Title: The Next Step
Rating: NC-17
Warnings: Explicit Sex, Discussion of Homophobia
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Tags: Established Relationship, Slice of Life, Light Angst, Happy Ending
Summary: The next step always seemed so easy but sometimes it wasn't.
Word Count: 2,980
Spoilers: Up Through Season 7
Beta: Grammarly



Aaron stepped out of his office and looked down at where Spencer was still sitting at his desk with a pair of headphones. His head was bobbing along to whatever music he was listening to. Aaron leaned on the railing and watched Spencer as he did whatever he was doing. Spencer should be done with everything work-related; at the moment, he had nothing he needed to do with the next degree he was working on.

A soft chime from his phone had Aaron looking at it instead of his lover. Jack was finally asleep with his cough medicine, finally, brute forcing him to sleep. It wasn't the best thing, but Jack didn't want Aaron getting sick right now since while they had been on the case, Jessica had been sick, but not enough that she couldn't take care of Jack. Then the day they got back, Jack had started coughing.

Aaron didn't like being away from him, but he also understood Jack didn't want Aaron to get sick. So Aaron had gone home with Spencer the last two nights. It shouldn't be long before Aaron could go home, dragging Spencer with him.

A picture of Jack followed, curled up in bed with the stuffed lion Spencer had got him the last time he was sick tucked under his arm. The only time Jack wanted it was when he was sick.

Aaron walked back to his office to grab his things to take home. He wasn't taking anything work-related home. He would make sure Spencer didn't as well.

"Spencer," Aaron called out as he flipped off the light to his office. He looked back, and Spencer was still working on what he was doing.

Aaron was intrigued. Even with headphones on, Spencer rarely didn't hear Aaron call out his name. The music was never that loud, and he didn't wear noise-canceling ones at work.

Spencer set down his pen and folded the sheet in half he was working on. He reached up for his headphones but stopped just inches from them, tensing up.

"Ready?" Aaron asked.

Spencer turned to look at him while he took the headphones off.

"Yes, I am. Sorry if you called out to me. I was focused on what I was doing."

"And what were you doing?"

"Reading over a few reports for someone. Her boss is being hard on her despite her doing what she was taught at the academy. So I was looking it over to figure out if the boss was hard or if her teacher at the academy failed her. It's her boss. I was going to kick it up to you."

"Go drop it on my desk, and I'll look at it in the morning first thing. You won't get her in trouble, will you?"

"No, she's already filed a report above her boss's head once, and it was shoved to the side by his boss. She's not the only female in the unit, but none of them have this. So we are left to think it's her orientation. You are out of the chain of command but high enough and in good enough regard that we think it won't be too horrible if this blows up."

"I'll handle it with care. Don't worry. Is that a copy of what she sent him?"

"Yes."

"And your notes?"

"Mostly. You'll understand what I am saying, but I doubt many others would. It's my normal shorthand when I'm reading over things in UnSub houses."

"Go drop it off; I'll pack up your stuff," Aaron said.

Spencer stood up, stretching once he was fully up, before kissing Aaron's cheek as he passed him.

Aaron shook his head. It had taken over a year to get to the point where Spencer would give him a kiss like that in the bullpen even if they were heading out or weren't actively working. Hell, he still didn't do it much if there was anyone else around.

Spencer was done before Aaron had been able to track down Spencer's travel mug for coffee.

"Where is your coffee cup?"

"Oh, JJ stole it and washed it. She said it was filthy, then found that it wasn't once the chocolate creamer you bought me was rinsed out. It was just that film of the oils from the chocolate that made the lip of the mug look that way." Spencer bypassed his desk and went right to the kitchenette.

Aaron followed behind with Spencer's bag thrown over his shoulder.

Spencer was standing there at the sink, looking at something in his hand. Aaron stepped up behind him to take a look at it. He found that it was not Spencer's mug but another.

"I think she stole it," Spencer said.

"Well, it's pretty old and dinged."

Aaron inhaled a little as he took in the travel mug in Spencer's hand. Aaron knew it, and he cursed JJ a little for it. She meant well, and Aaron knew it. Aaron didn't know what to say. He knew that it was something that Spencer would know Aaron bought for him. He had done it before they had even been together but then freaked out at the sentiment of the mug.

"Why did JJ have this?" Spencer asked.

"She didn't. She took it from my desk. She saw it one day and knew it was for you, but that was before we were together. I've been saving it for Christmas this year. I guess she thought I had held onto it too long."

"This was a lot of money." Spencer put the lid on the mug and turned around to face Aaron.

