#malu imagine

[rayar32]

Carol Malus Deinheim would never have a crush on a (human) homoncullus

Or maybe she does who knows (Chris knows)

Also here's some aged up designs for The Curious Case of the Clone Sapphics in an AU where Carol gets to live and Elfnein makes a homoncullus body for her (the works of 3am delusions)

[scalpelofshar]

I think it would be fun if Malus, Gerringothe and Thisobald are all siblings, oldest to youngest in that order

Just the comedy value alone of two brothers who are so very unalike, both in physicality and personality. About the only hobby they share is alchemy/chemistry

All three very driven and set in their own ways. They live in the same town, all down the street from each, yet only meet up a few times a year. The inevitable bickering whenever two or more are in the same place. Etc.

[saiilorstars]

Home is my Happy Place

One Shot: An insight on how some of Hotch's returns home look like when Malú is around...

Fandom: Criminal Minds // Hotch x OFC

[ Malú’s masterlist ]

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​​​ @arrthurpendragon​​​ @anotherunreadblog​​​ @maaaaarveeeeel​​​ @stareyedplanet​​​ @foxesandmagic​​​ @averyhotchner​​​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know

Malú was long used to the crazy schedule that her boyfriend had. It was not easy, it was not something she would ever get used to, but it was something she would gladly live with if it meant being with her boyfriend. Aaron Hotchner was one of a kind, and Malú was certain that she would never find another man like him. And the best part? He thought the same about her.

As much as she loved him and practically worshiped the ground he walked on, he felt the absolute same towards her. It was strange to other people how in sync they were with each other about everything. How could they ever be apart?

The BAU's cases was the only answer — the only constant answer.

Malú grew used to the whole ordeal of having to be away from each other for days. All she asked from Aaron in return was to keep her updated on his well being. She was not a cop — far from it, she was a school psychologist — but she knew how dangerous his job was. She could not go to sleep each night until Aaron called or texted her.

Aaron didn't mind. He liked knowing how much she cared for him. He always aimed to call her for at least a few seconds to say goodnight unless there was absolutely no time for it. There was almost always time for a phone call of a few seconds.

"Where are you this time?"

"Portland," Aaron said, turning just slightly more towards the window that gave a view of the rainy night. None of the officers and detectives in the precinct would really care about his phone call but Aaron always tried keeping Malú away from his gore-filled job.

"Never heard of it," Malú said so nonchalantly that Aaron couldn't help his laugh.

That time, an officer or two may have turned their head his way.

"I'm kidding," Malú said a moment later.

"I know," Aaron said, finding a tad funnier the fact she had to clarify herself.

"I didn't want you to think I'm an idiot who doesn't know her cities and states," Malú said.

"I don't know, I could always give you a lesson or something," Aaron said ever so innocently.

It was Malú's turn to laugh. She did so with a few butterflies in her stomach. "When you get home, feel free to stop by."

Aaron would want nothing more than that. "It's raining here. Pouring. Believe me, I'd rather be with you."

A smile spread across Malú's face. "I'm in bed," she told him, "And you'll never guess what I'm wearing…"

Aaron hummed quietly, definitely not wanting to draw any attention to him right now. "There are so many answers to that; I wouldn't know what to start with."

"You get three guesses," Malú said. Aaron didn't need to see her face to know she was smirking. Indeed she was.

"Are you challenging me?" Aaron said incredulously. God, he really missed her.

"Maybe. I'm kind of bored over here," Malú said, "All alone in my bed. I don't know, maybe I'm wearing one of your shirts or, uh, maybe—" she snapped her fingers—, "I'm wearing the green satin set you like so much. Do you remember it?"

Aaron was following her taunt with amusement and a wide smile on his face. "Yes," he nodded, "I remember it very well."

"Or maybe, just maybe, I'm not wearing anything at all." Malú gasped lightly. "Which one do you think it is?"

"I think that you are nothing but a tease and you're getting me back for breaking your favorite coffee mug last week," Aaron said, although Malú heard the subtle clearing of his throat. As good as a profiler as he was, he also had tells for when he lied.

"All I know is that you and your butter fingers better find me a new favorite mug in Portland. That's in Oregon by the way. See? Told you I knew where it was. So…what's your guess?"

"My guess is…" Aaron happened to glance back at the precinct and saw Rossi waving him over to the conference room.

Malú heard his sigh and knew what it meant. "Don't tell me what you're doing. I get anxious just thinking about you going out there…"

Aaron sighed again. "I'm sorry, honey. I have to go. And you should get some rest. You're 3 hours ahead of me. You should be sleeping by now."

"It's Saturday tomorrow — or today, technically — and you know I don't care how late it is," Malú said, "I need to know you're okay."

"And I am, promise," Aaron said without hesitation. "We're almost done here. I might see you tomorrow for lunch."

"Mm, I like the sound of that. You better wear a jacket when you go outside."

Aaron laughed quietly. "Yeah…"

"I mean it. You said it was pouring out there."

"I will—"

"You better wear the jacket because if you get sick, I'm not gonna coddle you. And I'll tell Jack that you got sick because you didn't listen to me."

Aaron struggled to keep his laugh from getting louder. "I hear you—"

"Aaron, I really mean it. And I also love you, so…yeah…"

"Yeah," Aaron nodded, "I love you too. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Malú hung up promptly afterwards, and he went back to work.

~0~

Aaron was usually a patient man. He worked under a lot of stress so he had to learn how to be patient, otherwise he would've been dead ages ago. When his case in Portland happened to finish earlier, he wanted to surprise Malú at her place. But looking at the time, he knew that she would be asleep still. Malú hated mornings and absolutely valued Saturday mornings more than anything else.

It would not be wise to wake her up.

So Aaron compromised instead. At six in the morning, he used his key to get into Malú's apartment and quietly walked inside. He left his things right beside the door and headed for the hallway. His heart raced with anticipation of seeing Malú again, even if she was asleep. Very carefully, he turned the knob of her bedroom door and quietly stepped inside the room.

She was fast asleep; she didn't move in the slightest with his approaching steps. She was also a heavy sleeper.

He pulled his jacket off and left it on the dresser then loosened his tie. Shoes were left at the foot of the bed.

Aaron didn't know if his exhaustion won him out or his deep desire to see Malú did, but either way he ended up crawling into bed with her. Amazingly, she didn't even move with that either. He scooted as close as he could to Malú, though very careful not to wake her up. Her back was to him when he brought an arm over her. He finally rested his head next to hers and breathed in.

She had to have showered last night. Her hair smelled fresh of coconut. Her skin was warm and soft under the covers. She was divine even when she slept. Dawn couldn't hide it.

At this point, Aaron would confidently say the exhaustion won him out as his eyes fell shut. And knowing where he was and who was next to him, he had no problem falling asleep.

~0~

"Wakey, wakey…" A soft voice hummed beside Aaron's ear. It took him a few seconds to realize a pair of lips were pressing alongside his cheek. "C'mon Aaron, wake up already."

"I'm up…" His eyes weren't even open.

"You're not up. You're not waking up!"

"What are you talking about? I'm definitely up. I'm talking aren't I?"

Malú rolled her eyes. He was sarcastic at all times of the day. She grew tired, though perhaps it was impatience more than anything else, and proceeded to maturely respond to the situation. Since she was sitting on her knees on the bed, she started jumping on her knees to bounce said bed.

Eventually, Aaron gave up and conceded her the point. He opened his eyes and immediately saw Malú sitting beside him, looking at him with a grin on her face. "You're beautiful."

Malú's grin widened even more. She tossed some of her hair behind her shoulder. "Why thank you. But I must admit that I did not wake up this way, that I did get up and brush my hair and my teeth and ate some breakfast. Speaking of," she reached for a bowl on the bed stand and held out a strawberry to him, "Breakfast?"

Aaron drew in a breath and pushed himself to sit upright. "What time is it?" He was still a bit groggy.

"Late for me but I imagine you got here pretty late so it's early for you," Malú said, leaning forwards. She fed him the strawberry.

"Thanks," Aaron said with a flush on his face. He was not one for sweet acts like this…unless it was him doing it to Malú. It's why Malú tended to return the favor most of the time. She wanted him to know and feel the same way he made her feel all the time — cared and loved for.

"You could have woken me up," Malú said, reaching for another strawberry in the bowl on the bed stand.

"You were sleeping," Aaron remarked matter-of-factly. He watched Malú as she fed him another strawberry.

"I was," she nodded, "And I would've woken up to welcome you back."

