#also i was gonna make this serious but then emily went 'hold this'

[emily-lotus]

it's better that you don't know the truth.

"Like hell it is!" Emily wanted to smack the man but knew it would hurt her much more than him.

"Just tell me if they actually had the damn donuts I wanted!" Being pregnant had...consequences that uh, even she wasn't aware of. The cravings were just horrible.

Of course working while pregnant just meant everyone got to see how fucked up her hormones were. Mainly thanks to the Mako and Jenova cells that Hojo gave her that no one knew of.

"Damn it Gen did you even get anything for me? At least something sweet."

@poeticphoenix

[cemeterygirlrocks]

NOT WHAT YOU THINK I AM —DR. SPENCER REID

Summary; The team is lead to believe that Spencer is the one in charge, and you don’t deny it. That is, until you’re both alone.

Contents; handjob (male receiving), dacryphilia, blackfem reader, sub!spencer, dom!reader, not much use of Y/n, workplace sex, cum eating, overstimulation.

“She always follows around you like some lost puppy, damn Y/n.” Morgan snickered, you knew he was just teasing, he knew better than to be serious.

You didn’t even realize,

Spencer would always help you with stuff. Your work, when sauce would make its way outside your mouth, even fix your hair for you.

You didn’t realize how under his control you looked, never crossed your mind. Both Spencer and you knew who was in charge, and he didn’t stray far from that in the bedroom.

You looked at him like he was God, but you never noticed. You’ve always stared at him like that.

So when Spence started acting more dominant in the workplace it didn’t bother you not one bit, even the teasing from Morgan.

It was pretty normal, normal things he’d do in public also.

He would lead you places, sometimes have the last say. Feed you, pull you onto his lap.

Only when Hotch wasn’t looking.

When rumours popped up saying Spencer was in charge of you, telling you what to do, how to act. Even going so far as to saying what he told you to do you did, no questions asked.

It was somewhat true, but it was only because you loved him. Of course you would do what he said, and so would he to you.

The shock you went through when you found out your sweet Spencer was the one spreading those terrible rumours.

When girls came up to you it started to become a problem. Telling you how lucky you were that Spencer was yours, how good he must be in bed.

He wouldn’t even lay a hand on you with your permission. It only made your anger grow when Morgan and Garcia joined in with the teasing.

You stared at him from your desk, watching him scribble down words you didn’t care about. Your blood was boiling, you were so mad inside but you looked so sweet on the outside.

Your pouty lips, skin glistening. It was truly a sight to see.

Spencer knew you were looking at him, he could feel your stare. That same stare that made him shiver.

You never acted dominant at work. You were soft and caring, never even rolled your eyes. It wasn’t like you weren’t soft and caring at home, but you never let bedroom you and work you mix.

Your Christian Louboutins clicked on the ground as you jumped off your desk, making your way towards your baby.

A black skirt molded around your body, a black blouse holding up your pretty titties to match with two buttons undone.

Once you got to his desk you could feel the heat radiating off his skin.

Boohoo.

Lowering yourself down towards his ear, “Spence?” You whispered, a smirk falling onto your face.

He nodded, wrong answer.

“You know I like words. You don’t wanna disappoint me, right pumpkin?” His head falling into his hands made you giggle.

His heart was racing, just like how it did every time you guys went home.

Holding your warm, soft hand out towards him you smiled softly, “C‘ mon baby, gotta talk to you.”

The man gulped, looking up at you with his big puppy dog eyes. You knew he was trying to apologize, knowing exactly what he did wrong.

Emily was watching, and noticed Spencer’s sudden change. She knew something was up.

Shaking your head you kept your hand out, your eyes glaring at him, “Don’t keep me waiting Spencer. Let’s go.”

He listened, he always did. So when he grabbed your hand his stomach caved in when you tightly squeezed it, making him follow you where ever you were taking him.

When you guys were out of view from the team he started speaking quietly, like someone was gonna somehow hear him.

“Is something wrong Y/n? You can talk to me.”

Rolling your eyes, you peeked into a room that wasn’t occupied, it was dark, with the window slightly open showing a hint of light.

This was it.

Pulling him into the room, you shut it and made sure not to lock it.

“Sit.” He looked at the chair than back at you, confused.

He was right to be confused, he knew you didn’t mix home with work.

Putting a hand on your hip you kissed your teeth, “Do I have to say daddy for you to listen?” Stepping closer to him you internally grinned when he took a step back.

He was trying to hold in his whines, clearly wasn’t doing good enough because you heard him.

“Please daddy? Sit down?” You laughed, running your hands through your long, soft hair.

“Stop.” He mumbled. Frowning, you tugged on his tie, “Hm? I can’t hear you. Daddy can you speak up?”

He was psychically in pain, he knew he shouldn’t have spread those things. It was a matter of time before you found out.

“Is that how you want me to act Spence? The way I am right now isn’t good for you?” His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

“No! N-no. I like the way you act. I love it, please? M’sorry.”

You tsked, pouting. Pushing him down into the chair you thought about what to do with him.

“Are you satisfied? I can go now?” You shook your head smiling brightly.

“Take off your clothes Spencer.” He raised his brows, heat raising to his cheeks.

“Hu—Did I stutter? Clothes off, now. Keep the tie, hurry don’t make me bored.”

He shot up, pulling off his sweater before unbuttoning his shirt. He kept looking at you, a whine escaping his lips when he saw how annoyed you looked of him.

Made him so sad, now he just wanted to please you. Whatever you wanted him to do he’d do it.

No questions asked.

When he unbuttoned his pants and let them flood around his feet the man looked up at you for approval, you didn’t give it.

So he slid off his boxers, his hard on slapping against his pale stomach.

“Hmph, alright.” You looked uninterested, something he hated so bad.

“Please, I’m sorry,” You motioned for him to sit down, and he did, “Don’t matter now, want you want me to do now daddy?”

“No, please no,” Tilting your head you bit down on your plump, juicy lips, “What? You want me to sit down instead? Have you hurt me?”

Spence sniffled, he could feel the tears coming, “I want you to touch me, you can hurt me a-all you want. I’m yours.”

“Seemed like the other way around.”

Your hands crept down to his cock, squeezing the base. A yelp left his lips and you quickly covered it with your hand.

Something about him being completely naked and you all the way dressed made him twitch. Anything you did could make him cum, that’s one of the reasons you had to do multiple rounds with him.

Taking his pre cum and spreading it all over his member, you began making your pace. Starting soft from the base, you squeezed and turned once you got to the tip, his breath shaky and his hips stuttering.

“Shh, you want the whole team in here pumpkin? Have them see you looking like a slut, after you ran your mouth?” His big eyes locked with yours, you could see them fill with his salty tears.

When he blinked, you felt the wetness on your hand.

“Crying isn’t getting you out of this. All because you just had to be dumb, why Spence? I hate treating you bad, but you’re always in need of a punishment.”

Your hand fell from his mouth to his neck, gripping it tightly while pressing hard kisses and bites to his neck. He was so pale they were gonna be marks very soon, and he knew you didn’t care.

“I should find another boy, somebody who won’t be so bad. You think so?”

You were gonna do what you wanted, when you wanted.

“Hah.. fuck. No please, m’sorry, y-you know I’m sorry. I can.. can prove it to you. J..just let me.”

“Boohoo, if you don’t cum right now I’m gonna leave you here and take your clothes. You want that baby? Have them see how weird and sick you are?” You went faster, smirking when his chest fell closer to you, his forehead sweating.

You pulled him to your face by his tie, his tongue was at the side of his mouth, licking his dry lips. “Dr Spencer Reid the genius is a freaky pervert who likes to jerk off in the office.”

He couldn’t help but cry, you were always serious. You would ruin his career, and you both knew it.

All he could was apologize, mumbling incoherent apologizes while trying to keep his eyes open.

“Whose in charge?” Your hand wasn’t slowing down and he could feel the knot form, he needed to let go.

“Y-You.. fuck it’s you, pleaseee.” His voice was raspy and he knew he was about to come, you did too. That’s why you only started to focus on the tip.

He tried kissing you to mask his moans but you rolled your eyes, moving your face away from him. Spence had no other choice but to bite down on his bottom lip to hide it, it hurt so bad but he couldn’t make a sound.

His stomach clenched before he hurled towards you, breathing heavy through his nose trying to contain himself. You smiled to yourself, watching it flow out.

“Mhm, so much cum baby. Making me so proud. You know what?”

Stopping for a second, you let him look up at you, asking you to go on.

“I think.. you can do another one.” You scoffed when you heard him whimper. He couldn’t take it.

“Can.. can I just, just prove it to you. Let me touch you, can make you feel s’good. You know I can.”

While looking at him in disgust, you started your movements again. This time when he bit down on his lip, he drew blood.

It only excited you.

“What makes you think I even want you touch me? Don’t make me mad. Sluts don’t touch, you got it?”

“I-I, I’m gonna cum.” He didn’t respond to your statement but you didn’t care, your eyes watching the blood dripping his bottom lip.

“So soon? I think you can hold it pumpkin. Or else we’re just gonna have to another round?”

He nodded slowly, his head turning into the mush, “Aww, is the genius just a little whore now? Can’t speak, can’t even keep his pretty little eyes open.”

Trying his best to keep his eyes open, he looked up at you. Dried tears along with the new ones, bloody pink lips, hot red cheeks.

He looked to die. So cute, your dumb little slut.

“I can cum? Oh please let me cum.” You thought about it for a second, speeding up your movements while doing so. He choked on a moan, rolling his eyes back as your hand only focused on his burning hot tip.

“P-pleasee.. I’m so—fuck! Momma please, fuck please. I cant.. You know I-I can’t take it.”

“Please, yes you can. Don’t tell me what I know. I’ll count to 10, then you can cum, mkay?”

He desperately shook his head, he wasn’t gonna last. His legs were shaking, and he couldn’t keep his eyes from rolling back.

“One.” You twisted and turned, the gross sound of you twisting and his gasps the only thing you could hear in the room.

“Six.” He was so close, so close he could feel it.

The man was looking at you the entire time, he wouldn’t take it eyes off you even if he couldn’t keep them open.

“Nine.” He was waiting for you to say ten but you wouldn’t. Spence couldn’t help but beg, but still you didn’t open your mouth.

It truly was funny to you, you liked the way he looked a mess. “Ten.” You mumbled annoyingly.

You didn’t want it to end, who would? “H-holy… mmfuck!” You covered his mouth once again as he let loose, he shot so much out it surprised you.

He shuddered every time you rubbed him up and down. His eyes were bloodshot red, hair all messed up and the tears looking so pretty, stained on his face.

You took his cum into your hand, coating them on your fingers you pushed them into his mouth. You had a strong grip on his hair, your manicured nails scratching scalp.

It made you giggle when his eyes shot open, he still was a good boy, making sure to clean your fingers dry.

“Good boy.” He had a dopey grin on his face, looking up at you in awe. You repeated his action, til he was all clean.

Pressing a deep kiss onto his lips it took him back, he couldn’t catch up. He was so tired, the man wouldn’t last at work.

You tasted the blood on your lips, making him wince while you moaned into the kiss. Still having a strong grip on him you tugged his head back so you could make dark marks on his neck and chest.

He couldn’t fight, he was too into it.

You stepped back, looking at what you did. “Hmph, what am I gonna do with you.”

By the time you got him all dressed again, and looking somewhat presentable the work day was basically over.

The clicking of your heels made the team turn towards you with their brows raised.

“Spence isn’t feeling so well, he’s all hot and not doing so good. I’m gonna take him home, bye guys!”

Morgan and Rossi eyed each other, then turned towards Spencer.

They couldn’t tell what he looked like, but JJ and Emily were smiling to each other in the back.

“Be good!” Emily called out, shrugging when Morgan looked at her strangely.

Xoxo, liah

[preciousprentiss]

Prompts of Hotchniss - Chapter 16

Prompt: Person A and Person B finally get married.

My beautiful bride.

Running her thumb over the writing on the front of the envelope she was holding while sat on the edge of the bed in her hotel room, Emily worried her bottom lip with her teeth in an attempt to keep herself from crying and ruining her mascara. She had already cried four times that morning, leaving Pen to have to clean her up and apply another coat every time, and the technical analyst told her that she would kill her if she had to do it again. 

She tried to blame her emotions solely on her raging hormones, but she hadn’t been fooling anyone and she knew it. She was an emotional wreck because after four years, four incredible years with him, she was marrying her soulmate.

In just under three hours, Emily Prentiss would no longer exist and she would be known henceforth as Emily Hotchner.

Just the thought of that was enough to give her butterflies.

She was reminded of the envelope in her hand when one of the boys kicked and pulled her from her thoughts, a sigh leaving her as she rubbed her bump through her dress to calm him. Her mom, Pen and JJ had taken Soph to the park across the street so she could have some time to herself and read Aaron’s letter without any distractions. It was a cute little thing they decided to do weeks ago since the two of them were sticking to tradition and keeping from seeing one another until Dave walked her down the aisle.

She wrote the soppiest stuff in hers, but she knew he did the exact same thing.

Deciding she should probably start reading before the girls got back, she took a breath and opened the envelope before unfolding the letter and grinning like an idiot as she began to read.

-

I knew this was going to happen.

This is literally my third time trying to write this stupid letter and I know what I want to say, but no idea how to write it down and so I think I’m just going to wing it like I did the proposal because that went well enough. I mean, I wouldn’t be writing this right now if it hadn’t gone to plan. 

All right, here goes.

You have no idea how obsessed with you I am. How much I love you. 

You can stop shaking your head at a piece of paper, Em, because I know I’m right. 

Yeah, I tell you I love you all the time and I buy you stuff to remind you of that on occasion, but I’ve never actually told you just how much I love you because there isn’t a word suitable enough to describe it. Like you, the love I have for you is so unique and just impossible to define. I’ve loved before, you know that and I won’t pretend I haven’t, but the love I have for you is entirely different to that.

I remember waking up with you after our first night together and not believing it because I thought I dreamt the whole thing. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed lying there with you in my arms while you slept, but I honestly believed it was a feeling that would pass the more you stayed at my place. Well - and you are so gonna love me for admitting this, I know you are - I was totally wrong. It’s been four years and you being there is still the first thing that makes me smile every day.

Not only do I love lying there with you and watching you sleep because you do that adorable little nose scrunch thing (I can call you adorable because you can’t punch me, but you’ll probably get around to it later anyway) but also because I get to feel the boys move since both of them are early risers like me. Em, I mean it, I have no idea how you sleep through all that kicking. I thought Soph was a kicker when you were pregnant with her, but she was nothing compared to them.

Speaking of our kids, the four of them are just another reason why I can’t wait to marry you. I want to prove to them that I’m serious about you and I don’t want anyone but you. When we first got together, Jack worried we would get bored in time and break up and he would have to get used to having somebody else in his life. It hurt me to hear him say it, but it made me see he needed me to prove to him I was crazy about you and you wouldn’t be going anywhere. Us having Soph was the first step, but I think it took us getting engaged for him to be sure.

I know Soph won’t remember anything about today, but it’s still important to me that she’s there to hear us say our vows. I promise I’m not going to just say mine and forget about them in a couple days. I’m going to remind you of them all the time and I’m going to make sure I take every opportunity to kiss and hold you, no matter if the kids are there or not, because you really need to know how I feel.

I love you, honey.

Not just today. Always. 

This letter is getting stupidly long, so I think I’m gonna leave it here because the longer it takes you to read it the longer it’ll take for you to walk down the aisle and I’m enough of a nervous wreck as it is. I don’t need your tardiness making it any worse.

I’m so excited to see you walk down the aisle. You’re going to look so gorgeous.

I’ll see you later, Mrs Hotchner-to-be.

Aaron.

-

Folding the letter back up with trembling hands and pushing it back inside the envelope, she put it down on the bed and stared at the ceiling in an attempt to keep the tears in her eyes from falling. Up until now, she thought she couldn’t love that man more than she already did. She thought it was impossible, but he’d just gone and proved her wrong. That letter of his was the most beautiful, heartfelt thing she had ever read and she was in no doubt of his love for her.

He was always complaining to her and others that he didn’t have much of a way with words, but he was wrong and she would kill him if he dared say that again.

She was just starting to pull herself together when she heard a gentle knock on the door. Expecting it to be the girls back from the park, she got up from the bed and walked across the room before opening it to see Dave standing there. “Oh, wow...” She breathed as she looked him up and down, admiring the suit he had on before looking him in the eye and noticing he was blinking back tears. “No! No, you can’t cry. If you cry then I’ll cry and then my mascara will go everywhere and Pen will kill me. I’ve been a mess all morning, so please keep it together.”

Taking her face in his hands beneath her veil, he stepped closer to her and gave her a kiss on the forehead before drawing back again and brushing his thumbs against her cheeks. “You have never looked more beautiful.” He told her quietly.

“Not helping, Dave...” She teased. “You coming in? The girls took Soph out.”

“Sure,” He nodded before letting his hands fall from her face so he could follow her into the suite. “How are you feeling?”

“Nervous,” She admitted. “I could do with some Dutch courage, to be honest.”

He smirked. “And how are my beautiful little nipotis doing?”

“I was a bit worried because they hadn’t been moving around as much as usual, so Aaron called my OB and she managed to squeeze me in,” She said. “She told me everything is fine with both of them, they just haven’t got that much space in there now and so their movements are limited. It also doesn’t help that Rowan is such a chunk and Ryder is so tiny because Rowan’s taking up the room there is and Ryder is a little squashed. Not much longer though, thankfully. Two months.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa...” He held a hand up while she sat. “Rowan and Ryder?”

She laughed at that. “Aaron and I were flipping through a book of baby names to get a little inspiration the other night and Jack found us. When we told him what we were doing, he asked if he and Soph could pick the names and we thought it was a good idea. We sat them down and even though it was a risk, we promised we would go with the names they picked out. Because he’s older, we let Jack go first and he chose Ryder because it means ‘mountain warrior’ and he thought it sounded super cool. Aaron and I love it too because he’s so small but so strong. It was just luck that Sophia picked out the name Rowan really.”

“You excited? It must feel more real now.” He sat down in the chair opposite her.

“The two of them are all I can think about at the minute,” She told him, running a hand across her bump, her gaze falling to the proof of her babies for a second before she looked at him again. “My OB says Ryder has put on weight since the 4D scan and she’s pleased with his progress, so it’s seeming much less likely they’ll have to be delivered early and spend some time in the NICU. He’ll still be smaller than Rowan at birth, but it shouldn’t take him too long to catch up with him. Knowing all that has changed a lot, so Aaron and I did some shopping and we found Moses baskets for them. They’re already up in the bedroom.”

He chuckled. “He’s not stopped going on about the three of you all morning.”

“Is he doing okay?”

“Yeah, he is. Nervous, obviously, but I have never seen him so happy before.”

“That’s a relief. Not changed his mind yet then.” She joked.

“That man wouldn’t change his mind if you beat him with a brick.” He scoffed.

“Don’t give me ideas, Dave,” She smirked at him. “That might end up being my go-to if he winds me up while we’re away.”

He snorted with laughter at that, but her phone beeped before he had chance to say anything else and she got up from the bed to walk over to the dressing table. “Mom says the cars are outside. Soph’s legs are hurting, so they’re gonna head to the house because they don’t want to drag her up here just to take her back down again. I’m glad of that though, she’ll get to spend some time with the boys before the ceremony and that should keep her quiet,” She glanced at him before responding to her mother, turning her phone off and putting it in her clutch bag. “I guess we should take that as our cue to get going too.”

“Let’s wait ten minutes,” He told her. “Be fashionably late. Make the man sweat.”

“That’s so cruel,” She feigned shock. “I like it.”

“So, ten minutes?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

“Ten minutes,” She nodded. “Ten minutes...”

----------

She barely had time to drink her water and put the glass on the side before the music she and Aaron picked for her to walk down the aisle to - the instrumental version of Songbird by Fleetwood Mac - started playing, her heart racing as she walked over to Dave before taking his arm with a trembling breath. “You good? You can take a minute if you like, he knows you’re here so no need to worry.” She heard him whisper while he brought his free hand up to give hers a stroke.

“I’m okay,” She assured him. “Well, I will be once I’m down there with him.”

“In other words, you want me to just shut up and start walking.” He translated.

“Yeah, pretty much,” She beamed. “Thank you for filling in for my dad. You don’t know how much I love you for it.”

“And I love you,” He kissed her on the cheek. “Now, let’s get you down there before Hotch sweats through his shirt.”

The two of them shared a smile before she tightened her hold of his arm, her other hand tightening its hold of her bouquet of flowers as she allowed him to lead her through the French doors that opened out into the back garden. Before she had even made it off the patio, the guests had risen from their seats and turned to watch her walk down the aisle. She was grateful to them all for coming, of course, and she managed to give the odd person a smile when she caught their eye, but her main focus was on the handsome man waiting for her under the wedding arch. He had told everyone that he wasn’t going to cry at the wedding, but she could definitely see tears rolling down his cheeks.

She would tease him about it when they were on their honeymoon, but for the time being she would simply enjoy it.

It took less time than she had thought it would to make it down the aisle and join Aaron beneath the arch, and once she had dropped Rossi’s arm and handed her bouquet of flowers to Garcia she turned to face him with a soft smile. “Is it too early to kiss the bride?” He teased, moving her veil out of her face with his fingers. “You look so beautiful.”

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” She reached up to brush the tears from his cheeks. “You ready for this?”

“Definitely,” He nodded. “You?”

“More than ready…” She assured him, taking his hands in her own. “Let’s get married.”

The two of them turned to Richard, the officiant, then and the smile he gave them told them he was ready to begin. “Dear friends and family,” He addressed the guests. “We are gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of Aaron and Emily. In the years that they have been together, the love they have for each other has grown, turning them into the couple standing before you. Now, they are ready to spend the rest of their lives as husband and wife. A true marriage starts well before the wedding day, and the efforts of marriage continue long after the ceremony. A brief moment in time and the stroke of a pen are all that is needed to create the legal bond of marriage, but it takes an entire lifetime of three things – love, commitment and compromise – to make marriage durable and everlasting.”

He cleared his throat before continuing. “Emily and Aaron are here today to marry each other. No one else’s will can create such a union. It is their words, their intentions, their vision, that must define and shape their marriage. So, I call upon them both now to state their promise before this group: the pledges that will bind them together.” He fell silent once he’d said his piece and handed the microphone to Emily, clasping his hands as he stepped back slightly.

“Here you are.” Garcia whispered as she handed a folded-up piece of paper to her.

“Thanks,” Emily smiled before dropping Aaron’s hand in order to unfold it, the look on his face causing her heart to race when she took his hand again and squeezed it before looking at the words she’d written. “Aaron, I’m so proud that today I become your wife. I love you. I love the way you act like an idiot to make me laugh whenever I’m having a bad day. I love how you have to push my hair back when it’s in my face and I love how you take the opportunity to kiss me whenever we’re at a stoplight on our way into work,” She couldn’t help but laugh when he chuckled quietly.

“Today, I want to make promises to you that I promise I’ll always keep. I promise to never stop holding your hand, I promise to give you the same love and support that I give to our children, I promise to stand by your side when you face the world and listen when you have something to say and I promise to grow alongside you but never grow up. More than any of that though, I promise to love, respect, protect and trust you, and give you the best of myself, for I know that together we’ll build a life far better than either of us could imagine building alone,” She paused for just a second as tears blurred her vision. “Today seems like it’s the start of a new journey for the both of us, but I already belong to you. Falling for you wasn’t falling at all, it was just walking into your life and knowing I was home.”

Looking him in the eye again once she had finished reading her vows to him, she took a step closer to him and ran her thumb across his knuckles as she watched a tear roll down his cheek. The two of them looked at one another in complete silence for a time, nothing else mattering but them, before he reached for the microphone and cleared his throat. “There’s no way I’m going to top that, but let’s see how this goes,” He chuckled, making her and the guests laugh. “Em, I love you without knowing how, or when or from where. I love you straightforwardly, without any pride or complexities. Loving what I know of you and trusting what I don’t yet. Home, in my opinion at least, is wherever you and our kids are. I love you not for what you are, but what you are when I’m with you and that’ll never change.”

Even though there was a lump in her throat and she was fighting back tears, she still managed a quiet: “I love you.”

“And I love you,” He ran the back of his hand down her cheek, brushing his thumb against her hair. “So much.”

When Richard moved closer to the two of them once again, Aaron handed him back the microphone before slipping both hands into his bride’s again and smoothing his thumbs across the back of her palms as they both took a deep breath. “I think the fact that I can’t see a single dry eye says more than I ever could about those vows,” Richard said as he looked out at the wave of guests for a second. “Now, it’s time to move on to the declaration of intent. Do you, Aaron, take Emily to be your lawfully wedded wife, to share your life openly, standing beside her in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?” He inquired, looking at him.

“I do.” Aaron replied without hesitation, nothing but love for the beautiful woman standing before him in his eyes.

“And do you, Emily, take Aaron to be your lawfully wedded husband, to share your life openly, standing beside him in sickness and in health, in joy and in sorrow, in hardship and in ease, to cherish and love forever more?” He asked.

“I do, I definitely do.” Emily nodded, not caring in the slightest that her impatience was showing through.

“That’s excellent,” He smiled. “Now the rings, please.”

Aaron and Emily both turned their heads in order to watch Jack walk towards them with their rings on a pillow, their pride in him evident on their faces when he came to stand beside them and held the pillow up a little. “Now, Aaron,” Richard continued. “Please take the ring you have selected for Emily. As you place it on her finger, repeat after me” He watched silently as he took the diamond ring from the pillow and eased it onto her finger. “Emily, I give you this ring as proof of my love. I ask you to wear it as a sign to the world that you are my wife. With this ring, I thee wed.”

Once Aaron had repeated what he had said and settled the ring neatly at the base of her finger, he turned to Emily. “And Emily, please take the ring you have selected for Aaron. As you place it on his finger, repeat after me,” He told her before watching her take the other ring from the pillow and gently place it on Aaron’s finger. “Aaron, I give you this ring as a symbol of my love. I ask you to wear it as a sign that you are my husband. With this ring, I thee wed.”

Emily repeated his words perfectly as she slid the ring down his finger, and Richard smiled as he watched them take each other’s hands again. “In so much as the two of you have consented together in matrimony, and have witnessed the same before this company, by authority vested in me by the State of Virginia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Aaron, you may kiss your bride!” He announced, stepping back when Aaron pulled Emily into a soft, deep kiss.

Wrapping her arms tight around his waist as the guests clapped and cheered, Emily couldn’t help but smile against her husband’s lips as she felt him pull her closer to him with the hand pressed into the small of her back. “Well, Mr. Hotchner,” She murmured between kisses, grasping the back of his shirt in both hands. “You’re stuck with me now.”

“Am I? Good,” He smirked. “Because that’s all I’ve ever wanted…”

----------

From where he was standing in the corner of the garden with a can of beer in hand, Aaron smiled as he watched his girls pose together for a picture. All the pictures that the two of them had been serious about having taken with the kids, the wedding and the maternity ones, had been taken hours ago and so they were only messing around, but he knew that that was one picture he was going to keep so that he could have it on his desk at work. Emily and Sophia were standing together in the shade of the huge oak tree, his wife with one hand on her back and the other running down their little girl’s cheek as her lips were pressed to her bump and her tiny hands were cradling it at either side.

