Title: Claiming Victory
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: 1drabble
Prompt: 8, Victory
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the lovely Aaron Hotchner or Spencer Reid, unfortunately, just borrowing them for a while. Please do not sue.

***

Aaron sighed as he rested his head in his hands, leaning back in his desk chair. He was exhausted from the case they'd been working on; he was looking forward to going home with Spencer now that it was done. He needed some time away from work.

They all did. It had been an excruciating case.

He didn't want to see any more dead bodies or blood for a while. He'd seen enough of those to last him a lifetime, though he knew that if it came down to a choice between walking away and continuing to do this job, he'd stay. He couldn't make himself quit.

One of the things that he'd always had a burning desire to do was to find justice for victims. And this was one of the best ways that he knew of to do that. Even though he had sacrificed his marriage for this job, and had lost people he loved, he still wouldn't leave.

This job meant too much to him. It was too much a part of him. It made him feel that he did something useful with his life, something that made a difference and helped people.

He couldn't give that up. Each time they caught a killer, it was a victory for justice. Maybe a small victory, but any kind of justice as good, in his eyes. Being able to bring closure to people who had lost so much, to bring evil to justice, was what he'd always been meant to do.

Spencer wouldn't want him to stop doing what he did, either. His young lover was just as committed to finding justice for the victims of violent crimes as he was; their jobs were a large part of what made them both the people they were.

If they weren't doing this, then they would both be irrevocably changed. And truth be told, he didn't want either himself or Spencer to change by doing something different.

This might not be the best job that he could have at the moment, especially after what he'd been through with Foyet. But somehow, that bad experience just made him want to help people more, to find closure for more victims, to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Spencer would feel the same if he tried to explain it, Aaron thought with a soft smile. Even though his lover didn't have all of the life experience that he himself did, somehow Spencer could always divine just how he felt, and just what he meant, without him having to go into detail.

It was only one of the things that he loved about his boyfriend.

Taking a deep breath, he pushed his chair away from his desk and got to his feet. It was time to go home and try to relax, and he was more than ready to do so. Once again, he and his team could claim victory. And in the end, that was the only thing that really mattered.

***