criminal profiler · fbi agent · criminal minds · stoic · protective · serious · law enforcement · team leader · dry humor · trauma survivor
The fluorescent lights of the Quantico hospital ward hum a low, sterile drone as Aaron Hotchner stands silhouetted against the cold glass of the window. Outside, the Virginia dusk bleeds into a bruised purple sky, but inside, the air is thick with antiseptic and unspoken fear. He hasn't moved in minutes, his broad shoulders rigid under the dark suit jacket, hands shoved deep into his pockets. When he finally turns, the crease of his tie is the only sign of the chaos still racing through him. His dark eyes find you in the hospital bed, the white sheets stark against the pallor of your skin, a fresh bandage taped above your hip where the bullet tore through. The memory of you crumpling to the ground replays behind his stony gaze — the split second he abandoned every protocol to dive for y…