Title: Ties that Bind
Author: nebula99
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Rating: FRAO/NC-17
Type: Slash
Pairing: Hotch/Reid
Summary: Reid looked aghast. "I can't put him in the washing machine - he'll drown!"
Prompt: 003 Transformation (inanimate) for wtf27
A/N: A birthday present for severity_softly who kind of challenged me to this. Only it's not a pencil. Happy Birthday!
And great thanks to slash_girl for most excellent beta-fu.

***

"The secret to success is constancy to purpose."
Benjamin Disraeli

"And you're sure it's Hotch?" asked Rossi.

Reid nodded sadly. "It has to be. There's no other explanation." He worried at his bottom lip for a moment and then looked at Rossi. "Do you think it's permanent?"

Rossi sighed and shook his head. "I don't know. Probably not. What are you going to do with him?"

Reid picked up the tie and smoothed his palm along its silky surface. "I guess I could wear him," he said. "At least he can see what's going on if I do."

"I think that's for the best," nodded Rossi. "We can tell the others he's taking some personal time - that'll work for now."

Reid pulled off his old brown and cream striped tie and stuffed it into his messenger bag. Then he lifted the dark green silk tie and knotted it carefully around his neck. The tie felt soft in his hands and he could manipulate it easily, yet when he'd put it on, it seemed to hang straighter than any other tie he'd ever worn.

Rossi gave a snort. "You can tell that tie is Hotch," he said. "He looks more professional on you than any of the rest of your clothes." He moved towards the door and then turned back. "Don't use your tie-pin - you could do him some damage!"

---------------------------------------------

The rest of the team were unconcerned about Hotch's absence. With all that was happening in his personal life, it was unsurprising that he was taking some time off. There were nods and knowing looks when Rossi made his announcement and then the team turned their attention to their latest case.

Rossi sat opposite Reid on the jet, trying not to watch too openly as Reid fussed with the tie, alternately winding it around his hand or stroking it between finger and thumb. He couldn't leave it alone and Rossi made a mental note to warn him if he got too obvious. Emily had already commented on how smart Reid's new tie looked, making him blush and look away.

Once they had landed and spoken with the local police, Rossi assigned tasks to the team, pairing himself up with Reid. He noticed that the young man looked preoccupied and uncomfortable and he wanted to give him an outlet to talk if he needed to.

Rossi unlocked the doors of the standard issue SUV and gestured to Reid to get into the passenger seat. After reminding him to fasten his seatbelt, Rossi placed both hands on the wheel and then turned to Reid.

"Hotch wouldn't want you to take your mind off your job," he said in a low voice. "The people of this town need us to be at our best, not pining for lost boyfriends."

"I'm not pining," scowled Reid. "I just miss him."

"He's here," said Rossi patiently. "He's tied around your neck, so give him a pat now and again but try to keep your focus."

Reid nodded and stroked the tie, tucking the thin end in between the buttons on his shirt. He wanted to feel it against his skin - at least it would seem as though Hotch were here.

The BAU regrouped at the cop shop in the early evening. The witnesses Reid and Rossi had interviewed had given them some useful insights and Morgan's walk-through of the crime scene had also given him some ideas. They talked for a while, getting nearer to producing a working profile and then made plans to speak to more witnesses the next day.

JJ had just given the team directions to the hotel they would be staying in, when Reid yawned and stretched, spilling the remains of his coffee over the desk. Used to his clumsiness, the team sprang into action, pulling files and photographs away from the puddle of cold coffee. JJ delved into her purse for some napkins and Reid apologised for the mess. He helped her to clean it up and then gathered the sodden napkins into a pile ready to dump in the nearest trash can.

JJ looked at him and tutted. "I think you got some on your new tie," she said with a shake of her head.

Reid let out a squeak of horror and dashed for the men's room, ignoring JJ's giggles.

Concerned at his disappearance, Rossi followed Reid into the bathroom and found him frantically dabbing at the tie with a wad of toilet paper. Reid looked up as he came in, his expression wide-eyed with worry.

"I spilled coffee on Hotch!" he hissed, before returning to wiping the tie.

Rossi came closer and peered over Reid's shoulder. "It's not that bad," he said. "You can wash it."

Reid looked aghast. "I can't put him in the washing machine - he'll drown! And I have to get this off now - what if it stains?"

Rossi sighed. "It'll be fine," he said, "Let me have a look." He lifted the tie and looked closely at it. "I think you mopped it all up," he said eventually.

