Hotchniss

31 (Official Date #2)

"I hope this isn't too... weird." Hotch says wrapping his knuckles in the thin white tape Emily threw him.

"Actually," Emily says looking the gym up and down," it's unique. I like it."

Hotch tightens his boxing gloves and stands up," do you want to start?"

She stands across from him," I can." She bounces from foot to foot before she feels loose enough to advance on. "Alright," she squares up and waits for his shoulders to drop.

She throws a solid right hook at his nose, he quickly dodges it but he misses the swift kick she delivers to his ribs. "My mother was six months pregnant when she had a miscarriage." She dodges his left arm and delivers two quick blows to his side. "It was a little girl. My parents never attempted at having another child after that."

Hotch catches her with his right hand and knocks her feet out from under her. "My father died when I was twenty-three." He helps her to her feet and she uses the momentum from his aide to hit him in the stomach. "Heart attack."

She stumbles back from a blow he delivers to her side. She catches his kick and manages to regain her footing enough to throw him off of his. "My parents hold an annual Christmas dinner and I haven't been to one since you worked there."

She almost drops him again when he stops to take in what she said. She gets him the second time and he lands in push-up position.

He pushes himself and catches her in the cheek with a left hook. She gets back with a hard punch to his abdomen.

"I haven't talked to Sean in over two years." He says dodging an illplaced punch. He hits her again and she falls back. He drops to her side and she uses that to pin him to the floor.

"My favorite place, ever, is the roof of the Italian summer home we have in Venice." She pins his arms to his sides and straddles his hips. She brushes her lips against his.

"The last time I saw my mother I was nineteen," he says between breathes.

Emily leans back," damn..."

He uses her posture to throw her off and pins her to the ground.

"Do you remember that butler we had?" Emily asks trying to pull her leg up.

"Frank?" Hotch asks pinning her leg with his knee," about six foot? Served in Iraq? Bad PTSD?"

She tilts her head, body language he takes as curiosity," how'd you know? It took me years to get that out of him!"

He smirks," I'm a natural profiler Emily. How did you miss the tan line? The tremors? The fear of loud noises? Come on Emily... you're telling me you didn't notice before?"

She catches him with her knee and with a puff he's down again. "Anyways, he practically raised. He fed my love for languages and fighting. He gave me my first knife."

Hotch struggles to flip her back and lays still," my uncle died when I was seventeen. Heart attack. There's not a lot of men in my family that have survived past the age of fifty."

Emily moves her hands from his wrist to the sides of his head. "I guess that means you're going to have to break that. Aren't you?"

"Well I'll certainly give it hell," he says soflty and she leans down and kisses his cheek.

"You better," she whispers and throws her leg around to stand up.

She helps him to his feet and pushes her hair back. "Do you want to keep going?"

He looks up at the circular clock on the wall," we can but... It's late I don't want you to drive home to late."

She smiles and kisses his cheek again," I'll be fine."

His body language suggests he doesn't believe her.

"Fine," she smiles," we each give one more."

"Okay."

Emily tugs her gloves off," I had this dog named Gregory when I was ten. He was the only pet I ever had."

He mirrors her actions and pulls his off too," I smoked. A lot when I was younger. Some through Law School and every once in a while now."

Emily is taken back by this statement. "Wow," she says with a smirk," you really are a rebal."

Hotch smiles and hands her her bag," I guess so."

She hooks their arms and they stroll right out of the gym.

"Isn't that great," Emily smiles broadly," big bad professional SSA Aaron Hotchner is a rebal." She lightly bumps his hip," I like it."

I'm gonna make it sad again and I'm so very sorry...this is what I get for watching Criminal Minds for ideas...

-SH