(no subject)
Title: Small Favors and Big Surprises (3/5)
Author: ice_ziggee
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Hotch/Reid.
Other characters (this chapter): Jack Hotchner.
Beta: holdur I owe you big time, THANK YOU!!!
X-posted at cm_hotch_reid & criminalxminds
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Summary: Hotch asks Reid a favor and Reid surprises him
**
"In helping others,
we shall help ourselves,
for whatever good we give out
completes the circle
and comes back to us."
- Flora Edwards
February 21th, 2010
Saturday, Hotch´s apartment 7:48 am.
“It´s alright, Jessie. You take care of yourself and let me worry about Jack,” Hotch said patiently into the phone and listened to her response.
“No, I´ll find away, don´t worry.” Hotch said with a small smile,” I´ll take care of it. Go back to bed and call me if you need anything.”
Hotch listened patiently as Jessie spoke on the other end of the line.
“Alright,” Hotch hung up. What a screw up. He had an important meeting this morning, a meeting that had been moved from the middle of the week since the team was out in Minneapolis on a case. They´d landed a little after two in the morning the previous night. And now Jessie had the flu. He looked at his son who was sitting in his PJs watching cartoons and eating dry Cheerios. He looked at his cell. Could he really…? Jack still talked about him-- the man who drew money out of Jack´s ears, gave him ice cream and played with dinosaurs and soldiers.
Hitting the speeddial, Hotch made up his mind. If Reid couldn´t do it, he would have to cancel the meeting.
Reid picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello,” his groggy voice said.
“Reid, I´m so sorry for waking you,” Hotch said quietly into the phone.
“It´s all right, do we have a new case?”
“No,” Hotch said and his hand flew to his forehead, rubbing it tiredly.“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?”
“What is it?” Reid asked and yawned through the phone.
“I have a meeting at nine with four section chiefs and Jessie has the flu. I was hoping you could look after Jack for couple of hours,” Hotch said firmly.
“Umm… Sure.” The surprise was evident in the one word. “I´ll be right there.”
“Thank you, Reid,” Hotch let out a breath he hadn´t known he was holding, then he added for good measure, “He´s been asking about you.” He hung up the phone without giving Reid an opportunity to reply. Reid was going to need coffee when he got here, so Hotch turned around to make a fresh brew.
The knock on the door came 40 minutes later. A very tired looking Reid stood on the other side of the door, his hair wet from a quick shower, wearing kakis and his winter coat along with the bag that followed Reid anywhere.
“Good morning and thank you so much for coming. I know you´re running low on sleep,” Hotch said as he let him inside.
“Good morning,” Spencer mumbled and pulled off his jacket. Hotch froze for a mare second as the need to run his fingers down Spencer´s neck and along the collar-bone that was partly visible, rushed over him. Reid had forfeited the tie and left the top buttons open on the shirt he wore under a bright red knitted vest. “Coffee?” He asked and hurried to hide in the kitchen.
“Yes, please,” Reid sighed and followed him. Reid gave out a soft sigh when he sipped his sweet, precious coffee. The sigh sent a small jolt through Hotch and he briefly closed his eyes as desire followed. Fleeing from the kitchen, Hotch wrote his reaction down to sleep deprivation; he was not interested in… Reid.
Reid was on the couch with Jack when he exited the bedroom, dressed in his jacket and briefcase in hand. Reid was giving his son bewildered looks while Jack snuggled up against Reid´s side. He heard Reid tell Jack to be careful since he was holding a mug full of hot coffee and he didn´t want to spill it all over him.
“I´ll bring home some lunch,” Hotch told them and approached the couch. He bent down and gave Jack a kiss on top of his head where he lay up against Reid, with Reid´s arm around his shoulder. He sensed more than saw how Reid leaned away as far as he could without actually letting go of Jack.
