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Aaron doesn’t remember how to date . He’d been married and then single for so long that it kinda left him, and he and Haley stopped “dating” after they got married and Aaron got the job at the BAU, so… Aaron wasn’t much of the type of man who dated .
And shockingly, Spencer was fine with that. The first week was definitely a honeymoon type of week. Spencer spent more time in Aaron’s office. He snuck a cheeky kiss every so often when he could get away with it, Spencer brought him his coffee and lunch, and Spencer stayed late with him after everyone else left.
But something tugged at Aaron’s heart every time he recognized Spencer doing all of these things for him, and Aaron felt like he was doing nothing in return. Spencer didn’t have an office he could visit to steal a kiss, bringing him coffee would raise eyebrows from the team and they agreed to keep everything to themselves for now, Spencer always got lunch for everyone since he knew everyone’s orders to perfection. And now he’s keeping Spencer late in the office.
Overall, he kinda felt like a shitty partner. Well, maybe partner was a strong word, they haven’t figured everything out yet.
“I can hear your wheels turning, and it’s not that paperwork,” Spencer said, getting Aaron to look up at him. Spencer was staying late again.
“I’m fine,” Aaron said, soft but a clear lie as he looked back at the paper he’d been staring at for way too long.
“I thought you’d figure out you can’t really lie to me by now,” Spencer sighed. “Not about things like this, anyway. What’s wrong?”
Aaron sighed, “I don’t know what I’m doing,” he admitted.
“Paperwork?” Spencer asked.
“No, c’mon Spence,” Aaron sighed, and Spencer smiled softly in understanding.
“Aaron, whatever it is you're doubting yourself for when it comes to us, stop. Everything between us right now is fine,” Spencer promised.
“It doesn’t feel fine. It feels like you’re doing all of these things for me that I can’t return back to you,” Aaron admitted.
“You do realize I take advantage of the fact that you have your own office space,” Spencer asked, sitting up more. “And with my sensory issues now more open and prominent to the team, I’ve got a perfect excuse. You don’t really have that luxury. I’m not upset about that, I like having this.”
“But how can I show you… just how appreciative I am for it? It’s like- you’re doing all of this and I’m not doing anything,” Aaron mumbled.
“Yeah you are,” Spencer disagreed. “You’re driving me home, you’re sharing breakfast with me, you’re letting me and Jack have more time together, I’m at your place more often, you take care of Galaxy when I’m having bad days. Aaron- just because we’re… more involved doesn’t mean everything has changed. I think you’re just more aware of it all now.”
“What’d you mean?” Aaron asked.
“I mean, think about it…” Spencer started, “I’ve always brought you lunch and coffee. Granted, I never really stole a kiss from you before when we had the chance, but… I lingered in here when dropping off case files when we first started becoming… good friends. Really the only thing that's changed is I’m staying later and I’m stealing kisses.”
“I guess,” Aaron mumbled, clicking his pen a couple of times. “I just… I don’t know. I honestly don’t even know what this is. I enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. I- hell, I’m enjoying every second. But we haven’t really talked about it.”
“Mm,” Spencer hummed in agreement. “Well, I think it’s safe to assume it’s a relationship… right?”
“Are you ready for that?” Aaron asked.
“Are you?” Spencer whispered.
Aaron sighed, leaning back in his chair. “I don’t know,” he admitted softly. “There are so many factors, with work and Jack and life– I don’t- I don’t even remember how to date anyone, I’d been married and then single for so long… I-” he sighed,
“Aaron, you don’t have to be ready,” Spencer said, standing and walking over to Aaron’s desk and sitting down on the edge of it. “If I’m doing something-”
“You’re not, and that’s another thing,” Aaron gently cut him off. “What you’re doing is amazing, and I’m loving every second of it even if I can’t figure out how to return it. It’s just…”
“Is it a title you’re scared of?” Spencer asked, and Aaron furrowed his eyebrows. “Think about it, if we kept doing what we’re doing, everything involved from spending nights together, stealing kisses, all of it. If we continue doing all of that without a title of partners or being ‘in a relationship’ would that lift some anxieties off your chest?”
“But, then what is it?” Aaron asked. “It’s not friendship.”
“It doesn’t have to be anything. It can just be… us ,” Spencer whispered, leaning down and pressing a feather-light kiss to Aaron’s lips. “We don’t need to worry about titles yet, especially not when nobody knows. We can figure us out, that’s the point of not telling anyone. There’s no pressure.”
“Isn’t there? Spencer– I want to be good enough for you,” Aaron whispered.
“And you are,” Spencer promised. “You just have a different love language than I do, and that’s completely fine and reasonable. Trust me, you’re doing everything right. Now c’mon, let’s get you home.”
