Hotchniss One Shots

Just Friends pt. 2

It had been over a month since Aaron told Emily he was in love with her. Just as Emily predicted, the team dynamic had been thrown off slightly. The two had barely spoken or hung out. They used to see each other outside of work at least three times a week. The team noticed this shift, but knowing how stubborn their team members were, they'd never willingly say what happened that day in Aaron's apartment.

The team was flying back from Montana from a case. It was late and almost everyone was asleep. Emily and Aaron were still awake but sitting on opposite sides of the jet. Emily was reading a book on the couch with JJ asleep next to her, while Aaron was sitting on the other side of the jet next to Rossi who was also asleep.

Aaron looked up and saw Emily reading a book. She was wearing a red short sleeve shirt and black dress pants. He couldn't help but stare at her. She looked absolutely beautiful. Aaron reminisced about the night he told Emily how he felt. He wished she would let herself love and let him love her the way he always had. He knew she didn't have an easy life; she constantly was moving around the world which meant she had few long-lasting friendships. He wished he could hold her the way he used to. Maybe she was right. Maybe he did ruin a great thing.

As sad as Aaron was, he was just as frustrated. Emily had been completely ignoring him for over a month. She only talked to him about work when he was the only one she could talk to. He shut the file he was looking over and walked up to Emily, standing above her. She looked up at him through her dark lashes. "Can I speak with you?" He asked in a low quiet voice.

"Not right now, Hotch. This isn't a good time." She said coldly, looking back down at her book.

The raven haired woman thought that that would be the end of it, but out of nowhere, Aaron grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the jet bathroom, closing the door behind him. The bathroom was larger than most commercial planes but it was still somewhat cramped. They were less than a foot apart. Emily backed against the wall, putting as much distance as she could between them. She shot a glare in Aaron's direction. "What part of 'not right now' don't you understand?" She hissed.

"This was the only time I could get you alone." Aaron said quietly, remaining calm.

"Ok. Well, you got me alone." She crossed her arms.

"Look. If you're avoiding me because of what I said, I'm sorry. If you want to forget about what I said, that's fine. I just want things to back to normal."

Emily scoffed in disbelief. "Things can't go back to normal, Aaron! Not after what you told me. You kissed me! I can't just forget something like that happened. Things will never be normal between us."

Emily was getting more and more frustrated. She felt a small tear run down her cheek. She dropped her head in order to hide her sadness. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by Aaron. He gently lifted her chin with his hand and looked at Emily. He wiped her tears with his thumb and dropped his hand. He loved how her soft skin felt in his hand. He wished he could hold her, but he knew it would be inappropriate. "What's wrong, Emily?" He asked softly.

She wiped another tear, gaining back some strength. She let out a small sigh before meeting his eyes again. "I got a call from my old partner from the Interpol Office in London. They're offering me a position to run the Interpol Office. I accepted it." Emily said in a slightly sad voice.

Aaron was completely speechless. He had no idea how to respond. Of course he didn't want her to go. He wanted to beg her to stay. He knew the team would never be the same without her. But Aaron knew that this was a great opportunity for Emily, and he didn't want to be the one to hold her back. He simply let his head hang as Emily walked out of the bathroom.

Secretly Emily wished he would've told her to stay. She loved him just as much as he loved her, and she was too scared to admit it. This opportunity was huge for her, and she felt obligated to take it. Of course she'd miss the team everyday, and she'd miss Aaron even more. But the timing felt wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on why, but everything just felt wrong to her. Maybe this job would get Aaron off her mind.