#aaron hotchner x jewish!reader

[ddejavvu]

can I request dedicated boyfriend!hotch studying up on judaism with Reid in his lunch breaks so when Hanukkah comes around he starts surprising reader with his knowledge and he may or may not give Jack sort of a blended chrismukkah experience - this man would just try so hard to understand your culture like don’t even try to tell me he wouldn’t

I understand if you don’t want to write about Jewish holidays or don’t want to get them wrong but I saw you’re open to other requests so thought I’d give it a try

google was not nice to me in nailing down the correct english spellings of Hebrew words so if i should change anything please lmk!!

--

Jack is learning Hebrew. You're skeptical at first, because he's only seven, and you still get tongue-tied sometimes. But if you listen hard, he's kicking his legs back and forth against his car seat and reciting a blessing under his breath.

"What'cha saying back there, Jackers?" You peek at him from the rear view mirror, watching his eyes go wide in true kid fashion.

"Nothing!" It's the same way he says the word when he's trying to stuff a third, forbidden oreo into his mouth at bedtime, or when he's definitely not on Aaron's phone. It's a sweet thought, though, it really is, so you let it slide.

"Alright," You smile warmly at him, nodding, "Just thought I heard something."

You suspect it's Aaron's idea. Even more so when you come home to a ready-and-waiting menorah, two candles already set out.

"You're prepared," You tease Aaron, and he sends you a sly, slightly bashful smile. You press a kiss to his cheek in greeting that you know he'll reciprocate tenfold when you're alone, behaving civilly at least while his son is around.

"Okay Jack," You glance outside, winter nights coming faster than you're used to, "Do you wanna help light the candles?"

"Yes please!" He's just unlaced his shoes so when he comes sprinting over, he's wearing socks on the hardwood floor. You cringe, and Aaron stands straighter in an attempt to be able to catch him before he falls, but he reaches you without even slipping.

"Stand on the chair," You instruct, and he clamors up. You let him grab the first candle, keeping the shamash in your hands, "And put the candle into the first spot.

The menorah you'd bought has numbers on each space, but Jack's too eager to be helping out to notice them. He sticks the candle hastily in the third spot, and Aaron reaches for it.

"Right to left, buddy." He murmurs, and you stop dead from where you'd been going to adjust it yourself. He fixes it, only realizing that you're staring when he stands straight again.

"What?" He defends, "Reid taught me. He said you line them up from right to left but you light them from left to right. Is that not how you do it?"

"It is," You bite back a grin, "Just- nevermind, I'll say the blessings."

You'd been right. As soon as you start up, two other voices join you, and it takes all of your willpower not to stop dead in the middle of your sentence and kiss them both. Jack on the cheek, but Aaron definitely on the mouth.

Jack seems extra proud of his own mastery, and you can't say you aren't impressed yourself. His little voice barely trips up at all, and you can tell he's been practicing for a long time.

When you hand the candle to him, lit, he's especially careful in lighting the first one. When the flame transfers he lets out a breathy laugh, an exuberant sound full of giddiness, and you take the shamash from him with a grin of your own.

"Good job, buddy," You gush, leaning down to squeeze him in a hug, "Okay, are you ready for dinner? Dad made paaastaaa."

"And latkes," Aaron informs you, arms curling around your waist from behind as his lips hover by your ear, "They might not be the best pair in the world, but Jack wanted spaghetti tonight."

"No meatballs?" You raise an eyebrow.

"No meatballs." Aaron shakes his head, dropping a kiss to your cheek as Jack races to the table, "But we do have christmas cookies for dessert."

[duchesschameleon]

criminal minds masterlist

you can also find most of these works on my ao3 (duchesscharliejames) smut is denoted by **

General

being alone vs loneliness (Emily Prentiss character study)

Aaron Hotchner

light the lights (x Jewish!Reader pt1) dreidel, dreidel, dreidel (x Jewish!Reader pt2) marry me (x GN!Reader) what if series (x GN!Reader, letters to juliet au)

[winterscaptain]

Hannukah’s over now but like nothing can convince me that Aaron is not like just a legend at spinning and dreidel,,, I also feel like he’d make really good latkes/levivot and no one can figure out why (he practiced A LOT to try and impress mom and maybe even mom-in-law 👀👀👀)

i hope you had a lovely and restful holiday, anon! and oh my god YES @crazyshannonigans this is your kind of content, babe!!

for the food, he practiced and practiced and practiced (and definitely set the fire alarm off more than once) because he knows his wonderful jewish mother-in-law is skeptical and he wants to impress her!!! jack is more than happy to eat his experiments and practice batches, but after a while he’s sure he never wants to see a potato ever again so aaron switches to matzo ball soup to see how well he can get a handle on that. 

and his dreidel game is ON POINT - he’s super dextrous (heh. in more ways than one.) and i think it would come pretty naturally to him!

