Hotchniss One Shots

"Nicknames"

It was a long case.

The kind of case that made Emily want to collapse on her bed and never get out from beneath her warm blankets.

Once they got home, Hotch threw his keys aside on the counter and Emily let her hair down, emitting a heavy sigh.

"Everything okay?" he asked, watching as she dropped her bag to the floor.

Emily didn't say anything as she made her ways towards the man and wrapped her arms around his torso.

Aaron was slightly taken aback by the gesture, but didn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her in an embrace.

"Don't ever die," she mumbled as she laid her head on his chest.

He smiled softly, "I'm not going anywhere any time soon." He ran his hand up and down her back slowly.

Emily felt instantly comfortable in his arms. Like nothing else mattered in the world. Like their jobs didn't affect them the way they did. Like it was just him and her- and nothing else.

She nuzzled her head into his neck and took a deep breath.

Aaron was instantly concerned for her. This wasn't unusual, and he knew that she needed someone to be there for her at the end of the day, but today seemed different. This hug lingered longer than usual. She seemed a little more guarded than usual.

It could be stress, he decided. Stress from work, and stress from beginning to plan the wedding.

"Do you want me to make you something to eat?" he asked softly, continuing to hold her as she didn't seem to want to let go.

Eventually, she pulled away, still clinging to the man's side. She nodded silently in agreement.

Aaron smiled and kissed her forehead. "Why don't you go and relax? Take a hot shower or something," he suggested.

She did exactly that as he prepared food in the kitchen. She listened to his advice and took a long, hot shower, letting the water pour over her body.

Her mind left the BAU and the case they solved, and instead she felt relaxed. For the first time in a long time.

Once she was out of the shower, she pulled on a loose t-shirt and a pair of her fiancés pajama pants she found that happened to be too small on him, yet they were still too large on her.

He chuckled as soon as he saw how they dragged on the floor beneath her feet. "You must have those pulled up to your chin," he teased, placing two plates on the table for each of them.

"I think I thought of a new nickname for you, Dimples," she said, making her way over to him in the kitchen.

"Yeah? What's that?" he asked, sliding his arms around her waist.

"Daddy long legs," she said, laughing.

Aaron smiled broadly as they made their way to the table. "You really have a knack for giving people nicknames, don't you?" he said sarcastically.

"Oh come on, you're always complaining about your long legs, and you hate spiders. It's perfect!"

"I do not," he said quickly.

"You do too," she protested.

He smiled and shook his head. They both dug into the chicken alfredo he made them, Emily expressing her gratitude through a satisfactory groan with her first bite.

After dinner, they settled down on the couch with the intention of watching a movie on TV. However, they didn't get that far, as they continued to talk.

Aaron felt instantly comfortable while they sat together, arms around one another and Emily's head on his shoulder. They were watching Seinfeld on TV, since it was the only thing that both of them could agree on that wasn't the news or sports.

"Hey, cinnamon," Emily said, looking up at him.

"Yes, sunshine?" he responded with a smirk, mocking her use of his nickname. He called her sunshine because it was in exact contrast to her sarcastic, cold front that she put on at work.

"If you could have a day to yourself, you know, to do anything you wanted to do, what would you do?"

Aaron looked down at her, pondering her question. "Does it just have to be me?" he asked.

Emily thought about it for a second before replying, "no, I guess not."

"Then I would spend the day with you," he stated simply. "We wouldn't have to work for once in our lives. We would drive to a secluded cabin out in the woods and leave our phones at home." Aaron paused for a moment to think before continuing. "We would go swimming in the lake that the cabin is on."

"It's on a lake?" Emily asked, already loving his idea. "Let me guess, our bathing suits would be back at home with our phones?"

Aaron laughed and answered by pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"After that, I would make us a big dinner. Steak, potatoes, asparagus," he continued. "And after that-"

"We can look at the stars," Emily interrupted him.

He smiled warmly, revealing his dimples that she loved so much. "Sure. We can set up a blanket outside with expensive wine and fancy pillows."

"And after you tell me all about the constellations and what they mean, and we're both drunk off of the wine and our love for each other, we'll make love until dawn."

Aaron smiled at the idea of this, and felt almost as though he was living through the experience. "This sounds like a honeymoon to me," he said quietly.

"This is our honeymoon?" She asked excitedly.

"I don't see why not."

Emily grinned widely and leaned up to kiss the man sweetly. All of the stress that had previously occupied her mind was now gone, thanks to Aaron.

I just want to say that I originally made this a two part chapter and wrote smut 😭 I'm just going to leave it there.

Should I post it?? 😅