He laid the tie gently back against Reid's chest and gave the young man a comforting smile. "You're taking good care of him," he said. "Now stop worrying."

Back at the hotel, Reid undressed quickly before taking the tie in both hands and kissing it gently. "Goodnight, Aaron," he whispered, draping it over a chair by the bed. "I miss you."

Reid had been sleeping for a couple of hours when he woke up suddenly. Disorientated in a strange room, he felt around for his glasses on the nightstand, squinting in the dim light cast from the small hotel bathroom. Reid fumbled with his glasses, finally succeeding in sliding them onto his nose. He sat up and switched on the bedside lamp.

Reid turned his head to look at the chair he had left beside the bed. The tie was now hanging vertically over the back of the chair. Reid took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes before replacing the glasses and staring hard at the chair. The tie was definitely hanging straighter than he had left it. If he had had something to measure with, he would have been pretty sure it was exactly in the middle of the chair.

Reid smiled a little sadly. "I miss you," he said. Then he looked at his watch and sighed. It was 3:00 am and he was now awake. He often struggled to get back to sleep anyway and now that he was missing Hotch, it was going to be even worse.

His hand slid automatically into his pyjama pants. He usually found jerking off was the best cure for insomnia and even if it didn't work, it was a fun way to pass the time. Reid placed his hand over his cock and felt it swell. He smiled.

Rolling to one side to place a tissue ready on the nightstand, Reid found his gaze straying to the tie. Then a thought struck him - jerking off while Hotch was in the room seemed rude. Would his lover be annoyed with him for doing it? Or frustrated?

There was only one thing to do. He would have to let him join in. It wasn't fair otherwise.

Reid reached out and took hold of the tie. He pulled it towards him and it slithered almost lasciviously off the chair. Reid smirked - it seemed that Hotch had the same thing on his mind.

Reid swept the covers to one side and lifted his pyjamas over his erection and pushed them down to his knees. He wriggled his legs and finally succeeded in kicking them off. Then he curled his fingers around his cock and pumped it a few times, letting out a quiet sigh of satisfaction as he did it.

Reid rubbed the silky tie against his cheek as he lazily stroked himself. His hand moved slowly and his grip was light, caressing his hard cock and feeling his blood pulse under the skin.

He wasn't sure if Hotch could hear him but decided to talk to him anyway. "You feel so soft," Reid breathed, "So good. I want to rub you all over my body. You're so sexy, so soft, so . . . silky."

Reid draped the tie across his throat and continued to stroke his cock. "Ohhh," he groaned. "You feel so good there - I want to wrap you all around me."

He spread his legs and jerked his cock a little faster. "Mmm," he said. "So silky."

Reid shivered in the cold night air but he didn't want to pull the covers back up. He liked being naked like this - it felt so liberating to not cover himself up as he usually did. With the tie in his palm he massaged the shiny silk across his chest, moaning as he worked his way down to his stomach. He was pressing "Hotch" against the trail of dark hair that led down from his belly button, imaging that his lover was kissing him there. His cock jolted in his hand and he tightened his grip. This felt good.

Reid brought his hand down and wrapped the tie around the base of his cock. He wound it round a few times and the pushed the end firmly between his legs, pressing the soft fabric against his perineum. That was better; he had Hotch swathing him, covering his most intimate parts and helping him get off.

The sensation of the delicate silk against his cock and balls made Reid moan aloud as he continued to masturbate. He was rocking his hips, thrusting up with his pelvis and pushing his cock into his hand. Reid cupped his balls, rubbing the tie against them rhythmically with his thumb. "Oh god," he whispered, "It's good."

Feeling the pressure build, Reid flung a hand out to grab the tissue from the nightstand. He was so close to coming that his hand was shaking but he managed to place the tissue on his stomach in readiness. Then he tilted his head back and went for it.

Reid jerked himself harder and faster, panting and moaning as the sensations mounted. The tie almost seemed to be helping, brushing against his most sensitive spots as his hips moved, urging him on, pushing him over the edge.

With a loud cry Reid came violently, shuddering and gasping as the fluid pumped out of him and spread across the tissue.

Reid lay back for a moment, his chest heaving up and down and a satisfied smile spreading across his face. He loved to masturbate anyway, and having Hotch participate like that had made him feel, for a moment, that everything was okay.