[duchesschameleon]

dreidel, dreidel, dreidel

summary: Aaron and Jack’s Hanukkah education continues with playing dreidel and some shenanigans ensue. (continuation of light the candles)

pairing: Aaron Hotchner x GN Jewish Reader words: 2.3k a/n: Happy Hanukkah everyone! I’m so excited I finished this in time for the first night (I just lit my menorah) and I hope you enjoy it! There are some resource links at the end to explain dreidel, show pictures of what one looks like, and to the song referenced in the fic. The song is also linked as you’re reading the fic. As always, feel free to ask me questions about Hanukkah and I will answer to the best of my ability!

Jack insists that you teach him how to play dreidel so he can play it at Rossi’s annual holiday party. Aaron smiles at the two of you sitting on the couch as you show him the dreidel and explain the game. Thankfully, you’d been able to find a dreidel that had the sides labeled so it’s easier for Jack to pick up on the game and learn the different Hebrew characters.

Of course, you’d also sang the dreidel song which Aaron laughed at. You shot him a glare; you’d never claimed to be a good singer. The song is just helpful, especially for kids. And one of the few Hanukkah songs you can teach Jack. Jack sings along, catching on quickly. You smile, happy that he seems to be so interested in Hanukkah and celebrating it. Aaron’s hand falls on your shoulder, squeezing as he joins in the song. You feel so surrounded by warmth and love, despite only being with Aaron for a few weeks.

They’ve made this spot for you in their lives, and even when midway through Hanukkah the BAU had caught a case and had to travel, Aaron made sure you weren’t alone for lighting the electric menorah you had grabbed from your desk. The one he’d given you. Even if you were lighting it at 10 pm, after a long day at the local precinct, he was there with you. By the eighth day, he was trying to say the prayer with you, stumbling over the unfamiliar words. It’s a sense of comfort, not being alone and having someone to take in the beauty of a fully lit menorah with you. Of course, an electric one isn’t as beautiful as the real candles you have back home, but Aaron tells you that Jack wouldn’t be opposed to one more night of Hanukkah, of a fully lit menorah, maybe some latkes, and definitely some dreidel.

Which is how you found yourself here, on the couch beside Jack playing dreidel while the candles burn low in the menorah in the windowsill. Aaron’s hand stays on your shoulder as he comes around the couch to sit next to you, curling into your side.

“So, do we use the same dreidel for the whole game? Or do we each have one?” Jack asks you.

“Usually, all the players use the same dreidel. It’s more fair that way,” you explain.

“Fair? Why would using a different dreidel be unfair?” Jack looks confused, his eyebrows furrowed just like Aaron’s.

You pause, searching for the right way to explain this to Jack. “Well, some dreidels tend to land on one symbol more than others. To keep the game even and fair, everyone uses one dreidel so there’s no chance of cheating,” you say slowly.

Jack still catches on though, clearly inheriting Aaron’s brains. “So there are some dreidels that land on gimel more? So that means I’d win more!”

“Yes, I guess that’s what that means,” you laugh, “but c’mon, that takes the fun out of the game doesn’t it? And what would that get you anyway, more chocolate? We aren’t playing for money.”

Aaron huffs out a laugh next to you and you lightly elbow him in the ribs. “More chocolate isn’t a bad thing!” Aaron says in defense.

“He can always ask for more chocolate! He doesn’t need to cheat to get it. And shouldn’t you be putting a stop to this?” You raise an eyebrow at Aaron, and he matches it, leaning in to peck you on the lips.

“Can we bring the dreidels to Uncle Dave’s next weekend?” Jack asks, drawing your attention back to the game at hand. All the dreidels Aaron had bought and the ones you’d brought over from your place are strewn across the table.

“Sure we can,” you start slowly, “were you, uh testing them out?”

Jack nods, his smile wide and blinding. “Yup! I know which ones mine. We can teach everyone else! You said before they don’t know the game. That means I can tell them that we each pick a dreidel.”

