In The Light

I Now Pronounce You Old Man and Wife

Aaron was not the sort of man to make bold claims. Yes, he had been known to make remarks that were... less than proven. But they were all made after deliberation and based upon years of experience. He typically preferred to wait until he had collected as much information as possible before speaking. And he never made assertions about his level of knowledge, recognizing that there would always be someone who knew more than him. However, after four months of friendship, three months of silence, eight months of secrecy, eight months of dating, five months of engagement, and roughly three hours of marriage, he was confident that he was the world's leading expert on one Tor Hotchner née Beauregard.

It was hardly a fair competition. While she had many people who loved her dearly, none of them had fixated on truly knowing her as Aaron had. It was an unintentional obsession, but there was no better word for it. From that first fateful night in his office when she pried those reports out of his grasp, he knew he could not rest until he understood her. While that task had proved far more complicated than he expected, he was honored to have come closer to attaining that lofty goal than anyone else.

Which was how he knew that she was unbearably anxious.

To the untrained eye, she was simply a beautiful bride soaking in the love on a thus far perfect wedding day. The first looks had concluded on schedule, thanks to their wedding planner's ability to foresee Aaron's reluctance to let Tor leave his side. The guests arrived on time, a miracle for the BAU. The ceremony had been everything they had hoped for, from David's touching speech about finding love and light no matter how dark life seemed to Tor and Aaron making it through their vows without needing to stop and cry.

And now, here they were. Sitting at a small table with Jack, holding hands, and watching their loved ones eat, drink, and be merry. The wedding itself was over, and the reception was well underway. There was nothing else to worry about, meaning Tor should have been relaxed. Except Tor was... well, Tor and had been struggling to contain her anxiety for the past ten minutes. She kept touching her chest as if hoping to find the pearl necklace instead of the diamond snowflake Virgil had given her. She had barely touched her food, pushing it around on her plate as if Aaron would not notice how little she had consumed. And she did not stop glancing around the room as if expecting something to go wrong but not knowing where the catastrophe would come from.

Aaron carefully shifted their clasped hands to rest on her jostling knee.

"Hey, Mrs. Hotchner," he said softly, unable to contain the smile warming his face and voice.

Tor smiled radiantly and squeezed his hand.

"Hey, Mr. Hotchner," she replied, her voice trembling slightly.

Aaron glanced over her shoulder to see that Jack had abandoned his seat in search of some sorry sucker who would give him more of the bread Aaron had said he could not have until he finished his vegetables. He had never been so thankful for his son's soft steps and ability to sneak away.

"How do you feel?" he asked.

She made a face at her least favorite question. His gaze slid from her face to her fingertips pressing the diamond pendant. She sighed heavily and dropped her hand. He quickly took it, eager for every point of contact he could get with her.

"Emotional," she admitted, giving him a rueful chuckle. He nodded as he moved his chair to an angle to her, allowing him to see her lips moving more clearly.

"Which emotions are you feeling?" he asked as he lightly massaged her hands.

"Overwhelming joy," she said without hesitation. "Like I've been tossed into an ocean of dopamine and serotonin."