#my music taste is a little all over the place

[maybege]

Drunken Words Are Sober Thoughts - FBI 11

Summary: The birthday celebration continues but the morning after does not look as fun.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x fem!Reader

Wordcount: 2.7k | Rating: E (18+ only!)

Warnings: alcohol consumption, hopeless yearning, Josh is annoying af and so are “your” parents

I am not dead and neither is my Hotch obsession, so I am slowly (very slowly!!!) trying to get back into this fic. Let me know what you think, your comments these past months were always an absolute joy to read 🥺

masterlist | crossposted on AO3

You did not know how many cocktails you already had thrown back, each one more colourful than the last.

What had started with a Kiwi Splash had turned into a Sex On The Beach and something else that Emily had pushed into your hand with a grin and a wink. It was hot pink and tasted like sour candy on your tongue. Delicious.

The night went on, the music got louder and you did not know a lot of people in this karaoke bar that the group had chosen but with Penelope and JJ on the dancefloor, you were certainly in good company.

Someone was blaring an offkey rendition of Britney Spears’ Toxic but you could not care less. Your dress was twirling around you, you screamed along with your friends and the rest of the bar for a moment you finally felt like you had found your people. Like you had settled in this strange city away from home with a group of colleagues with whom you had always wanted to fit in.

And how could you not feel welcomed when Penelope threw her arms around your neck and professed her undying love to your dangly earrings?

“Let the birthday girl breathe, Pep,” JJ joked, rocking her hips to the beginning tunes of Get Busy.

“I just think you are beautiful, darling!” Penelope shouted over the music, “Inside and out and you are so lovely and nice and you deserve the best things and I hate to think that you think you don’t deserve the good things this life has to offer you.”

Trying to hide how close her words hit home, you swallowed back the heavy feeling in your chest.

“All right, Garcia,” Emily interjected, taking your blonde friend into her arms, “I think that is enough drinks for tonight. How about we go looking for your hunk somewhere, huh?”

You grinned, pressing a wet kiss to Penelope’s cheek before making your way back to the table the rest of the group was occupying. While drinking all night may be a fun distraction from your usually so boring life, you knew yourself enough to know you needed to drink lots of water if you wanted to function tomorrow.

Though “function” might be too big a word.

The glass of cool tap water – condensation pearling off at the sides – was calling your name and you fought your way through the crowd. It had not seemed this packed with people when you were dancing with your friends but the moment you tried to get to a specific place, your way was blocked by dozens of people just as (if not more) drunk than you.

You were about to squeeze your way between two people (the last hurdle to your table) when they suddenly stepped away from each other. You almost toppled over, squeaking in surprise when your heel got caught in a gap in the creaky floorboards.

It would have made for a nasty fall if it had not been for two strong arms catching you around your waist, gently helping you into your chair.

“There,” Aaron Hotchner's amused smirk greeted you as you looked up, “Drank a little too much, did we?”

“Me?” you asked, finding yourself in the mood to joke, “Never!”

A real, genuine laugh escaped the man before you and you were sure you had never seen anything more beautiful than him laughing. His entire face lit up and the crinkles next to his eyes deepened. You grabbed the fabric of your dress, keeping yourself from tracing the lines of his face with your finger.

Not appropriate, you reminded yourself, So not appropriate.

“Pretty sure you are, though,” he teased back, pushing the glass of water towards you. You smiled in thanks, quickly gulping down a few sips. “You are laughing more than usual, entertaining Reid’s monologues on aviation in the early twentieth century and I am pretty sure,” he looked down between you, “Just like I thought. You are wearing the heels I only ever saw you wear when we celebrated Emily’s birthday at that high-end sushi place.”

“Are – are you drunk profiling me, Agent Hotchner?” you gasped in shock, unable to hide your smile.  

“What happened to Sir?”

Hoping he did not notice the heat spreading through your face, you fiddled with the neckline of your dress, trying to get some air on your body. “Don’t tease me!”