You bite your lip, holding back laughter. “So, you want to help me teach everyone dreidel?”

“Yeah! It’ll be fun. Please?” Jack asks, his big, brown eyes pleading with you. You sigh and nod and Jack lets out a whoop of excitement, throwing himself back into the couch cushions. You laugh and turn more fully towards Jack, reaching your fingers out to tickle him. He laughs and Aaron joins in, the both of you tickling Jack mercilessly until he’s laughing so hard he can’t breathe.

At bedtime, Jack gives you a big hug and you kiss his cheek as he scampers off down the hallway. Not much later, you’re giving Aaron a kiss goodnight as you leave the apartment, a little more excited for Rossi’s holiday gathering the following weekend.

A few days later, Aaron calls you into his office around lunchtime. You go, glancing at the pile of consults on your desk and wondering if you’d missed something on one of them. He motions for you to close the door as you enter and you do, your suspicion growing.

“Did I miss a paperwork deadline? Why the closed-door meeting?” you ask, a slight panic to your voice.

“No, no this isn’t work related,” Aaron reassures you and you take a deep breath as you sit in one of the chairs opposite his desk. “It’s about Jack. And Dave’s party.”

You nod, silently urging him to continue.

“Jack wants to help you teach the team dreidel, as you know. He also wants to, well, he wants to omit or slightly alter some of the rules,” Aaron explains. You raise an eyebrow as Aaron continues, “He says it’s their fault they never asked you how to play before, so he wants to make, well his own rules.”

You nod slowly, catching his drift. “So, Jack wants to fudge some of the rules to his advantage? This have anything to do with the questions he was asking the other night?”

Aaron bites his lip as the tips of his ears turn red.

“Ok then. Could be fun, teaching this team a lesson.”

Aaron huffs out a laugh at that and you smile at him. He releases you, saying that’s all and you return to your desk.

Dave greets you with a hug and a kiss on each cheek as you walk into his house, a bag on your arm filled with supplies Jack had requested, via a text from Aaron’s phone.

“Let me take that for you,” Dave says, reaching for the bag.

“It’s fine, I’ll bring it to the living room. I need to show it to Jack anyway.” Dave motions his understanding as he retreats to the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on dinner.

You make your way to the living room, delighted to see not only traditional Christmas decorations but some blue light strands and even some blue and silver tinsel. The menorah Aaron bought for him and Jack is on the mantle, all nine candles in place, and you can see gelt on the coffee table. It makes you smile, Aaron being so insistent that there are Hanukkah decorations and even bringing his own. You feel his presence at your back, broad and close and you can just smell his aftershave and you turn to smile at him.

“Jack insisted on the menorah. Even though Hanukkah ended, he wants to see it fully lit one more time. And give you the opportunity to teach the team the prayers, if you want,” he explains, ever aware of the personal boundary that comes with prayer.

“We’ll light them once everyone’s here and the foods in the oven,” you say, “maybe we can pull up that song you found that actually has the prayer in it?”

Aaron nods, remembering the YouTube spiral Jack inspired in a desperate attempt to find more Hanukkah songs. He wraps an arm around your shoulder, giving you a hug before he goes into the living room and sits on the couch near where Jack and Henry are playing by the tree. JJ looks up from where’s perched on the arm of a chair Will’s occupying and smiles when she sees you. You make your way over to them, saying hello and placing the bag under the coffee table.

“What you got in there princess?” Derek asks, leaning down to peek in the bag.

“You have to wait and see,” you say, slapping his hand lightly. Jack meets your eye and beams, and you wink back at him. He scrambles up to give you a hug and squeezes tight, his excitement palpable.

Once everyone arrives and the food is in the oven to cook or stay warm, the whole team settles in the living room. You quickly explain the menorah and light the lights with “Hanukkah Blessings” playing from Aaron’s phone and then it’s time for dreidel.

Jack bounces on his knees, excited to share this game and explain his version of the rules. He’s perched next to you on the couch as you take everything out of the bag. You put the dreidels in a pile, and Jack takes his out of his pocket and places it in front of him. The team tries to keep their faces blank as you pull out gelt, some money, and a few pieces of paper out of the bag.

