The team hopped on the jet not long after the arrest of Gunther Daniels. His reason for murdering his first victim was that "He stole my spot on the field." But after it was too good to only do once.
They sat on the jet now, everyone doing their own thing in their own booth. Hotch looked over paperwork. Rossi had poured himself a drink, but had ended up falling asleep without touching it. Morgan was listening to music and scrolling through his phone. JJ was playing games on her phone, while the other three patrons on the plane napped.
Hotch continued to send glances in Kara's direction. He had brought up something important and about their relationship while on a case and he hated it. He was already having problems keeping the distance between church and state, but he needed them to be out as a couple. Hoops would have to be jumped through, but he would jump through anything if it meant he could have their relationship out in the open. He bit the inside of his cheek and forced himself to focus back on the paperwork in front of him.
The flight landed not too long after he shut his mind off. Everyone woke from the shaking of the landing. Kara's first instinct was to peek back at Hotch, the leader still buried deep in paperwork. She huffed quietly to herself and packed up her things.
"Great job everyone." Hotch said after a moment. "I'll see you all tomorrow." He looked over his team and offered them a nod. "Get some rest."
The team shuffled off the jet, everyone ready to sleep in their own beds. It was only about three in the afternoon after their run in with the unsub in the morning. Kara and Hotch were the last to leave. She wanted to talk to him about earlier, but he didn't seem interested. Despite the fact that he could feel her looking at him, he didn't budge and instead kept his eyes on his paperwork as he put it back in his briefcase.
With a quiet sigh, she adjusted the backpack over her shoulders and stepped off the jet. This would be their first "fight" and a silent one at that. She swallowed, stepping through the bullpen to grab a couple things from her desk before heading to her car. Her blue Corvette waited for her in the parking lot. She stepped in and set her bag in the passenger's seat. Her heart ached. She wanted to tell people to, but she was scared of the team's reactions. More than she should be, but still.
As soon as Kara arrived at her apartment, she shed her work clothes and headed to her bedroom where she put on her robe. She tied it around her waist, went to her kitchen to find some sort of snack. Considering how often they were gone, she didn't keep many perishables. She settled on a fruit cup from her fridge. She grabbed a spoon, ate her snack before heading to the bathroom to take a hot bath.
Hotch felt bad for ignoring her, but at the time, he had no idea what to even say. He was terrible with relationships and communication and a lot of things. And at that moment, he didn't want to make anything worse. But when he finally arrived home and greeted his son, he called her, but didn't get an answer. That was what upset him.
He sat at the kitchen table with Jack, the child eating his full of Mac and cheese and chicken nuggets. "Can I spend the night at Sean's?" Jack asked, looking up at his dad expectantly.
Aaron raised an eyebrow. "If I'm not mistaking, it's a school night kiddo."
The boy shrugged. It had been worth a try.
"Actually, let me call his mom." He offered. He had something in mind.
An hour later, Jack was at his friends for the night, and Aaron stood at Kara's door with a bag of food. He knocked on the door. He had called her once and sent her a couple messages asking if she was okay. He never got a response, so he took the opportunity of Jack wanting to hang with his buddy.
Kara hadn't seen her phone since she got home. She had been taking a hot bath and listening to music to calm herself down and for a moment, her boyfriend was the last person on her mind. She ran a brush through her wet hair. She scrolled through his messages on her way to the door. She was about to type up a response when she pulled open the door. She looked up at him and couldn't help the smile on her face. "Hi." She mumbled, shoving both her phone and brush into the pockets of her sweats.
"Hey." He returned. "I hope you haven't eaten." He held up the bag. He offered her a small smile.
She grinned and nodded. She was starving. She stepped out of the way and allowed him to come inside. Music could still be heard from the bathroom. She quietly excused herself and shut it off before stepping back into the living room. "You didn't have to do that."
"I know." He responded, setting the bag down on the counter and starting to unpack it. "I wanted to." He had remembered her favorite restaurant and meal she told him on their first date. "But I wanted to. And I needed to apologize for this morning." He stopped what he was doing and met her eyes. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought it up, especially not on a case, but I'm sorry, as of now I respect your decision."
She nodded. She didn't like that fact that he brought it up while on a case, but she wasn't upset. She had mostly just been thinking. And at the moment, she didn't want to tell them, but thinking about it, they did deserve to know. She wasn't making any decisions just yet. "Thank you." She paused and quickly looked him over. "We've been off the case for three hours and you're still in you suit. I hope you brought comfier clothes than that."
He pursed his lips as he thought, but nodded. "My go bags in my car." With that he excused himself and left to grab it.
She continued to unpack the food, her heart warm at the sight. He had not only drove all the way here to apologize, but he brought her favorite meal and remembered the little things she had said. She set the boxed meals on the coffee table, figuring they could watch a movie and eat a good meal.
He stepped back into her apartment and locked the door behind him. "Can I go to your room the change."
She nodded.
He stepped into her bedroom and pushed the door shut. It didn't close all the way. But he only needed a minute or two to change. He quickly slipped out of his suit pants and threw on some sweats, a faded FBI imprinted on the left hip. He unbuttoned his shirt and took off his coat. He was about to pull on his shirt when she pushed open the door.