It was such a natural and beautiful picture of the two of them, one he knew would always make him smile no matter the day he was having at work, and he couldn’t wait for it to be developed. Once the picture had been taken, Sophia took a step back from her mother and giggled before Emily cupped her cheek in her hand and she nuzzled instantly into her palm, the love he had for the two of them deepening as he watched the little scene unfold. His wife was the most natural mother he had ever seen, she truly was. Her mother had barely been around when she had been little, meaning that she’d had no example to follow when Sophia had arrived, but she needn’t have been worried about it.

Like he had known she would, she had found her own way and she had astounded him with the little things she had done when they had brought their daughter home for the first time. She had been a multitasker, able to hold her in one arm while doing laundry or pouring Jack a bowl of cereal at the same time, she had known exactly how to settle her whenever she had cried, she had known which lullabies had comforted her the most and he had been so proud. Things were going to be a little different this time around though, he knew that. Unlike their sister, the boys would be delivered via C-section and he knew that it would be weeks if not months before Emily would be back to normal.

He was going to have to pull his weight big time, getting up with the boys in the night along with making sure Jack got to school in time in the mornings and Sophia was kept entertained throughout the day. It wasn’t going to be an easy task and he was going to be permanently exhausted, but the thought of such things didn’t bother him all that much. For the past seven months, his wife had been eating for three and sharing her body with two crazy little boys who kicked her all night and played with her bladder all day. She hadn’t had a moment’s peace since she had found out she was expecting them, so he was looking forward to taking them off her hands for a while so she could sleep.

Besides, how much trouble could two newborns actually be?

Jack and Sophia had both been a breeze.

“Dada!” His sweet little girl’s voice pulled him from his thoughts and he set down his beer the second he caught her toddling towards him, warmth pooling in his chest as he got down to her level and opened his arms to her. She ran the last couple of steps, eager to get to him, and buried her face in his chest when he caught her in one of his bear hugs, her peals of laughter only making him love her more as he tickled her sides while getting back to his feet. He perched her on his hip once he was upright again and kissed her chubby cheek, lingering for a moment longer than necessary to breathe in her scent before pulling back to watch his wife walk towards them as she rubbed her bump.

“You might have to be the one to take her to the park for the foreseeable,” She puffed. “I can’t keep up with her.”

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her waist once she had reached him and drawing her close with a kiss to her temple. “Does this mean that my days are going to be spent fetching you chips and soda while you sit on the couch watching Doctor Phil? Don’t get me wrong, I loved doing that when you were pregnant with this little one, but if you could just let me know what I’m in for then I’d appreciate it.” He teased, amusement in his eyes as he looked at her.

“Mmm…that sounds nice,” She smirked. “My ankles are a bit swollen as well, so you could massage my feet for me.”

“Who do you think you are? FLOTUS?” He asked.

“Please…?” She pouted, cuddling closer to him.

He feigned a sigh of exasperation. “Fine. I guess I am partly responsible for your swollen ankles and mad cravings.”

“I am so in love with you,” She laughed, nudging her nose against his. “You mean absolutely everything to me.”

“And you mean just as much to me.” He smiled.

He leaned in to steal a kiss from her, but a soccer ball hitting him in the leg prompted him to pull away from her at the last moment and he turned with a frown before sighing as he watched Jack approach them with a sheepish look on his face. “You and I have been over this, buddy. You shouldn’t be kicking your ball around Emmy or your sister.”

“Sorry, daddy, I was supposed to kick it to Henry but it went the wrong way.” Jack explained, playing with his hands.

“Sounds like you need a little more practice,” Aaron told him, hoping the smile on his face would tell him he was no longer upset. “How about a little one-on-one when Emmy and I get back from our trip? I’ll give you some pointers.”

Jack’s eyes lit up. “You mean it? Really?”

“Really,” Aaron nodded. “Why don’t you leave the ball for the time being though and take Sophia to get some cake?”

“Cake! Cake!” Sophia squealed, clapping her hands together with glee before her father set her down on the grass.

“Emmy, I’m sorry about the ball. Can I have some cake as well? Please?” Jack asked with hope in his eyes.

Emily sighed. “Sweetheart, it was an accident. You were only playing. Of course, you’re allowed to have some cake.”

“Thank you! You’re the best mom ever!” He wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug before taking Sophia’s hand in his and hurrying to the desserts table with her, Emily watching them go with tears of happiness in her eyes.

“Did you, um…” She stumbled over her words as she glanced up at her husband. “Did you hear what he just said?”

“I did.” He brushed a dark curl back behind her ear.

“He probably doesn’t even realise he said it,” She shrugged. “I shouldn’t get too excited.”

“Don’t think of it like that. Think of it as a step forward,” He shook his head. “It proves he sees you as a mom, Em.”

She smiled to herself. “He’s not mine, I know, but I love him just as much as I love Soph and the boys.”

“I know you do,” He rested his chin on her head, casting his gaze over at their beautiful children. “I know you do…”

----------

Running the back of his hand down the side of her face as he held her in his arms that night, Aaron felt nothing but relief when he felt Emily settle against him and heard the slightest change in her breathing. She was actually asleep. It had taken hours to get to this point and he had to admit that, for the first time in quite a while, he was genuinely annoyed with her. All afternoon, she had been dancing and chatting away to everyone as though she had been fine, but the fact of the matter was that she had been far from it. Her back had been in two and her feet had been killing her, but he hadn’t known a thing about it until she had burst into tears once the final few guests had headed home.

When he had been holding her on the couch and massaging her back in an attempt to help ease the pain a little, he had asked her why she hadn’t told him sooner and all she’d said was that she didn’t know. He adored her. He loved her more than she would ever know, but there was one thing he couldn’t stand about her and it was how she would keep him in the dark about things if she thought there was the slightest chance of it hurting him. He needed her to start opening up to him about things, but he also understood why that was such a challenge for her. She had never had someone to talk to about her issues before. No one had cared. No one had listened and she’d grown used to it.

She was the bravest woman he knew, but her past had damaged her severely and it would take time for her to heal.

When he had helped her upstairs after she had sat with a hot-water bottle pressed to her back for a good half hour, their wedding night had been the furthest thing from his mind and he’d been relieved that it been the furthest from hers as well. It would have killed him to push her away if she had made advances, but he would have forced himself to do it because it wouldn’t have been right. To do that to her in the state she had been in would have been selfish. He would have seen it as taking advantage of her and that was one thing he never wanted to do. He cared about her far too much. “You are an absolute idiot sometimes, Emily Hotchner,” He sighed into her fringe. “But I still love you.”

Despite his frustration, he smiled when she stirred in her sleep a couple of minutes later and murmured something incoherent before brushing her hair out of her face and settling down again once she’d cuddled up to him. She was something else, his wife. She was so unique, so different to any woman he had ever met, and there was no one way to define her which was one of the things he loved her most for. When he had been saying his vows earlier on, he’d told her that he loved everything he already knew about her and that he trusted everything that he had yet to learn and he’d meant it. There were so many layers to her, it would take forever to peel them all back, but he would do it.

He would eventually learn everything there was to know about her.

And he would surely love her all the more because of it.

[ptergwen]

Could you write a fic where Tom is in an interview and talking about the reader as his current gf and also being his first love/childhood love?

woah i wrote kind of a lot like we got DETAILED here 😭 have fun

tom’s love life has been the topic of many conversations over the years. he’s gotten countless questions about who he’s dating and what he looks for in a partner. you’d think the hype would die down at some point, but no. even more rumors have begun to spiral as he promotes cherry.

thank the nosy interviewers for that. they’re taking all their chances to get up close and personal.

“so, let’s talk about love,” an interviewer prompts tom one afternoon. he sits up straighter in his chair, expression serious. “sure, let’s.” “what do you think about it?” she’s being vague so she’ll get the most clickable answers. “do you mean, like, in this film? or just in life?” tom wears a curious smirk now. he glances off to the side, where you’re sat watching.

you’ve been sitting in on his interviews as of late to keep him entertained. as much as the movie means to him, he gets bored of answering the same questions about it. having you there to snicker at his jokes or blow him kisses really livens things up. it’s been that way since you were little. you’re always cheering tom up even if he doesn’t realize he needs any.

“both,” the woman replies, mirroring his cheeky smile. “right, that’s what i thought.” tom clears his throat and raises an eyebrow. “so i’m not mistaken, love in my own life?” “anything you feel like sharing.” she beams into the camera while he nods to himself. you give tom a little smile of approval, which he catches from the corner of his eye. he chuckles at the gesture.

“easy enough. i’ll start with cherry, then,” he decides, getting back into the movie. the interviewer nods for him to go on. “you know, cherry’s always been kind of unlucky in the relationship department.” tom pauses for a moment to collect his thoughts. “until he meets emily, and things are still a bit complicated with her. i’d say it’s the same way for me.”

you jaw drops off camera, tom doing his best to stifle a laugh. he’s the biggest tease to walk this earth. “oh, that can’t be right,” tom’s interviewer insists with a mischievous grin. “you’re one of the most eligible bachelors out there.” “not exactly eligible, actually,” he mutters and twiddles his thumbs in his lap. a smile creeps onto his face.

she doesn’t miss that. “you do have a special someone after all?” tom squints at her through the screen. “after all? who’s been asking?” he jokes, the woman laughing like it’s the funniest thing she’s ever heard. “everyone has. the entire world.” you make wide eyes at tom. he’s never given many details about his dating life before, so this is a big step to take.

“well,” he starts, glancing over at you subtly. “yes, i’m a taken man.” “by who?” the interviewer blurts. she’s the first person to get anything out of him. “um,” tom breathes out an awkward laugh. you mouth it’s okay to him, ready to give the people what they’ve been craving.

you’ve had this conversation with tom a couple of times. he’s never wanted to put any pressure on you about going public, so it’s been your call if and when you do. now, you’ve made it.

“my, uh, my best friend. it’s not harrison, for those of you who know him.” tom bites back another smile. you sport one of your own, the tips of his ears turning red. “does this best friend have a name?” the woman questions. he looks to you again for your permission to say it. you think about it for a few seconds, then you give in.

“it’s y/n. you might recognize her,” tom explains, shifting in his chair. “she’s been on my instagram a few times, other stuff like that,” the interviewer makes a mental note to insert his posts of you in the video. “yes, yes. i think i do. you said she’s your best friend?” she clasps her hands. he’s fully blushing now, you giggling quietly at the sight.

“since secondary school, yeah. we met in one of our classes. english, i believe,” tom hums. “i was sitting alone, so she came and sat next to me.” he’s grinning at the fond memory. you feel your face starting to get hot. “how sweet. it seems like you became fast friends,” the woman suggests, throwing more questions out.

“what happened that turned your friendship to a relationship?”

it was when you were two wiser and more experienced adults that you and tom came to understand your connection. there was one moment specifically that turned you from friends to something more, though. tom will share that story with his interviewer, since it seems like she’s into the gossip.

“we didn’t seal the deal until a couple of years ago.” tom breathes out a laugh at what he’s about to say. you’re well aware of it, rolling your eyes playfully. “but, there was a moment when we were kids that i knew i really liked her.” “please, spill,” tom’s interviewer happily requests. he gladly obliges.

“y/n asked me to practice kissing with her because she liked some other bloke.” tom whispers to his camera, “which wasn’t true, by the way. we’ll get to that.” you silently groan and throw your head back on your chair. he shoots you a wink before continuing. “she wanted to go out with him, and said it was a best friend’s job to help her... prepare.”

you press a kiss to your middle finger and stick it up at tom. “precious,” he sarcastically mumbles in response. “what happened next?” the woman reels him back in. tom focuses on the screen again. “right. so, i did some research on how to kiss.” he shakes his head at his former self. “i really should’ve been studying for my A levels or something.”

“when i’m all ready, i invite y/n/n over so we can ‘practice’.” tom makes air quotes around the world, you murmuring, “i hate you,” only for him to hear. “i don’t know what website i used, but it was clearly awful.” he holds a hand up to pretend it’s your face. “i went in, and i just, like, stuck my tongue down her throat. like this.” he’s recreating the moment, you cringing at the vivid image you get.

“oh, no. what did she do?” the interviewer gives tom a pained look. “she nearly vomited, is what she did. ran home right after.” tom puffs air out of his cheeks. you press your lips together in satisfaction. “anyway, we’re reminiscing on it a few years later, and y/n/n tells me something very interesting.” leaning forward, the woman gestures for him to say it.

“i was the bloke she was gonna ask out, but my terrible kissing skills, or lack thereof, scared her off.” he exchanges a knowing look with you. his interviewer gasps. “i was like... are you fucking kidding me?” he only mouths the fucking part even though it’s getting bleeped. that makes you snort. “there’s a turning point, there’s a turning point,” tom reassures everyone.

“i told her i’ve gotten better since then, and we should try again if she wanted.” the interviewer puts a hand on her heart. “did you?” tom lets out a content sigh. “we did, and then we had a long talk about feelings and all that shit.” you make a heart with your fingers for him. he puckers his lips to mime kissing you, without tongue. “we’ve been together ever since.”

“what a lovely story. thank you for sharing that with me,” the woman butters him up more. she gets another idea. “now that you two are official, do we get to meet her?” “you kind of have,” tom retorts, but still checks with you. not expecting anything to come of this, you only shrug.

“i’ve noticed you looking off camera quite a lot. is y/n there?” his interviewer points out, much to both of your surprise. you’ve been at this for weeks, and she’s the only one to say something. “uh, she is,” tom finds himself admitting. he’s a terrible liar, so he almost had to. “tell her to come say hi!” the woman pushes. you look horrified when tom peeks over.

“no, no. i don’t wanna put her on the spot,” he brushes it off. “she’s a bit... camera shy.” “come on, just for a second!” she persists, waving you over like she can see you. this lady is starting to get on your nerves. “you just told me about that steamy kiss of yours. what’s the difference?” tom quirks an eyebrow. “i don’t know if-“

he stops mid sentence when you appear next to him. it’s to shut the interviewer up. although, you might as well reveal yourself before paparazzi do it.

“never mind,” tom grins a toothy grin up at you. “you wanna have a seat, darling?” “happy to,” you hum as he pats his knee. you take your spot on his thigh, an arm slinging around his neck. he wraps his around your middle. the interviewer is so stunned, she’s finally out of things to say. this could quite literally break the internet.

your voice a low whisper, you speak into his ear. “i can’t believe i’m doing this. you should’ve stopped me.” tom squeezes you closer and tilts his head to the side. “what if i didn’t want to?” “my god.” you plant a quick kiss on his cheek, leaving tom’s mouth hanging open.

“there’s your thumbnail.”

[spencers-renaissance]

Moreid Drabble

Prompt: something angsty with embarrassed!spencer, for @casparwrites

Word Count: 1.2k

Masterlist

Spencer knows this isn't going to go well for him the minute Emily opens her mouth.

She'd invited them round to hers for dinner and drinks after work, and although Hotch and Rossi had been invited, they'd both declined the invitation, likely in anticipation of exactly what had happened: wine turning to shots, and pleasant conversation devolving quickly into gossip.

Spencer hadn't minded at all at first. She'd ordered in from a Thai restaurant he happened to love, and sitting round in a comfortable, spacious living room chatting with his best friends is hardly a regrettable situation to find yourself in. So he allowed himself to relax, drinking almost as much as everyone else and joining in with all the conversation around him.

Besides, the red flush on his cheeks from the wine meant he could stare at Derek a little more overtly and not risk having his blush immediately clue everyone into the crippling crush he has on his colleague.

But then Emily suggests playing Never Have I Ever. In Spencer's experience, both drinking games and party games never go well for him, and he has no reason to believe this will be any different.

That's not true, he tells himself sternly as Emily and Penelope start mixing the cocktails. Parties at Caltech and MIT were a world away from a small gathering of five people who love and accept him for exactly who he is. This will be fine. Everything will be absolutely fine.

And for a couple rounds, it is. They laugh at the drunken escapades the game allows them to relive — they all know far too much about one another for the game to really reveal any new information in that regard — and Spencer learns far too much about his coworkers' sex lives.

(He also learns that Derek has slept with a man. Interesting.)

No one's really surprised when Spencer doesn't put his finger down for any of the wild sex-related Never Have I Ever statements that the others come up with, because everyone knows that while they may have had their late teens and early twenties to let loose and party at college, Spencer certainly didn't. Nobody says anything, but he can feel Derek's eyes on him, and he's trying really hard not to blush.

They play happily for quite a while before it happens, and Spencer's settled into a certain kind of comfort, he's been lulled into a false sense of security, because it hits him like a truck when it happens.

"Never have I ever kissed someone," Derek says boldly; loudly, shutting down the quiet chatter and giggles from around the circle until all that's left is the 90s Hits CD they'd put in playing in the background.

The thing is, he's looking right at Spencer. In fact, everybody's looking right at Spencer, and all of a sudden there's blood pounding in his ears and his face is burning a red so fierce he knows there's no way to play this one off, because Derek's suspicion is right, dammit.

He's dizzy with the humiliation, sick with the fact that even this — this family he's found, these friendships he's built — even this isn't safe, and is he ever going to actually be able to feel that safety and allow himself to enjoy it? Will he always be waiting for the other shoe to drop? Is he simply destined for these soul-sucking moments of utter embarrassment and humiliation and anger and sadness to happen wherever he goes? Is he that unlikeable, that unloveable, that everybody, even kind and compassionate people like Derek Morgan, has the urge to humiliate him?

Before he knows what he's doing, he's stumbling to his feet and running down the hall to the bathroom barricading himself inside before he can have a panic attack in front of his friends team. The wine that just moments ago felt pleasant in its gentle buzz in his bloodstream suddenly feels sick and heavy at the bottom of his stomach and he breathes in deeply to calm himself down.

His head is spinning and he's trying not to cry, and all he wants is to disappear because he's gonna have to face them again, there's no way to get out of the house without them seeing, oh God, they're gonna—

Before his thoughts can spiral any deeper, there's a heavy knock at the door, and Derek's deep voice is pleading with him through the painted wood.

"Pretty boy? Can you open the door for me?" he asks, and Spencer can hear the desperation and urgency in his voice. "I'm so sorry, kid, I'm so sorry. Listen, I know you're in there, just let me in, okay? I just wanna apologise."

Spencer takes another couple of deep breaths, trying to still the spinning bathroom in his vision before facing Derek again. Eventually, after a couple of minutes of deep breathing and Derek's intermittent pleas, he manages to bring himself to open the door, revealing his pitiful friend in front of him.

"Pretty boy, listen, I really am so sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, and I shouldn't have said what I said," Derek says, gazing imploringly into Spencer's eyes. "I was just curious but I went about it in the wrong way and ended up embarrassing you, and that's the last thing I meant to do, you have to believe me—"

Spencer isn't sure what compels him to do it, but Derek is rambling and Spencer is staring at his mouth and the pretty shapes it makes when he talks, and before he knows it, he's surging forward and pressing his lips against Derek's mid-sentence.

It's so brief and chaste he doesn't give Derek any time to react, because he's quickly pulling away as horror fills him, his blood turning cold. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I can't believe I did that! I don't know—"

He doesn't get any further in his apology, because Derek's leaning back in, slower this time, more deliberately, and kissing him again, taking his jaw in one hand and his waist in the other as Spencer's hands come up to rest on Derek's strong chest. He's being kissed like this is the last time Derek will ever get the chance, like the sun won't rise in the morning and this is the only time their lips will ever be pressed together like this, and it's dizzying, this time in a good way.

When they finally pull apart, Derek looks desperate and serious as his eyes flick between meeting each of Spencer's, and he can't stand him looking or feeling like that any longer, so he says it. He admits the feelings he's had for Derek since he first met him.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that."

Derek melts in relief as a big smile works its way onto the lips Spencer just kissed. "Thank God, pretty boy, because I reckon I've been waiting even longer."

Somehow, Spencer doubts that, but he smiles anyway and leans in for another kiss because right now all he wants to think about is how the first person to ever kiss him was Derek Morgan, and how he never wants anybody else to ever do the same.

There'll be time for playful bickering in the morning. There'll be time for a lot of things come morning, and Spencer just can't wait to see what it'll hold.

taglist: @criminalmindsvibez @lesbiantodds @suburban--gothic @strippersenseii @takeyourleap-of-faith @negativefouriq @makaylajadewrites @iamrenstark @livrere-blue @hotchseyebrows @enbyspencer @reidology @transhanniballecter @spencerspecifics @bau-gremlin @hotchedyke @tobias-hankel @hotchscotchh @marsjareau @oliverbrnch @im-autistic @anxious-enby @kuolonsyoja @reidreids @ropoto @thosecriminalminds @wifeyprentiss @cmily @love-pyramus @notevanbuckley (add yourself to my taglist)

[winterscaptain]

tell.

Aaron Hotchner x Gender Neutral Reader

a/n: i cannot tell yall how long i have been working on this one, so i'll save it. thanks to @ssaic-jareau for hanging in there with me as i pulled late nights to make this happen over the weekend!! i love you!! i know it's broad daylight for you while im being irresponsible, but i appreciate it nevertheless. let me know what you think, my lovelies! i cherish your thoughts!

words: 7.4k warnings: language, discussion of sex, canon-typical case events

summary: “we are not people who touch each other carelessly; every point of contact between us feels important, a rush of energy and relief.” veronica roth, allegiant. au!may 2012

masterlist | a joyful future masterlist | ajf faq | requests closed!

It’s always tough to spend time away from home when you aren’t on a case, but a conference kept you from your boys the last couple of days, on Strauss’s request. Aaron was none too happy about it, but as the junior-most agent in the unit (even with five years under your belt), the shitty seminars and professional development events fell on your shoulders. 

Even though you landed early in the morning, flying coach all the way back from California, there was a whole day with Jack waiting for you and Aaron upon your return. A rare Saturday - no case, no paperwork, just family.

You knock on the door with a knuckle, unable to reach your keys around your bags and breakfast. 

Aaron opens the door with a “Hey!” coated in laughter, kissing your cheek. He’s still in his pajamas. 

You squint at him. “Am I early?”

He snorts. “Never. We’re running late.” He takes the takeout bags and coffee from your hands. “Thank you for breakfast.” 

“Of course. I wanted -” 

Jack runs across the apartment and slams into you full force. “You’re home!” 

You curl around him, your hands on his head and shoulder as he cuddles into you. “I am! I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

His voice is muffled by your shirt and it makes you smile. You glance at Aaron over Jack’s head to find a smile. 

“Come look at our fort!” Jack, wearing a blanket cape, takes you by the hand and brings you into the dining room, where the dining room table has been turned into a massive fort fit for a king. 

Or, rather, two kings. 

“Oh my goodness, Jack. This is incredible, little bug. Your architectural prowess knows no bounds.” You look up at Aaron from your place on the floor. “Where’s your cape?” 

His deadpan, as usual, never fails to make you laugh. “Uh, I’m wearing it.” 

Jack continues to drag you all the way under the table until you’re laying on your bellies in the little slap-dash shelter.

Aaron flops down on the floor on the other side of Jack. “We slept in here all night.” 

“Really? That sounds like so much fun.” 

What you mean is, What, with your bad back? 

“Mmhmm,” he replies, only to really say - 

Yep. I feel like shit. 

“Can we sleep in here again tonight, Dad?” Jack asks, turning to Aaron. “All together?” 

You exchange a glance with Aaron, who laughs. 

So much for grown-up plans...

+++

You’re both scrambling to get ready for the bike ride across the mall and day at the Smithsonian when the phone call comes in. 

“Hotchner,” Aaron says, still at the counter, tucking his phone under his chin as he finishes packing the rest of the picnic basket. 

He freezes, hastily bagging some carrots and putting them in the basket before holding the phone in his hand and leaning heavily against the counter. “You’re kidding.” 

That’s not a good tone. 

Jack looks up at you, and you rest your hands on his chest over his shoulders, backing him into you as you watch Aaron with your lip between your teeth. 

“Did they raise the terror alert?”

Shit. 

“Okay. That’s for the best. Um…” He checks his watch. “I’ll get down there now. Yeah….Do you need the rest -” 

With a huff, he meets your eyes and nods. 

You let out a sigh and kiss Jack’s head. He knows the drill and runs off for your phone, still charging in the bedroom. 

“Understood, ma’am. I’ll be there first. We gotta get Jack squared away but I’ll get going while -” He pauses, probably interrupted by Strauss again. “Thank you...Yes...I’ll be there as soon as I can and the rest of the team will meet at the scene.” 

You know that also means you. You also can’t ignore the prick of anxiety that shoots through your belly, knowing he’ll likely be in danger without you for at least a half-hour. 

Jack returns with your phone, Jessica already on the line. 

+++

Aaron, of course, leaves right away while you wait for Jess. 

You sit on the couch with Jack. “I’m so sorry, buddy. We’ll have to do a big day, just the three of us, another time.” 

Jack shrugs. “It’s okay. Sometimes you just gotta catch the bad guys.” 

The offhand nature of his understanding strikes you as instantly hilarious, and he laughs with you when you double over, wiping tears from your eyes. 

“Yeah. Sometimes you just do, kiddo.” 

+++

When you finally arrive at the scene, Dave’s already set up hostage negotiation. You cross the street, finding Will and JJ huddled with Emily and Derek. 

“You okay?” You ask, placing your hand on Will’s shoulder. He’s not just JJ’s not-husband. He’s your friend, too, all on his own. 

“Yeah, jus’ fine.” He shakes his head. “Jus’ a little rattled, is all.” 

“Understandable.” 

His mouth presses into a thin line as he exhales. “Thanks.” He checks his watch. “Y’all should get on back. I think Strauss just showed up.”

JJ kisses his cheek and trots off to meet the rest of the unit. After another hug for Will, you follow suit. 

+++

“The media's calling them the Face Cards. Seven bank robberies in seven months. They've killed one person at each robbery.” Aaron leads the rest of you to the trailer, where the monitors are all set up. 

Dave furrows his brow. “M. O.?” 

“Single gunshot wound. Each of the victims has bled out.” 

That doesn’t make much sense. 

You jump in. “Serial killers with a 30-day cooling-off period and we're only just hearing about this now?” 

“Well, headquarters has always characterized them robbers first and killers second,” Aaron replies, glancing back at you. You roll your eyes. 

Of course they did. 

“No one kills seven people without serious psychopathic tendencies,” Spencer notes. He’s more than right, and you thought the same thing - it’s almost like he took the words out of your mouth. 

“I disagreed with the original assessment. I was overruled.” Aaron’s bland version of frustration is clear in his tone, but he knows, just as you do, that ship has sailed. All you can do now is handle what’s in front of you. 

“So why are we here now?” Dave asks. 

“Because crisis negotiation is overseas.” 

Aaron starts to walk again as JJ asks after more information. Aaron usually rattles it off pretty quickly, but with the quick start this morning, you know he trusts the rest of you to ask the questions you need. “What more do we know about them? 

“They're organized, they're efficient. Each strike lasts about two minutes.” 

Derek, walking beside you, finally joins the conversation. “They gotta be scouting the banks in advance. Why haven't we been able to identify them off of surveillance footage?” 