“So, this year we’re playing dreidel. Jack is going to help me teach you guys how to play. Dreidel is the spinning top game kids – and adults – play during Hanukkah. The little pieces of paper tell you what the symbols mean. They’re Hebrew characters and not all the dreidels have them written on them. The goal of the game is to win the pot. Depending on what your dreidel lands on, there are different actions. Jack, do you want to explain?”

He nods, “There are four sides to the dreidel and each has a different symbol. We start by each putting some money into the pot. Then, we take turns spinning our dreidels. If you land on nun, you do nothing. If it lands on gimel, you win and take the pot. If you land on hei, you take half the pot, and if you land on shin you put money in!” Jack explains, pointing out the characters on the dreidel.

Everyone nods along and then there’s a scramble to claim a dreidel. You notice Jack pushing one towards Henry and smile, knowing he’s looking out for his buddy. Spencer tests a few out before choosing one and shoving the others towards Morgan and Emily. Aaron catches your eye from across the table and your smile turns a little sharp, excited for the chaos that is about to ensue.

“Jack! How do you keep winning?” Morgan yells after the third time Jack landed on gimel, winning a sizeable pot. You have to hand it to him; he’s done a great job hiding the fact that he has a loaded dreidel. Spencer definitely knows what’s going on and has thankfully kept his mouth shut, choosing instead to play along and see the fallout. You’re fairly certain JJ has caught on to the plan, eyeing the piles of money in front of Jack and Henry. You bite your lip, trying to hide your smile and just shrug in Morgan’s direction.

“Lucky kid?” you say, as you put a dollar in the center of the table to start the pot again. Morgan grumbles as he does the same and Will commiserates with him. “It’s not like there’s a strategy to dreidel, it’s really in the luck of the spin.”

And oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Emily’s eyes light up in recognition and she gasps. “No way!” You and Aaron lock eyes and wince a little, knowing that the game is up. You’d both been holding back laughter and enjoying seeing the team get more frustrated as the two kids rake in the money while their own piles dwindled.

Dave catches on next, humming and sitting back in his armchair. He raises his glass of scotch to you and Aaron, conceding the game and just shakes his head.

It’s Penelope who gasps next and points an accusatory finger at you, “You didn’t! Are these even the official rules of dreidel?” she asks, her voice a little shrill.

You blush and look down, knowing you’ve been caught. You pat Jack on the shoulder as you tell him, “you had a good run buddy.” Jack looks at his pile and nods, understanding that the game couldn’t go on forever. Morgan squints his eyes and looks at Jack. He starts shaking his head and you know he’s putting the pieces together. “Technically, these are not the official dreidel rules. But you guys never asked about playing it before, so we figured we’d have some fun with it,” you explain with a shrug.

“Wait wait wait, we?” Morgan asks, pointing fingers at you and Jack before turning to Aaron, “Hotch you let your son hustle us?” Aaron just shrugs and takes a sip of his drink. “Do you even play dreidel with real money?”

You shake your head, laughter bubbling in your chest. Will looks betrayed too, but JJ ruffles his hair and points out the pile Henry has. It placates him a little, knowing that Henry wasn’t caught up in the shenanigans. Jack belly laughs as Morgan shakes his head and talks about never playing dreidel again with him. Penelope and Emily have their heads together and you’re a little scared that they’re planning revenge, but you turn your attention to Spencer instead who’s now seated on the floor next to Henry and spinning the different dreidels with him for fun.

“We are never talking about this again,” Derek says, pointing a finger at you. “I cannot believe you let Jack hustle us at dreidel! And change the rules!”

Penelope laughs and places a hand on Morgan’s arm, “Morgan, think about it, now we have the perfect prank for any newbies on the team!” she exclaims. “BAU initiation – you must get hustled by the kiddos at dreidel!”

resources: all about hanukkah

all about dreidel

Hanukkah Blessings

taglist: @qvid-pro-qvo @averyhotchner

[duchesschameleon]

light the candles

summary: a little Jewish education, some Hanukkah decorations, and warmth provided by candlelight (aka an extremely self-indulgent and slightly cathartic fic)

pairing: Aaron Hotchner x GN Jewish Reader words: 2.5k title from: candlelight by the maccabeats

You look at the little snow-covered tree JJ and Morgan insisted you decorate your desk with earlier and sigh. It’s late, you’re still at the office working on consults and a report from your latest case, and the tree is another thing that’s adding to your mounting headache. It’s such a little thing, you shouldn’t feel guilty over it and it shouldn’t bother you this much. But it does for some reason, and you can’t shake it. You let out a sigh and rub your eyes, trying to get yourself to refocus on the paperwork in front of you. It’s a tree, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a snow-covered tree, it won’t hurt you, you tell yourself. And it works for a bit. You feel yourself sink into the rhythm of paperwork, blocking out the world around you.

