hereâs my masterlist!
pairing: aaron hotchner x bau!reader / shy!reader
word count: 2.4k
genre & cw: fluff, a little jealousy and pining angst if u squint, mentions of made-up case, different use of cm character
a/n: thank u so much for all the support i've been getting on my fics!! hope you love this one as much as i do, i really enjoyed writing this one the most!
Today was a bad day. That much was clear. From the moment you woke up to the minute you arrived at the BAUâ youâre convinced that the universe has simply gone the extra mile to make your life a little harder.Â
You slept through your alarm and a few phone calls from Garcia, making your morning stressful and complete chaos. You didnât have time to grab a cup of coffee or a snack, and apparently you also didnât have time to remove the colorful pimple patches that adorned your face.Â
Your blouse is buttoned asymmetrically, your hair resembling a bird's nest, and you left your ID at home, making your arrival more delayed as you had to employ Garciaâs help in presenting a copy of your ID to let you through.Â
That too was not without stress given that your phone was on the verge of dying as you were in the call, but thankfully you could finally breathe in the elevator. Or so you thought.Â
There were two things that immediately caught you off guard as you walked into the bullpen: one, almost all the desks were deserted and two, Reid and Morgan were watching you- as if waiting for your reaction, which led you to look around in anticipation. Is there a surprise? A prank? Did I miss a patch? IâmâŠwearing pants, right?Â
Not wanting to prolong your search, you look at the two for any indication or clue. Tilting your head to the side as if to ask what? But to your surprise, they both nod their heads in one direction. Oh.
Strauss was in Hotchâs office, along with Rossi and a woman you donât recognize. Hotch looked a bit tense, Strauss firm, Rossi is as relaxed as ever, and the woman⊠is looking directly at Hotch. Just Hotch. Huh.Â
You were stood just shy of your desk when you shook thoughts out of your head, slowly approaching your desk to settle your things. Dozens of scenarios were running through your head, trying to make sense of new additions to an otherwise normal day.Â
But the way she was studying him made your chest tight like someone was stepping on it.. and you couldnât figure out why.Â
You approach the two rascals only to lean on Derekâs desk as you whisper under your breath, âWhatâs happening there?âÂ
Morgan shrugs but his focused face remains, âI donât know, kid. I tried Garcia but she doesnât have a clue either.â Eyes studying the people in the room, noting anything that could tell them something.Â
Mulling over more possibilities, you hum in response. Turning to Reid, you ask him- hoping that his eidetic memory can tell you anything about the woman even if theyâd only met in passing.Â
âDo you know anything, Spence?â But Reid only pouts at you, a sign that heâs thought about it hard but is coming up empty.Â
Shaking his head, he soberly replies, âNo..I donât think so. Iâ Iâve never seen her before. Sorry.âÂ
Before any more thoughts could be voiced between the three of you, the door to Hotchâs office opens and all four of them file out- the woman walking a little too close to Hotch.Â
-
Youâre approaching your usual seat on the jet beside Morgan and across from Hotch when suddenly Agent Seaver overtakes you and sits on your seat. Caught by surprise, your eyes instinctively go to Hotch whoâs already looking at you.Â
He nods to himself, moving from the aisle seat to the one by the window. But it appears Agent Seaver misunderstood his gesture and moved beside him, âOh! Thank you, sir.â Even going as far as touching his arm and leaning closely.Â
Now, youâve never been a violent person. Rage has just never overcome your senses like that but today.. of all daysâ you couldnât help the image of spilling your hot chocolate all over her cream blouse.Â
You donât even notice that youâre frowning as you sit beside Morgan, somehow still unaware of how much their closeness really upsets you. You honestly thought youâve maintained an expressionless face until Morgan looks up from his file and leans close to whisper in your ear, âYouâll need claws not paws, baby girl.â Winking at you as you separate.Â
You steal a glance at Hotch only to see him watching you and Morgan with furrowed brows. He almost looks normal if it werenât for the clenching of his jaw thatâs his tell of irritation. Moving your gaze to Seaver, in case you missed something thatâs causing his new mood, you find her reading the case file.Â
As you return your gaze on Hotch, you watch as Seaver touches his arm again and engages him in conversation about the case. Itâs through the whole jet ride that you had to stomach the constant Agent Hotchner, Agent Hotchner! paired with a giggle or a slight touch. UGH!
