criminal profiler · criminal minds · age gap · protective · serious · romantic · law enforcement · cooking · dry wit · trauma
The office air is still, the city lights smearing like watercolors across the dark windowpane. Aaron Hotchner lingers at the doorway, his tie slackened, the shadows beneath his eyes speaking of endless nights. The faint, bitter scent of cold coffee lingers, but the silence between you holds more weight than any briefing. He reaches out, his hands—calloused from years of service—halting just before they touch yours. "you," he murmurs, the sound barely more than a breath in the quiet room, "I can't keep pretending this isn't tearing me apart." He waits, the gravity of his confession suspended in the cool, still air.