epilogue

Mornings had slowly become one of Reid's favorite things. It had taken a while; at first, he was plagued with nightmares of Tobias's death, and neither he nor Hotch were capable of getting much sleep. But now they were typically warm and bright, and often filled with laughter as Jack jumped onto their bed, if they were home. And if they weren't at home, well, he certainly didn't complain about waking up in Hotch's arms with the older man's chest pressed firmly against his back.

This was one of the rare mornings, however. Reid slowly woke to the warmth and the smell that was purely Hotch. He was curled up on his side, one arm slung over Hotch's hip, the other against Hotch's chest, and his face buried in Hotch's neck. He didn't recall falling asleep in that position, but he smiled and snuggled closer, nuzzling Hotch's jaw.

"Good morning," Hotch murmured, one of his hands tracing up and down Reid's spine.

Reid hummed softly, pressing a kiss to the skin beneath his lips. "Morning," he replied.

"You're awake earlier than usual," Hotch commented, his breath hitching as Reid's teeth found the sensitive skin beneath his ear.

"Hm. Did I interrupt a fantasy?" Reid teased, his tongue soothing the slight sting his teeth had left behind.

Hotch nearly rolled his eyes as he muttered, "We've discussed this. I'm not a somnophiliac." Reid's chuckle was followed by his teeth again, and then he sucked at the skin, causing Hotch to hiss and roll his hips forward. "Spencer, don't you dare leave a mark there."

Reid huffed a laugh and rolled them so he could straddle the older man's waist. "You act like everyone doesn't know."

"It's not the team I'm concerned about," Hotch retorted dryly, doing his best to ignore the way his breath caught in his throat as Reid was bathed in the morning light filtering through the windows. He sometimes couldn't quite believe this was all real. "It's a bit difficult to obtain the respect from LEO's with a hickey."

Reid grinned and leaned down to brush a quick kiss against Hotch's mouth. "It would also be distracting." He pressed a few more chaste, teasing kisses to Hotch's lips.

Hotch chuckled and slid one hand up to cup the nape of Reid's neck, pulling his head down for a longer, lingering kiss. "Is that so?" he breathed against Reid's lips, gently nipping the lower one.

Reid moaned softly in assent, allowing himself to be coaxed into dizzying, open-mouthed kisses. A slight rock of his hips earned him a low moan from Hotch, who only kissed him harder, doing that damned thing with his tongue that made Reid's toes curl and reduced him to a whimpering mess.

They both jerked as if they'd been doused with cold water when Hotch's phone started ringing, and Hotch made a disgruntled noise as Reid reached over and grabbed the device from the nightstand.

After clearing his throat (even though he doubted it would do any good) Reid answered with, "I really wish these people could find better pastimes."

"Sorry, Spence. Besides, then you'd be out of a job," JJ reminded him.

"I'm sure I could find something else. I assume this means we need to come in now?" Reid sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes," JJ replied. She then added, with her grin evident in her voice, "So you and Hotch will have to continue your tryst later."

Reid felt blood rush to his face, and he was distinctly glad that his face was flushed already so that Hotch couldn't tease him about it. "We'll be there as soon as we can." Frowning, he hung up and looked down at Hotch. "Sometimes I hate our job."

Hotch smiled wryly and pulled him down for one last kiss before gently nudging him up. "You should go ahead and get ready while I call Jessica," Hotch suggested as he slid out of bed, holding his hand out for his phone.

Reid deposited it in his hand before getting out of the bed and walking off into the adjoining bathroom.

Less than an hour later, they were walking into the conference room of the BAU. Everyone else was already there, and they quickly took the seats left open for them.

"Sorry we're late. We had to call Jessica to pick up Jack," Hotch explained as he flipped open the case file on the table in front of him.

JJ smiled and nodded, opening her mouth to speak when Rossi (who was seated to the right of Hotch) cut her off with a gentle, "Wait one moment." His gaze then shifted to Hotch. "Aaron."

Hotch looked up to see the older man staring at him incredulously. "Yes?" he prompted, quirking a brow.

"You do realize your hair is not as long as Spencer's, correct?" Rossi inquired.

At that Hotch's brows furrowed. "I am quite aware of that, Dave," he answered in a tone that heavily suggested he wanted an elaboration.

"Then why the hell would you let the kid leave a hickey in such a visible place?" Rossi questioned, sounding baffled.

The rest of the team attempted to hide their laughter as Hotch resisted the urge to run a hand over his face.

"Spencer, what did I tell you?" Hotch sighed, giving the younger man a fondly exasperated look.

Reid ducked his head slightly and grinned as he looked up at Hotch from beneath his lashes. "It's not my fault you said it after I'd already left one."

Hotch gave him a look that obviously said, "we're discussing this later," before turning his attention to JJ. "Please proceed," Hotch ordered, and after clearing her throat, the blonde agent did just that.

Hotch had been right about how the LEO's would react, but he decided it was worth it later that evening when Reid explained and then demonstrated to him exactly how distracting the mark had been.

"If you do it again, you're on the couch for a week," Hotch threatened afterwards, one arm wrapped around the younger man while his other hand linked their fingers together.

Reid chuckled and pressed a kiss to Hotch's bare shoulder. "You say that now..." he murmured, grinning cheekily as Hotch gave him a look. "Do you really want me to list all the other times you've said that, and then you didn't follow through? I can even give you exact dates."

Hotch shook his head, doing his best to suppress a smile. "Remind me why I put up with your cheekiness?"

"Because," Reid answered, his hazel eyes glowing warmly as he leaned his forehead against Hotch's, "we agreed it's one of my finer qualities."

Hotch chuckled, gently nudging Reid's nose with his. "Actually, I never did say that," he murmured, brushing a quick kiss over the younger man's mouth. "But it is definitely one of the reasons I fell in love with you."

Reid's eyes widened, his expression oddly vulnerable. "You just—I don't know how to—what?"

"Need a moment to process it?" Hotch asked with a grin.

Reid made a noise in the back of his throat, and then his mouth was on Hotch's, soft and sweet and trembling, saying everything that Hotch knew the other man couldn't say aloud just yet. And that was fine; he could wait.

Love is a chain reaction, after all.

Now we are for sure done! You guys are fantastic, and I really do appreciate you taking the time to read my little fic. (If you happen to catch any plot holes, please inform me.)

Thank you, once again, for reading! (;