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Dinner was an awkward and silent affair, Alpha Hotchner sat at the head of the table, his son Jack to his left and Spencer to his right. None of them particularly wanted to be there, but they had to learn to accept their new life, with their new family.
It had been 3 years since Hayley died, and Alpha Hotchner was long due another Omega. He’d been given enough time to find his own, to no avail, so the government provided one for him: Omega Spencer Reid.
Despite the research Garcia had done into Hotch’s new mate, nothing could have prepared him for what Spencer was really like. He was nearly as tall as Hotch himself, despite most omegas being noticeably shorter, but he was skinny- it looked as though he’d never had a proper meal. His eyes were sunken in, jawline was sharp and he seemed to be able to look anywhere other than Hotch himself.
Both Hotch and Jack tried to be welcoming, the wedding ceremony having been brief and unromantic- purely a bureaucratic occasion. So they had a nice meal made for them at home, to make Spencer feel more welcomed into the family. It did not appear to be working, though.
Spencer waited until Hotch and Jack had started eating before taking a tentative bite himself. He’d been given a large portion of food and did not think he would be able to eat it. He carefully ate as politely as he could, remembering all the things he had been taught. Omegas received etiquette lessons the whole way through school, learning how to be a polite, submissive and obedient omega.
Spencer only answered questions with one word answers, followed always by Alpha. Hotch hated how afraid Spencer seemed to be of him. He knew just how many alphas would utilise the marriage law to be able to entrap vulnerable omegas. They would be unable to have any of their own assets or money and would be completely at the will of their alphas, many of whom were violent and abusive. Hotch was neither of those things, but he knew that he would have to prove himself to the Omega.
“Spencer, would you like some more vegetables?” Jack asked, having been debriefed by his father to be polite and kind to the scared omega.
“No, thank you, sir.” Spencer replied bluntly. Barely able to finish his food but it would be rude to be ungrateful to leave it all on his plate. He wasn’t sure how to address Jack. He hadn’t presented yet so it was possible he was an omega too, but in case he was an alpha, Spencer wanted to be cordial.
Jack giggled at how overly polite Spencer was being, looking over at his father to acknowledge it. Hotch also fondly smiled back at Jack, knowing the boy was not used to being called sir at all, he was far too young.
That was until they looked over at Spencer. If they thought he couldn’t have looked more scared earlier, they were wrong. The omega was petrified in his seat, hand gripping tightly to a fork, the other one balled in a fist. He stared at the table, too scared to make eye contact.
He didn’t know what he did wrong, he was just trying to say the right thing and now they were laughing at him. He didn’t know the rules, so why didn’t they tell him any rules?
“Spencer?” Hotch asked softly over at him, not understanding just why he suddenly seemed to get worse. Spencer didn’t reply, he wasn’t used to people calling him anything other than ‘Omega’. He hadn’t been given permission to talk so he wasn’t going to.
His face was contorted, trying to hold his emotions together but it did not work, a tear fell down his cheek and as soon as he tasted the saltiness, it unleashed all the fear he’d been feeling the days leading up to this. He sobbed, loudly, the initial tear being followed by many others. He nearly wailed as he could no longer keep fighting anymore. He knew this was bad, so bad. He would no doubt be punished for such a lewd display, but he couldn’t help it. He wanted to go home.
“Jack, go and play in your room,” Hotch immediately got into action, trying to figure out the best way to make the omega, his omega, feel better. Jack got up, leaving the two in privacy, knowing Spencer must be feeling embarrassed.
“Spencer?” Hotch asked again, even quieter. A voice he normally reserved for victims, or children. But he wanted to appear as unthreatening as possible as he went to crouch next to Spencer’s chair.
“Spencer, you’re safe here. I do not believe in punishing omegas. I do not believe in refraining from showing emotions. And I do not believe in a hierarchy here in the home.” He didn’t know if Spencer heard anything he was saying as he continued to sob, bringing his sleeves to cover his hands and hide his face away.
“I-I- I’m s-sorry,” he choked, knowing that speaking without permission was dangerous, but he was already being disobedient and rude, what was a little more? To his surprise, though, the alpha did not announce his upcoming punishment. Instead he said;
“You have no reason to be sorry, Spencer. I know you must be scared. Many alphas in this world are cruel. But I promise you, I will do my very best to prove to you that I am not one of them. I would never lay a hand on you.”
The alpha’s words were soothing to him, he seemed to be genuine although Spencer knew better than to believe what someone was saying without proof. Then, before he could back away, he felt a hand on the small of his back. Until now, all the touch he had ever known from alphas was followed by pain, but this didn’t hurt. The hand barely grazed his back as Hotch was unsure if it would be welcomed or not. He allowed enough space for Spencer to avoid it if he wanted, but to his surprise, he felt Spencer leaning into it.
Instinctively, Hotch began rubbing circles in Spencer’s back, as he did to Jack when he had nightmares, knowing that the soothing motion was calming.
Spencer relished the feeling, it was pleasant and he couldn’t understand why he enjoyed it so much. Moments ago he had been terrified of the alpha he was bound to by law, but suddenly, his soothing tone and his warm hand were helping ease his anxieties as his sobbing slowly subsided.
Spencer let go on the fork he had a death grip on, and let himself relax ever so slightly into the touch. Part of him, the survival part, told him this was a trap, a way to get him to let his guard down. The other part, though, let him believe that he was in fact, safe.
He spared a glance over to Hotch, still on the floor near him, doing his best to not loom over the omega and appear harmless. Hand still gently rubbing circles.
“Let’s leave this here, and go and talk.” Hotch decided to announce, his legs beginning to hurt. He was aware of the schooling omegas received, and knew many of them expected to be met with a list of rules and expectations. He cursed himself for not giving Spencer any information when they entered their house, making the omega fearfully guess what the best course of action was.
Although Hotch didn’t want to apply any rules to Spencer, there could still be positive rules that he could encourage. To give the Omega a sense of structure, or purpose.
“I should-” Spencer instead began picking up his plate, knowing it was an Omega’s duty to clean. He’d already missed the opportunity to show his cooking skills. He couldn’t believe his alpha could cook so well, the least he could do was clean up.
“Leave that for later, come,” Hotch held out his hand, now standing.
Spencer stared at it, palm open and inviting. He found himself missing the pressure on his back and craving some connection once again. He carefully placed his hand on top of the Alpha’s, who circled their fingers and led him to the living room, where the couch was looking a lot more inviting than the wooden dining chairs.
They sat together on the couch, a distance between them. They were strangers after all, but their hands were still clasped together.
“Spencer, I do not want to enforce any rules upon you. This house is yours as much as it is mine. I will never punish you for anything, I just ask that we keep an open line of communication.”
Spencer was looking into his Alpha’s eyes. Dark and mysterious. His scowl had been threatening when they first saw each other, but Spencer saw that maybe he was softer than he initially appeared.
Either way, they both knew Spencer would take a while to feel at ease in his new home. Punishment or not, he had his learned behaviours and Hotch needed to prove to him just how safe he really was.
For now, though. Spencer listened to his instincts, telling him to trust the man in front of him, and his adorable child. Maybe he was wrong, but maybe he really was home.