If it werenât for Strauss personally recommending Agent Seaver as a consultant for this case, you would have doneâ âŠstill absolutely nothing. You had no claim whatsoever over Hotch. Morgan and Rossi may tease the two of you occasionally, forcing that he treats you specially or whatever but his behavior could simply be chalked off as him being a good and attentive boss.Â
And yes, okay fine. You may have some moments here and there⊠but! they could honestly just be built up in your head because of the feelings you have for him. Like when he said he likes it when you stare? Come on, being stared at can be flattering and thatâs just a universal truth.Â
-Â
After a whole day of coming up with theories, visiting crime scenes and M.E.âs, youâre all completely spent. Lounging in the makeshift discussion room, all of you are still working tirelessly on the case given that the unsubâs on a spree and his timeline is alarmingly short.Â
Reidâs been silently staring at the board for 20 minutes while Morganâs pretending to read files of potential suspects with his legs stretched out and feet on the table, âThis is impossible. We just donât have enough.â He exclaims as he tosses the file on the table with a thud.Â
To the left of Morgan, youâre also silently mulling over files of potential suspects. Not wanting to admit that heâs right, you guys donât have enoughâŠbodies. You barely have anything on the guy, barely any clues- for a working profile.Â
You sigh heavily, peeling your eyes off the paper and looking at the board. âReid?â The boy genius shakes his head softly, confirming that the known dump sites donât say much about the unsubâs comfort zones or hunting ground.Â
You suddenly wonder where Seaver, Hotch and Rossi are. You and Morgan got back to the precinct at around 11PM, and you realize you havenât seen any of them, âWhere are the others?âÂ
Morgan, in an effort to lighten the mood, jumps at the chance to tease you, âHmm. I think what youâre really asking is: Whereâs Hotch and is he with Seaver?â He punches your arm lightly, making it obvious heâs only teasing.Â
The smug, playful smile on his face makes you fight one of your own, desperately trying to not give yourself away, âShut up,â hitting him in the head softly with the file in your hand.Â
While you two were exchanging playful glares, Reid interjects, âSeaver wanted to turn in early since sheâs also the one meeting with the families tomorrow so Hotch brought her to the hotel.âÂ
You instantly lift your gaze to him and watch as he removes the markerâs cap and scribbles rapidly on the board, quickly adding âAnd Iâm pretty sure Rossiâs getting us coffee from the diner around the block.âÂ
You want to blame it on your exhaustionâ your inability and ineffectiveness at hiding how you truly feel about what Reid just revealed to you, groaning loudly in pain and frustration. You put your head in your hands, muffling the sounds youâre making that are somehow a combination of a laugh and a sob.Â
Morgan understands your reaction immediately and laughs out loud.Â
âItâs not funny!â There was honestly no point in hiding it. As much as Morgan teased you, you knew he wouldnât tell anyway, and Reid.. well, he was honestly an even better keeper of secrets than Morgan, Rossi and Garcia.Â
He puts a hand on your shoulder to comfort you, âBaby girl, worry not. You know you hold a special place in boss manâs heart.â Then gripping both your wrists to pry your hands off your face.Â
Pressing your face even further into your hands, you let out a muffled version of âThatâs not true!â that came out more as âDaffs noft thwu!âÂ
When Morgan successfully pries your hands off your face, youâre surprised to see Reidâs moved from the board to behind Morgan, half leaning half sitting on the table, curiously watching you.Â
Morgan turns around to look at the door behind you, making sure the coast is clear before he says, âKid. Be real with me for a sec⊠are you blind?â That was not the question you were expecting.Â
You must have looked so lost because he continues, âHotch cares for you. Deeply. And not in the same way he does for us. Youâve gotta have felt that, kid.â Funny, you are starting to feel like a kidâ the only thing missing are his hands on your shoulders to complete that huddle pep talk experience.Â
âThatâs just notââ you try to start. But Reid swiftly raises his hand, signing you to stopâ
âDid you know that every morning Hotch makes sure all the pens and mug handles on your desk are pointing to the rightâ the way you need it to beâ in case the night janitors move any out of place?â
âOr that he never really ate lunch in the office before but started bringing sandwiches and other food he could microwave, while timing his lunches with yours presumably so he could strike up a conversation with you during break?âÂ
âOr do you remember that one time the AC in the bullpen broke and we were all sweating badly, and I said the heat was making me too thirsty then he disappeared into his office and came back with a bottle of water and an orange juice box only to give it to you?âÂ
