Chapter Text
Notes: AU fic. You’ll need to suspend your disbelief only a little for this fic. While most of this is cannon (They all still work as profilers for the FBI) but culturally and legally their world is very different to cannon. Hotch never married or had children. There is also the genetic difference, but you’ll only learn about that by reading about that here…
WARNINGS: Slash, Slavery (kinda), D/s, first time, discipline, spanking, romance, angst etc
Disclaimer: I don’t own them, wish I did! Please don’t sue me!!!
CHAPTER 1: THE BELT
Hotch sighed and unclipped his belt, easing it out of the buckles and folding it up around the palm of his hand. He looked at it a while, his mind torn between the need to retain professional standards and the benefits he knew would come from breaking those standards. But one look over to the young man absentmindedly tearing his fingertips to shreds while looking over crime scene photos from the last killer steeled his resolve. He walked over to Reid’s desk and leant over.
“If you need this I’ll be in my office. If not, leave it on your desk and I’ll pick it up on my way out later” He said, placing the belt on the desk beside Reid’s hand and walking swiftly away. He didn’t want to pressure the young man, the whole point was the help him release it.
He’d known Reid used this method to deal with his issues soon after he started working with him but then it was dangerous, following a path of self-harm and hazardous behavior. At first Hotch tried to ignore it but then the behavior started to affect his ability to do his job and put the rest of the team at risk, he stepped in. At first he requested that Reid see a counselor but he had refused outright even under the treat of suspension.
“Please, I can’t stand psychologists, I know it’s illogical considering my background but I have been to so many over the years. It doesn’t help.”
“Reid, I can’t just stand by and watch you do this to yourself”
“You don’t have to, ok, I’ll deal with it. You don’t have to worry about it affecting my work here”
“It’s already doing that”
“I’ll deal with it” said Reid walking out of the room. That had been months ago but the conversation still rung in Hotch’s ears. He had decided then to deal with the only other way he knew how.
“No way!”
“Listen to me Reid. I have experience with this, I know how to help you. But you have to promise me something”
“What?”
“When you need to feel pain you come to me. You never do it to yourself or put yourself in a situation to get hurt on purpose. You do that and you’ll be put on immediate suspension and it’ll go on your permanent file, understood?”
Reid looked like he was about to cry but whispered “Yes, understood”
Hotch for the first time ever pulled Reid into his arms and hugged him firmly against his chest. He stroked the back of his head while speaking,
“I know you don’t want this. I know it’s not something you would ever choose to need, but you do need it don’t you?” he could feel Reid nodding against his shoulder and his tears soaking into his shirt.
“I’ve done this before Reid and I’ll never abuse your trust. I promise, I’ll look after you. Do you want to start now?”
He had frozen then, obviously conflicted but then simply pulled himself closer to Hotch’c chest, refusing to meet his eyes.
“I need you to tell me”
“Yes, ok yes, I need it”
That day Hotch had simply closed the door and without ceremony had Reid lower his pants and delivered three strokes with his belt across Reid’s thighs. He’s watched carefully to Reid reaction. Three it seemed worked well but in the future he would need to increase the number should Reid need it.
He’d leant forward and pulled Reid’s pants up and buckled them for him before easing him back into a standing position. Again he pulled him into his arms and rocked him slightly, usually after a session Hotch would have taken them to a quiet spot and sat with them either talking reassuringly or simply petting them to keep them grounded but with Reid he needed to keep it more professional.
Or so he tried to at first but Reid had worked his way under his skin and no matter how many times he tried to distance himself from the act, his own need for closeness with the youth had eventually overridden his better judgment. And one day after laying a series of welts he leant in to kiss Reid forehead but instead been greeted by his lips, his desire took over and Reid welcomed him.
From there Hotch had watched almost unbelieving as their relationship slowly grew, improbably. And sometimes Hotch was amazed at how incredible that young man was and how unsure of himself. What most people didn’t realize was that Reid was anxious a lot of the time, not just when the job was dangerous but during normal interpersonal interactions. When people addressed him personally, he preferred to quote others or state facts than reply on his own terms. He sat at the back of group meetings and walked a step behind the others. But his recent behavior towards Hotch had changed, he’d started opening up, organizing time for them to together and even asking for sessions.
Sessions Hotch was happy to provide even more so when they began to take on aspects of loss of control meaning that less pain was needed. But as for the sexual aspect of their relationship, they took it slowly, months passed before they even took their pants off and even then Spenser always took a passive role, his anxiety mixed with his obvious need to combine pain with pleasure. That fact, as well as some of Reid’s other behaviors caused Hotch to start putting together a very distressing possibility. But they were really making progress, both professionally and in their relationship and Hotch wasn’t anywhere near ready to test for that unlikely circumstance.
That was until Tobias, that bastard, captured, abused and almost killed him. Then Reid stopped coming over stopped asking for sessions and started acting strangely. He was lost somewhat, at times almost ghostlike while at other times moody and impulsive, nothing like the Reid they all knew. Everyone knew something was wrong, but they didn’t know how to help him.
Until finally Hotch decided to do something he hoped he’s never have to do, he brought Reid’s personal needs into his professional world, the last place Hotch still felt connected with Reid. By placing the belt on the desk he hoped the temptation would be to strong, he hoped to break through to him, but he couldn’t force him, Reid had to ask.
He watched Reid stare at the belt for over an hour, not directly, but while attempting to get other work done. Every few seconds his eyes would cast back to the belt as if memorizing it’s shape, colour, size. He needed it, Hotch knew but that didn’t break his resolve, instead as five o’clock came he got up and walked out of the room with the others. His hands were shaking as he packed up his things but he didn’t look back.
Hotch punched the wall.