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imagineaworlds · 3 years

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I Love You (Part Thirty-Two) -- Aaron Hotchner

Written By: @desperately-bisexual

Request: None.

Warnings: SMUT!! Cursing. Unprotected sex. Wrap it before you tap it, ladies, gentlemen, and nonbinary sibs. Dom/sub relationship. Sir kink. Impregnation kink. Soft sex. Emotional sex. The reader does go by they/them pronouns, however, Hotch refers to them as female when saying “good girl”.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x Greenaway!Reader

Word Count: 12194

Timeline: A month after part thirty-one.

I sighed as I pushed all of Hotch’s work to the side just so that I could get to my desk in our office. Since getting out of the hospital about two weeks ago, Hotch had turned our home office into a conspiracy theory pit. He had so many pictures of Foyet, his victims, the crime scenes, the news clippings about The Reaper, and so on hung on the walls that I couldn’t even remember what color the walls were. About a week into this whole project of his was when he pulled out the red string. From there, our office became a maze. It was like I was goddamn Catherine Zeta Jones in Entrapment the way I was weaving through all of it.

But I couldn’t tell him to take it down. Hotch spent two weeks in the hospital, and then he had to spend another two weeks at home as he recovered from Foyet’s attack, underwent physical and psychological evaluations, and I practically made him go on bed rest the rest of the time. Because he wasn’t allowed to go back to work, he had to spend his time working on finding Foyet. I hated that I had to go to work every day without him because of that. I knew that this was eating at him, and I couldn’t stay around long enough to console him or talk him down. It was irritating both of us.

It had only been a month since we said goodbye to Haley and Jack, yet it felt like an eternity. My little man… Every day we were forced apart, I felt a piece of me die. Was that odd? Was it weird to miss someone else’s son like he was your own? Was it weird that I took Red, mine and Jack’s favorite dinosaur, with me everywhere? To the office, on cases, at home. Everywhere. It probably wasn’t as weird as when I would come home to find Hotch napping on Jack’s bed. That mattress was way too small for him. I mean, he would curl up on it as much as possible, and yet his feet would somehow still be hanging off the edge. But it was how he was coping. It was how we were both coping. And the worst part was, we were doing it separately.

In our line of work, Hotch and I had worked dozens of cases with parents that lost a child in a kidnapping or murder. The BAU didn’t just specialize in profiling the Unsubs and victimology—that was a large part of it, obviously, but there was an unspoken part of the job that always struck me during those kinds of cases. Parents mourning the loss of a child were profiled to inevitably always split up. Like the case we worked in Vegas just before Dallas, a son had been kidnapped while walking to a friend’s house, and the parents were slowly drifting apart. They blamed each other. They couldn’t bear to even look at each other. Getting them to cooperate with the investigation so that we could find their son was nearly impossible. Yet we weren’t shocked by that behavior, because that was how mourning couples were always profiled. I just never thought that it would happen to me and Hotch.

No one ever expects that they’re going to lose everything. No one anticipates having to say goodbye to their son. A month ago, we had to say goodbye to Jack, and we honestly weren’t sure if we were ever going to see him again. Foyet was playing the long game with us now. Who knew when he was going to turn up again with another clue so that we could find him? There was a chance that by the time we either caught up to him or he died, Jack wouldn’t know who we were, so there’d be no point in bringing him back. There was a chance that his life would be better off without us. And that was damn near impossible to admit.

However, I thought that Hotch and I were going to come to terms with all of this together. I thought that because we loved each other, and because we knew what the profiles said, that we would somehow work together to prove the profile wrong and work through this side by side. That was what I thought. I spent every day with him when he was in the hospital and I wasn’t on a case. Every single goddamn day. Yet, when he came home, he locked himself in his office, and he practically stopped looking at me altogether.

I would cry every night. I would get home from work, and there were times when I couldn’t even make it to the couch. I would just collapse right there in the entryway, and I wouldn’t get up until the sun started rising for another day. And Hotch never came to hold me. There were other times when I’d come home to hear him sobbing in the office, and I thought about going to console him, but he had locked the door. When I initially tried playing with the doorknob, Hotch immediately stopped crying. He sniffled then told me to go away. So, I stopped trying to go in after that. He stopped trying with me, so I inevitably stopped trying with him. One night, I even thought about moving out. I mean, we weren’t acting like a couple. We had proved the profile correct, and I knew that once that happened—statistically speaking—we were never going to get back together. But I still held on hope. I prayed that he would finally take a moment to realize that he could break down in front of me. I would be there to hold him when he needed it. Until then, there was nothing I could do.

The minute he was cleared to go back to work, Hotch took it. I didn’t think he would go back so soon. One, because of his injuries; two, because going back to work meant that he wouldn’t have all day, every day to pointlessly look for Foyet. He hadn’t found a single goddamn lead in a month, but he was still hacking at it. That was why I was shocked when he gave it up just to go back to the BAU. We even had an argument about it. The day he finally came out of the office to tell me he passed all of his exams, I cracked. I was so fucking pissed at him. He spent a month refusing to look at me, talk to me, sleep in the same bed as me, eat the fucking dining table with me—and then he had the fucking audacity to smile at me and say, “I’m going back to work tomorrow.”

I lost my shit. Truly. I looked back at him and said, “I don’t care what the Bureau says, I don’t want you going back yet. They’re not the ones who have to worry about you, Aaron!”

Hotch’s smile fell. “Drop it.”

I shook my head. “I know you lied during your psych evals. I know that you pushed yourself too hard during your physicals— I saw all the bloody gauze in the trash. So, don’t you dare fucking lie to me again like you did in Cincinnati, Aaron Hotchner—”

“I told you to fucking drop it!” he bellowed. I took a frightened step back. His face immediately softened. “Y/N— I’m sorry—”

“I’m going to Morgan’s house.” I looked at the floor. “I guess I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

And that was how I ended up in the office upstairs, trying to get into my desk so that I could grab some old paperwork for reference on the case report I was currently working on. I was going to Morgan’s house, but that didn’t mean I was going to stop working. Once I had that stuff, I grabbed my spare go-bag from the closet, then made my way downstairs.

Hotch tried to step in my path at the bottom of the stairs, but I pushed past him. He was attempting to apologize profusely while following me around. I kept my head high and just moved to the front door as fast as I could. Since Foyet attacked him, Hotch had practically turned our house security system into something that rivaled the fucking security systems at the office. He had someone come in to put in a new alarm that was set at all times. If we weren’t home, all of the windows, doors, and motion sensors were set. If someone opened a door, broke a window, or moved within the house, about seven different alarms would start going off. When we were at home, only the doors and windows were set. But if we wanted to leave the house, we had to put a code into the alarm first; and when we were coming home, we had to put the code in as fast as possible before the alarms would be set off. So, while Hotch tried to make me stay, I reached around him to put my code in, then headed out.

“Y/N!” he shouted angrily at me again as he stormed into the yard. “Y/N, get back here!”

I flipped him off as I kept walking to my car. I wasn’t even going to take our car. We put my car, the one I had been using before I moved in with Hotch, in the garage sized shed at the back of the driveway, just against the fence to the backyard. It hadn’t been used in so long… I mean, if we needed to use separate cars, I’d dust mine off so that Hotch could have our car, but for the most part, we made it work with one car. This time, though, I was taking my car to make a point. He fucked up. This argument was bad, but it was more than that. This was the result of a month’s worth of fuck ups, and I was sick of it.

I didn’t want to leave him. I loved Hotch more than anything, and I was still convinced that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, even when things were bad like this. But I couldn’t stay. Not when I could see that he was ruining his own life for nothing. I told him in Cincinnati that I wouldn’t tolerate him fucking up his own health for selfish reasons. He promised me that he wouldn’t pull this shit again. And yet… There we were… He was fucking it all up again. And I just couldn’t take it. I couldn’t watch him slowly deteriorate. I loved him too much to do that to either of us.

“Y/N—” he banged on my window as I slowly backed out of the driveway. “I’m sorry, please. Baby… Come on… I’m sorry. Stop this. I get it— I shouldn’t have yelled— Baby— I’m sorry—” He had to stop hitting his palms against my windows as the car turned onto the road. He slammed his hands as hard as he could onto the hood of the car. “Goddammit, Y/N! Get out of the fucking car!” I stared him down because he wasn’t moving out of the way. “Stop this, baby,” he pleaded calmly. “Just come home.” I shook my head. He frowned again, his eyes glinting a slight dark red as anger overtook him again. “Get out of the car,” he demanded once more, making his way over to my car door to try and pry it open, even though it was locked. The second he wasn’t in front of the car, though, I laid my foot down on the gas and raced off.

When I got to Morgan’s house, I explained everything, and he set me up in his guest room. This wasn’t the first time I had sought asylum in his house. Since Hotch wasn’t there to comfort me, I had to turn to the only other person who could, and that was Morgan. Granted, this was the first time I was sleeping over. But still. There were plenty of afternoons when I’d detour to his house after work just to cry on his couch as he held me. If I would wake up in the middle of the night with a nightmare of finding Hotch dead on our living room floor, I’d drive over to Morgan’s house and cry on his couch until I could calm down. It was unfair to Morgan. I recognized that. He was his own man with his own life and problems, and there I was, always barging in unannounced to unload my problems. But where else was I going to go? There were times when I thought about how much I missed Elle, and I wanted her to be there for me in moments like this, but she was gone. She abandoned me… and… she wasn’t coming back, apparently. Morgan was all I had.

As it got late, and we both needed to rest, he offered to stay and sleep with me, but I told him I’d be fine. He reluctantly obeyed (not for the reason most people would assume). It was no secret that Derek Morgan was a “playa”, to put it in his terms. He liked getting into the pants of any and every girl that would give him consent, and he liked teasing Garcia in a… less than platonic way, and sometimes we would do that, too, but not really. That being said, Derek Morgan would never, ever take advantage of someone, especially when they were as vulnerable as I was that night. He only offered to sleep in the same bed as me because that was how close we were, and he was willing to comfort me if I needed it. But I knew that I needed some space and time to think, and he needed some sleep in order to be ready for work the next day. So, when I turned him down, he gave in. He kissed my temple, squeezed my shoulders in a tight side embrace, then left the room quietly, carefully closing it behind him.

When he was gone, I opened my go-bag to pull out my pajamas. Yet, when I saw what I had packed away in there, I froze. I had packed this so long ago. I grabbed the first bag I saw. I didn’t even think to check what was in it. I was so fucking stupid. Unfortunately, however, there was nothing I could do about it now. I just had to suck it up and wear them, because it was either wearing what I packed or wearing what I left the house in. Either way, I was not going back just to pick up a different pair of pajamas.

I sighed. Unenthusiastically, I stripped myself of my clothes, then changed into one of Hotch’s old college sweatshirts and a pair of his blue and gold flannel pajama pants to match. I was planning on getting him another pair for his birthday in the next few weeks because I stole his, and I felt bad because of that. Also, because I had originally stolen these and put them in my go-bag recently after the stabbing, figuring that I needed something of his with me on cases while I was gone and he was at home. I had Jack’s red dinosaur toy with me at all times, I just needed Hotch’s clothing with me, too, considering that was the extent of the attention I got from him. But now… Things were just too confusing. I was upset that I didn’t just pack my own goddamn clothes.

That being said, I still cuddled under the blankets, and I pulled the collar of the sweatshirt over my nose to keep me warm while also taking in his scent. Within the past year or so, Hotch had given up his familiar Aqua Velva scent in exchange for a cinnamon and pine. He had gone into his closet one day, pulled out all of my favorite items of his to steal, took them outside, then practically drenched them in the cologne once he knew I liked it. I didn’t know until I came home from dinner with Emily one night to find that the entire fucking house reeked of cinnamon and pine. It took a while for the neighborhood to air out, but once it did, I was left with Hotch’s scent attached to each article of clothing, and I loved it. That night, while lying in a strange bed without the love of my life beside me, I found that my only comfort was that scent. I hugged my torso and inhaled.

I knew that he was sorry. I knew that he didn’t mean for any of this to happen. And, honestly, I knew that neither of us meant for things to blow up the way they did. But now that they had, I wasn’t sure where to go from there, how to navigate all of this. We couldn’t go back to normal. Could we? I’d be the first to admit that he scared me earlier. I knew that he would never hurt me, but deep down, in the pit of my stomach, I was terrified of him. After not having his love for so long, his outburst… It took me aback. There was a moment there, when he shouted at me the first time, I saw a glimpse of that night in high school, and I heard him yelling at me for not cooperating. That was why I had to leave. It wasn’t Hotch’s fault. My mind was playing tricks on me, but I couldn’t let it ruin the one good thing I had in my life: Aaron Hotchner. I just needed some time and space.

Time. And. Space.

That was what I asked for when I arrived at Quantico the next day. Morgan and I drove in at the same time, then he met me at the elevator after we both went through security, and he asked me if I wanted back up (or a mediator) while talking to Hotch. As we stepped into the elevator, I denied his offer quietly. Upstairs, in the BAU, Reid and Emily were trying to show me pictures of Henry, JJ’s son. She had him shortly after Hotch was stabbed. And by shortly, I meant that we hadn’t even left the fucking hospital yet when she went into labor. But now she was itching to get back to work, and I was shocked. It had only been a few weeks. I thought that the human body literally couldn’t handle getting back to work that fast, but maybe she wasn’t looking to work in the field quite yet. I understood if she just wanted to sit in the office to do paperwork around Anderson or hang out in Garcia’s office for a bit. I could understand that. I just thought that she would want to spend more time with Will and Henry, but who was I to judge her? I promised I would never do that after she judged me—and, yes, it was so that I could prove that I was the better person, I wasn’t afraid to admit that.

I headed straight into Hotch’s office. I found that he was sitting on his couch, his head in his hands, an old picture of him, Jack, and Haley in his lap. As I snuck closer, I saw that he had printed a picture of me and him out, and he had it taped to the bottom corner of that picture frame. Our family. Our story. Our everything.

I cleared my throat to let him know that I was there. “Sorry, I’ll come back later.”

Hotch looked up from his hands. When he realized that I was really standing there in front of him, he threw the photos to the side and jumped to his feet. “No, wait—” He hurried over to me. “Please.”

I stopped. “Okay.”

“Baby, I am so sorry.” He wasn’t getting close enough to put a hand on me, which I silently appreciated. “I didn’t mean to yell or get worked up. I’ve just been so worried—”

“Aaron, I really didn’t come to make up.”

His posture changed to something more shy and confused. “What?”

“I’m sorry… But, I, uh… I’m just here as an employee right now.”

Hotch searched my eyes for a moment while he tried to understand what was happening. I wasn’t looking him in the eye, I wasn’t trying to impress him with anything, and I wasn’t even trying to give us privacy by closing the door. In fact, I didn’t want privacy. I didn’t want to give him a chance to try to hug or kiss me. With the blinds and door still open, he had to obey the rules we created for ourselves at work, and I could tell that it was killing him, but I was there for a specific reason, and it wasn’t because I was ready to hear his apology yet. He might have felt he was ready for it, but I wasn’t.

