Archive of Our Own ^beta

"I walked those kids through Ryan's death," Spencer said quietly. He and Aaron were stretched out on the bed together, Spencer's head on Aaron's shoulder. Jack had gone to bed, tired out from a swimming lesson. Aaron had known Spencer was unhappy from the moment they got off the jet at Andrews, but he hadn't known why, and he'd been so preoccupied with worrying about JJ that he hadn't asked before heading home to Jack.

They'd settled fairly easily into a routine. Because Spencer still wasn't ready to announce their relationship to Jessica, Aaron went home first and alone. Spencer would show up an hour before Jack's bedtime some nights and an hour after Jack's bedtime other nights. Jack seemed to relish the nights when Spencer was there to tuck him in with further adventures of Eeyore and Pooh. Aaron definitely relished the sight of his son and his lover bonding over bedtime stories or a "quick" chess demonstration.

But Spencer had arrived after Jack's bedtime tonight, and even though he and Aaron had eaten a late supper together, he'd seemed down all evening. So when he spoke, Aaron tightened his arms around Spencer. He closed his eyes, dismissing his own lingering melancholy over his brief conversation with JJ.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

He felt Spencer draw in a long breath. "One of the students was texting someone during our talk," he began, his voice thick with the uncertainty Aaron only ever heard when Spencer was talking about his childhood. Aaron frowned. "Morgan took his phone and read it. It...wasn't complimentary." He swallowed audibly. "It pissed me off," he admitted. "Why do they care more about these stupid games than they do their lives? I wasn't getting through to them, and I didn't understand why Morgan wouldn't just talk to them instead of me. So I...walked them through Ryan's death."

Aaron didn't speak. He learned more by being silent, and he hated to interrupt Spencer anyway. He had to do it often enough at work, in order to keep the conversation on topic, that he avoided it whenever possible away from work.

"I explained how hyperventilation and asphyxiation would affect the brain. I told them that Ryan's arms failed him so he couldn't release himself, and that he died scared and in a lot of pain." Spencer sighed. "And it shouldn't have, but it felt good."

They had reminded him of the kids who bullied and misunderstood him as a child, Aaron surmised. Of course it would feel good to scare them.

"If you got through to them, it doesn't matter," he said quietly.

They were silent for a couple of minutes. He could feel that Spencer hadn't relaxed. He wondered again what he had missed on the jet.

"Do you think Emily hates me?" Spencer blurted suddenly.

Of all the question he could have asked, it wasn't the one Aaron was expecting. He opened his eyes and stared at Spencer in pure astonishment. Emily couldn't possibly hate Spencer. In fact until Aaron had learned about her friendship with Matthew Benton, he'd been confused--if appreciative--of the way Emily had seemed drawn to Spencer from the beginning. She had never really understood him in a lot of ways, but she had seen his drug problem and had both confronted him about it and protected him. Aaron knew she had also pushed Spencer toward this relationship, and there could be no question that it was because of her friendship with Spencer as much as with Aaron.

But whatever had made Spencer ask, Aaron knew now that it had its roots in Emily's story on the jet. Aaron had been watching a video of Jack on his phone and hadn't been paying close enough attention to the story, but now he wished he had.

Aaron shifted until Spencer sat up. Aaron sat up too, facing Spencer seriously. "Absolutely not," he said. "Emily cares a great deal for you, Spencer. She got both of us to acknowledge our feelings for each other. She wouldn't do that if she didn't like and respect you." He held Spencer's gaze, seeing the self-doubt in Spencer's eyes. "I know she can be abrupt at times, maybe even a bit abrasive, but why would you think she doesn't like you?"

So Spencer told Aaron what had happened on the jet, and Aaron, God help him, had to fight not to laugh. It would devastate Spencer if Aaron laughed, but for a genius, he could be pretty dense sometimes.

Aaron pulled Spencer back into his arms and down onto the bed. "You're an incredibly smart man," he murmured, brushing his lips against Spencer's ear, then down his jaw. "Remember, your coworkers are the finest minds in the FBI. They're all used to being just about the smartest people in the room, except when you're around." He stroked his fingers through Spencer's hair. "I think you just stepped on Emily's pride a little bit. She's had that star puzzle in pieces on her desk for weeks. Didn't you see her messing with it on the last case?" He finally allowed himself to grin at Spencer. "And you put it together in a few seconds." He shook his head. "Sometimes I wonder what you're doing with me, since you're so smart. Then I pray you never come to your senses and leave."

Spencer had been silent, taking in Aaron's explanation, but at that last, he frowned. "Why would I come to my senses?" he asked.

"I didn't mean that literally," Aaron said, and pulled him in for a kiss.

***

"I enjoyed Storytime With Emily this afternoon," Dave said, sipping his Irish coffee and not looking at Emily. They were in his study, which was his favorite room (besides the bedroom, these days). The heavy furniture was all leather and comfortable, the desk and coffee table were made of some kind of matching dark wood, and the fireplace burned real wood instead of those ridiculous gas things people put in their houses these days.

Emily liked it too, and often sprawled on the leather couch with Mucci stretched out against her while she read. It always made Dave feel good how much Emily loved his dog. His second wife had hated dogs, and his third had never let his last hunting dog on the furniture. His gaze rested for a long moment on her left hand, which stroked Mucci's ears, the diamond on her finger winking in the firelight.

"Shut up," she muttered, not looking up from her novel. It was another of those romance novels she hid from the rest of the team, and Dave suppressed a grin. He liked getting to see the woman underneath the sophisticated and compartmentalized exterior.

"I'm not sure Spencer really understood that we were teasing him though," he said thoughtfully. "He looked unhappy the rest of the flight."

She tilted her head and sighed, lowering the paperback. "You know, I forget myself with him sometimes," she said. "He's so good at just about everything that I forget he doesn't know how to tell when teasing is friendly and when it's not. The sort of thing I can say to Morgan or JJ, I shouldn't say to him."

"Speaking of JJ..." He trailed off, not wanting to ask if she felt she couldn't share.

Emily shook her head. "I put my foot in my mouth then too," she said. "We would have been better off this case if I just hadn't talked at all."

"Nah," Dave said, and gave her a grin. "You came up with the cemetery, after all."

She looked at him for a minute, then-- "Hey!" She hurled one of the throw pillows at him. He deflected it easily and Mucci jumped up to chase after it.

Laughing, Dave got up and went to kiss her. "I love you," he murmured, stroking a finger down her cheek. "You're so smart and gorgeous. Even with your foot in your mouth."

She snorted and poked him in the ribs, and after a brief, playful tussle, she had him on the ground tickling him mercilessly while he tried to catch his breath enough to cry uncle. Once she finally relented, she propped herself against his chest, looking down at him in triumph. Dave panted, glaring at her, until her hands started wandering in a much more pleasant manner. After a few minutes more, Mucci gave up on a game of fetch, since Dave and Emily were too involved with each other to notice him.