Title: Playing Pretend
By: Daisyangel
Pairing: Reid/Hotch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Written for a may prompt over at rounds of kink Hotch and Reid have to go undercover and it's a rather interesting assignment. Prompt: "This is oddly familiar..." Kink: pretending to be gay.

***

"Gay couples in the Quantico area are being kidnapped, beaten and left for dead. So far we have a total of five couples," JJ explained introducing the team's next case.

"So how do we handle this one?" Emily questioned.

"We send two of our agents undercover," Rossi suggested. "Are the couples all male all female or is there a mix?"

"All male couples."

"What are there ages?" asked Reid.

"Well that's the interesting part. One of the men is usually a number of years older then his partner.

"They're all white," Morgan commented looking at the pictures of the victims on the screen.

"So who do we send? Obviously Morgan is out and Reid's the youngest so he has to be one of the two going undercover but what about the other one?" Hotch wondered. Reid choked on his coffee at Hotch's declaration but he knew the unit chief was right.

"Pretty boy in a gay club? I can't wait to see this," Morgan teased.

"Morgan," Reid complained as he ducked his head, embarrassed. Patting him on the back Garcia smiled at him as she caught sight of the sly smile on Rossi's face.

"What are you thinking, Dave?" Hotch asked worriedly.

"You and Reid, you two would be perfect." Hotch wanted to protest but he could see the determination in Rossi's eyes not to mention the glee he saw in JJ, Garcia and Emily's.

"It's settled then, we'll meet at the club where the other kidnappings have taken place tonight at 8:00. Morgan, you'll be in the club. You can be pretending to look for a date while keeping your eyes and ears open for anything. The rest of you will be in a van. Garcia, we'll establish a newsfeed so you can see into the club from the van."

"Sounds perfect, bossman," she agreed.

"I just have one question," Reid interjected.

"What's that?" JJ replied.

"How involved were these couples?" he asked a blush spreading across his face.

"According to witnesses they were pretty involved. Making out every chance they got and dancing like crazy. Very hot, according to one man," JJ answered. Reid gulped. He just hoped he could deal with the fact he was dealing with a major case of unrequited love when it came to Hotch while they made out to catch the unsub. He loved Hotch, but he knew Hotch was as straight-laced as they came. He was married to Haley for most of his life for goodness sake. He could handle this, he told himself. It's to catch an unsub, nothing else, he reminded himself sternly. There was no room for his personal feelings in all this, he argued. Part of him couldn't seem to accept that, though. He would just have to ignore that part of him. Noticing her friend's slight discomfort Garcia placed a hand on his and squeezed. Turning to her he smiled.

"You okay?" she mouthed. Nodding he turned back to Hotch to finish the meeting. -

Reid was confused when a knock sounded on his door at 6:30 that evening. Walking to the door he opened it, revealing a beaming Garcia.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to help you get dressed and to talk," the tech answered.

"I can dress myself, Garcia. I've been doing it for years now," he teased. Looking at her friend she frowned. He was wearing cords and a shirt he usually wore to the office.

"You're not wearing that tonight, are you?"

"Um, yeah I was going to. What's wrong with it?"

"Everything, c'mon, I'll fix this." As she was speaking she drug him towards his bedroom and pushed him down on to his bed. Hurrying to Reid's closet she began pulling clothes out and tossing them aside after she looked at them.

"Don't you own a single pair of jeans?" she asked exasperatedly.

"Yes, in fact I do," Reid defended. Finally the blonde found the article of clothing she was looking for. Reaching for the shirt she'd set aside she handed both items to Reid.

"Get changed, and then meet me in the bathroom."

"Yes, ma'am. Getting changed, ma'am." Slapping his arm she grabbed her huge purse and headed out of the room closing the door behind her. -

Five minutes later Spencer made his way into the bathroom. Staring at his reflection in the mirror a small smile crossed his face. Garcia had managed to find his tightest pair of jeans and a blue silk shirt.

"Lookin' good, sweet cheeks," Garcia complimented.

"Thanks," Reid mumbled.

"Now get over here and sit down. I need to do something with your hair." Nodding Reid settled on the stool Garcia had brought in from his kitchen and let her work her magic. He knew it would be pointless to argue with her. "So are you ready for tonight?"

"Yeah, of course I am."

