Criminal Minds One-Shots

Sweet Treats (Hotch x Fem!Reader)

"What are we cooking in here?" You dropped the towel you'd been using to dry your hands down onto the counter and spun around at the sound of Hotch's voice. You were surprised to see him leaning against the kitchen counter behind as you hadn't heard him come in through the front door and you weren't expecting home for another few hours but you couldn't hide your excitement that he was home already. He was smiling contently at you, taking in the sight of the kitchen. You were setting your recipe which meant the countertops were now covered in an assortment of ingredients, containers and a whole hoard of other utensils you'd dug out of the drawers. Admittedly it looked a little messy.

"Not cooking, baking." You grinned widely at him as you leaned over the counter to press a deep kiss against his lips, bringing your hand up to cup his cheek. "I was talking to Penelope earlier and she was making some seasonal goodies to bring to JJ and Will's tomorrow for the team and I thought we could bring something nice too. I got some Halloween recipes for cupcakes and cookies from my old baking cookbook that I'm going to try."

"Well since I'm home early, anything I can do to help?" Hotch offered rolling up the sleeves of his shirt as he moved around the counter to where you had the recipe book propped open on a recipe for cinnamon cupcakes. He scanned his eyes over the pages noting that it was a simple recipe, nothing you couldn't handle together.

"Yeah actually, it would be nice to have an extra set of hands, thank you, Aaron." You nodded with a smile as you tied an apron around your waist, not wanting to cover your shirt in flour. You handed one of the big bowls on the counter to Aaron as he cleared himself a space to work. "Could you start cracking the eggs into the bowl while I sort out the oven and baking tray?"

Hotch was surprisingly a natural in the kitchen. It was something you'd learned about him when you first started dating, he could pick up a recipe quickly and he'd cooked you some of the best dinners you'd ever tasted. You both settled into an easy rhyme as you split the tasks and worked perfectly together. Maybe it was years in the field together or the deep connection you shared that lead to you both simply sensing when the other needed something, passing it over before you could even ask for it.

It was a calming process, working comfortably with Hotch to create something that you could then share with your friends at the party tomorrow. You chatted together about Hotch's meeting that day as you mixed the ingredients together and there were occasional fits of laughter from both of you as Hotch decided the flour looked better all over the front of your apron instead of in the mixing bowl in front of you. You tried to brush it away only managing to further rub it in and get it all over your hands.

The actual preparation part of the recipe was quick, the baking in the oven making up most of the time and soon enough Hotch was helping you spoon the batter into the cupcake cases. You'd chosen purple and orange cases to give them that Halloween aesthetic. The kitchen was now filled with the overwhelming smell of the vanilla extract and the mix of the scent and the general sweetness of the recipe had been tempting you since you started mixing all the ingredients together. You didn't think you could wait until the cupcakes were done baking to try them so the second Hotch turned his back to place the tray into the oven you reached out and stole the wooden spoon out of the mixing bowl.

When Hotch stood back up he was met with the sight of you licking the excess batter off the spoon, your eyes falling closed as you hummed at the sweet taste coating your tongue. You let out a guilt laugh when you opened your eyes again and found you'd been caught, dropping the spoon back into the bowl.

"Come here." Hotch chuckled with a roll of his eyes as he wrapped one arm around your waist and pulled you in closer to him. There was an amused glint in his eyes as he looked down at you. "You've got batter on your nose."