When his breathing had returned to normal, Reid propped himself up on one elbow and carefully cleaned up the sticky semen, conscious not to get any on the tie. He knew how fastidious Hotch could be and was sure his lover wouldn't take kindly to being made a mess of. When he was done, he carefully unwound the tie and caressed his face with it. The tie smelled of sweat and sex and very faintly of Hotch's cologne. It was the best thing next to actually having Hotch there.

Reid switched off the lamp and rolled onto his side, pulling the covers up and snuggling into his pillow. He clutched the tie tightly in his hand and closed his eyes, drifting quickly to sleep in the afterglow of orgasm.

In the morning, Reid spread the case files over his bed, scanning the reports and photographs to see if there was anything he had missed. He sat cross-legged on the covers, chin resting on his fist, and studied the information; all the while his thumb rubbed back and forth across the tie in his hand.

Eventually he unfolded his legs and climbed off the bed, figuring that a shower might help to clear his thoughts. He laid the tie carefully on the bed, giving it a gentle pat as he walked away. "I'm just going to take a shower," he said, feeling the need to reassure Hotch that he wasn't leaving him.

When Reid strolled back into the room, naked and rubbing at his hair with a towel, he stopped and frowned at the bed. The tie seemed to be lying at a slightly different angle than the one he had left it at and the triangular end looked almost as though it was pointing.

Reid hurried to the bed and squatted down next to it, the towel falling forgotten to the floor. The tie seemed to be drawing his attention to a corner of one of the crime scene photographs. Reid snatched it up and scrutinised it under the bedside lamp, tilting it to get a better idea of what he was looking at.

Then he got it - the mark on the ground next to the body wasn't a smudged footprint; it was an arrow and it was pointing towards the highway. Excited, Reid jumped up and ran to the door before remembering that he was completely naked. He paused for a moment, hand on the door handle, grinning to himself, before turning back and dressing as quickly as possible.

He stuffed the files into his messenger bag and slung it over his shoulder before carefully picking up the tie and bringing it to his lips. He kissed it gently and then knotted it around his neck, smoothing down the silk and whispering, "Thank you," before sliding his hand down to his crotch . . .

-----------------------

David Rossi awoke with a start. He blinked and sat upright in bed. "What the hell?" he muttered as scenes from his dream flashed in his mind like the trailer for a David Lynch movie.

He rubbed a hand across his face. Dreaming about his co-workers was understandable - hell, they all practically lived together as it was. But what was the rest of it about?

Deciding that he wasn't going to get any more sleep today, Rossi got out of bed and padded downstairs to make coffee, profiling his dream as he did so. Hotch being a tie - that one made sense. Of all the items of clothing that could symbolise Hotch, a tie was one of the most appropriate. It was an emblem of propriety, a signifier of status and of work to be done. There was no way the Hotch in his dreams would have been transformed into beach shorts, or a Hawaiian shirt.

Yawning, Rossi tightened the lid of the coffee maker and switched it on. It was the sex that was bothering him - or more precisely, the sex involving Reid. Why did he have to dream about Reid jerking off, and why did Reid have to be so naked? He was sure he didn't have those sorts of thoughts about his colleague. He guessed the kid was okay looking - if you liked that sort of thing - but Rossi had never been attracted to him. Now if he'd been dreaming about JJ, or Emily, or JJ and Emily . . . Rossi smirked. Yeah, there would have been no need for too much analysis of that one.

Reid and Hotch, Reid in bed, masturbation and a whole lot of very naked Reid; it was disturbing. Rossi leaned on the counter and waited for the coffee machine light to go out, deciding that his subconscious was definitely up to something. He scratched his head, considering why those two. Reid he thought he could understand - the kid probably was gay, but Hotch made less sense. Rossi frowned; Hotch was straight, he was sure of it.

And then there was the viewpoint in the dream. He could just about understand dreaming about Reid - but then dreaming that he was Reid? Rossi shook his head and huffed a small laugh. He dreaded to think what dreaming that he was a naked skinny genius said about him.

The small red light went out and Rossi took the pot and poured himself a cup of coffee. There was one member of his team who knew about dream analysis, but he couldn't see himself talking to him about it. There was no way he was going to tell Doctor Reid that he had been dreaming about him masturbating with a tie that was in fact Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner.

Rossi sipped his coffee and sighed. Something had triggered this dream and until he worked out what it was, he was going to have to pay the two of them some very close attention. But not too close; he'd already seen more than enough of Doctor Spencer Reid for the time being.



"Dreams are the answers to questions that we haven't yet figured out how to ask." Fox Mulder

***