⋆♱ KØI ♱⋆

Heads turned as you had entered, and a wave of warmth spread through you as familiar voices from your friends greeted you.

“Y/N!” Garcia’s exclamation came first as she flew across the bullpen, pulling away from her conversation with Morgan, her colorful dress trailing behind her. “Oh my gosh, let me see that precious little angel!”

You laughed, carefully handing over your daughter as Garcia immediately began cooing at her. Emily, Morgan, and JJ soon gathered around, their faces lighting up at the sight of the baby.

“Look at those cheeks,” Morgan said, his voice soft as he tickled her tiny hand. “Hotch better have her signed up for karate classes already. Gotta keep the boys away.”

“Or girls,” Emily added. “She’s going to be a heartbreaker either way.”

You beamed at their affection, the team’s love for your little family filling your heart. “Where is Aaron?” you asked, glancing toward his office. The blinds were drawn, but you knew he wasn’t inside.

JJ nodded toward the conference room. “He’s in there, showing something to Agent Morrison.”

Your smile faltered slightly at the mention of Morrison, the agent who had been brought in temporarily to cover your leave. You hadn’t met her yet, but you’d heard through the grapevine that she was ambitious, skilled, and confident — maybe a little too confident.

You spotted Aaron through the windows, his back turned as he reviewed what you assumed were some case files with Morrison. He looked relaxed yet tired, his tie slightly loosened, though his usual air of authority remained in place. Morrison stood close to him — a little too close — her laughter ringing out at something he said.

Your lips pressed into a thin line, but you pushed the feeling aside. Aaron was your husband, your partner, and the father of the baby currently making grabby hands at Morgan’s face. You had no reason to feel insecure.

Morgan handed your daughter back to you as you went to greet your husband.

And still, as you approached, you couldn’t help but notice the way Morrison’s body language leaned toward him, her hand brushing his forearm as she laughed again. Aaron didn’t seem to notice — or if he did, he wasn’t encouraging it.

When you reached the conference room, Aaron glanced up, and the moment his eyes met yours, his entire demeanor softened.

“Y/N,” he said, his voice filled with warmth and surprise. His gaze immediately dropped to the baby in your arms, and he stood quickly, coming around the desk to envelop you both in a hug.

“You should’ve told me you were coming,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to your temple before gently brushing a finger across your daughter’s cheek. She squealed in delight, reaching out for him, and he took her into his arms with ease.

“It wouldn’t have been a surprise if I told you,” you replied, grinning as you watched him cradle her. “I figured you could use a break.”

Aaron’s smile widened, and he kissed the baby’s forehead before turning back to you. “I always have time for my girls.”

Morrison’s voice cut into the moment, a hint of confusion lacing her words. “Wait, your girls?”

You turned to her, offering a polite smile. “Hi, I’m Y/N. Aaron’s wife.”

Her eyes widened, darting between you, Aaron, and the baby. “Wife?” she repeated, her tone almost incredulous.

Aaron’s arm settled protectively around your waist as he nodded. “Yes, my wife. Y/N used to work here before going on maternity leave.”

Morrison’s expression shifted, her initial surprise giving way to something more guarded. “Oh. I… I didn’t realize.”

“Well, now you do,” Aaron said firmly, his tone polite but edged with finality, hoping that your visit would make Morrison drop her antics.

The tension in Morrison’s posture was clear as day, but she pasted on a smile. “She’s adorable,” she said, nodding toward the baby. “You’re very lucky.”

Aaron’s grip on you tightened slightly. “I know I am.”

The interaction seemed to conclude there, and Morrison excused herself, claiming she had paperwork to finish. But as the day went on, it became clear that the encounter had unsettled her. You noticed her watching you from across the room, her eyes narrowing whenever Aaron’s attention lingered on you or the baby.

Finally, as you were gathering your things to leave, Morrison approached you near the elevator. Her smile was tight, her tone clipped.

“Can I talk to you for a moment?” she asked, glancing around to ensure no one else was within earshot.

You raised an eyebrow but nodded. “Sure. What’s on your mind?”

Her polite facade dropped almost instantly. “You don’t have to flaunt your relationship in front of everyone,” she said sharply. “It’s unprofessional.”

Your jaw tightened, but you kept your voice calm. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

She scoffed. “You know exactly what I mean. Walking in here with your baby like you own the place, acting like Hotch is your personal property… It’s distracting and completely inappropriate.”

You blinked, stunned by the audacity. Before you could respond, a familiar voice cut through the tension.

“Agent Morrison.”

Aaron’s tone was ice-cold, and you turned to see him standing a few feet away, his expression thunderous. “A word, please. Now.”

Morrison’s face paled as she stammered, “I… I didn’t mean…”

“My office. Now.”

You watched as Aaron led her away, his posture stiff with fury. The bullpen had fallen silent, and you could feel the eyes of your colleagues on you, but you held your head high, refusing to let Morrison’s pettiness rattle you.

Minutes later, Aaron returned, his expression softer but still serious. He placed a hand on your arm, guiding you toward the elevator. “Let’s go home,” he said quietly.

As the elevator doors closed, you glanced up at him. “What happened?”

He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Morrison won’t be returning. Her behavior was unacceptable, and I made it clear that we won’t tolerate that kind of attitude here.”

You nodded, your heart swelling with gratitude and love for the man beside you. “Thank you.”