Morgan lets out a loud laugh at that one while Reid pouts playfully, âI mean I was genuinely dying then.âÂ
Not without his own input, Morgan smiles softly at you with a raised brow âDid you know he personally restocks your favorite hot chocolate in the pantry and on the jet? Including the marshmallows.âÂ
You breathe in deeply, the revelations sounding too good to be true but winding nonetheless. You crack a small joke, trying to play it off âAnd I thought the bureau was just feeling really generous.âÂ
The two, who have grown to be such brothers, give you the exact same look of Really?Â
As Reid rounds the table to go back and stand by the board, Morgan catches your attention and holds your eye, âLook, thereâs so much more, kid. But they all point to the same thing.â He says this as softly as possible, as if to not scare you away.Â
You let out a soft, breathy laugh. Shaking your head, âThat just canât be true.âÂ
With all three of your backs to the door, you donât notice Rossi nearing. You just suddenly hear his voice from behind, rounding the table and settling the coffee cups in front of all of you, âCoffee, anyone?âÂ
As if trapped in the null of the previous conversation, youâre still looking at Morgan as you lean back in your chair, slumping further to seek non-existent cover. Reid, who is now back in his own world with the board, is handed a cup by Rossi, who didnât even turn to look- only stretching out an arm to receive it and mumbling a distracted âThanks.â Â
Rossi, who is simply too smart for his own good, impressively senses something hanging in the air, nonchalantly asking about the tailend of a conversation he was not supposed to hear, âSo⊠what canât be true?âÂ
Back to lounging excessively on a chair that is a tad too tiny for him, with legs outstretched and feet on the corner on the tableâ Morgan spouts, âThat sheâs Hotchâs girl, and has no reason to be jealous of Seaverâ who by the way needs the HR orientation more than Penelope and I.âÂ
-
Nowâ all of your backs are to the door except Rossiâs. Not one of you tried to move due to fatigue, let alone look.
Unbeknownst to you, Morgan, and Reid, on the way back to the precinct from the hotel, Hotch had the genius thought of picking up Rossi so the latter wouldnât have to walk a block with trays of coffee on hand.
Hotch and Rossi arrived together. And as Rossi went around the table to give you your cups of coffee, Hotch stayed behindâ leaning on the doorframe with arms crossed, watching you and the team.
Imagine his surprise, hearing what Morgan just said. His heart skipped a beat, his stomach dropped. His entire being froze entirely.. What? Jealous?Â
In his mind, he had two choices: Act like he didnât hear it and save you from embarrassment or use it to his advantage and make his intentions clear..ish.Â
-
You gasp loudly at his bluntnessâ and in front of Rossi! Straightening in your chair and pointing an accusatory finger at Morgan, âYou littleâ I am NOT jealous! and I am NOT HotchâsââÂ
Cut off by someone loudly clearing their throat from behind all of you, you all freeze, including Reid who hasnât been actively paying attention until now.Â
The hair on your neck stands up as you hear the nearing footsteps, already envisioning digging your own grave in your head when finally, Hotch is standing right beside you.Â
Youâre all still pretty frozen, save from the slow movement which is your eyes slowly lifting its gaze to the man in question until they meet his hazel orbs. He holds your stare as he leans on the desk, arms straining in his shirtâÂ
Out of the corner of your eye you can see Rossi fighting a smile, and just as youâre about to mentally curse him in your head, youâre broken out of your thoughts by a deep voice,Â
thereâs absolutely nothing better than reading a 100k word fanfic, that is until you remember you have a body that is starving, thirsty and incredibly sleep deprived and hasnât used the bathroom since the sun set 8 hours ago
Yes, but coming off that high is the best thing ever. You slowly look at your surroundings, taking deep breaths as your brain runs through the top 5 moments of that fic. The water is cold when you drink, you wake up a little more and mentally or literally do a little dance or kick your feet while giggling and then the sleep you get is nice and deep.
You know what the Green Heron is basically the best heron because it is like 90% neck so when it is all folded down it looks like a giant head with wings and legs
My boyfriend just woke up, mostly still asleep and told me âdonât worry, itâs getting betterâ in a heavy, American accent, which is unusual for an Australian man.
âWhy are you American?â I asked, to which I got:
âSorry, itâs getting betterâ in a stereotypical posh English accent.
âWhy are you English?â I asked, amused.
âWhat is he normally?â He managed to ask.
âHe? Youâre not anyone else, youâre you.â
âUgh, meâ was the last thing he said, in a right proper Aussie accent before he fell back into proper sleep.