“Okay,” Hotch said while he nodded. He moved to take a seat at his desk. “Sit.” He gestured to the empty seats across from him. “What’s this about?”

“I’m requesting a few personal days off.”

“Why?”

“You’re not supposed to ask me that, Agent Hotchner.”

His eyes narrowed at me. “It’s my job, Agent Greenaway, to ensure that my team is okay both physically and mentally.”

“Well, I’m fine, Agent Hotchner, thank you for checking on me.”

“Stop this, Y/N. Please.”

“I can formally request this time off through Chief Strauss, if need be.”

He hesitated as his brown eyes added a red tint of anger. “That’ll not be necessary.”

“So, you’ll give it to me?”

“Only if you tell me why.”

“You know why.”

“Why?” he asked with a hiss. The tension was growing in the room.

“I just need to clear my head.”

“That’s not good enough!” he exclaimed angrily. I could see that he was holding himself back from hitting the table or swiping his papers off the desk. “What’s this really about? Is it really about our argument, Y/N? Can we please, for a minute, just stop dancing around the truth and say what we feel—”

My blood boiled over. “You’re not the only one who lost a son, Aaron!” I shouted at the top of my lungs. There was a moment where we stared at each other as we both realized what I had said. I was shaking so bad. A thought passed by me that maybe I should have stopped there, left it alone, gone home to take another breather. But I wasn’t wrong. Jack was my son, too. I lost him, too. I was hurting, too. And I needed Hotch there to hold me, but he wasn’t. So, I continued, “I was right there with you when we saw him for the last time. You aren’t the only one suffering here, Hotch. I wake up every day and I wish that I could turn the corner in our home and see him sitting at the table, eating Cheerios for breakfast. I wish that we could still take him to soccer every Saturday. And I fucking wish that I could keep spoiling him even though you tell me not to. I love your son like he’s my own, Aaron. I know he’s not mine, and I know that he never will be… but, damn it, I love you and I love him. And the fact that we’re both mourning over losing him to this asshole, and I’m trying to be there for you, but you keep pushing me away when I need you, too… That’s cruel. It’s unfair. I have never felt more alone than I have over the past month. You need to get your shit together, and I need some time to come to terms with the fact that I may never see Jack again. So, I’ll ask you again, may I please have some time off?”

He paused while staring at me. I could see a sparkle in his eyes that came from the tears welling, the apologetic and deeply sorry tears. It broke my heart to see him like that. It absolutely tore me in half to see him cry because of something I said… but what else was I supposed to do? He wanted me to tell him the truth, so I did. It hurt to do it, but it was necessary, and now that he knew just how horrible he had been, I could tell that he didn’t want to be angry anymore. Now that he understood, I realized that he just wanted to hold me and apologize until he couldn’t breathe. But I still needed time. As much as I would’ve loved to be in his arms, kissing him, telling him that I’d always love him… I needed time away to clear my head. I needed time away from him to come to terms with the loss we had.

“Where are you going to go?” he croaked.

I lied and said that I was going to stay at a hotel for a few days before returning to work; but we both clearly knew that I was staying with Morgan. I wanted to be with someone I trusted. I wanted to be with someone I loved. I didn’t want to be alone. Morgan’s house was a safe haven for me whenever I needed it, and I usually didn’t take him up on the offer, but now I was in desperate need of it.

“Okay,” Hotch gave in. “Take all the time you need. But… Y/N… I need you to know that you will always have a place here, and you will always have a place back at home with me.”

I stared at him for another second before pushing myself out of my seat. “I’ll see you in a few days, Agent Hotchner.”

After leaving Hotch’s office, I saw that the entire office was staring at me. Maybe I should’ve closed the door, in hindsight. Nothing to do about it now, though. They all heard every single word, and now they couldn’t look away from the train wreck that was Y/N Greenaway and Aaron Hotchner. I was sure that somewhere out there, wherever he was, Jason Gideon was laughing and saying: “I told you so.” No one else in the office seemed to be thinking that, especially after the screaming match I just had with our boss, but I knew that Gideon was chuckling somewhere in the world.

I started my walk of shame down the ramp. Even Rossi had come out of his office to lean against his doorframe while watching me, probably waiting for a perfect opportunity to sneak into Hotch’s office to comfort him— or maybe even talk some sense into him. I hoped that it was the latter.

A few days later, I heard the front door of Morgan’s place open up. I turned on the couch to see an exhausted Morgan throw his used go-bag onto the floor, then crash onto the empty couch space next to me. He sighed and rested his head on my lap. He had been away on a case since the day I left Hotch’s office after we argued. We had been texting since he left because he wanted to make sure I was alright and that I was taking care of Clooney, his German Shepard. I loved that dog. I thought he was adorable—and he was so well behaved. He rested at my feet on the bed every night to keep me company. It was nice to have company, even though Morgan was away and I wasn’t talking to Hotch.

“You know, I’ll leave and go to a hotel, if you want me to. I don’t mean to just… intrude on your life,” I said after giving him a moment to relax.

Morgan looked up at me upside down. “Never.” He smirked, “Unless you’re going to be living here any longer than a month, in which case, you need to start paying rent.”

I matched his smirk, “No. I just need a couple more days, I think. If that.”

He nodded understandingly. “You wanna order take out for dinner?”

“Sure.”

He did a sit up before standing on his feet and hurrying over to the house phone so that he could order dinner for us. I sighed and relaxed in Hotch’s sweatshirt. It was starting to smell less and less like him, which only made me more desperate to get home. But I liked the freedom I had been experiencing over the past few days. With the time I got to spend on my own in silence, I got to think about how much I missed my little man, while coming to terms with the fact that this was the best choice—the only choice we could make. Sending them away in order to protect them was the right thing to do. Jack was safe with Haley. They were safe under Sam’s protection. Coming to terms about that much was hard while I was around Hotch, who was only moping around all day. Now that some time had passed, I was a bit calmer about the situation, and I was just ready to get our family back. But I still needed another day or two, just for good measure. After that, I’d race to apologize profusely to Hotch, begging for him to take me back after running away like that. I felt like a bitch, okay. Maybe it was a bit overdramatic to run away, but at the time, I didn’t know what else to do. But now that the tension had sizzled out and I was clear headed about the situation, I realized how sorry I was for leaving in the first place.

When the food arrived, Morgan and I sat crisscross on the couch while facing each other and talking about whatever came to mind. At some point, casual talk turned to work talk. As it always did. I asked him to tell me about the case the team just got back from, and he told me that they had dealt with an Unsub who was drowning his victims in methanol in order to get rid of their stench. When I asked how it ended, he hesitated.

“Morgan?”

He gulped and told me that Hotch took off his vest, handed his gun to Rossi, then went inside to negotiate a peaceful surrender with the Unsub. My eyes shot wide. Why the fuck did Hotch do that? Why would he— I didn’t understand. How could he be so stupid? How could he risk his life like that? How could he risk leaving me and Jack behind? How was I supposed to live with the fact that we ended on bad terms if something were to have happened to him?

“What happened?” I asked, frightened.

Morgan pushed his food around in order to give himself a reason to not look at me. “The Unsub shot the girl, ran away, got in his cab, and we started chasing after him. Half of the city was looking for him, Y/N, yet, somehow, Hotch was the one who found him. The guy tried speeding off again to get away from Hotch, but when Hotch shot at him, he crashed into a truck, immediately killing him.”

“Is Hotch okay?” I leaned forward to express my eagerness for a positive answer. He hesitated again. “Derek Morgan, you tell me right now—”

“He’s okay, Y/N.”

I relaxed and let out a breath. “Good.”

“But…”

My eyes shot up at him. “But?”

“Strauss temporarily promoted me to Unit Chief.”

“What? Why?”

“Because Hotch isn’t fit to be in a position of power right now, sunshine. We both know that. He isn’t fit to lead a team right now.” He set his food on the table next to us. “Strauss and Rossi made the decision when we got off the plane.” He grabbed my hands. “It’s just until Hotch is back to being Hotch, honey bunches, I promise.”

I scoffed. “And how long do you think that’ll be?”

“I’m not sure. But I think that if you went back to work, it might help some.” His eyes pouted at me. “He has nothing to live for right now, Y/N. You left, Jack and Haley are gone, Foyet’s taunting him, and his ability to do this job is… being questioned. Having you around, as you are, it might remind him that he still has everything to live for.”

I understood that he couldn’t read my mind. I knew that he couldn’t’ve possibly known that I had already decided that I was going to go back to work soon, so it made sense that he felt he needed to tell me that Hotch’s best chance was going back. So, I gave in just for the sake of making Morgan feel like he did something.

“I think I’m gonna head to bed early,” I said quietly.

“What? No—Y/N, I didn’t mean to upset you or—”

“Morgan, it’s not your fault.” I set my food to the side. “I, um… Tomorrow… It’s just going to be a long day, so I should get some extra sleep.”

“Sugar, I really didn’t mean to—”

“Tomorrow is Jack’s birthday.”

He immediately fell silent, his shoulders giving out his posture when he realized he had pried too far. He apologized quietly. I opened my mouth to tell him that I didn’t care about his prying, but it got caught in my throat when a sob bubbled up a little too far. I excused myself before running to “my” room.

I crashed onto the bed. As I pulled the covers up over my body, hiding my head from the world, I grabbed my phone and opened the Photos app. The sob I was holding back finally crashed through me when I saw a picture of Hotch and Jack cuddling in the hammock in our backyard. Hotch had been laying out there after work, watching Jack play soccer. By the time dinner was ready, I went outside to collect them, only to find that Jack had given up on kicking the ball around so that he could lay on his dad’s chest. Hotch’s arms were wrapped around Jack’s entire body. They were dead asleep, probably had been for at least an hour. I couldn’t bother them when they were like that. So, I took a picture, then let them be. Finally, when it got too cold, they came inside, Jack still half asleep in his dad’s arms as he was carried upstairs to his room.

That was such a perfect night. We had dozens of nights like that, where the small, random things were taken for granted. Now that we didn’t have Jack, I wished I could go back in time. I wished that I would’ve just sat outside on the patio while drinking my wine, feeling the way my heart swelled as they snored together, the hammock rocking under them.

I reached over for Red, mine and Jack’s favorite toy, and I pulled it close to my chest. Tomorrow was going to be horrible to bear alone.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Morgan knocking on my door. I groaned and rolled over to check my phone for the time. That was when I realized that I hadn’t charged it all night. I went to bed around three, my eyelids too heavy from crying for so long. Since I hadn’t plugged my phone in, it was obviously dead. I groaned again. The door opened once Morgan heard me shuffling around on the bed. I hid my puffy face under the comforter while simultaneously trying to trick him into thinking that I was asleep. I felt like Jack. Jack… It was officially his birthday. I mean, I had been awake when the clock struck midnight, but this was different. The sun was out, the birds were chirping, and Morgan was telling me that he was leaving for work. It truly was Jack’s birthday now. There was no escaping it.

The mattress sank slightly as Morgan sat next to me. He put a hand on my shoulder, then leaned down to kiss the top of my head. “I’ll see you when I get home—if we’re not called away on a case.” He made a move to stand.

I grabbed his hand, revealing my red and swollen eyes. “Take it easy on Hotch today. Don’t let anyone give him a hard time. Please.”

“I’ll try.”

He kissed my forehead gently again, then silently stood and left the room, making sure to reclose the door behind him on his way out. I huffed and slumped back onto the pillows, feeling the way I sunk into the comfort of the blankets, the mattress, and the feather pillows. My relaxation didn’t last long, though, because the next thing I knew, the sound of scratching on the door disturbed me. I rolled out of bed and opened the door so that Clooney could run in. He jumped onto my bed and nuzzled his nose under the blankets. I smiled. At least I had someone to keep me busy during the day.

I was reminded of my dead phone on the bed when Clooney kicked it by accident. I plugged it in without hesitating another second. While I waited for it to charge, I played with Clooney’s long hair. He got riled up after a few seconds, deciding to playfully attempt to bite me while I waved my hand in his face. When I heard my phone chime, I booped his nose, then turned to pick it up.

Two missed calls.

I scrolled the rest of my notifications to realize that it was Emily and Anderson who had attempted to contact me. I didn’t want to hear from them, though. Anderson was probably calling on behalf of Hotch, meanwhile Emily was only going t o try to convince me to return to work sooner. I wished that I was a telepath so I could just tell everyone what I was thinking, that way they would leave me alone. I was planning on going back to work soon. I had been over it a hundred times in my head. But if people kept bothering me about it, I was just going to be more reluctant about it.

An hour later, my phone started buzzing again. I pet Clooney as he shuffled onto my lap. My phone just kept buzzing, however, as another call came through. I cursed under my breath, then stretched to pick it up, recognizing the photo and the name flashing on the screen almost immediately. I waited a second. Morgan must have talked to him. After seeing me glued to the bed, left to nothing but a puddle of tears, Morgan probably went straight to Hotch, told him that I was suffering today, and Hotch decided to finally call me after all this time.

I answered.

Silence echoed throughout my room as I waited for something to happen. Even Clooney stilled. It had been so long, I wasn’t sure who should speak first, or if I should even speak at all. I was terrified of saying the wrong thing. After how things ended between us the last time we saw each other, I knew that what I said was wrong. I didn’t want to make the same mistakes. I didn’t want to push him away further than he already was.

And then it happened.

“Hey,” I heard his voice for the first time in about a week.

I nearly melted. “Hey,” I whispered back.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded, though he couldn’t see me. “I’m fine. Are you?”

He hesitated before changing the subject. “I know that I’m not supposed to be calling—”

“It’s okay.”

Hotch hesitated another second. “It’s, um,” he cleared his throat, “it’s Jack’s birthday today.”

“I didn’t forget.”

Of course, I didn’t. How could I when our dinosaur had been sitting on my bed all day, staring at me, and I broke down every time I glanced at it. Jack had been so excited to spend his birthday with us. He was going to have a party at Chuck-E-Cheese with his friends, as disgusting as it was. We were going to get Spider-Man and Superman balloons, superhero themed paper plates, cups, and silverware. I was going to buy a set of Spider-Man walkie talkies for him and his dad to use, or maybe one of those Bat Signal toys so that he could flash it up at the sky whenever he was thinking of us when we were at work. I had all of these ideas to make that day special for him, but George Foyet took that all away. There were going to be no pictures of Jack blowing out his birthday candles, or opening his gifts, or hugging his dad after we wished him a happy birthday. There were going to be no memories of him running around Chuck-E-Cheese with his friends, bragging about how many tickets he got, and Hotch telling him that he was proud. There were going to be no conversations of me trying to convince him to get one prize or another. And there wasn’t going to be a single argument between me and Hotch about me spoiling Jack too damn much. That happiness left when Foyet practically stole him away from us.