"You knew I was trying to figure out for a while how to ask you out without pressuring you."

"No, I know that I just...I guess I never thought that meant your feelings were there for a long time before that."

"Why don't we get dinner and go back to your place before we talk about this?" Aaron asked. He really didn't want to talk about this here at work, even if he knew it was something they needed to talk about.

"Okay. That Greek place?"

"I'll call in the order, and it'll be ready to pick up by the time we get there." Aaron stepped in and kissed Spencer on the lips before he opened up Spencer's messenger bag for him to slip the cup into the inside pocket for it.

"Sounds good."

---

Unlike Haley, whenever Spencer wanted to know something, he didn't dig to get it. He didn't keep on pulling the conversation toward what he wanted.

While they ate, Spencer talked about things going on in various shows he did watch or a few books he had read that week. Aaron piped in with things of his own. It was like most of their other dinner dates at Spencer's place.

Once the dishes were cleaned up, and Spencer was sipping at a glass of brandy while Aaron had one of whiskey, Aaron knew his time was up. Spencer, though took Aaron's glass from his hand and set it down before he pushed at Aaron until he was sitting with his back to the arm of the couch.

Aaron opened his arms to ensure Spencer knew he was okay with cuddling on the couch. Spencer put his back to the room, settling in like he always did when they were like this. Spencer's glass of alcohol was empty, so Aaron lifted up his and tossed it back.

"It was when I bought it that I realized that what I thought was just affection was not. I had actually planned on asking you out on a date when we got back from Canada, then Foyet happened. Things were so horrible for a while, and while you were here, I wasn't ready for a relationship. I had to figure out me and Jack and then me, Jack, and Jessica."

"So you bought it and realized that you were feeling more for me than you thought, so you..."

"Hide the present in my office as no one goes snooping through my things. I forgot I put it with my spare tie stash, and JJ always was the one to remember where my spare ties were. She found it and asked me why I hadn't given it to you. I mean, the limited run of the Star Wars travel mugs could only be for you."

"And you didn't want to give it to me because?"

"My position in your life. We were already so hesitant with everything work. Everyone around us knows you would never let me boss you into a relationship. You have a spine of steel when you need it, and you don't bend nearly as much as most people think you do. So I think a lot of it was just that I was afraid it would make you think I was pressuring you to like me more than you did."

"Aaron, I've wanted you for longer than I care to admit, but most of that comes from the comfort you give me. I don't think you've realized that you and I only come here when we are sick and don't want to get Jack and Jessica sick, they are sick, or we get back so late you are afraid of waking up Jack. I've been all but living with you for nearly six months."

Aaron wanted to refute that, but he wasn't able to. He chuckled and kissed Spencer's forehead. Spencer turned in his arms after that, and he braced his hands on either side of Aaron before leaning in for a kiss. Aaron held onto Spencer's side to brace him as he leaned in.

The taste of brandy and whiskey were the only things Aaron could taste as the kiss deepened. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't mind kissing. Aaron liked sex when he had an attachment to someone, and while the attachment had been there for longer than he would like to admit, the want for Spencer hadn't been there until recently.

Spencer had wanted the relationship to move slowly, and Aaron agreed, so while they had been sleeping in the same bed outside of work for six months, there had been little progress on the other front. Aaron fully admitted he wasn't ready for Spencer to see his scars, and Spencer fully admitted he wasn't ready to take that step.

Even if they never made it further than what they had, Aaron wouldn't need anything to be happy for the rest of his life. Haley had been the one to want sex most of the time. She had been the one to start it. There were times Aaron did want to lose himself in his wife's body, but that had been few and far between.

"What are you thinking?" Aaron asked when Spencer pulled out of the kiss.

"I don't know. Why don't we find a more comfortable position and find out what we are both feeling?"

Aaron nodded his head. He waited for Spencer to get up before he tried to get up. Spencer went to the windows and double-checked them while Aaron checked the door, even though he knew he had locked it when they got there. Spencer was getting out of his slacks when Aaron joined him in the bedroom; he put his sleeping pants on next before taking off his shirt.

Stepping up behind Spencer, Aaron laid his hands on Spencer's bare skin. Spencer didn't drop the shirt he normally slept in, but he did lower his arms. Aaron touched the pale skin, enjoying the way Spencer arched into the touch like a cat would. It felt good to have him here like he was.

Aaron wrapped his arm around Spencer's chest to pull him back into him. "Leave off the shirt, please."