“You be good,” Hotch told his son and stroked his hair. He gave Reid a small smile of gratitude as he pulled away and hurried to catch his meeting
**
Hotch´s apartment, Saturday 11:55 am
God, I´m exhausted. The meeting had been a lot more intense than he´d imagined and had dragged on. He had remembered to bring home food though.
“Guys, I´m home,” he called when he entered. Setting the food on the table, he could hear voices coming from Jack´s room. Pulling off his jacket and tie and unbuttoning the top button, he headed down the hall. He was curious to know how the two interacted with one another and stopped just outside the room. It was a bit low to be eavesdropping but he smiled as he heard his son.
“Will you watch Jurassic Park with me?”
“Maybe in a few years when you´re a bit older,” Reid replied sensibly.
“Why not now?”
“It not really a movie for a five year old. You could get nightmares.”
“Daddy has nightmares.” Hotch froze and his smile fell. “Sometimes I hear him cry,” Jack added. His son should not need to worry about his father. Hotch forced down the need to rush inside and hug his son tight.
“Hotch sometimes sees… ummm… bad things… and that´s why he has nightmares… and that´s why you shouldn´t watch Jurassic Park until you´re older.”
“But it has dinosaurs in it,” Jack whined. Hotch silently congratulated Reid on how easily he swayed away from topics he obviously didn´t want to talk about.
“When Hotch says it´s alright for you to watch it, I´ll watch it with you,” Reid said patiently.
Hotch took that as his cue and walked into the room, “Hey, I brought Chinese. Who´s hungry?”
“Eggrolls,” Jack shouted and ran from the room, leaving the two adults behind. Reid gave him a knowing look and Hotch held his gaze until Reid looked away. “Thank you,” Hotch whispered.
Reid stumbled to his feet and set his hands inside his pockets without looking at Hotch. “We all have them,” he said quietly.
“Dad, I want an eggroll,” Jack called from the kitchen. Hotch smiled and headed for the kitchen with Reid trailing behind.
“Say, please, Jack,” Hotch told his son and fetched plates and silverware.
Lunch went similarly to the previous dinner; Jack talked about dinosaurs and asked his father if he could watch Jurassic Park with Reid. When Hotch gave the same answer as Reid, Hotch noticed how Reid sent him a shy smile and again he wondered why Reid didn´t smile like that more often.
Reid helped Hotch clear the table as Jack settled to watch cartoons. As Hotch washed the dishes, Reid dried and shot him looks that Reid thought were discreet, but since there wasn´t anyone else in the room, Hotch felt each and every one of them.
“What is it, Reid?” He finally asked and handed him the last plate.
“Did you know that the parietal lobe in a sleep deprived person is more active than in a person who has had full sleep? It´s compensating for the rest of the brain which actually lessens their function due to unregenerated neurons. But the parietal lobe isn´t designed to perform the tasks that the temporal lobe is supposed to do and that´s why a person who goes without sleep for an extensive period of time will not have the speed or creative abilities to cope with making quick but logical decisions, nor do they have the ability to implement them.” Reid rattled off and set the plate on top of the other two plates, doing anything but looking at him.
“What are you trying to say, Reid?”
Fumbling with the towel between his fingers, Reid gave him a short smile, “That… Ummm… You look tired.”
Hotch chuckled and handed him the glass he´d been washing, “Well, I am.”
“I could stay,” Reid blurted out and accepted the last glass from Hotch, starting to dry it intensely like it was black with dirt instead of wet with water. Hotch watched him and tried to decipher whatever Reid was saying, but --as Reid had pointed out-- he was running on little sleep, had been for the past four days, and he felt every bit of it.
“As you pointed out, my brain isn´t working as fast as usual. What are you implying?”
“I´m not implying anything,” Reid said and finally looked at him, “I´m just saying I could stay and watch Jack while you go and… ummm…” Reid looked away, focusing on folding the dishtowel,”Nap.”
Hotch stared at him. He would give much to be able to crawl into his bed to catch if only a couple of hours of sleep. “I can´t ask you to do that. You got as much sleep as I did.”