“They hack the security feed and turn off the cameras, both during the initial canvass and during the robbery, until the masks come back on, and then we're allowed to watch.” Aaron leads you all into the tactical staging truck, watching the security feeds. 

+++

As you continue to watch, the scene becomes clearer, the power dynamics more tangible. 

Dave sees it, too. “They're using the hostages as human shields.” 

JJ, with Will beside her, studies the footage, watching the Queen run around while the King finds himself preoccupied with the Jack’s wound. “This is the first time they've been interrupted. What went wrong?”

“It's a big bank,” Emily says. “It's possible they weren't about to round everybody up before someone triggered an alarm.” 

That’s a fair point, but you ask your question anyway.  “Why haven't they cut the feed now that they've been cornered?”

Derek, still beside you, answers. “Letting us see inside gives up a tactical advantage. They gotta know that.” 

They don't seem to care,” Aaron says, from your other side. 

You’re all silent for another minute, watching to see what happens next. Even though their plans went awry, the team still looks fairly calm and collected, all things considered. 

JJ’s frown only deepens. “They're overconfident. Arrogant, even.” 

“The face card masks add to their narcissism.” Spencer’s voice comes from the end of the line. “Their personas are the royalty of poker.” 

You nod - it’s a great point - while Aaron starts making assignments.  

“JJ, Reid, and Prentiss, look at past robberies. That's gonna be our victimology. Pull another analyst if you need to.” He turns to you, then Dave, on his other side. “I want you two to handle negotiations. And, Morgan, strategize tactical options with MPD.” 

You shuffle, gathering your radio and earpiece from the charger next to Penelope’s computer. 

When the rest of the team leaves, you hang back with Dave, keying into the radio channels and standing by for further instruction - you know there’s more for you in the trailer at the moment. 

Further instruction, though, may have to wait. Strauss climbs the steps into the rig and Aaron greets her. “Chief Strauss.” 

“The Director ordered me to supervise your operation.” 

Of course he did. 

“Puts you right in the spotlight,” Dave says, not unkindly. It’s almost fond. 

You can’t help but hold back a little bit of a smile. If the situation were reversed and it was Aaron at the helm, you’d be proud of him, too. 

“Well, you've got gunmen with hostages in the Capital. The Hill's concerned.” 

Aaron nods, gesturing to you and Dave. “We're about to open lines of communication.”

“What about a tactical assault?”

The three of you shake your heads as Aaron responds. “I don't think it's a good idea. There are hostages in front of the doors and windows.” 

Erin, finally onboard, turns to Dave. “What's your negotiation strategy?” 

“The Jack's bleeding out. They'll ask for medical attention.” 

You hum, a little skeptical, and look back at the feed. “The female unsub might have something to say about that. Look at her body language.” 

Dave follows your gaze. “She is cold and detached. The King seems genuinely concerned about his partner's welfare. But she couldn't give a damn.” 

Your eyebrows raise. “The men probably know each other.” 

Aaron, picking up on your train of thought, flags Penelope, “Garcia?” 

She turns in her chair, already typing. “Shuffling my techno-fabulous deck of databases, sir.” 

And so it begins. 

+++

“I’ll do the talking - I’ll need to establish some rapport with them, but I’ll need you keeping the team updated and coordinating any allowances or personnel as things come up, okay?” 

You nod, a little smile pulling at the side of your mouth. “You got it.” 

Dave claps your shoulder. “You’ll be in this chair one day, so pay attention.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

He dials in and the phone starts ringing through the speaker. You’ll be able to hear everything. 

“Who the hell's this?” You check the monitor. The King picked up the phone. 

Obviously, the Jack can’t pick up the phone, stupid, he’s bleeding out!

“My name is David Rossi. I'm with the FBI. To whom am I speaking?” 

The King doesn’t address the question, but rather looks back toward his fallen compatriot. “All right, I want a doctor sent in, and then I want out of here.” 

Dave checks his watch. “Well, we certainly can discuss that. Let the hostages go and we'll give you all the medical help you need.” 

You take a mental note. Your memories from Dave’s lectures at the academy are fuzzy at best, and you haven’t had very much time handling these things in the field. The last time a major hostage crisis was at hand, you were a hostage yourself. 

A shot hostage, if the chronic nerve pain in your shoulder is any reminder. 

“I can't do that. I need the leverage.” 

“How about a sign of good faith? Send out the women and children and I'll see what I can do.” 

You watch as the King takes the phone away from his mouth. You can vaguely hear him update the Queen, but she’s not having it. She pulls a child from the lineup and your lower lip disappears between your teeth. 

A man, you presume the girl’s father, speaks to the Queen before she shoots him in the abdomen. The King gets back on the line. 

“You better send in some more help or more people are gonna die.” He hangs up. 

Shit. 

+++

“You’re not seriously considering sending an agent in there?” You turn on Hotch and he sighs, pressing his fingers to the bridge of his nose. 

“We don’t have much of a choice. I’m not the authority on-site and with the director pressing Strauss, there’s not much I can do.” 

The two of you are alone for the time being, so you’re able to rib him for a second to lighten the tension. 

“What’s the point of being unit chief if you can’t lord it over everyone all the time?” 

You're rewarded with a shadow of a smile and a snort. “Don’t be ridiculous. I lord it over you plenty.” 

“Not enough.” Your tone is childish, the words murmured under your breath. 

When he walks away, he taps the side of your ass with the back of his hand. If you weren’t in a professional setting, you could mistake it for a promise. 

But, Aaron, that would be unprofessional!

You turn to look at him and just catch his wink as he hops up the steps behind Strauss. 

+++

With Garcia’s magic and Aaron’s genius, you figure out that the men are related. 

While Rossi hops on the next phone call, you help Derek outfit the medic with a bug and a weapon. 

“We're sending in the medic now, Chris. Tell Oliver help is on the way.” 

Derek nods at the medic and he hops off, heading into the bank. You jog over to the trailer only to find a humorously horrified look on Strauss’s face. 

“Is she…” 

You get closer, looking up at the monitor. 

“...putting on lipstick?” 

You scoff. “She’s vain. Only contributes to a profile of vanity and narcissism. She likes to be seen - this is a game for her.” 

You jog back out before Strauss can respond, taking your place between Aaron and Derek. 

“Green. You gotta go. Green. Go,” Derek says into his mic. 

The agent-turned-medic makes a move and immediately gets a shot between the eyes for his trouble. Your hand files over your mouth and Derek ducks away, taking a second. 

Well, that couldn’t have been any worse. 

You look at Aaron, still staring at the screen, beside you. He’s thinking the same thing. 

+++

Derek walks up to you, kevlar and sunglasses firmly in place. “Tactical's been deployed, snipers are moving into position.” 

At your questioning look, Strauss clarifies. “The Director's ordered a full tactical assault.” 

The look doesn’t leave your face. “His last orders cost us an agent.” 

Radio transmissions fly one ear and out the other, not to mention the flurry of activity around the negotiation tent. Before Strauss can reply, Will’s call shoots past you to Aaron.

“SWAT's getting itchy fingers.” 

Aaron turns, covering his comm mic at his chest. “You remind SWAT that bank robberies are federal jurisdiction. No one fires until they're ordered to.” 

“Right.” 

Will disappears and you suppress a little pleased shudder. Aaron’s very much in control now and it is doing things to your body that are better suited for, well, anywhere else. You tighten the velcro across your chest as if to compress another rush of… nothing useful. 

Aaron turns back to you, Dave, Derek, and Strauss. “All right, when the crossfire starts, what's gonna happen to the hostages caught in the middle?” 

The question is a trap, and Dave doubles down. “That's the wrong call, Erin, and you know it.” 

Strauss falters for a minute, leveling with the rest of you. “It's not my call.” 

Aaron doesn’t let up. “You're here and you're in charge.” His tone is sharper than yours would be in the same situation, but you’re nearly fifteen years younger and a whole four steps down on the totem pole. 

Not for the first time, a rush of affection and gratitude for him crests over your in a wave and you have to look away, taking a deep breath to collect yourself. When you look back, he’s watching you. 

I’m okay. 

He nods as Erin speaks again. 

“So you want me to disobey the Director?” Erin sounds dubious, at best. 

Dave responds quickly. “Yes.” 

Aaron amends, and if the situation wasn’t so tense his correction would almost be funny. “No. I just want you to buy us a little time.” He pauses, wavering for a second as he rephrases. “Don't be quite so efficient.” 

You’re never surprised by Aaron’s political savvy, but it is a nice reminder that he can run circles around every bureaucrat in the district if given the chance. 

“Whatever you're gonna do, do it fast.”

+++

“It’s an impossible ask, Dave. You know JJ will never go for it.” 

“It’s not up to JJ.” Aaron’s voice approaches from behind you. “It’s the director’s call, but mine first.” 

He comes to rest beside you as Dave leaves the two of you alone. 

“What are you gonna do?” You look at Aaron, finding his eyes trained on the monitor, arms crossed over his chest.

He sighs. “If it was you he asked for...” 

You bump his shoulder. “What, not interested in feeding me to serial killers today?” 

It’s a loaded joke, especially for the two of you, but after Emily, you’re past such things. If the situation were reversed, Haley would never stop giving you hell for getting serial-killed the way she did. It’s only fair to return the favor. 

“Over my dead body, baby.” He reaches down to squeeze your hand for a second before letting you go. “Do me a favor?” 

“Anything.” 

“Stay here.” 

+++

You can hear JJ’s anguished shouts from here, beside Dave and the phone. 

Derek has a good enough hold on her, Emily and Aaron protecting him from JJ’s wild elbows. She’s beside herself but eventually breaks free and sprints back toward the trailer. You turn to follow her, just in time to hear a gunshot. 

Will.

+++

You’re all gathered in the trailer as JJ asks the same questions over and over again. Garcia, just like the first time, doesn’t have any answers. 

The static on the monitors is nearly deafening in its silence. 

JJ looks at you for a moment and takes a shaky breath before looking at Hotch. Her eyes are red-rimmed and her voice is broken when she speaks. “Aaron.”

You know he’s never been able to deny her anything. In the entire time you’ve known him, it’s one of the few things that hasn’t changed. 

His eyes don’t budge from hers. “We’re going in.”

+++

You press the heels of your hands to your eyes, trying to stem the stinging from the heat and debris. Your ears ring and you’ve got a scrape on your chin from where you face-planted into the asphalt. 

Eventually, you remove your hands and open your eyes to the early summer sunshine. Your bias is clear enough - Aaron’s the first one you look for and the first one you find.

He’s looking a little dazed and more than a little ruffled, but alive. 

Ignoring the whine in your ears and swiping some blood off your face, you jog over to him, taking stock of him from head to toe. “You alright?”

He doesn’t answer right away, and you realize he probably can’t hear you. An image of Kate reaching for you and the smell of blood flashes into your head, but you push it away. 

His ear…

“Aaron?” You lay a hand on his shoulder and he startles a little, meeting your eyes and coming back to himself all at once. 

He puts his hands on your shoulders, tipping your jaw up with one finger to examine your chin. “You’re hurt.”

“Honey, I’m fine. Your ear…” You follow a small trickle of blood up the side of his neck, rounding him to get a better look. Just as you’d feared, his bad ear is bleeding again. 

He waves off your concern and taps his comm mic, calling for support in quick, clear soundbites. You snag the back of his vest before he can get too far away from you. 

“As soon as you’re done with that, please get it looked at.”

With a sigh, he nods and gestures to your chin. “I will if you do.”

You roll your eyes. 

“Where’s Emily?” You hear Morgan ask JJ as they get their bearings around you. 

With a start, you follow them into the building, attached to a couple of SWAT agents. You know Aaron will get after you for going in before everything’s cleared by bomb squad, but you can’t keep still. 

The heartache you feel for JJ supersedes anything else going on in your head. It’s something that plagues you all the time - the both of you doing this job. Losing Aaron in the field is a stark reality you can hardly consider at any point, especially when evidence of its reality is right in front of you. 

+++

Aaron can’t help himself - he pulls you close after you’re both released by the paramedics, pressing a kiss to your head. It’s almost desperate as he leans back and pulls your collar from your vest, his hands smoothing over your shoulders. 

“I need to debrief SWAT and first responders - can you stay with Dave and help with the media?” 

“Okay. Let me know if you need any extra hands - I’ll send ‘em right over.” 

He smiles at you, soft, small, and affectionate. “Thank you.” 

+++

You pull your phone from your pocket. 

She picks up on the second ring. “Yeah?”

“Hey, Jess.” 

“Hey.” She pauses. “You okay?”

With a shaky sigh, you reply. “Yeah. I’m fine. Aaron’s fine.” 

“I heard about the explosion. Is there anything I can do?” 

“No, we’re fine. Just...Just stay out of the city.” After another breath. “Is Jack okay?” 

She laughs a little. “Yeah. He’s fine. He’s a little anxious but I turned off the TV and we’re headed out to the park for a little while.” 

“Good.” You look over at Aaron, who holds your eyes for a second before returning to his EMS strategy huddle. 

“Be safe and come home to us soon, okay?” 

“Yeah. We will. We love you. Tell Jack we -”

“ - Of course.” 

+++

You follow Spencer through the debris once you’re done handling the media storm with Dave. Picking through the rubble, searching for something - anything - but not finding much. 

Derek’s voice echoes through the ruined, cavernous space that used to be the main lobby. “Everything they've said and done was for a reason. But what doesn't make any sense is she switched the negotiation demand. Chris wanted to go to Switzerland. She changed it to Chad.” 

“They also requested a private plane,” you note, “but no mention of a pilot.” 

Spencer stops, and you almost run into him. Emily stops as well, looking back at the pair of you as Spencer organizes his thoughts. When he’s ready to speak, he says, “Guys, if you think about it, even the dates mean something. In 2004, while she was wreaking havoc abroad, he was dishonorably discharged. Then in 2008, they likely met in Chad. And now this in 2012.” 

Good thought. But then again, when is one of Spencer’s thoughts bad? 

It’s a decent enough question, and you run the gamut of all the surprising and absurd things Spencer’s said in your presence over the years. One in particular comes to mind. 

Evil twin, eviler twin. 

You hold back a little laugh, despite the harrowing circumstances. 

Yeah, that one was pretty bad. 

“Okay.” Derek grabs your attention again. “So, is it a coincidence that those are all election years and they attacked D.C.? Maybe this is a political statement.” 

Emily’s eyes are stuck on something on the ground, but you’re not sure if it’s what she’s really looking at. “No. It's more personal than that. It's their story.” 

Derek’s brow pinches. “What?” 

“All of the details are a part of their story.” 

She starts to leave through one of the shattered windows and you follow her back to the trailer, Spencer and Derek not far behind. She hops up the steps and you take your place beside Aaron once you’re all inside. It’s much cozier in here, with eight of you. 

Spencer fills the rest of the team in on your conversation inside. Unsurprisingly, it’s rote - read like a cold script. 

Emily picks up when he’s done. “Their timeline suggests they were both destructive before they met.” 

“So we're talking about ex-military turning on their country.” Strauss looks and sounds skeptical, but you can’t blame her. In American culture, it’s rather incongruous. 

Now who sounds like Spencer?

“It's rare, but soldiers become disenfranchised no matter what the nationality. And if he met someone like-minded at that time, there'd be no stopping them.”

“So you're thinking they met during the civil unrest in Chad in '08.” Aaron’s voice isn’t skeptical - more probing. You can see the wheels turning behind his eyes. 

“Yeah,” Spencer says. “And one or both of them are pilots.”

“So if Garcia concentrates on that region,” Emily points to an area on a map, lit up on the monitor, “specifically weapons running in and out of Libya, there's a good chance we'll find their paths crossed.”

Penelope types furiously for a moment, her fingers flying over the keys. “Okay, multiple entries into Libya for a private pilot named Matthew Downs in '08, but I don't have her name.” 

“Well, because she had aliases. It's the only way to stay a ghost.” 

Looks like Emily’s Interpol knowledge is coming in handy. 

She continues. “Here's the thing - they are a couple. Regardless of what we believe of them, they will celebrate themselves and their connection.” She turns to Penelope, a thought sparking behind her eyes. “Is there anything that happened on this date in Chad?”

“Oh, you are good, Emily Prentiss.” Penelope types for a moment and you lean forward, watching her work. “But this news is not. Yes, there were multiple explosions on this date in '08.” 

Aaron speaks from beside you. He’s a little closer than you thought, and it startles you a little. 

In fairness, you’re still jumpy from the explosion. 

“Where were the most casualties?” 

“At a church-- no, no, a train. Yep.” 

Morgan squints at the photos of the hulled-out building. “Semtex and C-4?”

Penelope nods while Aaron turns toward Strauss. “Are trains still arriving at Union Station?”

“Yes, but only the authorities are allowed in.” There’s a moment where she almost looks panicked, but collects herself as the rest of you gear up to leave. 

Emily exhales down her nose. “That’s why they needed Will.” 

+++

Aaron drives impossibly fast through the district. You sit in the back seat with Emily, holding onto the handles above the door for dear life. 

You’ve never flashed your badge so many times in such a short period. Aaron tucked his badge into a strap of his vest, just to save time, but still has his credentials locked between his fingers as he drives. If you didn’t trust him so much, it would freak you out a little.  

+++

The comm in your ear crackles as Emily speaks. “I found Will.” 

“Is he mobile?” Aaron’s voice comes both from beside you and your comm - it’s a little disorienting, but you push through. 

“Negative. He's got 6 transmitters on him and this whole place is gonna blow.”

There’s hardly a hesitation in Aaron’s steps as he processes the information. “All right, where are you? I'm on my way.” 

He’d like to think he’s made of steel. 

Sometimes he is. 

“No,” Emily asserts. “You gotta get everyone out. Is the bomb squad here yet?” 

“They're 3 minutes away.” 

“Copy.” She sounds a little disappointed, or maybe frustrated, but doesn’t say anything else.

He turns back to you, holding you by the shoulders. “I want you leading evacuation. Get out of here.” 

Tears prick at your eyes and honestly, this is the first moment you’ve really been afraid. Existentially afraid. Afraid of walking out of this train station and leaving Aaron and Emily and Will to blow up. “I’ll see you later?” 

“Yep. Go.” He tries to push you away, but you resist. 

“Promise?” 

His brown eyes soften as his mouth presses into a thin line. “Can’t. I love you. Get outta here.” 

You bounce on your toes for a second, acutely aware you’re wasting valuable time, before yanking him forward to kiss his cheek before you sprint away from him, shouting instructions to the panicked crowd as you go. 

+++

You catch up with Derek, racing to catch your suspect. He corners him in an alley but can’t quite overpower him. You reach for your sidearm, but by the time you take aim, Downs is already on the ground, a gunshot ringing through the air. 

Startled, you turn over your shoulder to find Aaron still staring down the sight of his Glock. 

Could take an eye out, with that thing.

You sigh and holster your weapon. Derek looks plenty dazed and you don’t blame him. It’s not often he’s on the receiving end of a near-miss in close combat. He looks over your shoulder and you can see something pass between him and Aaron. 

Maybe one day, Derek will know how much Aaron loves and respects him. 

You watch Derek shake it off and stumble as he attempts to rise to his feet. 

Today is not that day. 

Coming to your senses, you trot forward and help him to his feet, brushing wayward asphalt off of him. You turn back to Aaron. “Everything alright?” 

He ignores you, pressing the mic at his chest as he begins to run back toward the station. “Prentiss, what’s your status?”

+++

Seeing Will and Emily leave the building in one piece is a relief. You meet Aaron’s gaze and his eyes are exhausted. The gears in his head still whir. He’s still in game-mode, and it’s a good thing. 

With the logistical nightmare of two bomb threats in one day, there’s a lot of work ahead of you. 

+++

You swing back and forth in your desk chair, brain completely numb from the paperwork. It’s been a long day, and you’ve been up since three this morning, what with your flight back from California. You’re certain you’ve had longer days than this one, but you’re approaching twenty-one hours without sleep and it feels worse than you remember. 

What were we planning to do today?

A bike ride and museum day with Jack seems impossibly long ago. Last week, maybe.

Derek and Emily sit on their desks, attempting to keep a conversation going without much luck. 

They were house-hunting this morning. 

Penelope slowly descends the stairs as Spencer turns in his seat. “The convention’s still happening tomorrow if you want to go.” 

They were at a convention this morning. 

Everyone had lives this morning. Weird.

She makes an uncertain noise. “That whole city-on-the-brink-of-destruction thing kinda took the wind out of my sails, you know?” 

You look up at her as she takes her place beside Spencer. “It’ll get you every time.” 

“You gotta watch out for that,” Emily adds. It makes you smile a little. 

Derek looks a little less amused, reminding Emily they’ll have to finish the inspection another time. Between Spencer and Penelope, Emily cops to a crack in the foundation of her almost-home. 

“That does not sound good,” Penelope says. You can’t help but agree. 

There’s a weird look on Derek’s face, but you ignore it in favor of Strauss’s descent on the stairs. 

“Our unsub,” she says, “is Izzy Rogers. She'll be charged with multiple counts domestically, and our international counterparts will have their turn with her. She will never see the light of day.” A little smile graces her lips. 

You realize with the tiniest of laughs (really - it’s a one on the Aaron Hotchner scale of laugher, which means it’s hardly noticeable to the naked eye) that you don’t hate her or even dislike her as much as you used to. Maybe, you even want her around. 

Don’t push it.  

“I just thought you'd like to know that.” 

The five of you murmur something that sounds like, “Thank you, ma’am.” 

She pulls Derek, probably to kick his ass for something or another and send herself back on your shit list. 

That’s a problem for another time. 

You take Izzy Rogers’s file from Emily, looking over an impressive rap sheet. You’re happy for a few things. 

The first - that Aaron’s not a federal prosecutor anymore. This’ll be a case for the ages. 

The second - you’ll never have to think about her again. 

The third - you’re not sure. You’re sleep-deprived. It’ll come to you. 

She cost me my precious eight hours and I’ll never forgive her. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Aaron leave his office. You set the file down and look up at him, halfway-hoping for once he’ll tell you to go home without him. 

“Dave wants to know if everyone is free tomorrow night.” 

Without any inflection at all, you reply. “We better not be doing anything tomorrow night.” 

“Well,” Derek says, interrupting Emily’s snort. “If he’s buying, then I’m definitely in.” 

Emily, Spencer, and Penelope jump onto Derek’s conditional acceptance and a rare smile pulls at Aaron’s face, his dimples on full display. 

“Hear that? We’re in.” 

+++

When you get home, Aaron all-but carries you to bed. With the tenderest of hands, he removes your shoes and socks, unbuttons your pants, slides them down your legs, and throws them in the laundry basket. 

You’re practically wilting where you sit, feeling more and more like a sleepy toddler by the minute. 

Aaron unbuttons your shirt and slips it off your shoulders, kissing each cheek in turn. “I’ll start a shower.” 

You move to protest, but he strips and that mostly shuts you up. He starts the water before he returns to your side.

“I just want to sleep, Aar. Please.” 

“Baby,” he says, a fond little pleading note in his tone. “We just changed the sheets. Do you really want to get semtex all over them?” 

With a huff - “No.” 

He smiles and helps you to your feet. “Didn’t think so.” 

You’re so tired, it doesn't even cross your mind to take advantage of the shared shower or his lack of clothes. By the time he dries you off, tucks you in, and locks the bedroom door to ward off the over-eager six-year-old down the hall, you’re asleep. 

His own exhaustion pulling at him, he doesn’t have the time or energy to cherish how peaceful, safe, and warm you look. He just draws you close to him until he can feel your heartbeat. 

Sleep takes him rapidly after that. 

+++

As Will and JJ exchange their vows, you tuck further into Aaron’s arms. His whisper floats past your ear, barely audible. “Wanna do that sometime?”

“What? Get married?” Your voice is just as quiet. 

“Mhmm.”

“Only if it’s you.”

There’s a kiss pressed to your temple with a smile behind it. “I think I can make that happen.”

You turn your head to the side to keep your snark from carrying. “Please don’t propose to me right now. This weekend’s been long enough.”

Derek kicks the side of your foot from where he stands beside you, unable to hear the conversation but knowing you both well enough to keep you from tumbling down the rabbit hole of distraction. 

Aaron presses another kiss to your temple. “I love you.” You feel it rather than hear it.

You pick up one of his hands and kiss the back of it. You don’t need to say anything. 

+++

Aaron holds you close as you dance together, surrounded by your family. JJ and Will sway back and forth nearby, wrapped entirely in each other. Erin and Dave have been surprisingly brave, dancing and laughing quietly together throughout the evening. 

As nice as it was to just have something for the two of you, sharing your love with your family has its own set of perks. You don’t have to hide anymore or justify your pigheaded protection of the other. 

You can just… be. 

+++

Eventually, Dave calls all the “...fortunately unmarried individuals to the dance floor,” and refuses to let anyone slip through the cracks. 

When Aaron hangs back, drink in-hand and a little smile on his face, Dave calls him out. “Divorcés and widowers, too, c’mon.” He pauses, finding another tactic when Aaron doesn’t move. “If you’re both, you get extra points!” 

Aaron rolls his eyes and you look around, finding an inappropriate amount of humor in JJ’s confused relatives. You can’t help but bark a loud laugh when you see how hard Derek’s trying to keep his mirth at bay.

Too soon for the dead wife jokes? He seems to ask. Can I laugh? 

Something in your eyes gives him tacit permission and he nearly blinds you with his smile. 

When Dave’s tricks fall short, you do your best to pull Aaron from the sideline with your best set of bedroom eyes. He courageously resists, so you give up and settle next to Anderson. “What do you think Dave’s come up with, this time?” 

“God only knows.” 

Anderson, like the rest of you, knows that Dave’s hosting abilities know no bounds. 

“Because so many of you are joyfully unmarried, the newlyweds wanted to make sure there was someone else to suffer the slings and arrows of matrimony with them in the near future. Thus,” he opens his arm to JJ, who appears with her bouquet and a smile, “the bouquet toss will be an equal-opportunity event.” 

With a laugh and a shake of your head, you prepare to duck out of the way. 

You look over at Aaron. This is ridiculous. 

He only shakes his head, hiding his smile behind his drink. And yet…

He leaves the rest of the implication unsaid, but you flip him off for good measure. Your exchange must have taken longer than you thought because before you know it, you have a face full of white roses. It’s over. 

You pull the flowers from your face and level JJ with a glare across the dance floor. “Really?” 

She raises her eyebrows and shrugs. “I turned my back and everything.” 

There are whoops and hollers from your team and you can only roll your eyes. Derek and Will strong-arm Aaron onto the dance floor (you know he let them - if he really wanted to avoid you, they wouldn’t be able to move him an inch), where you’re both cajoled into a kiss and a photo. Penelope’s on the other side of the camera, grinning from ear to ear. 

She waves at Aaron over the camera. “Smile for real, damn you!” 

She amends, adding, “Sir,” for good measure. It has its intended effect and she’s rewarded with a rare, bright laugh from her unit chief. 

Absurd traditions aside, you’d be lying if said you stopped smiling even once. 

+++

As the party settles, some couples stay out on the dance floor, sedately twirling and swaying to the music that continues to play across the yard. 