“When are you coming home, Y/N? I know I shouldn’t ask, but…”

“I thought about coming home tomorrow, actually.”

“Can I see you before then?”

“Aaron, I…”

“Sam called to tell me that he had to move Haley and Jack again. Apparently, she’s been calling her dad and Jessica.”

I sighed and hid my face in my left palm. This day was already hard enough, but to just keep digging at the hole in my heart wasn’t helping. I thought that, of all people, Haley would do anything to protect Jack. George Foyet was a psychopath with a mission. Why would she risk Jack’s safety just to call her Roy and sister when Sam had told her a thousand times that she couldn’t be in contact with anyone until we found Foyet.

“Are they okay?” I asked.

“They're fine. Sam sent me a video of Jack playing on the swings this morning. He looks… happy.”

“He—” I hesitated to think about it. We hadn’t heard Jack’s voice in so long… We hadn’t seen his bright face in what felt like forever. We hadn’t gotten to hear his laugh since the day Foyet took him from us. A tear slid down my cheek as I considered it. “Could you hear him? See him?”

“Yeah,” Hotch said quietly. “It’s fuzzy, and it’s at a distance, but he says your name. He says he misses you.” Another tear escaped me. “I’d like to show it to you… You don’t have to stay long, just come into the office for a bit. I… I really just…” He cleared his throat again, trying to hold back an obvious sob building in his throat. “I need to hold you. Just for a bit today. I need it really bad, Y/N.”

A tear slid down my cheek. I needed him, too. No matter how mad I was with him, no matter how upset he made me after our blow up, there was only one thing that could make this day somewhat bearable. It was the same thing that Hotch needed. Being in his arms was the only thing that could ever really comfort me nowadays, and I thought earlier about how I needed him to hold me to make the day easier. I thought that he wouldn’t want to see me. After how things ended the last time we saw each other, I thought he would never want to see me again. I had said some pretty hurtful things. Though I meant them, it didn’t erase that they probably stung him to hear.

“I need you, too,” I whispered.

I heard him let out a quiet cry. “Come home to me, baby. Please.”

“I’m coming.” I stood from the bed and raced to grab my purse. “I’m coming, baby.”

His voice perked up, “I love you so much.”

I changed before driving to the office. I had been stuck in Hotch’s pajamas for days, which wasn’t exactly… attractive, and I definitely didn’t smell good. Maybe that was why Clooney was so fond of me. Changing was also important because I was heading to my place of work. I wasn’t going to be a visitor there. I couldn’t exactly show up in a sweatshirt and pajama pants. So, I used what I had in my go-bag to look work-ready, then I headed off to the office.

The parking lot security didn’t recognize my vehicle since I was arriving in my old one. The fact that they didn’t recognize it only prolonged my wait to see Hotch again. They had to check my credentials, then give me a new parking pass for the car—and the whole thing was just a fucking mess. But the second they let me past the barricade, I sped towards the closest parking spot I could find to the building, parked, then ran inside. Security welcomed me with smiles and innocent questions, just like they always did. They were an awesome group of people that were absolutely underappreciated by the agents in our building. There were times when they told me that Garcia and I were two of the only people who ever even acknowledged them, let alone took time out of our days to get to know them. As always, I told them that it was my pleasure, but the second the niceties were over, I ran to the elevator down the hall.

As the elevator opened to reveal the sixth floor, I squeezed through the doors. Garcia was walking out of the BAU, a fresh cup of coffee in her hand. She froze when she saw me, a smile lighting up her face, and I tried smiling back as much as I could even though all of my energy was focused on getting to Hotch. She must have realized what was going on because she held the glass door open for me. I thanked her as I snaked by.

Everyone in the bullpen stopped and turned when Reid spotted me first. I smiled and waved as I kept my head down and maintained my clear path up the ramp, leading towards Hotch’s office. Emily tried calling out my name, but Morgan hushed her and I kept moving. It was nothing against her, but I was there for a singular purpose: Aaron Hotchner.

“Hi,” I said, stumbling into his office. I was so out of breath from running there. I was panting behind my forced smile.

Hotch looked up from the files on his desk. “Hi.”

“I want to see him. I want to see my little man.” My eyes were already watering up, a desperate plea for Hotch’s help to ease my breaking heart. “Please.”

“Close the blinds and lock the door.”

I nodded and turned to do so. Because Hotch and I technically weren’t supposed to have any kind of contact with Haley and Jack, no one else could see the video we were sent. If WITSEC changed their appearance and someone saw, it could put them in danger. If there was anything revealing in that video about where they had been before they were moved because Haley had been in contact with her dad, then it could put them in danger. Hotch and I couldn’t take that risk.

When I was done, I sat down in one of the empty seats across from Hotch. He turned his computer so that it was facing down the width of the desk, giving Hotch and I equal opportunity to see the screen and the video that was queued up. Even while the video was paused, I could see Jack on the swings, his legs kicked out since he had just gotten enough momentum to move forwards, and he was about to go flying back. I grabbed Hotch’s hand from the spacebar, tangling my fingers with his. Both of our breaths hitched.

“Are you sure—”

I nodded. “Do it.”

Hotch pressed the spacebar, then flipped his hand over so that he could hold my hand better. The video began. Jack started swinging back, his legs tucked under the seat. He was laughing. He was laughing, and kicking, and he looked like he was having so much fun. Haley pushed him forward again. He giggled and gave a “whoo” as he flew through the air again.

“It’s time!” Sam called from behind the camera.

Haley looked over with worry since Jack couldn’t see her. He was still having the time of his life, despite the fact that Sam and Haley were both telling him that it was time to get off the swings so that they could leave. Jack dragged his sneakers on the dirt beneath him to slow his momentum. After a few light, useless swings, Jack came to a stop, so he could safely jump off. Haley took his hand. He smiled up at her before he started skipping alongside her on their way to meet Sam at the car in the parking lot.

“Can we see Dad and Y/N now?” Jack asked.

I let out a sob, my face falling carefully against the desk. Hotch reached out to pet my hair back comfortingly, helping me through each of the tears that slid down my cheeks and every single whine that left my throat.

“No, baby, we’re not going home yet,” Haley said.

“But I want to see Y/N!” he complained. “I miss them.”

I tilted my head so that my cheek was pressed against the cold wood of the desk, but also so that I could glue my gaze back to the screen.

“I know, Jack,” she said while picking him up. “But we have to go somewhere else for our trip. Aren’t you excited?”

“Where are we going?”

The was when the video cut out.

“No, wait—” I gasped, sitting up straight. “There has to be more. That can’t be it.”

“That’s all of it, baby,” Hotch said apologetically.

“Play it again.”

Hotch did so. The video started replaying, Jack’s laugh echoing throughout the room. And then it was over faster than it was the first time, somehow. I sighed and let my head fall against the desk again.

“Come on, baby, don’t do that,” Hotch begged.

“I’m so sorry, Aaron. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

“No. I’m sorry. It’s all my fault.”

“It’s not—”

“It all goes back to that night in the hotel, Y/N. If I would’ve just taken the deal, none of this would be happening to us.”

“Stop,” I insisted while sitting up and sniffling. “I don’t blame you.”

He handed me a tissue from the box next to his elbow. “I’m sorry for being an asshole. I was blinded by hatred for Foyet and the need for revenge that I didn’t see how much of a douchebag I was being while you were suffering, too. It was insensitive of me, baby, and I’m so sorry. I hope you can forgive me.”

I dodged his apology after a moment of silence. “Are you okay?” I asked. “You know… with missing Jack’s birthday for the first time?”

Hotch had never missed mine, Jack, or Haley’s birthdays before. There were times when we had to miss other holidays, but never a birthday. Ever. That was a day special to that person, and Hotch always wanted to celebrate it with them. When it came to Jack, that urge was even stronger. Jack was apart of this world because of Hotch. He stayed by Haley’s side for hours as she endured labor, and from that pain, they gained a little sunshine, a little miracle of their own. He wouldn’t have missed Jack’s birthday for the world. It was a memory of the good times, and a reminder that Hotch had a reason to live. He had a son. He wanted to celebrate that day every single year. But this time… There was no one to celebrate with, and it was noticeable.

He shook his head. “No. But that’s why I called you. I had to see you again and make things right.” We both took a deep breath, clearing away our tears and our overwhelming emotions. Hotch stood from his seat and slowly walked around his desk, taking a knee beside my chair. “I am sorry, Y/N. I don’t think I’ll ever stop apologizing for what I did. I shouldn’t have yelled at you, and I shouldn’t have chased after you like that. I know I scared you, and I’m sorry. You know that I would never lay a hand on you, right?”

I nodded. “Of course.”

“I’m going to spend the rest of my life making this up to you, Y/N, I just know it.” He took my hand in his. “I could make excuses all day—like how I was just frustrated about how our family is falling apart, and I’m upset the Foyet took the time to specifically go through our house in order to search for the one thing he knew would hurt most to steal… the ring I was going to give you.”

When Hotch and I first met Foyet, we thought that he was just another victim of The Reaper—that he was one of the lucky ones that got away. We were convinced because he distracted us with the one thing that meant everything to us: love. He begged me to not let The Reaper put Amanda’s engagement ring on his next victim. He cried about how he didn’t want that good memory to be ruined by The Reaper. In the end, though, The Reaper put the ring on one of his next victims, and I felt horrible about having broken my promise to Foyet… Only to find out that it was all a lie. It was a facade in order to fuck with us. I didn’t appreciate it. None of us did. He made it personal, and we were all pissed. But what upset me the most was the fact that he knew that using the detail of the engagement ring against me and Hotch would work. That was also how and why he knew to go straight for ours the night he stabbed Hotch.

Now, all I could do was hope and pray that he wouldn’t get the chance to put that ring on anyone’s body. I wanted that ring to be mine. I wanted Hotch to be down on one knee, as he was just then while apologizing to me, and I wanted him to slide that ring onto my finger as I told him: “Yes, I’ll marry you, Aaron Hotchner!” It was my dream. I wanted to call Aaron Hotchner my husband. And I wanted it to be that very ring that he went out of his way to buy after I babied him all the way home from Cincinnati. I wanted to be his. It actually didn’t matter which ring I ended up wearing—or even if I would have one at all. I just wanted to be his, and only his. Getting the ring back was just an added bonus because it came with a free side of “Fuck you, George Foyet”, accompanied with a middle finger.

“I could make those excuses,” he continued, “and I want to… But I won’t. I take full responsibility for my actions. I recognize that what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have shut you out. I shouldn’t have abandoned you. And I definitely shouldn’t have snapped at you when all you were doing was trying to help me and knock some sense into me.”

“I don’t want you to spend the rest of our lives apologizing, Aaron. I already forgive you. I just want you to spend every second of every day loving me unconditionally. Holding me like this…” I released his hands so that I could grab his face. He grabbed mine, too. “Kissing me like this…” I pressed my lips against his gingerly. “Telling me you love me…”

“I love you…” he whispered.

“It’s music to my ears,” I said, leaning my forehead against his.

Hotch hands snaked under my hips so that he could grab my ass, then lift me out of my seat. I flung my arms around his neck to make sure I wouldn’t fall out of his hold. When he had me out of my chair, I crossed my legs around his waist, feeling his erection pressing against me through both of our pants. We moaned simultaneously. Next thing I knew, to make sure he wouldn’t drop me, Hotch set me down on the edge of his desk.

“Are you—” he tried asking before I cut him off with another kiss. He pulled away. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“What about the rules?”

“Fuck the rules. Aaron, I need this,” I said desperately, rather than seductively.

Of course, I needed him, but I mainly needed the idea of fucking him—of finally sharing that connection with him again after so long of not being anywhere near him. I needed the physical reminder that we loved each other. I didn’t doubt our love or passion, but that didn’t erase the feeling I had growing in the pit of my stomach, and it certainly didn’t make me forget just how wet I was for him already.

“We don’t have to if you’re not ready yet, or if our emotions are too fried—”

“Are you not sure?”

He stared at me for a moment. “I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

I leaned up to kiss him again. “Then, fuck me, Sir.”

Hotch’s lips crashed passionately against mine, his tongue immediately sliding into my mouth, claiming the dominance I loved so much. I grinded my hips against his. He moaned in response, bucking his hips forward, too. My palms dragged down his neck, gliding over his purple button up dress shirt, making their way slowly down to his belt. As my fingers fiddled with the metal clasp, Hotch leaned against me so that he could clear the space on his desk behind me before pushing my back down. I got his buckle undone just in time. Hotch finished the rest of it. He eagerly unbuttoned his pants, then pushed down his zipper. As he stepped out of his pants, I fidgeted with the waistband of mine, waiting for the perfect opportunity to push them down to my ankles. Hotch caught the hint before I could get very far. He yanked my pants and panties down with one fowl swoop, leaving me completely exposed to him.

“Fuck—” I wiggled my hips around to gesture for more. Hotch ran his left pointer finger up my slit, starting at my dripping entrance, working his way up slowly to my throbbing clit. I jerked around when he circled it. “Sir…”

“I don’t want manners right now, Y/N. I just want you.” He cupped my cheeks with his palms so that he could hold me still before kissing me as roughly as he could. “You have to be quiet.”

“I know.”

He nodded. “Okay.” He reached between us in order to push his boxers down to his ankles. “Hold onto me. Please.”

I obeyed, bracing my hands on his shoulders. As he lined his tip up with my entrance, I bit my lip to bar myself from moaning his name as loud as I could. Instead, I opted to whimper, “I want you inside me—” I gasped and let my body fall limp against the desk as he pushed into me slowly. “Aaron…”

“You’re so tight, baby girl. Always so tight and wet for me.” He threw his head back while snapping his hips back, then forward as roughly as he had the strength for.

I saw his muscles tightened under his shirt, and that was when a thought struck me. “You have another shirt in your go-bag, right?”

Hotch thrusted into me again before he realized what it was that I had asked him. He paused. “Why?” I didn’t answer. “Yeah, I have another—” I grabbed onto the seam of buttons lining his chest, and then I yanked them apart. Hotch groaned, thrusting into me as I did so. I screwed my eyes shut and threw my head back in euphoria before I could even get a look at Hotch, like I wanted. “Fuck, baby girl…” He gripped my hips harder. I looked up at him with a smirk, excited to finally see him, but then I froze. Hotch noticed how my face well. “What is it?” he asked as he slowed then stopped.

“Aaron,” I hesitated, my fingers hovering only millimeters from his chest. He stopped to follow my gaze, quickly realizing that this was the first time that I was laying my eyes on his scars. Foyet did that to him… I wanted to cry. “I could have lost you…”

“Look at me,” he whispered as he grabbed my chin between his fingers. My eyes fluttered as I looked up at him through my lashes and foggy eyes. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. Ever. I promise.”

