𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐲 𝐀𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 | hotchniss

My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand

I feel like I already read every possible hotchniss fanfic in AO3 and Wattpad please recommend me some good ones happy endings only!! I seriously can not handle bad endings it stick with me for so long I can't recover:) | Will probably update another chapter tomorrow!

Episode:
5x18 | "the fight"

"Did you even notice the way he looked at you?" Aaron asked. They had just returned from another case in San Francisco, where they had investigated the murders of several homeless men that appeared to be connected to a series of father-daughter murders that Aaron's old friend's team was working on.

Aaron had agreed to coordinate his team's efforts with Cooper's because he trusted him, even though Cooper's team wasn't authorized to work on the case. Unfortunately, this meant that Mick, one of Cooper's guys, had been paired up with Emily quite a lot, leaving Aaron to watch them.

"What can I say? I've been told I have an inherent ability to turn heads" Emily answered, jokingly.

"It's not funny" he declared. Emily smiled, walking past him. "Yes, it is. You were jealous for no reason" she answered, standing next to the car door and waiting for him to open it.

"Shouldn't I be? He was hitting on you every chance he got" Aaron said, annoyed, as Emily rolled her eyes. "Aaron, Mike knew we were dating" he frowned, trying to act like the fact that Mick knew bothered him more than her calling him by his first name. "How?" he asked, watching her enter the car and climb into her seat.

She raised her eyebrows at him when he entered. "I think we've gotten pretty sloppy with hiding that, don't you think?" Aaron closed his door. "Well, that just makes it worse" he continued, "knowing you have a boyfriend and continuing making moves on you..." He argued.

"It was because he wanted to get a reaction from you" she laughed, remembering how Mick had teased her about it. "Maybe I should've given him one" he murmured, starting the car. Emily rolled her eyes again and buckled herself in while Aaron did the same.

It had been almost two months since Aaron had returned to work, Rose had left their place and chosen to just visit them more frequently and while it seemed like everything was back to normal, it didn't feel natural. Emily felt that Aaron wasn't being genuine, like he was pretending and holding himself back at times.

So it felt nice knowing he was jealous. It proved to her that he still cared, that he still felt something. Maybe that part hadn't changed.

"You're being too hard on him. He did save my life back there" she said, bringing back that memory—the paralyzing feeling. She had been so close to dying on that roof, but he had saved her by shooting the unsub. She knew it would take some time before she could sleep without seeing the unsub pointing the gun at her face when she closes her eyes.

Aaron was silent, pondering over the same moment. His right hand left the wheel, reaching for her cold hand and squeezing it tightly warming it in the process, bringing it to his lips and kissing it without looking away from the road. "I suppose I should be grateful for that" he whispered, rubbing his thumb against her palm. "Exactly" she smiled. "Also, he could never stand a chance against you. You know that" she said, looking at him, easing the uneasy feeling they shared.

And it worked. Aaron didn't answer but because his lips were suppressed by his determination and desire not to smile. He kept rubbing his thumb against her hand, their hands still held together but now resting on his lap.

____

"What's wrong with your back?" he asked with a worried look. His voice mixed concern and a touch of confusion. They had finally arrived home, and Aaron managed to catch a glimpse of her back when she turned away from him to change her shirt in front of the wardrobe. "What do you mean?" she said, sounding confused.