He looked … relaxed. Open. A slow smile spread on his lips as he turned the half-empty glass of scotch in his hand. He was the epitome of confidence and relaxation with how he was leaning back in his chair. You tried to remember the last time you had seen him so … not on edge. No moment came to mind.

You crossed your legs, trying to satiate the pulsing need that had formed in your core. Somewhere in the back of your mind, you tried to remind yourself to not give him anything to read you by. Which seemed impossible considering the man could read you like an open book.

You just hoped you could hide at least a few essential chapters.

The dark-haired man leaned forward then, resulting in his head hovering right next to yours. The proximity was dizzying and intimate and you could not help but breathe him in. He smelled of the scotch and something so masculine it made you daydream about burying your head in the crook of his neck.

 “You sure?” he mumbled, his lips dangerously close to your ear and you audibly gasped for breath, the back of your neck feeling warm as you stared up at him, “Because I have the feeling you rather like me teasing you.” He was so close, looking down at you as his nose almost touched yours and shit you wanted nothing more than to –

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Pen!” you gasped in shock, plastering a big grin on your face in the hopes that she would not see the sheer need written all over your face.

Luckily, your friend seemed to focus on your lack of dancing to notice anything else. She did not even spare a glance at Hotch when he slowly pulled away from you. “Oh, don’t tell me you are getting tired,” she whined, grabbing your hand and dragging you up, “C’mon, let's go back to dancing! Swing those hips, sweetie, we have all night!”

You followed her with a laugh, happy to have the distraction, but not without looking back at Hotch.

And seeing that he still looked at you with a smile.

*

Waking up with a headache was not normally a cause for joy but the morning after your birthday, you still woke up with a smile on your face.

Never in your wildest dreams had you expected the night to turn out the way it did.

The team had shown up with you, not once but twice and even then, continued to make you feel celebrated the entire evening. Hell, Rossi had insisted on covering your tab on the condition that you brought your self-made banana bread to work again. Emily and Derek (and a very drunk Penelope) had sung you the loudest rendition of Happy Birthday you ever heard with Reid and JJ acting as backup dancers/singers.

And Hotch had been the one to see you to your cab when the night had come to an end, making sure you were before nodding at you with a small smile.

A smile that was now on your face as you made your way to the kitchen. You caught a glimpse of the chaos in the living room. Chaos that had not existed when you had left last night. Empty bottles and glasses stacked on top of plates that were not quite as empty and the remnants of the pizzas Josh seemed to have ordered yesterday.

The smell of stale leftovers hung in the air and you hoped that a few slices were left over so you did not have to meal prep for the week.

The kitchen greeted you with much of the same sight and you took a deep breath when you saw your roommate already sitting at the table, a few slices of pizza before him. It wasn’t that you were unhappy to see him, really. You had just hoped to have a few more moments to yourself before being confronted with the events of last night.

“Morning,” he greeted you, chipper as ever.

“Hey,” you greeted back, browsing through the tea drawer. Peppermint? Berries? Earl Grey? You settled on a ginger and lemon brew, hoping that it would help you to wake up.

“That was one hell of a night, huh?”

“It was,” you agreed, “The bar we went to had like three birthday parties at the same time, it was a lot of fun.”

A moment of silence followed and you did not need to look at him to know he did not know what you were talking about. “Oh good,” was what he finally settled on and you closed your eyes, trying to hide your annoyance.

How could it be that the person you had long considered to be your best friend suddenly just … wasn’t the person you knew?

Remembering Derek’s comment from the night before, you decided to take another deep breath and do something you had avoided for a long time: Confront your best friend.

“Josh,” you started carefully, turning around and leaning your hip against the counter, “Can we talk about last night?”

“Sure,” he took another bite of his toast, “What about it?”

“The comment you made in front of my colleagues … That was not okay.”

“What comment?”

For a moment you could feel the doubt creeping up. Was this the right path to go down? Was this worth a conflict with not only your best friend but also your roommate? Was it really as bad as you thought it was? What if he had meant well?