Its Aaron’s hand on your shoulder that pulls you from your trance and you startle as you look up at him.

“Sorry, I tried calling your name,” he starts, clearing his throat as his eyes dart around your desk, “why are you still here? Go home, paperwork will be here in the morning.”

“Seemed better to get it done now,” you shrug, “Anyway, there’s not much for me at home. I do live alone.”

Aaron huffs out a laugh in acknowledgement. “But it’s the holidays. Shouldn’t you be decorating or getting gifts or just, I don’t know reveling in the holiday spirit?” His hands are firmly placed in his pockets, making him appear almost awkward and nervous, but you ignore it. There’s no reason for Aaron Hotchner to be awkward and nervous around you.

Your face sours a bit, and you lean back in your chair, “you mean get into the Christmas spirit?” you scoff.

“No,” Aaron frowns, “I mean the holiday spirit. Hanukkah starts soon, doesn’t it?”

Your speechless for a moment, shocked that he remembered. You don’t talk about being Jewish a lot, just little things here and there about getting challah for shabbat, lighting your candles when you can, or wearing your Chai pendant. It’s small things and details that are easy to forget or slip out of people’s minds. “Uhm, yeah, it starts in a week or so,” you stammer out. “But there’s not much to prepare? My gifts to my family have already been sent and I don’t decorate much. Doesn’t make sense when we’re probably going to get a case and be traveling. Anyway, it’s importance always gets blown out of proportion because of its proximity to Christmas.

Aaron nods and lets out a little huff of air. “Got it.” He checks his watch and sighs, noting the time. He rubs his forehead, contemplating something. “Well, if you won’t go home to your place then come on over to mine. I, uh, may have bought some Hanukkah decorations for Jack and I to put up and we could use your help.” Aaron’s neck flushes and he looks down at his feet. Suddenly, his nervousness makes sense, and you feel your own cheeks heat up. “I understand if you don’t want to, or it’s overstepping but I still –”

“No, no I’d – I’d really like that,” you interrupt. A small smile spreads across your face and you look up at Aaron. “You know I’ll never turn down time with Jack and I guess I can help decorate.”

Aaron flashes you one of his blinding smiles, small enough to not look totally out of place on his face but still full of joy. “Good, because I probably won’t be able to answer most of his questions about Hanukkah. Figured I’d go straight to the expert for that.”

You laugh as you start to clean up your desk, organizing files so that you can pick right up when you get into the office tomorrow. Aaron runs back to his office to grab his keys and coat, a small smile gracing his face. When he comes back to your desk, you’re standing waiting for him.

“I took the metro in today, mind giving me a lift to your place?”

“Not at all.”

The ride is quiet, comfortable. The silences that fall over you two usually are comfortable, a by-product of working together for so many years and spending those years in close contact. It’s hard to be a part of the BAU for so long and not be comfortable around each other.

And while you might be comfortable, Aaron is trying to hide how tense he is in the driver’s seat. Getting you to his apartment, to spend time alone with him (and Jack) outside of a work setting is something he’s been trying to do for a long time. It took some courage, and a good excuse, but he did it and now he’s nervous all over again about what it’ll be like to have you in his space. At work, there’s a clearly defined line of professionalism he cannot cross. But in his apartment, his home, and with his son he’s not sure he’ll be able to stop the feelings he’s harbored for you for a while.

The drive to Aaron’s isn’t very long and soon he’s putting the car and park and jogging to try and open your door for you. When he realizes you’d already opened it, he offers you his hand instead and you roll your eyes as you take it.

“Always the gentleman, huh Hotchner?” He flashes you a smirk in return and you chuckle as he leads you to the elevator of the parking garage, still holding your hand. It’s nice, his large hand enveloping yours and providing warmth to your chilly fingers. You certainly aren’t complaining and wouldn’t want him to drop your hand.

Jack’s running to the door as you enter the apartment and immediately wraps his arms around Aaron for a hug. “Aunt Jess let me stay up late ‘cause you said we were gonna decorate tonight!” Jack exclaims, excited for an extended bedtime on a school night.