"I feel pretty welcomed right now," Aaron said, sharing a smile with Malú. As soon as he finished with the strawberry, Malú leaned over again and kissed him. Aaron's arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her body flush against his.

"Welcome home," she murmured against his lips.

"What a welcome indeed…" He looked at her fondly and brought his hands down her long hair. Her eyes closed as he stroked strands of her hair. "But you, my darling, are a liar."

Malú's eyes snapped open and a confused expression took her face over. "What? What are you talking about?"

Aaron looked her over again, lowering his hands down her sides until they came to rest on her hips. "You cheated."

"How did I—?"

"You're wearing the flower set," Aaron pointed out her pajamas, "Your favorite."

Recognition filled Malú's eyes when she understood. She'd played with him last night about what she wore to bed. "Oops," she said with a growing smile on her face.

"I was told—" Aaron's tone turned sharp at the same time his hands squeezed Malú's hips and brought her against him again—, "that there was a possibility you might not be wearing anything."

Malú barely held her shudder with his voice right next to her ear. While she gathered her cool (something she seemed to lose a lot in moments like these), her fingers drummed along his shoulders. "A 'possibility' doesn't mean it's a fact. You didn't make your guess so you lost."

"You didn't give me opportunity to make my guess," Aaron reminded her, "But I'll be happy to play again on the next case."

Malú rolled her eyes at him. She pulled back enough to look at him. "I would much rather play right now…"

Aaron raised his brows at her. "Right now?"

Malú straightened up to tower over him a bit. She pulled his loosened tie and tossed it to the side. "Why are you so surprised?"

Aaron's head raised and inadvertently moved his lips over her neck then mouth. "Well…I…wouldn't mind…"

"Mm, I thought so." Malú lifted one leg after the other to pull the covers off him. "And you'll see that afterwards I definitely won't be wearing anything anymore."

"Now that's an appealing factor," Aaron remarked, drawing a small laugh from her.

Malú draped her arms over his shoulders. "Welcome home, darling."

"Welcome home…" Aaron repeated like he was in a trance, watching Malú as such. She moved her legs again, pressing her chest to his, then cupped his face and tilted his head up.

She dove down and kissed him.

[tragicvictories]

i've spent the last hour or so considering if i think thisobald is actually isobel's brother or just another thorm that balthazar resurrected , and for my interpretation i do believe he is her brother. the most obvious reason being thisobald referring to ketheric as "father," and though this could easily be metaphorical, i don't think it is. but that's not the only reason. thisobald also keeps a list of persons banned from the tavern (which includes gerringothe, more on that later), and i just don't think that he would need to worry about banning people if he was dragged from the grave with his gut hanging open. on that note, i don't think gerringothe would be worried about going to a tavern in her current state. in fact, thisobald, malus, and gerringothe act almost like ghosts when we meet them---haunting the spaces they were familiar with in life, going through motions that have long since lost their meaning. we also have evidence of gerringothe being in charge of the tollhouse when reithwin was still outwardly a selunite town, and no evidence of who would have been in charge of the tollhouse before her. "then why are they like that" a hundred years of the shadow curse. desperate measures taken, probably by balthazar, to keep their bodies intact while the curse tries to tear them apart.

[skxrbrand]

[xiv-necromancer]

An altar deep underground, where flowers burst forth in brilliant hues. They have no need for sunlight, not with the sheer amount of aether channeled into them. He came here often, and never told anyone. For years he practiced the channeling of aether, breathing life into flowers and even pulling others from the brink of death.

Still, despite everything he’s done, the small, preserved corpse upon the altar remains lifeless.

[k3tsun1]

I was talking to my friend about The Amazing Digital Circus and a bit of its character design and i got this theory that their appearances are just representations of their insecurities

Translation of the chat:

Keni: "And i imagined that each one of them sees themselves as an abstraction of their insecurities, but it's just a theory"

Malu: "OMG IT MAKES SO MUCH SENSE"

Keni:"

-Gangle uses a mask to hide her true sadness, she pretends to be someone she isnt

-Pomni sees herself as a joke, a Jester to others

-Ragatha sees herself only as a toy, someone whose emotions get played a lot with, an object for others

-Jax sees himself as a cartoon, something that can be deep, but noone takes seriously anyway, so why should he

-Zooble i imagine has a self image problem, so that's why they are just a bunch of shapes

-And Kinger seems himself only as a piece in a simple game"

Malu: "KENI OMG THIS IS EYE OPENING" Keni: ">:DDDDD"

[humanalias]

There Are No Gays in Football by Malu 3 (@penaltykeks) with art by alby mangroves (@artgroves) and @mizufae

Bound for Zephyr for the Renegade Bindery book exchange

Words: 212,919 | 662 pages

Binding this book made me nostalgic. When I was in high school and just getting into fandom and reading fanfic, Merlin was one of the bigger fandoms on Livejournal. I actually have never watched the show, but know a bit about it through fandom osmosis. I went with more of a classic look; I wanted it to look like something traditionally published. The design isn't super eye-catching, but I'm proud how it turned out because I think the overall construction and layout is well done. I wish I had some slightly better photos, because in person I think it looks really nice, but I finished 1 day before the deadline so I didn't really have enough time. 😅

I'd also like to thank @desmothene for advising me on the typesetting for both of my exchange books.

Fonts: Alegreya, Gidole, and Piximisa

Bookcloth: Dark Red Brillianta

(Unfortunately I'm not sure exactly what type of paper the endpapers are. I bought them from a local paper store and I can't find them on another website.)

In regards to the construction, the only snag I hit was with the cases. I somehow managed to get glue spots all over the bookcloth. Once you get glue on the Brillianta it simply won't come out. But, pro tip, if you have some acrylic ink of the same color you can paint over the spots and it becomes much less noticeable. I also had some difficulties with the titles. Lining up the iron-on was annoying, I couldn't tell if it was even and in a straight line. Then I realized I could hold the bookcloth up to the light and see it on the paper side. (I added this picture because the whole process was so fiddly, I want some documentation it turned out okay.)

I have to give a shout out to this sulphite paper I bought from Blick's. I originally bought it to use on my printer, which didn't work well, at least on my laser printer. But it works super well for made endpapers, with very minimal wrinkling.

I really like these ribbons, I think it gave a nice pop of color, as well as fitting the theme of the story.

Surprisingly, my favorite part of the typesetting was...the appendix! That's because I found some very interesting notes by mizufae about the background of the fic, as well as the art created for it. Reading it, it made me happy to think about how fanfiction can be so collaborative and creative, and bring people together out of a simple shared enthusiasm.

I was really struck by this sentence in particular: "I like to imagine that one day I will go mad and print TANGIF out and have it bound as an actual book. Do you realize it's over 200k? That translates to a ~700 page novel." Well, it only turned out to be a little less than that. 😄

[ekman]

La France a un nouveau premier ministre, et un presque nouveau gouvernement. Ça fait deux fois "nouveau", et ça c'est nouveau.

• C’est officiel, Attal a été nourri au lait Davos, spécial premier âge, efficace pour attirer les fées Récession et Rébellion autour du berceau de l’heureux élu, jeune Éloïm dressé à coups de saucisse alsacienne.

• Profitons de l’instant pour placer un bonus/malus à celui qui espérait une récompense, je cite notre vieil ami Moussa, fraichement niqué-de-sa-race-sur-le-coran-de-la-Mecque, qui a réceptionné la nomination de son rival pile à cet endroit que Gaby affectionne tant. Pour l’instant, c’est acté, le coq reste chef des poulets.

• Sachez qu’Attal se prononce “Attal” parce que l’on dit “ravioles” quand on veut parler de “raviolis”. Comprenne qui pourra.

• Gaby investit Matignon – sonnez hautbois, résonnez musettes ! – avec l’air modeste et compassé de tous ceux qui l’ont précédé, trop content de jeter à la rue celle qui restera, pour la postérité, l’incarnation même de la sécheresse vaginale.

• Gaby est proche des gens, c’est le service de presse de Matignon qui le dit. Ainsi le voilà parti dans vers les “Hauts de France”, qui valent bien ceux de Hurlevent pour le quart d’heure, tant la tempête y souffle et l’eau y monte. Il est beau surtout dans l’action, Gaby. C’est de son âge.

• Sur les ondes et les plateaux téloche, on vous sert Attal solidaire et volontaire, Attal enfant surdoué, Attal homosexuel assumé, Attal et sa passion Véran – d’ailleurs ne dit-on pas d’une machine efficace qu’elle est montée sur Véran ? Bon, je sors.

