Title: Dropping Formalities
Author: lady-ravaatris
Paring: pre-slash Hotch/Reid
Rating: PG
Words: 3960
Warnings: Slight, very general spoilers that aren't really spoilers anymore, really.
Authors Note: Where I live, we had a heat wave. Yes, in May. In retaliation, I started to write this fic. It's set at Christmas, (seven months early, I know...) I suppose it would be this year. Just some slight angst, slight fluff, preslash.
Disclaimer: I do not own the BAU, Hotch, or Reid (but if I did.....oh, the things I would make them do...) I do, however, own Hotch's neighbor. I rather like her....

***

The good cheer was almost a tangible feeling in the BAU. The latest case had been short, simple. No other people had been victimized, and best of all, they had been flown back to Virginia just in time for Christmas Eve.

Oh, and it was snowing. Perfect snow too, not too hard and icy, not too slushy. White fluffy flakes that made you feel good just looking at them. It was a good ending to one of their better weeks.

Everyone was smiling as they finished putting files away at their desks, wrapping up work and preparing to spend the holidays with friends or family. They joked around for a while, Morgan flirting with JJ and Garcia, Reid reciting statistics on accidents caused yearly by snowfall, Hotch was in the bullpen with them, wishing them happy holidays.

Even Rossi was relaxed for once.

So they all chatted, started up in a round of off-key jingle bells, until Morgan announced that he had to leave for a 'very hot date'. Garcia left as well, going off to meet up with Kevin for the evening. JJ just snuck off with a secret smile that she thought nobody noticed. Prentiss left to visit her family.

So it was just Rossi, Reid, and Hotch left in the office.

Rossi went back into his office, and came out a few minutes later wearing a coat and saying his goodbyes.

Hotch was in his office, wrapping things up, as he noticed Reid still working on finishing his reports. Going down to Reid's desk, Hotch put his hand on his shoulder. "You should get going soon," he said. "It's okay for you to finish up the reports tomorrow, Christmas is only once a year."

Reid looked up to see one of Hotch's rare smiles.

Hesitantly grinning back, he nodded and shut down his computer and picked up his messenger bag. Standing, he said "Merry Christmas, Hotch." and left.

Hotch smiled after him until he was out of sight. Then he sighed, and went back up to his office to grab his jacket and leave.

--

"I'm home," Hotch called out as he opened his door.

He was greeted with only silence.

He sighed. After all these months, he was sure that he would never be used to coming home to an empty house. He would never get used to the silence that pressed in on days like today, days that had been good until he was reminded that there was no one waiting for him at home.

"Merry Christmas…" he muttered to himself.

At first he had been unable to recognize the feeling. The unbearable tightness in his chest, the gaping hole in his stomach, the unsettling feeling of fear that came over him with these sensations.

And then he named it: loneliness.

It was what made him announce to a structure of wood and plaster that he was leaving. It's what compelled him to tell it when he was back.

Because maybe, someday, his calls would be answered by a voice. And life could go back to the way it was, everything could work out, and his son could grow up living with him. He and Haley could reach an agreement, they could work together.

But with each passing day this hope dimmed. Haley had moved on, she was seeing some rich defense attorney now. Hotch had actually met the guy once before when he was still working as a prosecutor. The guy was a detestable man who got rich by letting the people out of jail that he had worked so hard to get in there.

It was the sort of passive-aggressive behavior that he expected for his wife. He no longer loved her as he had once had, but there was no denying that he missed her.

Her and Jack.

Automatically hitting the button on the answering machine, he listened to a prerecorded voice telling him that he could have a once-in-a-lifetime deal: He had randomly been selected to have an offer to fly to Hawaii for free. All they needed was his credit card number, and he could have his free prize.

Another message was from his neighbor across the street. Abigail, a nice old lady. Hotch was on good terms with her. She wished him a merry Christmas, and hinted that she might bring cookies over sometime when he was home. (This was a tradition that had started when he and Haley had first moved into their house. Every Christmas, she would bring them some sort of treat and refuse to accept anything in return.) Hotch smiled at the thought of her kindness, wondering what the world would be like if people just gave each other cookies and gifts every once in a while, expecting nothing in return.