“Actually, if I give myself that you went to bed at the same time I did and estimate that Jack woke up at 6:30, the only conclusion I can come up with is that I got roughly one hour and twenty minutes more sleep then you did.”
Chuckling, Hotch closed his eyes to think and he felt the exhaustion run over him. Maybe he should take Reid up on his offer. “Are you sure?”
Reid looked down, set his hands in his pockets and nodded with a smile. “I can regenerate my neurons tomorrow.”
Hotch reached out and set his hand on Reid´s upper arm. Reid didn´t shy away like he usually did when people touched him. Hotch was too tired to figure out what that meant. “Thank you, Reid,” he said quietly.
Reid sent him an unsure smile. Hotch almost, almost, moved his hand to Reid´s jaw, but instead he courteously returned the smile and walked out of the kitchen. He headed for the bedroom, took off his shirt and pants, set his alarm and crawled into the waiting covers with a long sigh.
**
Long fingers wrapped around a red mug, long strong jaw, lips in full smile… laughter, hazel eyes looking knowingly into his from somewhere above him, fingers trailing small circles, weight on his chest, something biting him in the neck. When he looked again, auburn locks had turned into black, blue eyes stared at him, lifeless, while blood trailed from an open wound on her head…
Beep, beep, beep.
Hotch opened his eyes and lay perfectly still. He hadn´t dreamed of Haley for a long time, let alone dreamt her dead. Maybe his subconscious was trying to make him admit the sudden attraction he felt toward his young subordinate. Closing his eyes he tried to get rid of the dream, the thought of Reid on top of him, his long fingers exploring him… Hotch got out of the bed when he felt the twitching ach in his boxers. He hadn´t even thought of being with a man since… college. He ignored his semi-hard on and pulled on sweatpants.
A delightful smell of something cooking hit him when he walked out of his bedroom and he was drawn with the rumble of his stomach to the kitchen. Reid stood stirring a pot on the stove while Jack stood on a chair nearby, stirring something in a bowl.
“Hey,” he said and headed straight for the coffeemaker. Reid had obviously just started a new brew.
“Daddy, I´m making pudding,” Jack announced happily and went back to his task.
“Sounds delicious,” Hotch said and took a sip of his coffee. He looked at Reid and instantly saw how weary the young man was. “You cook?” He asked curiously.
Reid shot him a polite smile over his shoulder, “I hope it´s okay? I found some vegetables that needed to be used or thrown out.” Reid nervously pushed a stray strand of hair behind his ear but it wasn´t obeying and fell right back over his face.
“Reid, that´s more than fine. Thank you, you didn´t have to do that but it smells really good.” Hotch followed a spoon Reid picked up and dug into the pot, watched as Reid carefully blew on it to cool the ingredient down before setting it inside his lips and cleaning it in one swipe. Hotch forced himself to look down into his cup when Reid turned around and cleaned the spoon under the faucet.
“Can I do anything?” Hotch asked and set his cup down.
“Ummm… Set the table, maybe?” Reid sent him one of his unsure looks before returning to the stove.
“Okay, what are we having?”
“Vegetable soup.”
“No, Spencer, it´s Lazy townsoup,” Jack corrected him.
Reid looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Okay, I guess we´re having Lazy townsoup,” he said to Hotch.
Smiling, Hotch found bowls and bread and set the table. When the soup was ready, Hotch ordered Reid to sit down at the table; the man looked ready to collapse but ate quietly. The soup was incredible, “Reid, this is… really good,” Hotch said and had seconds.
“Thank you,” Reid answered shyly. They had Jack´s pudding for desert and Hotch shuddered at their sweet cravings as both Reid and Jack had seconds.
“You,” Hotch pointed as they all leaned back in their chairs, too full to move, “get comfortable on the couch, while Jack and I clean up.”
He watched as Reid half dragged himself to the couch and picked up a book he´d been reading as he settled down. Jack chatted happily with him while he washed the dishes and Hotch let Jack dry.
