A/N OMG guys I know, Erebor. But Aaron Hotchner though.

I can't help it.

Anyway, since I can't tag as much as AO3 lemme just paste this in right here for all of your warnings because I am a dramatic bitch and we go dark around these parts.

Romance × Angst × Hurt/Comfort × Whump × Cults × Abuse × Past Abuse × Past Rape/Non-con × Standard Criminal Minds fare × Plus standard cult related traumatic shit × Emotional Manipulation × Fade to black sexy times ×

Set post Haley, far enough out that he'll date again and Jack is still younger but JJ and Emily are still around and I'M ONLY IN SEASON SIX SO FAR SO UH...AU TIMELINE?

I dunno guys, bear with me. This morning I didn't even know what I was doing with the story and now I'm posting a first chapter.

As always no beta, so godspeed SG-1.

The custodian was dumping all the cans under their desks while Faye tapped her pen against her knee, staring at the dark screen of her phone. Behind the screen was a message notification, a number she didn't recognize. But it was the message preview that had gotten her.

There was no one else it could've been. He knew she was in Virginia. And somehow, even within the heavy security of Quantico, she felt exposed. She was back in an instant. Ten years removed, college, work…a lifetime, and that was all it took to bring her back. He'd like that.

But she wasn't twenty-two anymore, and she wasn't an agent then either.

Penelope wasn't the only one who could do a quick number lookup so Faye logged in and ran the number. She had hoped it wasn't a burner phone, but he'd always been paranoid. The only thing that made her feel better was it had come out of Washington State.

Her shoulders relaxed a little since the last she'd known, he was still on the East Coast.

"Agent Bronson." Hotch called from outside his office, coat in one hand and briefcase in the other as he made his way down into the bullpen. "Whatever reports you're trying to finish can wait until tomorrow."

She jumped, startled like she'd been caught goofing off when she should've been working. Hotch didn't need to know about the text, it was probably just a fishing attempt to try and reel her back in. If she ignored him, he'd get the message. Besides, it wasn't like he couldn't have figured out what she did and what state she was in, she'd been caught on camera during cases enough times.

Faye yawned and shut her computer off as he reached her desk, looking up to see him holding her coat out to her. She nodded and took it from him, giving him a light squint of her eyes but otherwise ignoring the gesture. "You're a fine one to talk about staying late, boss man."

"Which means I should know when it's time for you to leave. Come on, I'll walk out with you."

Coat buttoned firmly to her chin against the bitter winter outside, she shouldered her bag and they got into the elevator. The doors inched closed and they stood a careful six inches apart from each other as the last sliver of light from the office was cut off. They had about ten seconds to themselves, on camera of course, but at least they could talk.

"You didn't have to wait for me." He said, glancing her way with a softness in her expression that had been absent until right then.

"And miss standing in the elevator of sexual tension with you? Not a chance." She glanced at him and winked as he smirked at her joke.

The doors rolled open into the underground parking and he followed her to her car. His hand was on the door latch as the lock clicked and he opened it for her, another simple gesture, nothing suspicious to see. Tired agent and tired boss making sure she headed home safely.

Her bag thumped into the passenger seat ahead of her as she got in and turned the car on. "Hey, I know we said my place tonight but it's a mess and I have a go bag in the trunk, you mind if we-"

"Of course." He said. "I'll see you there in twenty."

He shut her door, waiting until she was moving before he walked to his own car. Her apartment was a mess, too many out of state cases had left it full of laundry and dishes she hadn't had time to get to. But the edgy feeling the text had left her with made her even less interested in being there. Just in case.

Now she was the one being paranoid.

She parked on the back side of his building, out of view of the street as always. Eyes on the bushes and trees she hurried to the sidewalk, comforted to still have her gun on her as he buzzed her in.

By the time she got upstairs and hit her knuckles against the door she'd disguised her nerves by hunkering down in her coat and letting the chill on her face tell him she was just cold.

Coat and tie already gone, he shut the door behind her and leaned down to kiss her. Faye sank into him, stepping into his hands as he trailed them down her arms. Better. This was making it better.