Aaron stared at him for a second, before sighing softly and closing his files, setting them in a stack to be dealt with the next day as Spencer stood, handing him his bag with a small smile and then leading him out of the office.
-7-
“I don’t know what I’m missing!” Spencer said, digging his hand through his hair as his eyes darted back and forth from the poster to the map to the victims. “There’s literally nothing here. Nothing between victims, nothing in any of the areas, he’s scattered-”
“He’s disorganized,” Derek offered.
“He’s more than just disorganized!” Spencer snapped, glancing at Derek. “He’s erratic and I don’t understand it.”
“Maybe we need to widen the area? I’ll call Garcia, there’s a chance a guy like this crossed state lines,” Rossi said, grabbing his phone.
“Then why return to this town, this state in particular,” Spencer grumbled, digging his nails against his scalp in frustration.
“Let’s talk about what we do know,” JJ offered, trying to calm Spencer down as Aaron walked in, as if able to sense Spencer’s stress. “He’s stabbing, but not killing our victims. Most likely a sexual sadist,” she offered.
“He’s strangling them, so he’s feeling them die. Could be personal,” Derek added, looking at each of the case files.
“There’s nothing connecting the victims. Not a neighborhood, not a hair color or type, not even skin color seems to matter, nothing matters when it comes to the victim,” Spencer huffed, staring at each one of them.
“Which means the killing aspect is more important, not who he’s killing,” Prentiss said, looking at each one of them before looking back at the file.
“But there’s not a target area, so… how does he choose his victims?” Derek asked.
“We got the MD reports on each of the victims back,” Aaron said, holding out the files for Spencer to immediately grab, reading through them. Aaron sighed, watching Spencer read, eyebrows pressing together with Spencer paused, and then had to reread a previous page.
“Wait,” Spencer mumbled, stepping over to the board.
“What?” Derek asked, “What is it?” He looked at Aaron, who shrugged.
“The connection,” Spencer mumbled. “It’s blood type. He’s going after people with type AB.”
“Why didn’t the MD tell us they all had the same blood type?” JJ asked.
“Probably didn’t notice,” Derek offered, “So, we’re probably looking for someone in the medical field?”
“None of these murders tell us anything about someone who works in the medical field, though,” Prentiss said.
“Maybe he’s dying,” Aaron offered, and Spencer glanced at him. “Rossi, get Garcia back on the phone and see if any of the victims were donors, blood donors specifically. He may be getting transfusions, and if he’s delusional enough, he may believe that the perfect blood will cure him of everything, and when it does–”
“He somehow finds the original donors and kills them?” JJ finished, and Aaron glanced at her momentarily giving her a short nod of acknowledgment.
“Reid,” He said, catching the genius’ attention to follow him. Reid did so without a single word, leaving the team to connect more dots as the two went outside, stepping away from windows where they could be watched from prying eyes.
“Hotch-” Spencer started.
“What’s going on?” Aaron said, the dominating boss tone in his voice dropping and softening into the real Aaron tone Spencer was used to.
“I got a call from my mother’s doctor, and I wanted to go see her after the case,” Spencer admitted softly. “I didn’t think this case would take more than three days, and we’re already on the third, we’ve had four more victims, we were not any closer to finding this guy. I’m getting my migraines back, I don’t know what I’m doing -”
“Yes you do,” Aaron whispered. “You know what you’re doing, but you’re letting external factors cloud your judgment. A migraine, your mother, all of that– I understand you getting frustrated. You have every right to be, but I just need you to breathe, Spencer. If you need a second, go to the bathroom and take a second.”
“I need to find this guy,” Spencer whispered.
“So let's do just that,” Aaron whispered, gently cupping Spencer's face and risking a small kiss, causing Spencer to inhale sharply. “Stay with us a little longer, okay?”
Spencer nodded before walking with Aaron back inside.
-7-
119.
120.
121.
123.
The door creaked open, alerting Spencer that Aaron is home. Spencer flipped the page.
124
125
Halfway through 126
“You’re still awake,” Aaron’s voice was soft, and Spencer looked up at him, Aaron standing behind the couch after setting his work bag down.
“I haven’t been for long,” Spencer responded, looking down at the mop of hair on his chest connected to the young boy. “Jack had a nightmare, woke me up. So I let him lay on me and helped him get back to sleep. I just started reading this to either wait for you or fall back asleep again.”
“Do you want me to take him upstairs?” Aaron asked, and Spencer hummed a bit, looking down at the boy before shaking his head.
“Not yet,” he whispered and Aaron smiled knowingly.
“How’s your mom?” Aaron asked, stepping around the couch and sitting on the ground next to Spencer’s head so they could talk quietly.
“Still breathing,” Spencer hummed. “And she’s… she definitely is decreasing mentally, but she still knows who I am, so to me, that’s a win. The schizophrenia is worsening, but… she’s being a trooper about it.”