When they were done, Hotch sent his son to his room to play for a while and went to the living room only to find Reid snoring lightly in his sleep. His head had fallen back and to the side on the couch exposing his long neck, the book lay open in his lap and his fingers held it loosely.
Hotch wasn´t sure if he should wake the man or let him sleep for a few hours. He opted for the latter, carefully taking the book away and setting it on the table before getting a light blanket from his room and draping it over the sleeping form. He stood over Reid for the longest time, his fingers itching to ease back the naughty lock that had fallen on Spencer´s face. And then he did. He held his breath as his hand rose and all to carefully brushed it back, his fingertips lightly caressing the pale skin at Spencer´s temple.
Spencer set out a long sigh and Hotch abruptly pulled his hand away as his breath caught again at the chance of being discovered. But Spencer just turned his head and pushed further into the blanket before settling again. Letting out the breath he´d been holding, Hotch turned around and walked away with one last glance over his shoulder.
At bedtime, Jack was tired. Spencer had kept him occupied all day and Hotch had taken over after dinner, enjoying some time with his son. Jack crawled into Hotch´s bed with a smile when Hotch told him he could sleep with him tonight because Spencer might have to borrow his.
“Does that mean he´ll be here for breakfast?” Jack asked and yawned.
Hotch smiled as he brushed his fingers over blond hair. “We´ll see. Do you like Spencer?”
“Mmmhhhhmmmm,” his son confirmed into the pillow with a nod as his eyes fell close, “Spencer is my best friend.”
Hotch smiled at his son´s declaration. Well, he´d asked and gotten an answer. “Good night, buddy. I love you.”
“Lov´u” Jack breathed out halfway into a dream already.
When Hotch was sure that Jack was fast asleep he hurried into the living room, feeling almost like a thief as he searched Reid´s wintercoat for his keys, but he pushed the feeling aside when his fingers wrapped around them. He knew Reid had driven to his house this morning as he´d noticed the old, light blue Volvo parked nearby. He did a quick trip to Reid´s car and retrieved his go-bag.
Reid had turned on his side, using the armrest as a pillow and had pulled his legs uponto the sofa. Hotch sat on the coffee table and carefully shook his shoulder, “Reid!” he called out softly.
“No,” Spencer mumbled, “Go away, I´m sleeping.”
Hotch grinned and shook him again, “Come on, Spencer, it´s time for bed.”
Spencer frowned and growled as he rubbed his nose before opening his eyes just slightly. Hotch´s grin widened and smiled at the sleepy form.
“What time is it?” Spencer asked as he rose to a sitting position and tamed his hair by pushing it behind his ears.
“Just after nine. Come on, you can take Jack´s bed.”
“Where´s Jack,” Spencer asked as he rose from the couch.
“My bed. I brought in your go-bag,” Hotch said and stood up holding it.
Spencer slowly started to walk toward the room but stopped and turned around to face the older man in the doorway. “It was in my car,” he stated.
“Yeah, I found the keys in your coat, now keep going.” Hotch gave him a small nudge and Reid took a few steps into the room. Hotch set the bag down by an armchair in the room. “Do you need anything?”
Reid shook his head, pulled his sweater-vest over his head and started working on the buttons of his shirt. Hotch swallowed as the pale chest started to appear. He quickly turned around and went to his own bedroom. He grabbed his briefcase after he´d checked on Jack and headed for the kitchen. He took out a stack of case-files that needed reviewing before being returned to JJ and sat down at the table. Minutes later, Spencer emerged from Jack´s room in his boxers and a too big t-shirt, toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, only to shut the bathroom door behind him.
Hotch did the best he could to ignore the bedtime-routine Spencer was doing in his bathroom and focus on the open casefile, pen in hand.
“Good night, Hotch,” Spencer called quietly as he walked down the hall.
“Good night, Spencer,” Hotch said back and focused his attention on a photo, anything to distract him for the other man sleeping in his apartment.
Chapter 4
Author: ice_ziggee
Rating: FRT
Pairing: Hotch/Reid.
