Aaron has been in Denver for a couple of days now. He didn't directly tell me, but it's not hard to guess that he's following up on Guller's murder. And I wish I could say I'm not stressed about it. I know I did everything right and didn't leave anything after me, but I have this weird feeling in my chest.
He called me earlier to tell me he's coming back tonight and invited me to his place. He didn't sound suspicious or stressed, so I must be in the clear. However, I am debating on taking a gun with me for safety.
Last minute, I decide to text him to come to my place instead. This way I could have some control of the environment; And I have hidden guns and knifes everywhere. I doubt I could use them on him though. Aaron gave me some stupid excuse at first, but eventually agreed.
His original resistance made me a little more stressed. I thought I could do this... I thought it'd be fine, but for the first time in my life I'm worried. Because I have something to lose. I don't want to destroy what we have yet.
When I get a notification from my ring camera that he has arrived, my heartbeat picks up. For some reason, he doesn't knock yet. I get off the couch and grab a gun as I go to the door. I place the barrel of the gun behind the door and I take a deep breath. My hand shakes and my head feels like it's going to explode. What is happening to me?
When Aaron finally knocks, I almost jump. I count to three and open the door.
"Happy birthday" he smiles, holding a small cake with two candles forming the number 28.
Tears form in my eyes, and my heart explodes. I hide my gun away and I open the door further.
"I had prepared a couple of balloons too at my place, but since you couldn't come I thought I should bring the party to you" he admits.
"Aaron..." is the only thing that comes out of my mouth. Sobs come up my throat but I try to bury them down along with my tears. I don't cry. I don't!
"Hey, hey..." he puts the cake down. "Are you ok?" he asks as he holds my face
"I'm good. I'm fine" I lie
"I'm sorry, I just didn't want the day to pass without doing anything. I can throw the cake away if you don't like it" he almost panics
"No, no. I just... I've never had a birthday cake before" I reveal, acknowledging how pathetic that sounds.
"Angel..." Aaron sighs and pulls me in his arms. And I hug him tightly; Tighter than I've ever hugged anyone while he holds me tighter than anyone's ever have.
A sob escapes my lips before I can stop it. The pressure in my chest gets unbearable. Aaron rubs my back to comfort me. And that's all it takes to open Pandora's box...
I start crying and sobbing uncontrollably. The anger. The stress. The sadness. The realization that this cannot last forever. Everything bottled up and finally spilled.
Aaron doesn't yell at me. He doesn't laugh at me. He doesn't call me weak. He doesn't slap me and tell me to get over it. He holds me and tell me that everything will be ok. He sits down with me when my knees give out. He caresses my head and lets me let it all out.
"Are you feeling better?" he asks as soon as I calm down
"No, but my chest doesn't hurt anymore. I'm sorry for ruining your surprise" some last sort sobs cut my sentences off as I speak
"Don't even mention it. Are you tired?"
"Yes. But, first, I want to blow out those candles" I smile like a child
"Of course" he smiles too.
I haven't realized for how long I've been crying until we see my candles out and already halfway burned, spilled on top of the cake.
"You know what? I will go bring a new one and candles" Aaron says immediately
"No, no--"
"Yes. I'm not leaving you without a cake on your birthday. From now on, you'll have one every year. Every year!" he promises as he caresses my cheek softly.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" I ask, my voice so weak like a beaten up puppy.
Aaron holds eye contact for a moment before he says, "Because I love you".
"H-- how do you know?" is the first thing in my mind
"Sometimes I think you just know" he says, his hands don't stop moving and soothing me.
"You just know..." I repeat, trying to understand.
"Yes. I get to be a new version of myself when I'm with you. My stress disappears. I sleep. I laugh. I have something -someone- to look forward to at the end of the day" he explains. "I love you, Sofia".
He says he loves me, and I don't know how to process that, but I want to feel it all at the same time. But I don't deserve it. I don't know what love feels like. I don't know what been taking care of means. I don't know...
"You don't have to say it back if you are not there yet. I don't want to just hear the words, I want you to mean them. And I can wait. I could wait years for you. I just want you to know that I love you and that I will do everything in my power to make you happy and see your beautiful smile every day" he says.
I hold his cheeks, "You are an incredible person. And I have never felt better in my life. I just need some time to process it and figure out what I'm feeling" I confess honestly.
"Take all the time you need, Sofia. I'll be right here when you're ready" he promises me. "Except for now. I'm going to throw away the wax covered cake and bring another one with brand new candles" he says as he stands
"Ok" I smile
"Vanilla?" he asks
"Yes, always" I answer
"Not in bed" he smirks me and kisses my lips. "I'll be right back, ok?"
"Yeah. Thank you"
"My pleasure" he smiles and kisses me again before he leaves.
This is going to hurt so bad.
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Mastermind || Aaron Hotchner
FanfictionA homicide in Louisiana makes the BAU revisit a series of old murders in the area that follow the same MO. And soon they discover that the case is much bigger than they originally thought. During the investigation, Agent Hotchner comes in contact wi...
