
Billy's cock twitched at the contact, the jolt running through Spencer as well, kicking his heart rate up a notch. He stroked a few times, almost gracelessly in his haste, then shoved his hand inside to wrap his fingers around Billy's shaft. As Billy groaned into his mouth, Spencer felt the firm flesh respond to his touch, tongues darting playfully into each other's mouths as his long fingers focused on their tantalizing task.
Finally Billy stilled his hand, pulling it away as he pushed his underwear down, kicking them and his jeans aside so he was naked in the dimly lit room.
"My turn," he rumbled into Spencer's ear. Just the sound of his voice, low and raspy, was enough to make Spencer's cock jump in his pants. Braced, he was surprised when Billy slowed things down, letting his lips trail over Spencer's neck and collarbone as he slowly pushed the shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the ground at his feet.
With what little presence of mind he had left, Spencer toed off his shoes, at which Billy crouched down to remove his socks and throw them and the shoes aside. Rising back up, Billy dragged his body against Spencer's, full frontal.
A nonverbal moan of approval floated out of him and he let his head fall back against the wall as Billy set himself to Spencer's bare skin - mouth traveling all over his chest and stomach as busy fingers worked on opening up his pants, little butterfly strokes teasing him with the promise of more to come.
The brush of Billy's stubbled jaw against the jut of his hipbone made his patience all but evaporate. A little whine escaped his lips and Billy reacted immediately, rising up to silence it with an almost brusque kiss, overwhelming Spencer with its sudden fervor.
His slacks slipped off his slight hips and Billy's hands helped his underwear off until he could kick them away, rough calloused fingers dragging up the underside of his cock in one long breath stealing pass before they came together completely. Meeting full body with nothing between them was like a sigh of relief - a yes finally paired with an electric impulse, charging them up for what was next.
Hands grasping for purchase, hips moving in tandem, locking into a groove as the friction of their bodies fueled a fire burgeoning deep inside. Boiling up, their passion bubbled to the surface in crazed open mouthed kisses, beads of sweat trailing down flushed skin, ardent gasps as twin hard lengths slid together in tandem between their bellies.
Spencer felt deliciously crushed into the wall by Billy's heavy weight as he moved even faster against Spencer's frail form. As his hands scrabbled against Billy's back, trying to pull him closer even though there was already no space between them, he could feel that need for more - just a little more.
Almost as if in response to the unasked request, Billy shifted, pulling back enough to wrap one large hand around both of their cocks at once - jacking them in time as he kept their bodies in contact, kept kissing Spencer senseless.
Billy's hand on him was everything he'd wanted and he quickly spiraled out of control - feeling almost as if his feet left the floor as Billy changed to wrap his hand just around Spencer's shaft - a twisting grip that stole the breath from his lungs as he came hard, sight going almost black, his climax so powerful.
When his knees failed, he let them, sinking down to the floor to kneel between Billy and the wall. He put his hands on Billy's hips to hold him steady and took him into his mouth, swallowing him down before Billy could get a word out.
The salty taste burst on his tongue and a cavalcade of sense memory brought back long repressed memories of weekends spent in playful exploration, of nascent sexuality coming into fruition, of feeding that part of his soul that feared being alone with companionship, contact and connection.
A low groan above him, brought him back to the present. Billy was resting his head against the wall, trembling with effort not to just thrust into Spencer's mouth. Spencer could feel the aborted movements under his hands so he pulled off and used his hands to direct Billy to flip around, shifting so his back was to the wall.
This time it was Spencer's turn to drag his body up Billy's, earning himself a gasp in the process.
"Don't worry," Spencer told him, sealing it with a brief yet tender kiss. "I'll take good care of you."
He dragged himself down his body again for good measure then kneeling, took him into his mouth again. With more room to move he could be more active, head bobbing over Billy's cock - taking him in deep then sucking hard as he pulled off.
He welcomed Billy's hand threading through his hair, guiding not demanding, and let his own hands roam, savoring the bright and alive skin beneath this fingertips.