Other characters (this chapter): Jack Hotchner.
Beta: holdur I owe you big time, THANK YOU!!!
X-posted at cm_hotch_reid & criminalxminds
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Summary: Hotch asks Reid a favor and Reid surprises him
**
"In helping others,
we shall help ourselves,
for whatever good we give out
completes the circle
and comes back to us."
- Flora Edwards
February 21th, 2010
Saturday, Hotch´s apartment 7:48 am.
“It´s alright, Jessie. You take care of yourself and let me worry about Jack,” Hotch said patiently into the phone and listened to her response.
“No, I´ll find away, don´t worry.” Hotch said with a small smile,” I´ll take care of it. Go back to bed and call me if you need anything.”
Hotch listened patiently as Jessie spoke on the other end of the line.
“Alright,” Hotch hung up. What a screw up. He had an important meeting this morning, a meeting that had been moved from the middle of the week since the team was out in Minneapolis on a case. They´d landed a little after two in the morning the previous night. And now Jessie had the flu. He looked at his son who was sitting in his PJs watching cartoons and eating dry Cheerios. He looked at his cell. Could he really…? Jack still talked about him-- the man who drew money out of Jack´s ears, gave him ice cream and played with dinosaurs and soldiers.
Hitting the speeddial, Hotch made up his mind. If Reid couldn´t do it, he would have to cancel the meeting.
Reid picked up on the fourth ring. “Hello,” his groggy voice said.
“Reid, I´m so sorry for waking you,” Hotch said quietly into the phone.
“It´s all right, do we have a new case?”
“No,” Hotch said and his hand flew to his forehead, rubbing it tiredly.“I was wondering if I could ask you a favor?”
“What is it?” Reid asked and yawned through the phone.
“I have a meeting at nine with four section chiefs and Jessie has the flu. I was hoping you could look after Jack for couple of hours,” Hotch said firmly.
“Umm… Sure.” The surprise was evident in the one word. “I´ll be right there.”
“Thank you, Reid,” Hotch let out a breath he hadn´t known he was holding, then he added for good measure, “He´s been asking about you.” He hung up the phone without giving Reid an opportunity to reply. Reid was going to need coffee when he got here, so Hotch turned around to make a fresh brew.
The knock on the door came 40 minutes later. A very tired looking Reid stood on the other side of the door, his hair wet from a quick shower, wearing kakis and his winter coat along with the bag that followed Reid anywhere.
“Good morning and thank you so much for coming. I know you´re running low on sleep,” Hotch said as he let him inside.
“Good morning,” Spencer mumbled and pulled off his jacket. Hotch froze for a mare second as the need to run his fingers down Spencer´s neck and along the collar-bone that was partly visible, rushed over him. Reid had forfeited the tie and left the top buttons open on the shirt he wore under a bright red knitted vest. “Coffee?” He asked and hurried to hide in the kitchen.
“Yes, please,” Reid sighed and followed him. Reid gave out a soft sigh when he sipped his sweet, precious coffee. The sigh sent a small jolt through Hotch and he briefly closed his eyes as desire followed. Fleeing from the kitchen, Hotch wrote his reaction down to sleep deprivation; he was not interested in… Reid.
Reid was on the couch with Jack when he exited the bedroom, dressed in his jacket and briefcase in hand. Reid was giving his son bewildered looks while Jack snuggled up against Reid´s side. He heard Reid tell Jack to be careful since he was holding a mug full of hot coffee and he didn´t want to spill it all over him.
“I´ll bring home some lunch,” Hotch told them and approached the couch. He bent down and gave Jack a kiss on top of his head where he lay up against Reid, with Reid´s arm around his shoulder. He sensed more than saw how Reid leaned away as far as he could without actually letting go of Jack.
“You be good,” Hotch told his son and stroked his hair. He gave Reid a small smile of gratitude as he pulled away and hurried to catch his meeting
**
Hotch´s apartment, Saturday 11:55 am
God, I´m exhausted. The meeting had been a lot more intense than he´d imagined and had dragged on. He had remembered to bring home food though.