The third and final message was from Jack. Hotch sat up and stared at the answering machine as the four-year-olds voice came through it, as though he would actually be able to see him if he looked at the speakers long enough.

"Daddy! Mommy said you wouldn't be there but I just want to say Merry Christmas! We're at Grammas house and she's making us ham- I like ham, don't you daddy? We have ham, and potatoes, and candy! Lotsa candy!" there was a pause, muffled voices, and then "Gramma says to tell you thank you for all the presents, and I love you Daddy but we're going out to lunch now so I have to say goodbye. Goodbye Daddy!"

Hotch smiled sadly. Haley had taken him to her parents' for the holidays, and it had probably taken her some convincing to let Jack send even that short message.

He continued through his house, automatically dropping his keys on the kitchen counter. Heading towards the fridge, he opened it only to discover that there was nothing to eat. He stared at the empty shelves for a while, willing some food to magically appear. When that didn't happen, he groaned, decided he could do without, and headed over to the liquor cabinet in the corner.

Opening it, he discovered that not only was there no food, but there was also no alcohol with which he could forget that he had no food.

A wave of hopelessness crashed over him. He was spending Christmas for the first time in years completely alone. Holidays are only happy when you have someone to spend them with, and he was more alone than ever.

Calm down, he ordered himself. After all, it was just another ordinary night. Just like any other evening where he has to go out for dinner because he forgot that there would be no one at home to remember to buy food. It was no different from last week or the week before. So there's no reason to break down.

Closing and locking the cabinet (and berating himself for locking an empty cabinet in an empty house) he turned around and grabbed his keys off the counter, heading back out to the front door and into the car.

Once he was out of his neighborhood, he drove around for a while, unsure of where to go. The snow was falling a little bit harder now, and Hotch idly wondered if Haley would visit him in the hospital if he got into an accident.

Probably not.

Driving aimlessly on mostly back roads to avoid the Christmas rush traffic, Hotch glanced out the window to see a park. Squinting through the snow melting against his windshield, he spotted a lone figure standing near the fountain in the center.

Squinting harder, he thought he recognized the figure.

Parking the car on the side of the street, Hotch got out and made his way carefully to the fountain.

Reid glanced up as Hotch approached him. "What are you doing out here?" Hotch asked.

Reid grinned up at the sky, "It never snowed like this back home when I lived in Vegas. Every five or six years we would get an inch or two of gray slush, but nothing like this."

Hotch smiled, looking at Reid. "It's beautiful, isn't it," he murmured softly.

Reid looked back down, at Hotch. "What are you doing out here Hotch? If you don't mind me asking, that is." he hastily added.

Hotch hesitated before replying. "I…I didn't feel like staying inside an empty house tonight. I was going to go out for dinner or something." he paused. "Would you like to join me?"

A surprised smile flickered across Spencer's lips. "Sure! I mean, I didn't have anyone to spend Christmas with either, so I was feeling kinda…I mean I…yes, I'd like to join you."

Hotch chucked. "My car's parked over that way, where do you want to go?" He gestured and started to walk away from the fountain.

"I don't care, wherever you were going to go is fi-WHA-AHHH!" A patch of slippery ice caught Reid off guard, and he started to fall. Reaching out for balance, he grabbed onto Hotch.

Unfortunately, Hotch was in mid-step, and his foot came right down on another patch of ice.

"Oof!" Hotch grunted as they fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. They lay stunned there for a second, Reid on top of Hotch, until Hotch burst out laughing.

Reid panicked, his voice getting squeakier and squeakier as he apologized. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pull you down! I'm sorry! Why are you laughing?"

Hotch tried to take several deep breaths. "I'm sorry…it's just...looked…so funny falling." Then he collapsed into another fit of laughter.

Reid look surprised for a second, and then started to chuckle too. He rolled away from his boss and stood up, brushing snow off of himself before reaching down to help him up.

