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"You always snatch the blanket, I wake up feeling cold and you're always the reason for it" Hotch grumbled, taking a sip from his drink.
"That's not true, I use the amount of blanket I need. The fact that I need to make a cocoon to sleep comfortably is a separate issue" Spencer countered, snickering. "Hey, at least I don't snore or move too much" he defended, when Hotch's annoyed glare intensified.
"You guys sound like you're married" Jack interjected, much to the surprise of everyone on the team, who had been too confused by the sudden conversation to form any real words.
"Will you drop it please?" Aaron sighed, rubbing his face.
"You're a disaster. Both of you" the teen rebutted, pointing at both his father and Spencer.
"What's going on?" Penelope whispered to Derek, the latter shrugging, still watching the three with interest.
"Really?" Jack cocked an eyebrow. "Hey, I understand Penny, she's not a profiler, but the rest of you?" he asked, eyes widening at the team's sheepish look.
"They're very confusing" David tried, as Jack groaned.
"If that's the best profiling you can give me, I have to ask how you get any work done at the BAU" he stated, getting up from the couch to grab a pack of chips from the kitchen.
"I'm still lost" JJ murmured, looking between the three people.
"He's a teenager-" Spencer tried.
"And you're too much of a dumbass to be a genius. Are you trying to keep your relationship a secret, or are the two of you that dense?" Jack cut him off.
"We're not in a relationship" Aaron pointed out, looking genuinely confused.
"They're close, but that doesn't mean anything" Derek readily agreed.
"Okay" Jack deadpanned, crossing his arms. "Can you recount their interactions in the past 6 or so months?" he asked, looking at the group.
[6 months earlier]
"Good morning!" Spencer greeted, walking inside of the bullpen.
"Morning, we were about to file a missing person's report" David smiled, turning to Hotch for the last part.
"Yeah, how come you're walking in at 10 in the morning?" Derek added, watching his boss with a curious expression.
"Spencer needed a ride" Hotch supplied, too busy looking at something on his phone to elaborate.
"It's my fault" Spencer quipped, opening a folder. "I had a doctor's appointment, my car has been having issues, and I couldn't bear the thought of public transport. Thankfully, Hotch lives close to me, so he swooped in and saved me" he explained.
"Using your boss as a chauffeur. I like it" Emily nodded solemnly, grinning at Hotch when the man looked up from his phone to give her an annoyed glare.
"What's the word?" David nodded towards the phone.
"Could be a case, I'm waiting for confirmation" Hotch replied.
40 or so minutes later, Aaron came out of his office, calling his team to attention. They barely had the time to board the jet, when they began talking talking about the case.
Which, as it would stand, ended up being a pain in the ass.
"He is evading us like a pro" Emily groaned, looking between the case files and the board.
"We checked everyone in the precinct though, no one seems to fit the profile of the Unsub" Derek rebutted.
"This might help" JJ's voice came from the door, the blonde proudly holding up a bag, as Spencer held another one.
"Oh, this is good" Emily cheered, looking inside the one JJ had, mouth salivating at the array of pastries.
"Coffee is delicious too" Spencer agreed, setting his bag on the table next to the other, rummaging through it. He pulled out two cups, handing one to Aaron. "Looks like you need it" he smiled.
"Thank you" Aaron nodded, picking up the offer, offering the genius a faint yet warm smile of his own.
"Wait" Aaron spoke up after a while. "The detail that looked off, everyone checking out here at the precinct- What if it's a wife?"
[Present day]
"I'm not convinced" Derek shook his head.
"I am a sucker for small acts of service, but it feels like a reach" Penelope agreed.
"Hey, the kid told us to look back, that's what I did" Emily shrugged.
"Anything else?" Jack asked, chewing on his chips.
[4 months earlier]
"It's nice we can enjoy an actual breakfast, every once in a while" Derek yawned, leaning back against the wall.
"Despite having slept only 4 hours, yeah" Emily blinked slowly, joining him in standing against the wall, clearly still half asleep.
"I'm just glad the hotel has amazing reviews for its breakfast, less money we have to spend" David shrugged, knocking on the bedroom door, as JJ rubbed her face, too tired to make conversation.
"Please, guys, don't look so alive. We're on a case after all" Aaron voiced opening the door, the man still in his pajamas, seemingly unfazed by the lack of sleep.
"Why aren't you dead? We slept 4 hours" Spencer grumbled from behind him, rubbing his eye as he sat up in bed.
"Did you guys just wake up?" JJ mumbled, staring at the two.
"I was about to get in the shower, actually. We said we'd meet at 6.30 for breakfast, it's barely 6" Aaron shrugged, leaning against the doorframe.
"Why are you wearing a Caltech shirt?" Derek suddenly asked, narrowing his eyes slightly.
"Caltech?" Aaron sounded confused, looking down and grabbing the shirt he was wearing to get a better look. "I must have confused the bags" he mumbled, the confusion not diminishing.