You and Aaron have relaxed significantly since the Great Bouquet Debacle, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the top two buttons of his shirt undone. You’re sitting across his lap, playing with the hair at the nape of his neck, with one of his arms wrapped around your middle and the other draped over your knees - the picture of relaxation. 

Penelope, Derek, Emily, and Will have taken up residence on the other side of the dance floor, their heads close together and voices low.

Aaron’s eyes slide over them as he watches the room, scanning out of habit. “What do you think they’re talking about?”

You lean further into him as four pairs of eyes flicker over to you before returning to their huddle. “Us, probably.” 

He hums, understanding and pensive. “Probably our sex life, right?” 

“Probably,” you sigh, playing at boredom. He covers your hand with one of his and you play with his fingers - lacing, unlacing, kissing his knuckles. 

It’s nice to feel safe, comfortable enough to love each other where curious eyes can see you. 

You can feel his smile against your forehead as he presses a kiss between your brows.  

“I mean,” you continue, “there is a lot to talk about.”

He shrugs, adjusting his arm where it lays across your legs to keep you both comfortable in the seat you share. “That’s true enough. Though, I can’t imagine any of their projections being right.”

+++

“I bet they’re into like…tantric sex. Like hours and hours and hours you know?” Penelope says, conspiracy the top note in her tone. 

Derek looks at her and she backtracks, only a little on the defensive. 

“What? Spencer’s talked to me about it before and I...read.” 

He rolls his eyes, but Emily spares Penelope from any further interrogation. 

“I could see that.” She watches the way your fingers wander over Aaron’s bare forearm, playing with the ridges of his watch, the way his thumb absent-mindedly draws small circles on your outer thigh. “Yeah, actually I think that’s exactly what happens.”

+++

“What do you think they’ve got so far?” 

He plays at boredom. “They’re probably trying to take a guess at anything they can reach - with both of our profiles in Derek’s pocket, he’s going to have the most luck, I think.” 

“Really?” You ask. “Not Emily?” 

He snorts. “No. She has her mind on other things.” 

That holds you up for a second, and you’re not sure if he’s still playing into the bit. “Wait, what do you mean?” 

He shakes his head. “I’ll tell you later.” 

“She’s resigning, isn’t she?” You give up the fun and lay your head in the crook between his neck and shoulder. 

Without thinking, his hand rises to your cheek, affectionately brushing over your cheekbone before dropping back down. “She might be.” 

“Did she do that thing where she sighs really big and then looks off to the upper right middle distance?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Shit.” 

You’re both quiet for a moment, just enjoying the low lull of the music and the lights and the sights and smiles of your family. 

“Hey.” 

You lean back a little and meet Aaron’s eyes. “Yeah?” 

“What’s my tell?” 

The concern drops out of your face all at once. “You think I’m gonna spill just like that so you can go and change it on me? Not a chance.” 

He sighs and his chin tips up in defeat. “So I have one?” 

“Of course you do, stupid.” You flick his chest and a laugh rumbles through him. “Everyone does. You know mine, I know yours. You’re gonna have to get over it.” 

“So you’ve caught me in lies before?” He asks, not without humor. 

“Duh. I’m pretty sure I’ve caught every lie you’ve ever told, but you seemed so proud of yourself that I just let you have it.” 

You can almost feel the eye roll. “Really?” He sounds skeptical. “Name one lie you’ve caught me in.” 

“Alright.” You count off on your fingers. “You dinged my car door a couple of weeks ago, you definitely didn’t drop the bags at Goodwill, you do know it wasn’t Jack who finished the ice cream in the freezer, you -” 

“Okay.” He covers your hands with his and kisses your fingers. “That’s enough. I get it.” 

You kiss his cheek. “I’m sure you’ve caught me in every single lie I’ve ever told, too, huh?” 

“Only every once since the day we met. Yours is obvious.” 

It’s a trap. You don’t take it. “Hmm. That’s convenient.” 

“Isn’t it?” 

You lean back to look at him. “You’re a shit, you know that?” 

He nods and raises his eyebrows, a cheeky, close-mouthed smile slowly creeping across his face. 

You playfully smack his chest with the back of your hand. “Fucker.” 

He says something under his breath and you level him with a look that has him repeating himself. 

“I said, you wish.” 

You roll your eyes and tuck back into his neck, kissing the skin above his collar. You can feel him shiver and you know you’ve got him. “Not just wish, honey. Know.” 

+++

tagging: @writefasttalkevenfaster @arganfics @quillvine @stxrryspencer @hurricanejjareau @ughitsbaby @rousethemouse @criminalsmarts @genevievedarcygranger @ssaic-jareau @davidrossi-ismydad @angelsbabey @hotchsflower @hotchslatte @risenfox @mrs-dr-reid @captain-christopher-pike @dwellingsofrosie @pan-pride-12 @sunshine-em @word-scribbless @jdougl-love @dreila03 @forgottenword @aaronhotchnerr @ssa-morgan @sana-li @tegggeeee @abschaffer2 @ssacandice-ray @ellyhotchner @lotties-journey-abroad @mrs-joel-pimentel-23-25 @mooneylupinblack @ssareidbby @bwbatta @wakatoshislover @capricorngf @missdowntonabbey @averyhotchner @mandylove1000 @qvid-pro-qvo @jeor @spencers-hoodrat @popped-weasels @evee87 @nuvoleincielo @this-broken-band-girl @reidtomestyles @hotch-meeeeeuppppp @winqhster @arthurmorrgans @the-falling-in-the-danger @iconicc @mangoberry43 @andreasworlsboring101 @mac99martin @itsalwaysb33nyou @baumarvel @kerrswriting @messyhairday-me @ssworldofsw  @deagibs @crazyshannonigans @moonshinerbynight @jhiddles03 @teamhappyme @mendesmelodies @starsandasteroids @unicorn-bitch @ambicaos @bispences @thebivirgin

[cryonme]

ɪɴ ʜɪꜱ ᴀʀᴍꜱ

PART ONE. aaron hotchner x reader

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

There’s a serial killer going after women that look just like you, and when you find yourself at the Unsub’s address long before the rest of the team, you go in alone. Despite Hotch’s orders.

word count- 1.9k

tw- implied sexual assault, violent themes, guns, blood, LOTS of tears

a/n- hi babies! this is my first criminal minds imagine ahh. I've been watching the show ever since I was like 14, but I’ve been really binging it lately and I got the push to write for it! I’m really excited about this and I hope you all love it! There is going to be a part two, which is gonna focus on (Y/N)’s recovery and her getting back into the field! I always appreciate reblogs and feedback xx

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆

“(Y/L/N), the Unsub is going after women that look just like you, you are not to go in there alone, do I make myself clear?”

“Hotch-”

“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?”

You flinched and pulled your phone away from your ear, pursing your lips in annoyance.

“Crystal.” You hung up the phone and threw into the passenger seat, your body raging with annoyance for your boss. Him and the team wouldn’t be there for another 20 minutes and you were running out of time. The latest victim went missing yesterday, and according to the pattern, her body would be found in just a couple of hours, at the crack of dawn.

You cracked your fingers and your neck, growing impatient. You knew Hotch trusted you, that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the two of you had gotten involved and now he’s holding you back. You tried to tell yourself he only cared, that he was only concerned, that he loved you, and on one hand, he did have a point. This man was going after women who have the exact same build and features as you, but you had a job to do. Both of you agreed to not let your feelings get in the way, and here he was, holding you back, and potentially putting an innocent woman in danger.

You sighed and rested your head on the steering wheel, when you heard a blood curdling scream. Your head shot up and you immediately adjusted your vest and pulled out your gun and flashlight, wasting no time storming into the house.

+

“We’re down the street, are you ready?” Hotch asked, not turning his head toward Emily in the passenger seat next to him. He was rushing, he told you not to go into the house but something in his gut is telling him that you did anyway. You had separated from Derek when there were two possible leads presented at the same time, both of you agreeing it would be faster to split up. You were alone when Garcia called with an address, and a lot closer than everyone else.

“Ready.”

The team pulled up to the house and Hotch felt every muscle in his body tense when he saw your car door open. You had gone into the house.

He wasted no time, not even bothering to turn off the car or close the door.

“(Y/N)’s in there with no back up.” He said frantically.

No one said a word, just all shared worried glances and immediately made their way to the front door, Hotch taking the lead and kicking the door down.

“FBI!” He yelled out, pointing his gun and flashlight in all directions.

“Morgan, Prentiss, take the upstairs. Reid, Rossi, and I will cover downstairs.

Everyone nodded before dispersing to their assigned areas of the house.

Hotch’s mind was wandering to places it shouldn’t be. What if you were dead? He couldn’t see it. He wasn’t ready-

“FBI, put the gun down!”

Morgan.

They were upstairs.

The three men downstairs rushed to the stairs, running up with guns drawn, coming up behind their teammates. The Unsub had his gun pointed to the head of a woman who looked just like you, but you weren’t in sight. Hotch let his eyes wander around the poorly lit, dirty room, until they stopped on you, and he had to hold back a sob.

He wasn’t listening as Reid talked down the Unsub, he wasn’t listening when Emily fired off a gunshot to his shoulder, letting the woman go. He wasn’t listening when Derek yanked him off the floor in handcuffs, handing him over to Rossi so he could escort him to the police. He wasn't listening when Reid and Emily ran toward the girl checking her over for injuries and handing her into the care of the paramedics. All he could hear was the ringing in his ears, and all he could see was you.

Once the Unsub waa gone, he fell to his knees in front of you.

You were tied to a pole, duct tape over your mouth and your hands and feet restrained, there was blood trickling down your face and you were beaten badly. The Unsub must have focused all of his attention on you when you entered the house.

His hands fumbled to untie your restraints, but he was shaking too much and couldn’t do it. Spencer kneeled down next to him and got to work on your restraints, letting his hands rest on your face. His eyes raked over your body, checking for any other serious injuries, when they froze on your torso, soaked in blood.

“Wake up, baby. Please. God, please wake up!”

As soon as you were untied your limp body slumped against him and he laid you down, your head resting on his lap, his shaking hands reaching for your neck, checking for a pulse.

“She- she’s alive!” He yelled, throwing off his jacket to press against your torso, not bothering to thank Emily when she rushed over to hold it for him. He stroked your hair and your face gently, trying his best to wake you up but not startle you.

Your eyes fluttered and you groaned, turning your head to the side, closer to him.

“Hey, baby. I need you to keep your eyes open for me, okay?”

Your eyes were still fluttering, and you tried your best to keep them open for more than a second.

“M’so tired.”

“I know, sweetheart. I know but you have to stay awake just a little bit longer for me, yeah? I can’t lose you, please.”

The team watched helplessly, Emily decided you needed more encouragement, and spoke up from her position next to you, still applying pressure to your abdomen, her tears falling freely from her eyes.

“Hey, girl. You gotta hold on for us, alright? We need you.”

Reid felt a tear fall down his cheek, and he turned his face to watch the window for the ambulance, not being able to watch any longer.

Derek couldn’t contain his anger with himself, he had let you go alone. Knowing that sick bastard was going after women just like you, and he let you go alone. He turned and slammed his fists into the wall, letting out a cry. You had to be okay.

Rossi was downstairs with the police, he had helped the first girl in the ambulance, but they had only been prepared for one person. His heart was aching as he could hear the cries of his team upstairs.

“(Y/N), can I carry you downstairs to get to the ambulance faster?” Derek asked as he calmed himself down, he didn’t think Hotch’s body would make it far without collapsing in worry and sadness.

Your eyes were wide and you grabbed Hotch’s arm, “Don’t” You sucked in a breath, “Don’t leave-”

“It’s okay, I’m not leaving you, okay? Morgan’s gonna take you downstairs, I’ll be right behind you.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to your head.

“I love- I love you.”

Hotch continued to sob, “I love you, but you’re gonna be okay.”

Derek gently took you from his arms, hoisting you up and hurrying you down the stairs as he could begin to hear the distant sirens. “I’m so sorry, babygirl. I’m so sorry.”

+

If you’ve ever wondered how much a psychopathic killer can do to you in 20!minutes, the answer is a lot.

It’s been one week since you went into the house alone, and you were cleared to go home today. The team came to see you every day, and Hotch never left your side. He cried when you woke up, burying his face into your neck and leaving soft kisses. You didn’t want him to stop touching you, but you felt empty, you couldn’t reciprocate, you couldn’t speak, you just laid there as the love of your life cried tears of relief over you, holding you close to him.

You didn’t speak when Derek cried and apologized for leaving you alone, you couldn’t tell him it wasn’t his fault.

You didn’t speak when Dave kissed your head and told you he was happy you were still with them.

You didn’t speak when Reid smiled and grabbed your hand, stray tears falling down his face.

You didn’t speak when Garcia rushed into the room and held your face.

You didn’t speak when JJ threw her arms around you.

You didn’t speak when Emily held you, telling you she didn’t know what she’d do if you didn’t make it.

You didn’t speak on the ride home with Hotch, despite him telling you Jack couldn’t wait to see you.

When Aaron caught on that you weren’t going to show emotion for a long time, he called Jessica to tell her it was best that Jack stayed with her for a while, he didn’t want him seeing you that way.

Once you arrived home, you let him help you out of the car and inside. He led you up the stairs into your bedroom. He decided it was best for him to stay with you at your place, not wanting you to be alone, but also wanting you to be in your own home. Once you were showered and in a clean pair of pajamas, tucked away in bed, your cat jumped up on the bed rubbing her face against yours and purring, before flopping down and falling asleep at your side.

Hotch watched as you just laid there, propped up against your pillows, staring at the wall.

“(Y/N).”

“I can still feel his hands.” You whimpered and his heart squeezed in his chest.

“Everywhere.” You finally let out the sob you had been holding in since you first woke up and saw Hotch fast asleep in the uncomfortable hospital chair next to you.

He was by your side immediately, pulling you close to him, and you wrapped your arms around him, finally receiving the comfort you’ve been desperately craving.

“I’m sorry.” You cried, choking on your own breath and sobs. “I’m so sorry. It’s n-not Derek’s fault, it’s mine. It’s my fault.”

Hotch shut his eyes in pain, this was no one’s fault but the sick man who did this to you.

“It’s not your fault either, (Y/N).”

“I didn’t listen, I should’ve listened to you.” Your muffled voice cried against his chest.

“You did what any of us would’ve done. Yes, it ended badly, and I will tell you to never do that again, but we’re here now. Don’t dwell on it, sweetheart.”

You just continued to cry and inch impossibly closer to him.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say that you’re okay. You’re not, and you probably won’t be for a long time. But you’re safe, and I am here for you every step of the way. There won’t be one second that you’re alone. You’re gonna get through this baby, I promise.”

You continued to cry and hold onto him as you fell asleep, your breaths starting to even out until your body relaxed against his. He situated the both of you so you both were more comfortable, but still in each other’s embrace. Your cat purred and resituated herself in between your legs. The road to recovery was going to be long, but all he could think about right now was how relieved he was to have you home, in his arms.

[it-was-all-a-beautiful-dream]

Opposites Attract (Paul Lahote x Reader) Chapter 3

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Warnings: Swearing

Word Count” 2.1k

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-Your POV-

They were running at a speed that seemed impossible, their size alone, impossible. The shear beauty of the animal, breath taking. This wasn’t the first time you’d dreamt of giant wolves. They visited your dreams frequently, leaving you with all sorts of un answered questions, leaving you the next day, searching “What does seeing giant wolves in your dreams mean?” Yup, you were that kinda girl. You thought there was an answer for everything, and there probably was, but you weren’t going to find the answer on google search. 

You don’t know how long you’d been in the car for. All you knew was you were in pain, then it seemed to ease and a sense of comfort washed over you. Your head felt as if it were floating, snuggled into something warm and soft. A pillow perhaps? You didn’t open your eyes to check, the pain in your abdomen and now across your whole body blinding, you’d woken a few times with a jolt, and then you passed out again. 

The next time you woke up you weren’t moving at all, which you were grateful for, the pain mixed with the motion of a moving vehicle didn’t do anything for your stomach, travel sickness was the bane of your life. Instead you found yourself in a room, the blinds drawn closed, the door shut, your body, in different clothes. A mens t-shirt? When did you get changed? Where were you? You looked around in a daze, sitting up slightly from the comfort of the pale yellow duvet set. Wooden log walls, photo frames scattered on every surface, subtle lighting and a wall lined with books, the smell of home cooking wafting through from the kitchen. You were in Emily and Sam’s guest room, how did you know this? Well for one all of the frames had pictures of the happy couple in, two, you’d stayed over once before, back when you’d been caught in a freak storm with Leah while on the beach. You vaguely remembered the place. You didn’t come over often, what with Leah and Sams history, that and as much as you liked Paul, sometimes you’d be nervous to bump into him. Paul! Speaking of Paul, you groaned and flopped back into the fluffy bed sheets. Paul was at the hotel when the pain started… where was he now? Did he drive with you back home? 

You were about to get up when Leah came bounding through the door. “Oh good I thought I could hear you awake in here.” She grinned at you. “You look like you’re feeling much better!” You pat the space beside you and Leah climbed in snuggling up to your side. 

“So, on a scale of one to ten how bad was it.” The big ‘It’ being how bad was the show in front of your long term crush. Leah shrugged as she looked at you. 

“Nothing was baddd… everyone was just worried about you, you seemed to be in some serious pain, hence why we thought it best to cut the trip short, it’s probably better that were home, it was early hours when we got here so Sam said we could just crash at his.” You raised your eye at you best friend. She was being awfully calm about the whole situation. She said Sams name in a sentence and didn’t get herself worked up. You looked down at yourself. 

“And the clothes? Or lack there of….” That’s when Leah grinned. You didn’t like the way she was looking at you. You inhaled the scent that was on the shirt. Sandel wood and aftershave, a hint of sea salt probably from the misty air outside. 

“That’s Pauls t-shirt Y/N” Your eyes went wide and you knew you were blushing.. did that mean he had undressed you. Leah noticed the panic in your eyes.

“Before you get worked up he just leant the t-shirt knowing you’d be uncomfortable in your dress, I changed you.” You audibly gave a sigh of relief, not knowing how you’d react if the guy you’d been in love with since second grade had finally seen you in your underwear. “He stayed in here with you last night you know, to make sure you were okay. He wouldn’t leave.” Leah was now proper up on one arm looking at you. You didn’t know what to make of it. You didn’t think Paul had even known you existed… You were taken from your train of thought when something started dinging. The mobile on the bedside table started beeping as texts came through one by one. Oh god, you hoped Leah hadn’t told your parents about your episode at the hotel, the last thing you needed was for them to worry. However, you realised when you picked it up, it wasn’t your phone. 

The screensaver was a picture of the guys from the res, all goofing around, it looked like it had actually been taken in Emilys kitchen. It had to be one of the guys. You realised it was Paul’s after remembering what Leah had said about him staying for some of the night. He must have forgotten it when he left. You didn’t mean to see the message but it automatically came up on screen when you tilted the Iphone in your hand.

“Such a shame we had to cancel our date last night handsome, still on for tonight?” There were a bunch of emojis next to the text, the purple devil, aubergine, water droplets. You didn’t have to be a genius to figure out whoever this girl was motives were. At first you were embarrassed, to the point where your mouth was kinda slack and Leah was asking you what was wrong. Then you were pissed. 

“He’s such a dick, honestly. I don’t know why this makes him a dick, i’m just so mad. I know I’m not the prettiest, or the funniest, or most talented or anything but jesus christ I wish he would just notice me for once instead of these girls who will put out at the drop of a freakin hat!” Leah had taken the phone from you to see what you were talking about. She groaned and then noticed your whole body was shaking, in a flash she was at the door calling for Sam and the others. All you could see was red. Your vision totally blank, the covers under your hands balled up in your fists tight, your body shaking, heating up. Somewhere in the background you could hear someone shouting at you to calm down, but this time you couldn’t. You heard the sound of ripping and then all of a sudden the world around you changed. For one, everything in the room seemed to get smaller, or maybe you got bigger? You were still angry and started lashing out, only to be tackled by something from the side, leading you to smash through the wall of the wooden house. You still didn’t understand what was happening, until you heard them in your head. 

“Y/N CALM DOWN! We know this is scary but you need to calm down.” It was Sams voice. In your head. Or maybe, the voice was coming from the 8ft black wolf hovering over you. You didn’t scream, you didn’t even seem scared, and it’s because you realised, you were a wolf too. 

-Paul’s POV-

Y/N was safe, sleeping soundly in the room next door, or so Paul thought. It wasn’t until he heard the shouting that he knew something was wrong. Leah called for help and before he knew what had happened there was a bang and Sam was tackling a wolf on the ground outside the house. 

A white wolf. Small, slim, bright, with a single grey patch of fur around an eye. Paul shifted instantly, realising the unknown wolf in front of him was in fact his imprint. He let out a low growl to Sam, even though he was the Alpha, Paul didn’t like the fact he’d just tackled his girl. He looked her over, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth almost comically, all the while Y/N stood staring and the grey wolf now in front of her, he could hear through the bond that she’d just imprinted, feel it too. Now she knew. 

-Your POV-

“Hold the fuck up.” You couldn’t believe what you were hearing. Part of you couldn’t tell if you were in a dream or had just gone plain crazy. The other part of you knew that everything was real but you just couldn’t process the information quick enough. “So you’re telling me, that our ancestors were these shapeshifters and the gene was passed down to us to allow us to shift into giant wolves and hunt down vampires. You know, Vampires, ‘I want to suck you blood’, creepy pale strong immortal beings with no soul? And werewolves, I mean, Shifters..” It was insane. 

“Anddd to top it off, the man i’ve had a crush on since 2nd grade is my imprint, the person I’m supposed to be with for the rest of my life?” You glared at Paul who had the audacity to wink in your direction. Looking around you noticed the other faces, all amused at your outburst. Okay, so this wasn’t a joke, it was some sick reality you were now a part of. You hadn’t looked in Leah’s direction yet, pissed that your best friend had kept such a massive secret from you. Obviously you knew it wasn’t her fault, she wasn’t aloud to tell you the tribes secret, they didn’t know that you would be another female shifter, apparently your kind were rare. It still stung a little. 

“What really sucks thought Y/N, is that you’re gonna have to cut you beautiful hair short, our human hair mimics the length of our wolf hair, hence why each of us one by one cut it all off.” Quil sat back and shrugged and Paul growled lowly, not lowly enough for heightened hearing. 

“Why now. Why. I-I have school and I have things I want to do with my life.. I can’t be a shifter..” Reality had started to sink in and you found it difficult to breath. It felt like everyone in the room was staring at you and it didn’t help that you could also hear what everyone was basically saying. Your chair was pushed back with a screech, falling over and hitting the wooden floor. 

“I-I need to get out of here, I need a minute..” You were out the door in a flash, Leah and the boys running after you. Somewhere in the distance you could make out Sam telling Paul to calm down and then heard what sounded like wolves shifting but you’d already made it to the tree line, being able to run faster than you’d imagined still in your human form. 

The air was colder the higher up you got. You didn’t know how long you’d been running for but it had been a couple of hours before you finally stopped. In the middle of nowhere, high up in the mountains you let out a scream, one that sent flocks of birds fleeing from trees, the notes of your anguish scattering in the breeze. Everything would be changing now, life as you once knew it was gone. Part of yourself would never be yours again, having to follow a pack system. Another part of you was giddy at the thought that the man you’d been in love with your whole life turned out to be the one destined for you all along, it only took shifting into a wolf for you both to realise just how compatible you were.

You’d been alone with your thoughts long enough when you heard a twig snap in the distance. The hairs on your arms stood up and your heart started beating rapidly, turning, you calmed when you noticed a familiar figure walk out into the open. 

“Paul.” You could feel the bond running through your veins, seeing him helped you breath better and the physical need and urge to be in his arms was too strong. Like he sensed it too, he was over to you in a flash, taking you in his arms, your body pressed against his, his nose buried in your hair breathing in your scent, like he was saving it to memory. 

“Y/N, it’s all going to be okay, I promise, nothing bad will ever happen to you while i’m around, I know it seems scary now, but it won’t be like this forever. You’re already so strong, and I’m lucky that fate paired me with you.”

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Yoooo. I hope you liked this chapter, I’ve had some writers block recently, just trying to keep going. I’m still not sure what direction I’m taking this fic, I do know however that this is set at the beginning of eclipse! So watch out for some vampire action!

TagList:

@mariasblogsworld

@rosella26

@punkfrogz

@jjpogueprincess

If you want to be added to this tag list please let me know, sorry if I missed anyone off! <3 Please re-blog/like/follow <3

[arctichotch]

derek morgan x f!bau!reader - you got me, baby

feel free to send me any requests!

request: Hii! Soo what about one shot with Derek x female!reader and something like “see I found you, so don’t die on me now”? Basically pure angst, Derek and y/n are dating and ending is on you. Just an idea so if you’re not feeling like writing this thats okay! Thankss anyway☺️

wc: 1.1k

warnings: angst, reader injury, kind of talk of death/dying, hospitals, 

A/N: some angst and fluff for sir derek morgan. don’t know if i’m too happy with this but dont think it’s horrendously bad either

-=+=-

how many days had it been?

you weren’t sure. there were no windows. no way to tell when the sun went down and when the moon took its place. it was driving you crazy. you just wanted to know the time, was that too much to ask?

you weren’t even positive what happened. one second you were walking home from work and the next you woke up with a searing pain in the back of your head.

your ears were ringing. vision blurry. you felt nauseous. and you felt like you could sleep for weeks. you ticked all the boxes for a concussion. 

though now some of those symptoms had dissipated. you weren’t sure if that was a good thing, that you were starting to recover or if your body was slowly shutting down and not processing pain any longer. 

either way, you just wanted to go home. to see your team. to see derek. 

you didn’t know the man who had taken you, although he knew you, and made sure you knew that when he came to see you. you assumed he was related to one of your past cases. but you just couldn’t remember.

you didn’t think you were going to make it out of here. the team won’t find you in time, judging by how much harder it was getting to keep your eyes open.

you smiled, thinking of reid, knowing he would remember who this mysterious man was. why he wanted revenge.

reid. how you missed him. you hoped you would see him again. he was your best friend. always there for each other what with both of you being the youngest on the team. his intelligence amazed you. how could one person retain that much information? 

you thought of jj, the kindest person you’ve ever met. always there as a shoulder to cry on or someone to laugh with. she was so good to everyone. you would miss her.

and hotch? hotch was possibly the strictest person you’ve ever come across. you could probably count how many times you’d seen him smile. but you knew that deep down, there was a soft side to him, one that was slowly being snuffed out every time he had to face the horrors of the job he worked, what the job had taken from him. you hoped he wouldn’t blame himself after you were gone.

emily. tough, stubborn, sweet emily. who buries her feelings beneath her tough composure and her quick humour. you got along so well with emily. she could make you laugh in any situation.

rossi. the man who quickly became that of a father figure to you. the man who always offers to have the team over for dinner after a tough case. who gives cooking lessons to each of you because he can’t bare the thought of you living off of microwavable meals any longer. 

penelope. oh, penelope garcia. the brightest most amazing person on earth. despite what she sees on a daily basis, she never fails to share her undying positivity with every one else. she was sunshine in a person. she was the glue to your bau family.

and derek. derek morgan. the serious, determined man who would always have your back no matter what. a typical ladies man, who ordinarily would drive you insane, however the opposite happened. you fell for him. you fell hard for him. he was the light of your life, as cheesy as it sounds. and he loved you, you knew he did. he made sure you knew. you missed him.

your vision was getting blurrier, the black spots growing, when you heard sirens. sirens? were they real or were you having some kind of auditory hallucination? you didn’t know. you just knew they were getting closer. 

you heard gunshots. then doors slamming open. but the pain was getting too much. you just wanted to close your eyes. but you held on. for the team. for derek.

you looked up when you heard the door open in the empty, cold room you were in. the light was so bright, you looked away in pain, willing the pounding in your head to go away.

you heard talking, something along the lines of “she’s in here.” 

then you heard it. you heard him. derek. 

he came over to you and as gentle as possible, untied your hands from behind your back. “baby, baby, i’ve got you. it’s okay. you’re okay. i’m here.”

you groaned in pain, “it hurts, so bad, derek.” your head falling down, struggling to keep your eyes open.