"Hey babe I-" Her voice faded off, a heavy blush decorating her face as she studied his torso. And then her eyes hit the scars. "I...I'm sorry." She turned to leave.
"No. Kara it's okay." He had felt his own face heat up.
She took that as an invitation and slowly stepped into the room. She swallowed, her eyes never leaving the scars. "Do they hurt?" Was her first question, her voice almost nonexistent.
He looked down at his torso; the scars from Foyett on the front, scars from his father on his back. He had honestly forgotten about them at times or he tried to. He shrugged. "Sometimes."
Kara had heard about Foyett and what he had done, but she wasn't around for it. She was only there for the aftermath of the criminal. She couldn't even imagine the pain he had gone through both that night and after. She stepped even closer, her chest almost against his. She looked down at the scars, fingers carefully tracing them. She frowned. She didn't even know about the ones on his back. She didn't bother checking, too focused on the ones on his front.
Without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed a scar in the left side of his chest. She pulled away and ran her finger along the pink flesh. She blinked and pulled herself from her thoughts. Both of them had been through hell and back with scars to prove it. She swallowed, regaining herself. "Finish changing. There's food on the table. We can pick a movie, eat, and then just chill, okay?" She stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek and then his lips. She hadn't had an actual kiss in a couple days, cases having taken them over. She placed one more kiss on his lips before heading out of the room.
The couple fell asleep not long after they finished their meal. They hadn't worked a lot of the day, but they were exhausted from the entire case. Hotch's back was on the couch, Kara laying on his chest.
And that was how he awoke the next morning. He blinked, taking in the area around him. He hadn't slept over before, and this time on accident. For once though, he felt refreshed. He looked down at his chest where Kara's head rested, face turned towards the back of the couch. He wasn't even sure what time it was. By the little light outside, he assumed sunrise.
He kissed the top of her head and slowly worked his way out from underneath her. He shimmied and shifted until she was resting against the couch. He smiled down at her. That had been the best sleep he had had in…he wasn't sure how long.
He kneeled beside the couch and kissed her forehead. He brushed a lose piece of hair from her face. He stood up and quietly gathered his things. He would have to run home and grab fresh clothes before heading into the office. If he had brought a change of clothes, he would've made breakfast. So instead, he found a pad of paper in the kitchen, wrote a little note, and was out the door and in his car in about ten minutes.
Kara woke not long after Aaron left. She shifted as her alarm went off, her body tight. It was rare she fell asleep on the couch, but it only took a second before the night flooded back to her. She sat up and stretched. She assumed Aaron left not long after she fell asleep, that was usually how it went. But when she found the note in the kitchen, a smile blossomed on her face.
"Good morning baby. I would've stayed for breakfast, but I wasn't prepared to spend the night. I'll see you in the office. Feel free to come early."
She felt warm. He was all hers. Her kind, caring, gentleman of a boyfriend. She grinned down at the page, shaking her head. She couldn't even imagine these words coming from his hand, but sure enough the ink had been smudged due to him being a lefty, and there was a tiny H at the end of the note. It was cute. She adored it.
She was quick to get ready, showing up to the office thirty minutes after she woke. She stepped into the bullpen, and of course Hotch was already sitting at his desk, pen moving in the distance.
The team wouldn't be in for twenty or so minutes, that gave her about ten and a bit of wiggle room to sit with him. She tossed her bag down at her desk and headed up into his office. She knocked and pushed the door open, watching his face light up as she stepped in. Her smile was mirrored on his face.
"Good morning." He said. He pushed himself up and shut the blinds to his office. No one was in yet, but it was better to be safe than sorry considering what had happened last time. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest. He kissed her once, and then again, smile clear on his face.
"You seem awfully cheerful." DeBruin chuckled. She wasn't upset. Happy Hotch was rare and it was a gorgeous sight. She loved it. She loved him. She loved him. The idea stuck in her head and it only made her smile grow. She really did.
"I had a good night sleep." He returned. His hands found hers and he quickly twirled her around, almost as if the floor were a stage. He bent her back and leaned over her, once again connecting his lips to hers.
She pulled away, laughing. "This isn't you. It's weird, but I like it!" She held onto his tie, meeting his eyes. She wanted to say it, but remained speechless, stunned over his eyes staring into hers. He pecked her lips once more before straightening out. He adjusted his tie and fixed his suit. He smiled at her before finally settling back in his seat.
"I expect that treatment every time I come in your office now." She sat across from him and tilted her head. Her heart was pounding in her chest. God she adored him, and seeing him like this only made her fall for him more. She swallowed, there had been something she actually wanted to talk to him about, but his actions distracted her.
He saw the sudden change of her features and his smile vanished, face falling. "What's wrong?" He asked quietly, worry in his eyes. She seemed to be enjoying it, had he upset her. Deep down, Hotch was much like a child, and it was rare anyone ever saw that side of him. Haley had seen it often at home, but Kara had just caught a glimpse. "Too much?"
"No no! Baby no I love it. I love…I loved it." She trailed off for a moment before meeting his eyes once more. "I was thinking about yesterday and you're right." She couldn't hide her feelings anymore and it was about to be so obvious even non-profilers would be able to tell. "Let's tell them about us."