"Mm. You're really much more fun out of the office."

"That's the anticipation talking after having to be co-workers for ten hours." He reminded her as he hung her coat up in the closet and took her go bag and gun to the bedroom and safe.

Boots got kicked into the corner and she went right to the kitchen, collecting a couple of wine glasses and a bottle from the shelf above the fridge, well out of Jack's reach when he was home.

She was on her knees on the counter, glass in hand, when her phone buzzed in her pocket and startled her. Her hand let go, she swore, and it shattered on the tile floor beneath her.

"Shit." Her heart was racing as she looked at the glass, then fished around in her pocket and checked the message. Penelope, just planning the next girls night out. Nothing out of the ordinary.

"Faye? Are you okay?" Aaron asked as he rushed back out of the bedroom from the noise.

"Sorry!" She chirped, swinging around so she could get down. "I'm sorry!"

"Hold on, don't move."

He went to the closet for the broom and she carefully slid down, avoiding the glass in her socked feet, and started picking up the bigger pieces.

Across from her he knelt down and used a hand broom to sweep the rest into a dust pan where she shakily deposited the larger pieces she'd picked up.

"I'm sorry." She repeated without thinking.

He touched her arm and smiled. "Hey, it's just a glass, it's fine. How about you go get changed and I'll take care of the wine, okay?"

A nod, a tight smile, and she retreated to the bedroom feeling like she was still in trouble somehow. Thirty-two years old and she felt like she was in trouble for a fucking wine glass. Jesus.

But it wouldn't shake, the feeling that he was out there, pretending not to be angry, waiting to lecture her or worse. It made her go slow, eating at her as her pajamas replaced her office clothes until she couldn't put it off.

It was Aaron, it was fine. She knew that. But dammit if there wasn't still that little voice of warning to remind her that she'd been wrong before. Hell, she knew it was irrational, she'd worked with the man for years before they'd even started seeing each other.

Finally she'd taken so long trying to work up to it he came in after her, holding a glass of red wine in his hand. He came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist, kissing her neck softly. But he couldn't miss the way she tensed and when he came around to face her he knew something was going on.

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"Sorry." There it went again, like it was as natural as breathing. "The glass, I should've been more careful."

"Faye, I'm not mad, it was just a wine glass. A dollar store wine glass at that." He chuckled.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, tucking the burning in her eyes back in as best she could and smiling at him. "Right. You're right."

He tilted his head to meet her eyes. "You're sure you're alright?"

"Perfect." She lied, letting a kiss linger on his lips like it was confirmation.

"If that changes, will you let me know?" He kissed her back.

"Yes, sir." She purred.

A grumble rolled through his chest and he pulled away with a playful frown, passing her the glass. "I thought we agreed, dinner first."

Rolling her eyes she sighed and took a sip. "You're the boss."

That made him laugh and his smile cooled some of the tension in her chest. "Only during work hours. I'm no fool." Despite his redirection his next kiss was a tease. "Now let's dig that frozen pizza out of the freezer so we can put dinner behind us."

Two glasses of wine and a Digorno later they fell into bed together, passing out while they were still tangled up in each other. It had put everything out of her mind until her phone buzzed on the nightstand at three am and she rolled over instinctively to check it.

Eyes still shut beside her Aaron mumbled. "Tell Garcia no texting after midnight."

It wasn't Penelope.

"Girl stuff. I'll be right back."

Phone clutched in her fist she hurried to the bathroom and shut the door, trying to get her vision clear enough to make out the message that had come in from the same number as before.

Faye. Answer me.

She blocked the number and tried to slow her breathing. Take too long and he'd come and check on her, leave too soon and he'd be able to feel her heart pounding as soon as she laid down.

No, new plan. She left the bathroom and ran back to the bedroom, jumping back into bed and shivering a little as he wrapped her back up against him. Having him pressed against her back was calming her down better than she could've done on her own. "Bathroom's cold." She muttered as an explanation for her speed.

"Garcia okay?"

"She's fine. Crisis averted."

He shifted slightly, enough to press a kiss to her neck before settling back in and falling asleep immediately. Faye, however, did not.