“i know, i know. but you have to keep your eyes open for me.” he said, gently lifting your head to look in your eyes. you saw the worry in his eyes. you must have been more injured than you thought.

“derek,” you whimpered out.

“see? i found you, so don’t die on me now?” his voice full of desperation, “hold on, for me.”

that was the last thing you heard before you gave into the pain and it all went black.

-=+=-

the first thing you noticed when you woke up was the horrible, fluorescent bright lights that all hospitals had in common. god, you really hated those lights.

the second thing you noticed was the weight you felt on your right side. you gathered the energy to look down and saw derek with his head resting on your bed. and despite it all, you felt a small smile spread across your face. he was here and you were alive. 

you slowly moved your hand, trying not to wake him, but also wanting to talk to him. know that he was really here right in front of you. 

however your attempt to not wake him was in vain when a doctor came into check on you, he awoke instantly. he looked up at you and a bright smile spread across his face. 

“you’re awake,” he smiled as he turned to the doctor, “she’s awake, doc. she’s gonna be okay? right?”

the doctor smiled back at him before coming to check on you further, “it certainly is a good sign.”

after the doctor had left, derek sat beside you once again, taking your hand and kissing it. “i was so worried about you. i love you so much.”

“i love you too.” you said weakly. your eyes were closing once again and you fell asleep, knowing that you were safe wherever derek was by your side.

[creativeashproductions]

What If...? V // Alive!Luke Patterson

Summary: 1995 was Sunset Curve’s big break in the music world with a successful future. Between 1995-2004 a handful of things happen: Playing the Orpheum, the band buying a house, a car accident, a reconciliation, an engagement, a wedding and children. All things that potentially may have not happened had the boys continued to eating sketchy hot dogs from a car.

Warnings: Swearing, pregnancy, labour, minor angst and a bunch of fluff.

Words: 3.1k

Requested: By @beautifulblogsblog. The last part of your request 🥺😭

A/N: Wow. The last part in the What If…? Mini series is here. This was incredibly fun to write and while I wrote the last two parts I played a few covers and rewrites of Unsaid Emily. This is the first finished series. I’ll also let everyone know that there will be a part three for Lost Time.

TO BE TAGGED SEND AN INBOX/ASK PLEASE!

Masterlist

Hospital Maternity Room #284, 1999

“Have a child, they said. Pregnancy is a beautiful thing they said. I can confirm that asshole that said that had a dick.” You hissed from the hospital bed. A contraction contracting your midsection.

Nancy Y/L/N and Emily Patterson took up residence in the chairs on either side of Y/N Patterson in the afternoon of 1999. Nancy had been using the previous months making a scrapbook for the baby; the first bit with copies of photos from Luke and your baby stages. The rest would be the first year of your baby’s life.

“Would you like some ice chips?” Emily asked focused on knitting the baby hat for her impending grandchild.

Mitch and Lance each had made themselves scarce from the hospital in favour of working leaving the women alone.

“I’d like your son to be here to kick his ass.” Your eye twitched at the thought of your husband currently on an airplane. Sunset Curve had gone on a three-day interview marathon to the dislike of your friends and family.

Sunset Curve really needs to fire their manager with little respect for his charges’ lives. Especially the lead singer’s first child. Luke had no clue you had gone into labour.

 “Your father had words with Jerry for his meddling.” Nancy told her daughter glancing up at the strained smile through another contraction, “I’m sure Jerry thought the controversy of Luke not making the birth would be perfect for publicity.”

“I swear I will strangle Jerry if Luke isn’t here. I will pulverize the son of a bitch.” You hissed relaxing against the white sheets in the private suite. The mothers had been constants in the room while Rose, the pianist from the wedding, had visited briefly.

 Rose and the photographer Ray had hit it off so well they had entered a relationship that then blossomed a friendship with you. The couple had become dear friends in the last few months.

 “Okay Y/N, we’re gonna check your progress.” The doctor spoke swiftly tugging the disposable medical gloves on his hands. Two nurses worked with him. Your eyes pinned to the ceiling during the short examination.

“We’ve hit ten centimetres.” The doctor announced pushing the wheeled stool away to study your expressions, “Do you have your partner here?”

The tears built up as it settled that Luke might miss the birth of his first child when he had been so excited about it. He had bought and read more pregnancy books than you he had been talking with his father on how he could support you. He took classes with his mom on how to change a diaper, check the temperature of the bottle and methods for colic and diaper rashes.

Overwhelmed the feeling of two pairs of hands comforted you with the reminder that while Luke wasn’t there, you still had support. The baby would be born with both his grandmothers in the room. It was as best as it could be.

In a fast pace, you then found yourself with your legs in the stirrups with a stranger, albeit a doctor, staring at your vagina. It was uncomfortable, but it faded when the pain really began.

“Okay I want you to push from 1-10.” The doctor soothed, “Good job.”

“You’re doing so well, darling,” Nancy told you, leading Emily to open her mouth. Unfortunately, she didn’t get the chance.

 “I’m here!” Luke exclaimed rushing into the room, “Your dad was-“

Why was it unfortunate that Emily didn’t speak? Well, Luke unprepared caught sight of your exposed lower half. He promptly fainted with a thud to the floor.

“Are you serious?!” You yelled glaring at the puddle of your husband out cold with one of the nurses waving a package under his nose.

The smelling salt pack under Luke’s nose, bringing him back to consciousness, “Oh, boy. I fainted.”

“It happens more often than you would think.” The nurse told the young man while you focused on another push.

By the time the contraction ended, Luke had taken his mother’s place in holding your hand with encouraging words dripping off his tongue.

“This is the only child we’re having.” You hissed at the musician who continued to pale with a perfect view of the birthing in a reflection, “If you faint again I will…ARG”

A beautiful cry filled the room to the relief of baby Patterson’s parents bringing both of them to cry as well. Baby Patterson was scooped away to the corner of the room for a checkup and weight while the doctor inspected you. Time felt unreal as it passed quickly.

Baby Patterson was wiped clean as you delivered the placenta, got cleaned up with a sheet change and began to rest. Baby hairs plastered against your forehead you cooed at the swaddled form of your baby.

“So beautiful.” Luke whispered, unaware of his mother taking pictures with the lessons Ray had given her. The baby’s mouth opened with a gurgle that caused your heart to grow, “I’ll go let the boys know.”

Mesmerized by the baby, Luke made his way to the family waiting room on the maternity ward where it was packed. Opening the door, he counted Reggie, Bobby, Alex, Alex’s boyfriend Willie, your father Lance and Luke’s father. In the corner, Rose and Ray huddled together.

“Well?” Alex anxiously questioned picking at his cuticles, anxious for any news. His blue eyes begging his best friend for answers.

“Y/N is doing fine. The birth was smooth, and baby Patterson is healthy.” Luke proudly announced, placing his hands on the hem of his purple long sleeve shirt.

The room went silent before Mitch spoke, “So, do I have a granddaughter or a grandson?”

From the moment she was born, Stevie Eleanor Patterson had her father tied around her finger with her daddy’s matching hazel gaze. Lips like yours and a nose still unsure of but the nine-month-old was absolutely gorgeous with her short brown hair already curling. Of course, you could be biased as she was all yours.

Stevie wouldn’t settle without rock music of her father singing songs, but she did sleep through the night since day one. That didn’t mean she’d continue to sleep through the night, regression of sleep was tale your mother told about you as a baby.

“Hello sweet baby girl.” You whispered gently rocking the baby back to sleep mesmerized by the perfect combination of you and Luke, “So sleepy from feeding hmm?”

Stevie was heavy with the only complication being the minor tongue tie that was resolved increasing her feed. Stevie had such an appetite you had to compensate with formula to a degree, and you were sure the appetite was all Luke.

“Hey sweetheart.” Luke murmured from the door of Stevie’s bedroom wearing his Rush cutoff shirt and his staple black jeans.

The now twenty-year-old man had transitioned smoothly into fatherhood with the support of his best friends and family. Emily and Nancy had alternated staying in the guest room to help in the first month; the birth had been easy, but recovery had been at a near standstill.

“Hey!” You spoke as Stevie reacted to Luke’s voice, “I thought you said you would be late?”

Luke’s lips turned up at your words, “It looked that way, but Tom sent us home. God, I wish we had him from the first instead of Jerry.”

Both noses of the couple scrunched at the insensitive former manager that had both hit on you and insulted you when started showing with the pregnancy. The minute they could the band fired the man and found a saviour in Tom. Tom had left his previous employment with some magician with a name like Conner or something. The magician was narcissistic truthfully and had a slight obsession with the occult and death.

“Perfect. I need a shower.” You sighed shuffling Stevie into Luke’s warm embrace staring at the daddy-daughter duo.

“Have a bath. Relax babe. I got it.” Luke cooed, staring at his baby daughter’s bright gaze and dimpled smile.

Luke couldn’t believe how blessed he had been in falling in love with someone like you and receiving a gift. The gift being a father to the most beautiful angel in the world with the name Stevie.

“Love you!” You called over hastily make a flee for the master bathroom with the large tub before Stevie objected.

How lucky were you to have a husband like Luke?

Malibu, Patterson home, 2004

Luke, Reggie, Bobby and Alex, better known as Sunset Curve, had become legendary in the music world after their 1995 headliner debut at the Orpheum. In the nine years since the esteemed performance Sunset Curve had released two studio albums and toured four times. With the good times came the bad times as well.

Bobby Willis had decided he wanted to pursue a solo career creating a cavern between all four boys. He would change his name to Trevor Wilson at the suggestion of his label. He had little traction with his songs.

“Daddy!” Squealed, the three old little brunette girl ran through the modest-sized mansion to the man at the door, “I missed you!”

Luke, having memorized the routine, had already left his bag on the ground as his five-year-old daughter launched herself into his arms. Stevie had kept the hazel eyes with the chocolate coloured wavy hair. You could see yourself with her nose, chin, mouth and ears, but the rest is all Luke.

“Bug, you saw Daddy this morning.” You spoke, bringing Luke’s attention to the woman leaning against the wall. Luke’s heart fluttered, taking in the vision of his wife, who inspired so many songs.

Luke’s lips separated to reveal that perfect smile that stilled made your stomach flutter as it had since you were both fifteen. His hazel eyes glanced from your face to the one-year-old on your hip with his eyes closed. Little lips opened with quiet snores.

Hudson Jude was born in December of 2002 thankfully while Sunset Curve was on a break allowing Luke to be there. Hud was a near replica of you with the same eyes as his older sister and father. His infectious personality mimicking his uncle Reggie.

Mitch and Emily’s House May 2002

Last night had been incredible to Luke Patterson as Sunset Curve stood on the stadium stage as the sold-out crowd cheered as the song came to an end. ‘Now or Never’ had a special spot in the band’s hearts as they believed it had been the spark of interest from record execs back in ’95. Luke’s blue electric hung behind him as his best friends, his brothers, came to the edge with him. Grins splitting their faces the four boys grabbed hands and bowed to the audience.

“Thank you so much for coming out!” Luke’s voice reached every corner of the stadium drinking in the cheering and the signs in the crowd. And it felt like just yesterday they played the Orpheum before they hit it big.

The screams growing as Reggie’s winked in the direction of a group of girls, but Luke’s drifted to the VIP section. You stood with Stevie wearing the special headphones to protect her hearing. Her tiny hands clapping as her eyes wandered the large number of people.

The next morning, right now, he was in the living room with his parents, in-laws, his wife and daughter. So much had changed for the vocalist from fleeing this very house to returning to make amends. Now he watched his daughter playing with the toys Emily had found in the attic from Luke’s childhood.

“Hey I got you a gift.” You whispered to the man leaning against your legs on the floor. You sat seated on the couch while the other adults spoke.

“A gift? What for?” Luke questioned leaning to rest his head on your lap. His eyes found the little box you had hidden behind a pillow.

It was small and unassuming to the group in the living room. Luke’s fingers pulled the bow apart before the lid came off. Nestled in the velvet five guitars were. Taking one, Luke read the engraving.

“New Sunset Curve member: Coming December 2002.” Luke whispered blinking as he flipped it to see, “Daddy’s new music buddy.”

You stayed quiet for a moment, “The other ones are for the boys. The back has their names on it.”

 “We’re having another baby?” Luke softly asked, turning to face you completely. His eyes wonder-filled at the news, “Oh my gosh!”

“I know. I’m about two months pregnant at this point.” You murmured back cupping his cheeks with the stubble he hadn’t shaved yet. Tears filling both his and your eyes, “With how busy the tour was I lost track of my periods.”

“Oh my gosh. Can I tell them?” Luke pleaded on his knees, bringing the attention of both your parents. Stevie was still so enthralled by her toys she didn’t catch any words..

“Go ahead.” You smiled at the excited man. Facing the other side of the room, Luke nestled into your side on the couch..

Hand pressing on your flat tummy he grinned, “Stevie’s gonna be a big sister.”

Luke was so excited when his second child was born, he was thrilled at having a son; he would have been just as excited for a girl. He had a son and a daughter he loved with everything in him. He collaborated with Lance on a song for his own children just as Lance had.

“Hi Hud,” Luke spoke, stepping close to kiss his son’s sleeping head nestled in your neck, “How’s my gorgeous wife today.”

“Tired. Hud is breaking a new tooth, but Stevie’s been better today. She missed her uncle Alex.” You spoke, looking at your little girl.

 Stevie had become Alex’s shadow with the man even buying her a toy drumset for her fifth birthday. Alex and Willie had been away the past two weeks for a honeymoon; they legally couldn’t marry, but that didn’t stop them from having a dedication ceremony. The minute the law changed, you had no doubt Willie and Alex would find their way to a courthouse.

“We all miss Alex.” Luke sighed, “I hope he finds beach sand for the next year, there’s only so much I can take of Reggie. Bobby, Trevor came to the studio today. His sales have dropped, and his label dropped him.”

“He wants to come back?”

“To be fair he never really left the band. He went solo.” Luke admitted, “It’s hard to trust him after he took ‘Get Lost’ from us. At least he didn’t take ‘My Name is Luke’ from us.”

Your hand pushed up the hair hanging in his eyes below the orange beanie that had been a staple outfit piece for years now. Fronts pushed together, Luke kissed you for the first time today other than the quick peck as he left this morning. Hudson had a lousy sleep that left Luke staying up most the night with him.

“At the end of the day, it comes down to Reggie, Alex and you to make that decision. He’s never been a bad person, but maybe he felt like he wasn’t important. How many songs did he write?” You questioned your husband tentatively speaking to not spark his passionate anger.

You saw the annoyance in the crinkle of his nose and his eyebrows almost touching, but it didn’t take from the love in his eyes. With a sigh, he shifted Hudson to his embrace, tugging you to the spacious living room.

“If you look at it outside the band you have Stevie, Hudson and me. You have a family. Alex and Willie are connected at the hip. Reggie is with the band, volunteering at the kids centre, or with Ray.” It seemed it shifted something in Luke. His shoulders relaxed.

“The last few years have been pretty hectic.” Luke admitted watching as Stevie danced to the rock playing on the radio. Her little arms moving as if she was drumming.

Hudson shifted on Luke’s lap as you nestled into his side, watching the little loves you created with soft expressions. Stevie’s bright grin lighting up the room better than the natural light from the windows. The innocence she carried deep in her soul it felt like everything clicked into place.

“Daddy! Watch me!” Stevie giggled jumping as the song changed to Bittersweet by her grandfather Lance. The same song that played in the car accident back in ’96 that had a new meaning with having your own children.

It took a long time before Lance was able to pick up the guitar and perform; his lingering pain in his arm the cause. It took a few surgeries and physiotherapy along with relearning how to play before he performed Bittersweet. Lance performed for the first time live in your hospital room to his first grandchild.

“Whoo Stevie!” Reggie called from the front of the house. Behind him, Alex and Willie joined the same family.

“UNCLE ALEX!” Stevie shouted sprinting towards the tall blonde already crouching for the little girl.

The bond between Stevie and Alex was by far the cutest thing you had ever seen with how Stevie looked up at him. Alex would be the first to suggest tea parties and painting each other’s nails with newspaper for any spills. There wasn’t a better role model for Stevie to love. The bond was reminiscent of Uncle Jesse and Michelle from Full House.

“Ellie!” Alex shouted back swinging the little girl in his hug calling his unique nickname for her. He had taken to shortening her middle name; he really didn’t like when anyone else said it.

Peering over the pink sweater Stevie caught sight of Willie in the door, “Ready Uncle Alex?”

 At Alex’s confusion, Stevie wandered over to the skater smiling at the sight of his partner with the little girl. Willie’s brow furrowed as the girl came over to him uncharacteristically.

“Hi.” Stevie spoke, playing with her little fingers, “How was your trip, Uncle Willie?”

A small gasp from both Willie and Alex at the new title given that Stevie was shy with the skater. Stevie had been very excited for her uncle to come back from the honeymoon so she could surprise them.

“What?”

“You married Uncle Alex. That means you’re my uncle now too. Can I call you that?” Stevie’s brows furrowed concentrating on the man with tears in his eyes. The room was silent at Willie collected himself.

“I’d love that Squirt.” Willie choked out when her little arms wrapped around his shoulders, “Learn any new tricks on the drums?”

“Not really! But I lost a tooth!” Stevie excitedly spoke dancing on the balls of her little feet in the kid-sized black vans.

“Oh! Ray wanted me to pass on that he and Rose are pregnant! Baby is a girl due next year.” Reggie gasped, remembering the announcement from lunch at the Molina house, “Ray’s pretty sure they’ll name her Julie.”

The little Patterson girl eagerly informed her uncles on everything that had happened since the dedication ceremony with Willie and Alex. Even the twenty-four hours since she saw Uncle Reggie before breaking out into the dance moves from her dance classes. Hudson now toddling after his older sister with a smile on his little face.

A twist of expressions appeased on the members of Sunset Curve at the same time spoke together. All thinking of a distant vision of a Puerto Rican girl with a blurry face and gorgeous voice.

“Julie Molina? I feel like I know that name?”

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[gubler-me-up]

Sky’s the Limit

Request: Hi! This is oddly specific so no worries if you don’t do it but I was wondering if you could do a Spencer X y/n where he (and the team) find out that Y/N has gymnastics training or trapeze training or aerial silk training and Spencer is just like 🤩 Thanks! Love your writing!!

A/N: Thanks for the request, anon! I’m not gonna front and say this one wasn’t a challenge to think of a good concept for. All I knew is I wanted to make it about aerial silk because it’s such an amazing talent. To my surprise, this turned out better than I expected and I hope you really enjoy it! Btw do you do gymnastics, trapeze and/or aerial silk? If so, kudos to you! (Btw I left the song choice up in the air, but while I was writing I was listening to The Weeknd - Loft Music)

Couple: Spencer Reid/Fem!reader

Category: Fluff

Content warning: None

Word count: 2.8k

-------------

“I know it’s the weekend and all, but you’re sure in a rush, Y/N,” Morgan remarked.

You were running late for your dress rehearsal for your aerial silk performance at an open talent show taking place at National Theatre DC. You had done aerial silk dancing for years as a hobby. It was hard keeping up with it while working at the BAU, but an old instructor of yours contacted you about the opportunity. You thought it was a great chance to finally display your hobby to the masses.

“I’m running late for an appointment,” you said as you grabbed your bag.

“Oh? A Friday night “appointment” huh? Who’s the lucky guy?” Morgan asked.

You chuckled. “Not that sort of appointment, player.”

“Damn, I thought a certain someone finally made a move on you,” he said.

You were going to ignore his comment and be on your way, but you were curious about what he just said. You raised an eyebrow with a mischievous smile on your face. You went up to his desk and sat on the edge of it.

“Certain someone?” You asked.

He chuckled. “Oh yes, a certain someone. Matter of fact here he comes now.”

Morgan looked over your shoulder, so you followed his gaze. You saw Spencer walking up to you guys with a smile as he nervously latched his right hand onto his satchel strap. You didn’t think he liked you more than a friend, but according to Morgan it seemed as if you were missing something. So much for being a profiler.

“Hey, Y/N. Are you busy this weekend? I know you love classic French Noir films and they’re playing Pépé Le Moko tomorrow night, so I was wondering if you wanted to go watch it together,” Spencer asked.

You looked at him surprised before looking back at Morgan. He gave you his favourite expression: I told you so. You looked back at Spencer. He had an eager, glowing smile on his face. You were close to saying yes to him just by his enthusiasm.

You sighed. “I can’t this Saturday, Spence. I have a commitment I already have. I’m sorry.”

“Oh, that’s no problem. I should have asked you earlier,” he said.

“Yes, you should have,” Morgan chimed in.

Spencer gave Morgan a strong glare as he was getting ready to say something. Before you were put in-between another fight of theirs, you grabbed onto Spencer’s upper arm and gently squeezed. You were kind of surprised to feel a little muscle on him.

“Spence, have you been working out?” You asked.

He blushed. “Not really by choice. Morgan’s been forcing me to join him on his gym sessions.”

You looked over at Morgan. “You’re forcing Spence to work out?”

He shrugged and put on a sly smirk. “What can I say? I thought we should all gain as much upper body strength as you have, Y/N.”

“I don’t have any upper body strength,” you said.

Spencer grabbed your right bicep and gently squeezed it. You looked at him as he had his thinking face on. He soon noticed you looking at him which led him to let go of your arm and awkwardly clear his throat.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to do that. I was just admiring your bicep form. It’s well developed, even more than Morgan’s,” he said.

You giggled. “I don’t think my little muscles can compare to Morgan’s.”

“This time the kid might have a point. You have some serious bicep action on you. What’s your secret?” Morgan asked.

You hadn’t exactly told anyone on the team about your aerial silk training. You kind of liked keeping this certain talent hidden from the rest of the team. You were also nervous if you had them watch it would be the one time you’d mess up and break your arm. It was silly for you to think the worst would happen if your friends saw you perform since they were your safety net.

“I’ll tell you two another time, but for now I’m running late. See you two Monday,” you said as you picked up your bag.

“Have a great weekend, Y/N,” Spencer said.

You turned around and waved. “You too. Tell me how the movie is on Monday.”

“Will do,” he said.

You turned back around to make your way out of the bullpen. From behind you could hear the clacking of heels running towards you. You knew exactly who it was before you turned around.

“Y/N, hold on,” you heard Garcia say.

You looked at your watch. It was nearly six o’clock and you weren’t even out in the parking lot yet. You turned around and put up your wrist to show Garcia.

“Pen, I have to go,” you said.

“But I was wondering if you wanted to go-“

“Really, Pen, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

You rushed towards the elevator before she could chase after you. You didn’t want to be any later than you were already running. Whatever she had to tell you she would just text or call you about it if it was important.  

Your dress rehearsal went well and you were proud of your performance. You thought your choice of song added to the performance immensely. You felt as if you were dancing on air and you didn’t even think of all of your muscles having to work on overdrive to make sure you didn’t fall. You didn’t even think you worked this hard to take down an unsub.

You were on your way to the change room to get dressed and go get something to eat. You were starving since you didn’t have any time to stop and get food. Your food would have to wait a little while longer since you heard your instructor call out your name. You turned around to see him walking up to you.

“What’s up, Sam?” You asked.

“Well, I noticed you hadn’t asked for tickets for your guests. There are a few extra tickets if you have anyone to give them to,” he said.

You shook your head. “Thanks, Sam, but I don’t have anyone to give them to.”

He raised a questionable eyebrow. “Really? No one from your job? No friends you want to invite? Family?”

“My family lives in another state and so do most of my friends and the rest are busy this weekend. Thanks for looking out though,” you said before turning around.

“How about your coworkers?” He asked.

“They’re busy,” you said as you started walking away.

“Well, can you at least think about inviting some people? It would be nice if people in your circle could see how talented you are,” he said.

You stopped walking and turned around to look at him. He stared at you with such a proud expression on and you couldn’t help giving in to him. All he wanted was the best for you because he thought you were the best.

You stuck out your hand. “Give me the tickets.”

His face lit up as he reached into his pockets and pulled out the extra tickets. There were only two extra tickets. As you took them from him, you pondered on who you would end up inviting.

“Can’t wait for your performance tomorrow, Y/N. I’m sure your friends will enjoy it,” he said.

You smiled. “They sure will.”

With that little exchange over and done with, you went to the change room to get ready to go enjoy the rest of your night. It was the perfect night to grab some pizza, lose yourself in the universe of YouTube and fall asleep on your couch. What you really couldn’t wait for was relaxing all your muscles in a hot bath.

As you changed, you thought about the two extra tickets. It would be nice to have someone or in your case two people from the team to come by and watch you. In your head though you couldn’t get over this worry of embarrassing yourself in front of them. It was whatever to mess up in front of people you didn’t know, but in front of people you saw nearly every day was nerve-racking.

You took out your phone from your bag and went to your most recent text messages. You didn’t see a text from Garcia which meant whatever she had to ask you wasn’t that important or she found someone else to fill your spot. Either way you were glad she didn’t message you. You wouldn’t be able to bear her sad, puppy look if you rejected her invitation to any sort of outing.

You would ask Garcia to come but she seemed as if she had other plans in mind. There was JJ or Emily you could ask but JJ was busy on the weekends being a mom and Emily was always busy doing kid-free activities. Inviting Hotch or Rossi would be cute because they were like father figures to you, but at the same time you kind of liked them to be father figures from afar. Morgan probably wouldn’t shut up about your strength for weeks and encourage you to tackle more unsubs, so he was out of the question.

You opened your text conversation with Spencer. He liked artistic performances and according to Morgan he also liked you. It would be the perfect opportunity for you two to bond beyond work. Maybe you’d even take him out for ice cream after to celebrate. You’d have to make sure he’d take his Lactaid first though to make his ice cream experience enjoyable.

You started to type out the question you were dreading to ask anyone on your team. I’m performing an aerial silk routine. Interested in coming? I have extra tickets. You stared at it for a long while before erasing the whole thing and stuffing your phone back in your bag. You couldn’t gain the courage to do it and you knew that. You just took the extra tickets so Sam would stop begging you to bring people to the show.

In due time you would let the team know about your hidden talent, but your first public performance wasn’t the best time to debut it. You’d probably give the tickets to some people on the street and hope they would attend. You picked up your coat and bag to start your journey home. You had a long night of pizza, baths and nerves to overcome.

