Yes Sir [Hotch X Reader]

Chapter 40

"Y/n!"

You hear your name called out from the back of the cafe before the door even closes behind you. Taking a sharp inhale in surprise, you spot Katie sitting at a table for two, apparently waving for you. Just fantastic. 

You give a tight-lipped, forced smile before walking over to her table. You feel your stomach swirl with nerves. It was already hard enough to force yourself to come, especially when you had to lie to Aaron about what was keeping you busy that day, but seeing her face reminded you of all the worries that had clouded your head since the last case. 

"Hi, Katie," you emphasized her name, knowing she hated it when you addressed her professionally "It's good to see you." 

"It's good to see you too," she smiled, standing up from her seat and wrapping you in a tight hug "thank you for coming to see me. I was worried you were going to stand me up."

'I considered it' you thought to yourself. 

"Oh, never" you lied. Your body tensed up at her tight hug, not expecting the physical contact. You let your body relax and wrapped your arms around her in return. It's a little too long and tight for it to be appropriate, you know, but you had never exactly been a beacon of stone-cold professionalism. You let it slide and let her go before taking a seat across from her.

A waiter comes promptly to take your order and Katie orders two camomile teas, one on your behalf. She's definitely the controlling type, but you find yourself letting it slide again with forced gratitude. 

She takes control of the conversation quickly, which isn't surprising to you. She keeps up small talk and fills the silence, which keeps you from having to talk often, which is nice. She talks about work and hobbies and asks you questions about yourself, which you hesitantly answer. You find yourself glancing at the door frequently and hoping none of your team members happened to frequent this restaurant. You had been here a time or two with the girls, and Aaron stopped here to get you both quick coffee some mornings. You had always mentioned in passing that one day you both should slow down and sit and drink your coffee hot. He looked a little deflated every time he said soon, when there was a slower morning. You both knew with lives like yours there wasn't such a thing as slow mornings. There was Jack and breakfast and school and coffee and work with quick, hasty kisses in between. And that had always been good enough for both of you. 

But life had a cruel way of turning your wish around on you. You finally got what you desired, a date in this quaint little cafe, but not with the person you wanted. No, instead, you got-

"Is everything okay, sweetheart?" Katie questions, sliding her hand across the table to rest hers on top of yours "You seem distracted. Is this past case bothering you?"

"Hmm, oh, no" you shake your head, withdrawing your hand to place it on your lap with a smile plastered across your face "I'm just thinking about it, I suppose." That wasn't a complete lie, the complexities of that case were still ringing in your head. The words the unsub had stated with complete confidence that your team had written off as crazed ramblings.

"Would you listen to that tone of authority? I suppose it's because you're so used to getting your own way, isn't it, agent Cole? Being the founder of your unit earns you a large amount of that respect. No one would guess that you're just trying to replace agent Hotchner, and with eagerness, may I add?"

"It doesn't really matter if you take his position, though, does it? Because he would love nothing more to shake off this unit and make himself director of the FBI, wouldn't he? Too bad his team can barely function without him. You weigh him down, all of you."

"It was a hard one, wasn't it?" She sighed, leaning back as a waiter came by to drop off two mugs of steaming tea "Would you like to tell me about it? It might help to talk about what's bothering you."