Hotch grinned. "Come on, I know a pretty good restaurant if we make it out of this park alive."

--

The restaurant was nice. Of course, any place that was heated would be nice after their tumble in the snow. A pretty young waitress walked up to them, politely ignoring their slightly dripping clothes. "Just the two of you?"

Hotch nodded. "Yes, thank you." she smiled and led them to a cozy two-person table near a window. Outside, they could see the snow starting to let up a little.

The waitress came back over and asked if they were ready to order. Hotch smoothly ordered a bottle of wine and a dish of 'fettuccini carbonara'.

Reid, not being able to read Italian and thus decipher the menu, just said. "Same," and wondered briefly what he had just ordered.

After their meals arrived, they had a lively conversation as they ate. They were sharing tales of their collage days, while Reid got a little tipsy from the wine.

"…and in conclusion, that is why ninjas will always be better than pirates." Reid finished a strangely amusing anecdote. Hotch laughed and made a mental note to never visit a comic convention, no matter what.

Finishing up their meals, they relaxed while waiting for the check. Hotch smiled. The atmosphere here was so soothing. It was almost…romantic.

Wait, what?

Hotch stopped that line of thought in its tracks. Just the wine talking. Wine and loneliness. It's natural to want to be with someone when you're lonely. Even more so on days like this where it's worse than usual. That's all it is.

Wine and loneliness, nothing more. (so shut up, you stupid nagging thought)

He looked up to see Reid giving him an odd look. "Are you okay?" he asked Hotch. Hotch smiled back at him, hoping to look reassuring. "Yeah, just thinking."

Just then the check arrived, so he successfully avoided having to undergo an awkward questioning about just what he had been thinking about.

He stood up. "Come on, Spencer," he said. "I'll drive you to your house. Where do you live?"

Reid hesitated. "Well…Hotch…the thing is…" he glanced down at his lap. "I…don't really want to go home to an empty house…" his cheeks reddening as he confessed.

Hotch just nodded understandingly. "You can spend the evening at my place then. To tell the truth, I wasn't looking too forward to spending the rest of the evening alone either."

"Thank you." was all Reid could reply. He was truly grateful that he would have someone to talk to tonight. Being alone with his books wasn't unpleasant, but after a while he just couldn't stand not being around another human being. When he read, sometimes he opened his mouth to comment on a particularly interesting part of a novel, and would look up to see no one to talk to.

The crushing loneliness made him tempted to forget all his troubles. To just use some more dilaudid, just once. He shook if off, but still, this feeling of absolute aloneness had been bothering him for a long time, whenever they came back from a case. But he had been afraid to tell anyone. He wasn't sure that anyone would understand.

As they walked out to the car, Hotch suddenly remembered. "Oh, you don't mind if we stop by a store first, do you? I need to pick up some food."

--

Carrying the groceries into Hotch's house, Reid got a good look around.

Hotch lived in a very pricy neighborhood, and in a very nice house, which apparently Haley had let him keep. The furniture was tasteful, in the living room there was a good-sized TV.

In the kitchen there was a nice dining room table, with three chairs around it. They set the groceries down there and Hotch started to put them away, leaving Reid feeling awkward just standing there but not knowing how to help.

Noticing this, Hotch told him to just make himself comfortable in the living room. "There's probably some corny Christmas movie on TV that you can watch." he joked.

Moving down to the couch in the living room, Reid sat down, flicking on the TV. Flipping through seemingly endless commercials, he finally settled on a random channel in time to see the opening credits of Some Corny Christmas Movie playing.

Wrapping his arms around his legs, Reid shivered slightly as he curled up on the couch. He looked up as Hotch walked up and settled a blanket around his shoulders. "I thought you looked a little cold." he explained softly, sitting next to Reid.

Reid felt his heart speed up at the closeness to Hotch, and scooted over to give him room on the couch. "Thank you." he murmured. "So," Hotch said. "What are we watching?" Reid chucked. "No idea."

They watched the movie in relative silence, together, on the couch. Around the point when the main family was beginning to worry that they might not have a merry Christmas after all (gasp!) Reid's eyes began to droop. As he fell asleep, he leaned against Hotch, curling up against his warm body.

