Hotchniss One Shots

"Growing old together"

It's been one day since they solved the case in New York, and neither Aaron or Emily had conversed since then.

Both of them assumed that their little dispute was obviously rooted into a deeper argument, which neither of them wanted to face at the moment.

However, they both knew that they couldn't ignore it forever, either.

XXX

Emily was prepared to leave the BAU on Wednesday morning when Morgan found her.

"Ah, ah. Pump your breaks, princess."

Emily turned around slowly to face the dark skinned man behind her. "What?"

"What's goin' on with you and Hotch?" he inquired.

"What makes you think that something's going on?"

"Uh, you usually leave here together."

"I'm busy tonight."

"Oh really? Doing what?"

"None of your business."

"Mhm," Derek pursed his lips and looked down. "Alright, fine. I won't get involved."

XXX

That statement wasn't completely true. As soon as he watched Emily leave the BAU, he made his way up to Hotch's office.

"Come in," Hotch said, hearing the form knock on his office door.

"Hotch," Morgan entered the room and closed the door behind him quickly.

"What is it, Morgan?" he asked, looking up from the file he was writing in.

"I don't know what's going on between you and Prentiss lately, and I know it's none of my business, but when you two first got together, you promised not to let your relationship affect your behavior. I'm just here to make sure you stay true to that."

Hotch was silent for a moment. "Did Emily speak with you about this?"

"I'm a profiler, Hotch. I'm also her friend. I think I know when something's goin' on with her." He looked at the raven haired man and shook his head. "How about you go ask her yourself why she's upset?"

"Morgan,"

"Hotch, I'm serious."

XXX

Upon following Morgan's advice, Hotch found himself knocking at Emily's apartment door. Of course, he had a key, he just didn't think it would be appropriate to barge in.

No one answered after his first knock. He knocked once more before taking out his phone to call her.

"Hello?" Emily answered her phone quickly; Aaron assumed without even looking at the contact.

"Em, it's Aaron. Can we talk?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"No, I mean in person. Where are you?"

"I took a walk. Listen, can we do this later? I really don't feel like-"

"Where? The park?"

"Um," she hesitated. "Yeah."

He hung up without saying anything more.

XXX

Aaron didn't need to drive far to the park that was closest to her apartment. It was near six o'clock when he found her walking along a paved trail that was cut into the thin trees.

She didn't see him walk up behind her, and was caught off guard when he appeared beside her.

"Hey," he greeted her casually. Emily jumped back. "Hey, it's just me," he reassured her.

She exhaled a sigh of relief. "Damnit, Aaron, I would have hit you."

"I don't doubt that," he chuckled softly. She didn't reply. "Can we, uh, can we sit down?" He gestures towards a wooden and steel bench behind them.

"Sure," Emily agreed, following him to the bench where they both took a seat.

"I'm sorry," he said almost as soon as they sat down.

His immediate apology caught Emily off guard. She wasn't expecting him to be so open so quickly. "Huh?" was all she managed to say.

"Emily, I'm sorry for passing judgement so quickly. I saw the way Grisham acted around you and I guess the alpha male side of me just kicked in."

Emily bit her lip to suppress a smile. It appalled her that he just admitted to being an alpha male. "Aaron, I'm not mad about that. I think you and I both know that it's bigger than just that."

He knew she was right, looking into her eyes. "Well, enlighten me then."

"Uh, you're my boss."

"So? We've made it work. . . up until now."

"And you don't think that being coworkers affects our relationship outside of the BAU? Or vise versa, for that matter."

"No, I'm certain it does."

"So what exactly about us is working? Are we destined to fail?"

Her words made Aaron's heart throb in his chest. Without showing the pain in his expression, he reached out to her lap for her small hand.

"We make it work because we love each other," he said quietly.

"I,"

"No, don't tell me you can't do it," he said, seeing the pained look in her eyes and her hesitant touch. ". . . Because I've seen you handle far more difficult things than just a relationship." He lightly squeezed her hand.

She looked into his determined eyes that appeared to be filled with so much love. "Just a relationship?" she muttered.

"What?"

"Is that what you think this is to me? Just another relationship?"

"No, I didn't-"

"You overestimate me." A small smile tugged at her lips. "Aaron, the truth is, this is the longest relationship I've ever had. It sounds ridiculous, I know," she looked down at their - now interlocked - fingers. "I just want this to last," her voice broke.

"Hey," he said gently, lowering his head to meet her gaze. "I'm not going anywhere, Emily."

She looked up at him through her long eyelashes. She would never admit it to anyone, and often had trouble admitting it to herself, but she had trust issues.

Aaron would have to be a fool not to know this. Between constantly moving locations as a child, separated parents, and now her position at the BAU, she was always set in the mindset that someone would leave her.

He also made a pact with himself not to speak with her about this unless she brought it up and wanted to talk about it. It wouldn't matter how bad of a fight they were in, or even if they broke up; Aaron would never speak a word about it.

"I'm not going to leave you," he reassured her once more.

"I know." Her voice was quiet. Finally, she looked up at him, her eyes burning with hot tears. She hated him seeing her vulnerable.

Instead of just sitting there and watching her, Aaron let go of her hand and wrapped his arms protectively around her body. She complied instantly, feeling grateful that no one else was near them as she sobbed quietly into his chest.

He rubbed her back slowly and kissed the top of her head. He was never going to leave her side. Aaron decided right then and there that he was going to spend the rest of his life with Emily Prentiss, no matter what was brought upon them.

Emily let out one final sob before tipping her chin up to look at him. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I should be happy you're still here."

"I always will be."

Emily placed a soft kiss on his chin while she looked up at him. "That's why I love you so much."