Hotchniss One Shots

"Something sad"

Aaron woke up to the sound of rain tapping at his bedroom window. He opened his eyes slowly to see Emily beside him, sound asleep. Her dark hair was sprawled across the pillow, and her lips were slightly parted. Aaron laid his head back down on the pillow and looked up at the ceiling.

Yesterday he received news that his dad recently was released from prison. Prior to being released, he had been convicted of assault and robbery.

Aaron felt his head begin to throb just thinking about it. The mere thought of his father made him sick, but now knowing that he was back out on the streets made him feel even worse.

He had never been close with his father, but after being abused as a child, who would be? He couldn't act like it was the worst thing, however, because it wasn't. At least it wasn't at first. The beatings only came when his father was drunk or angry. He never told his mother or Sean, but he was confident that his mother already knew what was going on.

He got out of his bed quietly and closed the curtains over the windows. The case they worked yesterday sent Emily into a long slumber which she desperately needed, so he didn't want to be the one to wake her. She spent so much time at his house now that he was starting to feel like he was married to her.

Aaron smiled at the thought and went to take a shower. Less than fifteen minutes later, he walked back into the bedroom to find a clean t-shirt. He was wearing only jeans and socks at this point.

Emily stirred in the bed beside his dresser and soon woke up to see him in front of her. "Hey," she said in her morning voice.

Hotch glanced back at her and smiled softly. "Morning."

"You're up early."

"It's almost seven. Work at eight."

Emily groaned and flipped over. "Can't you just tell the team we don't have to go in today?"

"Just because you're dating the boss doesn't mean you get special privileges," Aaron joked.

"I do get some special privileges though." Emily smiled seductively and shamelessly looked over his muscular chest before he pulled a soft gray t-shirt over his head. When her comment didn't get a reaction out of him, she continued. "You okay?"

Aaron sighed and turned to face her. He hadn't told Emily about any of the news he had received yesterday. They were both too tired to discuss it. "My father was just released from prison yesterday."

"Prison?" Emily sat up in bed, awaiting an explanation.

"He's out now." Aaron said simply, sitting down on the edge of the bed beside her.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Emily asked cautiously. Aaron had never told her any details of his childhood prior to telling her this. It was the only indication to her that his childhood had not been all that pleasant to go through.

"It's a bad thing because now there's another sick old man back out on the streets." Aaron looked down at his legs in front of him, then back up at Emily. "Sorry. I never told you about my parents."

"No, but I always had a feeling."

"What do you mean?"

Emily looked between his damp hair and his furrowed eyebrows. "I overheard you once on a case when you said abuse victims either grow up to be serial killers, or they grow up to catch them."

Aaron managed a fake laugh. "Am I wrong?"

"No, but you're wrong to think that it has to be that way." She said softly.

"I'm fine, Em. Look at how I turned out? I have a brilliant son and a good job." He smiled slowly. "And an amazing girlfriend."

Emily cocked her head to the side, giving him a sympathetic look. "But you'll never forget what he did to you and your family."

"I just don't want to think about it, okay?" He said, trying not to come off as too stern, but he was certain that she heard a tinge of anger in his voice.

"Okay," she said, reaching out for his hand.

The warmth of her skin comforted Aaron. It never failed to.

"I'm here for you if you ever want to talk about it," she said, giving his hands gentle squeeze.

"And that's what makes you so amazing."

A/N: GUYS IHAVE SO MANY IDEAS FOR NEW STORIES OMGGG I ALREADY MADE TWO NEW COVERS FOR THEM ON PHOTOSHOP OMG OMG - unfortunately I still have to finish Distractions 😞I promise I won't be the person who leaves their stories "to be continued" two years later. 😝 Ilysmm