"How does that even fit you?" Emily asked.
"I had to get a bigger size, my own was finished" Spencer called out, plopping back down on the bed. "We should really find a way to differentiate the bags" he added, closing his eyes.
"Think about that while you get dressed" the Unit Chief told him, glazing at him before turning back to the group. "I'll get in that shower now, see you soon" he nodded, JJ waving her hand lazily as he closed the door.
[Present day]
"Oh, come on, that's unfair" Emily protested. "Aaron didn't look flustered, guilty, or any way you'd look if you were caught sleeping with your subordinate" she continued.
"Besides, our room was next to theirs that time. Hotel room walls are really thin, and we didn't hear anything" JJ added.
"Right" Jack deadpanned.
"To be fair with you, Pretty Boy is a bit too possessive of his belongings, and he didn't seem fazed by Hotch wearing his clothes" Derek pointed out.
"I had just woken up, I barely registered what anyone had just said" the genius rebutted.
"You were unwilling to share your scarf with me a few months back, and we were running on fumes. Hell, you were falling asleep while standing" JJ pointed out
"This is ridiculous, you know that right?" Spencer ignored her, turning to the teen.
"What's ridiculous is negating the evidence" Jack rebutted, eyeing him. "Anything else?" he turned back to the group.
[3 months earlier]
"One of the people I was looking for!" Emily cheered, as soon as she spotted Penelope. "Drinks tonight?" she asked.
"How could I ever say no to you?" the analyst chirped with a big smile. "Where's Spence?" she then asked, looking around the bullpen.
"Pretty Boy's been in the boss' office for the past two hours" Derek supplied, turning around to look into the windows.
They watched the two man talking to one another, Aaron looking more relaxed than they had ever seen him, holding a smile on his face as the two conversed.
"Doing what?" Penelope asked, watching the display with curiosity.
"He's been helping him with budget reports, at least he can get through them faster" JJ replied, clearly trying to decipher what they were talking about.
"Think they'll make it tonight?" the analyst asked.
"We can definitely bully both of them into saying yes" David grinned, walking towards the office.
[Present day]
"Seriously?" Aaron asked, looking with annoyance at his kid. "Because he helps me with paperwork?" he asked again, Jack shrugging without saying a word.
"You do call him in your office a lot" David pointed out. "And most of the time the two of you are in there just talking, including when I barged in your office to get you guys to hang out with us" he added.
"The fact that I have conversations is suspicious?" Aaron turned to him, raising an eyebrow in question.
[2 months earlier]
"Since when do you eat take-out?" Emily asked, staring at Derek's food with curiosity.
"I did have my lunch for the day, but I forgot it home. It was between this, or going hungry" the latter replied, taking a bite of his burger.
"You couldn't pick something healthier?" Emily insisted.
"I'm not about to spend 20 bucks for a salad, that's insane" Derek rebutted, Emily bursting into laughter, JJ joining in.
They all stopped when they heard the elevator reach their floor, Aaron and Spencer emerging, the former speaking about something.
"You guys already had lunch?" JJ asked them, interrupting their conversation.
"Yeah, I had a meeting and Spencer was on my same floor consulting another unit, figured we'd just go together" Aaron nodded, keeping a barely noticeable smile on his face.
"He's almost got me convinced to play Resident Evil" Spencer added with a bigger smile.
"You have to" the Unit Chief readily agreed, the genius cringing slightly.
"I suck way too much at videogames, Hotch. Remember Friday?" he asked, giving him a look.
"What happened Friday?" Emily asked, trying to keep her tone light.
"I went over to his place to help Jack with a project, ended up staying for dinner, and Jack loves videogames. I gave it a good try, but it's really not my area" Spencer explained.
"That's because you've never played them" Aaron insisted with a chuckle.
"I never took you for the guy who loves playing videogames" Derek pointed out.
"I dabbled mostly, Jack being passionate about them did wake up a certain interest in me" the Unit Chief shrugged.
"That's a lie, he's a nerd" Spencer snickered, glancing at him.
"Only for Resident Evil" Aaron quickly corrected, looking a bit flustered at the reveal.
"He loves horror games and shootouts, he's constantly showing off to his own kid" the genius turned to the team.
"I'm making sure he'll always strive to be more" the Unit Chief chuckled.
"Just two weeks ago you were unable to actually finish Hollow Knight. Jack had to come and save you" Spencer smirked.
"Okay, one game I don't excel at" Aaron groaned, Spencer laughing at his reaction.
[Present day]
"We were making conversation" Aaron defended.
"I mean, he does know a bit about you. Probably more than I do" David pointed out, now comfortably leaning against Aaron's couch.
"Not really" the Unit Chief replied.
[1 month earlier]
They had been tense since they got the case. Not one of them could find the willingness to crack even a small joke, the jet ride had been entirely business talk, and after that they focused every ounce of energy on the case.