“Yeah buddy! I brought over a friend too, to help us with those new decorations I got, remember?” Aaron asked, leaning down to hug Jack and press a kiss to his hair.

Jack nods before looking around Aaron to wave at you and say hi. You wave back at him before unwinding your scarf and unbuttoning your coat. Aaron’s behind you to help take your coat off and hang it up and you’re startled by his closeness. He was close enough for you to get a whiff of his cologne, something subtle but spicy. It sends a shiver down your spine, being that close to him.

You shake it off though as he moves into the apartment to grab the decorations he’d purchased. You follow and sit on the couch as Aaron places the bags on the coffee table. Jack hops up next to you and reaches into the bag, pulling something out.

You see the item and gasp, looking at Aaron over Jack’s head. “Really?”

“I overhead JJ and Morgan talking about wanting to decorate the office and I know they tend to be well, one track minded. I wanted to make sure all bases were covered.” Aaron shrugs, and you see that his neck is turning red again.

“This is, incredible,” you breathe as you help Jack paw through the bag. There isn’t much, but it’s something and it means so much to you. Dreidels, strands of blue lights, a plush menorah for Jack to fill at home, an electric one for you to plug in at your desk, and gelt. Bags and bags of gelt. As you open the items, you explain what they are to Jack. That dreidels are both the spinning top itself and a game you play, that you play with gelt and then you can eat it because it’s a chocolate coin, and the menorah. You save it for last, telling him the abridged story of the Maccabees and how they fought and then discovered the oil left in the temple should only last one night but miraculously gave them light for 8 nights.

You keep it short, mindful of the time and Jack’s drooping eyes. He is excited about everything and demands you come over another time to play dreidel with him and to bring latkes, he said they sounded yummy and wanted to try some. You promise him that you will and give him a hug goodnight as Aaron makes sure he gets tucked into bed.

Most of the decorations are still spread on the coffee table in front of you, a few of the light strands hung up at Jack’s insistence. You’re still shocked that Aaron went through the trouble to find all of this and even more surprised he’d wanted some of it for his home, not just for the office. You flip through one of the children’s books Aaron had bought to help Jack understand the Hanukkah story and smile at the illustrations. You’re so engrossed in it that you don’t hear him return and get startled at him sinking into the couch next to you.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” Aaron says. He clears his throat and twists to look at you, “Thank you for doing this. For explaining Hanukkah to Jack and indulging him. And me too, I guess.”

You smile warmly at him, “Of course, it’s nice to know that people do want to learn. And you know I can never say no to Jack,” you laugh.

“Oh yes, there is a track record of that,” Aaron jokes. As you laugh you notice how close he’s sitting to you and your filled with warmth, though a little confused as to why he’s so close. It’s closer than he ever sits next to you, including on the jet. You settle into it, but his nerves from earlier seem to have transferred to you. You’re hyper-aware of Aaron’s presence and it puts you on edge. You know that you’ve been ignoring and pushing down the attraction you feel to him, the way you gravitate towards him. You know that you ignore it in the name of professionalism, of not crossing a line. But there’s also part of you that’s scared to put yourself and your heart on the line by giving in to your feelings. Aaron is your friend, your boss, someone who’s been a part of your life for years. To ruin that, to lose that would be devastating. So, you’ve continued on as if there are no romantic inclinations.

Besides, you’ve convinced yourself there’s no way Aaron reciprocates your feelings. He’d been so in love with Haley and hadn’t made any steps towards moving on or starting another relationship for so long. There’s no way that he’s taken a romantic interest in you, not now.

“You still here with me?” Aaron says, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Huh? Oh, yeah. Just…thinking.”

“About what?”

You swallow, trying to figure out the best way to answer. Obviously, something is different about tonight. Aaron’s been hovering all evening, close to you and holding your hand and you’re sure he rested his hand on your arm or shoulder while you explained Hanukkah to Jack. He’s tactile, in a way he’s never been before. Now that Jack has gone to bed and you two are alone, you’re forced to really confront what it could mean.

“Did I lose you again?”

You shake your head and shoot him an apologetic smile, “I’m a little distracted, sorry.” You take a breath, determined and turn to face Aaron, “There’s something, different tonight isn’t there? You held my hand on the way here and you’ve been hovering close all night. It’s different than when we’re at work and it’s just…it’s distracting,” you blurt.