• Question people : qu'en pense leurs exs ? Stéphane Séjourné, mari divorcé du fougueux impétrant, a accepté le quai d’Orsay un peu comme on prendrait du bout des doigts un cadeau de rupture. On imagine que la cote de la France va remonter très fort dans les pays africains. Quant à Coralie Dubost, ravissante arriviste qui sortit un temps avec le turbulent bi Véran, on n’a plus de nouvelles. Tant mieux pour elle.

J.-M. M.

[rainrayne]

[ Malu Monarchy Au Ozzy and Lily. ]

Ozzy: I'm a big fan of your Monstermon card game!

Lily: Oh! Um...I'm honored... (Do I know him?)

[Click "keep reading" if you want to see me ramble about these]

After like a week of nothing, I finally have an art that is kinda worth showing. Hooray (?)

I'm still not sure if I like Lily's design or not ._. I will probably (?) change it, but I just wanted to draw her and Ozzy interacting. It's an interesting concept to me.

(Why am I adding more characters when this idea was originally for me to focus on Huxleys? Let's just say my imagination ran wild at 1 am or so a week ago and now it came to this point.)

That is all , thank you ^_^ (and sorry for talking so much.)

[vashito]

What would be a fitting entrance theme for each of your wrestling OCs?

In my opinion either Lunatic Rage or Man In The Box would fit Tak perfectly, I don't know, she just gives me Tommy Dreamer and Dean Ambrose vibes (Dreamer for the extreme and hardcore part of her and Ambrose for the crazy and unhinged part of her)

SUUUUUCH A GOOD QUESTION and ive thought a lot about it (those tak vibes are spot on she's very ecw) i'd want her to use something from rob zombie or white zombie cuz she was partly inspired by sean yseult who played bass in white zombie, so i thought Living Dead Girl or Electric Head p2 smth like that! LOL she could come out with a kendo stick and play it like a bass Blue Corazon would use Para Que by Anahi Yuna i'd give Hōki Boshi by Younha (from Bleach) STELLAR id put Babymetal - Shingeki cuz idky that song makes me get lost in daydreams imagining zero-g as an anime intro and makes me think of her C.K.O i keep thinking of Hit 'Em High (the monstars song from space jam but as a fighter it suits her kinda perfectly) can totally see her walking out to this shadowboxing in a cutoff hoodie Dagmara needs smth HEAVY AF like a good slow headbanger, like i wouldnt give her metallica BUT something like a Sad But True / Thing that should not be / Harvester of Sorrow vibe, slow heavy groove that the fans can chant "DAG! 🤘 DAG! 🤘 DAG! 🤘 DAG!" along with it (i feel like she'd be really into BLS) Sombrio and Malu i gotta think about still

[scalpelofshar]

you know Malus would say this to anyone with impressive veins

the original for good measure

[saiilorstars]

All the Time

Fandom: Criminal Minds // Hotch x OFC

Taglist: @ocappreciationtag​ @arrthurpendragon​ @anotherunreadblog​ @maaaaarveeeeel​ @stareyedplanet​ @foxesandmagic​ @averyhotchner​​

If you’d like to be a part of this OC’s work/edits, let me know

A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts since Christmas and internet sucked so

The first time they met, it was interesting, and fast. It was so fast that he didn't really have time to process the encounter until afterwards.

He was on his way to pick up a few things from the grocery store — the one day he had open with Jack had to be paired with their favorite lunch. He was just about to go into the store when a woman came zooming out and crashed into him. Whatever was in her bag flew out and hit the ground, some jars even smashing. There went some marinara sauce splattering in the process.

"I am so sorry!" The woman was in a rush to pick everything up. Everything about her screamed 'I'm late' — Aaron didn't even bother asking if he was right.

He bent down to help pick some of the groceries up, the savable ones anyways. He was sure that she wouldn't want the opened box of pasta anymore.

On that, he was wrong. The woman reached over to snag the box up, slamming it shut without a care for the pasta she had lost in the process.

"No, no, leave it there! I got it!" She exclaimed when he tried reaching for the box of cream cheese. She snatched it off the ground as well. She was zooming again. "I got it! It's my fault! I'm sorry!"

"It's really alright," Aaron tried to say but the woman was already halfway standing up, mumbling (in a rush) about how late she was and all the things she still needed to do.

"No, no it's not," the woman said fervently, "And I'm very sorry but I have to go now!" And just as she moved to stand up, Aaron did the same and so they bumped into each other again.

The woman felt something hit the top of her head and dropped her purse, losing a few things in the process. In turn, Aaron felt something hard hit the tip of his nose that then reverberated through the rest.

"Dammit!" the woman exclaimed. She reached down for her bag but Aaron had already beat her to it. He had grabbed her bag and the things that had fallen. "Seriously, thank you, I gotta go!" The woman grabbed the purse from him and bolted from her spot. She was so fast that she didn't hear Aaron calling her about a missing bracelet she left behind. It was a simple silver thing but hers nonetheless. He presumed the big 'M' dangling was the first letter of her name.

Now he was left with a bracelet and a hurt nose…and no idea what had happened.

~0~

He forgot he had stuffed the bracelet into his pocket, deciding to figure out what to do with it later. That 'later' had been forgotten and when he wore the same pants to work a week later, the bracelet fell out. Rossi had several questions about the bracelet and the mysterious 'M' behind it.

It brought in the rest of the team as well, but all Aaron said is that it was a long story and one that had no purpose anyways. He stuffed the bracelet into his back pocket and proceeded to forget about it again.

He only remembered it when it fell out right before doing the laundry. At that point, he left it on his dresser. He felt a bit guilty for thinking about trashing it. So, the bracelet remained on his dresser, untouched, for weeks after that.

~0~

Two months later, they met again. This time, things were only slightly different. The woman — M — wasn't in a rush. She was simply ahead of Aaron in line, getting her coffee. Upon turning around, she crashed into Aaron again and dumped half of her coffee on him.

"I am so sorry!" She exclaimed immediately, jumping back instinctively as the warm coffee splattered on her wrists. It was nothing compared to the white shirt Aaron had decided on for that day. "I'm sorry! I'll get you a — hey…" She stopped when her eyes finally rested on him. Recognition filled her. "It's you."

Aaron was a bit more preoccupied finding napkins to dry himself up. A nice elderly woman sitting behind them offered him the napkin dispenser at her table. "Thank you," he told the woman kindly then proceeded to pull out a bunch of napkins from the dispenser. There was no way in hell the stain was coming out right now.

And of course it was at that moment that the barista called his name for his drink.

M turned around to the counter and, making the connections, reached over the drink. She dumped her own coffee in the trash and cleared her throat before she offered Aaron's drink to him. "So, I guess I owe an Aaron a huge apology…" She said with gritted teeth, feeling absolutely horrible.

Aaron could tell once he actually looked at her. It was the same woman — M. What were the odds?

"I'm so sorry," M reiterated, "I really — I should really watch where I'm going, I know…" She sighed, "Please, bill me for that dry cleaning."

"I'm okay," Aaron ultimately said for M's sake. He could hear the desperation in her voice. The coffee wasn't that hot anyways…

"No, you're not," the woman said with a shake of her head, "I just dumped hot coffee on you. You should be mad. I crashed into you a while back too, remember?"

A small chuckle slipped out from Aaron. "Yes, how could I forget?"

M scrunched her nose. "You caught me on a bad day then. It was my sister's birthday and I was put in charge of dinner and I never get put in charge of anything with my family and the one time they did, I was so late but—" She stopped with a big gasp, her eyes widening. "You don't care about that. You care about your stained shirt and ruined morning."

"Actually, all I care about right now is my morning coffee," Aaron remarked, dabbing the last wet coffee on his shirt. The stain would stay but at least his skin wouldn't burn anymore.

"Oh!" M remembered she held his coffee and held it out him. "Yes, your coffee, of course. Take it before I ruin it too."

Aaron took his cup with a small smile on his face. M was genuine, at least. He walked over to the nearest trash bin to drop all the napkins he'd used them returned to M for his coffee. "What about yours? Can I buy you one?"

"Me?" M blinked then fervently shook her head. "No, no! I dumped mine on you. I should be paying and I want to, so bill me for the dry cleaning. Do you want cash?"

"No," Aaron chuckled, "I'm fine, really."

M sighed. "Seriously, just bill me. I'd feel a little less bad if you did."

Aaron wouldn't accept. He instead offered M another cup of coffee with the idea that it would make things slightly less bad. M ultimately agreed just to ease her conscience.

Although she wasn't sure if sitting down at a table waiting for him to bring her coffee was doing anything to ease her guilt. It should have been the other way around.

