Work Text:
It is a tricky case. The CIA and the BAU are forced into a joint operation, and Reid meets Casey through Hotch’s characteristically brief introduction.
Chuck is taken by an unknown party while on a mission, completely off the grid. As luck would have it, the BAU happens to be in Los Angeles investigating a serial killer. After exchanging intel, the CIA is horrified to realize that their classified intelligence database has been snatched by a serial murderer.
"He was posing as a gay man at a gay bar; our target frequents the place," Casey shares the intel with the BAU. "My partner thought the guy hitting on him was the target. He wasn't. By the time we moved in, it was too late. His tracking watch was smashed on the ground, and his comms went dead."
"If the unsub finds the comms, he might suspect he's being watched by authorities, which will accelerate his timeline," Hotch concludes.
Reid seamlessly picks up the thread, "But the unsub’s MO relies on simultaneously kidnapping two brunette gay men—one in a relationship, one single. He then uses various methods to torture the victims, or forces them to torture each other for three days, before finally killing them to satisfy his revenge fantasy. He just dumped a body three days ago, and none of the missing persons reported over the past three days fit his victimology. That means he hasn't found his second ideal target yet. We still have time."
Casey holds no particular prejudice against behavioral profiling, but with Chuck’s life on the line, they can't afford to let the FBI investigate every detail at their usual pace. He glances at Reid and speaks up, "So the fastest way to get close to the unsub is an undercover op?"
CIA efficiency. Reid blinks, slightly taken aback. Even though he has considered the possibility of going undercover himself, this is the first time he's been assigned to it by someone outside his own team. He opens his mouth to say something, but Casey cuts him off.
"My partner was operating solo, so he fits your 'single' criteria. Next is the one in a relationship. I’ve seen the unsub's profile, and I've heard his voice over the comms. I'll play the boyfriend and go in with you."
The logic is sound, the parameters fit, and Casey looks like he has the combat capability of two Morgans combined, so Reid's safety naturally isn't a concern. Plus, given Chuck's sheer importance, the FBI raises no objections. Before he knows it, Reid is being led into a bar with Casey's arm wrapped firmly around his waist.
This undercover gig is a disaster.
Reid is boxed against Casey's chest from behind, the size difference leaving him almost entirely enveloped in Casey's shadow. Casey leans down to murmur intel into his ear, and his stubble brushes against Reid’s sensitive neck, eliciting a soft, involuntary hum from Reid as he instinctively shrinks back into the man's embrace.
The kid can’t actually be gay, can he? Casey mutters inwardly, maintaining a perfectly convincing, gentle smile for the crowd.
"Uh... C-Casey," Reid starts, looking remarkably like a harmless little animal as he tilts his head up to meet Casey’s blue eyes, his gaze darting around erratically. "The previous victims were deeply affectionate with their partners. I mean, intimate... um..."
"What are you trying to say?" Casey asks.
Reid stammers, "To fit the target profile, you kiss... it would be best if you and I, uh, kissed."
The man behind him falls silent. Reid doesn't dare look at him, simply adding in a quiet whisper, "I-I think this will attract the unsub's attention much faster. Based on the profile, he was likely betrayed by a brunette boyfriend who cheated on him, and the affair partner was also a brunette, so he hates this type of..."
Casey stiffens, taking a good ten seconds to mentally prepare himself. He is just about to refuse when he glances up and catches sight of a familiar figure staring intently at the person in his arms.
With no time to care about anything else, Casey tilts Reid's chin up, leans down, and thoroughly shuts that endlessly rambling mouth.
Reid stiffens at the sudden kiss. During a brief pause for air, he hears Casey drop his voice to inform him, "Unsub spotted." For the sake of the case, Reid pushes past his shame and embarrassment. He raises his arms to loop around Casey's neck, relaxing into the man's hold, and lets the other man kiss him until he can only let out broken, breathless gasps.
The kiss lasts for twenty seconds, but to Reid, it feels like a long ten minutes. He steadies his rapid breathing and plays along with Casey's pretend departure. Soon enough, the unsub starts walking toward him.
Just as everyone holds their breath in anticipation, a random man suddenly sidles up to Reid to hit on him, even flashing an FBI badge. Reid takes one look at it—fake, and a boring pickup tactic. But that doesn't stop the distant unsub from getting spooked by the interaction and turning away to leave.
Reid hurriedly brushes off the invitation and gets up to look for him, but the unsub has already vanished into the crowd. They have no choice but to arrest the counterfeiter who ruined everything, hand him over to the LAPD, and plan their next move.
"The unsub is a paranoid yet highly organized individual. Although there's a degree of randomness in selecting targets that fit his preferences, he likely won't give up on someone he has already set his sights on," Hotch states. And so, Reid and Casey rotate through several other gay bars to keep up the act.
Reunions are always difficult, no matter who is involved. Kissing, and more kissing. The only actual progress is that their kissing has now become terrifyingly natural. Casey seems to deliberately scrape his stubble against him just to watch him sensitively shrink his neck, or intentionally leaves him breathless during their kisses. Reid just chalks it up to Casey's flirting habits. It is far better than letting his own lack of experience cause the unsub to grow suspicious, so he simply surrenders to Casey's control.
Like a pretty, obedient little animal, Casey evaluates in his head. It is a hell of a lot more comforting than Bartowski, that loud, jittery kid who loves violating direct orders.
"If the unsub doesn't show up, are we just going to keep kissing like this?" Reid asks, after being pressed against the wall and kissed by Casey yet again. Casey can catch a hint of a wronged pout in his eyes, yet Reid's hands remain relaxed, looped around his neck.
Why the grievance? The rapidly panting young man leads Casey to an absurd, almost comical conclusion—he is tired of being kissed.
Reid is utterly confused by the older man's sudden, soft chuckle. "Did I say something wrong?"
"No, you didn't," Casey leans down and whispers in his ear. "Six o'clock. He's here."
…
The mission wraps up as smoothly as expected.
Chuck, having suffered a bit of mental trauma from that creep, dramatically throws himself into Casey and Sarah’s arms. "I knew you guys would come save me!"
Sarah pats his back to soothe him, while Casey rolls his eyes in exasperation. His gaze then lands on Reid, who is standing not too far away. Morgan, standing side-by-side with Reid, sees Casey walking toward them. He raises an eyebrow, turns his head to let out a teasing "Wow," and is immediately shoved away by an annoyed Reid, walking off with a laugh.
"Hi." In the blink of an eye, the man is already standing in front of him. Reid greets him, looking slightly awkward.
Casey gives a nod in response, leaning against the car beside him, making small talk. "You got a girlfriend?"
"Me? No."
"Ex-girlfriend?"
"Uh... I think so?" Reid thinks about his one-day fling with Lila and gives an ambiguous answer.
Casey lets out a light chuckle. He doesn't question the phrasing, but simply turns his head to look at him. "She never mentioned that you're a terrible kisser?"
"Terrible?" Reid frowns. He pauses to think back, feeling a bit defensive. "Maybe it's a bit rusty, but it isn't completely terrible, is it? I think she liked it."
"Is that right?" Casey is just about to tease him some more, but Sarah is already calling for him in the distance—they need to head back to base to report. He pulls a bar token out of his pocket and hands it to Reid. "Heard you guys aren't leaving until tomorrow. We went to all those bars, and I never actually bought you a drink. Tonight at eight?"
Reid's brain spins to calculate whether this invitation is appropriate, when he hears him add, "Just one drink."
"Okay." Reid takes the token. It's the weekend tomorrow anyway, and they are essentially mission partners; there's really no reason to say no.