Aaron’s eyes meet yours and he takes your hand again, “It is different. You’re here at my apartment, and you’re so good with Jack and I just, I wanted it to be a little different, if that’s okay with you?”

“Are we going to keep dodging around it? Because this is, it’s a lot Aaron. It’s something I haven’t dared hope for, and I don’t want to mess anything up between us. You mean a lot to me. As a friend, a coworker, and as someone who’s been in my life for years at this point. I can’t lose that, not now.”

“Hey, hey,” Aaron’s hand comes up to rest on your jaw and he makes you meet his eyes, “none of that talk. Nothing is going to ruin what we have. You aren’t losing me.” The conviction in his voice helps calm your nerves, but there’s still so much left unsaid.

“Aaron, we have to be on the same page. This isn’t a one-time thing for me. I like you. As more than a friend. As someone I want to have in my life for a long time. For forever, really. I can’t say I love you right now because I’ve spent so long pushing all this down but it’s a real possibility. I can see a life with you, and I know that I could love you. If we do this, Aaron I’m pretty much all in.” You’ve laid your cards on the table, put it all out there. Aaron squeezes the hand he’s still holding and grips your jaw a little tighter, making sure you don’t turn away from him. He sees you, and you can’t hide.

“We’re on the same page. You just spent an evening with Jack and I teaching us about a holiday we don’t celebrate. I don’t think I can say it anymore plainly that this isn’t a one-time deal. I know I’m falling in love with you. Have been for a while,” he huffs out a laugh, “I see that life with you, and I want it. I know it won’t be easy with work, but we can figure that out and deal with the paperwork, I just know that I want you in my life, in Jack’s life, and I can’t lose you either. I want more time with you than we spend together in the office and I just, didn’t know how to tell you. But I want this. I want you.”

You’re verklempt, a mist clouding your vision. You smile and Aaron and he returns it. You both lean in and then he’s kissing you, his lips moving over yours and oh this is something you can get used to. Kissing Aaron Hotchner is something you could easily do for the rest of your life. When you separate for a breath you tell him that and it draws a chuckle from both of you.

The details will come later, telling Jack and the team and Strauss but for now, you’ll sit on his couch and kiss him. There’s some lost time to make up for anyway.

And if you’re over for dinner a few days later, well that’s just fine. Aaron greets you at the door with a kiss and takes the bags out of your hands and into the kitchen. It’s the first night of Hanukkah and you’ve brought latke supplies to fulfill your promise to Jack. And when you light the first candle in your menorah, Aaron wraps his arms around your waist and you settle into him, content.

tag: @qvid-pro-qvo (if you want to be tagged in future fics - when I write them oops - let me know!)

[duchesschameleon]

wip tag game

so @qvid-pro-qvo and @rosesblueviolets tagged me here goes nothing they don’t all have titles so this is how I refer to them in my head/masterdocs

traditions - aaron hotchner x jewish!reader pt 3 fake date - sonny carisi x jewish!reader supposed to be a holiday rom-com situation say no to this - rafael barba can’t say no to olivia benson fight me on that rafa comforts liv - MY 5+1 THAT I REALLY NEED TO FINISH you opened my heart - how that speech in “undiscovered country” should have ended

that’s all my wips with documents! and well. fandom wips. most of them shhhhh I have a whole document from the dalton big bang last summer that has a lot of started drabbles. and then there’s my original work.....I’m good at starting things not finishing them.

[duchesschameleon]

:) i am so happy you like it!!!

light the candles

summary: a little Jewish education, some Hanukkah decorations, and warmth provided by candlelight (aka an extremely self-indulgent and slightly cathartic fic)

pairing: Aaron Hotchner x GN Jewish Reader words: 2.5k title from: candlelight by the maccabeats

You look at the little snow-covered tree JJ and Morgan insisted you decorate your desk with earlier and sigh. It’s late, you’re still at the office working on consults and a report from your latest case, and the tree is another thing that’s adding to your mounting headache. It’s such a little thing, you shouldn’t feel guilty over it and it shouldn’t bother you this much. But it does for some reason, and you can’t shake it. You let out a sigh and rub your eyes, trying to get yourself to refocus on the paperwork in front of you. It’s a tree, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a snow-covered tree, it won’t hurt you, you tell yourself. And it works for a bit. You feel yourself sink into the rhythm of paperwork, blocking out the world around you.

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