i genuinely don't get how people ship hotch and reid. to me, they're clearly like father and son who have playful banter at times that shows that they aren't that "biological father and son duo" as biological sons and fathers would exactly interact that way, especially in the year that they're currently in. (early 2000's, i think.)
(BEFORE ANYONE SAYS ANYTHING, IM ONLY ON SEASON 2, EPISODE 16. DO NOT SPOIL. AND THIS IS ALL MY OPINION!!! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, SCROLL AND MOVE ON.)
1. hotch is older than spencer by a lot. yes, agegap ships exist and are okay (as long as both parties are above 18), but their dynamic isn't in any way showing "i like him" or "he's so cute". it's just a simple show of respect and genuine care for eachother.
2. spencer reid himself. he sees hotch as a friend more than anything and he's just not one to like hotch as a romantic interest. their bond is close, but it doesn't get anywhere near the line of "more than friends". they have arguments/discussions about silly things, such as classic narcissism — as stated by hotch in s2, ep15. they're both smart and they respect eachother greatly on that aspect, even if hotch himself doesn't show it that much.
3. hotch can be bisexual via headcanons (and i, myself, do see him as bisexual), but spencer is not his type and hotch is not spencer's type. spencer doesn't necessarily have a type and i honestly don't see him as the type to have romantic feelings for anyone. the only kind of "relationship" he'd have would be a queerplatonic partnership. hotch, as far as i know and as far as the show has said, has a wife and a son. he's not the guy to like someone like spencer, female or male. he's simply just not into that kind of people. spencer is smart in many ways, but he also has his insecurities. hotch would try to help that if they were in a relationship, but it just wouldn't work.
and which that brings me onto my next point.
4. hotch wouldn't be a good partner with spencer. yes, they're in the same job, they have essentially the same schedule and they deal with the same horrors, but spencer has his own insecurities and he wouldn't be able to express certain things or deal with some of hotch's personality traits as his boyfriend. hotch is closed off and the only time we ever really see him talk about his emotions or really just show emotions other than basic worry, anger or sadness is with haley — his wife. hotch would have to be insanely close to spencer for that and he's also a stickler for rules. being romantically involved with a member on the same team, let alone a superior and a subordinate, that's very much against the rules as it can spark preferential treatment or cause hotch to keep spencer away from the danger as much as possible to avoid him being hurt which isn't allowed either. hotch is too closed off and "cold" for spencer. they get along as friends, but the romantic aspect wouldn't work. it might work for a bit, but then it'd just be problem after problem and more pain and heartbreak than love and sweetness. yes, they COULD like eachother, but the relationship, like i've said before, would not work.
anyway, uhm, yeah that's all my rambling about that topic!!! they're friends who respect eachother greatly and do care for eachother as a father would his son and as a son would his father if they had a close bond (which they do in this case).
yes, gideon does exist, but he's a mentor for spencer — not a father figure. and if anyone wants a explanation on my opinion for that, just lemme know ^^