“Guys, I´m home,” he called when he entered. Setting the food on the table, he could hear voices coming from Jack´s room. Pulling off his jacket and tie and unbuttoning the top button, he headed down the hall. He was curious to know how the two interacted with one another and stopped just outside the room. It was a bit low to be eavesdropping but he smiled as he heard his son.
“Will you watch Jurassic Park with me?”
“Maybe in a few years when you´re a bit older,” Reid replied sensibly.
“Why not now?”
“It not really a movie for a five year old. You could get nightmares.”
“Daddy has nightmares.” Hotch froze and his smile fell. “Sometimes I hear him cry,” Jack added. His son should not need to worry about his father. Hotch forced down the need to rush inside and hug his son tight.
“Hotch sometimes sees… ummm… bad things… and that´s why he has nightmares… and that´s why you shouldn´t watch Jurassic Park until you´re older.”
“But it has dinosaurs in it,” Jack whined. Hotch silently congratulated Reid on how easily he swayed away from topics he obviously didn´t want to talk about.
“When Hotch says it´s alright for you to watch it, I´ll watch it with you,” Reid said patiently.
Hotch took that as his cue and walked into the room, “Hey, I brought Chinese. Who´s hungry?”
“Eggrolls,” Jack shouted and ran from the room, leaving the two adults behind. Reid gave him a knowing look and Hotch held his gaze until Reid looked away. “Thank you,” Hotch whispered.
Reid stumbled to his feet and set his hands inside his pockets without looking at Hotch. “We all have them,” he said quietly.
“Dad, I want an eggroll,” Jack called from the kitchen. Hotch smiled and headed for the kitchen with Reid trailing behind.
“Say, please, Jack,” Hotch told his son and fetched plates and silverware.
Lunch went similarly to the previous dinner; Jack talked about dinosaurs and asked his father if he could watch Jurassic Park with Reid. When Hotch gave the same answer as Reid, Hotch noticed how Reid sent him a shy smile and again he wondered why Reid didn´t smile like that more often.
Reid helped Hotch clear the table as Jack settled to watch cartoons. As Hotch washed the dishes, Reid dried and shot him looks that Reid thought were discreet, but since there wasn´t anyone else in the room, Hotch felt each and every one of them.
“What is it, Reid?” He finally asked and handed him the last plate.
“Did you know that the parietal lobe in a sleep deprived person is more active than in a person who has had full sleep? It´s compensating for the rest of the brain which actually lessens their function due to unregenerated neurons. But the parietal lobe isn´t designed to perform the tasks that the temporal lobe is supposed to do and that´s why a person who goes without sleep for an extensive period of time will not have the speed or creative abilities to cope with making quick but logical decisions, nor do they have the ability to implement them.” Reid rattled off and set the plate on top of the other two plates, doing anything but looking at him.
“What are you trying to say, Reid?”
Fumbling with the towel between his fingers, Reid gave him a short smile, “That… Ummm… You look tired.”
Hotch chuckled and handed him the glass he´d been washing, “Well, I am.”
“I could stay,” Reid blurted out and accepted the last glass from Hotch, starting to dry it intensely like it was black with dirt instead of wet with water. Hotch watched him and tried to decipher whatever Reid was saying, but --as Reid had pointed out-- he was running on little sleep, had been for the past four days, and he felt every bit of it.
“As you pointed out, my brain isn´t working as fast as usual. What are you implying?”
“I´m not implying anything,” Reid said and finally looked at him, “I´m just saying I could stay and watch Jack while you go and… ummm…” Reid looked away, focusing on folding the dishtowel,”Nap.”
Hotch stared at him. He would give much to be able to crawl into his bed to catch if only a couple of hours of sleep. “I can´t ask you to do that. You got as much sleep as I did.”