“That’s good,” Aaron said softly, taking Spencer’s hand. “She’s still here with us.”
Spencer smiled at him with a small nod, thumb rubbing against Aaron’s hand. “Thank you,” He whispered.
“For what?” Aaron questioned, eyebrows pressed together in confusion.
“Helping me through that last case,” Spencer said, looking at their hands. “I felt like I was… going insane because I couldn’t see the usual connections.”
“It was an unusual case,” Aaron whispered, and Spencer nodded as Aaron continued, “and you were stressed, exhausted, and in pain. You had every right to be upset.”
“Doesn’t make it any less unprofessional,” Spencer whispered, and Aaron sighed with a small head shake.
“Maybe not, but we’re humans, and humans have breaking points,” Aaron said. “Are you still planning on staying the night?”
“If you’d like me to,” Spencer said, and Aaron smiled, stealing a small kiss.
“I’d like that very much,” Aaron whispered, before lifting his son off Spencer's chest to carry him back into his own room.
-7-
“You’re thinking too much,” Spencer said, on the bed, crawling on his knees up behind Aaron as the older man took his shoes off, wrapping his arms around his sturdy frame.
“How can I not? You almost got shot,” Aaron grumbled.
“He missed by like a yard,” Spencer scoffed, “It was closer to Morgan.”
“It really wasn’t,” Aaron mumbled, slipping off his blazer, his head leaning back against Spencer’s shoulders.
“I think you just need to relax a bit,” Spencer whispered. “You’re always so tense, I don’t think a bone in your body knows the definition of ‘chilling out’.”
“How can it? What with you always throwing yourself into danger?” Aaron asked.
“What? You mean doing my job?” Spencer asked with a soft chuckle, and Aaron smiled at him, it was nothing less than soft, but it made Spencer’s heart melt. “For such a stoic man, you’ve got such a pretty smile.”
“Now you’re just trying to get me flustered,” Aaron accused, even with the small pink that dusted on his cheeks.
“Would that really be so bad?” Spencer whispered, leaning down to kiss him ever so softly. Aaron returned it, angled awkwardly since Spencer was leaning over his shoulder.
But somehow that shifted to Aaron being flat on his back and Spencer laying overtop of him. Their soft, lazy kiss heated up into someone more passionate, and Aaron was gripping onto Spencer’s hips like a lifeline.
When they pulled apart, Spencer chuckled softly in the space between them. “Feel better?”
“Mm,” Aaron hummed, leaning up to kiss him once again.
-7-
“I’m not going to argue with you, Aaron, we’ve talked about this,” Spencer said, setting his bag down as walking into the kitchen to start on Galaxy’s dinner.
“I’m not trying to argue!” Aaron said, setting his bag next to Spencer’s.
“Then what’s this about?” Spencer asked. “You told me you weren’t ready for labels!”
“I know! But- he-“ Aaron stumbled. “He was trying to sleep with you, and he didn’t back off the first time- for one-“
“So what?!” Spencer asked, crossing his arms as he stared at the older man. “What? You don’t trust me to say no to people? Which, by the way, I did do, repeatedly!”
“You didn’t even try to get him off your back at first!” Aaron reasoned.
“Aaron, I don’t know if you realize this in the years that you’ve known me, I don’t pick up on shit like that instantly!” Spencer said. “I’m sorry , okay? I didn’t realize he was trying to sleep with me at first, but it’s not like I was encouraging it! I told him no thank you! I didn’t realize that I should’ve lied and-“
“And what, Spencer?” Aaron challenged. Spencer paused, thinking for a moment.
“What would’ve you liked me to tell him? That I have a partner? Because that- that puts a label on us. The thing you said you weren’t ready for,” Spencer said, softening his tone.
Aaron fell silent for a moment, and Spencer looked down at Galaxy’s food bowl, thinking. “Aaron, if there’s a doubt in your mind that I’m committed to you, with or without a label, then you need to tell me that now.”
“No, I’m not worried about that,” Aaron whispered.
“Then why are you angry with me?” Spencer asked, looking over at him.
“I’m not-“ Aaron sighed. “It’s not with or at you, it’s just… you’re right, you don’t always pick up on stuff, and I forgot about that. You were very chatty and open and— I got so used to you just being with me and mine that… my judgment got clouded. I’m sorry-“
Spencer sighed, pulling Aaron in by his suit blazer and kissing him softly to shut him up. “Aaron,” He whispered when he pulled away. “If there’s one thing I promise you, is that I’m always going to be yours, and yours alone. With or without a title, like I said, I don’t need that. I just need you.”
Aaron stared at him, and he slowly started to smile. “And all I need is you.”