Title: Heart Beats And Heel Holes
Author: Pants
Rating: FRC
Pairing: Reid/Gideon
Summary: Support beams and shoulder blades.
Notes: It's in the same universe as my other little pea ficlet. Also, I'm sorry if there are any inaccuracies about the team, I haven't been following the show long. Actually, last Wednesday was the first entire episode I've seen.

***

Gideon and Reid burst onto the 17th floor at the same time, Gideon came through the empty doorway leading to the stairwell, and Reid had made his way up the scaffolding alongside the half-finished building and through the glass-less window. They saw each other across the landing, giving a brief nod of acknowledgement before running to the slumped figure on the ground near the middle of the landing.

They were too late. The seventeenth target, Vanessa Alvarez, was already dead. Reid pulled at his hair and threw his head back in breathless frustration. Gideon just stared darkly at the cold cement floor beside the young woman's head, panting still, from running up 16 flights of steps. Reid, breathing heavily as well, looked at his watch; 5:03. Three minutes, three fucking minutes sooner and they might have been able to save her.

Suddenly, it occurred to both of them that the unsub was very probably still on the premises, but before either could do something about it, Reid's eye caught a small red dot that ghosted across Gideon's stomach for a few seconds, before coming to settle over his heart.

Without time to say anything, Reid pounced on Gideon, knocking them both to the floor. At the sound of the shot and vibration of the round hitting the cement next to them they scrambled up and against each other, somehow making it behind a metal support beam that stood inches from the outside wall.

Gideon was pressed tightly against the wall, facing out, and Reid against Gideon. The bullets persisted, inches from Reid's back and getting minutely closer every time. Gideon snaked his arms around Spencer and pulled him closer.

Reid's forearms lay flat against the wall and his chin dug into Gideon's shoulder. As they developed a breathing pattern that assured neither was breathing in at the same time, Gideon finally became aware of his arms wrapped around the young man's much-too-skinny waist and sharp shoulder blades, and that one or both of them were shuddering with each shot. Pressing his mouth against the other man's shoulder, Gideon focused on the fast, steady beat of Reid's heart and tried not to let the erratic gunfire jar him.

Reid jumped once, squeaking and knocking his toes hard into the wall. Gideon feared the worst for a few moments until he realized the shaking of the body against him was Reid's laughter. The young man turned his head slightly, his lips against Gideon's ear, and whispered breathily, "He got the heel of my shoe." They remained silent after that, but no longer so intensely terrified, focusing on each other instead of the gunfire.

They stood there, impossibly close, for minutes that seemed like hours, breathing heavily as their unsub went through round after round of rage.

Finally, Hotch, Prentiss, and Morgan arrived, taking the unsub down and calling out the all clear. It took a few lengthy seconds for Gideon and Reid to disengage from each other. Gideon slowly slid his arms back to his sides, and Reid lowered his own arms and stepped back, glancing briefly into Gideon's eyes before peering at the back of his right foot.

A hole went through one side and out the other, and a hint of pink tinted the ragged fibers around the mouths of the openings. Reid squinted at the heel, "Must have grazed me. I didn't even feel it." Reid didn't mention that the fact he hadn't felt it probably had something to do with his attention being almost entirely on the feel of Gideon's hear beat battling his own.

"Is it bad?" Gideon asked, suddenly very concerned.

"Well, no- I don't… No, I don't think so." Reid replied, suddenly flustered. Then, to his surprise, Gideon knelt down on one knee in front of him, gesturing for him to raise his injured foot. He did so, hopping around on one foot trying to stay upright, until Gideon steadied him with a warm hand on his hip. Even after Reid took hold of his shoulder Gideon was slow to remove his hand. For a moment the Doctor wondered whether or not to make anything of it, but Gideon hadn't taken his eyes off the injured foot in front of him, and Reid chalked it up as just one more strangely pleasurable experience of the evening.

Gideon stood up just as Hotch walked up to them. He nodded at Hotch and turned back to Reid, "It's not that bad, but I doubt walking down sixteen flights of stairs is going to help it much."

Reid nodded and winced, it was starting to sting. Hotch raised his eyebrows and addressed them both, "What happened?"

"We got here three minutes too late." Reid said, the frustration coming back.

"The girl was already dead." Gideon's gentle voice continued, "But the unsub was still here, obviously, and before we could do anything he started shooting at us from the landing up there." Gideon gestured to where Morgan and Prentiss were watching a cuffed and furious man very carefully.

"The only place we could get to was behind the support beam." Reid pointed to the nook behind the support beam that Gideon and he had so recently occupied.

Hotch looked at the small space, then back to the other two men, "Both of you?"

They nodded in silence, slowly beginning the long walk down.

***