“Actually, if I give myself that you went to bed at the same time I did and estimate that Jack woke up at 6:30, the only conclusion I can come up with is that I got roughly one hour and twenty minutes more sleep then you did.”
Chuckling, Hotch closed his eyes to think and he felt the exhaustion run over him. Maybe he should take Reid up on his offer. “Are you sure?”
Reid looked down, set his hands in his pockets and nodded with a smile. “I can regenerate my neurons tomorrow.”
Hotch reached out and set his hand on Reid´s upper arm. Reid didn´t shy away like he usually did when people touched him. Hotch was too tired to figure out what that meant. “Thank you, Reid,” he said quietly.
Reid sent him an unsure smile. Hotch almost, almost, moved his hand to Reid´s jaw, but instead he courteously returned the smile and walked out of the kitchen. He headed for the bedroom, took off his shirt and pants, set his alarm and crawled into the waiting covers with a long sigh.
**
Long fingers wrapped around a red mug, long strong jaw, lips in full smile… laughter, hazel eyes looking knowingly into his from somewhere above him, fingers trailing small circles, weight on his chest, something biting him in the neck. When he looked again, auburn locks had turned into black, blue eyes stared at him, lifeless, while blood trailed from an open wound on her head…
Beep, beep, beep.
Hotch opened his eyes and lay perfectly still. He hadn´t dreamed of Haley for a long time, let alone dreamt her dead. Maybe his subconscious was trying to make him admit the sudden attraction he felt toward his young subordinate. Closing his eyes he tried to get rid of the dream, the thought of Reid on top of him, his long fingers exploring him… Hotch got out of the bed when he felt the twitching ach in his boxers. He hadn´t even thought of being with a man since… college. He ignored his semi-hard on and pulled on sweatpants.
A delightful smell of something cooking hit him when he walked out of his bedroom and he was drawn with the rumble of his stomach to the kitchen. Reid stood stirring a pot on the stove while Jack stood on a chair nearby, stirring something in a bowl.
“Hey,” he said and headed straight for the coffeemaker. Reid had obviously just started a new brew.
“Daddy, I´m making pudding,” Jack announced happily and went back to his task.
“Sounds delicious,” Hotch said and took a sip of his coffee. He looked at Reid and instantly saw how weary the young man was. “You cook?” He asked curiously.
Reid shot him a polite smile over his shoulder, “I hope it´s okay? I found some vegetables that needed to be used or thrown out.” Reid nervously pushed a stray strand of hair behind his ear but it wasn´t obeying and fell right back over his face.
“Reid, that´s more than fine. Thank you, you didn´t have to do that but it smells really good.” Hotch followed a spoon Reid picked up and dug into the pot, watched as Reid carefully blew on it to cool the ingredient down before setting it inside his lips and cleaning it in one swipe. Hotch forced himself to look down into his cup when Reid turned around and cleaned the spoon under the faucet.
“Can I do anything?” Hotch asked and set his cup down.
“Ummm… Set the table, maybe?” Reid sent him one of his unsure looks before returning to the stove.
“Okay, what are we having?”
“Vegetable soup.”
“No, Spencer, it´s Lazy townsoup,” Jack corrected him.
Reid looked at him with raised eyebrows, “Okay, I guess we´re having Lazy townsoup,” he said to Hotch.
Smiling, Hotch found bowls and bread and set the table. When the soup was ready, Hotch ordered Reid to sit down at the table; the man looked ready to collapse but ate quietly. The soup was incredible, “Reid, this is… really good,” Hotch said and had seconds.
“Thank you,” Reid answered shyly. They had Jack´s pudding for desert and Hotch shuddered at their sweet cravings as both Reid and Jack had seconds.
“You,” Hotch pointed as they all leaned back in their chairs, too full to move, “get comfortable on the couch, while Jack and I clean up.”
He watched as Reid half dragged himself to the couch and picked up a book he´d been reading as he settled down. Jack chatted happily with him while he washed the dishes and Hotch let Jack dry.