I wrapped my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, feeling him move inside me as he leaned over me. For the first time, I finally felt my hands touch his scars, running over the bumps and cuts. The stitches had been gone for a while, but I could still feel the irritation. I never knew that it was this bad. How was I supposed to know when he had been working tirelessly towards making sure I never found out?

“I love you,” I croaked, letting him pull me in for a kiss.

He thrust his hips forward at a gentle, loving pace. “I love you, too.”

I grabbed onto his shoulders, my fingers digging into his back slightly. With that silent encouragement, Hotch’s hands took ahold of my hips and he started fucking me roughly. I moaned against his collarbone, my legs falling off of him so that he could increase his pace without being held back by me. I propped my feet on the edge of his desk, and my back fell against the wood entirely. Hotch’s hands moved upwards, stopping just on my breasts. He cupped, massaged, and squeezed them as he continued to fuck me as hard as he could. My hands fell from his shoulders, and I ran my fingers over his scars again. I used to be so obsessed with his chest and how he flexed when he’d fuck me like this, but now, I was so scared of looking or touching because I didn’t want to hurt him. I knew that he wasn’t fragile, especially with the strength of every pump he was giving me, but I was still hesitant. I felt like with one wrong move, he could fall apart, and maybe it would be all my fault.

“I can’t lose you,” I whispered, moving to press my palm against his face.

He leaned down and kissed me. I moaned into his mouth as he gave me another passionate thrust that said: “I’m here, my love, and I’m not going anywhere.” I scratched at his back. I couldn’t do anything but quietly moan and whimper. If we were any louder, the whole office would know, and we couldn’t have that. This first time since he was stabbed was imperative to calming our worries and helping us forget our pain… but the team didn’t need to know any of it. There would be another time soon when Hotch and I would be alone, and I’d finally get to moan his name as loud as I wanted while also gasping between saying “I love you” a thousand times. But this… This needed to be quiet. It was passionate, of course, but it had to be quiet, much to my despair.

“I’m close,” he warned. “I’m so fucking close.”

I pulled him towards me so that our chests were pressed together. He hid his face in the crook of my neck, finally letting out a muffled groan. His hips were doing all of the work now, so I started grinding up to help him. That only seemed to encourage his orgasm, because the next thing I knew, his hand snaked between our bodies so that he could press his thumb against my clit.

I hid my face in his shoulder so that my moan would be muffled, too. “Aaron…” I let out a shaky breath. “Aaron, please. Cum in me…” I needed him to fill me. I needed that instinctual reminder that I was his and he was mine. I needed a part of him to carry around for a bit to remember that he was alive and that he was there with me. “Fuck—” My body gave out. I was shaking and panting as my orgasm crashed through me like a wave. As my walls pulsed around him, Hotch groaned into my neck again. My tightness pushed him over the edge, milking out everything he had to offer me.

“Y/N…” he growled in my ear, thrusting into me once more with such a fierceness that I knew I was going to be sore in just a few minutes. “I love you.” I heard how the words got caught in his throat. I heard how he was holding something back. I knew what it sounded like when he was trying not to cry. So, I lifted his head off me. “I love you,” he repeated, moving to kiss me before I could register just how red his eyes were.

I melted into his kiss again, my body relaxing after my overwhelming climax. It was only when I felt one of his tears hit my cheek that I knew he wasn’t okay. I whimpered sadly. All I could do was hold him close, tangling my fingers through his hair, kissing his lips again and again, feeling him soften inside of me. It was like that time we drove back from Cincinnati, and we couldn’t do anything but be grateful for each other. I couldn’t bear to lose him. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could face seeing him like this. Broken, beaten, bruised, wincing in pain. If it happened again, I didn’t know how I was going to survive.

“Does it still hurt?” I asked, referencing his scars. Hotch groaned as he pulled out of me slowly. He reached into his go-bag under his desk, grabbing a dark blue towel to clean me up with. Silently, he wiped my thighs and everywhere between. “Aaron.” He didn’t look at me. My heart sank in my chest at the realization. “They still hurt, don’t they?” Silence still. “Answer me, baby.”

“I don’t…” He gulped back tears. “I don’t know what to say.”

I sat up on the desk to get a better look at him while he hid the towel away, then stood up straight in order to change shirts. I wanted to apologize for ripping the purple one open. But I found that I couldn’t move or speak. He was stretching to pull the sleeves off, wincing as he did so, then he grabbed the red shirt from his go-bag, and started to carefully put it on.

“Come here,” I said, beckoning him closer with one finger. He sighed and stepped towards me. I started buttoning his shirt up for him. “You should’ve told me sooner.”

“I know.”

“We promised to never lie to each other.”

“I know.”

“So, then, why?”

His lip quivered and his eyes reddened. “Because I didn’t want to lose you, too... Turns out closing myself off in order to protect you only ruined everything.”

I finished buttoning his shirt. “I thought you learned that lesson when you first asked me out.”

Back then, when I first joined the team, Hotch entirely ignored me in order to protect me from his feelings. He didn’t think it was appropriate to let me know that he was in love with me. He thought that pushing me away was the only way to save me from him. What he failed to realize was that his decisions only worried me. I became obsessed with his change in behavior. Finally, I broke after Elle’s hostage situation in Texas, so I confronted him. That evening, we admitted that we had feelings for each other, and he took me out to dinner. The rest was history. But that was exactly why we didn’t keep secrets from each other, and we didn’t push each other away. I needed him to comfort me ever since Foyet attacked me— Actually, I wanted to comfort him. Bur he never gave me the chance. He pushed me away again, and it tore me down to nothing.

“I told you I’m sorry.”

I got off the desk and collected my panties and pants at the same time he grabbed his boxers and pants. We finished getting dressed simultaneously. As I hopped and shimmied into my pants, I looked at Hotch. “Can we start over? Pretend like the past month never happened?”

“And do what?” he asked while fixing his tie.

“Be us.”

His gaze snapped to meet mine. “I’d love that.”

“You can’t hide up in your office all day, and you can’t shut me out… You can’t keep sleeping in Jack’s room… You have to talk to me.”

He shuffled on the balls of his feet.

“Fine, you don’t have to talk to me, but you have to start going to therapy again.”

“It’s a waste of time and money, Y/N.”

“No, it isn’t.”

“I’m not going to sit on a couch and tell some stranger that I miss my son so much I can’t breathe! I’m not going to tell them that I think about how I snapped at you and it almost makes me wish Foyet killed me—”

“Don’t fucking say that,” I hissed. “Ever.”

“You wanted me to talk to you, right? Well, that’s how I feel.”

I inhaled and exhaled deeply, trying to diffuse the tension building in my chest and shoulders. We had just made up; I didn’t want to start arguing with him again. “Okay… Like I said, you don’t have to talk to me… But at least try one more session. You stopped going after we lost Jack and Haley, and I think that’s a big part of why things blew up the way they did. Just one. For me. If you don’t like it, then I won’t make you go again. I think you’ll find it’s helpful, though.”

Hotch sighed, too. “Just one.”

“Just one,” I agreed while nodding.

“Okay.”

I jumped onto my toes and kissed him. “I love you.”

Before he could say it back, there was a knock at the door. Hotch and I parted, fixing ourselves again as quickly as possible, and I returned to my seat at his desk while he went to go unlock the door. When I was settled, I gave Hotch a nod. It looked like nothing had happened between the two of us now, except for the fact that Hotch was wearing a different shirt, but hopefully no one would notice… right…

“Sorry to interrupt,” Rossi apologized from the other side of the door, “but we’ve got a new case.”

I stood from my seat and started walking towards the door to make my way to the boardroom. Hotch stopped me. He looked at Rossi, then asked if we could have another moment alone before closing the door on him. I rolled my eyes at Hotch.

“Don’t do that,” he begged, grabbing my hips in his hands. “Just sit out for one more case. That’s all. One more to collect your thoughts and get settled back in at the house.”

My hands slid around the back of his neck so that my fingers could pull at the ends of his hair gently. He moaned. I smiled and jumped up onto my toes so that I could kiss him. “I love you, Aaron Hotchner. I always have and I always will.”

He let out a breath, letting relief wash over him. “Say it again.”

“I love you. I love you so much. I’ll never stop loving you.”

He pulled me in for another desperate, passionate kiss that kept me pressed against him until I couldn’t breathe. When his lungs gave out, too, he parted from me. “I love you, too.” And then he raced off to be a superhero again.

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criminal minds family: @peggy1999 @gorgeousdarkangel @alex--awesome--22 @oceaneblu @brithedemonspawn @absolutemarveltrash @bshelley322

#Criminal Minds #criminal minds fanfic #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds smut #criminal minds imagine #aaron hotchner #Aaron Hotch Hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron hotchner imagines #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner smut

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cosmiccandydreamer · 3 years

Text

Stability Chapter 11

Otis Driftwood x Reader

Masterlist is here.

"You listen to me, and you listen well! I am gonna kill every member of your family! I'm gonna hunt them down like the animals they are, and I'm gonna skin em' alive! They are going to feel the pain and suffering of every last victim!" A disgusting squishy sound-filled the empty void of the cell. Sheriff Wydell had stabbed Mama Firefly in the stomach and twisted it until the light left her eyes.

He was done playing this cat and mouse game. Mama's last taunt and laughter that ran through the station after more questioning pushed him over the edge. He had grabbed a large knife from his office and stabbed her in the stomach. As she fell to the ground he stood and took in the scene of what he had done. There was no turning back now, people like these people are monsters he thought to himself and the only thing monsters fear are other monsters. He had discovered through the interrogation that his brother was indeed murdered by Mama herself when he had come to investigate the cheerleader's disappearance.

Sheriff John Wydell's eyes widened at the sight of his dead brother getting up from the couch he was sitting on, he began stuttering "I'm, I'm walking the line on this brother. I'm... I'm walking".George Wydell scoffed and answered sarcastically "Well, mother pin a rose on me, that is so great! I want these motherfuckers dead! Kill 'em!" John Wydell jumped up in a cold sweat… oh it was just a dream he thought, or was it? It couldn't be this hard to be signed by his brother that he needed to avenge him. "I'm brother, I'm trying," he thought to himself.

"Why are you over here all by yourself handsome? Married or not you don't gotta be all alone"... Candy had slinked over to where Otis was laying on the couch downing a bottle of Jack Daniels. The rest of the crew was partying with the ladies at the brothel. Otis wasn't in the mood to party though. He wanted to get out of here and get moving.

He felt guilty which was surprising for someone like him, that he was here enjoying a safe environment for the night without knowing where you were. "What do you want woman" he scoffed and attempted to get up.. "now now lay down You look like a mess Is your back hurting or something I can give you a massage I am a masseuse Well at least I can give a good enough massage that feels like I'm a masseuse" Candy said in a sultry voice twirling her hair, "listen here woman I said I ain't fucking you so go on and get" Otis said shooing her away with his hand.

"Hey now no one said anything about fucking! How about I help you out friend to friend? You just must be tense worrying about your old lady out there". She sat next to him on the couch, he slowly got up to face her, "just a massage right No funny business or I'll throw your ass through the window". "Duly noted" she laughed and helped him stand grabbing his arm. She led him to a soft mattress on the floor.

Sheriff Wydell on the other hand was not having the best night either, he was racking his brain on what was the next step to take for finding the four of you. He found himself staring at himself in the mirror talking to himself "You know I got to tell you, that's some catch phrase you got there, Devil's Rejects. What? You got something to say to me clown, huh. I bet you scare lots of folks, don't ya? Yeah, regular fuckiin' killer. You want a piece of this motherfucker? You want a piece of this? Huh, what you got! What you got! Lord I am your arm of justice. Lord I am your arm of justice. Lord I am your arm of justice. Your righteous sword of vengeance. Let my blows be true. From the illusion leads me to truth. From darkness leads me to light. From death leads me to eternal life."

"Ah sir? That guy you asked for is here" his deputy Ray Dobson knocked on the door to his office breaking him out of his trance. It was his deputy, who made the connection that the aliases the family members usually went by and their connection to the old Groucho Marx films. He also discovered that the Fireflies were associated with the local clowns celebrity Captain Spaulding. Hoping to gain some insight into this connection, Wydell brought in film critic Marty Walker for consultation.

The over the top Marty illustrated how each of the killers named themselves after characters played by Groucho Marx throughout the course of his career. Things between Wydell and Walker quickly became unsavory when the critic made a remark about Elvis Presley. Marty head scateched his head while looking at the clues pinned to the board "that goddamn fucking Elvis Presley." Sheriff Wydell looked up at him with his eyes wide and full of rage.

"What'd you say about the King?!" Marty was clearly taken aback by the sudden tone change and looked around at everyone else in the room before sputtering out "I said he died three days before Grouch…" Wydell walked very close to him, looked him deep in the eyes and slowly said "Marty... if you ever say another derogatory word about Elvis Aaron Presley I WILL KICK THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU!".

"Boss don't you remember we had to run in with that guy Charlie not too long ago didn't he stay around with the guy named Spalding?" Ray quickly replied trying to defuse the situation. "Well goddamn you're right Ray… let's go pay Mr. Charlie boy a visit" he backed away from Marty and grabbed his hat. "Be seeing you Marty"

Spalding had told Charlie that if he went and bought some fresh chicken He whipped them up some fried chicken on the house as a thank you for letting them hide out there. Unbeknownst to Charlie Sheriff Wydell had spotted him leaving the funtown and heading towards the chicken stand. He corners Charlie and demands that he give up the three of them and if he had any information on where you were he needs to give that information up to or it would not end well for him.

He also asked him if he catches Otis in any compromising situations if he could snap a photo. It would be in his best interest. "I was also wondering," Wydell said, closing the car door a bit more on Charlie. He had closed his car door on Charlie's hands after instructing him to approach the vehicle once they cornered him in with their vehicle. "Is this girl with them by any chance? and I'm only going to give you one chance to answer me honestly" he held up a picture of you, Charlie shook his head viciously "no no naw she ain't with them gods truth man god's truth".. "god's truth hmm well you know where she is? I would like to have a little chat with her" Wydell replied. "Oh c'mon what's that lil girl gonna do" Charlie attempted to chuckle. "Hmm" Wydell said "looks can be deceiving, anyways tonight midnight I'll be seeing you". He released his hand and drove off in a cloud of dirt and smoke.

Back at the house unfortunately or fortunately depending on how you look at it for Otis, Candy was actually a very good masseuse and actually did just give him massage without reaching for his penis which is what he assumed was going to happen. His back was killing him from the hours of driving and that shit van they had stolen from the family back at the motel.

