The Set Up

The Plan

A/N SORRY I'M CHANGING THINGS A LOT, HOTCH HAS NEVER BEEN MARRIED, SORRY I'M TAKING BITS OF CRIMINAL MINDS EPISODES.

Hotch's POV
I sit at my rest and stare at my computer, my screen shows a blank desktop. I zone out and tap my pen against the desk, my thoughts are interrupted by a knock on my door. Rossi sticks his head in and says "Aaron?"
I look up and say "come in".
He frowns and asks "are you okay, you seem a little distracted".
I say "no, I'm fine. I'm just tired".
Rossi nods before saying "okay" and leaving. I stand up and head to get a cup of coffee, my heart races with joy and terror as I near the coffee. I've been in the closet my whole life, the team doesn't even know. I've had this mad school boy crush on Reid for about a year or two.
He stands making another cup of coffee and he asks "did you work late".
I think, no, I stayed up all night thinking about him and wondering if he's gay. I just say "yeah".
Garcia comes in and says loudly "hello my pretties".
We all turn to stare at her and we all gather at the table near Reid and I. Rossi stands next to me and Reid is on the other side of me, everyone else sits or gathers around the table. I know I seem a little tense, but I have been a lot lately so no one comments.

Reid's POV
I focus on my breathing, the team is gathered around the table and I'm standing next to Hotch. God he's amazing, he's been really tense lately, I wish I could do something to help him. In...out...in...out, I have breathe normally, every time I'm around him I hold my breathe and I don't know why, well I do but that's not the point. I stay quiet and listen as Morgan says "anyone have plans for this weekend?" Everyone says no and Morgan suggests "we should all go out".
Everyone agrees and JJ asks "what about you Reid?"
I don't say anything so Garcia whines "come on".
I sigh and say "fine". I want to go but at the same time I don't, being that casual and close to Hotch excites me and terrifies me. We sit and decide what to do, we are going out for dinner at some restaurant in the city and then we'll probably walk around a bit. The day carries on slow with paper and we head home a little earlier to change and relax before heading out.

Morgan's POV
Everyone "left" early, after Hotch and Reid leave we all turn around and head back to the BAU, we all meet in Rossi's office. I lean against the wall and ask "so how are we gonna do this?"
Emily says "how about we have them sit across from each other or next to each other?"
JJ says "guys we don't even know if Hotch or Reid are gay. What if they really are straight".
Rossi says "from my office Reid types for a couple minutes and then glances at Hotch's office and then repeats the pattern".
I add "Hotch may be tense a lot lately but even before now he was tense specifically around reid".
JJ says "okay then, but I doubt this will happen in one night".
Emily says "how about we plan to do dinner once a month".
We decide that it's a good idea and head home.