When they were done, Hotch sent his son to his room to play for a while and went to the living room only to find Reid snoring lightly in his sleep. His head had fallen back and to the side on the couch exposing his long neck, the book lay open in his lap and his fingers held it loosely.
Hotch wasn´t sure if he should wake the man or let him sleep for a few hours. He opted for the latter, carefully taking the book away and setting it on the table before getting a light blanket from his room and draping it over the sleeping form. He stood over Reid for the longest time, his fingers itching to ease back the naughty lock that had fallen on Spencer´s face. And then he did. He held his breath as his hand rose and all to carefully brushed it back, his fingertips lightly caressing the pale skin at Spencer´s temple.
Spencer set out a long sigh and Hotch abruptly pulled his hand away as his breath caught again at the chance of being discovered. But Spencer just turned his head and pushed further into the blanket before settling again. Letting out the breath he´d been holding, Hotch turned around and walked away with one last glance over his shoulder.
At bedtime, Jack was tired. Spencer had kept him occupied all day and Hotch had taken over after dinner, enjoying some time with his son. Jack crawled into Hotch´s bed with a smile when Hotch told him he could sleep with him tonight because Spencer might have to borrow his.
“Does that mean he´ll be here for breakfast?” Jack asked and yawned.
Hotch smiled as he brushed his fingers over blond hair. “We´ll see. Do you like Spencer?”
“Mmmhhhhmmmm,” his son confirmed into the pillow with a nod as his eyes fell close, “Spencer is my best friend.”
Hotch smiled at his son´s declaration. Well, he´d asked and gotten an answer. “Good night, buddy. I love you.”
“Lov´u” Jack breathed out halfway into a dream already.
When Hotch was sure that Jack was fast asleep he hurried into the living room, feeling almost like a thief as he searched Reid´s wintercoat for his keys, but he pushed the feeling aside when his fingers wrapped around them. He knew Reid had driven to his house this morning as he´d noticed the old, light blue Volvo parked nearby. He did a quick trip to Reid´s car and retrieved his go-bag.
Reid had turned on his side, using the armrest as a pillow and had pulled his legs uponto the sofa. Hotch sat on the coffee table and carefully shook his shoulder, “Reid!” he called out softly.
“No,” Spencer mumbled, “Go away, I´m sleeping.”
Hotch grinned and shook him again, “Come on, Spencer, it´s time for bed.”
Spencer frowned and growled as he rubbed his nose before opening his eyes just slightly. Hotch´s grin widened and smiled at the sleepy form.
“What time is it?” Spencer asked as he rose to a sitting position and tamed his hair by pushing it behind his ears.
“Just after nine. Come on, you can take Jack´s bed.”
“Where´s Jack,” Spencer asked as he rose from the couch.
“My bed. I brought in your go-bag,” Hotch said and stood up holding it.
Spencer slowly started to walk toward the room but stopped and turned around to face the older man in the doorway. “It was in my car,” he stated.
“Yeah, I found the keys in your coat, now keep going.” Hotch gave him a small nudge and Reid took a few steps into the room. Hotch set the bag down by an armchair in the room. “Do you need anything?”
Reid shook his head, pulled his sweater-vest over his head and started working on the buttons of his shirt. Hotch swallowed as the pale chest started to appear. He quickly turned around and went to his own bedroom. He grabbed his briefcase after he´d checked on Jack and headed for the kitchen. He took out a stack of case-files that needed reviewing before being returned to JJ and sat down at the table. Minutes later, Spencer emerged from Jack´s room in his boxers and a too big t-shirt, toothbrush and toothpaste in hand, only to shut the bathroom door behind him.
Hotch did the best he could to ignore the bedtime-routine Spencer was doing in his bathroom and focus on the open casefile, pen in hand.
“Good night, Hotch,” Spencer called quietly as he walked down the hall.
“Good night, Spencer,” Hotch said back and focused his attention on a photo, anything to distract him for the other man sleeping in his apartment.
Chapter 4