He also was holding a lot of stress in his shoulders from the anxiety of the plan not going his way and not having any word from you now for multiple days. Unfortunately now she wouldn't stop following him around which was starting to piss him off because one she was annoying and two his back was still hurting and he could have used another massage. "You sure you don't want another one I mean you passed out during yesterday's massage just let me do your shoulders just a little more" she said skipping toward him.

He wasn't sure if she was just trying to be nice or she was trying to wear him down to fuck her or something. He sat cleaning his knife while staring off into space thinking about you and when you gave this knife to him. You were in town with Baby and wandered into an antique store. You knew as soon as you saw it you had to have it.. he was overjoyed at the knife and vowed to never go anywhere without it.

"What took you all so long? You said you were just heading into town for some supplies tonight" He asked , slamming the screen door behind him and walking out towards the car. You had insisted on driving your mustang into town with Baby on a girl's trip while he was in the middle of a project. He was hesitant but he allowed it because he knew that you two could probably use some girl time, he wasn't the easiest to always be around.

"Oh shut up Don't know why you always got to be rushing people" Baby replied flipping her hair and strolling past Otis. "Fuck you" "no fuck you" "no fuck" "Hey!!" You yelled waving your hand in his face. "I took so long because I got you something, I saw it and I couldn't pass it up". You pulled out a dark paper bag and handed it to him. He looked inside and got silent, it was a large beautiful knife. Taking it out the bag he held it in his large hands and studied it closely. "Shit darlin this, this is beautiful..for me huh?" "Yeah of course!" "Why though?" He asked looking back at you with general confusion on his face. You walked over and stepped up on your tippy toes to softly kiss him. "Just wanted to do something nice because I love you". You said patting his chest and walking inside after Baby.

He stood there for a few more moments looking at the knife and tucking it in his boot. Once inside he grabbed you by the waist and kissed you deep. "Thanks.. ah.. I just don't know how to accept gifts, not used to 'em." "Well I'm glad you like it" you smiled up at him "had me worried for a second I was starting wonder if you didn't like it" "naw I love it it's going everywhere with me always" he said wrapping his long arms around you "just like you".

"Stop hovering woman!! If I need anything from you I'd ask now get" he huffed at her looking back to his knife. She stood for a moment and turned on her heels and headed away. Charlie headed back to the house trying to swallow the anxiety in his throat. He didn't want to betry the group but he also wanted to protect his business and livelyhood. He stopped at the liquor store and grabbed a bunch more bottles of Jack Daniels, might as well get them drunk and make this shit easier.

#otis driftwood #house of 1000 corpses #three from hell #otis driftwood x reader #otis firefly #thedevilsrejects #the devils rejects

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ghstandpucks · 4 years

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Misguided Ghost ~ Zak Bagans Ch. 10

A/N: Hey everyone! I hope you are all doing well! Student teaching, plus class and working on my TPA's is insane right now! My cooperating teacher decided to forgo the original plans for her 3rd graders in math, and tasked me with making the lessons for this week from scratch...and I'm being observed later today. Distance learning has been interesting to say the least lol

I am working on the next chapter of my Nathan MacKinnon story so hopefully I have that out around Friday/this weekend!

Enjoy!

Chapter 9

Catching Flights and Feelings

“Mia, have you researched anything on Mickey’s Tavern in Georgia yet?” Zak asked as he walked into my office Monday morning, a week after being back from my first lockdown. Things have been back to normal between Zak and I, if you call what we had before normal. I could tell he was getting used to me being around and the snarky comments had subsided. He spent most of the days walking between my office and his, usually to end up sitting on the other side of my desk with his laptop. I had placed a new air diffuser with the same scent I had in his office, but he still said it wasn’t the same and would just stay in my office. Aaron has been teasing me, but I just brush it off.

I nodded and held up a pile of papers while I was reading through an article for a different location. Zak took them from me and sat down in his newly claimed spot in my office. Once I finished the article and highlighted what I thought stood out, I looked over my laptop at him. “Why did you want that one? I’ve done research on like 10 other locations that came in before them,” I asked, curious because he hasn’t before asked me for information on a specific site. Zak sighed and looked up from the papers. “The owner emailed me last night, then called me this morning. I guess the activity is really becoming too much to where it’s affecting his business. He was hoping we could investigate it sooner rather than later,” Zak informed me. I nodded. “Ok so, I researched that one on Friday and from what I can remember the reports are kind of crazy. Are we going to go?” I asked, taking a sip of my tea. Zak smirked at me. “Crazy is what we do here Mia. Nervous?” he asked. I laughed at his tease, as I knew now he didn’t mean anything by it. “Put me in coach,” I smirked back. Zak let out a chuckle and with a wink, left my office to presumably tell the others. ~ ~ ~ Two days later we were all at the airport, waiting to board. I had just met Jay Wasley and he seemed nice. Our flight was at 6:30 in the morning, which means I had woken up at about 3:30 to make sure I was ready when Zak and Aaron picked me up at 4:30. I was listening to my music while everyone did their own thing when Nick walked up to me and nudged my foot with his as he sat across the aisle from me. I opened my eyes and saw him holding out a tray of coffee, with one marked as a decaf pumpkin spice latte. I smiled and reached for it. “Bless your soul sir,” I said, Nick laughed and handed everyone else their drinks. Zak came over and sat next to me. “So you do drink coffee?” he asked, taking a sip of his. I smiled and shrugged. “Decaf when I know I can handle it,” I informed him. He gave me a quizzical look. “What do you mean by that?” I sighed, debating if I should tell him the whole truth. I didn’t mind talking about my anxiety, but it was also a conversation I try to avoid at times. “Caffeine messes with my anxiety. In grad school I developed really bad separation anxiety from my family. I had no one in San Francisco and apparently that is not good for me. I was already stressed out with school that everything just came to a head and I actually would get sick all the time and lost about 20 pounds. It was to the point I would shake and feel light headed when I didn’t eat at regular intervals. I stopped drinking coffee and I was able to manage it better. Turns out I always had separation anxiety when I looked back to elementary school with my mom. No one just really talked about it then,” I looked down at my coffee, unsure of what his response would be. “Do you need to eat something now? I can get you a bagel or something,” Zak asked softly. I looked back at him and he looked a bit concerned. I laughed lightly. “No, I’m better now. I gained a few pounds back when I got home from school and it helped. Also keeping myself busy and being around friends takes my mind off of it so, hence why I can drink decaf at least. Thank you though,” I smiled at him. “Oh so we’re friends now?” he teased me, and I bumped into his shoulder. “Well I was talking more about Aaron, but I guess I would consider you an acquaintance” I teased back. Zak put his hand to his heart in fake hurt. “Ow! Ok, I see how it is.” He laughed. “But seriously, that doesn’t sound great. Why chose to come to Vegas and leave your family again?” “It was time to branch out again. I don’t want my anxiety to control me, and it honestly isn’t as bad as others. I’m lucky that way. Plus, I figured a three in a half hour drive from home was better than a seven in a half one so I thought I would give it go,” I explained. Zak nodded. “Well, thanks for sharing that. I’m sure I didn’t help in the beginning,” he said, looking a little upset with himself. I was starting to see the guy away from the cameras that Aaron had told me about, and I wanted to see more. “Not really. But you’ve gotten better,” I smiled at him. He chuckled and took another sip as our boarding time was called out.

Perks of traveling for the Travel Channel, business class seats! Instead of being crammed in a three-seat row, we had spacious two seat rows and I was ready for our nonstop four-hour flight to Atlanta, Georgia. I sat next to the window as Aaron sat next to me as our tickets stated. Zak and Nick were in front of us, with Billy and Jay across the aisle. Aaron settled into his seat, then turned to look at me. I was staring out the window, but I could feel his eyes on me. I turned to him and raised my eyebrow. “Can I help you?”

“You and Zak seem to be getting cozy,” he whispered with a smirk. I looked toward Zak and he had his headphones in so I don’t think he heard. Looking back at Aaron, he had a look on his face like he knew what I was thinking. “We’re just becoming friends. Leave it alone,” I whispered hissed at him. Aaron rolled his eyes but kept his smile. I laughed and shook my head, looking back toward the window. I felt him shift next to me and when I turned to look, he was leaning forward tapping Zak on the shoulder. I stared at him thinking he wasn’t doing what I thought he was. Oh…but he was.

“Bro I need to talk to Nick about something. Mind switching?” Aaron asked Zak. Zak looked at me as I tried to hid in the hood of my jacket and hoped my cheeks weren’t too red. I wanted to shove Aaron.

“Not at all,” I heard Zak say. I looked up as they switched and Aaron winked at me. I shook my head slightly, then tried to smile when Zak took a seat. “Hope you don’t mind,” Zak said with that charming smile of his. I shook my head and smiled back, bringing my knees up to my chest as we got comfortable and ready for takeoff.

About an hour into the flight, I had drifted off to sleep only to be woken with a start when the plane became bumpy and the captain came over the speakers to ask all passengers to put their seatbelts on. I looked around with wide eyes and Zak must have realized I had no clue what was going on. “Hey, hey it’s ok. We just hit some turbulence,” he said, reaching for my hand. I let him intertwine our fingers as my heart started to slow back down. I smiled lightly at him, slightly embarrassed by my panic.

“Sorry,” I said quietly. He smiled and shook his head.

“Don’t be,” he stated, and went back to looking at his phone. I looked down at our hands and I could feel myself start to blush. It was strangely comforting knowing he was right there. I squeezed his hand reflexively as the plane gave another jolt. It’s not like I’ve never been through turbulence on a plane before, but it still didn’t mean that I liked it. Zak gave a reassuring squeeze to my hand and put his phone down, shifting his body so he was facing me more. “Why don’t you tell me about the history of this bar we’re going to,” he asked lightly. “I’m ok, honestly,” I said, feeling bad I took him away from what he was doing before. Zak smiled.

“Who said I was doing this for your benefit?” he winked. I rolled my eyes but smiled none the less. I quietly began listing off what I remembered about the site, Zak asking questions here and there. Thirty minutes later the seatbelt sign was turned off again but Zak didn’t let go of my hand, and I would be lying if I said that didn’t make me feel like there were butterflies in my stomach. About an hour later, we were getting ready to land. Only then Zak let go of my hand to put his backpack away and I couldn’t stop myself from feeling slightly disappointed. Though we had started talking about the location, we then started talking about music and concerts we’ve been to, and just life in general. We were really starting to get to know each other, and I was happy he was trusting me enough to open up.

Once off the plane, we claimed our luggage and all the tech equipment, heading off to the rental car area. Because there were 6 of us and many bags, we ended up with two SUVs. Billy and Jay in one with all the tech equipment, and the rest of us in the other with the luggage. I sat in the back with Aaron as Nick drove and Zak was in the passenger seat. I was watching Aaron as he was trying to hid his phone from me, but kept looking up with a goofy smile. I laughed at him as my phone and Zak’s both rang with a notification. Aaron gave me a huge smile as I looked at him suspiciously. “I’m scared to look at that,” I whispered and Zak shot around.

“Dude, seriously?” he didn’t seem mad or irritated, just slightly chuckled and shook his head. I looked between the two of them. Oh God…I picked up my phone and saw the Instagram notification that Aaron had tagged me in a post. I opened it up and my jaw dropped. Crap…

Aarongoodwin: The newbie can’t handle early morning travel #ghostadventures #travelbuddies #adoptedlilsis

Above the caption was a picture that Aaron shot over his head with him making a laughing face. I was fast asleep on Zak’s shoulder, with my knees curled up to my chest and leaning in his direction as well. Zak looked unphased, face in his phone, not noticing what Aaron was up to. To be honest, the picture was cute. But I was slightly mortified. What is Zak thinking? What are the fans going to think? Aaron just posted the picture two minutes ago and it already had over 400 likes and 53 comments. But one stood out.

Realzakbagans: What can I say? I make a good pillow. I looked up to see Zak watching me. When I caught his eyes he winked at me, then turned back around. I laughed and shook my head.

NotMiaThermopolis: OMG! @realzakbagans sorry! @aarongoodwin I hate you. #notamorningpersonBoth Zak and Aaron checked their phones at the same time. Zak let out a bark like laugh as Aaron yelled “Hey!” Nick stopped at a red light and turned toward us.

“Will someone please fill me in?” he asked. Zak showed him the post and he started laughing. “Ok, that is a cute picture though. I will have my two cents in about it once we get to the hotel.” I looked at Aaron and shook my head as he gave me puppy dog eyes.

“You suck,” I laughed and smiled at him. He gave me a big smile as we all settled back into our seats for the hour drive out of Atlanta.

#zak bagans imagine #zak bagans x reader #zak bagans #Ghost Adventures #ghost adventures x reader #ghost adventures imagine #misguided ghost

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darkspace7 · 4 years

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Northern Nights-Southern Lights

"For all my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of stars makes me want to dream." -Vincent Van Gogh [Or alternately: An ancient ghost, his teenaged son, and a pokémon all get stuck on a rooftop and have to wait for the kid's co-guardian to come rescue them.]

Words: 3,200+

Rating: T

A/N: So the general premise of this is an AU where Riley (who is Ash's biological dad) gets custody over over him after Delia passes on when he's a baby and eventually (through a rather convoluted series of events) meets up with a rather ghostly Sir Aaron and the three of them travel together with their pokémon and they have adventures together as a family as they teach their kid the ways of an Aura Guardian.

Oh, and I don't own Pokémon or any of it's affiliates.

Got it? Good.

"For all my part I know nothing with any certainty but the sight of stars makes me want to dream."-Vincent Van Gogh

{-x-}

Ka-thwunk!

"…For the record, I did say that if it wasn't going to work the first time you tried it then it probably wasn't going to work the next fifteen times-"

"..."

"-but maybe if you had just stopped to actually listen to me for once instead of blithely plowing on ahead-"

"..."

"-then perhaps we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place."

A dull thunk reverberated loudly as the rubber-clad sole collided soundly with the sturdy metal frame.

"I actually think it moved a little that time..."

"Urgah!" The teenager threw his hands up and stomped away from the recalcitrant slab in disgust. Pointedly looking away from the specter hovering beside him, dark brown eyes drifted over the darkened horizon before finally shifting back to the entrance of the rooftop observatory. 'Stupid hunk of junk.' He fumed as he plopped himself down with a huff. 'How the heck did we even get into this mess in the first place?' He wondered as his thoughts meandered back a few hours prior.

{-+-}

The morning sun had just poked its head over the far horizon and already did it hold itself with the promise of being an absolutely beautiful day. They had finally reached the city's outskirts and both he and his electric companion had been rather eager to scope out the local gym scene. It was at that moment, however, that the fourth member of their party had declared that there were some things that he had to take care of and was (understandably) reluctant to leave them their own devices. Naturally, this had lead to an inordinate amount of whining before their co-guardian finally relented, much to their utter delight.