You paced back and forth as you waited for the act before you to finish. You were closing the show, so your adrenaline was pumping hard. The pressure you felt to end the show with a bang was unreal. You just wanted to represent the artistry of aerial silk as best as you could.

“Ready for your big break?” You heard Sam say from behind you.

You turned around to look at him. “Born ready.”

He chuckled. “With all that pacing you’re doing, it’s hard to believe that statement.”

“Oh, so you’re a profiler now too huh?”

“Not a chance. I’ll leave all that psychological horror to you, but I do know you’re nervous about your performance. I’m here to tell you you shouldn’t be, you’re amazing at what you do.”

You smiled. “I guess so.”

“Well, I know so. Especially with your friends in the crowd, you’ll feel even more confident.”

You were silent. He looked at you confused and then in shock. You quickly looked away from him before he could inquire about the tickets. It was too late for that plan though.

“You didn’t invite your friends? What did you do with the tickets?” He asked.

“Gave it to this lovely couple on my way home yesterday. Rachel and Keith are sitting in the front row as we speak,” you said.

“You what? Y/N,” he said in frustration.

“Do you hear that? I think I’m up next,” you said as you scurried on stage.

You walked to the centre of the stage and let your silks drop down to your sides. The crowd was cheering already which made you feel good inside. As you looked out into the crowd you could see Rachel and Keith, who were ecstatic to be there. You smiled as you continue to scan the audience with your eyes.

Your eyes widened when you saw a curly-haired man along with two blonde women, a dark-haired woman, a dark-haired man, an older man and a bald man. You squinted your eyes just to make sure you weren’t seeing things from the bright lights messing with your sight. It was true though, your whole team was there.

Before you could even process anything, the music started to play which meant your routine had to start as well. You decided it was time to just let it happen. Obviously some greater power in the universe decided to bring your fears to the light and have you overcome them.

You grabbed onto your silks and started to gracefully entangle yourself in them. You made sure your feet weren’t too loose and your hands were holding onto the silks tightly. You swung, you flipped and you dropped in one swift motion.

The cheer from the crowd was unbelievable. You had to admit it was even better knowing the team was cheering along with them. Sam might have been onto something when he told you the satisfaction of hearing the crowd cheer for you was worth it. All the nerves, all the rehearsing, all the sore muscles. He was right.

Every move you did, you made sure it was done flawlessly. You felt on top of the world as if you were floating in the clouds. Nothing was on your mind besides the lyrics floating in your head as you did your whole routine.  In no time you were done your routine and found yourself not wanting it to end. The only thing keeping you alive in the bittersweet moment was the crowd giving you a standing ovation. You even heard Garcia scream at the top of her longs with praise.

You bowed and then the rest of the performers came out on stage to take their bows. The crowd kept getting louder to the point where you couldn’t even feel your adrenaline pumping heart anymore. It felt amazing to drown the sound out with praise and love from everyone. Especially your supportive team.

After you got changed, you went out to greet the team as they stayed around after to wait for you. You waved at them with a huge, goofy smile on your face. They all started clapping for you again with big smiles on themselves.

“Glad you guys liked it. How did you even decide to come here?” You asked.

“Well, little speed boat, I was going to ask if you wanted to go to this talent show on Saturday, but you left so fast I didn’t have the chance to. I then proceeded to get everyone on board with me to come see the show and to our very surprise you were on the pamphlet,” Garcia explained.

You blushed. “Well, thanks for coincidentally coming out to watch.”

“Why didn’t you tell us about this before? We would have definitely come,” JJ said.

You shrugged. “I don’t know, I guess I was just nervous about messing up in front of you guys. I’ve never performed in front of an audience before, so everything was very high risk for me tonight.”

“Well, you pulled it off. Congratulations,” Hotch said.

“Thanks so much, sir,” you said.

“You did so great tonight, Y/N. Reid over here was so starstruck that I think he was drooling a little,” Morgan said as he playfully punched the side of Spencer’s face.

Spencer sighed in frustration. “Don’t listen to him, Y/N. I was not drooling, but I was definitely pleasantly surprised by your act.”

“He was totally drooling,” Emily said.

“Jaw on the floor,” Garcia said.

“Eyes wide in amazement,” Morgan said.

You smiled as they just kept describing how Spencer looked while you were on stage. You looked over at Spencer. His face was practically red, but he tried his best to hide it with his hand.

“Okay, kids, that’s enough bickering for the night. Dinner’s on me. I’m feeling for Italian,” Rossi interrupted.

“You’re always feeling for Italian,” Spencer said.

“I’m trying to help you get out of this situation and you’re coming for me?” Rossi said.

Spencer instantly looked away as if nothing ever left his mouth. Everyone else laughed as they followed Rossi out of the theatre. You and Spencer trailed along behind everyone. You grabbed his bicep again. Not to squeeze it, but to hold it close to you. He noticed and looked at you with his face still red.

“You know, even though Garcia, Morgan and Emily’s claims were exaggerated, I thought you were incredible tonight,” Spencer said.

You looked up at him and smiled. “I’m glad you think so. Seriously though, were you as starstruck as they claimed? Even a little?”

He smiled. “Maybe just a little.”

You giggled. “I’ll make sure to set up a VIP for you the next time I perform.”

He chuckled. “I’d love that.”

—–

MASTERLIST

[ibis-gt]

Poker Night

dippin my toes in the writing pool again with a short one about anya and felipe! there’s a bunch of side characters in this one that i just now made up so don’t worry if you have no idea who they are, i don’t either skdjfklsf

just under 2.5k words, kind of hurt/comfort. warnings: fearplay, threats of violence, bullying, peer pressure, felipe not having a very good time at all

Felipe looked around at the five giants seated at the table he was currently sitting on and forced a smile. Once again, Anya asked him to come along to one of the parties her friend Emily often hosted, and once again she’d dropped him off at the husbands’ table while she caught up with her friends. Quite literally dropped him off, plucking him off her shoulder and depositing him on the wooden tabletop with a “Play nice, fellas!” as she waltzed off.

Usually, they did play nice - Anya was built like a brick shithouse and would defend her tiny human husband with every ounce of strength she had. But tonight there’d clearly been some drink passed around, and now the five giants eyed Felipe with varying levels of displeasure. Seth glared at him with annoyance, Rolf looked bored and disinterested, Leo seemed resigned to essentially babysitting the tiny man, Amos heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes, but it was Bruno that really worried Felipe. Bruno was staring down at him with a mostly blank expression, but Felipe could see gears turning in his head, and he could tell it was going to come out to trouble.

He jumped as Bruno suddenly clapped his hands together, beaming brightly.

“Who’s up for a game of cards?” Bruno produced a deck from his pocket and began to shuffle them. The others took an interest, nodding their approval.

That took Felipe by surprise. It sounded harmless enough. “Yeah, that sounds like fun. Uh, don’t know if I’ll be able to play, though.” The cards were probably as big as he was, and he could maybe hold onto two at a time. Any more than that, and there would be serious delays as he figured out what to play. “Oh, don’t worry, I know how you can participate,” Bruno assured him. This was not, however, reassuring.

He dealt out a hand to each of the giants at the table, then began sorting out a set of huge wooden chips. Each one was about two feet in diameter. They had different colors and markings to indicate their value, but Felipe wasn’t sure which one meant what, and no one seemed like they were about to explain it to him. 

Felipe shuffled his feet and glanced around nervously. He hadn’t been dealt a hand, and he didn’t know what Bruno had in mind, but he didn’t think it would be all that fun for him. His suspicions were proved right when Bruno tossed a few chips in the middle to start the betting, then grabbed him by the back of his shirt and dropped him next to them. Felipe let out a quiet grunt as he hit the table and looked up in confusion. A few of the giants seemed to have caught on and were grinning down at him, but for the ones who were slower on the uptake, Bruno announced, “You’ll be one of the chips, of course.”

Felipe sat bolt upright and stared at him wide-eyed. Then he laughed nervously, trying to calm himself down. “Oh, haha, good joke! No, but seriously. What am I...” he trailed off, turning from side to side to see their faces.

Silence. Everyone stared at him. Some were still grinning, some were serious. Leo spoke up.

“C’mon, Bruno, you know Anya wouldn’t like that. Just let him sit it out.”

“Oh, lighten up,” Bruno grumbled. “It’s not like she’s gonna find out, is she?” He looked around the table, getting a head shake ‘no’ or a shrug from each in turn, then down at Felipe. “Is she?” he asked again.

“Uh…” Words failed him. He wanted to say yes, emphatically yes, he’d squeal at the first opportunity, and in fact he was going to stand up and start waving his arms and shouting right now to get her attention. But truth be told, Felipe was terrified. Everyone had been drinking and he didn’t know how deep in their cups they all were. Who knows what they’d do if he didn’t go along with it? Maybe if he was quiet and played along, they’d get bored and leave him alone. “...no, sure, she won’t. Ha.”

“Good,” Bruno said, giving him a smile that was not in the least bit comforting. “Then let’s start.” He threw in a few of his own chips. The others followed suit, betting based on whatever combination of cards they had. Felipe flinched every time a chip hit the table. They were being careful - none of the tossed chips hit him, but they landed close enough to worry him. He hunched his shoulders and tried to make himself as small as possible.

Bruno won the first round. He grinned that awful grin again and reached out, putting both hands around the stack of chips and pulling them in close. Felipe, still seated, was dragged along with them, back pressed up against the palm of Bruno’s left hand, trying to resist the urge to his feet and push back.

“Hi,” Bruno said, looking down at him. A few of the others chuckled.

“H-hi,” Felipe stammered, forcing a smile. “Uh, so, what - ”

“Chips don’t talk,” Bruno interrupted, and started dealing out the next round of cards. Felipe shut his mouth and hunkered down, hoping Bruno wouldn’t get any good hands. He was lucky for one round, and Bruno only tossed in two chips before folding. The next round, though, Felipe’s luck ran out. Bruno glanced at his cards and the corner of his mouth went up just a little. He tossed in four chips, then snagged the back of Felipe’s shirt again and dropped him down in the middle. Rolf whistled and looked at his own cards, tapping a chip thoughtfully on the table.

“How much is he worth?” Rolf asked. “Like, how do I meet or raise or whatever?”

“I don’t care,” Bruno said. “Whatever you think he’s worth.”

Rolf threw in six chips. Felipe wasn’t sure if he should be offended or flattered.

Seth ended up taking the hand, and as soon as he slapped his cards down in triumph, Felipe scrambled to his feet and jogged over to him, not wanting to be pushed across the table again. There was a snort of laughter from one of the other giants but he paid it no mind. Seth raked in the chips then looked down at Felipe, tilting his head to one side, seeming to appraise him. Then he gave a horrid grin of his own and pinned Felipe down with a thumb on his chest.

“Ain’t chips supposed to be flat? So you can stack ‘em?” he asked, clearly thinking he was being clever. “Should I…” The pressure increased slightly, and Felipe began to panic and struggle, trying to get himself out from under the thumb.

“Cut it out,” Bruno growled. “You hurt him and Anya’ll have our asses.”

The pressure disappeared as the thumb lifted up and away. Felipe got to his feet and backed away from Seth, eyes fixed on the giant. He felt like his knees were going to give out. Being meek and quiet hadn’t helped one bit, but now he couldn’t find his voice to call out for help. His throat was dry and tight from terror and it felt like his heart was lodged in it. Seth scowled at him and poked his chest with a finger, knocking him on his back.

“Go on,” he grumbled. “I’m bettin’ you. Hope I lose.”

Lose he did. Leo took that hand. He didn’t look too happy about it, either. “Well, come on then,” he sighed, and Felipe managed to stand on his shaking legs and wobble over. Felipe looked up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. Leo was the least happy with this setup, other than Felipe himself. Maybe he’d speak up now that he had him and could put an end to the whole thing. But Leo didn’t meet his eyes, just picked up his next hand and tossed a few chips in. Okay, next best thing, Leo never bet him and he could stay put and as far away from Bruno as possible. And Seth. Actually, just all of them.

Leo only managed to hold onto him for two hands before Bruno spoke up.

“Don’t get greedy, now,” he called. “Let us have a shot at him, too.”

Leo sighed and finally glanced down at Felipe again. “Okay, you heard him,” he said. “Get.”

Felipe got. Rolf won. Then Amos. Then Bruno. Then Bruno again. Each time, he’d slap his cards down as he reached for the chips, not giving Felipe time to register his victory. He seemed to delight in pushing the little man around and didn’t like it when Felipe tried to walk himself over to whoever had won him that time. Unfortunately he seemed to be the best at the game they were playing, with an impeccable poker face and a decent winning streak. Since he was also the dealer, Felipe half suspected he was cheating, but he lost often enough not to irk anyone else at the table. Bruno started to play with him whenever he had him. He’d dangle him by the back of his shirt and gently swing him back and forth, or pin him under his palm and drum his fingers on the table. Once he even picked Felipe up and began to toss him up in the air and catch him, not very high, but enough to get a frightened yelp out of him. Bruno seemed to think that might draw too much attention, though, and quickly set Felipe back down, shaking like a leaf and trying not to hyperventilate.

Rolf looked about as uncomfortable as Leo had when he won Felipe for the first time. Felipe caught him glancing at Leo and looked up at the giant too, but the combined effort of their stares still couldn’t persuade Leo to speak up, and Rolf didn’t seem to have the nerve to try on his own. Felipe changed hands a few more times before ending up with Bruno yet again. At this point he was fighting back tears. He desperately wished they’d get bored and give it up already, but it seemed pride was on the line for Seth and Amos, and Bruno was enjoying himself immensely. Felipe’s mind started to wander towards what would happen when the game was over for good. What would whoever had won him do? Would they try to take him home? Stuff him in a pocket or a cupboard for later? Or would they make him do something public and embarrassing? More embarrassing than being reduced to a literal object to be passed around, that is.

Just then, his saving grace appeared. He practically melted with relief as he heard Anya’s voice.

“Hey, y’all, what’re you up to? Where’s Felipe?” She caught sight of him and smiled. Despite how terrified he was, his heart sang out at the sight of her. She was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. The others shifted nervously in their seats and glanced at each other, except for Bruno and Leo. Leo’s eyes were locked on Bruno and his face was grim. Bruno looked at Anya with his perfect poker face intact, although he was betrayed slightly by a small trickle of sweat down the side of his face.

Anya took in the scene and started to pick up on the energy at the table. Her smile started to fade. “No cards for you, honey?” She asked Felipe. “Are you helping Bruno, then? I’ll tell ya right now he doesn’t need it. He’s just about the best player here.” She looked around at everyone and then back at Bruno. She looked at the chips on the table all around Felipe, took in his posture, his expression, the way he was trembling ever so slightly. Her smile was completely gone now, and she set her jaw. When she spoke again, her voice was flat. “He’s not helping you, is he. He’s not playing at all.” 

Anya held out her hand palm up to Felipe, and he nearly tripped over his own feet sprinting across the table towards her. He leapt into her palm and wrapped his arms around her thumb, pressing his forehead to the tip. “Thankyou thankyou thankyou thankyou,” he gasped, his fragile facade of calm completely gone. The tears started to flow and he let them. Who cared anymore. He was safe, he was with his wife, the whole rest of the world could go to hell.

“You sons of bitches,” she spat. “I can’t believe you - ”

“Anya,” Felipe squeaked, and she held him up, her face instantly softening. “Let’s just go. Please.”

She looked like she was going to argue, but instead she shot a look at the cowering, ashamed giants, and stalked off. She headed for the exit, putting a hand on her friend Emily’s shoulder on the way.

“You set your husband right before I do it for you,” she warned. Emily spun around to glare at the husbands’ table.

“What kind of bullshit did you pull this time, Bruno?” Emily called, just as Anya slipped out the door, Felipe held to her chest.

She put a fair amount of distance between them and the house before lifting him up close to her face so she could see him better, the light dimming as evening approached.

“Honey? Are you okay? Do you want me to drop you off at the house and go back and kick their asses?”

Felipe managed a strangled laugh through his tears. “No, no, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” he lied. “I just want to forget it all.” That bit was true enough. He was so embarrassed by the whole thing. He wanted to pretend like it had never happened.

“I’m so sorry, I should never have left you with those idiots. I knew they’d be drinking, too, and Bruno always gets that mean glint in his eye when he drinks…”

“Wasn’t your fault,” Felipe said, sniffing and wiping his nose on his shirt. “They were just being dicks.”

“Did they hurt you? Because I’ll tell you right now if they did, I swear I’ll - ”

“No, no, they didn’t. And I’m not just saying that so you won’t go twist ‘em into pretzels. I’m fine, really.”

Anya gave him a Look. She rubbed his back with her thumb, working the tension out of him bit by bit. “I believe you that they didn’t hurt you physically,” she said softly. “But I don’t believe you’re fine. You were shaking like a leaf, honey. They scared you. You can admit it. There were five of them, they’re several times your size and could’ve snapped you like a twig without thinking about it.” He shivered, dropping his gaze. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I’m never leaving you alone with them again. You poor thing. Let’s get you home.”

[4stars-uswnt]

Through Sickness and Health [USWNT x Reader]

requested by anon: Could you write something with baby reader getting sick/hurt and the rest of the team taking care of them, preferably with Christen & Tobin being the “team moms” to them.

A/N: yay for t & c scoring today!!!

You stare at the plate of breakfast in front of you, massaging your temples, as if you could somehow rub the pounding headache away.

“Woah, (Y/N), you don’t look too good.” Emily observes, pausing mid bite of her eggs.

“Wow, thanks, Em.” You roll your eyes sarcastically.

“No, she’s right, (Y/N).” Mal rubs your back, examining you closely. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, guys, I’m fine. It’s just a little headache, probably because I din’t sleep that well.” You mumble, leaning your hooded head onto Mal’s shoulder.

“Alright well, drink up, we gotta go to the field.” Mal pushes your glass of water in front of you.  

You gulp down the water, slamming the cup on the table, as you get up and follow your teammates onto the bus.

—————

It was almost the end of practice, and you felt like you were either going to throw up or collapse, or both. Your head was pounding, your throat was dry, and your stomach was doing somersaults.

As soon as Vlatko blew the whistle, you rest your hands on your knees, trying to catch your breath, exorbitant amounts of sweat dripping off of you.

“Kiddo, you okay?” Tobin comes up from behind you, resting her hand on your back.

You huff out a sigh and stand up right. “Yeah, I’m good.” You nod, sighing.

“Alright,” The older forward hums, squinting her eyes skeptically, “let’s get you on the bus.”

She wraps her arm around your shoulders, guiding you off the field. As you’re walking, your legs wobble like jelly, and you can feel them start to weaken.

“Tobes… I don’t feel so good.” You softly groan, before you completely faint, collapsing in Tobin’s arms.

“(Y/N)!” Tobin exclaims, gently laying you down on the grass. “(Y/N)? You with me?”

“Tobin!” Christen calls, frantically running up to the two of you, followed by the rest of the USWNT. “What happened?”

“I don’t know! She just fainted.”

Christen kneels down next to you and feels your forehead with the back of her hand. “She’s burning up.”

“She wasn’t looking too good this morning at breakfast.” Mal interjects, frowning worriedly.

“Yeah, she’d said she had a little headache.” Emily adds.

“Well why didn’t anybody say anything?!” Christen snaps at the younger defender, who just shrinks. An angry Christen Press was definitely a sight to fear.

When you first joined the national team a couple of years ago, at the age of 18, Christen and Tobin immediately took you under their wings, crowning themselves your official team moms. The two helped you both on and off the pitch, whether it be watching game film with you or discussing your decision to play professional. They were also particularly protective of you, especially Christen, who was also your Royals teammate.

“Chris, they didn’t know.” Tobin calms down the upset woman, reminding her the task at hand.

“Right.” Christen sighs, nodding her head.

Vlatko approaches the group, followed by the medical staff. “Guys, give (Y/N) some space.”

The women back up, making some room for the trainers and the stretcher, while Tobin and Christen stay close to you.

As they load you onto the stretcher, Tobin furrows her brows. “Where are you taking her?”

“We’re just gonna take her into the med room back in the locker room to check up on her. I don’t think it’s anything too too serious, but we want her to wake up before we make any diagnosis and take her back to the hotel.” One of the trainers explains.

“Can we come with you?” Christen asks, nervously biting her lip.

“If you’d like.” He nods, and the two forwards follow the medical staff.

Back in the med room, the trainers put you onto the bed and get a cool towel to put on your head. While you were not awake yet, they had a feeling it was a case of the stomach flu, so they got a cup of water and thermometer ready for you.

About five minutes later, you slowly opened your eyes and grumbled. “Whaaa…what happened?” You groggily rubbed your eyes, as you try to sit up.

“Woah, sweetie, how about you lie back down.” Christen gently pushes you back down to the med table. “You fainted, (Y/N). They say it’s the stomach flu.”

“Ugh… just great.” You mumbled under your breath, groaning in frustration and discomfort.

The head trainer, who’d noticed you were awake, reentered the room. “Hey, (Y/N), how are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a bus.” You mutter.

He picks up the thermometer and hands you a cup of water, which you sip, soothing your dry throat.

“I’m just gonna quickly take your temperature.” He motions for you to open your mouth.

A couple of moments pass before a beep sounds. “102.4” The trainer reads, before turning to Christen and Tobin. “Make sure she gets plenty of rest and drinks lots of water. I recommend taking her temperature every two hours or so, and when her fever breaks, then come talk to me.”

“You know I’m right here? I can take care of myself.” You protest.

Tom and Christen share a look, exchanging a silent conversation.

“Sounds good, Tom. Thank you.” The curly-haired forward smiles, and the trainer nods, making his exit.

Once the three of you are alone, Tobin starts, “(Y/N),” she brushes your hair out of your face, “Em and Mal said that you weren’t feeling too well earlier this morning. Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I didn’t think it was that bad, and I didn’t wanna make a big deal out of it or worry you guys.” You shrug, avoiding eye contact with both women. “I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, honey.” Christen reassures. “We were just extremely worried when you fainted, especially since we didn’t know what was wrong.”

“Yeah, we care about you, kid.” Tobin coos.

“I love you, guys.” You mumble tiredly.

“We love you too, (Y/N/N).” Christen softly smile, reaching for your hand. “Now, c’mon, let’s get you back to the hotel, so you can rest.”

“Can one of you carry me?” You plead, giving them your best puppy eyes.

Tobin rolls her eyes at your childish behavior. “Sure, kiddo, hop on.” She squats down, so you can climb onto her back. The three of you make your way to one of the team vans, the bus having already left, and you head back to the hotel.

—————

As you’d fallen asleep on the ride over, Tobin carries you up to your room, takes your shoes off, and tucks you into bed.

After about an hour and a half of sleeping, you wake up, feeling a little better, but still quite uncomfortable.

“Hey, how you feeling?” Christen puts her book down, noticing you’re up.

“Eh, a little better.”

“Here, let me take your temperature.” She reaches for the thermometer and approaches you. “100.6. Not as bad, but not good. You’re still burning up.” She feels your forehead. “How about I draw you a warm bath? It might help cool you down, and you still stink from training.”

You stick out your tongue at her. “Chrissss, I don’t wanna move.” You whine.

“C’mon, you big baby. I’ll get it started.” She heads into the bathroom and starts the water, ignoring your grumbling and protests.

You throw the blanket off your body and begrudgingly enter the bathroom, where Christen’s sitting on the edge of the bath full of warm water and bubbles.

“Here, I’ll turn around, so you can get in.” The older woman stands up and turns to face the door.

You strip off your clothes and toss them to the side before sinking into the bath.

“You can turn around now.” You announce to Christen, as you close your eyes, relaxing in the warm water.

“Feel good?” She asks, returning to sit on the edge of the bath.

“Mhmm.” You hum, before opening your eyes. “Where’s Tobin?”

“She went to get you some snacks, medicine, and some more water.” Christen answers, as she reaches for the shampoo. “Wet your hair for me?”

You lean back, letting your hair fall in the water while keeping your face drying. You sit back up, and Christen begins to wash your hair. As she massages your scalp, you feel your eyes droop. You hear the door open and close, and Tobin peeks her head in the door.

“Hey, (Y/N/N), you’re up? You good?”

“Mhmm.” You blissfully hum.

“I see the bath is helping.” Tobin smirks, winking at Christen. “Well, I got you some snacks and meds.” She holds up a bag.

Your eyes fly open at the mention of food. “Oooo, what kind?!” You sit up so fast that water and bubbles splash onto the brunette forward.

Christen glares at you, and you shrink back into the water. “Wash.” She points.

You dunk your entire head in the water, squeezing your eyes shut, and you scrub the soap out of your hair. Emerging from the water, you wipe the water from your face and see Tobin has joined Christen, sitting on the edge of the tub.

“So what kinda snacks did you get?” You eagerly ask.

Tobin chuckles and leans down, reaching into the bag. “I got some cheddar popcorn, Oreos, pita chips, and some banana and peanut butter.”

You grin at the thought of all your favorite snacks. But before you could reach out for one, Christen cuts in.

“Wait, (Y/N/N), you sure you up to eating something? Is your stomach feeling better? I don’t want you to throw up again.” She gives you a worried glance. You wince, as you remember the throw up incidences in the car as well as when you arrived to the hotel.

“My stomach is feeling a little better.” You assure the older woman, who’s still looking at you wearily. “How about I start with a banana?” You propose, trying to rest Christen’s qualms.

“Okay.” She nods, giving in, and Tobin breaks off a banana from the bunch, peeling it and handing it to you.

“Thanks, Tobes.” You grab it and take a bite.

After you finish half the banana, your stomach not wanting any more, and after your bath, you find yourself back in bed, sandwiched between the two forwards.

The three of you start to make some light conversation, when there’s a knock on the door.

Tobin slides off the bed and opens the door, and the rest of your teammates flood into your hotel room, climbing either on your bed or the bed across from you.

Mal, who took Tobin’s spot next to you, much to her displeasure, cuddled into your side. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Mhm.” You nod, snuggling into her body.

“Good. I was really worried.” She mumbles into your shoulder.

Your heart swells, and you grin. “Don’t worry. I’m good.”

“(Y/N), open up.” Christen interrupts, holding out the thermometer. “98.7” She reads, smiling.

“Thank goodness!” Kelley calls from the table, as she puts an Oreo in her mouth and plops at the foot of your bed. “We thought you died.” She exaggerates.

“Shut up, Kel.” You roll your eyes. “And stop eating my snacks.” You kick up your foot, trying to nudge the defender.

“No, but in all seriousness, (Y/N), we’re all really glad you’re okay.” Megan insists.

“Yeah, when you collapsed, we kinda all freaked out.” Julie adds, several of the other women nodding along.

“I think the scariest part was that we didn’t know what was wrong.” Alex says, and Christen hums in agreement.

“We want you to know that you can come to us with anything because we’re always here for you.” She softly grins down at you.

“Thanks you guys. It really does mean a lot. I’ve never really had people like you guys in my life.” You confess, smiling at your team.

“Well, you better get use to it because we’re not going anywhere!” Ashlyn exclaims, as she jumps on the bed, encouraging the other women to dog pile on you as well.

You look around you and can’t help but feel warmth spread throughout your body, and this time not from your fever but from love. You were extremely grateful that you had this team of women, especially Tobin and Christen, in your life, who’d be there for you through sickness and health.

