Episode: Closing Time
"It's not the greatest way to spend Valentine's Day, is it?"
Hotch's head shot up and his eyes were bugging slightly. Derek was enjoying this far too much.
"Some of the singles and I were going to the bar if you'd like to join us," He held back a grin, trying to look as serious as possible as Hotch scrambled to put away his stuff. "Unless... you have somewhere else you need to be."
"Shut up, Derek."
Derek raised his hands in surrender, grinning wide from ear to ear as he stepped out of the office. "You know, it's just Emily. She won't mind, I'm sure of it."
"Yes, thank you, Derek."
Hotch shuffled his papers together and pushes them to the corner of his desk, hurriedly running a hand through his hair as he followed Derek out the door, barely remembering to flick off the lights and shut the door.
An elevator ride had never taken so much time in his entire life.
OoOoOoO
Turns out, he didn't even need to go inside. Emily was sitting on the curb outside of the apartment building, staring up at the sky.
"I sincerely hope you weren't waiting for me," Hotch sat down beside her, tucking his legs in and crossing his arms over his knees.
"No, not really. Jack's at Jessica's and I felt too wired to sleep."
"Sorry I'm home late."
"It happens, I don't mind."
"Happy Valentine's Day, Emily."
Emily turned to him, looking about as surprised as Hotch had only 15 minutes earlier.
` "I completely forgot..." she murmured softly, yawning in spite of herself. Hotch shrugged off his suit jacket and draped it over Emily's shoulders, remembering all the other times he'd done so in the past.
"I did too until Morgan reminded me," Hotch snorted. "I say reminded but I really mean that he walked in and invited me out to his, Dave and Reid's night thing. Basically they just try and get Reid to pick up a girl and fail and they all get drunk and are hungover the next morning."
Emily laughed, leaning her head and resting it on Hotch's shoulder.
"I still don't feel like going inside."
"Me neither. Let's walk around," Hotch grinned as he stood and offered Emily a hand up. "I can protect you, you needn't worry."
Emily swooned and jumped up on her own, rubbing her sides and letting the suit jacket's arms hang limply at her side.
"You know," Hotch began as they started walking. "I think that you're supposed to put your arms through the holes. I don't know, just a thought, but it seems like a crucial part of wearing clothes."
"Eh, I like it better like this. I can be warm and still keep my ladylike figure." Emily stopped mid-trek and stared up at the sky again, Hotch slowing and turning to watch her. The moonlight mixed with that of a streetlamp, casting a golden glow upon Emily's face that was just... breathtaking. He quirked a smile, stepping forward, towards Emily, who was still staring up at the sky.
"You know, I don't think I've ever seen this many stars out befo- Oh. Hello." Emily raised her eyebrow as Hotch slid his arm in around her waist and wound his fingers between hers, cocking his head to the side.
"Dance with me?"
"We're in the middle of the road."
"It's like, one in the morning, Emily."
"I'm cold, Aaron."
"Tough."
They swayed like that, turning in slow circles in the middle of the street, the only light the moon, the flickering orange streetlamps and, far above them, the stars, which shone down, clouds dissipated for just a few quiet minutes.
"This is... nice. We should do this more often," Emily murmured, her lips inches away from Hotch's collarbone, head tilting up to look into his eyes.
"I think this street is usually busier."
"Ha ha, very funny. You know what I mean."
"Yeah," Hotch smiled leaning down and pausing before he kissed Emily. "I do."
She smiled against his lips, neither of them swaying anymore and both just standing, still in the night air. If a car were to come barrelling down the street, neither would have cared. The moment was still, silent as the night itself and yet, if you'd asked them, both would have told you that they could have sworn that they heard music.
Far above, the stars kept shining.
Boys Will Be Kings – Raised by Wolves