Aaron came by with another cup for M and sat down with her. "Caramel latte."

"Thank you," M said, truly grateful as she took her new cup.

Aaron watched her carefully then while she drank her coffee. It was only now that he was truly getting to study her.

She was light skinned and average height which, to him, was still a decent difference. She was able to hit his nose with the top of her head, after all. She had plump cheeks and soft pink lips. Her eyes were a dark brown, just like her long dark brown hair that cascaded down her chest. A couple strands were misplaced, no doubt from their shaky meeting. She was dressed casually — perhaps it was her day off as well.

"You know, I ordered your drink but I had no idea what name to give the barista," Aaron remarked. He thought about the bracelet still sitting on his dresser. M.

M smiled lightly when she lowered her drink. "Malú," she said, thinking it was the least she could do for him. "Now you have the name of the culprit for your stained shirt. Seriously, bill me. Malú Ayala."

Malú Ayala. For some reason, Aaron wanted to remember the name for days to come.

And maybe he would.

"And I know your name," Malú reminded him, tilting her head at him, "Aaron. Sorry for everything, Aaron. You really had some bad luck meeting me. Promise I'm not an absolute disaster all the time."

"I didn't think you were," Aaron said, smiling with her, "You seemed late the last time we met."

"Mm, and today? Stupid, maybe."

"Harmless mistake."

Malú scoffed. "Say that to your shirt."

"It's dry now," Aaron said, patting the front of his shirt. Maybe it humid but she didn't know that. She looked miserable enough.

Malú shook her head. "You're kind, Aaron. Anyone else would have thrown their coffee at me. You seem to have a lot of patience."

"Really? That's what I seem like?" Aaron was amused with her presumption. A low level profiler and she didn't even know it.

Malú nodded her head, her eyes really starting to look at him. "Yeah. You didn't even show any rational emotions back there, nor the last time. It's okay to be mad, you know. I totally deserve it."

"Accidents," Aaron reminded her, "Besides, it's all fine now. I'm fine. Are you?"

Malú started to smile the more she considered her current position. Having coffee with a handsome man who just so happened not to hate her for ruining his morning? "I'm fine too," she ultimately agreed. "Thank you for the coffee." She picked up her coffee to drink from and hide her flush in the process.

They spent the next half hour conversing about mundane things like what they were doing today and what they liked to drink at coffee places…but it was somehow the most relaxing, good time they had in a long time.

Aaron most felt pure hatred for his demanding job when he saw the message that Penelope Garcia had sent him, alerting him of a new case the BAU needed to handle. "I am so sorry, but I have to go," he told Malú who couldn't look more disappointed.

She quickly recovered and put on her best smile. "Right, of course."

"It's my job — this happens all the time," Aaron said in a rushed manner as he put his phone away and grabbed his coffee from the table. "It pulls me away from many things."

"It does?" A smidge of hope sparked in Malú's eyes. So he wasn't changing his mind about her and didn't hate her? Because she certainly didn't hate him at all.

"Yeah, all the time," Aaron nodded, getting up from his chair, "But, uh, listen, there's a bracelet, um…I kept your bracelet."

"What?" Malú blinked, confused.

Aaron had no idea how that happened — since when did he stumble over his words? He shook his head and tried again. "The last time we met, you dropped your purse and you left before I could tell you that you dropped your bracelet. A silver one with an 'M' charm."

"Ooh," Malú laughed softly, and Aaron couldn't remember when someone's laugh had sounded so sweet like that. "You have my bracelet? That's great! My best friend gave that to me. We have matching ones. She has the first letter of her name on her bracelet."

"I have it, um…do you think you want to meet again to take it back?"

"Just for that?" Malú said rather boldly, at least in her opinion. She just couldn't help it. Half an hour was not nearly enough time to spend with him. She needed more.

"Well…" Aaron swayed his head, "I wouldn't mind…I mean we could…have lunch? Or dinner maybe?"

That was exactly what Malú wanted to hear. She couldn't agree fast enough.

So when Aaron left the coffee shop, he left so with a date for the upcoming weekend and a wide grin on his face.

~0~

It was hard to hide the truth from the team, especially Rossi. The man knew what was going — had a suspicion — from the get. Aaron could dissuade the others' accusations but not Rossi.

"What's her name?"

"How'd it happen?"

"How are you feeling about it?"

This was the first time he was going to see someone after Beth moved away. There was a lot to think about but surprisingly, Aaron couldn't really think of anything that could persuade him not to see Malú again. He looked forward to seeing her that weekend, as did Malú.

~0~

Malú was up and ready for her date. She picked out the best dress she could find in her closet and put herself together in record time only for her to get a text from Aaron saying he had to cancel — reschedule was the word he used. Work was keeping him away for the weekend.

Malú hated that she had not asked what exactly this job of his was but nonetheless she swallowed her disappointment and replied back to Aaron that it was fine and she would wait for that Monday he promised.

Monday came, and he never sent anything. Malú waited the whole day before calling it quits at seven. Her best friend, Celia, warned her that it was the beginning of the traditional "ghosting". Malú was so disillusioned. She hadn't taken Aaron for that kind of man. He seemed sincere.

They're always sincere, Celia had said aith a roll of her eyes.

On Tuesday, Malú tried her best to forget Aaron altogether. Clearly, he was not interested anymore and so she should move on. She didn't need the bracelet anyways. Celia promised her they would get new ones instead.

Celia also warned Malú to go ahead and erase Aaron's number as well.

If you keep it, it means you still think he's going to call.

If it was the other way around, Malú knew she would be telling Celia the sake thing. Tuesday night, she erased the number (after Celia practically held a gun to her head, but it was erased). She also forced Malú to block the number before, just in case.

Needless to say, there was no way she could communicate with him again. She had no idea where Aaron lived, worked or — and this really made her feel so stupid — even knew his full name!

"Good," Celia had said then, "It'll make it easier to forget him. A total stranger. There's tons of them out there."

Malú thought very differently but she didn't say anything. Instead, she focused on not feeling as glum as she did.

~0~

Thursday, Aaron was beginning to lose it. The case lasted much longer than he thought it would and it didn't even finish the right way. The unsub got away but not without making a promise to the team that he would be back for all of them. Great.

Aaron tried texting Malú several times with no response. He switched to calls but the same thing happened. No doubt, Malú had grown tired of waiting for him and was now dodging his calls. A perfectly rationale response, but not the one that Aaron had wanted.

"Find her," Rossi had suggested the idea like it was the most logical thing in the world.

"I don't know where she lives," Aaron reminded him, keeping his voice hushed despite being in his office with the door shut.

Rossi looked at him like he was genuinely stupid. "Gee, it's too damn bad that you have no way of finding out someone's address — oh wait…" He made a gesture towards the bullpen out the window.

Aaron shook his head. He was not bringing anyone in the team into this. Malú was his secret and he liked things the way they were. But then again…there would be no secret if there was no more Malú. There had to be some middle ground somewhere.

And Rossi found it.

Friday night, just before she left, Rossi caught Penelope at the elevator.

"I thought we were done with the case," Penelope led the way into her office.

"We are. This is for another case," Rossi explained. "And I need an address."

"Oh, do you mean that other guy?" Penelope swallowed hard. She hated unsubs to begin with but even more the unsubs who managed to slip away. "You think this is an accomplice?"

"Just give me the address, alright? And don't tell anyone else. This is on a strict need-to-know basis, got it?"

"Yes, sir," Penelope nodded firmly and asked for the name she was going to he searching for.

Malú Ayala.

Penelope found her in a snap. "She's local! What are the odds?"

Rossi merely nodded and asked for Penelope to send the address to him and Hotch — covering the basis.

Aaron got the message instantaneously. He gripped his phone in his hand amd stared at the address in bed that night. He couldn't decide how best to proceed. He liked Malú, he really did, and it was so strange knowing all he had was a half hour with her.

The things they talked about were ridiculous, now that he looked back on it. He was pretty sure he had asked her what she thought of the weather that day. At least asking for her favorite drink was a bit less embarrassing. But that was the point. Such mundane things and yet it just made him grow fonder of Malú. Even disastrous as she claimed to be, Aaron couldn't think of anything else she should be. He needed more time with her. A half hour, an hour, etc.

~0~

Sunday morning he was free. Jack had a play date and the BAU was off. It was perfect. He just had to be fast before any one of those things changed.

He found the address easily and went up to the right apartment. One knock, two knocks, three knocks, four—

"Alright, I get it!" Malú snapped when she flung the door open. "Oh…" She blinked at the sight of Aaron. "How on earth did you find me?"