But before the duo could even let out a shout of approval he had doubled-back with a list of stipulations: first being that if anything –and he meant anything– happened that they were to contact him immediately, second was that whenever they were done with whatever it is they were going to do they had to rendezvous at the Central Pokémon Center, and lastly –they would only be allowed to go if Aaron agreed to go with them and serve as a chaperone.

Three sets of expectant eyes zeroed-in on the drifting apparition for the verdict. He caved immediately. The gleeful duo cheered, speeding off towards this new adventure without so much as a goodbye.

The now trio meandered through the urban expanse this way and that, periodically stopping to investigate each and every little thing that had managed to catch their fancy. Enjoying every second of it even as they gradually became more and more sidetracked until they realized they had managed to get completely lost.

It had been Aaron's quick thinking to suggest that maybe they should find some place to stop and ask for directions. This had somehow led to them finding this really tall office-type building and the cleaning guy there and seeing that it was that he probably couldn't even see Aaron to begin with and was highly unlikely that he could understand pokémon either the two had wandered away, leaving the task to the last member of their party. It was there where Ash had learned about the rooftop observatory.

He remembered thinking at the time that maybe it would be nice to take a quick look around and have a break from all that walking they (well, namely he) did earlier and the view from that high up could probably help them find their bearings. That had been the plan at least, until the door locked behind them. Various methods had been dedicated to reopening the portal until eventually he just resorting to kicking the damned thing when all else failed.

They were well and truly stuck.

{-x-}

'How was I supposed to know the dumb thing was messed up?!' He glanced down at a piece of paper with a cheerfully stenciled 'out of order' that seemed to have fluttered to the ground and went unnoticed during his assault upon the door. '…I mean, yeah, okay, I guess there's that...but still!'

"And the day was going so well too…" The young man sulked. The soft click-clack of claws meeting tile stopped as their owner made its way over to him. The small being drew up on his haunches with a chirp, resting one of those tiny yellow paws on his trainer's arm, and gave it a sympathetic pat. Huffing slightly, he pulled the mouse onto his lap and allowed the creature to snuggle up to him as he began to rake his fingers through the other's vibrant fur, stroking it in a soothing manner as his gaze returned to the middle distance.

From somewhere behind him there was a sigh. The youth didn't need a set of eyes in the back of his head to see the nigh imperceptible furrowing of his co-guardian's brows and frown that came with.

"Ash."

He said nothing.

There was a slight pause before he forged on, "I'm sorry, I was just trying to draw your attention in order to prevent something like this from occurring." He gestured vaguely to the paper and around them, "Alas, it seems my efforts were in vain." Ash could almost hear the small upturn of the other's lips as he shook his head. "But honestly, I don't see how sulking like a meowth who lost its treasure is going to remedy to this predicament." Despite his best efforts, the man's amusement at the whole thing seemed to have bled through somewhat. "I'd have to say it would probably be as effective as your earlier attempts at becoming a battering ram, which is to say not at all."

"Argh I know, I know!" He ground out exasperatedly. A free hand came up to clutch at his dark hair, the action knocking his hat askew. "There are a billion other things we could be doing right now. Like..." He made a vague grasping gesture as he searched for something off the top of his head and, when unable to do so, simply let out a frustrated noise and flopped back onto the tiles instead. "But instead we're stuck and it just really sucks!"

Pikachu, having been accidentally tossed off with the sudden shift in position, shot the young man a disgruntled look. The yellow rodent chittered agitatedly, having regained his footing, and twisted around to face his friend. After a lengthy stare he gave the boy a soft but reprimanding bap on the cheek.

"Sorry." At least he had the decency to look abashed.

Aaron's hand covered his mouth in a somewhat unsuccessful attempt to mask the laugh that threatened to spill out as he observed the duo's antics. The urge faded a bit but a note of fondness remained steadfast in his voice when he spoke, "Come now, Ash. Instead of growling about the things you cannot change why don't we take this as a chance for a...momentary respite? I don't believe it will prove harmful if we were to do so at any rate." He paused for second, hearing the boy mutter something that sounded suspiciously similar to "speak for yourself" before plowing on, "Besides, if I correctly recall do you not still posses that one particular device?"

Ash tilted his head back to look up at the other man, confusion plainly evident on his face. "Device?"

"The small communication device that you presented to me a while back. That strange…ah, what was it?" The man coloured slightly, (a feat that never ceased to amaze the teen for how did a ghost blush if you didn't have any blood? He hadn't the slightest clue.) Fumbling slightly, he glanced away seemingly embarrassed. "Forgive me but I don't quite recall what it was called." He admitted quietly.

The trainer stared at him for a long second before a look of comprehension dawned upon on his face. "Wait, you mean a phone?"

The elder's gaze flicked back to the other and he quickly nodded. "Ah yes, that was it was called. A phone."

"A phone…That's right!" He sprang back into a sitting position, glancing at the other two before going to rifle through his pockets in an attempt to locate said gadget. "We can just call Riley, tell him where we're at and have him come get us! If I can just find it..." He grimaced comically, patting himself down. "Where is it? Where, where, where-!" When his frantic search came up empty he flopped back down with a huff.

"Pikapi?" The little mouse pokémon squeaked in concern.

The boy's eyes flickered briefly to the mouse. "It's not there." He groaned, "I must've left it back with Riley along with all of our other stuff."

"Well that really is unfortunate." The ghost allowed himself to frown. He heard the other shift and observed as the lad pulled the electric pokémon into his arms and cuddled close to the small being, the other reciprocating in kind. His thoughts began to wander. Soon night would be upon them and the temperature already had begun to dip lower and lower. He looked at his ward's clothing with a critical eye, lips pursing slightly. It seemed like a decent enough overcoat at first glance but would it be thick enough to block out a normal chill and serve as a suitable enough blanket as well? It was getting pretty late after all, his gaze trailed upwards to peer at evening sky. Plus the fact that they were both so very high up and from what he could tell by the gentle swaying of the boy's dark hair there was a muted wind blowing. Sure it wouldn't affect him as much due to his...corporeality issues…but Ash (and by extension Pikachu) on the other hand...His lips pursed slightly.

"Hey Aaron."

The phantom jolted from his musing to see the other staring at him. "Hm?"

"Could you go to the ledge over there for a sec and take a peek over the edge? Tell me if you see anything."

An eyebrow rose faintly but he nodded nonetheless, drifting over to the roof's edge. He looked back to the boy before peering over the edge and…oh wow that was...they really high up weren't they? "No...?" He said once he had regained his wits about him, "It's just the building and the ground far below us…why?" He glanced up to see a peculiar look cross the young man's face. It was a look that when coupled with the youth's penchant for attracting trouble foretold nothing but ridiculous shenanigans and tomfoolery for all parties involved. "Ash."

The teen cringed and scratched at the back of his neck, "Well...okay so, I was thinking that we'd see if there was a fire escape or something and use that to climb down but that idea's pretty much a bust." A slight frown, "Plus just jumping's out of the question. Don't want to wind up falling to your death or anything like that because do you know how badly that'd hurt-"Ash reddened as he remembered just who exactly he was talking to, "Oh..." Brown eyes flickered away from the other with a small wince, "Um...sorry." He murmured as an afterthought.

Long used to the other's rather spectacular lack of tact the ghost just waved him off with a shake of the head, motioning for the other continue.

"Right." A cough, "Okay, seeing as the first plan's a no-go let's move on to number two shall we? I just had an idea which is basically…well...just because I'm stuck here-" He gestured to himself then back at the other, "-doesn't mean you have to be."

"I'm not leaving you here."

"But right now you're the only one who can though!" He protested with a shake of the head. "You could go and just make your way straight down, after all it's not like you can't float and pass through walls and stuff, and you could go and find Riley wherever he is–" The pikachu in his lap nodded along with his master's words as he went on. "–and he can help us and just–"

"Ash."

The boy stopped his tirade and glanced up at the other man.

"I'm not going to leave you here alone." It was spoken with such finality that it bore no argument. The teenager, however, did not seem to get the memo.

"But I won't be alone!" He protested, "Not as long as Pikachu's here with me." The mouse softly chattered in agreement.

"My answer remains the same. You know how you have a penchant for attracting misadventures wherever you go Ash, if I were to leave here and venture off on my own I fear I would not get far without being ill at ease." 'After all, it wouldn't so much be a question of if you were to get in trouble but rather when.' Aaron shook his head wryly, his expression faltering. "Besides, it just wouldn't feel right to abandon you here on your own."

Ash stared at him for a long moment before giving him a reluctant nod. "You're probably right." He sighed, sprawling back with his furry little buddy still clutched tightly in his arms. "'Sides you would probably just wind up getting lost and then we'd have to hunt for you too on top of everything else."

'Well, he isn't exactly wrong.' The ghost thought to himself and allowed the conversation to lapse into silence. They were, as Riley had once put it, "directionally challenged". For Aaron though, this was simply due to the fact that the landscape of the world had changed so drastically since his time on earth that anything that he might have once used for navigation was now nigh unrecognizable. Ash on the other the other hand, just simply could not read a map to save his life.

His thoughts drifted to the pokémon held carefully within young man's grasp. Strong arms kept the lounging creature safely locked in place as deft fingers stroked static-charged fur while their owner's dark eyes stared contemplatively out into the night sky. Apparently having forgiven his companion's earlier theatrics, the pokémon purred happily, lavishing in the affection presented by the other male. Pointed ears perked when the specter shifted from his position, coming over to sit down behind them before relaxing again. The trio fell into an easy silence.

"...Sorry."

"Hm?" Aaron glanced down at him.

"For earlier-" Ash started to say but was cut with a shake of the head.

"It's okay."

The boy reluctantly his eyes trail away to the distant pinpricks that had begun to twinkle in the dusk sky. Only but a few of brightest seemed to cut through the pollution of the city's lights but it was enough he supposed. "I..." Lips tugged down into a vague frown, "I just don't like feeling helpless, ya know? Like there's nothing I can do except sit quietly and wait to be rescued." He shifted slightly, "It just doesn't feel right." Dark eyes traced patterns in the stars. "Plus, I'm kind of worried."

He felt Aaron hesitate slightly behind him before making a small noise, perhaps a signal for him to continue?

"Well...Riley's gonna come back and see that we're still not there right? Neither of us left a note and he can't really call us or anything so he's probably gonna get real worried." His voice quieted as so not to break the calm between them. "I just don't want to see him upset again."

A pause then ethereal fingers began to card gently through his dark locks, the action a soothing one. "It was an accident Ash. You didn't mean to get us stuck up here or be gone so long." The man's tone was a warm one as he spoke, "Both he and I care for you enough that a mishap such as this is nothing compared to the knowledge that you're safe son." Incorporeal lips quirked a bit, "And if he takes fault with it I could always have a word with him."

Ash only response was to snort, his eyes drifting shut as he leaned into the other's ministrations. Thoughts wandering as he slowly slipped further into the dark he couldn't help but muse that for a ghost the man's hands were rather warm. It was nice, he found himself thinking, between both the steady warmth of his father at his head and Pikachu snoozing away on his chest, perhaps he should follow his little buddy's example...

{-+-}

Creak

The sound of metal shifting against tile dragged the man from his thoughts, his gaze flickered to the new arrival as he approached and sat carefully beside them. He leaned over slightly, meeting the other in a quick kiss before pulling away and turning to watch the youngest of their cadre and his pokémon, both clinging to one another as they slept.

"So this is where you were."

Aaron slipped his hand over the other's and gave him a affectionate smile, "Indeed."

"How long have the three of you been up here anyways?"

"Since late afternoon at the very least. We had thought that we could use this building's height a foil to our 'directionally challenged' nature without taking into account our collective talent for getting into peculiar situations."

"But why didn't you call me? Wait, let me guess…" Riley held up a hand as he stifled a soft laugh, "Ash forgot his phone again."

"Yes." Aaron shook his head with an exasperated fondness.

"Well at least you were here him. To keep an eye on him so you all wouldn't get into any more trouble." He teased lightly.

"Hn." His gaze trailed up to the stars when suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Say Riley,"

"Hm?"

"Did you remember to find something to prop the door open so we could make our way back down?"

"..."

Aaron gaze flickered over to his partner then back behind them at the door which he had allowed to fall shut. The utterly flat look that the other guardian gave him caused the man to flush slightly and look up and away from his partner.

"Ah...well...right. At least it's not too bad of a night tonight." Riley remarked.

Aaron sighed, his eyes trailing up to the sky above. It was going to be a long night.

#DS7's Log #-Carefully adds to The Archive-#PKMN Fanfiction #Ash Ketchum #Pikachu #Sir Aaron #Riley Gen #The night shift janitor eventually found them and let them back in but...#Riley and Ash later developed some rather nasty headcolds from being outside all night.

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writerleo86 · 4 years

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Armor Champions - Episode 134 (Do Not Copy)

During one beautiful morning, a large black portal formed at the blue sky of Planet Marinear Bay. The large group of champions in armor led by Kody of the HardRock flew from the portal. And the young team hurried below as the portal closed.

"This is impossible!" cried Kody. "Of anyone in the universe, the Demon's Blade has chosen him."

Kody's thoughts:

On the tallest roof of the Sky Kingdom's castle, Jede of the CosmicFire hurried to Kody of the HardRock and handed an item to him.

This was a large photo of a well-built boy with fair skin and short brown hair that was wavy. He had a fuzz on his chin. And his eyes were covered in shadow.

"Do you have any idea on where to find this boy?" asked Billy.

Kody lowered his head and responded clearly "I received an e-mail from him approximately three weeks ago. The message said that he and his mother were stationed in the country Guam on Planet Earth. Then they were moved to the nearby planet TB-40."

"Then why da hell ain't we headin' over there?" yelled Desoto of the BlackShadow.

And Kody replied "I do not know if he is still on the planet. I have to be certain before I send us to a place where he is not. And for that, I must head to the main computer which is in my bedroom."

"So who the hell is the person Ronan is after?" questioned Relena of the CosmicFire.

"His name is Nemo Roth," Kody told them. "He and I have been great friends since we were toddlers. He lived on my planet Terravenager for a time. But he and his mother vanished from their home without a trace. And I did not know what he would have looked like now until Jede showed a picture of him."

"And you have no idea why your friend went into hiding?" asked Billy of the IceDome.

"Till this day," answered Kody. "I haven't the foggiest clue of what made him leave. But Nemo and I had stayed in limited contact since the last day I saw him."

"Why haven't you said anything about this boy earlier?" Relena questioned. "Was he really your best friend during childhood?"

"He was," Kody replied. "Once I met him in California City, Nemo and I became inseparable. Like brothers the two of us were. On some evenings, his mother welcomed me into their home for dinner. I had love for her like if she was another mother. She and Nemo were practically my second family."

"I am surprised at this," said Jede. "You have never spoken of this Nemo person before, not even to me. He was probably very dear to you."

Kody shook his head with a soft smile and he answered "I never truly had friends. I didn't know the meaning of the word Friend until the day I met him honestly. And then I met you all. But I will never forget all the times I have spent with Nemo and his mother."

