Chapter Text
Aaron wasn't in the habit of mixing his private life with his work-life, but occasionally he'd go out with the team, bringing Haley along. Reid always wondered if he did it to prove to Haley that nothing untoward was going on, or to use Haley as a shield of sorts, helping him to not lose that last little inch of distance he maintained at all times. But that was as far as it ever went. So it was something of a surprise when Hotch invited the entire team to his house to celebrate that his brother had decided to finish training as a chef in D.C.
Of course, the team didn't profile each-other, but profiling was so ingrained in all of them that trying to stop entirely was about as effective as trying to commit suicide by holding your breath. And Reid had the added advantage of being on the outskirts of the group, so he had more time and attention to devote to the miniscule signs.
The tenseness around Hotch's eyes that matched the tenseness around Haley's lips. The way both of them smiled at Jack, but not at each-other. The way they focused on Jack, as if he was a pint-sized buffer between what had happened between them before the party started.
If Reid was any judge (and he freely admitted that his knowledge of normal family life and normal relationships was lacking), it looked like the Hotchners weren't the happy family it said on the tin.
So it was almost a relief when the center of the celebration made his way out of the cluster of backslappers and joined Reid on the deck.
"Hey. Reid, right? You work with Aaron?"
Reid wasn't innocent enough to not notice the appreciative look he received. He didn't think he deserved it, though, although he'd put on a pair of dark slacks and what Garcia had termed a 'decent' shirt. "Yeah. Spencer Reid, nice to meet you."
They shook hands, Sean holding his hand for longer than entirely appropriate, and Reid found himself blushing. He wasn't exactly a virgin, although he wasn't far removed, but he didn't handle sexual interest very well. He had to admit that he was interested, though. Sean Hotchner had the looks of a male model, and Reid already liked Hotch more than was probably healthy for him. If Sean had the same solidness of character, the same dependability and the same kindness, Reid was very interested.
"So... When this whole thing is over, you want to maybe go out? Have a drink or something?"
Oh, yes, Reid thought. Definitely interested. "I'd like that."
Sean cast an appraising look out over the lawn, where people were milling in fractal patterns, congregating and dispersing from the buffet tables. "How pissed do you think Aaron would be if I skipped out early?"
Reid choked on a laugh. "Very?"
Sean smiled with half his face. "Yeah. Aaron wasn't kidding that you're a genius, Doctor Reid. Okay, so... Meet me out front in an hour? How to you feel about motorcycles?"
Reid decided, for once, to forgo accident-statistics. "So long as you have a spare helmet, I'm fine."
This time Sean smiled, a hint of something filthy in the depths of his eyes. "Until then, I'd better go make nice with all those guests my brother arranged for me."
****
Yep. It had all been Aaron's fault. Sean had taken them to a small Irish pub, plying Reid with stout. He'd been pleasantly buzzed when he'd invited Sean over to his place, later, and although Sean had had to call Aaron to tell him that he wouldn't be needing that spare bedroom after all, they'd fallen into bed like it was the most natural thing.
Reid liked Sean. Although he'd initially hoped he'd have some of the intensity and focus of his brother, he discovered that Sean had his own merits. He laughed readily, and loved to have fun, and although much of the fun he liked was the kind of things Spencer labeled 'dangerous' or 'reckless', nothing bad ever seemed to happen to Sean.
An added bonus was Sean's age. Reid had never really had much in common with people his own age, but he was discovering the pleasure of being with someone with a youthful outlook on life. For a while there, Reid actually felt 25 years old on a daily basis, and not in a negative way, either.
He should have known it would come to an ignominious end, because Spencer Reid's private life always crashed and burned.
*****
The day Hotch discovered that his brother was in a relationship with Spencer Reid, it was a good thing neither of them were within reach. He'd been thinking that Haley might be having an affair for a while. He tried not to profile his wife, but the little oddities added up over time. He didn't want it to be true. He loved Haley, and he adored Jack, and, damnit, they were supposed to be happy! So to keep himself from looking for more circumstantial evidence of Haley's possible infidelity, he started hanging out with Sean some more. After all, they were brothers, and part of the reason Sean had moved to D.C. (aside, of course, from the amazing offer he'd gotten from one of the best chefs on the east coast) was that he wanted to be closer to Aaron and his little nephew.
But Sean seemed busy, too. Text-messages that made him smile and laugh. Cancelled outings. After a while, Aaron asked the question; "So, when am I going to meet her?" only to have Sean look up, deer-in-the-headlights look in his eyes and go; "Whu...?"
It had all spiraled into something out of Abbott and Costello after that, but eventually Sean had leaned back on the couch, covered his eyes with the heels of his hands, and asked; "What if it isn't a 'her'?"
Aaron was kind of glad Sean had covered his eyes, because not even his mask was up to the rush of emotions that suddenly threatened to drown him. After almost a minute of silence, Sean lowered his hands and looked at him, serious and worried, and Aaron had cleared his throat and said; "You could have told me you were gay, you know."
"Yeah, not really gay, though. More like... bisexual?"
The questioning inflection had made Aaron reassert his usual stranglehold on himself and stuffed down whatever it was that he was feeling about it all in favor of being supportive and there for his brother, as he so clearly needed.
It was only much later, on his way back home, that he began wondering what Sean's boyfriend was like, and although he hated himself for it, he'd seen enough things in his work life to want to know. Self-loathing foremost in his mind, he'd picked up his phone and called Garcia, and made it absolutely clear to her that she could say no, but he really needed to find out who Sean was dating.
His first clue was when she stopped the incessant chatter she usually kept up while doing whatever it was she was doing. Then she cleared her throat, and he knew it was bad.
"What is it, Garcia?"
She was silent for another half minute, then said, very, very quietly; "If I promise you he isn't a bad guy, will you let it go, Sir?"
Unfortunately Aaron was being brutally honest when he said; "I don't think I can."
Somewhere in the distance a dog howled while he waited for Garcia to answer. When she did, her voice was filled with the decisiveness that drew Morgan to her. "Okay. Today's Friday, and the only reason I'm here this late is that you gave us the weekend, and I took the opportunity to work on my servers. Take tomorrow. Think about it. If you still want to know on Sunday... come see me. Okay?"
It was going to be a long Saturday, but he could live with it, and if Garcia thought he needed to give it some more thought, he would.
****
Saying he'd been shocked, quickly followed by anger had been like calling the White House for a nice little shack.
****
It took him the rest of Sunday, Garcia physically restraining him from leaving, first, to do something entirely irrational, then a whirlwind tour of working in the garden, which involved pruning trees that didn't need pruning and cutting the hedges back half an inch, before he was even mostly rational again. Haley had been out for most of the day, at her sister's with Jack, and stood, slack-jawed by, looking at Aaron's sweaty, dirty clothes.
But it had served its purpose, and when they went to bed that evening, Aaron lay awake for only half an hour, turning the facts over and over in his head, trying to find a way to deal with it that would let him keep his sanity.
By dawn, he was ready, and as he put on his suit, he locked it down. Hid his knowledge in a thick steel-box and wrapped it in chains. And then he went to work, and got over the shock of seeing Reid and thinking; "My brother kisses those lips", and moved on. Reid seemed happier and calmer than he had since Raphael, and Sean was happy, and, really, Aaron had no business not wanting what was obviously a good thing for both of them.
Then, of course, Gideon went off the rails and disappeared, and everything got a lot more complicated, all of a sudden.