Aaron went straight to business. "Can I talk to you please?"

"Mm, I'm not sure I can…"

"Why not?"

"I promised my best friend I wouldn't. You left me hanging for a week," Malú frowned. "Celia made a point. You were ghosting me."

"No, no, I wasn't," Aaron promised her that it wasn't like that. "It was my job — it always does this."

"Really?" Malú raised an eyebrow at him.

Aaron sighed. "Malú, something important about me is that I don't like people who waste my time and as a courtesy, I don't waste someone else's time either. I don't want to waste your time. Please, can I explain what happened?"

Malú leaned rested her cheek against the wooden door, drumming her fingers up and down. "Fine…but only because I want to know what happened." And she really missed him, however ridiculous that sounded.

"Thank you." Aaron walked into the apartment and turned to her. Malú then gestured him towards the couch where they could sit together and talk.

"Okay, so what is it?" Malú asked, trying her best to sound as disinterested as possible. "Lost phone? No battery?"

"It's my job," Aaron reiterated like he had from the start. Malú would give him points for at least being consistent. "I work for the FBI. I'm the Unit Chief for the Behavioral Analysis Unit. A huge detail about this job is that I'm on standby a lot of the time, if not most of the time. I have to travel nationally, for days, sometimes longer. And it's terrible but it is what it is and I can't change it. I love my job. I do. That Saturday, I was still in Wisconsin and I didn't get back until Monday night. It was a hard case and I didn't even get to close it."

"You seriously work for the FBI?" Malú blinked a couple times, dumbfounded. Of all the things he could have said…

Aaron nodded. "Yes."

"For how long?"

"Too many years to count."

"Woah…" Malú slowly pushed herself up from the couch, still mighty shocked.

"Are you alright?" Aaron watched her intently. "Was it too much?"

"N-no, I, um…" Malú swallowed hard, "I'm beginning to think maybe this isn't a good idea."

"What? Why not?" Aaron nearly frowned.

"Because you're — you're FBI. I don't think…I don't think I'm what you're looking for," Malú said, bringing her hands to her chest, "I work for a school district. You…you want more."

"More?" Aaron smiled lightly.

"You know, someone more up on your level?" Malú took a seat on the couch again, facing him. "Thanks for explaining things to me. I believe you. You should go, though."

"Not if it's because you think I want something more out of someone," Aaron said, "I've been trying to get ahold of you for a reason. I'm just sorry that this is what I have to offer."

Malú couldn't decide what to do. He seemed sincere, but what if in the long run he grew tired of her?

"I'm not sure, Aaron," she admitted, "Maybe…maybe we should just slow down here. I'm going back to school, actually, and if your schedule is as hectic as you say it is, maybe going on a date isn't what we need right now."

"Malú, I don't want to waste your time, so I'm telling you everything right now, the way it is. You can take your time to think about things but I'm not leaving until you have no doubt about what I want."

Malú discovered how intense of a look Aaron could have. She found herself nodding, feeling like she was transfixed by him. And so goes Celia's words…

"You work for a school district?"

"Yeah," Malú nodded. "And you for the FBI?"

"Yes," Aaron nodded, "And I also have a son."

"Oh." Malú's eyes widened.

Aaron expected that reaction. Perfectly normal. "I would rather you know that now. Cards on the table."

Malú respected him more for that. "Okay. You…have a son. What about the mother? Is she still in the picture?"

Aaron lowered his head. That was a gateway question and he had no idea how she would react. "No…she, um, passed away a couple years ago."

"Okay…" Malú felt a twinge of guilt for asking. "I'm sorry about that. Aaron, you don't have to give me your whole life story. I'm not heartless. Your job is heavy, and you travel. I got it. You don't need to tell me everything about yourself, okay? You're not in trouble…anymore…"

Aaron cracked half of a smile at her, prompting Malú to do the same thing. "I like hearing that," Aaron admitted, "Is there any chance you would reconsider rescheduling our dinner?"

Malú's shoulders rose together, clearly unsure of the answer. She thought it was sweet of him to come all the way here to tell her everything about him so that she could make a conscious decision. He was right. He was laying out the cards on the table for her to see them clearly.

He was straightforward, and she admired him for it. He wasn't here to waste her time, just like he said.

"Is…there a chance you might cancel that too?" She asked as a final test.

Aaron ultimately nodded at her. "Perhaps, yes," he answered honestly.

Malú grew more fond of him at that moment. You totally want to date him. Yes, she did but she also wanted to stick to what she had said first and keep things slow because she wasn't sure if she could handle this kind of situation.

He was predisposed to canceling dates, outings or just any plans in general because of his job. He was on standby and she had never been with anyone in that situation.

"I don't want to waste your time either," she said quietly, letting her shoulders fall slowly, "So how about a middle ground for now."

"What are you thinking?" Aaron asked, curious of her idea. It wasn't a definite 'no' and he could work with that.

"Let's not do dates right now. Let's…let's just see each other when we can," Malú said, sighing, "Because I don't know if I can handle losing dates left to right. I just don't know, I'm sorry. You can totally walk out right now and not feel guilty about it. I know it's stupid, like I'm dragging you down an uncertain road…I told you that you might want more out of a person based on your job."

"None of that is true," Aaron said calmly, looking at Malú with a genuine smile, "A job does not define the person you are, and trust me my job is very much about defining things. I accept your offer. I think it's a good idea because I wouldn't want either of us to lose time."

"Are you sure?" Malú had to ask twice before she could begin to believe it.

Aaron nodded. "It's not the first time. I've had relationships end because of the crazy schedule. My job is high maintenance and I understand that it's not for everyone. I wouldn't want to put you in that kind of situation if you don't want it."

"Okay then…" Malú bit her bottom lip, "Well, if you have the time right now…wanna have some breakfast? I was sort of eating before you got here."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that…" Aaron grew confused when he checked his watch and saw it was well past noon. When he met Malú's gaze again, she was smiling bashfully.

"I like to sleep in a lot," she confessed, causing a laugh between them, "I'm not a morning person at all."

"But you said you worked at a school district? Those jobs usually start early don't they?"

Malú let out a heavy sigh, confirming the answer. Aaron smiled more.

"Got it," he nodded.

"So…breakfast?" Malú asked again.

Aaron agreed. "Breakfast."

And that morning, they had a nice breakfast together with a deeper conversation about Aaron's high maintenance job that would keep him away for days. Malú wanted to know exactly what she should expect in the future.

~0~

A month passed by and while nothing explicitly changed between them, both Malú and Aaron didn't want to let the other go. It was their individual secret from each other, never knowing that each one felt the same thing.

There were no dates, not officially anyways. There were casual outings whenever Aaron returned from a case. Malú learned to measure the typical time between cases, though sometimes there were back-to-back cases that kept them apart for weeks. Those were the harder times, especially when she was at school as well.

Aaron, in turn, learned Malú's schedule very early on. She worked from seven to three at the school district and on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, she went to school in the afternoon. Malú wanted to become a school psychologist. It was her absolute dream and that dream tended to have some downsides for them both.

For one, sometimes when Aaron was free, Malú was not. She was buried in schoolwork. She was cramming for exams or doing projects. Sometimes, she was just too exhausted from school to do anything. Aaron understood her and tended to leave her to rest. What he wanted to do was make her comfortable but that…that would involve certain liberties that he did not have.

They danced around the fine lines of friendship and an actual relationship. Sometimes, there was a hug that lasted longer than it should have. Other times there were kisses on the cheeks that were a bit too close to each other's mouths. The hand holding was one of the harder ones. What kind of hand holding was reserved for friends and which one was for a relationship? Neither one knew. Fingers brushed against each other's hands when they handed each other things, when they cooked together, or when they walked alongside each other. It was hard being with each other but it would be even harder not to be with each other. That was the silent agreement between them. Both preferred to leave things as they were rather than lose it all.

Sometimes, sometimes they would slip. Neither one complained about it.

One special morning, Malú woke up with a missed call and a text message from Aaron. She nearly fell out of bed when she read the message.

I think I'll be free for a bit this morning. Any chance you don't have plans this hour?

Malú couldn't text back fast enough. She jumped out of bed and went straight to her closet to pick out the best clothes she had. It was a special day indeed and it was even more special now that she got to spend a small part of the day with him. She had to be fast to get to him before the opportunity slipped away.

It was ironic that she got to the coffee shop before him. She didn't mind; she checked her phone just to make sure a case hadn't come up all of a sudden to pull him away. It had not.

She heard her name and, like a child, flipped her head back with a wide grin on her face as Aaron approached her table. Yeah, she felt like an absolute giddy kid.

