Prompt: Fireplace (part 1)
Pairing: N/A / Fandom: Criminal Minds
It was Aaron's first full weekend off work in awhile and he knew exactly how he wanted to spend it: with Jack and his girlfriend, Olivia. The day before, ha had taken Jack and Olivia to the movies and, after, to dinner. Today, he had decided they would just stay in and relax. His idea was simple: just lay in front of the fireplace and roast marshmallows.
Olivia had to stop by her work to pick up a few papers she had forgotten and that she needed for this big meeting Monday morning across town, so he decided he was gonna take Jack to the grocery store to pick up all they were going to need for the perfect night in. Aaron got Jack ready and off they went. The ride there was a short one and once there, he grabbed a cart and placed Jack inside. He loved ridding that thing.
Finding the right corridor, Aaron picked a few bags of white marshmallows, both big and small, giving them to Jack to put inside the cart. Next was the chocolate and cookies. Spotting them just a few corridors over, he grabbed a few chocolate tablets and a couple of boxes of cookies. Add to that a few extra bags of candy and they were ready to go home. Moving to the check out lanes, he quickly paid and they were on their way home.
Aaron could tell Jack was excited. He loved nights like that, just the three of them, hanging out at home. It warmed Aaron's heart seeing his son so happy. Olivia had come into their lives during a rough period, immediately after Haley's passing, and it surprised Aaron just how fast Jack got attached to Olivia. Hell, he even surprised himself at how fast he became so comfortable around her. Now, three years later, he couldn't imagine their lives without her.
Once at home, they started getting everything ready. With Jack's help, Aaron took everything out of the bags and placed it on the coffee table. Next, and at Jack's suggestion, they went and got a few blankets to place on the floor in front of the fireplace and to cover themselves with, plus a few pillows. Aaron put Jack in charge of placing everything on the floor at his taste, to which Jack took as this huge responsibility and it took a while until he decided it was perfect.
While Jack was busy with the blankets and pillows, Aaron went to put the marshmallows in a bowl and started getting the hot chocolate ready. He had decided to only start on the fireplace once Jack was ready, so there wouldn't be any accidents.
As soon as Jack was done, Aaron placed a few wood logs in the fireplace and lit it up. When the fireplace was at full force, he could feel the warmth spreading through out the apartment. Looking back at Jack, he saw his son had the biggest smile ever. He couldn't help but be amazed at how resilient his son was. Even after they had been through, Jack was still able to see the good in the world and that made Aaron incredibly proud and happy.
Olivia had texted him, telling him that she was just five minutes away, so Aaron decided that that would be a good time to serve Jack and himself some hot chocolate. Going back into the kitchen, he filled two mugs with hot chocolate, with a few small marshmallows and chocolate shavings on top.
Bringing them back to the blanket, he handed one to Jack, warning him that it was hot, and just rested his back against the couch, waiting for Olivia to arrive, Jack sitting next to him, blowing on his hot chocolate. She shouldn't be long and he knew she was going to be happily surprised when she saw what they were doing for the rest of the day.
It was just a few minutes later, when he heard the sound of a key chain and their front door opening. Looking over the couch, he saw Olivia walking in the apartment and the smile that was on her lips. He smiled back and patted the blanket next to him. "Let the relaxation begin.", he thought, still looking at Olivia as she made her way towards them.