breakeven // aaron hotchner

third year

"lunch with an ex girlfriend" elia quirked her eyebrow up at aaron as he brushed the lint roller over his shirt. 

"she's- we only dated for a few months. besides. it was high school. nothings real in high school" he chuckles. 

"uh huh" she nods her head. 

"you're mad" he sighs, turning around and looking at elia who was currently brushing out her freshly curled hair.

"i'm not mad it's just...weird" elia shrugged, walking away from the floor length mirror and walking over to their closet to put on her outfit.

while aaron was getting ready to go have lunch with his high school ex-girlfriend, elia was getting ready to head to work. she was a paralegal at the county DA's office. 

"weird how?"

"i just...it's weird of her to ask you to lunch to catch up when it's been how many years and you're practically married" she said, quirking at eyebrow at him as she slid on her cream trousers. 

"i don't think it's weird. we were friends first, you know. and like i said, it was high school. nothings real in high school" aaron joked, and elia just shrugged.

"she still had feelings for you" elia hummed, and aaron let out a boisterous laugh.

"you're kidding, right? it's been like 7 almost 8 years since then. and like you said, i'm practically married." he said, walking up behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck. 

"i'm just saying babe. you don't see me inviting high school exes out to lunch. or them inviting me. why? because we're over each other." she smirked, turning around and pressing a quick kiss to his lips before pulling his arms off of her and throwing on her baby blue blouse and quickly looping a white and gold belt through the loops on her dress pants. 

"hey, stop. we're over each other, okay? i have a beautiful girlfriend whom i love very much and am planning to spend the rest of my life with, and she's...i don't know what she's up to but we were friends all through high school first. forget about the ex girlfriend part. that part doesn't even matter" he quickly reassured. pulling her back into his arms.

elia sighed before nodding her head. 

"okay. but if i'm right you owe me."

"of course, what will i owe you, my love? hm?" he hums, pressing gentle kisses up and down her neck.

"orange chicken from mandarin garden. and a large at that!"

"you got it baby"

elia knew she didn't have anything to worry about. aaron loved her. and she loved him. did she think it was a little weird? sure, but elia knew that there was nothing to worry about. 

and she felt that way still when aaron had come home and told her that they had made plans to grab coffee in a couple of weeks.

and she still felt that way when she came home from work and aaron had left a note on the table saying that him and haley had gone shopping for a birthday gift for elia together.

but then she felt that way a little less when she woke up to a phone call in the middle of the night and aaron quietly walking out of bed to take the phone call. 

and she felt that way a little less when he'd asked elia if she wanted to invite haley over for dinner sometime. 

and then she felt that way even less when she found out that the new coffee shop aaron stopped at every morning was the one haley worked at. 

elia tried to reassure herself by reminding her that they were just friends. and aaron hadn't become distant or acted any differently around elia. he still loved her with everything that he was and everything that he had. so elia tried reassuring herself by saying that this was just something new. that for aaron, it was exciting to have reconnected with an old friend. someone from home. and that if this were a male friend, elia wouldn't be feeling this way. so, she tried to reassure herself and ease her worries by rationalizing it all. 

it wasn't until she was sat on at the table one night, her books sprawled out in front of her. aaron had walked in, a plastic bag in his hand, guilt practically dripping off of him.

"hey baby did you ever finish that stupid write up for tort law? i can't-"

she stopped speaking the moment the bag was placed in front of her. she didn't have to look into the bag to know what it was. 

a large orange chicken from mandarin garden.