Billy tried to push him away as he stiffened, but Spencer stayed firm, upping his efforts as Billy spasmed beneath him, a long moan rising and then dying off in his throat as he sagged against the wall afterwards.
Spencer rose, letting Billy tuck him into his side as he caught his breath. It felt comfortable, felt right, to lay his head on Billy's shoulder - feel his pulse under his hand on Billy's chest, feel a sense of pride that he did this for him and a sense of contentment for himself to have someone close to him again.
He could have this. He should. Denying this piece of himself had cost him and it was no longer a price he was willing to pay - not now that he'd been reminded what he was missing.
Billy, recovered, curled Spencer into his arms and rolled them so Spencer was the one with his back to the wall again.
Billy kissed him languidly and thoroughly, so unrushed Spencer found himself sinking completely into Billy's embrace - enough he might have fallen if Billy had let go.
"Mmm..." Billy's voice rumbling in his ear somehow managed to set off a fresh spark down low in his belly. "How about I drag you into bed and we rest up a bit before round two, hmm?"
With Billy's stubbled jaw brushing his own, his heart beating in his chest in tandem with another's, a smile on his face he couldn't seem to erase, Spencer felt a blissful laughter rise up out of him.
"Let's hope for more bad weather tomorrow, because I really want to lose count."
+
Spencer was roused at dawn by a gentle hand shaking him awake. His eyes opened to slits, protesting the lack of sleep, but opened more fully when he saw Billy standing over him fully dressed, bag in hand.
"I got the call. Prison break just over the border in Oregon. I have to go."
"Go?" Spencer's normally agile mind was having trouble processing, but when Billy slipped a hand beneath the covers, his palm warm and broad against Spencer's bare stomach, it finally hit him that this was goodbye. "I don't want you to go," he muttered, indulging in a momentary bout of petulance.
"You know the job," Billy said apologetically, rubbing his hand soothingly in small circles, easing Spencer awake. "They keep us jumping." He slipped his hand around to Spencer's back and tugged him closer as he leaned down to capture his lips in a reluctant last kiss.
Spencer brought his hands up to cup Billy's face, relishing that final moment of contact, wanting the kiss not to come to an end.
"Stay safe out there," he murmured.
"Always." Billy pulled away, a final caress of Spencer's face their last touch. As he turned to go, he gestured to the dresser. "Left you a little something. Be sure to take it with you when you pack up and go."
Spencer propped himself up on his elbow, blinking at Billy as he went to open the door.
"Billy?"
Billy paused, hand on the door, to look back.
"Yeah, Spence?"
"When you get a minute, put in a request for a new partner, will you? It's time."
Billy huffed out a little chuckle, the trademark crooked grin appearing on his face.
"Profilers..." He shook his head, amused. "Can't hide anything from you, can we, us mere mortals?" he joshed. When Spencer gave him a look of determination, he caved. "All right. I'll let the brass know to set me up. But if he ends up a green ass rookie like you I'm making you pay for the donuts for the whole first year!"
"You got it!" Spencer's smile began to fade and he looked at Billy with a gentle fondness. "Thanks."
Billy just nodded, a serene smile on his own face.
"Give me a call when you get settled back at Quantico," he said on the way out. "I may not make it to home base often, but I know where to find you when I do."
With a wink he was out the door and gone. Spencer let his head fall back to the pillow, his eyes falling closed of their own accord.
It didn't even feel like he slept, but when his alarm woke him two hours later he stared at it, disoriented. He glanced over at the second bed, untouched save his go bag on it, then turned his gaze to the rumpled bed he was in as if he needed confirmation it wasn't all a dream.
He rose and stretched lazily, the room comfortably warm against his naked skin as he padded over to the dresser where he saw a small item on the surface.
It was a zippered pouch about seven or eight inches across made of some sort of slick rubbery material. He unzipped it and pulled out the contents to find it was actually a raincoat designed to fold up into a pouch when not in use: perfect for a go bag.
The note beside it was written in a rushed scribble, but he could make out what it said and the phone number beneath it that reassured him this wasn't all there was between them.
'Stay dry, stay safe, stay in touch. Til next time... - Billy'
=