The Stone Wall and His Weakness [A.H.]

I

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I rushed into the building, swiping my ID as I passed through the front doors. I dropped my lanyard as my fingers curled back around my coffee, the sweat from the plastic cup making my hand slippery. My other hand held the strap of my backpack so it didn't slip off my shoulder. I sighed heavily, still trying to catch my breath from having to speed walk from the parking lot. I hate mornings, why does this time even exist, why would anyone want to be awake-

My thoughts were interrupted as I tripped over my own feet and stumbled forward. I muttered a few swears, expecting to drop my coffee and fall flat on my face, but I didn't. I looked down to see a hand wrapped around mine, holding my coffee evenly, and another on my hip, keeping me upright. I stood up quickly, staring at the man in front of me.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his dark eyes staring into mine, his eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, yeah, thank you. God, I hate mornings, who in their right mind would willingly be up this early?" He chuckles, walking with me to the elevator.

"Well, me, for one."

"Then you must not be in your right mind. I mean, the sun is barely up! I could be in my warm bed right now." We stepped into the elevator, pressing the buttons we needed.

"So why aren't you?"

"Paperwork. I blew it off last night, so now I have to come in early to finish it up." He nodded understandingly. His brown eyes focused on me, a faint glimmer in them as he smirked, "What? I didn't get coffee on myself, did I?" I looked down at my white shirt, not seeing any coffee stains.

"No, you're fine. I just haven't seen you around before." The elevator stopped at the fifth floor and he stepped out, "Have a good day."

I mumbled a 'you too' before the doors closed again, curiosity getting the best of me. Once I arrived on my floor, I was met with the stares from one of my agents, Jordan.

"Good morning, Alex."

"No, no it's not, Jordan. I just tripped over some guy in the lobby and had to endure an elevator ride with him."

"Ohh," she whistled, "who was it?"

"I have no idea. He got off on the floor below us, though."

Her eyes light up, "was he really tall, with short brown hair and a really nice suit?"

"That's creepy, yeah, you know him?"

"That was Aaron Hotchner!"

"Hotchner, as in the team leader of the BAU? The Hotchner you worked for awhile back?"

"The very one."

"Huh..." I was shocked and in awe. The BAU was a legend in the FBI. I hadn't had the chance to meet or work with them before, but I had heard stories. She looked at me and laughed, returning to her paperwork. I walked back to my office and sat down, ready to tackle the mountain of paperwork I had left.

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Over the next few months, I began arriving to the office earlier than usual. I used to get in around nine, but slowly I caught myself arriving at seven. I also realized that a certain agent was waiting for me almost every morning, his only absence being when his team was away on a case.

The first month we rode in an awkward silence. The second month was a comfortable silence, the sense of comfort starting my day off nicely. The third month is when he finally struck up a conversation, which continued on the next day, and the next, and so on. In the fourth month, I caught onto him. He hadn't caught on to any of the subtle hints I had dropped, but I had caught onto his. Finally, I decided to step up and ask the question.

It was a thursday, and his team had just got called in on a case. It was one of the rare times that it happened to line up with our usual elevator ride. As he stepped off the elevator, my hand flew up to hold the doors open. He looked at me quizzically.

"Tell me something, Hotchner. Are you ever going to ask me out, or are you just a tease?" He stiffened as his ears and face turned pink, eyes widening in surprise, "For one of the best profilers in the country, you sure are bad at profiling when someone is interested in you." I winked, dropping my hand so the doors would close.

It wasn't for another two weeks that he returned. I had been working later than usual, having to finish up reports for the case my team just closed. It wasn't often we got to close them with minimal losses, so this was a win in my book.

I was packed up and on the elevator a few minutes past eleven. I leaned against the back wall, my body heavy with exhaustion. I peeled my eyes open as the elevator stopped moments later, a disheveled Hotchner stepping in. I stood up as he leaned against the wall beside me. His tie was loosened, shirt untucked, pants and jacket wrinkled, and hair ruffled.

"Hey." I spoke softly, as to not startle him. He looked up slowly, eyes bloodshot, "bad case?" He nodded, sighing. I placed a hand on his arm, rubbing my thumb in gentle circles. "You look like you could use a drink."

"I can't," he spoke quietly, his voice sounding raw.

"Okay, another time." We rode the rest of the way in silence. He stopped outside the elevator, calling my name as I stopped in front of the glass doors.

"Hey, um... I changed my mind. Still want to go for that drink?" His hand ran through his messy hair.

I nodded, waiting for him to catch up to me, "Of course. I'll meet you at the bar on second."

"The one by the pizza place?"

"Yep, that one."

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We sat and talked for hours. He told me about his case, then we talked about our lives. The things that didn't come up in our early morning elevator rides. I learned that he used to be married, but a serial killer killed her and nearly killed his son, Jack. His son had just turned seven a few weeks ago. The way his eyes lit up when he talked about his son wasn't something I had seen before. Everyone around the office referred to him as the man who never smiled, so I felt privileged to see him smile.

We sipped on our drinks, not wanting to drink too much since we had to drive ourselves home. Around two AM we decided to call it a night. He walked me to my car, making sure I got in before he walked to his own vehicle. As I got closer to my apartment building, I laughed, realizing that I just just followed him the whole way back.

As I parked my car and walked to the front of the building, I saw him standing by the door with his arms crossed. "Why did you follow me home?"

"I didn't. I'm surprised you didn't try to lose me, though."

"I considered it." He uncrossed his arms, opening the door and following me in. He pressed the button to the third floor, staring at me as I leaned against the wall. His eyebrows furrowed, something he did often. I walked out first, stopping at the second apartment.

"Wait a minute. You're 302?"

"Guilty." I smirked, watching as the gears turned in his mind.

"You're the one that always plays music in the middle of the night."

"You can hear that? Sorry, I try to keep it down, but-"

"No, no, I find it relaxing. It grounds me after a bad case." He runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head.

"I'll keep that in mind." I unlock my door and it swings open, "Goodnight, Aaron."

He smiles, eyes bright, "Goodnight, Alex."