Spencer nodded, and when Aaron let him go, he tossed the shirt away before getting on the bed. He smiled at Aaron as Aaron opened the drawer to grab clean clothes. He headed to the bathroom to give Spencer time to turn down the bed. Aaron had been the one to make it, which meant Spencer had to untuck everything Aaron tucked in.

When Aaron stepped out of the bathroom, Spencer was lying on the bed on his side with a book opened in front of him. It was Aaron's spy novel he had been reading. Aaron stepped toward the bed, and Spencer closed up the book and looked at Aaron.

There was something soft about Spencer when he was like this, a smile on his face. Aaron lifted the edge of the blanket and slipped under to settle in beside Spencer. He found skin by touch and then dragged his hand down Spencer's side to settle it on his hip. Spencer cupped the side of Aaron's face and drew him into a kiss.

"How far?" Aaron asked.

"As far as we feel like going. I'll stop you if I don't feel it." Spencer drew Aaron back into a kiss, and he then laid himself down on his back, pulling Aaron with him.

It didn't take long for Aaron to feel like they needed to decide on something. Making out in bed under the covers was good, but Aaron wanted more.

Spencer drew his hands down from where he was holding the back of Aaron's head and his cheek to ghost them down Aaron's sides to touch the skin.

Aaron tensed, and he made himself relax as Spencer touched the sides of his stomach. Outside of checks by the doctor, with gloves on, no one had touched his stomach since Foyet had attacked him. Aaron knew what he had gone through. He knew what kind of person Foyet was.

Pushing those thoughts away, Aaron let himself enjoy his boyfriend's hands on his sides and ignored when he felt a little off for a few seconds the first time Spencer found a scar.

The kissing didn't stop, but Spencer was so careful as he touched. Aaron felt himself starting to harden again after softening some with the first touch. He buried his hands into the sheets on the bed and rocked himself into Spencer's groin.

"Off?" Spencer asked a few minutes later as he tugged at Aaron's shirt.

Aaron sat up and lifted off his shirt, swallowing as Spencer's eyes moved down his chest to where the scars were. Aaron settled on his knees and let Spencer sit up a little bit. Spencer propped himself up on one arm and then touched with the other.

"Okay?" Spencer asked.

"So far, yes. I feel fine. I'm good. I promise. I'm good. You can touch more." Aaron reached out, and he pressed Spencer's hand to his body harder.

Aaron lost it after that, the feel of hands on his body in a sexual way after so long of nothing. The feel of Spencer under him and their bodies rocking together. Rubbing off on someone had never been something Aaron found arousing. The feel of them moving together. Spencer's hands as they held on tight and nails as they scratched when they lost their hold. Aaron was the first to come.

His orgasm rolled out of him, and it felt exactly like the love he had for Spencer. He sought out Spencer's lips and claimed them as he rocked down into Spencer to work on getting him off. Spencer's hand on his back tightened, and his nails dug in so hard that Aaron knew he would have crescent-shaped marks everywhere.

Spencer's orgasm seemed soft and gentle compared to how he was holding onto Aaron in the moments leading up to it.

They were a sweaty and sticky mess, but as Spencer pushed Aaron onto his back and settled into his side, cuddling in close, Aaron found that he didn't care all that much.

"I love you," Spencer said.

Aaron pressed a kiss to the top of Spencer's head. "I love you, too. I look forward to going home soon. Getting in cuddle time with Jack."

"I miss him. Eating dinner with him over the video connection is not enough."

"Agreed. He didn't want us getting sick, and I don't like to upset him when it comes to things like that. Despite everything with his mother, he's afraid of me leaving him in some fashion. He will get more relaxed on that. He's already doing it. The last time he got sick, he didn't want me to even call him in fear of it getting me sick enough to need to go to the hospital. The trip there to see me after Foyet attacked has kind of merged in his head with his mother's death."

"I can understand that." Spencer moved his head a little and sighed before relaxing the rest of the way. "We should get cleaned up."

"We will when I feel like moving again. I just want to lay here in this position and not move for a while."

"I like this as well."

Aaron thought about what he wanted to make for breakfast. Spencer's place had fresh food only because of how long they had been there with Jack being sick. Spencer really liked Aaron making oatmeal, but they were out of the berries Spencer liked in it. Maybe soon they could get rid of Spencer's place and just live in Aaron's apartment. Or even try and find a house out there.

Spencer had talked about asking Jessica to live with them one day if she was so inclined. Aaron wasn't sure that it was something she wanted, but they could find a place where she could have a floor to herself. Still, it was a little further down the road, and right now, he was happy with what they had, even if the pace was the strangest in the world. It worked for them.

The End