"Hi!" She stood up from her seat to greet him. A hug and a kiss on the cheek was always a must, even if it was a terrible taunting crumb of touch between them. She would take it. Aaron would too.

"You look beautiful," he remarked, gazing at her and her soft purple dress she wore. The clothes, the makeup, the neat and prim hair — she was heavenly. "Happy birthday."

Malú grin widened more if it was even possible. "Thank you."

They sat down together and ordered something light and quick — they didn't know how long they had today.

Without a hint of a word or anything leading towards it, Aaron took out a small black box from one of his inside pockets and placed it on the table between them.

Malú's eyes widened at the gesture. "Oh…you didn't…you didn't have to get me anything."

The present was getting to see him today at all. She was convinced that with her luck, he would have had a case early on today so the most she would get was a phone call wishing her happy birthday. Getting to see him in person, have breakfast together was the best present she could have gotten.

You're way too deep in. It was a thought that regularly came to her, one that she couldn't deny anymore.

"It's tradition you give a present to someone on their birthday," Aaron said casually, sliding the box towards Malú, "And I think you're going to like it."

"Is that a fact from your profiling skills?" Malú smirked. "Or are you just that confident in your present-buying skills?"

"Can it be both?" Aaron asked swiftly, making Malú laugh.

"With you, I suppose." Malú reached for the box, already feeling her face flushing under Aaron's constant stare. She just couldn't grow used to his intensity.

She heard the click of the box when she opened the lid. Inside, she found a silver bracelet with a bright jade gem at the center. Looking closer at it, there were smaller jade beads adorning the chain, each one sparkling under the light of the shop.

"Curse you and your profiling skills and confidence," Malú mumbled under her breath, but Aaron still heard her perfectly.

He smiled, perhaps smug, but who knew. All he knew right now is that Malú loved her gift and that's all that mattered.

"Thank you for this. I love it," Malú said softly. "Where'd you get it from?"

"During a case a couple weeks back," Aaron replied, "You said jade was your favorite color."

"Yeah, in passing," Malú said with an embarrassed laugh to follow. In truth, she was touched with the gift. If he had bought the bracelet a while ago then it meant he saw them still being in each other's lives now.

"Can I put it on you?" Aaron motioned to the bracelet. Malú could nod faster. She chuckled and handed him the bracelet then held her wrist out to him.

He brought the bracelet around her wrist, subtly taking note of her warm skin. She couldn't stop staring at him no matter how much she tried (although she didn't try that hard). Her face grew warmer the more seconds passed with his soft fingers brushing over her skin. What she would give to have those hands touch other parts of her.

Aaron snapped the bracelet hooks together and pulled his hand off Malú's wrist. "What do you think?"

Malú immediately smiled. "I love it, Aaron. Thank you." She leaned over the table and kissed his cheek. She couldn't, and didn't, ignore the warmth on her face. "But you really didn't have to give me anything. Having breakfast with you is enough."

Her words brought a smile out of Aaron, along with a similar warmth. He would say the same thing to Malú if roles were reversed. Time wasn't a luxury for them so they learned quickly how to value it. Still, he would gladly buy her gifts if it meant getting to see her smile as much as she was right now.

Later on, they were walking down the street hand in hand, neither one commenting about the fact. They talked about what Malú's day was going to look like. She knew her best friend was planning a party for her tonight. That was something to look forward to, especially when she knew it would most likely be just her going.

Sometimes, Malú regretted the grounds she had set with Aaron.

They both knew what was happening when Aaron felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket. Malú silently sighed and watched him take out the phone to read whatever message was waiting for him.

Aaron didn't even have to explain it. He lowered the phone and looked over at Malú, apologizing.

Malú put on her best smile for him, just like she always did when it happened. "The present was getting to see you today," she assured him.

"I'm still sorry," Aaron reiterated while he put his phone away. "I wish—"

"I know—"

"I really wish I could—"

"Aaron," Malú wrapped an arm around his, forcing him to stop and look at her, "I know," she reassured him. "It means a lot that you want to spend today with me, trust me. I get it. You have other things to do, other responsibilities."

Aaron nodded slowly. He met her gaze with his own, taking her in for a new memory he would take with him and use when the case inevitably got dark. He found he did that a lot lately.

Malú smiled warmly at him. "Thank you for all this." She slid a hand over his cheek and leaned up to kiss him on his other cheek.

Aaron turned a bit quicker when she drew back. Her lips briefly met the corner of his and if it wasn't for time running out again, perhaps one of them would have acted on it. It was a moment that neither one would forget for a while.

~0~

The months to come were getting harder and yet somehow lovelier too. It was harder in that each time their schedules conflicted with each other's, the pain it brought grew stronger. They ached for each other, whether they were simple miles apart or states apart.

And it was lovelier in that even though they saw each other for brief moments, they still grew closer. Walls were beginning to dwindle.

Aaron started telling Malú more about his son. He found it was getting easier talking to Malú about Jack, about their lives and what he felt at times. He knew his personality was usually closed-off and so far Malú didn't seem to mind it. He wanted her to know that he was trying to change that.

Malú loved seeing him try. It warmed her heart. And she loved learning more about little Jack. He sounded like an adorable little boy. When it was Jack's birthday, she gave Aaron a gift for him.

You don't have to tell him it's from me, she clarified when she handed the gift over to Aaron. I just thought it was a cute book to read at bedtime.

Aaron ultimately decided to tell Jack who had really given him his new book — which turned out to be a series of children's bedtime stories. It was the shortened version, of course.

A friend of dad's works at a school district so she knows all the best books.

Jack had loved the present and now required that at least one of the stories be read to him each night. Seeing his son love something so small from Malú made Aaron consider the idea that the rules of their 'relationship' (which wasn't really much of a relationship) had finally expired.

One morning, he woke up with all the intentions of facing Malú and telling her exactly what he felt. Unfortunately, that same morning the BAU had an urgent case.

Still, he left a voicemail asking Malú to call him back. He intended on making his feelings known no matter what. She just didn't call that morning. The case was local which gave a lot of opportunities to keep calling and leaving messages. Part of him began to worry, drawing his attention away from the case until something sparked and fueled that concern.

"Hotch!" Morgan called twice before Aaron finally placed his attention on the case.

"What was that?" Aaron straightened in his seat. The others who sat around the conference table watched him curiously. It wasn't like him to space out.

"We got a call," Morgan repeated just as Penelope hurried into the room.

"Alert! Alert!" The blonde exclaimed. "We got an incoming message and you guys are going to want to see this!" She quickly set her computer up with the screens in the room so the others could see.

A series of video feeds started popping up on the screen, all of different yet very familiar people. Everyone was stunned and very soon began to feel dread creeping up on them.

"That's Will and Henry," JJ scowled, rising from her seat. Her husband and son were playing soccer in their front yard.

Aaron froze as well when he saw his own son on one of the screens. Jack was walking with his aunt to school.

"The unsub is following people we know," Spencer remarked, eyes flickering from one screen to the next. "Across states." Because he then saw his own mother on one of the screens.

"We need to set security details on friends and family," Rossi said, glancing at Aaron for his input.

Aaron was still watching the screens. Already he felt the ire washing over him knowing this unsub had been watching his son. But then his attention was drawn to another screen thanks to Spencer pointing out that amongst their friends and family, there was one woman none of them recognized.

"I want the security detail to bring everyone here," Aaron gave the order.

"Here?" Penelope looked at him with widened eyes. "Everyone?"

"Local ones," Aaron clarified, "We'll alert the respective precincts for Reid's and Morgan's families but everyone else needs to be here. Now." He stood up from his chair and grabbed his phone out of his pocket as he stormed out of the room. He couldn't dial any faster.

'Hi! It's Malú! Leave your message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can!'

Aaron could only control his breathing so much when he died twice and Malú still wouldn't answer. "Malú, please call me as soon as you get this," he left his voicemail in a rush. If he had any luck, even just a sliver of it, Malú would be able to pick up her phone and tell him that she was alright.

~0~

There was chaos as each family member was brought into the building. Unanswered questions, fear and of course the sweet blissful innocence of the children who had no idea why they were being brought into their parents' work.

"It's just for a couple hours, buddy, okay?" Aaron promised his son in the solitude of his office.

"But what's happening?" Jack insisted on the proper answer. "I thought I was going to school."

"You will, tomorrow," Aaron nodded, "You get to take a break today."

"In here?" Jack looked around the office curiously. "Can I play on your desk?"

