Criminal Minds x Reader

Too Sweet [A.H]

To say that Aaron Hotchner was an early bird would be a mistake. Can you call a person a 'morning person' if he gets out of bed soon just because he doesn't sleep?

He put work before everything, even before his personal life. But not before his family. That's why he knew you even better than himself, and why he could have talked about you and each nuance of you for hours. You were his exact opposite. He didn't understand how you, a young woman who had chosen him, could be so perfectly okay with his life.

He would get lost watching you while you slept, your hair splayed on the pillow, while your cheek was half hidden by it. He in the meantime was still in his work suit, sitting at the desk in your room. You looked angelic. The pen was spinning in his fingers, files scattered in front of him. He looked out the window; it was almost dawn and he knew you would wake up soon. He chuckled to himself. You kept telling him to have a proper routine, to go to bed before daylight, so that he would have a quality sleep because 'healthy body means healthy mind', however, you were the first one to wake up early every day and go to the balcony to look at the first colors in the sky. He knew you were doing that, but he was never there to do it with you.

He would go to work early and lock himself in his office until, at 10am on time, you would walk in with a smile on your face and two coffees in your hand, taking him out of his duty for a couple of minutes. The first word he spoke each morning was aimed at you. "Thank you" he repeated like a mantra, gaze turned toward you because your sight could make everyting better. In the reflection of your eyes even he felt handsome.

You made his days better just by being near him. You made him feel alive whenever your laughter echoed throughout the house after hiding his slippers, or when you danced to random music that was playing on the radio. But you also made him feel human when you gave him a kiss on the cheek every time you saw him, and the memory of the first time you did that lived vividly in his mind.

One evening, a few months after your arrival at BAU you decided to go to the bar. You had never particularly liked crowded places, but once you entered the academy you had lost touch with most of the people close to you, due to distance and all, so when your best friend who worked as a bartender invited you out, you had no choice but to accept. You needed to talk to someone outside of work.

She had told you to wait for her outside the club so you could go as soon as her shift was over, but as you already knew, sometimes work can be unpredictable so when she texted you an apology saying she would have to stay longer than expected, you were not disappointed. 'It's okay' you reassured her, ready to go home, but then she invited you to come in and wait there, promising that it wouldn't be long, and so you did. You sat down at the counter and there ready was she, holding out a glass to you with a dark liquid inside it.

"I don't drink strong stuff" you told her, your face contorted by the loud noise in the background.

"I know," she replied, ""Taste it."

You brought the glass to your mouth and the taste of tea invaded your throat. You smiled at her. "I didn't think you served these kinds of drinks"

"Shh, just for you. But don't tell anyone, or what kind of bartender they will think I am?" she laughed.

You smiled and turned to look around. People were dancing and having fun, and you remembered the good times of university. But your being alone did not last long, not that you actually mind.

"Hello" a familiar voice came from your left.

"Hi"

You watched your boss take a seat, the stool creaking under his weight. "What are you doing here?" you asked curiously.

He arched an eyebrow. "A friend convinced me to go out," he said pointing to some inaccurate spot behind him where you could see David Rossi with a smile on his face, watching the scene, "And you?"

"Same for me"

He nodded, rotating the glass with his hand. You looked at him, your usual cheerfulness painted on your lips. You didn't know what to say, but neither did he. Ever since you had arrived he had understood that it would not be easy to let you go, he had realized that something inside him had changed. Well, something inside him had returned. Love. So he had taken you under his wing, trying hard to spend more time with you, whether it was paired off in the hotel or in the car, he didn't care. As long as he couldn't be with you outside the office, he would be during work. Aaron Hotchner was many things but not an indecisive man. Sure, having feelings after so long was scary, but he also knew that life was too short to afford the luxury of putting off what his heart felt.

"You did a good job today" he said without thinking, the words out of his mouth before he could stop them.

You blushed, the darkness of the place the only thing hiding it. Or at least you hoped it would. "Thank you, sir"

"Aaron, please" she chortled gently, smiling at your red cheeks.

"Sure, Aaron" you repeated, his name like a melody from your lips.

He couldn't wait for you to repeat it. "Do you like whiskey, too?"

"Mhm?"

"Your glass," he pointed with a finger, "I always have whiskey, too. Neat"

You looked at the object in your hands and shook your head. "No, no," you laughed, " This is quite a different thing"

"Oh"

"Yeah" your eyes back to him, "It's actually tea"

"Oh"

"Yeah"

The conversation stalled there for a while, as you were too busy laughing at your choice of drink. Then you began to talk, the minutes passed and you didn't notice. You discovered many things that night, the most important being that yes, you did have a big thing for your boss.

You finished talking only when you felt someone tap you on the shoulder. "Shall we go?" your friend asked, eyes wandering between you and him.

"Sure"

You got up and grabbed your bag but then froze in front of the man you had been talking to for the last hour. "Thank you, sir" you repeated for the second time that evening before correcting yourself, "Oh, um. Thank you, Aaron"

"Of course" he replied as he stood up too.

You looked at him again before going. His face calmer and quieter than you had ever seen it. You smiled at him again, rising on tiptoe. You gave him a kiss on the cheek and before he could come to his senses you were gone.

"As I said, you're screwed" Dave appeared at his side patting him on the shoulder, "Ask her out already, I'm dying over here"

Of that evening the last thing the man remembered was the exact moment he fell in love with you.

He had made a commitment over the next few weeks to ask you out, and when he did, you had happily agreed. He had cooked you dinner, taken pictures of you as if you were a statue to be adored, and touched you so gently that at that point you were convinced he saw you as a vase of glass.

"You're as pretty as a vine" he told you that evening as you handed him a cup of black coffee.

"And you are as soft as the rain," you replied, kissing him on the forehead, "But I want to see you as bright as the morning when I wake up, so come to bed soon, okay?"

"I promise"

You lay down on the mattress, and closed your eyes. He looked at the time, it was three o'clock in the morning. He put down his pen and tiptoed over to you. It was quiet, the only noise he heard came from inside his head. The tolling of wedding bells was everlasting in his head since you were together. He couldn't wait to marry you.

He knelt beside you, stroking your hair. "I love you" he whispered.

"I love you too" you mumbled already half asleep.

He laughed to himself, thinking solely of how lucky he was to have you by his side. "You're too sweet for me"