𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬

sweet nothing- aaron

You hadn't said a single word since you'd sat down for dinner and Hotch was notably concerned. It had become a sort of unspoken tradition for him and Jack to join your family for dinner the night after Hotch closed a case and this tradition though not at all in your honour was one of the only good things about being a university student still living with your parents. You and he hadn't quite found your footing in terms of managing your secret relationship yet, you didn't always find the right time or place to meet up without suspicion which meant that moments like these where the time and place were already set up, it was like a gold rush for you. You'd spend the whole night talking his ear off, absolutely drowning in nerves every time you'd catch one of his stolen glances while your dad was talking about some boring business deal that he'd settled.

"That last case of yours was a real tough one," your dad noted before a bite of pasta, your mom humming in agreement as she snuck another roll into Jack's plate, the little guy not all that fond of her broccoli pasta surprise, especially when he found out the surprise was cauliflower. "We were watching the news just before you came," you cringed at that, you attempted to hide it by taking a sip from your wine glass, but you weren't all that smooth, trying just a little too hard to avoid his gaze when he looked over at you.

You tried your hardest to ignore the rest of the conversation, helping Jack put butter on his roll and talking softly about what he learned at school that week, completely ignoring the other side of the table. It was a good thing because if you were paying attention, you'd have heard Hotch changing the subject in favour of staring at you and when you finally looked up from your plate you were surprised to find yourself alone at the table with him.

"Honey," you stood up, nearly knocking your chair over from the speed of the gesture, gathering the remaining plates from the table and walking with the pile to the kitchen. You knew he'd follow, knew he'd be concerned with your silence, your odd behaviour, and if you were any better at hiding your feelings, you'd have tried to act normal, act unbothered by the very detailed, very gruesome clips you'd seen of your partner, your person, all bloodied and bruised explaining what terrible person he'd just come face to face with. You'd always known that what Aaron does is extremely dangerous you'd have to be foolish to act like it wasn't, but seeing him like that, hearing what he had to go through it was more overwhelming than you thought it would be. Having a vague idea and knowing explicit details were very different, for your head and for your heart.

The door closed behind you, your hands frozen in place as they hovered under the cold water running from the tap, heating up slightly every second, his footsteps were piercing in the otherwise silent room and when he stilled behind you there was a suffocated breathe that filtered into the air, your lips retracting into a tight pout shortly after.

"Honey," the repetition of the simple word made your heart clench into a ball inside your chest, and you realized that though you had no true control of the urge to give him the silent treatment, it was also not entirely fair, so you leaned back, hitting his chest, sighing softly and allowing his arms to circle your waist in an instant. "I'm okay," it was a simple statement, nothing more than you needed so you nodded, drying your hands before folding them over his.

"You sure?" he hummed lightly, kissing the back of your head and you felt his grip tighten around you, it was all a little backward really for him to be comforting you when he was the one you were worried about. "I love you."

"I love you too," two squeezes, one for you and one for him and third just because he felt the moment needed it. There was more to be said, a bunch of questions still fuzzy in your head, a bunch of explanations still ready in his but 'it wasn't the time, you didn't need some big declaration, you wanted to know he was okay, and he needed to know you believed it. "I should go check in with your dad."

"Bear, can we just..." your fingers dug into his skin before he could even think of stepping back, letting your head lull back onto his shoulder, satisfied when he kissed your forehead in the new position. "Can we just have a few more minutes, just need a few more seconds in your arms."

"I think we're safe for a little longer," he concluded, and you melted, his arms were like a safety net, and you were happily cocooned in his hold, eyes closed and swaying lightly. He wished he could allow himself to sink into the moment with you instead of staying hyper-aware of every sound and movement in the rest of the house, count the seconds to consider how much time it was taking in the kitchen when he was expected back in the living room but he did allow himself a guilty fourth squeeze, eyes full of love stealing a longing glance to fill every fleeting second with you.