Airing Aaron (HotchxOC)

Bursting for a Bruise.

The house was dark. One small night light was sat in the recently cleared-out spare room, while a small mobile emitted soft sounds and faded lights in the baby's room. Snores left the snuffled nose of one small child as he slept with a piece of tissue beside his bed that he didn't use. The second the adults turned their back on him, he would wipe his nose with his hand or sleeve, and there was nothing they could do to stop the habit.

Just as the night had grown to be its darkest, there was a jangle of keys that went unnoticed by those in the house. When the door was opened and then locked again, shoes were quietly slipped off, and a large bag was placed down, followed by a smaller one. Along the walk, a jacket was pulled off and placed on the sofa, as well as an irritating tie. Trousers and shirt came off once the master bedroom was found, and quietly, the blanket on the bed was lifted and crawled under.

Hotch's arm was quick to find Alessandra, and as he laid his head to rest on her stomach, she wriggled slightly before realising what was going on. One check of the lit clock told her the time, and she grumbled. 'Two in the morning?' she mumbled as her hands found his hair, and she soothingly started twisting it around.

'We got the bad guy,' Hotch muttered against the patch of skin he had exposed.

'Of course, you did. You're the good guys. How did it go?' She asked, muffled by sleep.

'It went well. We've got a few accident reports but nothing major. And we followed the rules. We hung around until the warrant came through,' he confessed with a smile while he looked up at her, and as the moon lit her face, every feature became clear.

Every feature was clear, too, when tired eyes grew large and alarmed as Alessandra finally saw Hotch's face. 'What happened?' She asked suddenly as her hand lifted his chin so she could see it better in the light from the night sky.

'I had to tackle him, and he landed a few punches,' Hotch admitted quietly, and he tried to pull his face away, but she kept his chin in her grip as her eyebrows knitted in worry.

'Why didn't you say anything?' She asked, pulling his body up the bed so that they were face to face.

'I thought it was best if you saw it first. You'd worry less,' he mumbled in reply as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest.

'Hotchner.' Oh no, he gulped. He was in trouble. She wasn't playing, and that was stressed even more when she pulled away from him and refused to let him touch her. 'You have spent the past few weeks lecturing me about how a relationship is a communication thing, so I have been working on my communication. You get daily updates on the kids and Jess if you ask for them. I tell you about my day all the time. I would worry less if you told me, "oh, yeah, by the way, I got punched. It's not bad, but just to warn you," rather than showing up in my bed at stupid o'clock and hoping to go unnoticed. This isn't fair. I haven't ever been one for relationships like this, but I am trying to make it work. For your sake, for my sake and for the kids. If you're this bad now when we've only been casually seeing each other for nearly two months, what are you going to be like when you're not lusting for me anymore? Will you just leave?' Alessandra asked, disbelieving his audacity.

'I'm sorry, and I promise that if it happens again, I will tell you,' he reassured as he tried to hold her again.

'But you're going to break that promise, just like when you promised me you wouldn't put yourself in danger tacking guys anymore. That's Morgan's job. You're older, more fragile and...ugh. I'm tired. Let's discuss it tomorrow when you can explain this to Jack,' she huffed out before turning her back to him and trying to sleep.

Hotch soon moved closer to her, and she let him. His arm wrapped around her waist, and with a smile, he pushed himself against her. Alessandra knew what he wanted, but he didn't make a move to do anything. 'Did Jack get to sleep okay?' Hotch asked in her ear.