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It was late. Very late. So late that everyone had drifted off to sleep... all except for you and Hotch. To say you were the resident insomniacs was a bit of an under-exaggeration as everyone knew that, no matter what the time of day, you and Hotch could be counted on to be awake. You both used the excuse of work to shield the fact that you had trouble sleeping, of course, but it was an unspoken fact nevertheless.
You sat in your usual seat, just across from Rossi who sat opposite Hotch, and read your book. Hotch's light from his laptop as he worked was just bright enough for you to read by it, and so you didn't bother with an overhead light. There were often little chivalrous things you noticed about Hotch- like the fact that he would turn his brightness right down when everyone fell asleep as not to disturb them. You had always liked how he was thoughtful like that. Truth be told, you had always liked him.
Aaron Hotchner was a bit of a mystery- even for a profiler. Sure, he was your boss, but it's no secret that lots of people get into work-place relationships with their bosses. Of course, you highly doubted that the to-the-letter Aaron Hotchner would ever do something like that, but sometimes he would do something that would make you change your mind about that.
It was never the big things with Hotch. Lord knows that he was useless about talking about his emotions, but it was in subtle acts that he showed he cared. It was in the way he would hold the door open for you, or the way he would always check your face for signs of distress when you looked at crime scene photos, or the way he wouldn't let you go into an unsubs house without him next to you.. or him slightly in front of you where he could shield you. At first, you thought it was him just keeping an eye on you as a new member of the team. But then, as time wore on and you became a part of the fixtures and fittings, you started to think it might be something else.
Not that he would ever act on it, of course.
As for you, the first time you started to see Aaron Hotchner as anything more than a boss was when Elle was shot. She was your best friend, and it almost broke you when she left the team, but when she got home that day and saw her wall wiped clean of her blood you knew that there was only one person who would ever even think to do that. Hotch was married at the time, of course, but there's nothing wrong with an innocent crush... or not so innocent, but certainly not brought about through bad intentions.
When Hotch did get divorced, you always held out a little bit of hope that one day you might become something more than what you were. He was never quite just your boss, both of you knew that, but knowing something and acting on it are two very different things.
But there you sat that day, lights low in the plane, and there was one new escapable thing hanging in the air. The fact that it was fucking freezing. You had tried to hide your shivers, of course, but Aaron Hotchner- ever the profiler- didn't miss your small shakes.
'Are you cold?' He asked with a deep voice, pausing in his typing to look across at you. As the blue light from his laptop shone on his face, you immediately noticed how pronounced his eye bags looked in the light. You couldn't help but think that if he had somebody to go home at night that he might sleep better.
'A bit yeh.' You admitted, your voice soft as not to disturb any of your sleeping team. Hotch looked at you for a second before moving his laptop slightly out of the way, leaving it open so the light still shone, and standing up. He reached above him and took out his Go-Bag as his back faced you, zipping and unzipping it as he pulled something out of it.
'Take this.' He said as he handed you a khaki quarter-zip jumper. You looked at him for a second, something unknown glinting in his eyes, before taking it and putting it on. It smelt like him- pine and expensive cologne- and you couldn't help but feel safer with it on. It's like just the thought of him meant the world was a nicer place.
'Thankyou.' You said before settling back down and reading your book again, him taking a seat and carrying on typing. Eventually you felt your eyes droop and you drifted off to sleep, snuggling up in the jumper that was far too big for you.
'Kid we're landing in twenty.' Rossi said as he tapped you on the shoulder lightly, moving away to go use the bathroom. As you opened your eyes, you caught JJ and Reid staring at you before quickly averting their eyes. You were still in Hotch's quarter-zip... and the truth is, you never wanted to take it off.
Two years later:
You reach into the overhead compartment of the plane and pull Aaron's quarter-zip out of your go-bag. The same quarter-zip that he had leant you all those years ago- the one that you had never bothered to give back and that he had never bothered to ask for. It almost became a running joke between the two of you, and when you got married you had joked that it should be your something borrowed.
'I think it became yours a long time ago.' He replied, his dimples showing as his cheeks turned up in the smile that lit up his entire face- the smile that was becoming more and more common every day. 'Just like me.'