Hotch stiffened as Reid fell asleep against his lap, unsure of what to do. He hesitated, considering getting up, but when he tried to move Reid groaned in his sleep and clutched at Hotch's shirt, holding him down.

Deciding that the younger man needed his sleep, Hotch reached over towards the remote (which was alllmost out of reach) and clicked off the TV. Running his fingers gently through Reid's hair for a moment, and marveling how that felt, he decided to say 'screw you' to the little voice insisting that the wine had gotten to him and that he would regret this. Leaning forward, he gently kissed Reid on his forehead. "Goodnight, Reid…" he murmured as he too drifted off into a much-welcome sleep.

--

Reid woke up slowly. It took him a while to register his surroundings and realize where he was.

In Hotch's house.

More specifically, on Hotch's couch.

Even more specifically, on Hotch.

Okay. WIDE awake now.

And there goes the good ol' heart, thumping away like the energizer bunny. The energizer bunny on speed. And crack cocaine. And meth.

He considered trying to get up, but he wasn't sure if that would wake the still-sleeping man or not. And he certainly didn't want to do that. Besides, he was comfortable where he was. And he was warm. The floors of the house were probably freezing! And he wasn't completely awake now. A little bit of drowsiness was sneaking up on him. In fact, he could still sleep for a couple of hours. The team had today off, and even if they didn't, he didn't need to be up for at least two and a half hours. Plus, if he did accidentally wake Hotch up, who knows what kind of mood he'd be in. Better just to stay put, right?

Well, that settles it. He had rationally listed out all the reasons why he shouldn't get up, and they all made perfectly good sense. He would just wait for Hotch to wake up by himself, and in the meantime take this chance to…

To WHAT?

To sleep. That's how he was going to finish that sentence. This was a perfectly good chance to catch up on some sleep. That's all. No other reason for staying here. On Hotch.

Reid closed his eyes once more and snuggled in closer to Hotch.

--

When he woke up for a second time, Reid was alone on the couch. Sitting up groggily, he thought he heard sounds coming from the kitchen. He stood, heading towards the noise.

Hotch turned around as Reid walked into the kitchen. From the doorway, Reid can see eggs sizzling in a pan on the stove. Noticing the look, Hotch explains "I figured I'd make breakfast." "You can cook?" Reid asks before he can stop himself, immediately looking horrified for having asked.

Hotch's lips twitched in amusement. "Yeah, I've just never really had the time before." He expertly flips the eggs just as the doorbell rings.

Moving the eggs over to a nearby plate, Hotch says "That's probably my neighbor, Abigail. Hold on for a second while I talk to her."

Opening the door, he's greeted with a smile and a plate of cookies. Abigail looks to be about in her early fifties, dressed in bright, almost eccentric looking clothes. "Aaron," she greets him warmly. "It's so wonderful to see you." she hands him the plate and gives him a hug. "You too," he replies.

"Now then," Abigail says. "Are you going to introduce me to your lady friend, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?"

Hotch sputters for a moment, taken off-guard for possibly the first time Reid can remember. "Wh-wh-what?

"I saw you get home yesterday. I may be old, but I'm not blind. She looked like a tall, pretty young thing. Now, are you going to introduce me?"

Hotch's face reddens, trying to find a way to explain that Reid isn't a woman. Although he can see why someone would mistake him for one in the distance, with that pretty, shoulder length hair and the slim figure….

NO! Bad thoughts!

"Abigail," he starts, "That's not what you think."

"Oh?" she asks, "What am I thinking then, Aaron?"

Reid was watching from inside the house, out of sight, amazed by the power this woman has over Hotchner. Were old ladies supposed to be so…sassy?

"That person…wasn't a woman. He's just…a friend who needed a place to spend the night, so I let him sleep on my couch." Hotch tried to explain.

