Penelope let out a deep sigh as she stared out her apartment window . It was almost cold enough to snow, and she desperately hoped that the forecast would be proven true. She was seriously lacking in holiday sparkle that year, and didn't know when or where she'd find what she was missing. A part of her still dreamt that one day, one magical Christmas day, Aaron would walk through her door once more, and she would know how he and Jack were doing. It had been nearly a decade, by then, and Jack was most likely in college, but still, she missed her little man and she wanted to know how life had turned out for him.
Shaking her head a little, Penelope backed away from the window and let the curtains fall back into place before making her way into the kitchen and making herself a mug of hot chocolate. Taking it back to the living room, she sank onto her sofa and turned on her television, scrolling through the channels until she came upon one of those cheesy holiday movies that would require absolutely no brain power to watch. As the movie played out its predictable beats, Penelope let out a small groan, wishing that she was in the same situation, having a home to go back to for Christmas and meeting up with a handsome man from her past. Just as the two leads shared their Christmas kiss, she heard a firm, familiar, knocking at her door, and she set her now empty mug on the coffee table before getting up and scurrying over towards it.
She had no idea who would possibly be there at that time of night, and she looked around for some sort of object she could use as a weapon, if it was some weirdo from her building. With her hand on the doorknob, that familiar knock came again, and she frowned a little before looking through the peephole. That was the moment that her entire body relaxed, a wide grin spreading across her lips as she turned the knob and pulled the door open with a flourish. "Boss Man," she breathed out as she looked up into his face, her hand unconsciously reaching up and cupping his cheek as she stared, drinking in his features.
"Penelope. Are you going to let me in, or are we just going to stand in your doorway all evening?"
She let out a self-deprecating giggle as she nodded, stepping away from him and allowing him to enter her home. While he took off his jacket, she closed and locked the door, not wanting to let the outside world in any way intrude upon them for as long as possible. "You managed to arrive during the first snowfall of the season. That's either a Christmas miracle, or a setup for one of those Hallmark movies that I was just watching."
Aaron let out a chuckle as he tousled his hair with his hand. "Could be either, yes."
A soft silence fell between them as she led him to the sofa. They took a seat in tandem, and then she was turning her body towards his as she again stared at his face, finding the new wrinkles and laugh lines that spoke of a life well lived away from them. "Are, are you back for good?" she finally whispered, not wanting to get her hopes up before having them cruelly dashed by harsh reality.
"I am, sort of. Roy just passed, and since it was almost the end of my decade with WitSec, it was decided that I could "graduate" from the Program a little early in order to be there for Jessica. Jack's at her house now, thankfully, his professors are allowing him to take all of his exams online. One of the better outcomes of Covid." She nodded as she leaned forward, placing her hand on his knee as she looked at him expectantly, needing to know more. "I don't have a job here, and I'm not going back to the FBI."
"So what do you want to do?"
He shrugged a little as he leaned back into the cushions of the sofa, allowing Penelope to study his body a little easier. He hadn't changed all that much, though he appeared to have softened a little around his middle. Her baser thoughts wondered about what it would be like to be beneath him, and she shook her head a little in an effort to focus on him completely. "I have sent out a few feelers to some local law firms, as I have kept up on my license, but I also have the urge to go back into prosecution. Even though I left that line of work to become part of the BAU, I think that now I can apply the things that I learned with the BAU in order to see that the criminals who are caught are brought to justice."
She nodded, tightening her hand around his knee. "That is so you, Hotch. I'm certain that you could find work with any DA in the area, given your experiences in life." Penelope watched him lick his lips a little, and she copied the gesture, listening to the little laugh that slipped from between those delicious lips and trying not to squirm in her seat. "So, why did you come to my door this evening?"
There was another stretch of silence before he reached down and covered her hand with his. The warmth that bled into her skin from his was electric, and she looked down at their hands, glad to have something to focus on other than his face. "You were the first person that I wanted to reconnect with."
"You put me above Rossi?" she asked as they scooted closer together, and Hotch nodded slowly. "I suppose that I should be extremely flattered, but…I think that he would have ben better to see first, seeing as how Krystall died, and he's all alone now."
"What about his daughter?"
She shrugged a little. "Joy's made her life, and since the pandemic, it seems as if she is pivoting away from my sweet Italian Stallion and life out here. I know that he misses them, too, so seeing your face would have brought him some much needed holiday cheer."
"We could visit him together tomorrow?"