My experience is that the people we need to clarify that about usually don’t care if they mean well or not.

Derek's words echoed in your head and you knew you were right.

“The comment where you implied that I was bad at my job. In front of your friends, my colleagues and my boss,” you recalled, feeling, “That was humiliating and hurtful, Josh.”

A frown formed between his brows. “Why are you so angry? Yeah, so I made a misplaced comment, I am sorry, but didn’t we talk about this already? Besides, it was at a party I organized for you, I think I am allowed to have some leeway here.”

You could feel your eyes bulge out of your head. Was he for real?

“I really appreciate what you were trying to do,” you said calmly, wrapping your hands around the mug and focusing on how the ceramic was warming against your skin, “Really, I do. But did it not occur to you that the only people you invited were your friends?”

“You know them too.”

“I do and they are very nice, I'm sure. But you could have asked if I would have liked someone to join. I left before midnight to celebrate somewhere else with people that I invited.”

He scoffed. “Look, I'm sorry you feel that way,” he threw his hands up, “I was just trying to do something nice and apparently that backfired.”

It did not escape you that the language he used was manipulative as fuck and you bit your tongue from throwing words in his face you would not be able to take back.

“I don’t think this is very productive,” you finally said, “I am going to take a shower and I would really appreciate it if we could talk about this sometime when we are both more clear-headed.”

Though as you made your way to the bathroom, the steaming mug still in your hands, you had the sinking feeling that any following conversation would not bring the closure you hoped it would.

*

As if your day could not get any better, your phone rang just as you stepped out of the shower and into your bedroom.

Recognizing the picture on the screen, you accepted the video call, wrapping your bathrobe a little tighter.

“Hi.”

“Happy birthday, honey!” your mom appeared on the small screen. The living room wall behind her looked just like it had done your entire childhood and you spotted the variety of family pictures she took great care of dusting every week.

“Thank you.”

“Did you have fun?” she asked, “Did you get to go out with Josh and your friends?”

“Yeah, uh,” you hesitated for a moment, “Josh organized a little party here but I ended up going out with the team later. We went for karaoke and it was awesome.”

“You certainly look like you had an awesome night,” she teased and you bit your lip to keep from grinning.

“So … how are you feeling?” she asked and you immediately grew suspicious. You knew that tone and you knew when she was worried.

“Good,” you replied carefully, “Like I said, I had a fun night.”

She hummed and avoided looking at you for a moment and you knew what was about to happen when you saw your father sitting down next to her. Even hundreds of miles apart, you still felt like a child when your parents sat together on the sofa like that one time when you accidentally put a dent in the family car.

“Remember our conversation from a few weeks ago?”

You nodded. “Yeah, I am feeling a lot better now.”

“And I am so glad to hear it,” she smiled and you could tell the genuine worry from where the crease never quite left her forehead, “I talked with your father and we – we think it might be best if you come visit us for a while. Come back home, check

“Just because you don’t think I can't make it as an agent –“

“Hey,” your dad interrupted you gently, “No one is prouder of you than we are, sweetheart, and we know you make for one hell of an agent. But the fact remains that you were miserable for the last couple of months and it might not be a bad idea to try and get to the root of things.”

And by the root of things they meant that you re-discover your passion to become an English teacher at your local middle school.

“I am an adult woman,” you tried again, “I love you and I love that you worry about me. But we need to keep in mind that I made a big move for a job that I was not wholly prepared for. The adjustment period was … longer than I wanted, for sure. But I finally feel like things are moving for the better and this makes me feel like you do not believe in me.”

“We do love you, honey,” your mum assured you, “And I apologize for making you feel like we don’t trust your decisions. I know you are incredibly proud of the work you do and you should be! But I am worried and I would feel better if you took some time off and came to visit us. Allow yourself the grace to breathe, you have been working non-stop since you moved away. There is no way that is healthy.”