"Well, then." Abigail said, before looking over Hotch's shoulder and into the house. "Come out, honey, and introduce yourself. I promise I won't bite." Looking back at Hotch, who was trying very hard not to give the old lady the death glare, she said "Calm down, Aaron. There's no shame in having me meet your friends. I swear, you're worse than my son."

Reid stepped forward hesitantly, slightly intimidated. "H-hi…I'm Dr…that is…I'm Spencer Reid…" Damn tongue, always getting so tangled up in knots…

Abigail smiled warmly. "Hello, Spencer dearie, is it? It's so nice to meet you. Merry Christmas to you. Now Aaron, sweetie, why don't you go put those cookies in the kitchen, on the counter. And stop it with that look, you'll scare the children."

Reid had to smother his laughter at Hotch's expression as he was called 'sweetie'. Abigail, noticing said "If you really want to see him glare, call him a stud muffin." Reid's wide-eyed stare just made her grin even wider.

"So, Spencer, you know Aaron from work, I presume?" she asked. Reid just nodded. "Ah, that's a good thing then, that he has someone to look after him. He's been so depressed and lonely lately, and always getting home so late! So it's nice of you to be here for him." she sighed.

Reid glanced down, before saying, "Really, he was there for me, letting me stay here for tonight,"

Abigail suddenly got a mischievous look on her face, "Shhh…he's coming back. Watch this,"

Hotch walked up to them, saying "Thank you for the cookies, Abigail, I'm sure they're delicious."

She grinned. "No, thank you stud muffin-" Hotch's eye twitched slightly as he tried to keep smiling through gritted teeth. "But I must admit that I'm going to be late for an appointment if I don't leave soon. It was very nice meeting you Spencer, have a good day, Aaron."

Turning to leave, she waved goodbye over her shoulder.

Closing the door, Hotch turned to Reid, "I'm sorry about her. She's always like that…"

Reid just smirked. "Stud muffin?" he asked.

Hotch groaned. "Don't even ask." he said.

They made their way back to the kitchen. Spying the plate of cookies on the counter, Reid made his way over and grabbed one.

Ahhh….is there anything more wonderful in this world than a chocolate-chip cookie?

Feeling slightly emboldened by the sugar, Reid said "Hey, you should try one of these…stud muffin."

Hotch turned the death glare full force on Reid. "Don't. You. Start." while thinking, why does this always happen whenever someone I know meets Abigail?

"Fine, Aaron." Reid replied.

"Fine, Spencer."

"Hey...can I call you-" Reid started.

"No." 

"Then maybe-"

"No."

"How about-mmphfmmff!"

Taking the opportunity to end the teasing, Hotch grabbed a cookie and shoved it in Reid's open mouth.

Coughing and sputtering, Reid managed a "No fair!" as Hotch laughed. "Stop calling me that then."

Reid sighed dramatically. "All right, all right…Hey, Aaron?"

"Wha-"

Grabbing his chance at revenge, Reid grabbed another cookie and put it in Hotch's mouth. Hotch backed up, suprised that he had fallen for that.

Swallowing, he held up his hands and said "Truce, truce…no more surprise cookie attacks, alright?"

Reid grinned back. "Alright." then he added "Aaron."

Hotch narrowed his eyes. "Alright then. Spencer."

"Aaron."

"Spencer."

They were closer now, almost sizing each other up, seeing where they would stop this game.

"…Aaron."

"Spencer."

Testing whether the other would back down, or if they would just continue this until someone made a move, as they moved closer.

Almost touching now, Aaron decided to try something.

See, voice? It wasn't the wine. The wine's all worn off now.

Hesitating for a split second, he leaned forward and kissed Spencer.

There was a brief instant, a pause, and then Spencer was kissing him back with a passionate fervor. And he was a surprisingly good kisser. They moved even closer, bodies pressing against each other, hands tracing lines across the others body.

They begin to move, still kissing, past the living room, past the couch. Down a hallway. Into Hotch's bedroom.

Aaron stopped for a second. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked, pausing at the doorframe.

Spencer looked up and nodded. "Yes." he said as he pulled Aaron into the bedroom and closed the door behind them.

--

Fin.

***