The group was soon joined by another warrior in armor -- Aaron of the SilverLight.

"I received your message Jede," He implied. "You said that we need to search for this boy -- the vessel that was truly chosen by Ferrumdiaboli."

"And we must retrieve him soon," Kody replied. "Or the universe will be in terrible danger."

Armor Champions Super R -- Episode 134: The Agents of the Devil's Blade

On another planet far away, there was a large explosion that appeared at a large area.

The smoke slowly cleared as someone landed on the top of a large pole that nearly reached the pink sky.

This was a nobleman with a pale face, long white hair and golden eyes. He had worn a collared white shirt, a pair of white boots and a white suit.

After the smoke finally cleared, the man held the middle of a long white cane with his right hand as he stood for battle. Another person walked toward the long pole and looked up at the middle-aged man.

This person was another older male that had dark-brown fur on his large ears and the outer parts of his head while his face was white. He had black eyes with a golden tint and were cat-like. And he had a human-like nose that was colored black. He also had dark-brown around his eyes. And he had on dark-purple lipstick. He had on a black suit with purple armor and large pads on his shoulders that were also purple. And he had a light-purple collar around his neck.

First, the nobleman stood straight as he looked down at the feline-like creature. The creature quickly had the long nails of his fingers that were shaped as claws at the ready. And the nobleman revealed a weapon from inside his cane. It was a sword with a slender and straight blade.

The white-haired man held the end of his long rapier in his right hand as he dropped his cane. And he flew down to his target. He tried to strike with the pointy blade. But the slender creature hopped into the air and gave out a quick laugh as the nobleman landed on the ground.

After the creature landed at the other side of the battlefield, the nobleman pointed his blade at his opponent as he struck a pose.

"Why do you not back your words like a gentleman, Muiten?" He asked.

The nobleman soon gave out a wicked grin and said "Oh, forgive me. You would have to be a man to begin with."

"Aren't you the one to judge," The creature replied in a calm voice. "You do not possess the means of humanity as well."

"Is that right?" The nobleman responded. "I may not be human, but I am just as lethal as those in the higher class. You should not underestimate me. And you... Muiten... You are nothing but a common thug from the planet of filth, Terla."

The creature called Muiten gave out an angry growl and shouted "Is that so? You well be nothing but a quick kill for me!"

Then he gave out a quick laugh and replied "Oops, I have forgotten! You are undead. Certainly I can use my time in torturing you."

"Ah, be my guest then," The noblemen told him. "And while you do just that, remind yourself of the vicious but dirty being that you are. You are still but trash to me."

"Do not forget, Basileus..." Muiten implied. "...that I have killed many of your filthy kind before. I am able to hold against you without hesitation."

And a stern voice yelled "Enough!"

The pair spotted a small group of warriors walking toward them from the left side. And among the group was the stern man named Ronan.

Ronan turned to Muiten and said "I have not summoned you here to battle your rival, or hurl out cheap insults."

Standing behind Ronan was his loyal warrior -- the swordswoman called Misha. By her right side was a tall man with dark skin, brown eyes and a well-built body. His head was clean-shaven and he had a fine beard. He wore a black top with short sleeves, dark markings and a thick golden collar. He had on a sleeveless golden vest that was opened and long black warmers around his arms with brown pads around the elbows. He also had on fingerless black gloves, black pants and long black boots with golden guards covering his shins. And a large crossbow was latched on to his back.

Another standing by Misha's other side was a figure wearing a long dark coat with a hood over his head. He also had on tight dark pants and black boots.

"Agis Basileus," Ronan responded. "You do have the exact location of the vessel. I must have it now."

The nobleman named Agis Basileus placed his clean rapier back into his long cane as he informed the villain "My partner remains close to the target. He awaits my command to take him."

"Take me to the target at once," commanded Misha.

Ronan turned to Misha and shook his head.

Then Ronan told Basileus "Misha will accompany you to retrieve him. There will be no more mistakes. Ferrumdiaboli will also have possession of the Golden Eye."

Misha faced the hooded figure and informed Ronan "Yes sir. It will not be long until Nebula talks. We now have ways to make her reveal exactly where the treasure is hidden."

The hooded person said in a calm male voice "We still need the key to open the treasure. And you will have the Golden Eye of Hypnos to use as you see fit."

"Excellent," said Ronan. "We are close than before. Ferrumdiaboli shall have both its true vessel and the golden treasure at its command."

And Muiten cried "But why have you asked for me?"

"We have those who have repeatedly stood against us," Ronan informed him. "You along with Turbo and Agis will help me in disposing every last one of them."

"The Armored Ones," Basileus replied. "A group of mere young souls that interfere with the plans of the Great Sword. This is unjustified."

"And Muiten?" Misha questioned. "You have your own stake in making certain that Ferrumdiaboli comes as superior?"

Muiten shook his head and answered "I only want chaos among the entire universe. I believe I was born to be an agent of Chaos -- the pure and utterly feral brand."

"Will you help us realize the dream of the Great Sword?" asked Ronan.

Muiten gave out a wicked smile and replied "Oh, indeed I will."

And Ronan informed Misha "You will head to the location. And you will assist Agis Basileus in apprehending the one and true heir. Ferrumdiaboli must have him at once."

"Certainly sir," said Misha.

"And stop anyone who blocks your path," Ronan added. "Kill if necessary."

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jstar97 · 7 years

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Writing Prompt: You’d never believe me

So I got the writing prompt “You’d never believe me,” from @somethingmoreclever (thanks btw and hope you like it) and this story came out of it but I’ve been kind of chicken to post it. So, here it is. And if you have a *cough* helpful *cough* or *cough* constructive *cough cough* critique or want to say something positive, then please go ahead. Also, anyone who has sent me a prompt, I’m working on it and thanks :)

________________________________________________________________

I'm passed out on my bed, sleeping on top of papers, books, and pens when I feel something large and soft slap me in the face. A pillow. My roommate, more dreaming than awake, mutters, "Eggs."

I whine, "Why me?"

"Because my paper's due at 12 P.M. and you're free today."

Figures. As I push myself out of bed, crumpling color-coded notes and over-priced textbooks in the process, I grumble, "Never telling you my schedule again."

I grab my wallet, walk out the door and down eight flights of stairs, past the front desk to the bus stop. The driver today is Lena. All smiles, she asks, "Trouble getting up, Sunshine?"

"Huh? How'd you guess?"

"First of all, you don't usually take the bus on Fridays and second…well, you didn't look at yourself this morning, did ya?"

She hands me her compact and points to the chair behind hers. It's only then I realize why I got so many funny looks at the stop. My hair is in knots and tangles and there's a white strip of dried drool running down the corner of my mouth. Plus, I was still wearing my Pikachu onesie and matching slippers. You know, the ones that go "Pika, pika," if you stomp your feet. After handing back the mirror, I check my breath. Crap, forgot to brush my teeth. It was a mistake to eat everything-on-it pizza with extra garlic sauce last night. Pulling the hoodie up, I slouch and cross my arms.

Finally, my stop. I race out of the bus, jumping through the sliding doors and over wet floor signs until I'm at the back of the grocery store. "Ha," I groggily laugh, "Eggs in the Dairy Section."

There's cheese, butter, margarine. But no eggs. Not even those expensive free-range ones.

A stock clerk is shelving out butter where the eggs should be. "Um, excuse me -" He turns and smirks. "Dude, Comic Con was last week."

"Haha, you're hilarious."

"Ooh, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Whatcha do, get stuffed in a Pokeball?"

"Look, you wanna help or should I call the manager? I need eggs, man, so I can hibernate till Monday."

"We don't have any."

"Really? A grocery store that doesn't have one carton of eggs at 9 A.M.? Not even in the back?"

"Nope."

"I'm just gonna check with the manager -"

"No!" He yells abruptly. "I mean, did you say eggs? I thought you said pegs -"

"Because it makes perfect sense that I ask for pegs while standing in the Dairy Section -"

"Come with me." We walk to the "Employees Only" door.

"Um, I'm not supposed go in there."

"I'll let them know you're with me." I want to go back to bed as soon as possible so I go in.

We went in. It was pitch black. "Hey, where's the - ?"

Next thing you know, I'm pushed into a giant cell and fall on something soft. Someone turns on a light switch. It looks like most of the employees are here.

"Hey, how'd you get into this?" Sam, who's usually at the cash register, asks. From the coffee in his hand, I could tell that he must have got caught up in this when he came here for his break.

"Eggs."

I look down and realize that the soft something was actually a very annoyed someone. Nina, to be exact. We're both in Linear Algebra.

"Do you mind getting off of me?"

"Oops, sorry."

After we get up, she asks, "You've been coming here for two years and it didn't occur to you once that he's new?"

By 'he', she means the jerk who brought me here. He looks the same, mostly. I mean he's still wearing the uniform and that sarcastic smile.

But his skin is now purple and his eyes are blood-red.

"Huh, that's new. Am I on one of those hidden camera shows?" My fellow prisoners shake their heads. "Back to your question, Nina, am I supposed to memorize everyone's name? By the way, hi Bob, Larry, Leia, John, Sharon, Aaron and Phoebe. Oh, and Phil's in the back? Hi Phil! We're still on for chess next Tuesday, right?"

"Yup. Nice onesie by the way!"

Nina raises her eyebrows. "Okay, fine, I know everyone's names. Sue me. But how was I supposed to know you guys didn't hire someone new?"

I turn back to our captor. "Hey, Purple-Face - nope, that would be rude. Do you have a name? I mean, I was kinda crabby earlier and I'm really trying to -"

"For Pete's sake, he locked us in a cell!"

"I am Autoraun 319, an android from the planet you Earthlings call '55 Cancri e'. My model is the most advanced of its kind. I can change appearance, am virtually indestructible, can display over 4250 different emotions, and can process information at lightning speed, allowing me to assimilate with the surrounding population. I also can fly and have an arsenal of weaponry at my disposal. Since I am so powerful, only one of me was need for my important mission."

"And that is?"

"Collecting a rare but powerful nutrition source for the people of my planet -"

"Human brains?!?" Sam panics, dropping some of his coffee on my slippers.

Autoraun rolls his - its - eyes. "Human brains are neither rare nor nutritious. I'm talking about chicken eggs."

We all burst out laughing.

"I'm telling ya, this has gotta be a hidden camera show!"

"I've never heard of anything stupider in my life!"

"What's next? You'll want to steal our milk and cookies too?"

After a minute or so, when the android's glowering intensifies, we realize that he may have laser eyes and stop immediately.

"So," I start, "Why not just take chickens? That way you'll have a constant source of this source."

"You mean those tiny feathered monsters? Are you out of your mind? When they had been plentiful, they destroyed wiring, tore up the ground, and dodged laser blasters at breakneck speed. Plus, they defy all semblance of logic so we disintegrate them. Unfortunately, in our zeal, we forgot to keep a few for egg production."

Nina is furious. "Are you telling me I'm stuck in a crate instead of working my minimum wage job because your idiot overlords can't handle a couple of chickens?!?"

The android nods.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to collect all of these eggs. And when I get back, I'll - "

"Eliminate us?!?" Sam and his paranoia.

"No. We're civilized. I'll just wipe your brains. There's a fifty percent chance that you'll lose your minds in the process but surely your doctors have the facilities to bring it back to order."

"Ha!" Nina shoots back, "Not with our healthcare. And you said you did your research."

The android leaves.

"Okay," I start, "So what kind of cage are we in?"

"Steel, with an electronic lock." Sharon observes, "Not a very good one too, since the back of the control panel is easy to reach from my side. These aliens really underestimate us." I squeeze by Leia, Larry, and Aaron to see that back's screwed in. "If only we had a - " As I reach into my pockets, I feel a bunch of miscellaneous objects. I pull out some soft caramels, half of a chocolate bar, an assortment of screws, and a Phillip's head screwdriver. "Perfect!"

Everyone turns to me. "I'm an ME, remember? And onesies are great for late night projects…and I get hungry."

Unscrewing the back reveals intricate wiring. "So, what now, ME?" Sam asks, sipping his cold coffee.

"Uh, I don't know. An EE would be better for this but honestly, I don't even think they would have a clue. Different planet, different wiring systems and designs - but similar problems! Can I have your coffee?" Sam hands it over to me. "Stand back! If this works, there'll be sparks everywhere. If it doesn't work, the aliens have perfected waterproofing electrical components, so good on them."

"If they're still afraid of bringing in chickens because of how much damage they've caused than I doubt that they've made any huge advancements."

"Okay, here goes!" And I quickly throw the coffee onto the circuit board and try to get as far as possible.

Good news, it worked! We hear a click and race out of there.

Bad news, the cage isn't that big. As we all run out, I realize that my onesie, part of my hair, and slippers are on fire! As I stop, drop, and roll on the hard concrete ground, Nina gets the fire extinguisher and sprays me.

"Thanks," I say as Nina and Sam help me up. "Now, let's get that android."

___________________________________________________________________________________

We know why Autoraun left George - the manager - alone. It wants to know the different times of the eggs were coming in and could masquerade like all of us. No one would be the wiser. We sneak around, looking for the android (and creeping out shoppers in the process) when we spot Autoraun. It looks like the jerk in the dairy isle and was at the cashier with a customer. As soon as she leaves, George takes it aside.

(Side note: Do I call Autoraun "him" or "it"? I mean, I know Autoraun's an android who doesn't have a gender as far as I know - that's a complicated talk in the immerging world of Artificial Intelligence - and Autoraun did lock us in a cage but 'it' sounds so rude. I'm going back to 'he'.)

Anyway George takes him aside. "Between the customers fleeing like rats off the Titanic and most of my employees AWOL, it's nice to see a dedicated young individual like yourself. Tell me, son, what's your name?"

"Otto, sir." He replies demurely. Seems like his sass left the motherboard.

"Now Otto, you wanted to see me."

"Yes, sir. I was wondering if you can tell me when the next shipment of eggs was coming in. We're all out."

George's eyebrows go up. "We just had a huge shipment this morning. Is there an omelet cook-off that I didn't here about because I make a mean Western -"

"No sir," Autoraun interrupts. "I guess people are just valuing their nutritional value."

"Huh, must have been something on the news. People these days, with all their crazy fades and doodads. In my day, we just relied on good old exercise and clean living -"

"This is all really fascinating but there are customers to help. When will the next eggs get here?"

"Oh, at 11. But let's go in the back. There have got to be some eggs around."

"I've already checked."

"The back can be a confusing place, especially when you're new. Let's check it out."

Autoraun cracks his knuckles. George enthusiastically does the same. "Oh, it's so nice to meet a fellow knuckle cracker. You know, people used to say it knuckle cracking causes arthritis but my doctor friend says that's not true…"

As George rambles on, I notice tiny sparks at the tips of his fingers. "He'll zap George!" I whisper, "Quick, get him!"