A little boy needed their help. They had no idea where he was, but the videos that had been posted of him…
And Aaron had been all nerves since the start. He was clearly trying not to be snappy, knew his team had taken the case to heart much like he did, but the team could see that something was boiling under the surface.
He gave shorter answers than usual, his shoulders were tight, he had excused himself to the bathroom multiple times, and now he had stormed outside, leaving the team confused and worried for him.
"I got this" Spencer murmured, placing down the marker he was using and walking towards the direction Aaron had walked to, moving before even David could think of doing.
They had turned to the Italian, their eyes asking questions, but even he didn't know what to say. They weren't sure if Aaron was taking the case so personal due to having a son, or if something darker was the explanation.
What they knew is that, about half an hour later, the two men came back. Aaron's face was unreadable as usual, but the team could see his eyes being redder than usual.
And yet, he seemed to be doing slightly better than before, sitting down right next to Spencer.
"I think I know what's going on" he spoke up, voice hoarser than they had ever heard.
[Present day]
"Wait, what happened then?" Jack asked, tilting his head slightly as he looked at his father with worry.
"It's not a big deal" Aaron replied a bit too quickly, his tone indicating he clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"Other than that being obvious bullshit, it's clear he does know more about you that any of us" David pointed out.
"That's not indicative of anything" Aaron rebutted.
"I mean, I can see it" Emily was the first to speak.
"I didn't really pay much attention while it was happening, but now that we've put all the evidence next to each other…" JJ let her voice trail off, glancing at the two with a smirk.
"I can't tell whether I'm rooting for the couple or not" Derek stated, staring into nothingness.
"Don't be a baby, they'd be so cute together!" Penelope loudly protested, quickly covering her mouth and gazing at Aaron as soon as the words came out of her mouth.
"Seriously guys?" Spencer sighed, looking between each member of his team.
"Dare I remind you guys that this whole conversation started from a conversation about everyone's spouses?" Jack interjected.
"Where do you get off talking about relationships?" Aaron turned to his son, appalled.
"My boyfriend, and the fact that Spencer has been basically living at our place for the past month and a half or so. And that's without mentioning that for the past six months he's been having dinner with us no less than two times a week" the teen gave his father a tight lipped smile.
"Couldn't you have started with giving us that information?" Emily's head snapped towards the teen.
"You guys should have figured it out by now on your own" Jack replied with something akin to annoyance.
"You're cruel kid, you know that right?" Penelope commented.
"Fake news, Pen. I am a fucking delight" Jack's smile widened, although it looked more unnerving than anything else.
"Hold on, you guys look genuinely surprised by the information" David turned their attention back to Aaron and Spencer.
"Well, I-" the Unit Chief stammered, glancing at the other.
"I mean, I kind of just settled into a new routine" the genius gave in lieu of an answer. "It does make sense, though" he added in a lower tone.
"Hey, I have seen my father more relaxed than ever lately" Jack gave a light shrug, giving the genius a genuine smile.
"What now?" JJ asked the group.
"Did you guys seriously not realize you liked each other?" Jack asked, genuinely appalled.
"Come to think of it you're often paired together, share rooms more often than anyone else" Derek began listing.
"You seem to be on the same wavelength when you talk" David added.
"I guess we have some things in common" Aaron offered, mumbling his words.
"I can't say I haven't appreciated the past month and a half" Spencer nodded.
"Please get together, I'd be so happy" Jack instantly quipped.
"You'd really be okay with that?" Aaron turned to his kid.
"You kidding me? I love Spencer" the teen replied.
"You'd be okay with me dating a guy?" the Unit Chief asked again.
"Do I seriously have to remind you that your son is gay?" Jack asked with sarcasm, although his gaze was softer than it had been all night.
"I know I'd be happy to make it official. It's not like it would change how we've been acting around each other" Spencer nudged Aaron's arm softly.
"Yeah, I know that" the older man looked down at his hands, biting his lip.
"As long as you're happy, I don't think anyone cares who you end up with" Emily said lightly.
"What she said" David nodded.
"It's true you've been looking better lately" Derek added.
“And you would seriously be so cute together” Penelope bounced on her seat, with JJ nodding enthusiastically at that.
Aaron glanced at his team, then his son, then Spencer, his hands fidgeting.
"Spend the night and let's talk about this?" he meekly asked the genius.
"I'd like that" he nodded, smiling warmly at his boss.
"This calls for a celebratory drink" Jack grinned, turning back to the kitchen.
"You're 16" Aaron protested, snapping back to reality when he saw his son grab the glasses, and his very expensive whiskey.
"I have just witnessed love happening, exceptions can be made" the teen pointed out, pouring everyone a glass, as Aaron reluctantly agreed.
"Holy shit, this still tastes like gasoline" Jack coughed, the adults laughing at his reaction.
"Who would have thought" Aaron commented, smiling at him, as he intertwined his hand with Spencer's, blushing lightly when everyone cheered the move.