A/N - Disclaimer. I do not own Criminal Minds.
Aaron Hotchner opened the door with a wide smile. "Hey, I thought we were meeting up later this evening?"
JJ smiled back at the man standing in front of her as nerves danced in her stomach.
He opened the door wider, granting her entrance. "Come on in. I was just cleaning up." He was very casual today in jeans and a tee shirt. "Jack had a birthday party this afternoon so I thought I'd take advantage of the alone time by doing a little house work."
"Yeah, I know. He reminded me about it last night." She shook her head. "Apparently both of you forgot who took him shopping for the gift for the party." She grinned as she watched him wrap the cord for the vacuum around the tool. "You know, when you're done here…"
"Oh, I'm done." He interrupted. "Fate has just delivered me a diverting present." Hooking his hand in the front of her jeans he pulled her to him. "I think it's time for a little 'me' time." He bent his head and kissed her thoroughly. "Now that is how I should always greet you. Remind me if I fail to do so."
JJ laughed up at him. "I'm not going to disagree with that so you can be sure that I will."
"So," he wagged his brows at her, "are you interested in some 'me' time, or did you have another reason for dropping by? Not that you ever need a reason for coming over." He dropped a kiss on her nose and missed the flash of anxiety that entered her eyes.
"Actually," she began nervously, "I did have a reason." She stepped out of their embrace and began to pace causing Hotch to frown.
"Aaron, I'm worried we're sending the wrong message to our boys about our relationship."
She watched as he paled. "Meaning?"
"Meaning we're having a relationship in front of two young impressionable boys and I'm not sure we should be doing it."
He went from pale to a look of complete and utter devastation asking, "Are you breaking up with me, JJ?"
"NO!" She moved over to where he was standing. "No," she reiterated, "absolutely not." Her hands bracketed his face as she kissed him quickly. "I love you."
She was relieved when he let out a groan and kissed her sharply. "Christ, you freaking scared me senseless for a minute there." He pulled her closely to him, hugging her tightly. "Give me a minute for my heart to kick back in and then hopefully you can explain what you're talking about."
JJ chuckled as she ran a hand up and down his back consolingly, completely content to be held so securely in his embrace. "I didn't mean to scare you." She placed a soft kiss on his neck.
"I'll try to take comfort in that." He said sarcastically. He move over to the couch and sat down, pulling her beside him. "Okay, now talk."
JJ let out a deep sigh. "Okay, so last night I was watching Entertainment Tonight..."
"On purpose?" Hotch interrupted.
JJ glared at him. "That's irrelevant to the story. Anyway," she continued, "ET was on and there was a segment with Brad and Angelina talking about getting married and how they didn't feel like they necessarily needed to but about how it was important to their kids and Henry asked…"
He winced, "Oh Jay, you let Henry watch that crap?"
Huffing at the continued interruption she growled, "The TV was on, he was in the room, I didn't specifically turn ET on I had the news on while I was making dinner, Henry was sitting at the table." She scowled exasperatedly. "Can I get to my point?"
"Yeah, sorry." He replied grinningly, obviously enjoying her frustration.
Not wanting to get trapped up by any further narrative she blurted out. "I think we should get married."
Hotch looked at her for a beat. "Because Brad and Angelina are?" He asked comically.
"No." JJ stood up and resumed pacing again. "Because I love you and you said you loved me."
"Of course I love you." He chuckled. "I just don't understand how a segment on a gossip show got you here?"
JJ turned to him. "I shouldn't be stopping by in the morning, or meeting up with you later tonight. I should be here with you cleaning house."
"I still have the bathrooms to do." He interjected very unwisely.
"This isn't a joke, Aaron!" She shouted, "We shouldn't be having sleep overs in front of easily influenced kids they should know that we are together because we choose to be together and we love each other and them. We should be setting a better example."
"And you think we need to be married to send that message?" He questioned, rising from the couch. "We could just move in together."
"Okay, well maybe I want to get married." JJ responded in a small voice.
"JJ, sweetheart," he grabbed her hand, stopping her pacing, "are you proposing to me or telling me you want me to propose to you?"
"I'm informing you I want to marry you." She sniffled, then gasped as he lifted her in his arms. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to let you in a couple of facts." He quipped as he carried her to his bedroom and sat her on the bed. "I'm not going to marry you because you are worried that we are sending the wrong message to our kids." He watched as she frowned and her eyes began to fill. "Don't do that," he growled.
"I love you JJ, of course I want to marry you. I want you beside me when I go to sleep at night and I want you to be there when I wake up in the morning. I want to make love to you as often as I possibly can. And as much as I love the boys and want us to be a family my desire to marry you has nothing to do with them. Only you. And I sure as shit didn't need any guidance from Brad and Angelina."
The eyes that had been soft and dreamy turned stormy. "Don't be an idiot. I already knew that I wanted to marry you before seeing that stupid interview. But having my son ask me when you and I were getting married made me realize the boys recognize that we love one another and the fact that they are questioning why aren't we married really made me wonder, why aren't we?"
He nodded. "So, I ask again, is that a proposal?"
"Do you want it to be?" He lifted a brow at her answering his question with a question. "Fine. Aaron, will you marry me?"
"Do you have a ring?" He asked looking at her. "Obviously I'm not going to hold out for a diamond, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping for some token of your affection."
She started at him in frustrated silence for a minute before grumbling, "I'll give you a token of affection."
"Oh believe me; I have every intention of consummating this new status in our relationship." He looked at her hotly before striding over to his night stand, deliberately choosing to misinterpret her snide remark.
"There is no new status." She replied flippantly. "Apparently I need to get to the jewelry store."
Hotch turned to look at her, resplendent in full fury. "Pissed off is one of my favorite looks on you."
"Lucky for me I have an opportunity to wear it so frequently around you." JJ retorted and shook her head at his completely besotted grin.
"You know, not so very long ago I thought my life was over. The idea that I could be so completely and ridiculously happy didn't seem possible."
JJ felt her annoyance dissolve and couldn't resist smiling as he knelt beside the bed and reached out for her hand. "Yeah, well, when you're not pissing me off I'm pretty ridiculously happy too." She confided.
Hotch winked at her and kissed her hand. "JJ, I cannot imagine my life without you in it, sharing it." His eyes misted as he swallowed anxiously. He watched as recognition abruptly lit JJ's eyes as she suddenly realized that he was kneeling beside her. "JJ, I love you. Marry me." He brought forward the little black box that he'd stashed in his nightstand in preparation for the coming evening. The woman was always messing with his timetables. Not that he minded.
"You have a ring." She watched in fascination as he removed it from the box and slid it on her finger, stunned by both the beauty of the ring and the perfect fit.
"It's not really for me, I bought it for you." He teased gently as he wiped the tears slowly coursing down her cheeks. "What do you say? I know that you could probably do better but no one will ever love you like I do." He stated vehemently.
She rested the hand he wasn't holding on his cheek, gave an affirmative nod and asked him, "What would you say if I told you I also wanted to have your baby?"
He was off the floor and had her on her back so fast she squealed in stunned surprise. He mumbled, "I'm free until two," then his mouth was hot and insistent on hers.
"Good." She giggled as his lips trailed hot, moist kisses down her neck. "I'm going to need a token of your affection."
Thank you for reading. :) Hopefully you enjoyed it. Thank you in advance to all that choose to leave a review. I sincerely appreciate everyone that does. They make me ridiculously happy. There is no feeling like getting that ping alerting you to a new review.