Aaron smiled lightly. "Sure, just don't write on any of my papers, okay?"

Jack grinned. "Deal!" He even shook hands on it then hopped off the couch and dashed for his father's desk.

Aaron breathed a little easier knowing Jack was alright and completely unaware of the danger he'd been in. He rose from the couch and walked over to the windows giving a perfect view of the bullpen. He saw the other families with the team, each one trying to get some answers. He was glad to see everyone was alright but his mind hadn't stopped wondering about—

Two officers walked in through the bullpen doors leading a dark haired woman inside.

Aaron rushed out but not before posting an agent in front of his office to keep an eye on Jack. He then hurried down the small steps leading to the bullpen.

Malú saw him seconds before he reached her. "Aaron, what's going on?" she whispered to him, her eyes seeming permanently wide.

Aaron couldn't help it. He hugged her first, startling Malú and the rest of his team who'd begun to watch them curiously. "You weren't answering your phone," Aaron spoke beside Malú's ear.

"Yeah, I was in a long meeting today at the district," Malú explained, pulling away from him. "What's going on? These officers just showed up at my job telling me I had to come to the FBI? Why am I in the FBI right now?"

Aaron thanked the officers and pulled Malú with him towards the first empty office he came across, which so happened to be Rossi's. He shut the door and pulled the blinds down. "It's a situation that we are handling."

"Situation?" Malú raised an eyebrow at him.

Aaron nodded. "Yes, my team and I stumbled across an uunsub — a murderer who's taken it personal against us. He's been…" He knew this was going to be hard. "Uh, he's been watching my team's friends and family, including mine."

"Oh…" Malú started blinking rapidly, her mind going in the same pace. "L-like…l-like me?"

"Yes, like you," Aaron nodded once again, "I don't know how long it's been going on but I promise you that I'm going to make it stop. You just have to stay here in the meantime, okay?"

"What—"

"You'll be safe here," Aaron promised her. He walked up to Malú, cupping her face gently. "Just promise me that you'll stay here until I come back."

"Wh-where are you going to go?" Malú asked, already frightened. It was ironic that this is what had frightened her — the fact that Aaron was about to go into the unknown and not the fact that some stranger had been watching her.

"To go catch this guy," Aaron said, "So promise me that you'll stay here."

"Okay, yeah," Malú nodded fervently, "Whatever you need. I'm not going to make it harder. But you promise me something right now."

"Anything."

"You gotta promise me that you're going to be careful. I know you're like mister big shot around these parts but you still have a son to look after, right?"

Aaron smiled lightly. "Yeah, I know. He's here too. Everyone's families are. So…stay, alright?"

Malú reassured him that she would listen. Aaron still cupped her face and for a moment, it seemed like he would lean over. Malú would have welcomed it. A knock interrupted them, however. Aaron had just let Malú go when Rossi opened the door.

"We may have something," he informed Aaron, indicating it was time to go.

Aaron begrudgingly walked away from Malú, stopping at the doorway to look back at her. Malú encouraged him to go, promising again that she wasn't going to leave until he returned.

~ 0 ~

Spending your time in the BAU when you weren't an agent was actually very boring. Malú found that out quickly. She was free to go into the bullpen, into the conference room and virtually any room that was within the BAU's floor…but none of it was very interesting. She was bored out of her mind and that was a horrible thing to think of knowing the situation was terrible.

She came across a blonde woman who was dressed pretty brightly for a BAU agent. She quickly introduced herself as Penelope Garcia, who was a technical analyst.

"Is everything going on okay with, um, the team?" Malú asked nervously.

Penelope nodded at her. "Yeah, um, they're okay. You…you're…you're Hotch's friend, right?" She remembered Malú's name coming up in another investigation but now she suspected it had been more of a personal search.

"Uh, yeah, a friend, yeah…" Malú pursed her lips together, "Um, I don't mean to be rude but…is there somewhere I can…"

Penelope understood Malú perfectly. She herself didn't like the gray walls of the BAU. "You know, Jack's here too."

Malú remembered that detail as well and instinctively looked around. Penelope took that as a sign to bring Malú over. Malú didn't have the opportunity to admit that she had never even met the boy when Penelope brought her into the office.

"Hey Jack," Penelope greeted the boy when she strode into the office. "I brought you some coloring sheets and, guess what?"

"What?" Jack happily took the papers from Penelope's hands.

"One of your dad's friends is here to see you," Penelope said with a wide grin on her face.

Malú was cautiously standing by the doorway, watching the exchange silently. Already she could see some of the resemblance between Aaron and his son.

Penelope glanced back at Malú and motioned her to come in. "Maybe I can get you guys something to drink, and the bad stuff we have around here. Yuck!" She shuddered and Jack chuckled.

Malú managed a smile too. She liked Penelope indeed.

"I'll be back!" Penelope promised and hurried out of the office.

Jack then looked at Malú with the curious eyes that only a child could have. "Hi, I'm Jack. Are you friends with my dad?"

Malú nodded and walked a few steps in. "My name is Malú."

"Oh! You gave me a book for my birthday!"

Malú's eyebrows raised. "You know about that?"

"Yeah, my daddy told me that you work at a school so you know the best books in the stores!"

Malú chuckled. "He said that?"

"Aha! And guess what? I have that book in my backpack. It was share day at school today…" Jack hopped off the chair and hurried to the backpack beside the couch.

"I'm sorry about that," Malú said, deciding to walk over to the couch, "Maybe you can share it another time."

Jack shrugged and pulled the book out of his backpack. "Do you want to read with me? I'm practicing."

Malú smiled at the boy. "I would like that, yeah." She took a seat with him on the couch. "Do you practice at home too? You know that's very important."

"Yeah, my daddy says the same thing too," Jack nodded, "I read every day for 20 minutes. They time it. I can't tell time yet."

Malú laughed softly. "Right. Well, do you have a favorite story so far?"

"All of them," Jack said with a sheepish smile, "I love my book. Thank you for buying it for me."

Malú started laughing when Jack hugged her out of the blue. She gasped then, slowly, hugged him back. Everything she had heard about Jack from Aaron had made her grow fond of the boy but this small moment made her love him. She would gladly read to him all day if he wanted.

~ 0 ~

It was late in the evening when Jack had fallen asleep. He rested on Malú's lap. Penelope had come in several times to check in on them and offered Malú a blanket so she could rest as well, but Malú preferred that Jack get a blanket instead. She wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew that Aaron was alright.

And the hours become agonizingly long when she heard no news about the team. All she had was her mind and her dark thoughts. She became restless, so much that in the end she had to slip away from Jack before she accidentally woke him up. She made sure he was comfortable on the couch and that the blanket covered him up well then proceeded to pace back and forth. Her legs would be sore for sure.

Malú heard commotion out in the bullpen and felt her heart hammer within seconds. There were so many things that could have gone wrong and they were all coming to her.

What if something happened to the team? What if Aaron got hurt? What if he got hurt and he wasn't coming back? She would never see him again. All that time, however little it always tended to be, would vanish.

Malú gulped. Had she screwed up? She was the one who told Aaron they couldn't be anything except friends. For all she knew, that had been it. There was nothing else to come and that…that hurt so much. She felt tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh my God," she barely stifled her sob. She couldn't take it and dashed towards the door. At the same time, the door opened. Malú almost bumped into Aaron himself.

He looked at her with wide eyes, a disheveled appearance that only led Malú to wonder what he had to have faced before this.

"It's okay, you're safe now," he told her. "You're—"

Malú crashed into him with a hug. "Thank God! I was beginning to think the worst!" She clung to him perhaps in the most uncomfortable way but neither one minded.

Aaron held her tightly as well. He was relieved knowing she would go home safely tonight. "You're okay. I promise you'll be okay now. He's gone."

Malú looked up at him, her eyes still teary. "You? How about you? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

"No, no, I'm okay. I'm good, I promise," Aaron said, cupping her face. "You're free to go now. There's agents ready to take you home."

"Just like that?" Malú blurted, unable to stop the hurt that came with the implications of his supposed alleviating news.

Aaron grew confused. "That's…that's what you wanted, no? What we both wanted?"

Malú swallowed hard. That made sense, but it was no longer the only thing she wanted. "I spent the whole day with your son," she said, stepping back and gesturing towards Jack sleeping on the couch. "He is perfect…like his father." Aaron managed to smile a bit. "You told him about me. You never mentioned that."

Aaron nodded silently. "I didn't want you to feel like you had to meet him. I understand what you want and why. I would never want you to feel like you had to do something out of politeness."