[ssa-babygirl]

Out of my League [Part 5]

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Single mom!Reader

Word count: 4.1k

Summary: A night out with the team leaves you and Spencer with so much unsaid, despite how much he spills to you while you’re drunk and half asleep. 

Warning(s): Mentions of past addiction, alcohol consumption, some swear words, mentions of past bullying, EXTREME PINING

Author’s Note: I told yall this chapter wouldn’t take 10 years. just like... a week and a half. I promise I’ll do better lmao also enjoy the fluff cuz uh,, yall are gonna hate me next chapter oops

[Previous Part] [Series Masterlist]

Washington D.C., 2009

(Reader POV)

Rossi’s dinner party would not be the last time Spencer had to drive your drunk ass home. It happened two or three in the two years since that night. Dave meant it when he said you were one of them. Whenever they went out for drinks after a case, you would get a text from one of the girls asking if you wanted to come. Your mom living a few blocks away from you was helpful because you just needed to drop Jamie off and head over to O’Keefe’s. You very rarely went overboard because you normally had to drive home, but tonight was not one of those nights.

The team had just gotten back from a local case in Bethesda, so Emily offered to pick you up on her way back. Hotch gave them all the rest of the night off after they made the arrest, but Spencer, always the workaholic, still wanted to finish up his paperwork before going out. 

Your mom came to get Jamie and take him back to her house, so you were free to get all dressed up for a night on the town with your friends. You didn’t want to look too formal since most of them were still going to be in their work clothes, so you got out a cute green button-down blouse and tucked it into some high-waisted jeans. You put on your favorite locket and let your hair down. You went with a light makeup look, just brows, cheeks, and lashes. You were all set by the time Emily pulled up in front of your place. You strapped up your wedges and grabbed your purse, heading out the door, excited to see everyone after they’d been so busy.

“Hey! You look nice!”

“And you’re not so bad for fresh off a crime scene.”

“Should’ve seen me catch the guy, I looked amazing.”

“I’m sure you did, Em.”

Emily told you about the case, or rather just the ending. You only liked to hear her stories when they had happy endings. This one was pleasant enough, but you had a feeling that she was leaving some details out since it was apparently so bad that even Spencer would be tagging along for drinks.

When you got to the bar, Derek and Penelope were already sitting at a booth in the back with Aaron and Dave. Penelope hopped up from her seat to give you a hug as soon as you approached the table. 

“Hey, there she is,” Morgan smiled over his beer.

“Reid’s not driving tonight?” Aaron asked.

“He texted me, he’s on his way, he wanted to finish his paperwork back at the precinct.” 

“So what I’m hearing is you finally have time to tell us stories about Reid in high school,” Dave said with a smirk.

“No, come on, he’ll kill me,” you settled into the booth.

Emily snorted, “I’d be surprised if he even found it in him to be mad at you.”

“Oh, it’s happened before.” Your face scrunched up at the memory of what happened that day on the football field.

“Really?” Penelope seemed shocked.

“Yeah I’d… Rather not talk about it.” You didn’t know if Spencer had told the team about the Alexa Lisbon incident, so you didn’t want to talk about how he had been so angry with you for babying him. 

“Oh, come on, the kid was in love with you,” Derek prodded, “What’d you do?”

You elected to ignore his comment, “No, it was just stupid.” You could still talk about Kyle, though. The team knew the story of how you’d met Spencer, they just didn’t know about how upset he was when he found out you got back together with Kyle just a few months after you dumped him.

“We love hearing about the stupid things you did!” Garcia squealed.

You stared at the table and fiddled with a napkin to avoid eye contact as you said, “I dated one of his bullies.”

Dave was the first to break the silence, “But Reid said you broke up with him when you found out.”

You bit your lip and hesitated before owning up to it, “Did he tell you that Kyle is Jamie’s dad?”

Emily gasped, “No way!”

“We barely spoke outside of tutoring after that between him being scared of Kyle and basketball season. We were both busy with our teams.”

“Reid played basketball?” Aaron asked, amused.

“He was the coach.” You managed to crack a slight smile, “Budget cuts. But, hey, it was for the best, that was our best season in years.”

“Hard to believe he could focus on strategy with you cheering from the sidelines.” Derek wiggled his eyebrows and took another sip of his beer.

You were quick to change the subject, “So is JJ coming?”

Emily shook her head, “She went home after the case cuz she missed Henry.”

“Oh that boy is the sweetest little thing, I miss when Jamie was that little.”

Aaron sipped his whiskey, “How old is he again?”

“Ten. I’m old, don’t remind me, it’s fucking me up.”

“Ah! Language, bella.”

“Sorry Dave. But speaking of getting effed up, I’ll go get the next round.” You stood and took everyone’s drink orders: Dave and Aaron were sharing an expensive bottle that Dave had already paid for, Emily wanted a martini, Derek just asked for another beer, while Penelope ordered the most elaborate cocktail on the menu, but luckily it was her usual, so you had it pretty much memorized by now. 

You strolled up to the bar and gave the bartender the order, which he got right on. He started with giving you Derek’s beer, then Em’s martini, then your rum and coke, before getting to work on Penelope’s ridiculously fruity drink. An older man stalked into your field of view with a beer in his hand, grinning dumbly. 

“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”

You snorted, “Has that line ever worked?”

“Truth be told, I’ve never used it.”

“Well you don’t have a great success rate right now, bud.” You looked over the man’s shoulder and made eye contact with Penelope, who turned to Derek and gave him a heads up.

“Well let me buy you a drink, maybe it’ll work better the second time around.”

“Oh, no, thank y—”

“No, come on, what’s one drink?”

You grabbed the tray with everyone’s drinks and started to pass him, “I should really get back to my friends.”

“Hey, I won’t keep you long,” He caught you by the arm and the last thing you saw before he turned you to face him again was Penelope leaping up from her seat to let Derek through, “what are you drinking?”

“Babygirl, how long does a beer take?” Derek stepped up behind you and placed a delicate hand on the small of your back, “This guy bothering you, doll?”

The man dropped his hand from your arm, “We were just talking.”

“Really? ‘Cuz to me it seems like you were trying to put the moves on my girl.”

“Babe, it’s fine,” you caught on quickly, placing a hand on Derek’s chest to keep up the ruse of holding him back, “I’m just waiting for Pen’s drink.”

“Get the hell out of here, man.” Derek glares and the other man leaves reluctantly. “You okay?”

You nodded, “Thank you.”

“Hey, no problem, sweetheart.” He withdrew his hand from the small of your back, “Wouldn’t want Pretty Boy to get jealous.”

You felt your face heat up as your eyebrows knit together, feigning confusion.

“Oh, come on, Y/N, you can’t seriously tell me you don’t see it.”

You played dumb, “See what?”

He sips his beer, “You don’t need to be a profiler to see the way he looks at you, Y/N.”

“Oh, god, first my mother, now you too?”

“I’m serious, I’ve only seen him like this one other time.”

“When?”

“On a case a few years ago. There was this actress we were helping out, Lila Archer.”

“Lila Archer? The Lila Archer?”

“Yeah, she had a little crush on Reid for a bit. They made out once.”

“They what?”

He laughed, “What’re ya jealous?”

“No!” Maybe? “It just seems so unprofessional, I wouldn’t have pegged him for a guy who would--”

“Hook up with a movie star? Yeah, I didn’t think so either. It didn’t work out with them, obviously, he said she only felt that way about him because he saved her life.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“Ever thought about how you protecting him his whole life may have had a similar effect?”

“Showing him basic human decency didn’t make him fall in love with me, Derek.”

“No, but saving his life did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I think that’s more of a question for Pretty Boy himself.” Derek nodded his chin over your shoulder. You followed his gaze and saw Spencer coming up behind you, grinning as he neared the bar.

“Hey.”

“Hey, haircut! Lookin’ good!” Your fingers laced through his shaggy locks and messed up his new boy band-esque style.

 A faint blush spread across his cheeks as he fixed his hair, “T-Thanks.”

“When you lovebirds feel like talking to the rest of us, I’ll be at the table with the rest of the team.”

You roll your eyes and turn back to the lanky boy next to you, “Lemme buy you a drink, Spence.” 

“Oh, no thank you. I’m driving. And also did you know--”

“You can just say you don’t want it.”

“No, I do. That’s the problem.”

Your face contorted with confusion until it suddenly clicked, “Oh… Has that ever been a problem for you before?”

“Not anymore, and not alcohol, but yeah.”

“Wait, Spence, why didn’t you tell me? I-I’m not mad, it’s your choice, obviously, but I could have helped.”

“You did.”

“I did?”

“Remember that one time I was too sick to talk on our Saturday call?”

“Yeah?”

“I had just gotten back from a case in New Orleans. Remember Ethan from school?”

You nodded, holding onto every word.

“He’s in a jazz band down there now. He talked me into getting help. When you called, I was at the lowest point of withdrawals, shaking so hard I couldn’t sleep, and completely alone. I almost didn’t pick up, but I knew you wouldn’t accept that,” he laughed nervously, “and when I heard your voice…”

He trailed off, finally meeting your eyes.

“When I said I wasn’t feeling well, you said ‘I’m putting Jamie down for the night, wanna hear his bedtime story?’”

You both found yourselves smiling slightly at the memory. 

“Not once, during any book I’ve read, had I fallen asleep so easily as I did when you read me The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

He took a deep breath, almost shuddering, “It was the first time I slept without nightmares since Tobias Hankle.”

You remembered that name. He’d come up in conversations from time to time but you never heard anything about his case. He was always a touchy subject for the team, and now you knew why.

“How long ago was this?”

“Almost three years ago.” He didn’t even have to think about it.

“Spence, you could have told me. You can tell me anything.”

“Anything?” He gulped.

You reached for his hand on the bar and felt it tense under your touch. You’d think after how long you’d known him his touch aversion wouldn’t be an issue with you anymore, but apparently not. Feeling your cheeks heat up, you withdrew your hand as if you burnt your hand on a hot stove and let out an awkward scoff, turning away to look back at your friends, who tried and failed miserably at making it look like they weren’t watching you and Spencer. 

“We should…”

“Yeah… w-we should.” Spencer passed you and sat down next to Derek in the booth, leaving you in your usual spot next to Emily with your first of many drinks that night.

            3 Hours Later

(Spencer’s POV)

I helped her into my car and buckled her up after she couldn’t find the seatbelt. When I got into the driver’s seat, I glanced at her to see if she was still conscious, only to see her dopey smile directed at me.

“What?” I laughed nervously.

“Nothing,” she slurred, dragging out the ‘ing’ and turning her head towards the window.

“You okay?”

She nodded and leaned her head against the glass as I pulled out of the parking lot. She was quiet for the most part during the drive, so I assumed she was asleep, so imagine my shock when she piped up as soon as I parked in front of her place.

“Can you walk me in?” she asked as if I could say no to her.

“Of course.” I was going to regardless. I helped her out of the car and she stood on wobbly legs. She groaned and looked at her feet. 

“Hold this.” She shoved her purse into my arms and placed a hand on my shoulder and hopped up to take off one of her heels, tossing it onto her seat before repeating her actions on her other shoe. She grabbed the pair and marched up the path to her front door. I trailed close behind, just in case she stumbled, which she did. 

She fumbled for her key when she suddenly remembered that I had her purse. I dug through the pockets and fished it out, tossing it to her once I got close enough. She instantly giggled as soon as I met her eyes.

“What’s so funny now?”

“Nothing, Spence,” she failed to stifle a smile as she tried to open the door, “You have nothing to worry about.”

I stepped in beside her, “Well you’ve been awfully quiet since we left and now you’re laughing at me!”

“I’m just thinking!”

“That can’t be good,” I joked, prompting her to lightly slap my arm, “Kidding! What are you thinking about?”

“Don’t worry about it!”

“No, now I’m curious!”

“Just something stupid Derek said before you came tonight.”

“Oh jeez, now I have to know.” She climbed up the staircase and down the hallway in front of her bedroom. She twisted the knob and pushed open the door. I stepped in after her and placed her purse down on the dresser. She flopped down on the bed, shuffling under the covers, not even bothering to change out of the clothes she wore to the bar. I grinned down at her. She looked like an angel snuggled up in the sheets.

“Comfy?”

“Very.”

“Good. Call me if you need anything, Y/N,” I started to walk towards the door.

“Did you have a crush on me in high school?”

I paused.

“W-Where’d you get that from?” Nice job, genius, that doesn’t sound guilty at all.

“That’s what Derek said.” She was now sitting up in bed.

Okay, but how did he know that?

“How did this come up exactly?”

She explained how the team was trying to get her to tell them embarrassing stories about me as a kid (sidenote: not cool, guys) and my dear old friend Kyle came up. She said that Morgan brought up transference, where a person experiences something traumatic and associates their “hero” with safety and feelings of relief after being helped.

“He said one girl you helped in a case had feelings for you and the way you explained transference to Derek sounded like you were speaking from experience.”

Great. This is what I get for only having friends on the team. My best guy friend is also a profiler who can read me like a book. Awesome.

I let out a deep sigh and sat down in the chair next to her bed, “I was.”

“Speaking from experience?”

“Yeah. Because that’s where it all started for me. A pretty girl told off one of my bullies and showed me basic human decency--”

“Aw, Spence, you thought I was pretty?” She teased, eliciting a chuckle from me.

“Of course I did. Y/N, you were the head cheerleader that came to me for help with chemistry and tousled my hair and bought me McDonald’s whenever our study sessions ran late. To twelve-year-old Spencer you were this perfect, unattainable princess--”

“Princess?” She giggled and it was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard, “I like that.”

“Yep.” I laughed with her, “A princess who lived in a beautiful castle with posters on the walls and sparkly beads on the curtains and Doctor Who playing on the TV and a mom that always invited me to stay for dinner and I’m rambling again but that’s perfectly fine with you because you actually cared about what I had to say, especially when I would talk about Shakespeare because A Midsummer Night’s Dream was your favorite assigned reading and--” I stopped myself before it slipped out. 

I love you. I’ve said it a million times to her in a million different ways but I knew at that moment that if I said the actual words that I wouldn’t be able to take them back, not that I would ever want to, I just want her to be present when I told her the first time. If I said it now it would be the first time she’d hear it from me and she wouldn’t even remember it when she woke up.

“And what?” She still smiled at me so brightly that the dimly lit room was lit up by the gleam in her eyes.

I smiled back, “You’re my best friend.”

Her grin somehow grew wider, her eyes scrunching up, but the sparkle was still there, “You’re my best friend too.”

If I hadn’t already decided against it, I would have said it then. I would have repeated those words over and over again until the words lost all meaning, only they never would because they felt like they meant the world to me. But I wouldn’t let myself start. Instead, I just looked at her like she was the moon and stars and all the space in between and said, “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Spence, wait,” she murmured, further burying herself in her covers.

“What now?” I whined, the smile still present on my face.

“I think you’re pretty too.” 

It had never been harder for me to resist the urge to kiss her than in that moment. Every fiber of my being screamed to sit back down, lean over her pillow, take her face in my hands, and crash my lips to hers. And for a split second, I thought I would. I almost did. I almost gave myself everything I had ever wanted for sixteen years, four months, and eleven days, but I couldn’t.

“And I think you’re drunk.”

“Spencer Reid!” She squealed, “Just cuz I’m drunk does not mean that you aren’t pretty!”

“Oh really?”

“Yep! ‘Cuz guess what, genius?”

“What?”

“I think you’re pretty when I’m sober, too.”

If I didn’t know any better I’d say she was trying to drive me insane. And you know what?

It was working.

While I was lost in my thoughts, no doubt staring at her, she let out a tiny yawn and snuggled deeper into her pillow. A piece of hair fell in front of her eyes, hooded yet still shining. I brushed the hair out of her face and told her to get some rest.

“Good idea. I’m sleepy,” she dragged out the e and yawned again, “Goodnight, Pretty Boy.”

“Goodnight, princess.” I chuckled softly. My fingers still lingered just behind her ear, so I stroked her hair once more and pressed a small kiss to her forehead once I was sure she was asleep. Her cheeks twitched in a barely conscious smile, making me grateful for my eidetic memory again. I went to the kitchen and took a glass from the cabinet, filling it up in the sink and placing it on the nightstand with some aspirin.

I took a sheet of some stationery and scrawled out a note for her in the morning:

Make sure you stay hydrated. There’s more aspirin in your cabinet but wait a few hours to take it. Call me if you need anything. -S.R.

            The Next Morning

(Reader’s POV)

The coffee machine made too much noise. Your head was pounding despite the fact you took an aspirin a few minutes ago. Now you played the waiting game, hoping it would kick in soon. When the pot was finally done, you poured yourself a cup, hoping it would help wake you up. You normally wouldn’t drink coffee this late, but you needed it. Just as you took your first sip, your mom came through the front door with Jamie in tow carrying his pajamas in a shopping bag. He said good morning to you and ran upstairs to his room.

“Did you just wake up?” 

“Yes.”

“Y/N, it’s almost noon.” You could hear the judgment in her voice.

You took a sip of coffee, “It’s 11:05.”

“I take it you had fun at O’Keefe’s last night?”

“Yeah,” you grumbled, rubbing your eyes.

“How’d you get home?”

“Spence drove me.”

Her eyes widened, excited. She lowered her voice to ask, “Is he still here?”

“Mom!” You whisper-yelled.

“I was just checking!”

“No, he’s not, he dropped me off and went home.” You decided to leave out the whole “putting you to bed” part.

“How’s your hangover?”

“Better with aspirin.”

“Have you been drinking water?”

“A little,” you lied.

“No more coffee until you finish a glass.” She took your mug and dumped its contents down the drain.

“Wh—” You start, “Mom, I’m not a kid.”

“Just drink your damn water.”

“Jesus,” you groan, still making your way to the stairs and heading up to your room, where your water had been put on your nightstand the night before. Under the glass was a note that you didn’t notice when you first woke up. You recognized the chicken scratch handwriting immediately: Spencer.

“Make sure you stay hydrated. There’s more aspirin in your cabinet but wait a few hours to take it. Call me if you need anything. -S.R.”

You smiled as you read the words over and over. You put the note down and took a sip from the glass. You reached over to your phone on the nightstand and dialed his number. It rang twice before Spencer’s voice crackled over the speaker, “Hey, how’re you feeling?”

“Better, thank you.”

“Of course. Did you drink the water I gave you last night?”

“Some of it.”

“Good, did you eat?”

“No.”

“I’m going on my lunch break in a bit, wanna meet up?”

Your heart fluttered at the offer, a small grin tugging at your lips. You nodded, unable to find words enthusiastic enough to express how much you’d like that, before settling on “Yeah! Sounds good!”

“Perfect! There’s a new thai place downtown I’ve been meaning to check out, how about there?”

“Sure! I’ll meet you at Quantico?”

“See you then!”

“Bye,” you all but sighed into the receiver before snapping out of it. You always tried to keep that part of you beneath the surface, but it wasn’t as easy as it used to be. You didn’t remember much from last night, but you did remember calling him pretty boy and making him blush. You remember him tucking you in and calling you princess and brushing your hair out of your eyes. You remembered how your chest swelled with light as he pressed his lips to your forehead, and the soft chuckle he let out seeing you smile against your pillow. 

You hopped in the shower and got dressed, fixing yourself just enough to pass for a functioning adult who did not get sloppy drunk in front of her best friend’s coworkers last night. You told your mom you were going out for lunch, and she happily agreed to babysit for a few hours while you were with Spencer. 

“Have fun on your date!”

“Not a date!” You almost couldn’t tell who you were talking to, her or you.

You got to Quantico about a half-hour later and were met by Dave in the bullpen.

“Oh, look who’s joined the land of the living!”

“Oh, come on, I wasn’t that bad last night. I could have been Penelope.”

“That is true, bella, but it was still a Thursday,” Dave chuckled, “The kid’s in Aaron’s office, he’ll be out in a sec.”

“Thank you,” you said and walked over to Spencer’s desk, sitting down in his chair and making small talk with Emily while you waited. A few minutes later, you saw him walk out of the office, eyes immediately landing on you.

Taglist~~~

Lmk if you wanna be added! Some names didn’t work so if you don’t see your name as a tag just dm me a url and I’ll try to fix it

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[davidpastrsnack]

three times brady stayed quiet, one time he didn’t - brady tkachuk

a/n: i have such a soft spot for brady and this is the result. some really soft friends to lovers, but i also left the possibility for a smuttier part 2 if you guys are interested. i hope you enjoy (especially my fellow brady girls) and please let me know what you think!

word count: 5618

one 

After just barely getting through your final assignments of the last grueling week of school, it was finally time for the best part of the year: summer with the Tkachuks. Your dad grew up with Keith outside of Boston, the two maintaining a close relationship despite the distance that kept them apart for so long. For as long as you could remember, you and your siblings had spent the majority of the summer months with them, either on the lakes of Missouri or the oceans of Cape Cod. 

The busy hum of voices and speakers was all you heard, your tired body dragging through the airport, iced coffee in hand hoping it would give you even just another ounce of energy. You finally reached your gate, sitting down on the cool leather seat to wait for your boarding call. 

Your siblings were already in St. Louis, having finished school before you, and you were the last one to arrive before the commencing weekend of the summer. You knew you were in for a wild ride if the Snapchat stories of your older brother and Matthew getting up to no good were any indication.  

Just as you adjusted your headphones and felt your eyelids flutter shut, your phone buzzed, pulling you from your daze. 

Brady: I got held up here for another day, but should be there tomorrow

Brady: Don’t miss me too much 

You rolled your eyes at the screen, laughing as you saw his words and your brain automatically translated them into his voice. You considered all of the Tkachuks to be like family,  but Brady was different, he always had been. Since day one he was constantly looking out for you, even more so than Matthew and your brother. He always had an eye on you, that eye becoming more and more threatening to everyone else as he grew into his now 6’4”, 200lbs frame. 

Don’t worry, I’ll have Matthew to keep me company :)

You smiled as you typed out your response, throwing back exactly what he had dished out. You couldn’t deny that your relationship had become more flirtatious over the recent years, but you always assumed it was just the teasing nature of the Tkachuk household. If he was going to chirp you, you were going to chirp right back. But the banter had always flowed seamlessly, both of you knowing the other so well. You weren’t always clear on the motivation behind some of his comments, but it didn’t hurt to have a little fun with him. 

You finally boarded the plane, your flight not taking long before you were stepping out in the thick Missouri air. To say you were exhausted was an understatement, your eyes barely staying open as you searched for the black Audi you knew would be arriving any minutes. Just a few moments later you saw the luxury sedan turn the corner, a brown mop of curls sitting behind the wheel. 

“There she is,” Matthew yelled, pulling you in for a hug after stepping out of the front seat. 

“Hi Matthew,” you hummed, “Thanks for getting me.”

“Of course, Y/N, anything for my future sister-in-law,” he teased, that cocky smirk on full display while he grabbed your suitcase. 

You didn’t even acknowledge his comment, moving right along to get in the car and ask him how his season was. You were far from a stranger to his jokes, but you were not in the mood today and he seemed to pick up on it. So he gave it up for the ride, instead catching up on how you were doing otherwise since he had last seen you. All jokes aside, Matthew truly cared for you like family, especially considering he was dead serious about you eventually being his sister-in-law. 

After stopping for food on the way, you finally arrived at the house, Matthew pulling into the lit driveway as you took off your seatbelt. Chantal was waiting by the front door, immediately giving you a tight hug when you walked in. She was basically your second mother, always taking care of you as if you were one of her own. 

“Y/N! How are you, sweetie?” she exclaimed, urging you to follow her into the kitchen. 

“I’m good,” you responded while sitting down at the counter next to Matthew. 

“She’s exhausted mom,” Matthew deadpanned before you could continue. 

You rolled your eyes at his words, a smile growing on your lips as you quickly fell back into the comfort of this home. 

“I’m okay, really,” you assured Chantal. 

“Oh honey, come on,” she grabbed your backpack and gestured for you to follow her upstairs. “All of the guestrooms are full right now with Matthew’s friends but they’re leaving tonight. Just go ahead into Brady’s room, I’m sure he told you he’s still in Ottawa until tomorrow.”

You nodded, “Yeah, he did.”

She led you down the hall, as if you didn’t know exactly where you were going, and opened the door to his room. The same hockey memorabilia was scattered across the walls and the closet was slightly open, the clothes he left here during the season poking out. 

“Just relax in here, sweetie. The sheets are clean and there are towels in the bathroom. I’ll check in with you in a little bit, okay?”

“Thank you so much,” you smiled, pulling her in for another hug before she headed back downstairs.  

No matter how much time you had spent in this room, something about being in there without Brady felt wrong. But the exhaustion of the travel day and the past week didn’t let you think about it too much, instead telling you to go take a shower and change into fresh clothes. You didn’t mean for it to happen, but the second you laid across the bed you were down for the count. 

-----

When Brady opened his door after arriving home the next morning, his jaw nearly hit the floor. Chantal told him that you were in there, but there was no preparing himself for the sight in front of him. You were still fast asleep, but the covers were mostly thrown off your body. He smiled to himself as he remembered that you always get too hot while you sleep. The oversized t-shirt you were wearing was bunched at your waist, your tiny sleep shorts riding up your hips giving him the perfect view of your ass. Your head was nuzzled into his pillow, your hands resting in front of you as if you should be holding someone and your lips pouted as you slept. He had seen you asleep countless times before, but something about you being in his bed waiting for him like this was taking his breath away today. He thought about what it would be like if things were different. He could slide under the covers behind you, slip his rough hands around the soft skin of your waist, kiss your collarbone and neck as you giggled in his grasp, moving one of his hands lower and lower until-

“Fuck,” he mumbled, losing grip of his phone as he was distracted by his awe of you, the metal slipping out of his hand and falling against the hardwood floor. He scrambled to grab it without dropping his bags or waking you up. But it was too late, your sleeping frame stirred at the sudden noise, lifting your head to see what it was. 

“Brady?” you questioned, your voice laced with sleep and your eyes squinting as they adjusted to the morning light pouring through the windows. 

“Yeah, it’s me. Sorry I just- mom told me you were in here,” he spoke, afraid it looked like he had just been staring at you, which of course he had been. 

“Don’t be sorry Brades, it’s your room,” you laughed as you sat up, adjusting your shirt when you realized how exposed you were. 

He laughed too, trying to shake off whatever awkwardness had infected him this morning and not let his eyes trail down your frame. 

“Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come give me a hug?” you grinned. 

Brady shook his head smiling as he made his way towards you, sitting on the edge of the mattress and pulling you in. His body relaxed as you wrapped yourself around him, your touch and scent overwhelming his senses. 

You could feel the tension leaving his shoulders as your hands traced the curls at the base of his neck, “You okay?” you whispered. 

He pulled back at your words, piercing blue eyes meeting yours. “I’m fine,” he paused, wondering if he should come clean about everything right now. But he decided it wasn’t worth freaking you out on day one of the summer, “I just missed you, that’s all.”

A soft smile crept on your lips, hearing him say that he missed you as much as you missed him warming your heart. 

