Constantly Rejected- Hotch x Reader

The Princess Bride

"I mean, not really. I just ate a muffin," you replied.

"Well, I'm hungry. But we can walk around some more if you'd like. Then I really want lunch."

"Of course." You weren't going to starve the man, plus if you really weren't hungry, then you didn't have to order food. You figured Hotch wasn't the type of person to feel anxious eating alone in public.

You walked from shop to shop for about an hour. You ended up with a bag of bath bombs and a candle. Hotch got a bath bomb for Jack, in the shape of a boat. Then you walked to a small restaurant, and sat at one of the tables on the sidewalk.

"I've been here once before. The food is amazing," Hotch said.

Hotch ordered himself a whole sandwich and a bag of chips. You had decided you did want food, and ordered half a sandwich with chips. "Half?" Hotch had said while you were placing your order. "I had a muffin!" you told him.

The food really was great. It was one of the best sandwiches you'd ever had. The chips were house-made, and were really good too. You wished you lived closer to this part of town, so you could come to this avenue of shops whenever you wanted.

You two talked about a lot of things over lunch. You touched on work briefly, but he didn't want  to dwell on that for long. "We can talk about work at the office," he had said. You talked about your favorite movies, books, and places to travel. You told him that you actually really liked Star Wars, but that you wouldn't bring it up around Reid. You liked listening to him talk, except when it was about the inaccuracies in a fictional franchise. 

Hotch paid for your food. You had fought him on it, saying that since he drove, he shouldn't have to pay. "That's terrible logic," he said. You had, personally, thought your logic was airtight, but he clearly wasn't changing his mind. 

Hotch bumped into someone while he was getting up from the table. "I'm sorry," he apologized. 

"Hotch? Y/N?" the person said. 

You both turned to look. It was Spencer.

"Hey, Spence!" you said. "What're you doing here?"

"Oh, I love it over here! The shops are my favorite. And this place has the best sandwiches."

You noticed how he didn't ask what you were doing there. You also noticed the look that Spencer and Hotch shot each other.

"Yeah, they were great!" you replied.

"Well, we have to get going," Aaron said, placing his hand on the small of your back and slightly pushing you forward. "Bye, Reid."

"No, Aaron, wait. Why can't we stay and talk to him?" you asked.

"Yeah, why can't you stay and talk to me?" Spencer joined in. He smirked at Hotch.

You were very confused as to what was going on between the two men. Were they showing something off? Clearly, you were on out with Hotch, so the advantage went to him.

"I suppose we can stay and talk for a minute," Hotch said.

"Great!" Reid chirped. "So, what did you two do today? Wait, I'll go first. I went to this coffee shop that's around here, and I got one of the best cups of coffee I've ever had. They have really good muffins there too."

What the fuck?

"Then I came here, and went to this adorable little book shop. They have everything there. That's where most of my books came from, actually. I walked around for a little bit, then I came here for lunch! And now I'm talking here with you. What'd you do?"

Reid locked eyes with Hotch after he finished talking. He must've seen the look on your face that went from intrigue, to confusion, to an even deeper confusion. 

"What's in the bag there, Hotch?" Reid asked.

"The Princess Bride," he replied.

"That's Y/N's favorite. Isn't that right, Y/N?"

You didn't answer. You were too confused. Did Spencer follow you around all day? If he had, how had you not noticed him?

"We have to get going now. See you later, Spence," you said. You took Hotch's hand and turned away. No matter what Reid did, it was weird, and you wanted to go.

"What the hell was that?" you asked.

"I have no idea. The car is close though. I'll take you home."

You didn't really want to go home. You're head was totally fine, and you were having a really good day with Hotch. "I don't want to go home," you said.

"Where do you want to go?" 

"Anywhere."

You got into Aaron's car without talking any further. After seeing Reid, he had begun acting especially weird. You drove past Spencer, and he smiled at you from the same table that you and Hotch were sitting at. You watched the buildings fly by as Aaron drove. You hadn't realized where you were until the car was in park.

"I'm sorry, I know you probably don't want to be here," he said. "But I just wanted to put this stuff inside." He motioned to his bag, which sat on the back seat, next to yours. You were at his house, the same place he asked you to that messed up everything. This was different this time. He wasn't inviting you in to sleep with you. At least you didn't think he was.

"We don't have to stay if you don't want to," he told you.

"No, this is fine. I'd love to actually get a look around."

He gave you a tour of his house, and you admired it out loud as you walked. It was so much bigger than your apartment. You could fit so many more things in there. 

"This is really nice, Aaron," you said as you sat down on his couch. 

"Thanks," he replied. "It feels so empty with all of Haley's things gone." 

He sighed, and you placed your hand on his knee again. He put his hand on top of yours and squeezed. 

"Thank you for spending the day with me," he said.

"I should be thanking you. I had a really good time."

You leaned over and placed your head on his shoulder. He tilted his head down and put it on top of yours. 

You sat there for a very long time. Neither of you moved, sitting in comfortable silence. Sometimes, he would breathe really deeply, and his shoulders would move your head up. You laughed lightly every time it happened. He had turned your hand over, holding it in his now. He traced your fingers softly with his. It was a very peaceful moment. You appreciated having peace in your life after so much yelling and anger. 

You moved your head to look up at Aaron. He stared deeply into your eyes. 

"I think you're amazing," he began. "I don't know how I didn't see it sooner. I wish I hadn't waited so long to do this."

"Do what?" you asked.

He placed his free hand on your cheek. He brushed it lightly. 

Aaron then kissed you, fiercely, but delicately.

"Since the invention of the kiss there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind." -William Goldman, The Princess Bride

------ 

a/n: hi! i actually didn't plan on ending the chapter this way, but it just felt right. I also didn't incorporate the princess bride in this for that purpose but once I had the idea, i couldn't pass up on it. there will be more spencer drama, but i really think hotch and y/n deserve to be happy for at least a few chapters. 

i hope you guys enjoyed the sweet ending. i'm hoping that i can get on some sort of schedule for writing but it proves harder than it seems. if you guys liked what you read, please vote and comment!! it means a lot to me. love you all, have a great day/night!! :)