Reid's POV
I sit on the edge of my bed and stare at my closet, finally I give up and call Garcia, "help me" I whine.
She says "what Reid?"
I say "what am I supposed to wear? I've never gone out like this before".
Laughing she says "oh reid, I'll be right over".
I groan and say "okay, thanks".
She says "I have to make a stop first".
"Okay" I say and then we hang up.
I lay on the floor and read until there's a knock on the door. I say "come in" and Garcia enters with two shopping bags and her purse.
She says "up, we don't have a lot of time".
I say shocked, "what?! We have an hour".
"Hush yourself, now come on".
I stand up and she places the bag on the counter and pulls out a stack of tops and two pairs of pants. There's light brown and black tight jeans and I frown, they're skinny. Ignoring me she looks through a combination of tee shirts, sweaters, button downs, and waistcoats. Garcia grins and says "take these" and throws me the black jeans.
I say "garc-"
"Shut up" she says and digs through the stack of shirts again and separates it into to different piles. She hands me a dark purple button down and a black waistcoat. I open my mouth to protest but she just says "no, go try it on".
I sigh and slip out of the room to try it on, I stand in the mirror and stare at myself as I start to slip on my shirt. I shut my eyes and breathe, I quickly check to confirm the door is locked before pulling out a blade. I stare at the scars that cover my sides before drawing it deeply across, piercing my skin. I watch the blood slowly flow down my side before covering it up with layers of gauze. I know it won't stop bleeding soon so I don't even try to stop the blood. I button up the shirt so I don't have to stare at the gauze on my waist. My wrists aren't scarred since I'm too cautious to just slice them open, it also gets really hot in summer here. I hurry to slip on the waistcoat, when I button it up it's a little tight but it looks good. If only Aaron was gay, I feel stupid trying to dress to impress a straight man who's much older. Since the waistcoat is a little tight there's a little bit more pain then usual but it doesn't matter.
I slip out and hold up black causal shoes and black hightops, Garcia gasps and says "hightops, and oh my god Reid!!! You look so cute!" she rambles to me as she rolls up my sleeves and unbuttons my waistcoat "leave it open. You'll definitely-"
She stops when I raise an eyebrow and say "I'll definitely what?"
She gets nervous and looks at the clock before saying, "nothing...ummm let's go".
I try and pay her but she says that she never gets to go shopping for someone 'fun' so she gives me the outfit, pants, and stack of tops. We head down and she drives us to the restuarant, it's supposed to be at a pub or whatever so I have no clue where we're going. The restaurant doesn't seem to be too far from my apartment so we are right in the middle of the city. After we find a parking spot we find everyone inside, we join them at a large corner booth and Garcia takes the open seat next to Morgan. The only open seat left is across from Hotch, between JJ and Emily. The pub isn't really a sit and order sort of place so we all decide what we want before heading to the counter, they'll call our number and we'll grab it later. Emily goes to order all our drinks and I'm the only one who gets water. When she comes back she's with some attractive guy who's helping with the drinks.
She says everyone this is "john, and he's from the FBI".
JJ says "really?"
He grins like he's trying to show up all the guys at the table. Garcia says "oooh! Show us your badge!"
John says "sorry ladies that's classified. What do you all do?" He says it to all of us, actually noticing us guys for the first time.
Emily glances at us with a small grin before we all pull out our badges and show him. He gets extremely embarrassed and flustered before awkwardly leaving. We all laugh, it feels good to laugh for real.
We all eat together before we head to play pool, I say to Morgan "I've never done this before".
He says "it's not to bad".
I nod and wait for my turn studying the table. My turn is after Hotch's, when he finishes I stare some more before carefully taking my turn. I get four balls in and everyone groans and Rossi says "why do we try to play against the kid".
I frown at the nick name since they already treat me like a kid. After I win a game some people go to throw darts and other people dance. I stand with Hotch and Garcia as we watch people dance. I take a sip of my water and realize Hotch hasn't touched his beer, I don't say anything. Instead Garcia leaves us to go dance with Morgan and Emily and other people.
At first we're quiet until he asks "anything new?"
I laugh and say "is there ever? Come on hotch, you know me". He nods and I ask "how about you?"
He says "nothing much".
I give him a curious look and ask "are you okay?"
He gives me a warm smile and says "yeah I'm fine. I'm just tired". I don't pry and we are quiet and he adds "something's just bothering me more than usual". I nod, then he says "are you....okay?"
I ask a little too quickly "yeah, why?"
He frowns and says "you've seemed a little....sad, lately".
I shrug "I don't know".
He nods and says "if you ever want to talk...."
I give him a small smile and say "thank you".
He says "no problem". JJ and Rossi join us and eventually we all leave to walk around the city a bit.
Emily says "this was great! We should do this more often".
Garcia says "yes! How about once a month?"
Everyone agrees and we wander a bit more, I walk I front and chat with JJ.

Hotch's POV
I walk behind Reid and JJ, I zone out and stare at Reid's back. Oh god does he look hot tonight, he is absolutely gorgeous. We get to the park and walk a bit and fool around a little, it's about 11:30 so it's a little late. Now I'm walking in the middle of the pack with Emily and Reid, I'm on the end and Reid walks in the middle. He's on my left and I can tell Emily and Morgan are a little tipsy. Reid comments on Morgan's ego and Emily breaks out laughing and pulls Reid close to her by the waist to keep herself stable from laughing so hard. I watch as he tenses and shuts his eyes in what looks like pain.
I frown and when Emily let's go he remains tense I debate over saying something until I say quietly to him "reid". He turns to me and I ask in a quiet voice "are you okay?"
He nods and says "yeah, I walked into the corner of my counter earlier, it's just bruised".
I nod, I don't totally believe him but I have no reason to think he's lying. When we finally make it back to the cars I offer to drive Rossi and Reid home since they're both on the way. Rossi sits in back which is weird but I don't say anything. Reid slips in front with me and buttons up his waistcoat before buckling up. I give him a questioning look and he says "Garcia wouldn't let me button it".
I nod and start the car, I dread the fact that Rossi lives closer then Reid so I drop Rossi off first. Rossi thanks me and I drive in silence to Reid's. When I pull up he thanks me for the ride and gets out, when he gets out he looks for his keys and I notice him wince in pain when his arm brushes his side, I frown but leave filled with worry.