Penelope felt a wide smile spread across her lips as she nodded. "I think that would be lovely! We could drag him out for lunch, and maybe find something festive to do? I mean, if you're not too busy with the funeral business."
He shook his head a little before allowing his arm to come to rest around her shoulders, which signaled to her that it was perfectly okay for her to let her head thump down against his chest as she breathed in deeply, reacquainting herself with his aftershave. "I am staying away from the funeral. Roy never forgave me for what happened to Haley, and it would be disrespectful for me to show up there, since a lot of his family would talk. Jack will stay with Jessica until after the funeral, so that he can get to know his mother's side of the family a little better."
It felt like all she could do was nod her head once more, and then she was curling her hand into the soft fabric of his sweater. "That's one of the things I always loved about you, how considerate you were of other people's feelings."
A comfortable silence fell over them and Penelope loved listening to the quiet way Hotch breathed, finding that it soothed her more than words could say. Eventually, though, she grew restless and sat up to look into his face. "What is it?"
"I want to do something with you. It doesn't seem right that we just do nothing. I mean, I love having you here, I love being with you, but…"
"You're not one to sit still."
She nodded, watching his eyes crinkle with mirth as he nodded in return. "So, what do you want to do?"
"This might sound a little juvenile, but when we were young, Sean and I used to love driving around to look at the Christmas lights. I wouldn't expect there to be that many this year, but it might be nice to see what is out there."
"Yes! As long as we stop for coffee before we head out. I need a way to stay warm other than a car heater."
"Of course." She grinned and bounced to her feet, heading to the door in order to step into her shoes and then shrug into her coat. "That eager?"
"To spend time with you? Yes. I've frakking missed you, Aaron Hotchner, and I don't know how long I'll have you for, so I will spend as much time with you as I possibly can." He had come close to her while she spoke, putting on his coat while she stared at him. "I don't think I ever stopped loving you."
Her cheeks bloomed red, but she refused to call the words back, now that she had said them. He didn't know what type of love she meant, after all. Still, he seemed to soften at those words, and then he was reaching out to brush his knuckles against the curve of her cheek. "And I never forgot about you, Penelope."
Her lower lip quivered a little at the rush of emotions that came with him saying her name, and she gave him a small dip of her chin as she blinked back those tears that threatened to fall. Again, he brushed his knuckles against her cheeks, swiping a few of those errant tears away. "All right, before I burst into tears and embarrass myself further, lets head out."
Aaron nodded before leaning down and brushing his lips against her cheek. The tender touch had her sighing a little, taking hold of his hand as she shoved her keys in her pocket before opening the door and making her way into the hallway. Once they were both outside her apartment, she locked the door, and they slowly made their way down the stairs. Penelope chattered on about any inane thing that popped into her head, feeling the need to fill the silence for some reason. Hotch took it all in stride, answering her when he could find a small break in her words, and she grinned before cuddling in closer to him, trying to justify the move with the fact that it was quite cold and windy with the snow.
Hotch led her over to his car, and she let out a low laugh to see that he still drove a black SUV. "You can take a man out of the FBI, but there are still some things that linger," he said sheepishly, and she shook her head. "What?"
"It's thoroughly you. Jayje has turned into a total soccer mom with her van, and Emily drives a sleek little roadster. And then there's you, and your dependable SUV. For all that I love change and excitement, there's something to be said about dependable and steadfast."
Hotch opened the passenger door for her, and she licked her lips as she took a deep breath. "Haley loved that about me, too," he whispered and she nodded a little before standing up on her tiptoes and returning the tender kiss he'd given her earlier. His cheek was a little rough with stubble, which made her giggle again, and she pulled back to look into his eyes. There was something there that she couldn't quite define, but then she sighed as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her gently. It was a perfect first kiss, as the snow fell around them, and she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close. "I wasn't expecting that," he said a bit sheepishly, and she shook her head.
"You're fine, Hotch. It was a lovely first kiss. But you promised me coffee?"
He laughed, breaking the tension between them, and she smiled as she slipped into the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt. He came around to the driver's side and got behind the wheel, turning his SUV on before fastening his own belt and then turning to look at her. "So, is coffee the way to your heart?"
Penelope shook her head softly as she reached across the small distance between them and rested her hand in the crook of his arm. "No, my white knight in shining armor showing up on my doorstep unannounced in the midst of a gorgeous snowfall is. And now we're both free to explore whatever this is between us." She squeezed his arm firmly as he pulled out into traffic, suddenly so glad that he had chosen to come to her first, and that things were still soft between them.