Chapter Text
Spencer had walked into the BAU that morning with a cup of coffee and mussed "boy band" hair, as Hotch had called it. He, of course, had his gun and badge as well, but coffee was more important than credentials and a weapon. Spencer sat at his desk, only then realizing that nobody had spoken a word after he entered the office. He slowly turned around to look at his co-workers.
Morgan was busying himself texting, most likely with Garcia, whose head was buried in her own phone. JJ and Emily were whispering to each other in a corner. Rossi was acting like nothing was up, minding his own business and drinking his own coffee. But Hotch was acting strangest by far. The man looked jittery as if anything could set him off, but he was quite obviously trying- and failing- to control himself. He kept looking down at the file in his hands, looking up, blinking hard for a good five seconds, and repeating the cycle. Nobody was addressing how odd they, and their co-workers, looked and were acting, so Spencer decided to.
"All of you are acting quite peculiarly right now. Why is that?" Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at him. Derek was the first to respond.
"Well, Pretty Boy, a case came up... It may be a little awkward for you," Morgan supplied, sitting down immediately afterward. The information wasn't the most helpful, and certainly not as helpful as the information he normally got was.
"We get cases all the time, and about seventy-eight percent of them are awkward. I mean, remember the one case where the Unsub glued his victim's eyes open?" Everyone except for Rossi nodded- who could forget the Tommy Killer?
"Kid, you don't understand why this case is awkward, not yet," Rossi added before going to get more coffee. However, the addition was not nearly as helpful as Reid hoped it would have been.
"Sorry, Junior G-Man, it's up to them to tell you the delicious details. I'm the technical analyst, not the de-briefer." Penelope left, probably to visit her lair, and then Emily, JJ, and Hotchner were the three people left, two whispering, one doing some very quick-thinking.
"Emily? Please? Is something wrong?"
"No, Spencer. It's just weird," Emily replied before patting JJ on the back as a term of endearment- a silent "good luck"- and leaving herself.
JJ and Hotch. Who would crack first?
"I think," JJ started, closing her mouth almost immediately after the second word. "I think Hotch should tell you. Yeah, the case was run by me first, but it involves him more than me."
Hotch glared at JJ, and Spencer smiled. At least Hotch was acting more normal; glaring at everyone and thing. Finally, the man sighed and focused on him.
Hotch's body stood at attention, arms and legs completely straight as the Unit Chief prepared to address his employee. Something broke slightly, and Hotch's posture became less rigid, more flowy and open.
"I'll tell you, but in private, Reid. My office," the man murmured before starting towards the office himself. Spencer quickly followed.
"What is our case?" Spencer asked as soon as the door closed. Hotch's normally nearly emotionless eyes were filled with fear, nervousness, and... Joy?
"We're going to Coeur D’Alene, Idaho for a case. Our Unsub- informally known as the "Rainbow Killer"- kills their victims, submerges them in water, and then somehow is able to
leave their victims out in the open to be found without having any way to find the killer." Though the briefing was detailed, Spencer knew Hotch was keeping something from him.
"Your facial expressions may be normal, but that red-pink tint on your nose, cheeks, and ears shows me that you aren't telling me something, Sir." Lying was not something Reid took well to. Even if it was more withholding information than truly lying.
"The people murdered were couples, the majority of them male and male... And this case is going to require you going undercover." Now Spencer understood why Hotch had been acting strange, as had everyone else.
"Oh... but Morgan sounded almost dismissive when he spoke. Why wouldn't he just tell me I'd have to fake a relationship with him then? He's pretty blunt," Spencer said, trailing off slightly.
A coughing noise came from Hotch before the man spoke up again.
His face flushed before he said, "Morgan can't go undercover for this... Nobody killed was a person of color, meaning that though we don't know the killer's gender yet, we do know that they're after white people. Specifically gay couples, or people that seem to be a gay couple. And Dave- well, he's old enough to be your father, so, Reid, before JJ had even shown me the case she knew that I had to be the one going undercover with you. She told me and I immediately understood her reasoning. I know things will be awkward, but if you'd rather I could get Dave to-"
"NO," Reid practically shouted. He assessed what he should say and in a matter of seconds, Spencer was speaking again, calmly this time. "I mean, that would not only be rude towards you, but it would be awkward for both Rossi and me, so I'd rather just stick with the option I've been started with," he added.
Hotch nodded.
"You got here later than everyone else, so I will quickly debrief you now." Spencer smiled at Hotch, and it had the effect he was hoping for. The tight, tension-filled shoulders on his boss relaxed slightly before he continued. "You're Spencer Sigma Dandridge, born to Lisa and Alex Dandridge in Pittsburgh, on your same birthday. Your mom is an author with a fascination for Doctor Who and all things Greek, and father a gambler who had millions until he lost a game of poker a few weeks ago. You went to a popular, yet cheap, diner afterward, and met me after we had to sit together at the bar. I immediately was interested in you, because of your intelligence, your style, and your shyness. I invited you to a movie date to see Megamind in theaters. After a few dates, it escalated to us being boyfriends. Because I'm nice, I was moving to Coeur D’Alene from Spokane, Washington, and we were moving fast anyway, the seventh date led to me asking you to move in with me." Hotch looked at the younger man quizzically and immediately found that Spencer was trying to profile him. "No inter-team profiling, Spencer. It's inappropriate."
Spencer blushed and grinned sheepishly.
"Thanks for making my middle name the second part of the name the Doctor went by at The Academy on Gallifrey," he whispered.
"Garcia suggested it." She didn't. "I'm Aaron Percy Ligman, born in Heber City, Utah and raised by my mom and grandfather in Kansas City in Kansas. Father died young, grandmother murdered. I'm trying to become a police officer, but I put that dream on pause when I met you. We first kissed after I drove you home from that movie theater date, and though we didn't do anything sexual, you insisted I stay over. After having my arms around you whiles sleeping, I knew I would rather die than live in a world without our future somewhere in it." Hotch finished surprisingly slowly, and the kind sentiment made Spencer feel tears in his eyes... Then he remembered.
He didn't like Hotch that way, but the thought of someone caring for him like that, if he trusted them, male or female, he would probably love them. Of course, starting when they left the FBI offices, every word of love and caring would be a lie.
"Spencer, are you okay? If you need, you can go with Dave, or I can go with Dave and you can stay at the group house the rest of the team will be in. Rossi wouldn't-"
"I'm fine, Aaron."