You ran your hand over your face, trying to get yourself some time to think over your answer. The horrible thing was you knew your mother was right. Even if you did not want to admit it, you knew that you had been overworking yourself, that ever since Dr Johnson had voiced her doubts, your brain had been on edge and that a break might not be the worst idea.

Especially considering you had not taken any time off since you started your position.

“I hear you,” you started, feeling your eyes sting with tears. But you refused to cry in front of your parents lest they thought they were right and insisted that you come home as soon as possible. The last thing you wanted was to worry them.

“Can you just give me some time to think it over?” you asked, “Taking time off is not as easy as it sounds and I want to make sure that I don’t miss anything important at work.”

“Of course, darling,” your mother agreed, “Let us know anytime.”

But you knew that her anytime meant that your time was running out.

[selfcontainedinferno]

Tagged by @btrzznn  to put the music library on shuffle and list the first ten songs that come up.

You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us In Prison, My Chemical Romance

Custer, Slipknot

I’m Not A Vampire, Falling in Reverse

American Idiot, Green Day

The Killing Lights, AFI

Paralyzer, Finger Eleven

That Unwanted Animal, The Amazing Devil

King Nothing, Metallica

Eye Of The Tiger, Survivor

Coming Undone, Korn

I’ll tag….any mutual that wants to do this and say I tagged them, because it has been a LONNNNGGG time since I’ve talked to most of you!

[amourcheol]

tag game!!

rules: spell your url with song titles and tag as many people as the letters! tagged by @dalkyeom

All of The Girls You Loved Before by Taylor Swift

Me and You Together Song by The 1975

Only Over You by Fleetwood Mac

Unforgettable by Nat King Cole

Red Lights by Stray Kids

Cinnamon Girl by Lana Del Rey

HOME;RUN by Seventeen

Entertainer by Zayn Malik

OMG by NewJeans

Like a Tattoo by Sade

omg i do not have enough mutuals for that so i tag @hoonbear @hyuckworld @soobmint do this challenge rn .

[butdriampagliacci]

Hi! I saw on another ask that you mentioned a playlist you have for Wildfire and that we should let you know if we want to see it, I’d love to if that’s okay! Thank you for sharing the fic btw, it’s one of my favorite ones <3

Sure! I'd link the whole Spotify playlist but for privacy reasons, here's the songs w/ individual links. Happy listening!

rootless tree - damien rice wildfire - marianas trench pyrokinesis - 7chariot the beach - the neighbourhood it's all so incredibly loud - glass animals the chain - fleetwood mac mouth of the devil - mother mother empire & the sun - the moth & the flame trade mistakes - p!atd nostalgic - arizona the sailor song - autoheart monsters (feat. demi lovato and blackbear) - all time low bloody shirt - to kill a king arsonist's lullaby - hozier youth - daughter honey whiskey - nothing but thieves fools - troye sivan capsize - frenship, emily warren from zero - monsta x the boy with the thorn in his side - the smiths you know me too well - nothing but thieves rule #4 fish in a birdcage - fish in a birdcage allies or enemies - the crane wives wherever i go - onerepublic no children - the mountain goats smother - daughter poison & wine - the civil wars broken crown - mumford & sons

[foreverchangingfandomsao3]

shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. then copy/paste this ask to your favorite mutuals <3

Hey Frost!!! Thank you for asking!

I'm afraid I've been baking which means my favourite playlist is mostly songs I can sing at the top of my lungs 😅

1. Before You Go by Lewis Capaldi

2. Too Sweet by Hozier

3. Wild Blue Yonder by The Amazing Devil

4. Don't Tell Mama from Cabaret

5. El Tango De Roxanne from Moulin Rouge (the film version, obviously)

[littlemisspascal]

I am exactly 1,234 words into this weird new little Din fic thingy and all I can say about it so far is that music is a huge influence

[leothelionboy]

I kinda wish spotify had like a shuffle feature for finding playlists. Sometimes I just wanna listen to something new and spotify goes “Here! Have a song you’ve listened to for the past month.”