Aaron’s eyes softened as he leaned down to press a kiss to your forehead. “No one disrespects my family,” he said firmly. “No one.”

“I’m Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner,” Your eyes widen at the voice, it was deep and husky. You looked over, he was hot too. Very, very hot.

“Damn,” You said softly, the BAU team paused for a minute, looking over at you. You mentally shrug, deciding to own the fact that you just outed yourself to the entire precinct.

“I didn’t know you swung that way,” Your friend, Officer Collins, replied.

“Not often but when I do I swing hard...” You say after a moment of hesitation, you watch as the man in front of you flushes a deep red, ducking his head down for a moment.

“Is there a place we can set up?” He asked, turning his head back to your supervisor.

“Yeah, we’ve cleared a conference room just down the hall,” Your supervisor said, “You’ll be working primarily with Officer (L/N),” You gave a small wave, watching as a brown haired woman smirked at a darker skinned man.

“Nice to meet you,” Hotch smiled shyly, offering you his hand, which you gladly shook.

“Officer (L/N),” You answered, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sir, I’ve heard a lot of great things about you and your unit,” You watch as Hotch flushes yet again, this time at the word ‘sir’.

“Well, I hope we live up to your expectations,”

“I’m sure you will,” You reply, fighting the urge to wink, the man ducked his head yet again, blush darkening. “In my defence, I wasn’t trying to flirt that time,”

“So what can you tell us about the case so far?” Rossi cut in, fearing that if Aaron blushed any more, he may burst a blood vessel.

“Not much I’m afraid, just that this guy’s killing attractive men - so I’d keep Agent Hotchner close,” You said, eyes widening, “Shit, I’m so sorry, I didn’t actually mean to say that out loud, sorry. I’m trying to be professional, I swear,”

Collins let out a loud laugh before attempting to cover it with a cough when you shot him a glare. Hotch gave a small nod, somehow still blushing. “Puh-lease, like you can filter anything you say ever,”

“Haven’t insulted you in fifteen minutes, Collins, sounds like I’m doing great at filtering,” You and Collin chucked before you turned back to the team. You flicked a grin in the team's direction, watching as Aaron looked at you with an amused smile. You turned, catching his gaze, he quickly looked away before looking back after a short moment.

The BAU managed to solve the case within six days (despite you and your team working on it for a number of weeks now). They had apprehended the unsub and Aaron had even let you be the arresting officer (‘it’s your case, officer,’ ‘it’s okay, you can say it out loud, you think me arresting people is hot’). And so, rolled around the time you had been dreading, saying goodbye to Agent Hotchner.

“Well, Aaron,” You said lightly, shifting your head as you spoke with a grin, “It seems your team outwits our entire department,”

“In your defence, officer, it’s mostly Agent Reid,” Aaron replied, using the same tone you had been.

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Aaron looks at you, only a hint of a blush on his cheeks, “Either you aren’t finding me as charming, or you’re getting used to me, Agent Hotchner,”

“Well, it’s definitely not the first one,” He answered, your grin widened at his words.

“In that case, here is my phone number,” You said, handing over a small piece of paper to him. “Give me a call,”

(close up)

Spencer hadn’t slept much during the case, it was an intelligent unsub who had created a rather difficult code. Spencer had dedicated himself to it as he always did - 100%. He slept little, ate little, living mostly off of coffee and a whole lot of sugar. Now that the case was finished, he had crashed. 

You were both on the jet couch, snuggling - with Spencer’s head in your lap with your hand gently combing through his hair as Spencer mumbled softly about a variety of different facts. It wasn’t long before Spencer had fallen asleep. 

“You’re absolutely smitten,” Morgan teased with a smirk on his face. You rolled your eyes, cursing yourself when your cheeks turned a deep red. 

“He’s just so…” You smile fondly, running your fingers through his hair, “I don’t know, he’s just so.”

Morgan huffed a quiet laugh. “You love him?”

“So much it hurts, but in the best way,” You answer, you break eye contact with Morgan, looking at Spencer. His eyes closed, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks as he slept. He looked so relaxed, so at peace.

“You’re so cheesy,” Morgan teased and you rolled your eyes at the older man. 

“Would you look at that?” Emily gaped. Penelope stared, “Oh my hotchness,”

By the threshold, their Section Chief, Aaron Hotchner, was talking to one of their support agents. However, what caught their eye was his outfit. His suit jacket foregone, shirt sleeves rolled up, and those toned rippling muscles but the cherry on top?

No tie.

“Okay, one question and one answer,” he addressed the team that gathered at the bullpen. Morgan immediately countered. “We only need one anyway,”

“Where’s your tie?” Penelope asked away. Their curiosity bursting through the seams the moment he comes through without one, “It’s not that we don’t like the new look it’s just…”

“You don’t go to work without one,” Reid finished.

His team impatiently waited for an answer as he smirked then softly laughed at what just transpired this morning.

“My girlfriend decided to hide them,” he honestly answered, as the girls squealed, “I attempted to coax its’ location out of her, but she didn’t yield despite my best efforts so I’ve no tie today it seems,”

Was that an innuendo? Or did he simply try to talk to you to get his ties back?

His message went through the ladies as their cheeks burned at the thought of your morning shenanigans. On the other hand, the innuendo made Rossi and Morgan smile but went straight through Reid’s head.

“Okay, back to work, guys,”

“I’m liking his new girlfriend,” JJ said, as they walked away from the bullpen, “Those dimples are showing,”