“Come on, I’m hungry,” you said as you grabbed his hand, a playful scoff leaving his mouth as he trailed behind you towards the stairs, the energy between the two of you starting to return to normal. 

two

After everyone had finally arrived and settled in, it was time for the first house party of the season. The mere thought of this moment had given you the motivation to finish your exams, so it went without saying that you could not be more excited. Keith and Chantal were out of town for the weekend, putting Matthew in charge of making sure everyone stayed safe. You were finishing getting ready in one of the guest rooms, which you had almost moved into for the summer after the one night in Brady’s. You went for a simple outfit, a white top with jeans and sneakers before heading downstairs to join the growing crowd. 

You were surrounded by faces as soon as you made your way down, some familiar and some not. Your eyes scanned the room for your friends, knowing your close friend Emily had already arrived. You finally found her standing in one of the corners and you turned to go meet them. 

“Long time no see,” you beamed when you arrived at their circle, the girls jumping to hug you as they saw you for the first time since last August. It was great to catch up with everyone, but you quickly realized that you forgot to get a drink. 

“Em, I’m gonna go grab a drink,” you spoke to which she nodded. 

“I’ll come with,” she urged, reaching for your hand as you both walked towards the kitchen. 

“So you look hot tonight,” she grinned, speaking in your ear so you could hear over the music. “I bet he finally makes his move later.”

“Who?” you challenged, but she didn’t need to say another word for you to know who she was talking about. 

“Y/N, please just save it,” Emily rolled her eyes, “Look, he’s already drooling over you,” she gestured towards where Brady was sitting around a table with Matthew and some of their old friends from hockey. She was right, he was looking right at you, waving when you made eye contact. You gave a small wave back before quickly turning your body away from him to face Emily. 

“He always watches me at parties,” you reasoned. 

“Yeah, because he’s in love with you,” she scoffed, pouring two drinks into red solo cups. 

“Because he’s a good guy, Emily,” you rebutted before taking a far too large sip of whatever she made. 

Meanwhile, across the room, Brady was facing the same kind of comments from his friends. As soon as he saw you cross the room with Emily he couldn’t peel his eyes away. You were practically glowing, your smile wide as the stress from the school year finally seemed to disappear from your mind. 

“Really Tkachuk?” he heard from next to him, his head snapping away from you to look at the voice. 

“What?” he questioned, his challenge laced with attitude. 

“Y/N? Still?” his friend Jack responded. 

Brady just shook his head in annoyance. He didn’t have the energy for this conversation tonight. 

“As long as the sky is blue, Brady will be falling at the feet of Y/N,” Matthew chimed in, a smirk gracing his lips as he hid behind his solo cup. 

Brady maintained his silence, hoping they would get bored and move on, but not so fast. 

“So you aren’t hitting it?”

He thought he was mad before, but nothing compared to the pure anger Brady felt at this comment. It was Nick, a kid he had never liked through all the years they played together in St. Louis. He was fuming, Matthew swore he could see smoke coming out of his ears as he waited for his brother's response, getting ready to step in if necessary. 

“Are you fucking kidding me, Nick?” Brady started, turning his body towards him and sitting up straight. “Am I hitting it? You’re talking about my childhood best friend, show some fucking respect.”

Nick looked stunned, his eyes wide as Brady glared at him. “Dude, I-,”

“Don’t,” he interrupted, moving to stand up so he towered over him. “You wanna know why no girl will ever come within ten feet of you? It’s because of shit like this, Nick. You’re a complete asshole and you don’t deserve a thing from any woman,” he scolded. 

By this point, Brady had drawn the attention of many, nearly all of the guests staring at the commotion, including you. 

Your face dropped as you saw him yelling, concern written all over your face as your brows furrowed in his direction. He finally seemed to calm down, his eyes looking defeated as they locked with yours. With one more look at Nick, he shook his head in disgust before walking towards the back of the house, the door slamming shut behind him. 

The room was nearly silent, everyone looking at each other to see if they knew what just happened. 

“Everything’s fine guys,” Matthew urged, the party resuming at his words. Your eyes met his and before you could even make it over to ask what that was he was gesturing towards the door for you to follow Brady. 

You nodded, discarding your drink on the counter and rushing to him. You slowly opened the backdoor, searching for his blond curls. You quickly found him alone on the patio, sitting on the outdoor couch with his head thrown back against the cushion, and his eyes closed. 

“Brady?” you whispered.

His eyes shot open at your voice, “Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath. Even though he knew it was impossible, part of him was hoping you didn’t see that. 

You didn’t say anything but rather moved towards him, stepping over his legs so you could sit next to him. He stayed silent, just swinging his arm around your shoulders and tugging you into his frame. You sighed as your head rested against his chest, waiting for him to talk when he was ready. 

After almost ten minutes, Brady finally spoke, “Nick is an asshole,” he muttered. 

You couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at his words, lifting your head to look at him, but he was still staring straight ahead. He didn’t know if he could keep it together if his eyes met yours. 

“Brady,” you muttered, “What happened?”

“He just said something I didn’t like.”

“Come on, Brades,” you pleaded, hoping he would finally give in and tell you what happened. 

But instead, he shook his head, “I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” he snapped, instantly regretting his reaction when he felt your body flinch at his tone. He sighed, letting out a breath it felt like he had been holding for hours, “I’m sorry, Y/N. I just-”

“It’s okay,” you whispered. You had no idea what was going on with him, but regardless, it was clear that he needed you. You laid your head back down on his shoulder, smiling to yourself as you felt him press a kiss to the top of your hair. 

three 

It had felt like forever since you had been on a proper date, the college lifestyle not always being conducive to it. But now here you were, getting ready to go out to dinner with the guy next door, Tommy. The two of you had been friendly for years, getting to know him more and more with each summer you spent with the Tkachuks. You definitely were surprised when he asked you out, but you didn’t see the harm in taking him up on his offer. 

And to be completely honest, part of you was getting frustrated at your situation with Brady. It was a cycle that started over each summer. You entered June denying that there was even a hint of anything more than friendship, but by July you were sucked right back under his spell, until August came and you were ripped apart from each other yet again. Clearly nothing was different about this year, so it was time you tried to move on and enjoy your summer in, well, other ways. 

You slipped into a dress, casual but still cute, and tied your white sneakers. You walked over to your window to see both Matthew and Brady’s cars sitting in the driveway. Great, you thought. This would be much more painless if they weren’t home, but of course, the world was not on your side. You did one last hair and makeup check before grabbing your bag and heading down the stairs, feigning total confidence as you grew closer to the boys. 

They were laying across the couch playing video games, both of their eyes darting straight to you as you tried to sneak out the front door. 

“It’s rude not to say goodbye,” you heard Matthew yell from behind you. 

“Fuck,” you silently mouthed, turning to move into the living room where they sat. 

“Sorry, I didn’t see you guys there!” you lied through your teeth. 

Matthew’s face scrunched up at your excuse, knowing there was no possible way you didn’t see them. 

“Where are you going?” Brady asked, his voice much softer than his brothers, almost like he knew what he was about to hear. 

“Um, I’m going to dinner with Tommy,” you said, trailing off at the end as the awkwardness set in the room. 

No matter how much you tried to deny it, you saw the way Brady’s face fell at your words. The guilt suddenly hit you like a truck, but then again it wasn’t like he was doing anything to change the status of your relationship. 

“Tommy?” Matthew questioned, his brows furrowed in confusion. 

“Yeah,” you stalled, “I don’t know, he asked me and I said yes.”

“Interesting,” he muttered, looking at his younger brother who was pretending to be enthralled in the game. 

“Alright well, I’ll see you guys later,” you said, standing as you waited for Brady’s response, but it never came. 

Matthew sensed the obvious tension, doing whatever he could to break it, “Have fun Y/N, but not too much,” he teased. 

You rolled your eyes, finally moving to open the door, not at all minding that it slammed behind you. 

As soon as you were out the door, Matthew pulled the controller out of Brady’s hand. He couldn’t watch this anymore. 

“What the fuck, Matt?” he shouted, his emotions high after watching you leave. 

“No, I should be asking you that,” he threw back. “What the fuck are you two doing?”

Brady sighed, running his hands over his face before holding his heavy head in his palms. He didn’t know what he was doing. For so many years he was terrified of telling you how he felt. If you didn’t reciprocate his feelings, he didn’t know if your friendship could ever recover and he was not taking that risk. But this year it was all too much, you were perfect for each other and everyone around you knew it too. How could he blame you for trying to find someone else when he couldn’t even muster up the courage to tell you the truth?

“I don’t know, Matt,” he started, his words muffled by his hands, tears prickling the back of his eyes. 

Despite teasing him about you for so long, Matthew’s heart broke as he saw his brother in so much distress over this. 

“Just tell her. I promise you it will work out,” he encouraged, placing a comforting hand on Brady’s shoulder. “Anyone with eyes can tell that you two are made for each other. It’s gross, actually.”

Brady let out a laugh at Matthew’s chirp, finally picking his head up, “But now I have Tommy to worry about.”

Matthew scoffed, laughing as he spoke, “Yeah, because Y/N really seems like the type to throw away her entire relationship with you over one date with Tommy, of all people.”

-----

Your night was going well, but you just couldn’t shake the look on Brady’s face from your mind; he was hurt. 

Tommy was sweet, making you laugh throughout dinner, but you knew you had no intention of seeing him, like this, again. After leaving the restaurant, he suggested you got ice cream and walked around the city, to which you agreed. You felt bad for leading him on, but part of you was dreading arriving back to the house. You were sitting on a bench taking in the view of the city and talking about plans for the year when you felt him shift his body closer to yours. His intentions were clear, and your heart dropped at the realization that you were going to have to let him down much earlier than anticipated. 

Just as you were trying to find the right words to tell him, he placed his hand high on your thigh and he leaned in to kiss you. You immediately flinched, pulling your face far away from his.

“Tommy, I- I’m sorry,” you whispered. 

A dark chuckle came out of his mouth and you could feel the energy change, the air growing thick with tension. 

“Seriously?”

His much larger frame than yours suddenly became quite intimidating as he leaned over you, clearly not taking the rejection well. 

“I’m sorry,” you continued, “I just don’t think this is going to happen.”

“Unbelievable,” he shook his head at you, your body pushing back into the bench in an attempt to get as far away from him as possible. “This is about Tkachuk, isn’t it? I should have known you would only be interested in the fame and money,” he mumbled with another laugh. 

His words slapped you across the face, your eyes burning as you felt the tears try to push their way out. In all the years you had known him, you never had the slightest idea that Tommy had such a cruel side to him. 

“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” you rebutted, “Get away from me, Tommy.”

“No problem, darling,” he smiled, standing up and walking away, leaving you stranded on the street downtown. 

Your head fell into your hands, the cold evening breeze riding under your dress. Your mind instantly started listing all the reasons why this was your fault, but deep down you knew it wasn’t. After sitting there in defeat for a few moments, you finally pulled out your phone, dialing the only number that ever mattered. 

It seemed like hours later when you finally saw the black SUV pull up on the street in front of you. Before you could even stand up, Brady was running out of the car towards you. Your emotions got the best of you once he was by your side, your body collapsing into his as the tears fell. 

“What the hell did he do?” he questioned while rocking you back and forth in his arms. 

You couldn’t find the words to answer. 

“Y/N, you’re freezing,” he spoke as he felt your cool skin against his, “Come on,” he urged, grasping your hand to guide you to the car. 

Once you were inside the warm car, he reached into the back seat to find a sweatshirt, handing you the soft material. 

“Thank you,” you whisper, scared your voice would betray you as you slipped the fabric over your head, the scent of his cologne comforting you right away. 

“I’m gonna kill him,” Brady hissed, his knuckles white as he gripped the steering wheel. 

“No, you’re not Brady,” you warned, “I had a good night until I didn’t. We just had different ideas of how it was going to end,” you scoffed, a sarcastic laugh slipping through your lips. 

Brady shook his head, pausing to glance over at you while he was stopped at a light. You were resting against the cool glass, his sweatshirt pooling around your hips, the fabric of your dress peeking from beneath it. The light finally turned, your face now illuminated in green and he only had one thought. 

He would never treat you like that. 

plus one

Despite his conversation with Matthew, Brady still had yet to say anything to you. You assured him time after time that you were okay after Tommy, but he didn’t want his confession to seem reactionary. You deserved more than that. 

The plan tonight was for everyone to go out to one of the hotspots in town, but you weren’t feeling it. Everything that happened the night before had you even more consumed with your thoughts about Brady, and you needed a night of just nothing. The voices from downstairs carried while the boys were getting ready to leave, their laughter making you smile as you walked into the kitchen. They were so wound up all year long and it was refreshing to see them truly relaxing. 

You drew their attention right away as you entered the room, their brows furrowed in confusion as they took in the sweats you were wearing. 

“Y/N!” one of them howled, “We’re going soon, hurry up!”

You laughed as you turned to face him, the voice belonging to Jack. 

“I’m not going Jack,” you explained, opening the fridge to look for something to satisfy your late-night craving. 

“But you have to come, you’re so fun,” he whined. 

“I promise I won’t be that fun tonight. Just go enjoy yourselves, I’ll be here waiting to make sure you all get back in the house alive,” you jested. 

“I’ll stay,” you heard from behind you. You didn’t even have to look to know who it was. 

You finally rotated your body, meeting his gaze right away. He looked good. His black jeans hugged his thighs perfect, the matching black t-shirt fitting around his biceps like a glove. He towered over your, those bright blue eyes piercing into yours. He was close enough for you to take in his cologne, the scent immediately clouding your senses. 

“I’m fine, Brady,” you reasoned, shaking yourself out of your daze, “Seriously, go.”

He didn’t speak right away, instead he gave you a knowing look. You gave him the same look right back, challenging him to go against you. 

“Matt,” he called, not breaking eye contact, “I’m gonna stay.”

You rolled your eyes at his stubbornness but you were just thankful that you had a reason to look away, praying that the heat you were feeling hadn’t made its way onto your cheeks. 

“Alright,” Matthew responded, not even bothering to question the two of you at this point. 

The boys flooded the front door, all yelling goodbye before they piled into the Ubers waiting outside. A heavy silence fell over the house, your body leaning against the kitchen counter as you waited for Brady to say something. 

“I’m just gonna change,” he spoke, gesturing to the staircase. “Put a movie on, yeah?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, your voice barely above a whisper. 

Just a few minutes later he returned, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt. You were laying across the couch, the movie already playing as he sat down next to you. 

“Cold?” he asked, already knowing that you were by the way you wrapped your arms around your middle. 

“A little,” you mumbled, smiling as he covered the two of you in a blanket, squeezing your frame as he pulled it closer to his own. 

You stayed like that for a while, your body resting nearly completely on top of his, your leg swung over his lap and your head nuzzled into his chest. Any tension that was there before seemed to have disappeared, both of you returning to your normal states. 

But just seconds later, the screen flashed to a bedroom, the two main characters in the middle of what could be referred to only as a passionate, graphic sex scene. You immediately felt Brady tense beneath you, your cheeks flushing bright red at his response. It took everything within you not to react in any other way, but it felt like your entire body was on fire, begging to be touched. The sounds of the woman’s moans echoed off the walls, her face contorting in pleasure as the man continued. There was no denying that the image triggered a throbbing pressure between your legs, your brain fighting your body’s instinct to grind against his thigh. 

Brady’s stomach dropped when he processed what was happening, the woman undressing on the screen making his mind wander to doing the same thing with you. He wanted to touch you like that, he wanted to make you scream his name like that, make you fall apart like that because no one knew you as well as he did. But his imagination was far too vivid, and he internally cursed himself as he felt his pants become tighter and tighter. 

This has to be the longest sex scene in the history of all film, you thought to yourself as it continued, seemingly never-ending. Your hand was growing sore from its position under your head, so you gently shifted your body in hopes of getting more comfortable, but what you got was something else entirely. 

Your breath hitched when you felt it, unable to disguise your reaction. You were situated over his lap, your lower thigh brushing against his crotch and you could feel just how hard he had become beneath you. You froze, not knowing what to do or say, if anything at all. 

“Y/N,” he whispered, preparing to apologize, afraid he had made you so uncomfortable that he couldn’t recover. 

You knew he was beyond embarrassed, but something inside you had been ignited and you couldn’t ignore it any longer. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you swung your hips over his, moving to straddle him while you grabbed his face, pulling it to yours. He tensed again in pure shock, but it didn’t take long for him to relax against you, his hands circling your waist as he pushed you back down into his lap. Your lips moved together in perfect synchrony, a small whimper slipping out from your mouth as he bit your bottom lip between his teeth. He groaned into you at the sound, his hands sliding lower so he could grind you into his length, in desperate need of hearing you more. You had one hand tugging at the nape of his neck, the blond curls feeling like silk between your fingers, while the other slipped underneath his shirt, running your cool fingertips across his flexing abs. 

You were both so lost in the moment, ready to rip each other's clothes off at any second when Brady finally pulled back. 

“Wait,” he gasped, running his large hands across your thighs as he gathered his thoughts. 

Your breathing was labored, trying to catch your breath as you took in the sight below you. His lips were pink and swollen, his cheeks had a bright red tinge, and his blues eyes were staring at you in awe. 

“What?” you questioned, insecurity suddenly flooding your mind, your body separating from his as you leaned away. 

“No no no,” he cooed, urging you to come back close to him. You obliged, your eyes scanning his face in hopes of deciphering what he was thinking. 

“I just- if we’re going to do this,” he gestured between your bodies, “We have to do... this,” he whispered as he looked up at you, what he meant perfectly clear to you. “I want you, but I want all of you.” 

You smiled at his words, the anxiety washing off his face as he saw your reaction. 

“Brady, I have wanted this for longer than I can even remember,” you beamed, your hands cupping his cheeks, thumbing running over the soft skin. “I want all of you, too.”

“Yeah?” he grinned.

“Yeah,” you laughed. 

He pulled you back down to meet his lips, your teeth clashing as you both smiled into the kiss. 

“Well then,” he smirked, “If you don’t mind, I’m taking you upstairs.”

He wrapped his palms around your thighs, holding you as he stood up. You shrieked at the sudden movement, laughing as your legs circled his waist. He held you impossibly close to his body, terrified to let you go now that he had you.

“Please, Brady,” you whined against his skin, “Take me upstairs.” 

“Fuck,” he breathed out. 

That was all he needed to hear to rush up to his room, more than ready to show you exactly how much he had loved you since day one. 

part two here

[morceid]

Peppermint Plucks

SPENCER REID X MALE READER

read on ao3

Summary: When Spencer Reid starts to feel more lonely than usual, Penelope suggests he picks up guitar. Unexpectedly, he finds himself with a crush on his teacher.

Category: fluff

Warnings: implied sexual content

Word Count:1720

A/N: requested by @riley-killjoy​ ! thanks for the request :)

Garcia noticed first. Spencer had been more absent minded at work recently. He barely finished half of his case files before lunch anymore. Giving his troubling past, it was cause for worry. So she was going to do something about it. After most everyone left the office for lunch she walked into the bullpen and sat on his desk.

“Hey, boy genius, what’s got you slacking recently?”

“What are you, Hotch?” He retorted.

“Come on, I’m being serious! It’s lunch and you’ve only finished a third of your paperwork. What’s going on in there?” She ruffled his curls and pushed them out of his eyes.

“I don’t really know. I’ve just been feeling kind of lonely recently.” Spencer shrugged.

“What are you talking about? Emily brings you coffee once a week, Derek gets you food from that Thai place you love when you're working late, and we invite you out for drinks every Friday. You’ve got people that care about you, babes.” Penelope rubbed his knee as she spoke.

“I know. I guess I just want something more? I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wish there was someone with me all the time. Someone to wake up to. Someone to go to sleep with. Just.. something.” Spencer fidgeted with the pen in his hands and looked at his feet.

“Aw, Spencer, you don’t need someone.”

“But I want someone.” He looked Penelope in the eyes almost urgently.

“Hey, since you spend so much time alone, why don’t you use your time to learn something?”

“Not sure how that would help seeing as I think I’ve learned just about everything, but go on.”

“You remember my ex Sam?” Spencer nodded. “Well, we got together because I started taking uke lessons after I got dumped. He was my uke teacher. He doesn’t teach anymore, but when I took lessons from him I used all of the time I could’ve for crying and I used it to play. Why don’t you give it a try?”

“Fine. I’m not playing ukulele though. Totally not my style.” 

“Totally not your style. Got it. Your first lesson on whatever string instrument you please is on Friday.” She got up from the desk and walked towards the elevators.

“Hey, Pen?”

“Yes, sugar cakes?”

“What’s the name of your current teacher?”

“Y/N!” She called as the doors of the elevator closed.

“Y/N..” Spencer repeated to himself.

On Friday Spencer showed up to Penelope’s apartment at 5:30, 30 minutes before Y/N would get there. As Penelope tuned her ukulele Spencer rambled about the history of string instruments and their improvement through the years. He jumped when there was a knock at the door.

Penelope opened the door and Spencer thought he was dreaming. Y/N seemed to be glowing before him. His smile was soft and kind. 

“Penelope! Good to see you again. I see you have a friend today.” Y/N said as he hugged Garcia.

“Yes! Y/N, this is Spencer. Spencer, this is Y/N.”

Y/N reached his hand out.

“Oh, he doesn’t-”

“Hi! It’s good to meet you.” Spencer took Y/N’s hand in both of his and shook gently, surprising Penelope.

“You too. Penny told me you’re looking for something other than a uke, so I got some other instruments in my car, but here’s a guitar for now. Pen, why don’t you start showing him some chords as I get the other instruments?” He slipped the guitar case off of his back and gave it to Penelope.

They sat on the couch together and Penelope showed Spencer the chords and how to play them.

“So, what do you think?” Penelope asked.

“About what?” Spencer wondered if Penelope could sense his nervousness that easily. He didn’t normally believe in true love at first sight, but holy hell did Y/N make him. When he shook his hand warmth spread through Spencer’s body and he swore that you could see his eyes turn to hearts. God, he hoped it wasn’t just him being lonely that caused him to think like this.

“About the guitar, silly. What else would I be asking?” Penelope chuckled.

“Yeah, of course, uh, the chords are really easy. Did playing come to you this fast too?” Spencer quickly changed between hand positions and mouthed the letter of each note.

“Definitely not! It took weeks to teach Penelope just two chords.” Y/N laughed as he brought in a violin and cello, each held in cases on his shoulders. The sound of his voice caught Spencer’s attention. He loved how he articulated his words. “Why don’t you try strumming on that?” He threw Spencer a pick.

Spencer gave an experimental flick on the first string before going across all of them. The sound came out strong. Penelope looked shocked as a perfect E flat tone rang through her apartment.

“Whoa! You’re really good. You sure you’ve never played a guitar?” Y/N asked.

“Well, my roommate in college played pretty often but I never learned from him. Always stayed up late because of his playing though.” Spencer said.

“Makes sense.” Y/N sat on the couch next to Spencer. “He ever let you try?”

“Nope. I guess I just memorized what chords he played for fun.” Spencer nervously smiled.

“So, you gonna go with the guitar?” Penelope asked.

“Yeah. It’s familiar. Easy to learn.” Spencer strummed again.

“Okay, well I’ll go practice in my room so I’m not disturbing you.” She got up and ran to her bedroom.

Y/N went over the correct way to strum in order to produce the correct sounds and Spencer got a hold of it fairly quickly. Over the next few weeks Spencer would go to Penelope’s apartment at 5:30 every Friday. Soon enough he began to learn his own song. Lessons would be an hour with Spencer and then an hour with Penelope.

One Friday Y/N stood behind Spencer and guided his hands to the strings. Spencer lightly gasped and tried to seem at ease as Y/N’s fingers touched his own. He smelled like peppermint and sweet candies to him.

“I think we’re alone now.” He whispered.

“What?” Spencer turned his head to look at Y/N in confusion.

“Uh, the name of the song. It’s uh- It’s by Tiffany Darwish.” He took his hands off of Spencer’s and leaned down to shuffle through his sheet music.

“Oh. Okay.”

The next Friday Y/N suggested they go on a little field trip to a guitar shop. It was time that Spencer got his own guitar instead of always using Y/N’s. They found one that fit comfortable in his arms and with the permission of the owner had his lesson in the store. Seeing as they all went in the same car, Y/N would drop off Spencer and then he would go to Penelope’s and they would have a lesson.

Y/N walked into Spencer’s apartment with him. Penelope stayed behind in the car.

“So, this is your apartment? Why haven’t we had a lesson here?” He asked.

“Guess I just never thought to ask.” Spencer laughed.

Y/N moved behind Spencer and brought his hand onto his hip. Spencer turned around swiftly. Now Y/N was holding the small of his back.

“Is this okay?” he asked.

“Yes.” Spencer breathed out.

“I’ve liked you for a while now, Spencer,” he took the pale man's face in his hands. “Can I kiss you?”

Spencer nodded and pressed his entire body up to Y/N’s. The kiss started slow and innocent, but Spencer loved the taste of Y/N’s peppermint chapstick and they slipped their tongues in eachothers mouths. The intrusion made them moan and Y/N pushed them against a wall.

“What will we tell Penelope?” Spencer said as Y/N moved his kisses to his chin.

“Why do we have to tell her anything?” He sucked hard onto Spencer’s neck, where any marks would be hidden just under the collar of a work shirt.

“Oh…”

Monday was the worst day for the weather to be hot. Y/N’s hickeys still hadn’t faded from Spencer’s neck and if he changed into a regular t-shirt from his go bag they would definitely be visible. Against his better judgement, Spencer changed in the bathroom. He’d rather die of embarrassment than heat.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. What you got goin over there, pretty boy?” Derek laughed as Spencer sat back down in his seat.

“Leave me alone, Morgan.” He scoffed.

“Nuh-uh. No way. If you got a girl I wanna be the first to know.”

“Not a girl.” Spencer mumbled.

“What was that?”

“He’s not a girl.” Spencer said clearly.

“Hey gu- Whoa! Spencer what is that?” Emily walked in with her coffee.

“Pretty boy has a boyfriend.” Derek stated.

“What?! Why didn’t you tell me? Aw man now I feel bad about setting you up on that date last week.”

“THAT was a DATE?” Spencer nearly screamed.

“Yep. And she’s still wondering why you haven’t called her back. So, what’s his name?” Emily laughed.

“I can’t say it. Also, he’s not a boyfriend. At least not yet.”

“Why not? Too embarrassed?” Now JJ had joined in the conversation.

“No! It’s just-”

“What is it, Spence?”

“He’s Garcia’s ukulele teacher..” He sighed.

“Wow, pretty boy. Wow.”

The next lesson progressed the same as it had two lessons before. Penelope was practicing in her room.They sat on the couch, Y/N’s hands guided Spencer’s on the guitar, and they pressed their bodies together. He showed how Spencer’s hand should pluck at the strings and once he got the hang of it they began singing the lyrics to “I Think We're Alone Now” together.

“I think we’re alone now..”

“There doesn’t seem to be,” Spencer spoke the next lines into Y/N’s lips, “anyone around.”

They began kissing, slow and deep. They pressed together and as Spencer turned more towards Y/N he dropped the guitar on the ground. The sound alerted Penelope and she rushed to the living room only to find Spencer pushing Y/N into a lying position on her couch with his lips. The second they heard her gasp they pulled away from each other.

“Sorry, Pen. He’s just too damn cute.” Y/N laughed.