"So what was that all about this morning?" she wondered.

"What do you mean?" Reid asked.

"When Hotch announced he would be the other team member going undercover."

"It was nothing. I'm just nervous. I've never gone undercover before. Especially for something this different. I'm sure Hotch has," Reid explained.

"I know he has once, but all he had to do really was just chat up a guy in a gay bar. What aren't you telling me Spencer?" Reid began to panic. Garcia had called him Spencer. He knew she meant business. Sighing in defeat, he decided to come clean.

"I'm in love with Hotch." Stilling her hands from where she had been applying product to his hair Garcia turned to face him.

"Are you going to be able to do this?"

"Of course I will. It's my job, Garcia. We have to catch the unsub."

"I know you can do it, but what about your feelings? Will you be able to work with him after tonight knowing that you won't be acting?"

"And he will?" Reid finished her thought. The tech nodded. "I have to Garcia. Yes I love him, but his friendship and this job and his approval mean too much to me for me to screw that up. I'll do this job tonight then we'll go back to being Unit Chief and Dr. Reid tomorrow morning and forget tonight ever happened. I'll put my feelings on the back burner. I've done it this long, I can do it again." Garcia wasn't sure who Reid was trying to convince more, her or himself. Recognizing the look on Reid's face meant he wanted the subject dropped Garcia decided to listen for once.

"Okay, let's finish getting you ready," she said cheerfully. Nodding Reid settled back forcing himself to relax and stop thinking. -

"This is oddly familiar," Hotch thought as he arrived at the club and scanned the parking lot for Reid. He'd gone undercover as a gay man once before and that had gone well. They'd managed to catch the guy. He hoped this time would go just as smoothly. Catching sight of Reid he did a double take.

"Was that the awkward genius who wore cords everyday? Obviously Garcia had worked her magic. A squeak came from his ear piece.

"Is that Reid?" JJ squeaked.

"Yes it's me, JJ," the genius answered as he situated his own ear piece unobtrusively in his ear before making his way towards Hotch.

"You ready to do this?" Reid whispered in Hotch's ear as he moved into the unit chief's personal space. Nodding Hotch leaned in and pressed is lips to Reid's deepening the kiss and winding his fingers into Reid's newly styled hair. Reid felt like he'd died and gone to heaven as the kiss continued. He knew that Hotch was acting, but the man was just as good a kisser as he had always imagined. The two of them made their way inside and continued their little show. Twenty minutes later the team spotted two men approaching the two agents.

"Two guys heading your way," Morgan called.

"I see them," Hotch whispered.

"Hey there, cuties, you're coming with us," one of the men snarled as he grabbed Reid's arm while his partner grabbed Hotch's.

"I don't think so," Reid responded turning and knocking the guy trying to kidnap him off balance and to the ground. Morgan was on him in an instant and cuffing him. Rossi came up from behind and took care of the other man. Both of them were lead out in cuffs and the team was left standing there smiling at the two agents and marveling at the transformation Garcia had done on Reid.

"Good job, Reid," Hotch complimented as the team surrounded them.

"Thanks you to," Reid answered softly avoiding Hotch's eyes. -

"I didn't even know you owned jeans, Reid," Emily teased.

"What is it with you guys being amazed that I have jeans?" Reid complained. Morgan laughed.

"Give the kid a break."

"Thanks, Morgan."

"No problem," Morgan said with a smile. Reid gave him a small smile in return. Garcia could tell his façade was close to breaking.

"Well, go home everyone. The report can wait until tomorrow morning. Good work," Hotch congratulated. Bidding each other a good night everyone headed out of the club and to their cars. Garcia was last to leave accept for Reid and she watched in concern as he climbed into his ancient Volvo and started the engine, just as his façade broke and the tears began to fall. Climbing out of Esther the computer tech walked over to her friend's car and knocked on the window. Jerking his head up in surprise Reid tried to wipe away the tears but no success.

"Change seats, I'm driving you home," she informed him. Nodding silently Reid did what he was told Reid climbed into the passenger seat and placed his head on the window letting the tears and unrequited love he felt for Hotch flow down his face bound and determined to be back to his old rambling awkward self tomorrow.

Finished

A/n: I originally had this going in a very different and much happier direction, but the muse threw a fit and she demanded this version instead. If anyone is interested in the happier version let me know and I can write it.