Malú looked at him with soft eyes. "I would love to spend time with you and Jack." She slid her hands over his cheeks and brought him to her lips for a kiss.

After the day he had, Aaron had the quick sense to respond. He'd imagined the moment so many times before and Malú was the one who initiated it? It was even better.

Malú pulled away first and only because she remembered they were not alone, despite the third littlest member being fast asleep. "Go home with your son," she whispered to him.

"What?" Aaron's first thought was that Malú had changed her mind or this had just been a bittersweet way to say goodbye. Already he looked helpless.

Malú smiled at him again, caressing the sides of his face. "He missed his dad all day. He should wake up knowing that you're both at home. But come see me right after, okay?"

The way Aaron looked at Malú was asking her if she was serious. Malú laughed quietly, not wanting to wake Jack up.

"Things can't stay the same anymore," Malú admitted, sighing, "I know what I said before but I…I went insane not not knowing if you were coming back. I felt even worse knowing how much time we wasted. I-I know that it's not when I say things can change but if you're open to discussing it again…"

Aaron grabbed her head and kissed her again. They lingered over each other's lips for a moment.

"And just so we're clear, it's anything you want," Aaron said, earning a small chuckle. "I have no problem following you."

Malú flushed. "Then we can continue this tomorrow. And just so we're clear, the rule is that from now on, you have to kiss me every time we're together. If Time isn't a luxury, then we'll have to take advantage of it."

Aaron nodded on the spot. "I can live with that arrangement." He kissed her again then brought her into a hug.

[linhfoxmoive]

“The many faces of Rosie” -A quote by @malue-505 (After I had spammed her with multiple photos of just Rosie’s face expressions and fangirling 💀)

Quick heads up! I’m not sure if this can count as spoilers for Hazbin Hotel (Which by the way if you haven’t watched it yet, you should cause in my own personal opinion I think it’s pretty cool so far!) if it’s just cropped pictures of one singular character, plus the beloved red deer dude in one of them psshtthhsh shhh- And a random goofy mini personal theory rant. But uh, yeah you’ve been warned! :)

Another warning!! Imma become a mad limp simp in this post and rant about Rosie being adorable, cause uh it’s fun for me and this is my blog so yeah <3 If you don’t want to see that, then just ignore all the text and just brief by the pictures I suppose? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Honestly I live for Rosie doing, “:O”!! It makes me so happy, help, it’s what motivated me to make this post ngl 😭❤️

I just keep thinking of it as like, Rosie pog face moment lmao 😩

THIS FACE THOUGH D: (The urge I get from this to be like: “Look what’ve you done, what did you do to make Rosie so shooketh? HM? 🫵🤨)

Look at her..just LOOK at her! She’s just utterly flabbergasted for at least two whole scenes!? 😤

Oki teehee, nevermind cause she happi now, look at her smile 😊

AHEM, I still have more Rosie pictures to share! Though I just wanna drop a thanks to @malue-505, for just listening to my yapping about Rosie lmao and helping me get some of these photos after I asked her if she could for me &lt;3

Anyways her design is so slayyy, like have I mentioned that I love her yet? 🤭

AAA she’s so smug with that face, I’m a sucker for fancy lady characters with sharp teeth gah!! 🤩

Dude. The way she just sits there so politely and smiles… 🥺 (Also ignore Alastor in the last photo, this ain’t about him 😒)

Mwahs for Rosie cause she needs more love I swear!! I feel like before the actual show and when we only had the pilot to go off of Rosie wasn’t talked about enough! Maybe cause she appeared in only like one shot, but either way- I just really like her :’D

This image GOT me though man, she has that kind of smile where it’s like you just told her the most devastating news ever and she wasn’t fully listening. So she started to smile and nod while you’re standing there dumbfounded by that reaction 😀👍

Last photo of her here I swear (For now at least lmao :>), anyways I don’t know why but I got a feeling/mini theory that in the “Hello Rosie” episode that’s about to drop. Alastor finna callup home girl girlie Rosie and ask her if she can bring all of the cannibals from the colony to help defend the hotel from the upcoming heavenly attack. Or just use the cannibals to help rebuild the hotel once it most likely gets destroyed from the extermination 😍 It probably won’t happen cause Alastor could just probably have the power to do it himself, but it’s just really funny for me to imagine :’D

But I mean hey, think about it!! Maybe Rosie will wanna help cause then just like Alastor did during the overlord meeting, she’ll and the other cannibals will get to have a taste of an angel or something 💀

Conclusion: I just adore Rosie, she’s neat to me and her faces so far are fricken adorable to me!! I can’t wait to hear what she’ll sound like, especially when singing gahh! Definitely one of my top favorite characters 🥰

[tishigo]

And so the headcannons enter the chat. I imagine Malus at a time when he has not yet gone completely mad and has not died.

[silverloreley]

Do you any more takes on Carlos being a Madrigal?

I sure do, I'm writing a whole fic!

Carlos had no idea who his father was for a very long time. That's because marriages are not registered on the Isle but also because Cruella forbade everyone to tell Carlos anything about his father, name included (no one talks about Bruno, no matter the universe he's in, poor man). The only thing he knew was that his father had been chased out of Hell Hall at some point and never came back. He doesn't know Bruno actually never left but hid in Hell Hall's secret passageways and stuff, just to take care of him in secret.

Carlos, as the Disney prince(ss) he is, is beloved by pets, in particular, his cat Beelzebub and Bruno's rats have an agreement only for his sake. It's more a truce than else, but they work together to make sure Bruno knows things and can help when Carlos is in a pinch. Dude will be included in the loop, at some point, once Beebs will stop being jealous, and Dude won't bark at all of them anymore.

Carlos is touch-starved, Bruno is even more so, meaning that once they are officially reunited they end up being rather affectionate with each other. Ruffled hair, pats on the back, side hugs, full hugs, anything goes. Evie thinks it's cute, the VKs, in general, are a bit envious, until Bruno figures out and starts doting on them too (except for Mal, Hades is a jealous dad and Bruno likes to be alive, so Mal is the one who has to start any contact).

When it comes the time to meet the Madrigals, Carlos is worried he won't fit in, and this never quite goes away, even years later. He goes along with them as well as he does with Diego and his other de Vil relatives, if not more, but it's not enough to make him move to Encanto for good.

Among his aunts and uncles, his favorite is Julieta: she's everything he imagined a good mom would be and she dotes on him a lot, even more so after she finds out about the kind of childhood he had. He likes Pepa too, but her temper reminds him a bit too much of Cruella's at times, with the added malus of the thundering, which scares him. His second favorite is Felix, for the sole reason he's sunshine incarnate and he can calm down or make smile everyone, two things Carlos desperately needed.

Among the cousins, Mirabel is the one he's closest to (they bond a lot in the fic), the second is Antonio (they bond a lot over animals and being the youngest in the family).

His relationship with Abuela is complicated at best, they both are aware that the lost time can never come back and they have a hard time understanding each other at times, although they try. Abuela hates that Cruella manipulated Bruno and Carlos to the point of making them so nervous with people (more than they'd naturally be) and sees some of her own faults mirrored in it, Carlos sees she tries to fix her mistakes and is a lot more forgiving than he is with his mother. Also, knowing Abuela's sometimes hard personality comes from trauma, he starts to try to figure out what went wrong with his own mother (that could be a fic on its own, now that I think about it).

He won't stay to live in Encanto, although after the rebuilding he'll have his own room there. He'll come back often enough, though, every summer at least (I refuse to acknowledge Carlos' canon death or anything after D3. Actually, D3 is on thin ice too). Since he becomes a veterinarian, with a side specialization/hobby in inventing machinery for pet care, he has his own studio in Encanto. Antonio will follow in his footsteps and will become a vet too, taking over the studio when Carlos isn't there.

Abuela wanted to meet Jane as soon as she heard of her. It was very awkward at first, Jane was a nervous wreck and couldn't talk much, which didn't leave a good first impression, the one who helped the most was Camilo, who started making jokes and impressions until Jane laughed and calmed down enough for the things to flow. Carlos will be eternally grateful to Camilo for it.

Cruella will never ever set foot in Encanto and it's better this way. Pepa would kill her if she did, all the Madrigals were so horrified by how she treated Bruno and Carlos that they hate her without even needing to meet her.

The de Vil cousins and the Madrigal kids get along like a house on fire. Literally, Ivy and Isabela almost set Casita on fire. They claim it was an accident, Hunter and Dolores know better, Carlos pretends he has no idea, Camilo actually has it all on camera and would have used it as blackmail if Luisa had not deleted it all.

And whoops, I think it's long enough, for now ;)