Like dude… I asked for new! Not my favorite song of right now. Gimme a random ass band with two monthly listeners. Not Maroon 5.

[l8rhader]

@theoniprince Tagged me!!

💕when you get this you have to reply with five of your favorite songs then tag your mutuals to do the same🎵

I tag @stan-the-cinnamon-roll-uris @fiction-bks @alove-somuchrefined @victorydoll @must-be-mythtaken @berkmansimagines @breakthekaspbrak

[artilaz]

URL Music Game 🎶

Make a playlist with each letter of your URL!

Tagged by @ex-textura! I'm normally not even into this kind of memes, but today I feel like it, so here we go! 💪

A - "Always On My Mind" - Pet Shop Boys

R - "Rescue Me" - Bell Book & Candle

T - "Tristan" - Two Steps From Hell

I - "I Will Wait" - Mumford and Sons

L - "La Storia di Serafino" - Adriano Celentano

A - "Atlas Falls" - Shinedown

Z - "Zombie" - Bad Wolves

I'm gonna tag @melvinthedepressedrobot, @windynebula, @hotnerdywizard, and @the-real-housewives-of-waterdeep, but since some of y'all have insanely long urls, I won't be mad if you skip this. I lowkey expect Jamie to jump at it though 😂

[qeyond]

Anyway, Happy Pride! Here's my BirthdayMassacre playlist.

[patronsaintofposmodernity]

what better time to finally post this than on spotify wrapped day✌️ gràcies a @tornoaserjo per etiquetar-me!!!

im not tagging anyone bc i think most people have already done it but feel free to do it!!! i would love to see yours <3

[minty-bubblegum]

for the ask game: 7, 20, 23, and 30?

7. Song stuck in your head?

Technically, I have answered this question, but here's another song I really like that gets stuck in my head easily :3

20. Are you a gamer? What was the last game you played?

I guess I do consider myself as one? The last game I've played was.. *awkwardly stares off into space...*

23. Share a bit of philosophy?

*clears throat*

You deserve that little trinket. Delectable treats are destined to come to you in the future.

*falls off stage*

30. What is your favorite way to create?

...

This has left my mind to quite a few interpretations. The one it likes the most is I like creating spontaneously! It gives restriction yet so much freedom. Random can absolutely have its regrets, it happens often, but it adds a little flare to it. I especially get burnt out easily, so doing the moment I feel is best for my ideas!

As for the other way I thought of this, I like creating in the way I feel in the mood for :3

[writingpostmidnight]

hell yeah i got tagged in something that lets me share my music thanks @snapbackdad 10 most recently played songs, tag 10 ppl

imma tag ten ppl bc i love following directions but as always no pressure to participate. also if u see this & i didn’t tag u but u wanna share ur ten songs tag me anyway i love to find new music :3

@detrasystem @impulsive-astrophile @ur-cute-so-i @canvas-the-florist @icedchaigirllove @whateverwarrior @treesofgreen @girls-and-honey @lourek @carryitthru

[ray-elgatodormido]

10 songs I’ve ingrained into my brain aka I listen to while drawing

Thank you for the tag as always @lucien-lachance I always appreciate it :)

Most of the MGR Revengeance soundtrack

Most of ATEEZ’s discography

For your Entertainment-Adam Lambert

Subeme la Radio-Enrique Engliesia

Suvemente-Elvis Crespo

Livin La Vida Loca Spanish ver.-Ricky Martin

Maria- Ricky Martin

I was made for lovin you- KISS

Vivir mi Vida- Marc Anthony

Legendary-Skillet

[vixlenxe]

When i see someone with my kind of music taste

[corpsoir]

what're some of your favorite songs currently 🎤

supermodel by måneskin, melancholy man by the moody blues, and walla walla by glass animals!!!! theyre all very good and i can listen to them on repeat for way too long