A/N This is my entry for Round Five of ilovetvalot's Fanfic Challenge 2010. I was given Emily/Hotch and my candy to include was Rolos. This is my first try writing this pairing romantically, and I'm not sure how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it anyway! Part two will be up tomorrow.
Disclaimer: As much as I would love to, I don't own Criminal Minds. Title from Kings Of Leon.
Emily Prentiss didn't scare easily. She could look into the eyes of serial killers, stare down the barrel of a gun and face whatever evil the world could throw at her.
But lifting her hand to knock on Aaron Hotchner's door, getting ready for what everybody else considered their first date...that was pretty terrifying. Hearing footsteps approach the front stoop, Emily let out a shaky breath.
"Come on, Emily," she muttered, "It's just pizza and a movie."
The door opened, and her heart fluttered at a delightfully casual Aaron Hotchner.
"Hi," she said nervously.
Hotch felt his breath catch as light reflected off her dark hair. "Hi."
A small face appeared from behind his leg, smiling brightly. "Hi, Emily!"
"Hi, Jack," she replied.
"Do you want to see my pumpkin?" Jack asked, slipping onto the front step. Emily crouched down to see.
"You did a great job, Jack. I like his face." He beamed proudly.
"Thanks! His name is Rolo."
"Like the candy?"
"Yeah, because those ones are my favorite!"
Hotch opened the door fully, the sight of his son interacting so comfortably with Emily causing inexplicable feelings in his chest.
"Come in," he said, standing aside as she passed. Bounding into the house behind them, and shutting the door with more force than really necessary, Jack grabbed her hand.
"Em'ly, Em'ly, you hafta see my fish! He's purple!"
Laughing at the shell-shocked surprise on her face, Hotch prised his son away. "Bud, why don't you go upstairs and put your pajamas on, okay? Maybe Emily can come up and see Clark later."
Nodding vigorously, Jack took the steps two at a time, his sandy blonde hair flying in all directions. Emily bit her lip in amusement.
"Clark?"
"As in Kent," Hotch explained, and then turned to call, "Jack, put your toys away before we eat!"
Emily smiled at the distant reply yelled from upstairs. "So what are we doing?"
"You're going to order pizza, while I make popcorn, and Jack tidies his room."
"Why do I have to order the pizza?"
"Because you're the one who hates anchovies, peppers, mushrooms, sweet corn..." he listed with a chuckle, "Don't forget I've had to listen to JJ and Morgan complain that you take forever to make up your mind."
"Okay, fine."
Sliding the phone over the counter towards her, Hotch laughed at the slight pout of her lips. He rarely got a chance to see her like this – calm, radiant and completely open. The Emily he saw at work was definitely not the Emily sitting at his kitchen counter. Sure, they were both caring, sincere, and loyal to a fault, but this Emily was...different.
Hotch sighed, wishing he could give her the love she deserved.
"Hotch?"
His introspection had obviously distracted him long enough for Emily to make the call and set the phone down.
"What's going on in there?" she asked in amusement, waving a hand in front of his face.
"What?"
"You looked...wistful. I just wondered why."
Oh, if only you knew, Hotch thought with a barely hidden smile. "It was nothing," he replied. Em wasn't convinced, and did nothing but arch a disbelieving eyebrow.
"Okay, well, whatever you say. The pizza will be about fifteen minutes. Hey, can I use your bathroom?" she asked. He nodded.
"Use the one off my bedroom – up the stairs, first door on the right. There are boxes piled up in the downstairs restroom."
Emily arched an eyebrow. "How long have you lived here? Six months?"
"Just go pee," Hotch shot back with a roll of his eyes. Chuckling, she disappeared up the stairs, following his directions and finding herself in a small en-suite. Sitting down on the closed toilet lid, Emily blew out a shaky breath, her knees bouncing.
Minutes passed in silence. What was wrong with her? She'd been gearing up for this all week – hell, Garcia had spent an hour coaching her on how to contain her anxieties.
"Emily, the pizza's here!" Jack called, jolting her out of her thoughts. Standing, she flushed the toilet so that Hotch wouldn't think she had been freaking out in his bathroom – which, she realized with a sigh, was exactly what she had been doing – and washed her hands.
"Okay?" Hotch asked, looking at her with slight concern as she made it down the stairs. Smiling at him reassuringly, she nodded.
"I'm fine."
"Em, you just spent fifteen minutes in my bathroom," he said in a low voice, "You don't think I know when somebody is freaking out?"
Dammit. She sighed in acknowledgement, then followed him to the living room. "So what movie are we watching?"
"Daddy picked it," Jack said, comfortable on a bean bag beside the sofa, "It's Charlie Brown's Halloween."
Hearing Hotch groan from behind her, Emily arched an eyebrow, settling herself into the cushions with a grin. "Oh, Daddy picked it, huh?"
Jack nodded. "Yep. He said that 'cause I said that Rolo had to be named Rolo, Daddy got to pick the movie for when you was here."
Jack barely made it through the first half of the movie, his eyes closing and his head dropping forward. Removing the half-eaten slice of pizza from his son's limp hand, Hotch scooped Jack into his arms, easily carrying him up the stairs. Kissing him on the forehead and tucking the covers to his chin, Hotch stood for a moment, just watching his son sleep peacefully. Hearing a laugh from downstairs, he couldn't think of a thing that could make his evening more perfect, and returned to Emily's side.
"Oh, this is the best bit!" she said excitedly, and Hotch laughed softly.
"Stop talking, Sally Brown," he whispered, nudging her with his elbow. Biting her lip to hold back a laugh, Emily nodded.
"Sure thing, Rerun."
"You really are a nerd," he mused thoughtfully, his eyes sparkling in amusement. She scoffed in disbelief.
"Hey, I'm not the one who has It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on DVD."
He moved closer, his arm sliding around her shoulders. Surprised, she turned her head. The emotion swirling in his dark eyes stole her breath, and as his stare dropped to her lips, it took all her strength not to just close the distance.
"Emily..."
"Hotch," she groaned, almost to the point of whining, "Aaron. You shouldn't do this."
"Why not?" he breathed. Emily shook her head, twisting her body out of his gentle hold.
"You don't know how long I've wanted this to happen, and maybe I thought it would, but now you're in a relationship. I don't want to be that woman."
Hotch was confused. "Did you just say that I'm in a relationship?" he asked dumbly. She nodded slowly.
"Yes. With JJ."
"With who?" Hotch echoed incredulously, surprise coloring his words, "Emily, what are you talking about?"