Nina, Bob, and Sam pull George away just as he was about to strike. Simultaneously, Aaron and Leia grab him by the arms and Larry and Sharon grab his legs and push him to the ground. Autoraun is so shocked that his purple skin and red eyes come back. He recovers quickly and throws them off. Not knowing what else to do, I pull out my screwdriver and grab his neck from the back. He tries to shake me off, knocking me against various shelves and counters in the process.

"Th-is mus-ust b-e ho-w a- bul-lrid-ddd-er fe-els!"

"There are more ways than one to get rid of a pest!" The android's exoskeleton starts heating up, burning off more of the polyester from my onesie and the arm wrapped around his neck. I grit my teeth when I notice a small section on the base of his head with one screw keeping it in place.

"He-e-eelp! P-i-in hi-m do-wn!"

"Don't you mean 'it'?"

"Sam, really? Let's get in there! One…two…three…go!" Sam and Nina pin him to the ground long enough for me to unscrew the cover. He throws us all off.

"Quick, it's open! Get water, cola, anything liquid!" Phil directs. All around Autoraun, employees open up various bottles and unleash their wet, mostly artificially colored vengeance. Autoraun sputters and smokes before bursting into flames. Nina is again handy with a fire extinguisher.

We cheer as though we just survived Armeggedon.

"We did it!"

"We defeated an alien - "

"Android! But it's from space so technically an alien android!"

"We saved the world - from a shortage of eggs, maybe, but we still saved the world!"

George cut into our celebration. "COULD SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?"

Nina explained. After five minutes of silence, George asked, "So what should we do now?"

I answered, "Probably get the government to look into this. But that's your problem, not mine." I check the wall clock, "It's egg-actly 11 A.M. Can I have two dozen?"

George gets a text on his phone and goes to the back. A few minutes later, he brings back a box of those fancy cage-free, Eggland's best stuff. "This is kinda expensive. Have anything cheaper?"

"It's on the house."

"I can't -"

"Come on, you helped save my workers and my eggs. It's literally the least I could do. Is there anything else you want?"

"A pic with the android - crap, I left my phone at home. Could someone take one for me?"

Phil raises his hand. "I'll do it. Chess match still on?"

"Chess match still on."

Before I left, George stops me. "Hey, can you keep this between us? I don't wanna be in more trouble than I already am. Who'd come to a store with killer androids?"

"A lot of college students, actually. But I promise, what happens in the grocery store, stays in the grocery store. Thanks for the eggs!"

I grab the bus back (getting even more stares than I did this morning) and walk up eight flights of stairs. When I open the door, I see my roommate on her bed surfing the web.

"Where were you? I finished my paper an hour ago -"

She looks up, eyes widening. "What the heck happened to you?" At this point, my onesie, slippers and hair are singed and wet and I smell like coffee and burnt flesh.

I hand her the carton of eggs before going to the bathroom to clean my arm.

"Well, what happened?" She asks again.

I grit my teeth and I wash and sanitize the wound. After wrapping it in gauze, I lift my head, pull up my hoodie, and burst out laughing at the sight of my reflection.

"You'd never believe me."

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artificialqueens · 7 years

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Heavy Rain Ch. 2 (Shalaska/Katlaska)- Insomnidelic

AN: I just want to start off by saying how completely overwhelmed I am with the response for the first chapter. All the love is greatly appreciated! I will try to update every few days as my schedule is pretty open for now since school has ended. Thank you all for the encouraging words and I hope you enjoy this next chapter!

Justin leans his head back, trying to rest his neck on the uncomfortable pillows the hospital had to offer. How he got here, he was still unsure. The last thing he remembered was getting blackout drunk with Aaron and a few of his friends after Jinkx Monsoon was crowned the winner of Season 5. His stomach turns a little at the thought. Everything had been so confusing since he woke.

He thinks back and tries to piece everything together from the time he opened his eyes until now. He woke up, gave his boyfriend a kiss, and everyone around them stared as if they murdered someone right in front their very eyes. Fucking strange. Michelle had been there, which wasn’t much of a shock. The two had become pretty close during the promotional tour. Aaron had probably called her when they got to the hospital. Let’s see, who else? Jerick was present, which was a little jarring. He definitely considered him a friend but didn’t expect him to go out of his way of celebrating his win to visit him in the hospital. And then there were two complete strangers at his side and three more at the foot of his bed… Odd. He still didn’t have a clue what he did to himself to land in this position. Had he blacked out and fell so hard that he hit his head? He sat in frustration as not one person had come in to tell him what exactly happened.

Aaron was acting weird about all of this too. One of the men that Justin didn’t recognize stormed off after seeing them together and Aaron followed after him. A nurse had walked in and Michelle exchanged whispers with her before the nurse asked everyone to exit and wait in the visitors area before she herself left, Justin now completely alone. He was a little miffed that he hadn’t seen Aaron since he stormed off behind that guy. He sat pouting at the thought. After what had been at least a half hour, the nurse reentered followed by a hunky man in a white coat.

“Hello sir! My name is Dr. Bright, I will be performing your cranial examination today.” The man grinned widely. Justin can almost see himself in his perfect porcelain teeth. He sits up straighter in his bed as he takes in the doctor’s words.

“Examination? Can someone tell me what happened first before you start poking at my head wound?” He huffs, batting the nurse’s hands away as she reached for his bandages.

The doctor chuckles jovially and nods, “Of course, but first do you mind letting us know what all you remember from your incident?” He smiles and waits for a response.

“Yeah sure uh… We were at this bar and I got really wasted. Maybe did a line or two. I don’t really remember, to be honest. I must have blacked out.” Justin says, pouting his lip and shrugging his shoulders.

The doctor sits perplexed at the end of Justin’s bed, gives a slight nod and starts to flip through the pages in Justin’s file.

“Interesting, well your blood results came back and it doesn’t look like there’s any alcohol or drugs in your system. Actually we were informed that you were hit by a lowered support beam, do you remember being on a stage at some point?” The doctor asks expectantly to a befuddled Justin.

He sits quietly, thinking hard about the handsome doctor’s claims. Images of himself spinning wildly to the rhythm of loud, pulsing music flash through his memory before they go completely black. His head aches. Had he been dancing on a stage last night? He remembers holding on tightly to an equally as drunk Aaron as they made their way out of the bar and into a waiting car. The two memories didn’t seem to go together in his mind for some reason.

“None of that rings any bells. Where did you get this information from?” Justin probes, utterly confused.

“We have an eye witness account from a mister “Danny Noriega”, it says here.” The doctor flips the page of the chart over and gestures with a pen to the written statement for Justin to see.

“Well I have no idea who the fuck that is so you definitely got the wrong guy.” Justin chuckles and rolls his eyes. What kind of hospital was this to mix up their patients in such a way?

“I’m so sorry, are you a Mr. Justin Honard?” The doctor asks.

“…Yes.” Justin squeaks nervously.

“Age 32, resident of Los Angeles, California?” The doctor continues his line of questioning.

“No, I’m 28 and I live in Pittsburgh.” Justin narrows his eyes. Dr. Bright’s mouth falls open as he squints and nods.

“Can you tell me what year it is?” The doctor locks eyes with his patient as he starts to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

“2013.” He whispers, bewildered by the doctors inquiry.

Dr. Bright sighs. He looks over at the nurse, the two sharing a grave expression. This was never easy. Justin seemed earnest in his confusion and answered his questions honestly.

“Sir, this might come as a bit of a shock to you, but its 2017.” He nods his head to a calendar on the wall behind Justin. Justin cranes his neck and stares at the offending puppy dog themed agenda before slowly turning back to his physician, eyes wide.

What the fuck?

–

“Please talk to me.” Aaron says in a hushed tone, shutting the privacy curtain connecting the bunk and kitchen area of the tour bus.

“What the hell do you want me to say? Your ex bumps his head and suddenly he’s in love with you again. The whole thing is just a little Days of our lives, don’t you think?” Chad remarks with a bitter laugh, leaning against the counter top, crossing his arms and cocking an eyebrow at his partner.

“You know it’s a lot more than that. He doesn’t remember anything past losing drag race for fuck’s sake. I know what you walked in on looked bad-“ Aaron is cut off by Chad’s raised hand.

“No. What I walked in on WAS bad. Aaron… you were cradling his face.” Chad’s tone concealed no sign of disgust.

“I was not! I was pulling his face off of mine, that’s it.” Even Aaron knew that was a lie. Had there been cradling? Perhaps. Was it intentional? Not at all. It was a reflex, he’d convinced himself. Chad gives him a disbelieving scowl.

“Alright. So you have absolutely zero feelings left for him?” He asks in a flat tone, eyes glassy and a hint of a frown on his lips.

“Absolutely none.” Aaron says confidently without breaking eye contact with his lover. Chad’s stony expression begins to crumble and he grins softly as Aaron takes a few steps forward, arms out to embrace his fiancé. The two hug and Chad’s breathing calms as Aaron’s affirmation sets in.

“Then you’ll go back to that hospital right now and tell him that you’re over?” Chad says, pulling back, putting his hands gently on either side of Aaron’s face. Aaron didn’t say anything. He stares at Chad for a few seconds and his eyes drift slowly to the floor.

Chad lets out a shaky breath, lowers his head and lets go of Aaron completely, shoving past him to walk to the opposite side of the cramped kitchen. Aaron stares at the cracked linoleum floor. How should he begin to explain himself? It really wasn’t all that difficult to grasp, was it? He simply didn’t want to hurt Justin again. The image of his ex lover’s face when he told him that he wanted to break up still burned in his memory four years later. He couldn’t bear to put him through that a second time. He always thought that if he could go back, he would go about everything a lot differently. He knew they weren’t any good for each other, but he always felt guilty for moving on so quickly, even if he was certainly in love with Chad. Maybe if things were different, if neither of them had become famous, they would still be together. And they would be incredibly happy. Even though the relationship took a sour turn, Aaron wasn’t ready to let go. He wasn’t even able admit this to himself until now.

“Chad, I love you. I don’t want anyone but you. But… I need to find a better way to resolve this issue without putting Justin through the pain I put him through the first time.” Aaron says honestly, trying as hard as he could to keep an even tone.

There was long pause, the two men not moving, or breathing for that matter. Chad is the first to break the silence, finally letting out the air he had been holding in his lungs. He struggled to take all of Aaron’s words in but the overwhelming desire to turn and walk away from the situation began to win over.

“Ok, Aaron. I love you too. So, I’m going to let you do what you think needs to be done. Go ahead and take as long as you need. But in order for me to let you do that, I can’t be around to watch. I’m going home. Call me when you’ve achieved the impossible.” He gives his fiancé a moment to protest, hurt a little when he stays unmoving to stop him, but is unsurprised. Aaron was a man of his word, and when he set out to do something, it was very rare that even Chad could make him change his mind. He turns on his heals and rips the separation curtain back to reveal Danny and Jason listening in on the other side. Chad shakes his head and ambles past them, grabbing his half packed bag and stuffing the remainder of his things in it, giving one last glance back at Aaron still standing in the kitchen.

“I love you.” He says flatly, and makes his way off the bus.

“That was so messy, dude.” Danny says to Aaron, laughing awkwardly.

“I need a drink.” Aaron finally breathes, pushing past the two nosy queens.

“Oooh take us!” Jason pleads.

“No. I need time alone to think about what the fuck I just let happen.” Aaron exits the bus, and as if on cue, the rain starts up again and soaks him as he makes his way to the first bar he could find.

–

It was common knowledge throughout the entire group that Justin had suffered memory loss. Danny, Jason, and Jerick seemed content enough with that information and opted to roam the city with their new free time. Aaron had left the hospital with Chad after Justin’s initial diagnoses, though no one at this time (other than Danny and Jason) knew that Chad had left LA period. Michelle, Brian, and Shane were the only ones to stick around for further details, hoping to have Justin released to them soon.

“The best thing you can do for him right now is to slowly acclimate him to the changes that have occurred over the past four years. Be wary of the information you divulge at one time, you don’t want to shock him too much.” Dr. Bright explains to the few queens left in the waiting room.

“I don’t think you realize how much has happened in the past four years, doc.” Michelle says, sharing a look of disbelief with the other queens. This would be damn near impossible.

Brian sighs and puts his face in his hands. In his worry for an unconscious Justin, perhaps he let his imagination run a little wild. He somehow convinced himself that he was starting to develop feelings for the Queen of Snakes. “I want to kiss you and hold your hand and call you mine” sort of feelings. This was all likely a byproduct of the fear he had that Justin would take a turn for the worse and he would forever live in regret of not making things serious between the two. How could he even think about making things official after one hookup and few flirty conversations here and there? When Justin opened his eyes, he expected all of those feelings to go away and instead be replaced with simple relief that he was okay.

Then he and Aaron kissed and his world came crashing down.

Brian shakes the thought out of his head.

Pull yourself together, Barbara. It was stupid and you let the dread of possibly being alone forever set in, causing you to think weak and foolishly.

He keeps his face in his hands as he fights his internal battle with the idiotic voices inside his head. Weak? A little. Foolish? Not so much. The fact of the matter was that Justin and Aaron were no longer together. He also happened to know that he maybe had possible feelings for Justin that were maybe possibly not completely sexual. Who knew someone could be so attracted to another human being without sex being an integral part of the equation? And as for his last thought, he was almost certain that Aaron still had feelings for Justin. He saw the way he held his face as they… kissed.

God, why did it hurt to think about that?

Brian pulls out his phone and taps on his photo album, scrolling through pages of photos before finding one he had saved since the day it was taken. Even with a new phone every few years, he never lost track of it. It was the only memory he kept of that drunken night he met Alaska for the very first time. He was only a fan back then, obviously. It was May of 2013. The image brings a smile to his face. Katya sits happily on Alaska’s lap, the two smiling, Alaska’s mouth wide open in her signature broad grin.

There has to be a chance that he remembers taking this picture… that he remembers me.

His thoughts come to a halt as he sees two forms walking toward them in his peripheral vision. Justin paces fully clothed in the t-shirt and jeans Michelle thought to bring with them to the hospital. Dr. Beefcake leads his patient toward the waiting queens. Michelle walks slowly toward them, Justin giving her a knowing smile and the two embrace. She steps back and inspects him, fussing over his fresh bandages. She takes his arm and walks him slowly to Shane and Brian a few feet away. Brian locks eyes with Justin, praying he’d see a glint of familiarity in the man’s shiny green irises. Justin smiles and cocks his head.

Yes, this is it! He recognizes me!

“Who the fuck are you?”

Damn.

#shalaska #katlaska #alaska thunderfuck #katya zamolodchikova #sharon needles #angst #humor #tw head injury #tw memory loss #insomnidelic #rpdr fanfiction #heavy rain #canon compliant

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